A Good Christmas

So, we knew it would happen one day… this was the first Christmas spent here in Austin (sort of).

Jeremy was hired full-time for a similar position with the company that hired him for contract work in July. He still works out of the house two or three days a week, and commutes to San Antonio when necessary. The job is great for him in many ways, from allowing him to use his strengths in a company with plenty of room for him to grow and accomplish much to great benefits that will allow us to accomplish our goals for the next year. Plus, the income will allow us to enjoy security, paying off cars and houses, and building up our nest-egg, while still living comfortably.

I did pretty well this year with my gift list. Jeremy received the complete Babylon 5 series on DVD and the complete Sandman--Neil Gaiman's classic graphic novel. It sounds so far that everyone else on our list was quite happy, including our cousins' kids. The middle kid, who currently has an obsession with puppies, received a giant soft stuffed one, just about twice his size. He was very insistent that no one else could touch it, including time to haul it downstairs to bed, although the steps are somewhat hazardous and again, the puppy was twice his size. We found a pup tent for the oldest, who loves to build forts out of couch cushions. It was hard to pull him out at bedtime, but who knows how long the cushions will remain untouched.

In the past year, I had crocheted baby blankets for several of our friends and family members. I thought it was time to step up and try knitting, which I had "tried" once when I was younger, but found it too complicated. Now that I have a little more determination, I have not only taken to it well, but have developed a new obsession. Naturally, I received a lot of knitting stuff from Jeremy and my mom, who really is responsible for my genetic pre-disposition toward crafting. I also received a cute jewelry box that plays our song, "Moon River" by Henry Mancini. I shall use it to place my rings in at the kitchen while kneading bread and other squishing stuff that gets caught in the small space between the set.

But, my fun present was Guitar Hero III for the Xbox 360. It was a little frustrating at first, but I found it is actually easier to practice on either the next slowest or full speeds. It seems like almost too much at first, but then you get the hang of it and three or four hours go by.

I had better get back to the grind. At least by now, some of the businesses I need to work with in the next time zone will be open.

This is a test to see if pasting into the Blogger post window from an external document causes the same problems my editor has…

Here is some text from a Word document.

From an MSN page: In response to Entertainment Weekly naming the smartest celebrities in Hollywood, The New York Daily News has proclaimed Lindsay Lohan the dumbest.

From an email I received this week:
This year's runaway First Place Stella Award winner was Mrs. Merv Grazinsk of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, who purchased a new 32-foot Winnebago motor home. On her first trip home, from an OU football game, having driven on to the freeway, she set the cruise control at 70 mph and calmly left the driver’s seat to go to the back of the Winnebago to make herself a
sandwich. Not surprisingly, the motor home left the freeway, crashed and overturned. Also not surprisingly, Mrs. Grazinski sued Winnebago for not putting in the owner’s manual that she couldn't actually leave the driver’s seat while the cruise control was set. The Oklahoma jury awarded her, are you sitting down, $1,750,000 PLUS a new motor home.
Winnebago actually changed their manuals as a result of this suit, just incase Mrs. Grazinski has any relatives who might also buy a motor home.

Hmm…can't quite figure out what the problem is here. Sounds like it is going to be a long day. I had better get to it.

Puppyhood

So, we have both been very busy over the past few months. I will try to catch up quickly before my laptop battery dies.

Our GenCon vacation to Indianapolis was great. We played some fun board games. Jeremy did okay in the two tournaments he played. We both get to play some PnP. All in all, a great vacation.

Now that we are equipped with a digital camera, I am posting some updated photos of our 'little guy,' who is growing more everyday. You can find them at our new photo album.

We have otherwise been busy with work and everyday life. We have visitors this weekend, and a Newsboys concert coming up in the next few weeks. Before we know it, the holidays and 2008 will be here.

More later.

Help Me, Mommie -- I tasted nail polish and the cat beat me up!

So, the two furry kids have started to play together. At least Indy thinks they are playing. The cat, however, is not amused and has chased him up and down the house repeatedly for the past couple of days. At first it was just an angry response to his curiosity about this strange other animal who poops in a box in the laundry room. Jeremy and I spent countless hours separating them, encouraging good play, etc. Now, we have the worst time trying to contain our laughter as the now smaller gray fuzz pursuits the golden menace around the living room, under the dining room table, and back around again, then as he runs behind one of us, as though we are to protect him from his puppy sensibilities.

In other news, we are ready for four days of geek heaven in Indianapolis at the 40th anniversary of GENCON. Jeremy has been practising, building and rebuilding his warband to take on the challenge of the 200-point D&D Miniatures tournament. I am researching the catalogue to see what I can hopefully get into, as we missed registration by a day or two. Either way, there is always plenty to do at these functions, even for those not playing Magic.

A quick look at the clock reminds me that it is time for a walk with Mr. Poo. Bye for now.

Puppy Video

I finished this short movie last night while waiting for Jeremy to get home from the game store and making sure that Indy was ready to sack out for the rest of the night. (Lately it has been about 1:30-2:30 a.m.)

They Call Me Mr. Poo!

We have expanded the family to include the world's smartest (and cutest) puppy. There were several ways we had discussed celebrating Jeremy's recent contract, and we decided that if other things would eventually fall in line, the puppy should be the first to come.

He is an almost-white Lab pup, henceforth crowned "Foster's Induriel," and for those of you who think that's a name for some kind of pansy, well, we'll let you tell him when he's older.

The first day was great. The car ride home was prolonged only by some irregular traffic brought on by the weekend chore of cutting the grasses on the sides of the roads, which blocked lanes and slowed us down on a stretch for about forty minutes. At the first convenient moment, we found a space on the side of the road, and all was calm again.

The first night involved lots of whinning, crying and anxiety. Indy found his accommodations in the guest bathroom to be less than suitable, and decided to redecorate in poo-colored browns and greens -- twice.

The second night and every night since then has been much better. We settled on crating him in the master bedroom, so that we can tell when he is ready to go out at night. The whining, he is slowly learning, solves nothing and is rather exhausting. The chewing is trying at times, and both of us have times when we seem to lose our voices from reprimands and corrections. That will get better, once he learns what is ours and what is his.

Since we both have the luxury of the home office for now, we take turns with pee-breaks and supervision.

We can't wait to bring him home to the grandparents for the holiday break.

This is a blog

I am officially a blogger now, courtesy of my wife. For those of you who think ShadowRogue sounds like an alias for a pretty young woman who looks like she's about 18 (which she is), that means "hands off!" :)