Some might call her a Christmas fanatic ... or maybe she's just addicted to that fresh pine scent. But whatever you want to call her, Melody Howell's 52 Christmas trees guarantee no one will be calling her a grinch.
Every year, Howell fills her home to the brim with fresh-cut Christmas trees. This year, the number is 52, and all are decorated to the hilt, reports South Carolina's Rock Hill Herald.
Howell has a tree in every room of her home, including one in the laundry room and another strategically placed in a bathtub.
For such an elaborate presentation, time is of the essence, so Howell begins her tree-trimming duties by October 1 in order to have it all together by the middle of December.
Who Said You Can't Find Anything Good at a Thrift Store?
GRAND FORKS, N.D. (AP) -- Shirley Meagher has worked part time at a thrift store since September and has occasionally found strange objects mixed in with donations.
On Monday, she found a can of soup.
On Tuesday, she found nearly $7,000.
"I was sorting through some donations and came across a belt that looked unusual," she said. "It looked awfully thick."
Meagher remembered hearing that some belts had zippers so their owners could hide money, so she checked the donated belt a little closer. She found a zipper, opened it and pulled out $100 bills.
She contacted her boss, who decided to notify police.
Meanwhile, Meagher said she started sorting through other items that arrived with the belt and found more money in a coat.
Police said they would keep the money until it can be returned to the family of the coat's owner, who died last month. His relatives live out of the state.
Meagher said she never thought of keeping the money.
"I just think the good Lord will put the money where it should go," she said.
Talk About Life in the Super-Fast Lane
VALPARAISO, Ind. (AP) -- Rushing home so his parents wouldn't be mad, a teenager managed to get them even madder: He was clocked going 142 mph along a four-lane highway.
Brandon D. Raap, 16, faces speeding and misdemeanor reckless driving charges and could have his license suspended, police said.
Sheriff's deputies stopped Raap's Subaru Impreza along a rural stretch of U.S. 30 at 12:40 a.m. Saturday going almost 90 mph faster than the posted 55 mph limit, police said.
It might be one of the fastest speed ever recorded on the northwestern Indiana county's roads, said Porter County sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Tim Emmons.
"Most people's cars won't go that fast," he said.
Raap told police he was late getting home and didn't want his parents to be angry, Deputy John Brubaker said in his report. Raap told Brubaker he didn't have a curfew but is usually home by midnight.
Brubaker didn't arrest Raap, but told him to drive straight home and call him within an hour. Raap's mother, Cindy Raap, called instead and Brubaker told her what happened.
The Associated Press left a message with Raap's parents at their home in Valparaiso seeking comment.
"Kids sort of have tunnel vision," Emmons said. "They're so concerned with not getting yelled at or grounded, they place other people's lives in jeopardy."
Mrs. Claus Can't Be Happy With This Skinflint Santa
MERRILLVILLE, Ind. (AP) -- Instead of impressing "Honey Bunny" on Christmas morning with a 42-inch plasma television, "Big Papa" is facing a charge of theft.
Forty-two-year-old Richard Perez of Lake Station is charged with stealing the TV and bedding from a hotel where he worked as a security officer.
Merrillville police say security video showed Perez walking into a room at the Radisson Hotel with an empty luggage cart, then leaving minutes later with a full cart covered with cloth.
Police said they searched Perez's Lake Station home Friday and found the bedding on Perez's bed and the TV underneath the tree, wrapped in green, Santa-themed paper.
The attached card was addressed to "Mom, Honey Bunny from Big Papa, Daddy."
Compiled by FOXNews.com's Hannah Sentenac.
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