Growing up our Christmas tree was always colored lights and a hodge podge of ornaments usually with our names (sister and I) on them. We'd get ornaments every year. Since there was so much going on with the tree we pretty much used whatever wrapping papers we liked. There were always tons to pick from and honestly it all looked good. Now I decorate a small tree with my ornaments the same as when I was growing up and it still makes me smile. Very homey and reminds me of my childhood. BUT, the big tree we have (did our first one last year) since there were only a few ornament colors I picked wrapping paper to match because honestly it would've bugged me. This year we changed the blue ornaments to red so it's red, white, silver, cream and I bought different paper to coordinate. Years from now when we finally have kids I'm sure all this matchy, matchy perfection stuff might go out the window!

Here is the paint document. Most of it is from the posts of two guys on the paint forum, Michael aka Brushworks and Paintguy. And there are some comments from Funcolors as well. It's a bit disjointed, sometimes repetitive, sometimes contradictory. :) Oceangirl - I haven't painted yet, but I'm planning to drop down the ceiling paint a quarter inch when I do. PAINTING TIPS CUT AND PASTED FROM THE PROS ON THE PAINTING FORUM: I paint for a living, so I'll offer you my advice. You'll need a coat of primer and two coats of finish. Any shortcuts will diminish the appearance of the walls. Of course spackling, light sanding, etc. always comes with the job. A thin bead of acrylic painter's caulk to hide gaps along painted baseboards and other trim is done after primer is dry. Snip the tip to about a 1/16" gap. Spread it quickly and evenly then wipe away excess with wet cloth. PRIMING Always prime! But not before you wash the walls. I know, it sounds like a tough chore, but washing the walls is the first step in prepping. I do not use TSP! I use Jasco TSP no rinse substitute. It leaves no residue. Follow the directions. Jasco is available at HD. Jasco will dull any glossy surfaces so be careful with it. Have the store tint the primer to 60% of your finish color. EQUIPMENT My favorite paint tools are good (no cheapies) roller covers and a 2 1/2" tapered paint brush. So far my favorite brush is made by Miller paint but I'm going to try a Purdy next. I find my 2 1/2" SW brush to be too thin to hold enough paint.....but it's good in tight areas! Roller covers: I prefer the 3/8" or 1/4" Wooster covers or the 3/8" SW woven covers. Buy "Lambswool" roller covers. They are about $9 a pop. They are EASY to clean with a hose (2 minutes tops) & hold a lot of paint. Two of them could finish an entire house! Brushes: Since you're using latex, a nylon/polyester brush is what you'll need. If you can find a Corona, A Tacoma or Cortez, that's my preferred brush. If not, a Wooster will do fine. My suggestion would be to cut in with the 2" angled brush as suggested (pony up the cost for a GOOD brush like a Purdy, I like the superflow bylon polyester). Purdy is the best brush I've ever purchased, I always buy that brand. I now buy only roller covers that say "lint FREE" on the package. Sherwin Williams sells them. Purdy makes good roller covers too. Spend the bucks for these roller covers, it's worth it. Even then I run some sticky packing tape over it to remove excess lint and then lightly moisten the roller so it won't be bone dry when it first touches the paint. A 7" roller frame is fine for confined spaces like small offices, bathrooms, closets, etc. I'm using the smaller rollers on everything now too. I can't believe the difference it makes. So much easier to handle. If you haven't already get yourself one of the new smaller rollers. I think they are a woman's best friend for painting!! A roller cover with a 1/4" nap will only hold enough paint to apply to a 1' X 1' square area. A 3/8 nap will apply paint to a 2' X 2' square area. A 1/2" nap (too thick for DIY on semi smooth walls) will paint a 3' X 3' square area. I personally like a 1/4" nap on a super smooth wall. But, since I paint every day, I realize that when I'm using it, I must go back to the bucket twice as often in order to apply a generous, thick coat of paint. The 1/4" nap is ideal for smooth panel doors, paneling, formica, ceramic tile, etc. If you wish to use a great performing roller cover, try the 50/50 wool/polyester roller covers in 3/8" or 1/2". PAINT PAIL NOT A PAINT TRAY Tools are an important part of the job. That paint pail is just one of them. Forget using a paint tray, use a 3 or 5 gallon pail and a paint screen for rolling. A can of paint forces the user to dip and scrape the brush. You shouldn't be scraping that brush! Dip the brush in the pail, tap both sides gently on the side of the paint pail to load the brush and put it to the surface. You only need to scrape away excess paint when doing windows or other very small surfaces. The only thing I would like to add is that the container thingy for doing trim and cutting in, the one that comes with disposable liners and that has a magnet inside to hold your brush when you have to answer the phone or pick a dog hair out of your wet paint, is the BEST. I thought it was a silly, unnecessary, gimmicky doodad until I actually used one. Now I am sold. It has a strap that you can stick your whole hand through so you don't actually have to hold the container for hours on end without realizing that your poor hand has completely cramped up. You can get them at Home Depot, Lowe's and probably any store that sells paint. TECHNIQUE The most common newbie mistake is spreading the paint too thin, which leads to blotches where patches overlap. If you were hearing "frying bacon" sounds when you were rolling, it was spread too thin. If you are getting lines off the edge of your roller (we call them ropes in the biz because that is what they look like on the wall after it is dry), that could be caused by many things. You may be using a cheap roller cover or an old one that has been washed too many times and is really ready for the trash. You may not have the roller cover saturated enough or you may simply be putting uneven pressure on the sleeve when you roll. Once you get going, you should barely have to press at all....the sleeve should be saturated enough so that it will do most of the work for you. The "ropes" from the roller edges have several causes: 1. You are pushing too hard and squeezing paint out the edge 2. Cheap roller has a "fringe" at the end (look at expensive rollers and they have a bevel). I trim the ends of the cheap ones before I start to paint. 3. Wrong kind of roller ... too thick a nap for the surface you are painting. 4. Loading with too much paint. It takes practice to learn what "enough" feels like I apply the paint in a "W" pattern rather than an "X". You won't have to lift the roller off the wall if you make a W. The reason you're doing this strange letter pattern is to get the paint on the wall while spreading it out just a little bit at the same time. Prevents drips. But you don't want to spread it too wide or you'll have too much area to cover and not enough time to do it. After you get the paint onto the wall using the W method, go over it to spread this accumulation of wet paint to the upper and lower areas of the wall, going in an up and down stroke. Only do narrow sections at a time, think of your wall as a series of columns, stay within approx 2 ft column before proceeding with the next section (where you start the process over again, applying more paint). Sometimes there isn't enough paint to cover the section and you have to apply a little more, don't bother with the W pattern there, apply it to the upper or lower area where needed. When it's evenly applied do once last roll from top to bottom. Problem with bugs landing on the walls: Wear a respirator and keep the windows closed until you're done. Make sure no dust or dog hair is on the floor, vacuum the room before painting. Shut the door to the room just painted and let it dry for an hour or so before opening the windows to air the room out of the fumes. Don't paint with A/C or heater on, you want no air movement in the room. You'll get hot and sweaty but the still air will prevent anything that might be flying in the air from landing on the wet paint. I can't tell you how many times I've finished a wall only to find a gnat stuck to the fresh paint. All you need is an hour for the paint to become dry enough so that a gnat or whatever that happens to land on the wall will be easily removed once the paint is thoroughly dried. This does not mean it's dry enough for you to touch it. Don't try to pick off whatever is on the wall until after the paint is dried. Different story if it's brush hairs, but that shouldn't happen if you used a PURDY brand of brush. One of the best kept secrets to perfect rolling is "no pressure" when rolling. Let the cover and the paint do the work. Have you tried to use an extended handle? Even an 18" extension helps you cover with less shoulder and arm fatigue. But the weight at the end of the extension will still wear you out if you're a small woman. Thats where the 7 inch roller will save you. The best way to monitor your pressure is to watch ahead of the roller as you spread the paint. If you see the paint flowing ahead, you're applying too much pressure. With some practice, you will become naturally aware of the right pressure after that. CUTTING IN For cutting in you'll need a 2" angle or straight brush. Cut in each section, roll, then cut in the next section. I cut in to the corner top to bottom, then 3' sections along the ceiling and trim, then roll to within 1/2" of the ceiling line, trim and corner. I continue until I'm done with that wall section. I know, some will do that their own way, but I'm a perfectionist and I charge above average prices, so that's my way. My suggestion would be to cut in with the 2" angled brush (pony up the cost for a GOOD brush like a Purdy, I like the superflow bylon polyester). From paintguy: I cut the whole room in and then I roll it. You either have to make sure that the cut lines are completely dry or completely wet before you start rolling. If you try to roll over a partially dry cut line, that's when you have problems. There are those that cut/roll one wall, then cut/roll the next, but I have found that paints dry so fast these days that there is no way you can cut a whole wall and then roll it while the cuts are still wet....nobody is really that fast. As for rolling, yes we roll as tight as we can to anything that has been cut in. You want that stipple of the roller to cover as much of your brush marks as possible. Of course up near crown moulding and ceiling lines, it is not nearly as important because it's up high where nobody can see. I will sometimes cut a whole room in twice and then roll it twice or I may cut it in once and then roll it once and then repeat that process...really depends on my mood or what other rooms I may be working on. Some other painters may say that it does matter but I can't tell a difference between the end result of one method over another. The real key is just not to roll over the partially dry cut lines because that is when you get that hat banding effect. BRUSH MARKS FROM PAINTING? Brush marks can be in your past if you know what's wrong with your technique. Are you brushing dry to wet edge? You're supposed to brush dry to wet edge. Lay the brush down 6-8 inches from the wet edge and brush back to it, brushing over the wet edge about an inch as you lift the brush up and away. Brushing from the wet edge will create lap marks, or paint build-up every place that you lay the brush on the wet surface. Are you pressing hard or are you using just the tips of the brush? Use about 3/4" of the bristles to lay the paint on. When you see 3/4" flexing, that's about all the pressure you need to get coverage. A properly loaded brush is like a fountain pen. When it touches the surface, it begins to unload, it doesn't need any firm pressure. Do you ever use the narrow edge of the brush when cutting in? Like a pencil? That's a no-no. If you do, you have to brush that out using the width of the brush. Are you laying on the paint and moving on or do you find yourself going back over it more than twice? What type of brush are you using? Don't despair.........as mentioned earlier you'll get better with each room. I too have tackled my whole house and find with each room my technique improves. I think the best tip I ever got, since I have a bulging disk, is to move my feet when painting the ceiling instead of my shoulders and arms. Almost like a dance! :) So far, my back has yet to flare up! TRIM PAINT Paintguy: I also like C2's semi gloss for trim, but not as much as I like Grahams Ceramic Satin. Muralo. The Satin Flow enamel as the topcoat will give you a porcelain like finish. It's the best value in the bucket today. For wall surfaces use the Muralo Ultra Ceramic Stainproof Matte. It is awesome. Use a 3/8" nap roller cover. It will finish level for you. For trim, use the Muralo Satin flow or semi-gloss enamels. How to paint: http://www.painterforum.com/wall.html

So many good answers already. I'll just second one of the earliest replies that pointed out the diversity in yards is much much greater than what we have in our native habitat. I spend a fair amount of time in some mountain locations here. 4 species of trees for miles around: two oaks, a fir and a cedar. My little HOA, which I walk extensively with my dog, has that beat with its coral, carrotwood, ficus benjamina, rubber tree, brush cherry, juniper, podocarpus (several species), silk floss, queen palm, pepper tree (two species), canary island palm, fan palms, hong kong orchid, trumpet tree (brugmansia?), jacaranda, eucalyptus (2 or 3 species), bottle brush, bradford pear, sycamore, liquid amber, 3 or 4 different pines, bronze loquat, catalina cherry and a couple I haven't ID'd. And that's just the front yards in a fairly boring area. I love driving around older neighborhoods where there's been time for the owners to replace things and you see twice or three times the tree species and a lot more fruit trees. Its also worth pointing out that some of the common landscape plants have some decent grafting potential: hawthorn, pear, bronze loquat.

My mother had a family Bible that kept track of relatives, but it mostly had information about my father's family, since his family had passed down lots of information about aunts, uncles, and some cousins, as well as ancestors. My mother's family did not do that, and my mother did not even know her maternal grandmother's maiden name - I had to ask my grandmother, and that is about all the info I got from her about that. Relatives on both sides of my mother's family had huge family reunions because both of my mother's parents came from huge families, although my mother was an only child. It was nice to meet more distant cousins during those, since I did not have any first cousins from my mother. My mother's father's family claimed to be Scots-Irish (from Northern Ireland, I presume), and they also claimed to have come to Texas from Tennessee, and so I guess they were hillbillies, since I've read that Hillbillies are Scots-Irish from Tennessee.