The Great Tree Snafu of 2009

Kenny and I spent our Sunday doing something most first (almost) married couple does before the holiday season…we bought our first Christmas tree!

Okay, we know it’s reallllllllly early to find a tree, but seeing as how our Great Pumpkin Search led to a dead end, we wanted to get a head start on our holiday decorations.

We drove over to Home Depot, where they were giving 10 percent off for military (woohoo!), and searched for our perfect tree. W quickly narrowed down our criteria: around 7 feet, clear lights, no pine cones or berries on the tree, and not a skinny tree; we wanted a full Christmas tree. And then we saw it, standing there in all its Christmas tree glory:
I quickly found a cart and brought it over while Kenny loaded the box. While he pushed it to the register, I jumped like a giddy kid beside him. You see, I kinda have a really big thing for the holidays and picking out the tree we’ll have for years to come is a pretty exciting event!

So we get home and I get ready to take a nap (what? It’s what I do on a Sunday afternoon). Kenny was going to set the tree up and watch a wood-working show on TV, but just as my head hit the pillow I hear him mutter, “crap!” It turns out we picked the box with multi-colored lights. D’oh!

We loaded the box back up in my car and headed back to Home Depot only to find out the tree we liked on display was no where to be found in a box. After enlisting the help of Gene, the friendly Home Depot dude on hand, we tracked down our tree about 15 aisles over in the garden department…on the very, very, very top shelf. Gene, the easy going guy that he was, told us to come back in a couple hours to get the tree.

After a huge stuffed burrito for lunch and a lap around both Pier One and Kirkland Home, we headed back to get our tree. This time we triple checked that we had the right tree and repeated our happy dance to the register and then kept the happy dance going all the way back home. And then, even when we got home, Kenny gave our new tree a happy little hug 🙂

And that, my friends, is the saga of The Great Tree Snafu of 2009.

Which brings us right to the Great French Fry Fiasco…

My brother and I have always had this inside joke (game) dealing with French fries. I’m about to tell you just how dorky we are, so read on.

We’ll either take two fries and hold them up to look like one fry, or find the longest fry of the bunch and see if the other person can figure out if it’s one or two fries.

Today, Kenny and I went out for lunch at this fantastic Greek restaurant our gyros came with French fries.

He wrote back (in confidence, I presume): “Definitely two.”

I wrote back: “Definitely one!” and sent the following picture:
WOOHOO! Seriously long French fry! Kenny and I think it was around 7 1/2 inches—after some very precise measuring, of course!

The only other time I remember finding a French fry that long was way back in the day. I found it, rejoiced for a minute and then showed my brother who promptly stole it from me and took a giant bite out of it. Sheesh. Silly brothers. Luckily, I got to enjoy this fry in its entirety.