We call 'em Crapper Lights.

Yes, yes, yes, I KNOW.
Still looks like Christmas around this blog.
(Sorry honey, I know you can't read the red and green on your BlackBerry.  I love you.)
Never fear, I do plan to do something about that tomorrow.
Because tomorrow I have to do some major home school plotting and planning and I will be in desperate need of a time wasting procrastination tool.  And picking out some new colors and designs for my blog feels right. Just telling it like it is.

So...what in sam hill are Crapper Lights???  Well, they're those otherwise known as Christmas Lights that are still up around the exterior of our house.  And no, for those of you who wonder, we have not switched to LED's and yes, I'm sure we're consuming more than our fair share of electricity.  So there.  It's what happens when you gleefully snatched up a house in one of the few remaining neighborhoods that don't have an association.  Someday I want to paint our house pink just because we can.  (The man votes a big N-O on that, in case you were confused.)

And, yup, that's us with the Christmas tree up in the living room.  In our defense, this may be the most amazing, has dropped maybe 10 needles in the entire month we've had it, and is still so green it MUST be growing roots down there in the water base, tree I have ever seen in my life!  I mean the thing still smells like a forest every time I walk by it.  I think it's making up for being a bit stubby and uneven with a couple of big holes we didn't notice, ugliest tree we've ever picked.  Also, I'd like to confess here that I grew up in a family absolutely famous for never taking our tree down on New Year's like the rest of Orange County.  One year my parents left it up through Easter.  Mmmm hmmm, it had been a live tree at one time.  It's a wonder we didn't burn down.  Although I'm pretty sure we weren't turning the lights on anymore.  This is, in fact, an event my childhood friends like to refer to when we are discussing my family's long list of odd behaviors.

But why oh why must we call them Crapper Lights, put up a Crapper Tree, and purchase Crapper gifts?  All instead of the traditional, respectful Christmas, Christmas, Christmas? There is a child in our extended family, who probably wishes to remain anonymous on this one, and who at the tender age of 2ish could not properly pronounce Christmas and for whatever reason, it sounded JUST LIKE CRAPPER.  Most hilarious thing ever to see that cherubic little face, that sweet innocent mouth, talking wistfully all about the Crapper Presents Santa was bringing.  What can I say?  It stuck.  Not in that child's family.  In ours of course.  Because let's face it, we are a bit irreverent at times.  Okay, lots of times.  And we like it that way.

I know I was supposed to cough up my cold curing chicken noodle soup recipe a couple of days ago.  I apologize.  The good news is that it worked and the cold germs were firmly grasped at the elbow and escorted out of the building.  The bad news is we had ourselves a good time all weekend and I pretty much blew it off.  But tomorrow, when I'm chained to this desk anyhow, searching for good, solid, responsible reasons for not submitting detailed science supply orders for our Chemistry unit, I will quite ecstatically type up the chicken soup goods.

Off to admire the lights on my Crapper Tree,
~S