Do you have a favorite ornament or decoration that you display at this time of year? (dsp blog prompt)

My Christmas tree is my favorite decoration.... I didn't do a tree the first few years I was married (long story). When I decided to put on up I happened to see a snowman themed tree in a store and decided I'd do one that way myself. The first year I had lots of snowmen that were just "filler" and didn't have any significance to me. But each year I've bought snowman oranments that signify something to me or my family.... there's the baby snowmen for each of my boys with the dates of their birth; the bride and groom snowmen for my hubby and I; the computer toting snowman for my husbands job; the snowman playing the drums for my drummer son; the beach snowmen from vacatioins; the photographer snowman; the skateboarding, skiing, baseball playing, basketball dribbling, etc. snowmen and more! And there is the Snow"mommy" with her "snowdaughter".... she represents the baby we lost. And theres one lone reindeer, Rudolph, who has a place of honor and a special memory attached to him. There are still some ornaments that are just beautiful.... but each year the ornaments with meaning replace the ones that are just there.... my boys and I decorate the tree each year and sort of celebrate who we are and what we've done through the years. A few days ago my girlfriend's tree fell over and all her glass ornament shattered. I couldn't help but think how sad I'd be to lose all the little things on our tree that trigger memories for me.

Wnat is your favorite winter memory? (dsp blog prompt)

It's really hard to choose just one favorite winter memory... seems that winter is, in some ways, a season for fond memories. There's Christmas, of course, and childhood memories of rare snowfalls in Alabama... and after moving to Michigan there's a whole new world of winter fun that I've discovered and enjoyed with my kids. But one of my fondest winter memories is when I was around five and was stuck inside sick on one of those rare days when we got enough snow in Alabama to actually cover the ground. I remember sitting at the window watching my friends play and feeling so very sad. Then, the door opened and there was my dad with the hugest snowball you've ever seen. He put it in the sink for me to play with.... I happily dug and scooped and packed for what seemed like hours... it must have been magical now if it didn't melt any quicker than that! LOL! That is one of my happiest winter memores and one of my happiest "dad" memories too.

If you were a tree, what kind of tree would you be? (dsp blog prompt)

Doesn't that sound like a line from a Dr. Suess book?

Ok.... back to the prompt. After spending quite some time thinking about this I have to say, kind of sadly, that if I were a tree I'd probably be a kind of small, scraggly one. One that's been bent and twisted in the wind, suffered from drought off and on, isn't planted in the right environment either so it struggles and struggles to fulfill it's tree destiny. It would really take some looking to discover the species of tree that I am. Someday an arborist would come along who would see that I was really an oak tree struggling to make it and that all I needed was to be placed in the proper soil and given some tender loving care in order to thrive and grow and reach my full potential.

This is the most depressing blog entry. I'm sorry. I've had a hard day.