It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Nancy loves to decorate for Christmas. She goes all out...and now that we have a bigger house to decorate, she's really going nuts. And this is the first year that we have a tree. I know it's odd, but with all her decorating she has never had a Christmas tree. The only problem that I have with her Christmas decorating is that it starts somewhere right around Labor Day. And we finally take it down no later than the Fourth of July.

It's not just the decorating either. We have to listen to Christmas music non-stop as soon as they start playing it on the radio. Which I think with XM is around Halloween at the latest. I have found that the only way to get the station changed is to loudly sing Silent Night in German along with every song. The combination of my awful singing voice, the fact that I am singing a different song than what is playing on the radio, and the fact that I am singing it in very poor German (barely retained from a Lorena High School German Club Christmas play 15 years ago) is just enough to get her to change it.

Of course, I then have to listen to Cosmo (as in the tastefully done women's magazine) radio. But I guess listening to sex advice from a teenage radio DJ is better than hearing Jingle Bells for the 403rd time in a week before November is even over. Don't get me wrong. I love Christmas. I always have. I just don't think I love it quite as much as she does. I don't think anyone loves it quite as much as she does. I think even Jesus Himself, by about December 10th would be like, "I'm flattered. Really, I am. But can we listen to the game?"

When we go shopping for Christmas decorations (this really goes for any house decorations), I am really a lot of help. Nancy uses me to rule out decorating possibilities. It's pretty simple, really. If I pick it up off the shelf, and say, "Hey, what about this one?"...then it automatically goes into the NO column. By the time we are done, and I have suggested every (candle, Christmas tree, set of lights, yard decoration...whatever) but one, then that is the one that we buy. It never fails. I'm glad my taste in women is better than my taste in decorating.

Just a side note...we seem to have completely eradicated our garage mouse problem. I think my brutal execution, via broom handle, of the last mouse to get stuck to our glue trap sent a message to all the others that I am not playing around anymore. Final Score: Randy 5, Mice 2.

On to the pictures. I think she did a great job with the decorating. Just don't underappreciate my role in the final product.