Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

There's 5 feet of snow on the ground, the temperature frequently drops below 0, the yuppies are in Vail, the Christmas Tree is up, and I've already skiied enough to make my season pass worth it's price. It is officially the "in-season."

As for the snow and cold, I've gotten used to layering up every morning. It's a routine that takes all of about 15 seconds anymore. Underwear, socks, two layers of pants, shirt, sweater, coat, (snow pants if skiing), gloves, and hat. It's funny how you can used to the bitter -25 days though. I'm able to run to the dumpster in meer scrubs, slippers, and a tank to throw out the trash. It must be amusing for the neighbors.

The yuppies are what amuse me. I can't believe the cash that is dropped in this town. People will throw money at you for whatever luxury you can provide. There are restaurants up on the mountain that serve 5 course meals for $100 a head (not including any alcohol you may get), including children. I'm sorry, but I'm not paying $100 for any 5 year old of mine to eat mac 'n' cheese. Apparently there's a dog one can "rent" in Vail. He costs about $50 an hour. You walk him. You pay $50 to walk a dog so he can shit. And as for the merchandise, you can't walk out of a retail store without paying at least $150. All this cash-dropping has its perks for me of course. People will walk into the Brewery and order expensive bottles of wine and entrees and throw a credit card at you without even looking at the check. High checks = mad tips.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying my life as a local. We bought a live Christmas Tree and put it up Saturday night. Problem was, when we first got the tree home, it was frozen. (Christmas trees can freeze??) Justin strung some lights around it and it finally thawed. The finished product, along with the steps to it, are pictured above.

I went Christmas shopping today. Got a lot of fun stuff for me. As for the rest of you, well, I'm out of money. Don't worry Ryan/Andrew/Alex, you'll get presents.