a guy and a bee
a collection of random thoughts and ideas from me, her, and sometimes us
Tag Archives: wife
oh, christmas tree, oh, christmas tree
every year, christmas is a big deal in our household, especially the last few now that we have gotten married. in our first year of living together, we went and picked a tree off the lot and since then we have cut one down. bee always had fake trees as a kid so now that she can a real one, we take full advantage of it. this year, broken rib and all, bee and i made the trek out yesterday to pine valley farms. it’s off of 70 and 97 in skyesville for those of you reading this that are in maryland.
our first time out, we used one of the saws that the farm will let you borrow for $20 (you get the money back when you return the saw). we quickly found out that although tradition is great, bringing the sawz all that i got the next christmas to cut down the tree was the best idea we stumbled upon. as you might now, bee is a go getter and one time when she cutting down the tree, a fellow tree cutter downer brought over his sawz all for us to use. made quick great work of the tree.
here is bee on the hunt for the best douglas fir on the the tree farm. last year, our eyes were bigger than our living room so we knew we had to go for something that wasn’t as wide this year, much to her dismay. we looked for something in the 7-8 foot range.
once we found the right tree after walking several aisles, we got down to business. a great tip for those that might be new to christmas tree cutting down, bring an old blanket or sheet that you might use around the house for painting, etc. it makes a great location for you to lay on and get under the tree as you cut it down. keeps the mud, grass, and pine needles off of you. those of of you that are clean freaks like we are, it’s a great tip. don’t forget to wear old clothes too. it’s not a fashion show out there!
once bee made short work of cutting it down, it was over to shaking, bundling, and back to the car. unfortunately, the bundling got screwed up so we had to re-tie the string so it would stay bundled. we made the decision, after bee carried the tree back to the car, to put it inside instead of on roof because of my limited mobility to get the tree over my head and secured properly on top of the car.
cut down and pre-bundled
bundled and in the car
(yes, i had to vacuum my car because of it. boo.)
you have to let it fall
once you get the tree inside and setup, you have to let the branches fall back to their natural place. we started decorating a few hours later. (and i was watching the LSU/Georgia game, haha.)
lights are on
decorated! looking good!
nice skirt!
that is our new tree skirt that we splurged on at the end of the season last year. one of our friends had the similar tree skirt and we really liked it so we ended up getting ours and bee is very excited about it. we were using a traditional skirt that looked like the regular red stockings with white trim, but we wanted to get a little fancier going forward! so now the tree is up, the house is decorated and the stockings were hung (with care) by the fireplace. feels like christmas, although it was around 60 degrees today!
we also started a neat new tradition once we get the tree home a few years ago. we cut off a small ring from the bottom of the tree and save it. right now it’s above the fireplace drying out and will go into a glass jar we have in our dining room as we collect more and more rings from years of celebrating our favorite holiday. (all these photos were taken on my phone, not too shabby!)
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summer time
not sure about you guys, but summer time is one of my favorite times of the year. it combines two things i really enjoy, the beach and baseball. and although you can enjoy baseball all year around, there is nothing like sitting in the stands of the stadium.
the beach is a place i’ve enjoyed since being a kid and still enjoy as an adult. i just got back from being there over the 4th of july week. as i spent time at the outer banks, i continue enjoy it as a place that keeps me calm and serene. the sun, the surf, the sand, the salt air, i enjoy it all. and who doesn’t love a good tan?
as many others, when i think of america’s pastime, baseball immediately comes to mine. if there was one sport that is my number one, it is definitely baseball. as some might remember, my wife got us a partial game plan for the orioles this year and although the team hasn’t won in awhile, it’s something we enjoy doing together. and it is something i can teach her all i know. having played and umpired since being a young kid, i can say, i know a lot and have seen a lot. from the days of going to memorial stadium as a young kid and seeing stars of the late ’80s and ’90s to being at camden yards for 10-15 games a summer from being a kid to being an adult. this year i have also made it to nationals park for the first time and experienced my first non-baltimore stadium. nice little stadium they have down there in dc, but it’s no oriole park at camden yards. #justsaying. as well, my buddy and i are making our rounds to some of the minor league affiliates. on july 1st, we rode down and caught the shorebirds game and also got our manny machado bobbleheads. we even met @2131andBeyond finally. later this summer, we are going to make it to a game or two at bowie and next week, my wife and i are going to head to aberdeen to see the ironbirds and ripken stadium. we got tickets through my job so they were easy to get a hold of. i’ve wanted to see it since it was built and have driven around it several times, but this will be my first visit inside the stadium. we even went to an outer banks daredevils game as well. they are a summer wood bat league for college kids and are part of the coastal plain league. it’s really a neat experience and as one friend it’s probably like summer catch with freddie prince jr. haha, that’s almost true!
so any way, that’s what i’ve been up to this summer so far. i have some pretty good pictures from the fireworks on the beach the other day and will share those a few from my first visit to the shorebirds stadium once i get them downloaded. i really intend to blog more so look out!
hey there
a guy and a bee 