You know what I like about the new year? Putting away all the Christmas stuff. I love getting rid of all the clutter. This is sort of funny since only a month earlier I thought it all very cozy and charming. As if thirty days go by and I suddenly need a very drastic change. I do like change.

We aren’t throwing our tree away until Friday, trash day. But that didn’t stop me from stripping it of all it’s ornaments and lights. So we have a naked tree in our living room. I like it. I can sort of pretend I have a very nice plant in my house or maybe even a bit of the forrest. The tree is still pretty green and healthy, thanks to Toby’s faithful watering and vitamin supplementing.

I had to take the ornaments off though. I got tired of trying to keep Baby Bug away from it. Every time I walked by the tree while carrying her, she would lean way out and grunt “ooooooh oooooohhhh” until we let her finger and grab an ornament of her choice. Thankfully most of my ornaments aren’t breakable, but still. It gets tiring with the constant show and tell routine every time you want to walk through the living room. She seemed to think it was a vertical toy box with all the fun toys hung up for the choosing. Now she can grunt and lean towards the bare needles… not quite as much fun.

The other thing I like about the new year is our weather in January. It’s been absolutely beautiful. Warm days, cool nights… lots of clear air and pretty sunsets. This is why everyone should move to Southern California… except don’t bring your car. Everybody should walk.