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Terrible, terrible, terrible confession

*sigh*
I have committed a horrible act of betrayal.

To appease my hubby's desire that I become interested in more things he's interested in (a completely rational and fair desire--), I agreed to try playing World of Warcraft with him. This agreement was made with the qualifying term, "sometime." A noncommittal committment, if there ever was one. Now, that is not to say that I never meant to play... but considering the time when I said it (I was quite busy with school and such), and that it goes against my rational nature to waste my time playing a computer game when there are things that need to be done, I just wasn't sure when "sometime" was--probably within the next 8 months. I bug James about getting things done before he plays all the time.

So, last week James (perhaps unwittingly?) tricked me into playing. I will always claim I was tricked. About a month ago James installed Warcraft on my computer, so it was ready any time I felt the slightest need to, I dunno, become a big cow and carry a big stick and hit imaginary spiders with it. I guess that need happens sometimes. To nerds. In their parent's basements. At any rate, last week James mentioned that he had created a few characters that were ready any time I wanted to play. Now, creating a character has by nature a creative (and hence, fun) aspect to it, so if I was going to play the damned game I at least was going to have the pleasure of making my own dude to run around with said big stick. So I said, "No, I want to create a character myself!" I didn't mean right then, but since it was Christmas break and I didn't have any school or committments, I had no excuse. At that, James instructed me to open up Warcraft, and the rest is history.

So now, with six more lessons in my unit to write, the laundry to finish, the house to clean, and packages to mail, I am wasting my time "leveling" my human "mage." At least I chose a character that James is embarrassed to be seen with, and I can still tease him about that.

Skunk in action

Some of you might be sick of hearing about Toby. Tough luck. Don't read this. I'm not sick of him, and on this blog, it's really only my opinion that matters. :)

This post is all about how much cuter and more adorable my pet is than yours.

Every day when I get home, Toby runs to greet me at the door. Then, I usually feed him a little treat while I go to the office to check my email. In the evenings, I might plunk down in bed to read or grade papers or what have you, and he usually joins me by my side.
These first pictures were taken after he fell asleep next to me, and was tired enough that he didn't wake up when I left to grab the camera.










Here he is, peacefully sleeping.

...and here he is, the instant he was awakened. We are constantly reminded that Toby is still a wild animal, and still has wild animal instincts. He is defensive if something wakes him up... hence the compact body and huge tail!










Once he realizes it's me, he begins to play. He flashes his bum at me. (The camera has a slight stall before it takes the picture, so you didn't get the full view. But his body is slightly U-shaped in this pic.)










In addition to bum-flashing, he stomps. He stomps with all his might! Stomp stomp, with both front feet at the same time, tail in full sail. He'll charge at you, too, pre-stomp. Every night, it's run run run! stomp stomp stomp!










These pictures were taken later that evening. James and I were relaxing in bed, and he joined us. Plop! Right next to me.










...He commences the hourly bath by grabbing his hind leg and running his fur through his teeth. It looks like he's gnawing on a drumstick.










And of course, he must play. He'll bat at our fingers, lunge at us, open his mouth wide to flash his big teeth.










Oh, and he loves climbing all over us, too.









While I write this, he is curled up on my lap, hiccupping softly.

Spot on!

You Are a Traditional Christmas Tree

For a good Christmas, you don't have to re-invent the wheel. You already have traditions, foods, and special things you bring out every year.

What Christmas Tree Are You?

Your Brain's Pattern

You have a dreamy mind, full of fancy and fantasy. You have the ability to stay forever entertained with your thoughts. People may say you're hard to read, but that's because you're so internally focused. But when you do share what you're thinking, people are impressed with your imagination.

What Pattern Is Your Brain?

This is not very wise

I spoke to my mom last night, who informed me that my dad played a wise man in a church play, that she had a picture of it, but that he wouldn't let her post it on their blog because he really doesn't want anybody else seeing it.

Enjoy!

(He's the one in the middle. Hi Dad!)

This weekend

On Friday I got to visit Emily and her new baby, Dakota Jack. He's adorable, and so funny!



















Then we went to a Christmas party at Kadra's.




















Whenever we go to a party, James inevidably collects a fan group. I call them his "disciples."










There was also a White Elephant Gift Exchange. This is the best White Elephant gift I've ever seen, let alone received. Credit goes to our friend Skye.

Quick update

James and I had a relaxing and wonderful Thanksgiving at the Wright's. Mom made a 27 POUND TURKEY! I've never seen a bigger bird.
At first, I wrote in "27 pound turkey" on the picture, but I put it next to James' head, and it looked like I was calling him a turkey... and we all know that I would never, ever tease James.
















Toby has been very cuddly. He's turned into a little lap skunk... which is cute, but he demands to be held when I'm writing papers. So, I stuffed him into my bathrobe earlier in the week. He was in heaven.















*sniff sniff* My first chalk purchase as a teacher! Upon opening the box, I promptly (and accidentally) broke the first piece in half. Bah!