Just WHAT was I thinking?!?!

Consider this post my very loud "silent scream".

We (well, I...with 2 kid tagalongs) finally got a Christmas tree. I admit to being a bit picky about such things. It was somewhat frustrating trying to find the perfect Christmas tree when I had to choose from what's left at this late date.

I walked past the white pines with their fat, round shape and long needles from which ornaments slide right off.

The blue spruce trees looked nice. Good cone shape. Then I touched one. Ouch! I wasn't going to be shoving lights into that prickly thing.

So, once again, I was standing in front of the pricey frasier firs. I shook them all to see which one was still holding firmly onto its needles. I smelled them for freshness. I spun them around so I could survey their shape from all angles. Finally, I chose one.

And then things went terribly wrong. I went inside Home Depot. Yes, I tree shopped at Home Depot. I went inside to pay. But this meant I had to walk past the table where the remaining Christmas merchandise was stacked. I thought to myself that it wouldn't be a bad idea to get some new lights. There's nothing worse than pulling out the old lights to find that they don't work.

The kids wanted colored lights. So I bought this pack of 300. And then these clear, faceted bulbs caught my eye. I imagined how they'd look on the tree. Simple white lights inside a faceted bulb. In my mind they were simple, elegant, and vintage-looking. I bought 2 boxes for a total of 100 faceted lights.

The tree is only halfway decorated right now. It's in the stand. The lights are on it. I hate it. I really hate it.

Those $(*#&%*(# faceted bulbs are NOT simple NOR are they elegant. They are hideous led lights that glow an eerie purplish-blue. Like those headlights that you can't help but stare at even though they're making you blind. They look like some alien being laid glowing eggs all over my tree.

I added my homespun rag garland and the wooden bead/button garland hoping they would somehow tone it down. You can't even see the garland through the alien pods.

My children love it. They think it's super cool. My husband loves it. He even went outside to see how it looks from the street. Hey hon, how's it look from the international space station? I'm sure they can see it from there.

I don't even feel like finishing it. All my lovely tin tinsel will just reflect the eerie glow. My beautiful folk art tree skirt with it's handmade nativity scene... Oh, I want to cry. It's just so wrong.

Ok, I finally got a picture that sort of captures the weird periwinkle glow. Don't look at the actual tree. For some reason they are coming across as actually being white (although still WAAAAAY too glowy) in the picture. Click on the picture to make it big. Then look at the reflection in the window behind the tree. See that weirdly colored glow? THAT is what color it really is. And yes, it really does glow as brightly as it appears. It's just awful. And my whole family loves it.

(Adding a morning picture of the tree. Maybe it'll be better once the ornaments are on)