more pictures and story telling

i got a chance to see sylvia before she left for home. i went out with a&s and s&l and had pho near where they live. because of the snow and the crazy traffic it took my well over an hour to get there from work. j didn't come with me because he had to work late. later on, alan showed us how to rock out using a fake version of guitar hero and his computer keyboard.



(alan: you must have known your picture would make it onto my blog!)

i finally got my christmas cards done and sent out. i know i missed some of you this year - some i don't have your new address, others, it was too late to catch you at home. sorry about that.



i played hockey last friday night with a bunch of guys from work. this is the fourth game but only the second that i've played. the first time i played i got knocked around. this time was much better. after the game all i wanted was a quarter pounder with cheese. i stopped at the first mcd's on the way home and, after waiting in the drivethru line for a while, got to the window to learn that the only accept cash. i had no cash. of course. and, of course, this was the kind of drivethru with a concrete wall stopping you from leaving. i had to wait in the damn line for 10 minutes. i know that's not a long time in the grand scheme of things but i really wanted that sandwich. i finally did get my sandwich but i went to another mcdonalds.



the sign should say "drive thru open 24 hours but only if you pay with cash".

that was friday night. saturday night we went to the annual christmas party at richard's house. it was fun but i have no pictures because my camera battery was dead. i'm still not used to only having one battery.

sunday night was my family's christmas party. we ate lots of food, had a $5 gift exchange where both me and j came out with awesome loot. i got a huge mug with a plush reindeer guy and j got the babeh spiderman that he bought.



guitar hero was a big hit with almost everyone taking a turn.

we had to work christmas eve, but not a lot of work got done. everyone was so cheery and chatty. we left before 12 noon and did some family stuff, including some last minute shopping.

this was our first christmas in our new house so we opened our stockings and our presents for each other by ourselves. it was nice. i guess i complained enough about my point-and-shoot camera so j got me the newest model and i love it!



the cats also loved their feathered toy.



we went and did the christmas thing with j's family next. he got a ladder from his parents.



and we both got iPod shuffles - good for running. mine is purple and j's is green.



after that we went to see my parents. they seemed to like the little camera we got for them. they're off to cuba in a couple of weeks and only had an old camera that they didn't know really how to work. we found them the simplest camera out there.

boxing day they stopped by and demonstrated that they were both able to take pictures and show pictures. they hadn't tried putting the pictures on the computer yet though.

we did some more family stuff yesterday and even braved the stores. it was nice to finally be home, just the two of us again and then we remembered that it was exactly three years to the day that we've had our cats. our crazy little cats.