"Baby it's Cold Outside!"

Here are some more pictures from Christmas Day. I just had to take some family pictures with the kitties, even though they really hated it (especially Bender). We had a rough time keeping those scoundrels out of the tree this year, and Needler tried to carry the bells around the house on a few occasions. After a long day, I couldn't wait to get home and cuddle up in my jammies from Grandma Nancy, and I also wanted to show off my new Left4Dead 2 t-shirt from Mark. He also gave me Dragon Age: Origins, which I have been playing non-stop the past couple of days. It is so addicting! It is fun to sit like a couch potato for a little while, snuggle with that dirty rat Needler and that loaf Bender, and worry about leveling up my mage and collecting vials of darkspawn blood! Escapism at its worst hehe....

"It's a Marshmallow World in the Winter..."

Christmas was great this year. First we went to my parents' house, and then to Mark's. The doggies had fun ripping up wrapping paper and eating cookies, and Mom had fun taking pictures of everyone. Dad got a new something (not quite sure what it is for)! Then at Mark's, we opened presents and his mom fed us turkey and spinach dip (my fave).

2 vs. 100

Mark and I have a lot of fun playing 1 vs. 100 on the 360. On this particular night Mark ended up being in the mob, which is very rare! His avatar is the one on the left. I like the pic of the cats and I, especially because at first we didn't even notice Bender was in the picture because of his camoflauge!

Gobble Gobble

Mark and I had a really nice Thanksgiving with both sides of the family. Here are some pictures from my parents' house- It was entertaining to watch my dad delegate the turkey-prepping duties to Mark and Dominic! Afterwards, we went to Mark's parents' house. Bender was glad to snag some bits of leftover turkey, but Needler turned her nose up at it, as usual. We spent the following weekend putting up Christmas decorations and playing Left4Dead2, a game in which you hack off zombie heads with cricket bats. It's one of the coolest games ever!

--The Helicopter--

Mark and Needler had a lot of fun playing with the helicopter on Thanksgiving morning!

NeedlerTina

Here are some cute pics Mark snapped of NeedlerTina. She likes to drink from the faucet like Bender, but for some reason she props her leg up and lets the water run onto her leg before she'll drink it, which is definitely not a Bender move! These cats stay hydrated for sure.

"I knight you: 'Sir Needler'! Rise!"

I haven't posted in a very long time because of my work schedule, but here are some updates of the kitties. Needler is getting bigger and up to a lot of mischief. It's Bender's duty to rein her in! Lately, when we get up in the morning there are magnets all over and the cats have yanked my sweaters off the hangers, pulled the socks out of the drawers and carried them all over the house. Usually it's Needler but we're not suprised to see that Bender still likes create trouble. They like to congregate at the kitchen sink to watch the hummingbirds and listen to the dogs bark. I've been spending my day off playing Modern Warfare 2, which is a lot of fun and came with real night vision goggles that I'm sure my dad will try to steal if he sees them!

HALO 3: ODST

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31DvXIlnvQ0&feature=video_response

Here is the link to the video everyone must see... it literally almost brings tears to my eyes! Make sure you crank up the volume high...

Our Humble Abode + Brute Chieftains

I put in some pictures of our house to show off our mad skillz in home decor. The first picture is of some of our Halo action figures and figurines, consisting of Jackals, Brutes, Hunters, Elites, Drones, and Master Chiefs. The Hunter is my favorite (the big one in the back). In the third picture we have displayed our Halo statues. They are (left to right) Master Chief fighting off the Flood, a Brute Chieftain, and the Arbiter with invisibility activated. We have other figurines too, but these are most of the Halo ones. A few weeks ago we did our decorating for Halloween, and the medieval skull is the coolest thing we acquired this year. Now that he's been lit a few times, he has a big chunk with red wax dripping out to look like blood. Target saves the day again! Now I have to be off to get ready, I have to go to a work dinner tonight even though I want to stay home and cuddle the babies. Happy Halloweeeeeeeeeen!

Eat, Drink, Poop

As you can see, Needler wants to do everything Bender wants to do, whether it's eat, drink, or think about how the Dodgers will do in 2010. It has been very windy around here lately, which has the cats freaking out. Last night our electricity was even flickering off an on because the wind against these mountains is so strong! It was spooky with the "OooOOoooOO," around the side of the house. I guess the wind is gusting only 30 mph today but we have a wind/fire advisory right now. It is perfect pre-Halloween weather! Mark and I watched a movie called Let the Right One In a couple of nights ago, which is a Swedish vampire movie. It wasn't scary but put us in an eerie mood for Halloween. I also finished Pride and Prejudice and Zombies today, which was a fun read. Hey Andrea, I saw a preview for a video game (Assassin's Creed 2) that looks like it came right out of The Rossetti Letter! But the best thing I can promote today is the coolest commercial I have ever seen, and I think everyone should take a look at it! If you go to YouTube you can find it under XBOX 360 - Halo 3: ODST - "The Life" Commercial (HQ), and it will show you why I like video games so much! Watching it on a big HDTV will blow you away! The music is great, too.

Where's Bender?

Does anyone see anything interesting here?

Needler does!

The Kids

Here are some recent pictures of the BFFs. Bender and Needler play a lot around their scratching thingy, and sometimes just chill. Needler is definitely the antagonist in most situations. Last night she had Bender in a chokehold and rode on his back for a little while. Also shown is Bender getting his favorite massage with the pink glowing thing from Grandma Nancy. I swear, he gets more use out of it than anyone! I tried to use it on Needler and she jumped out of her skin (it vibrates, too). As you can see in the picture of Needler and I, sometimes we have to pin up our curtains because Needler likes to run and hide in them, and has about ripped one of the rods out of the wall. I am off to work now, but GO DODGERS!!! (They are in the playoffs with the Cardinals tonight, sorry guys but I bleed Dodger blue).

MURDER!

It looks like someone was murdered in our bathroom while we were at work! Or maybe it's the scene after Mark was attacked by Bender, that blood-thirsty animal! Here is a picture requested by Andrea of Mark and I, even though I think she's already seen it. This is us in Santa Barbara.

Hanging Around the House

Yesterday I was doing work outside so I snapped a few shots of my surroundings. Our back yard complete with overgrown bushes, and the mountains I can see from our front yard. Another fire started yesterday in the mountains to the east, last I'd heard it had burned about 200 acres. Most of the fires always seem to be arsen, but there was one this week that they think was started by a pile of manure that spontaneously combusted! Anyways, it was about 100 degrees outside yesterday but luckily it didn't feel that hot for some reason. I had the day off, so I began reading a new book called Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which is a very fun read so far! Mark and I also started playing Halo 3: ODST which we've been waiting to play for a long time. Well, now I have to head off to work : ( Goodbye!

*Visiting JaimieGerbil*

So recently I visited Jaimie in Fullerton, and we had a lot of fun. We went over to Downtown Disney, which is really close, and Jaimie was attacked by a gorilla in the Rainforest Cafe (that happens to her a lot since her cat, Jag, looks like a gorilla). I also forced Jaimie to watch Alien vs. Predator and she got mad at me because I left to drive home during the movie and she was afraid the aliens were going to get her. I don't know why, because there are katanas (I can't spell Japanese, I mean those swords like in Kill Bill) all over the apartment so she could fight off an alien easily.

Best Friends Forever

Bender and Needler have a tumultuous relationship already! Poor Blaind can't even get a drink from the sink without Needler chasing his tail, and his favorite hiding spot in the closet is always being raided! Needler is having the time of her life and doesn't mind a few swipes for jumping on Bender's head. That Bender just sits listlessly in the window, wondering where he went wrong.

Needless to say, Bender is a man who likes to have fun and usually loves to join in!