24 Days until Christmas

Let's start this year's Christmas countdown with one of my favorite high horses:

The Proper Hanging of Christmas Lights.

Yes, it's true, I'm a Christmas light snob. Maybe it's the Virgo in me, or maybe it was the years spent helping my step-father hang our lights, where he made sure each bulb was arranged to lay exactly right against the windows. Whatever the reason, I believe Christmas lights should be thought out. None of this sloppy throwing up of something just so you can say you've decorated. Do it right! And for crying out loud, pick a theme. Just because Target sells 15 different varieties doesn't mean you have to put each one up on your house. Light hanging is an art form, and when done well, is one of the most beautiful and enchanting things about the holidays.

I give you, Exhibit A.

From a distance, this balcony doesn't look too bad. The lights are nicely placed around the tob and bottom rungs of the railing, and are accented nicely by a lit wreath. However, upon closer inspection, we see that no less than 5 different color strands are used. I'm not talking about 5 colors on each strand, but rather 5 separate strands, each one color, randomly placed on the balcony. Orange, Pink, Blue, Clear and Red. What happened? Each child wanted a different color? This was all you had and decided you'd just put them all up? Maybe no one would notice?

This is a minor offense. As I gather more pictures, I'll share them, trying to stick with the really bad and the really awesome.

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Note: For those of you who don't know, I work at a software company that makes products exclusively for the healthcare community. One of the side notes of my job is helping hospitals go-live with new products. Next week is my first trip. I leave Sunday, and will be in Champaign through Friday, working 5am-5pm shifts in the hospital. I'm supposed to be excited about it, but all I can think of is how I'll miss my home (and all the things that come with it) and how impossible it will be for me to actually be somewhere at 5am. We have customers in Hawaii, but even that isn't worth getting up at 3am... At any rate, I may be scarce for the next week as I try to avoid passing out from exhaustion (though at least it would be in a hospital), and try to fit in some ornament making time. So don't worry!