Happy belated Yule (etc)

Merry Christmas, a few days late. Things are good here - we survived the holidays. We had Christmas Eve dinner at my folks' with them, Leslie and Bryan, Carolyn, and Rich and Ann Klingner. On the big day we opened presents at the Halls and Roberts, then had the traditional evening celebration with the Stimsons. We came in third in the Christmas game, getting that high up only because of the Hall family help.

I found out that Brian's roommates are Wiccan and actually celebrate Yule. Interesting, no?

Anyway, cousin Katie is due to arrive at any minute and no doubt the entire weekend will be filled with fun and relaxation for all (and all a good night)!

new old pictures and stuff

I've been posting a lot of pictures I took from pre-marriage days onto roberts.overt.org, if you want to check them out. Some of them are even from a non-digital camera...remember those days?

Matt and I went out to a really nice dinner last night at N9ne Steakhouse. It's at Victory Park in downtown, which is cool in and of itself. I'd never actually been there since they added all the video boards and the Channel 8 News room. There was a Mavs game last night too, so there was a really fun atmosphere. We split a 12 oz filet mignon and three sides: macaroni and cheese, sweet potatoes, and brussel sprouts (okay, Matt didn't touch the last one). Everything was really good until dessert, when my apple tart had caramelized jalapeños in it - you don't just spring that on people without mentioning it on on the menu! Matt's "Box o' Donuts" was quite good though (included three dipping sauces: raspberry, chocolate, and caramel). The menu is here if you want to look.

Yesterday we also put up our exterior Christmas lights and got a Christmas tree. We opted for a Douglas fir because they were oh-so-much cheaper than the Nobles and frankly more fun than the scrappy Frasiers.

good dog!

Matt and I went to Pene's first dog training class last night. It is held by the All Breed Obidience Training (http://www.abotc.com/) at Flagpole Hill. They have an 8-week beginners class and offer further intermediate and advanced training. Since only one person can train, Matt just watched while Pene and I joined dogs Emily (Rottwieler), Diego (some long-haired setter-type), Duke (golden), Ralph (little yappy mutt), and Clive (blood hound) and their owners. We had two instructors - one mostly doing the talking and demonstrations and the other observing and helping out individuals. In our first one hour class we began teaching the dogs sit, stay, heel, and down. I was glad we'd already taught Pene sit, as most of the other dogs knew it too. We learned about keeping the dogs at our left sides, how to hold their leash, and how to make the most of the commands. Pene did really well when she got over the distractions of the other dogs and people. I think she wants Clive to be her boyfriend. He's pretty adorable with all his extra hound skin (he's only 4 months old). Matt and I were really pleased with everything - the closeness of the class, the quality of the instruction, the small class size. I hope Pene enjoys it too! I was pretty impressed that she did as well as she did considering she has ear infections in both ears!

Did I ever mention that my first Xbox 360 got the red ring of death after four days? I thought that was pretty incredible...luckily Best Buy didn't blink when I brought it in for an exchange, and they switched out the hard drives so I could keep my saved games. Anyway, just thought that was note-worthy. 360 #2 is trucking along just fine. I've logged some major hours on it, beating Blue Dragon today (51 hours played I think), and it has been good.

Rick and Emily played Rock Band with Matt and I when they were here this weekend. For the first time we experienced four people rocking out at once (Rick on vocals, me on bass, Matt on guitar, Em on drums). It is ridiculously fun, although the singing takes some getting used to. Emily and I were incapacitated and barely able to play our instruments when Rick started belting out the Beastie Boys "Sabotage." Quality!

wedding dress selection

Today I got to see Emily's pick for her wedding dress. It is amazing but I can't really say any more or show you the pictures because Rick might accidentally stumble upon them. I can, however, show you the fabulous dress that we found for the bridesmaids.

(just kidding)

In non-wedding related news, Pene set the house alarm off today when she finally managed to open the back door for herself. I was on my way to the bridal shop when the alarm company called to let me know the alarm had sounded. I u-turned and went back home to find the back door wide open, Piper eying it (a good thing I returned), and Pene cowering in the bedroom after having the alarm sirens scare her half to death. Note to self: lock that door from now on when Pene is outdoors!