I hate to admit this, but I have not yet put up a Christmas tree this year. I used to go hog wild and decorate an 8-foot tree, but since my husband doesn't lend a hand (he's Jewish), I decided several years ago that decorating 50-some trees in my life is enough. So I picked up a four-foot artificial tree at Target, complete with lights, and now even that is too much work to assemble. Which means I've resigned myself to the fact that we will most likely have no tree at all this year.
It's not like I'll be home for Christmas. In that event, I could probably talk myself into hauling the tree out of the garden shed and displaying it on a table in front of my picture window that faces the street. It gives off a warm glow, all sparkly and glittery for passersby.
Since we'll be lying on the beach in Kauai, sipping Mai Tai's from carved out coconuts and pineapples, leaving a decorated Christmas tree unarmed in an empty house with three cats doesn't sound like a good idea.
In fact, I'm too busy selling real estate to celebrate Christmas or Hanukkah, so my husband and I have decided to officially skip those holidays. Does that make me a scrooge? A heathen? No Christmas dinner, no buying or unwrapping presents, no stringing lights on the outside of the house, no singing carols . . . my life will be calmer, though, without the cats batting ornaments off the tree.
I wonder if skipping the holidays this year will set a precedence that could become a habit. If I can ignore the holidays once, will I do it again next year and the year after that? I've already stopped staying up until midnight to welcome in the new year on December 31. (It's way past my bedtime.)
The Short Sale, by Elizabeth Weintraub, coming from Archer Ellison in January 2009.
Photo: Big Stock Photo
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Certified HAFA Specialist
My Sacramento Real Estate Listings
Elizabeth Weintraub is an author, home buying columnist for The New York Times-owned About.com, a Land Park resident, and a Land Park real estate agent who specializes in older, classic homes in Land Park, Curtis Park, Midtown and East Sacramento. Weintraub is also a Sacramento Short Sale agent who lists and successfully sells short sales throughout the four-county Sacramento area. Call Elizabeth Weintraub at 916.233.6759. Put 35 years of real estate experience to work for you. Broker-Associate at Lyon Real Estate. DRE License # 00697006.
The Short Sale Savior, by Elizabeth Weintraub, available at Amazon.com.
Lyon Real Estate is not associated with the government, and our service is not approved by the government or your lender. Even if you accept this offer and use our service, your lender may not agree to change your loan.
Photo: Unless otherwise noted in this blog, the photo is copyrighted by Big Stock Photo and used with permission.
The views expressed herein are Weintraub's personal views and do not reflect the views of Lyon Real Estate.
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