It's Treesicle Time Again

I can't believe it's December, how the heck did that happen. (I seem to be surprised a lot lately, what's up with that?) Anyhow, as evidenced by the abundance of wreaths, swags and trees everywhere I go, it's Christmas time in New Jersey. I'm singing my way through every store, smiling everytime I smell something sprucey or minty, and generally excited about the holidays. This year we're breaking out the lights and garland; really gonna swag it up! I even bought some plastic (yuck) ornaments so the kids can decorate the tree outside. This weekend we'll make our trek to Sickles and hopefully the same Norman Rockwell guy will deliver our tree in the same old blue truck; although Andrew's kind of ruined my 'fantasy' because apparently the guy's name is John. And I promise no 'treesicles' this year.

I still can't believe that we've been here a year. I guess that's the beauty of hibernation; time flies when you're holed up inside. With the turning of the leaves, and the subsequent falling, 'the piles' are everywhere. (And by the way, this picture is nothing compared to what we see here!). Remember I told you how we get to rake/blow/shove our yard waste to the curb and just leave it there for pickup (more like scrape up)? I read somewhere that New Jersey is the mulch capital of the US, not sure if that's true, but I tend to believe it is as I'm, literally, dodging leaf piles driving on River/Ridge/Rumson Roads. We had our fair share of piles this season. Funny thing is, we don't have any big trees in our yard, go figure.

As of December 1st, we're officially banned from any overnight street parking (you know, so the snow plows can make their way easily through the drifts!). Last year we were scrambling and ended up double parking in our one-car driveway (nice WT people from CA). This year, we're good to go. With our expanded driveway (yipee) 2 cars fit with room to spare, and I get the garage. The kids are so excited because they know we'll never have to scrape the windshield or sweep off the doors! I'm kind of loving that too.

Last important tidbit, Andrew was inducted into the National Honor Society last night at Rumson Fair Haven High School. Turns out, his stellar achievements followed him from CA and he got credit for his 'time' at Pinewood. Scholarship, Character, Leadership and Service. Way to go Andrew, we're all so, so proud of you.

happy day all,
P