Some of my favorite things...

Christmas cards, or any GOOD mail

kids' movies

hot chocolate

kitties under the Christmas tree

our clean home

kitties playing and making us giggle, or, in Drew's case (since giggling isn't "manly"), chuckle

decorating... for any occasion

cooking

not worrying about bills

going to my parents' for Christmas!

I've never been bitten by a dog, and I've never had a bee sting, but when I'm feeling sad, I simply remember my favorite things and then I don't feel so bad! :)

Thanks, Estelle!

Just a quick "shout out" to Estelle Ritchie for putting together our spectacular blog headers! She is wonderfully talented in all spectra of art. I asked her if she could take some of my favorite pictures and combine them with one of my favorite fonts to make a few blog headers and was very willing to help.

So, thanks, Estelle! You rock!

Quirky cats

Our cats are so quirky... I never knew cats could be so weird! Nolan is a spastic little guy and loves his little stuffed mice and goes crazy for them any time of the day! And when we scratch above their tails both Leo and Nolan react in the most hilarious ways! Leo becomes very unstable on his feet and plops down for more lovin'; Nolan gets even more spastic and claws his way around the legs of the table. They're so goofy!

We just put our Christmas tree up... I'm not so sure it was a good idea. Nolan is crazy about it! He started out biting our little artificial tree, then he started swatting at it, then sitting underneath it and sticking his head in the branches... then, finally, he found a way to get his whole body in the tree. What a goof ball! Luckily, none of our "breakable ornaments" are on our tree, so we're not concerned. It's just something we have to, uh, look forward to every Christmas!

Nolan and Leo, our new additions!

These are our boys: Leonardo and Nolan. They are wonderful!

Leo is a bobtail Tabby. He is our little cuddle-cat. He normally likes to be in our laps being loved on!

This is Nolan. He is a domestic short-hair... they call his coloring "obsidian", which I think is super cool. Nolan is also one of the softest cats you will ever pet. He's normally a nuisance and likes to play with his little stuffed mice, but he has a very sweet side... especially when he likes to climb in bed with us at 4:00am right in between Drew and me...

Leo and Nolan are 7 months old and we think they're brothers... They were brought into the animal shelter together and would stick by each other even when there were tons of other cats around. Nolan loves to clean Leo and try and get him to fight when he's feeling playful! Leo definitely controls play-time, though.

This has become one of their favorite spots to play. They attack each other's paws through the holes. Leo likes to sleep here with our dirty clothes sometimes, too.

It has been a nice change having these little guys in our home. We were so excited when we got to bring them home with us... into their "forever home," as the shelter calls it. They're hilarious and sweet and are a wonderful addition to our little family!

Holy WHOA!

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I..

.

was absolutely AWESOME!

I realize I just used a word that I'm not completely fond of, but I couldn't think of a synonym for "awesome" that better suited thoughts I had about this movie!

At the end of the movie, I was craving more. They'd given me enough to satisfy, but I was hungry for more! The directing was superb; the effects, story-line, and acting were better than any of the other HP movies. You just have to see it if you haven't yet.

Unfortunately, there were some, um, "artistic" additions that were unnecessary. Ginny's bare back and a scene that should have been more innocent than it was: did we really need to see "naked" kissing teens (blurred, smoky effects; flesh-colored full body shot and a glimpse of mid-chest and up of said teens)? Really? It didn't add any more to the movie than if it hadn't been in it. But I guess they can do whatever they want...

Overall, great movie! Dark, but comic. Good ol' Fred and George. :)

GO SEE IT, okay? And let me know what you think.