I honestly don’t know how to go about telling the story of our Christmas tree. I am no Garrison Keillor, and to be honest, it takes someone as lewd as Himself to tell this kind of story. I’ll do my best in one paragraph.

Unlike my romanticized dreams of knowing the perfect tree to cut down in the middle of a light snowfall by seeing Berlin curl up underneath it, we spent two hours in the car with a very anxious dog only to come home getting a tree off the side of the road in the middle of the city because we were not going to spend $65 on a Christmas tree. While trimming the tree, I received an enormous burn across my right palm from putting a frozen pizza in the oven. And both pets spent the afternoon hiding from the world because we had torn the living room apart to make room for a coniferous plant that was DIFFERENT. And don’t I know that everything always needs to BE THE SAME? Because they get ANXIOUS not EXCITED by change!

The irony! A delicious dinner with a Christmas-music-loving Jew was the only thing that salvaged my holiday spirit!

From Daily Daguerreotype

A few years ago I purchased these stocking holders that were perfect for our little family - Matt, Mojo and myself. I chose “Joy” not thinking about the practicality of the three letters, but because it was my favorite word offered. Unwise, as this year we’ve had an increase in family members, and now Mojo’s stocking has nowhere to hang. Berlin’s stocking has taken his “Y.”

Luckily, Pottery Barn has plain stocking holders for sale in the bronze finish, so Mojo will get one of these. Unpersonalized. Are all first children shafted when the second comes along?

From Daily Daguerreotype

It’s been a bittersweet year in many ways, but I have so much to be thankful for that it’s pretty overwhelming. I wish you all well over the holiday and hope that it’s spent with people that you love doing things that you love to do.

A big thank you to my loving and supportive family, Matt’s loving and supportive family, and you our greatest friends. You have held us up during some of the toughest times in our lives, and we owe you a lot.

And Matt, thank you for being my best friend and my strongest ally.

Now let’s rock dinner like the Pilgrims taught us, yo.

Most of you know how much I love the holidays, and each year I find myself getting increasingly more Christmas cheer than ever before. This year for my birthday Matt bought me Harry Connick Jr.’s newest disc, “What A Night! A Christmas Album,” which was released the day after my birthday. Suffice it to say… the boy knows.

I’ve been playing it non-stop, so it’s only appropriate that I blog about it this week. Like any other Connick Jr. album, the songs are well-orchestrated and leave you humming new riffs that you will now forever associate with “Have A Holly Jolly Christmas.” Although it hasn’t yet taken the place in my heart that belongs to his 2003 album “Harry for the Holidays,” I have to admit that it’s pretty cute to hear him singing along with his daughter Kate who has some SERIOUS CHOPS!

As always, you can preview the album in the Amazon widget in the sidebar. And if you need a serious boost of Christmas cheer (which some of you Scrooges REALLY need!), download it to your iPod and try to withstand crushing hardcore on H Jr.

Also, I always link you through to Amazon because I prefer buying mp3s from their site over iTunes. But I’m sure you can find it there as well.

We had a fabulous weekend in the White Mountains - myself camping with family and a very stinky Berlin - Matt hiking the Presidential Traverse. They summited 9 mountains in 2.5 days. Not bad if you ask me.

I foolishly decided to leave my camera at home so it wouldn’t get damaged… or wind up smelling like dirty camp dog. But the White Mountains are so breathtaking, which I always seem to forget until I go back. I give New Hampshire a lot of flack after growing up there, but I have to take it all back after a 15 minute hike to a boiling river unspoiled and barren even on a holiday weekend.

My love of place is strong, albeit not as strong as other people I know. But I have really connected with some places I have been/lived, and out of them all, New England still takes the cake. We live in a green city, a historical city, and a place of significant cultural relevance. Drive one way for a half an hour and you’re at the beach. Drive another direction for an hour and you’re in the middle of lush farmland. Drive a few hours north and you’re at some of the most beautiful, most hiked mountains in the US. Go ahead and read all about it in Yankee Magazine.

But I think what I love the most in New England are these crazy people. These people who are stingy and private about their economic status. These people who are outrageously liberal yet go to New Hampshire on the weekends to shop tax-free and hunt. New England has some of the best universities and has always been known as an intellectual hub. But it’s a place where lobstermen are lauded, perhaps even more than senators. I think I love this place so much because of it’s glaring contradictions. Do you understand me all the better now?

They say that people in New England are rude because of seasonal effective disorder. I disagree. I think we’re rude for the same reason Iceland was named as such. Because we sort of want to protect this place and keep it a secret.

I’m sorry I didn’t post yesterday. I was pretty busy with other things. Like taking the bus to the transmission shop to pick up my car, and being attacked by a pitbull while in the park with Berlin. I wound up with a gash on arm, a bruised left heel and something on my back that feels like a bruise, but I can’t see it so I don’t know. I’m really ok, but I have to tell you that it was neither fun NOR fun. We’ve bumped into this guy and his pitbull a number of times, but the dog is generally tightly restrained on his leash. I don’t know what this dolt was thinking by letting his very territorial male dog off his leash in the park, but I hope he’s learned not to do that again. Berlin’s ok, and I can’t find any scratches or cuts despite the fact that the dog was chomping on her neck.

It’s been an overall rough week, and I’ve been without Matt for a few days here as he’s hiking the Presidential Range in NH. I hate to admit it, but I’m pretty co-dependent and very quickly turn into a basketcase when I don’t have him right over there… on the couch… for me to just talk to or be next to. I’ll get to see him on Saturday, as Berlin and I are camping w/ my folks and going to the end of the trail to pick him up.

SO now that we’re caught up, have a great holiday weekend. And don’t forget those dudes, and the tea party, and the shot heard round the world. Independence has been pretty hot since then.