Put on the Glasses

How can you resist a nap with this cat? You couldn't! I certainly didn't. Sundays are the best days for cat naps.

For Christmas, one of the gifts my in-laws got us was this big silver beverage holder that we can use to hold beer and ice at parties. Brian and I decided not to wait for a party. We tried it out tonight with some growlers from Northbound Smokehouse. Yes, in Minnesota, we use snow to chill our beer. Just don't use the yellow snow.

I got the first of two packages from my reddit secret santa today. He really has me figured out: Yep, that's Room 237, a documentary about the Shining, which is my favorite horror movie of all time. I can't wait to find out what the second part of my gift is!

Brian and I did the reddit gift exchange this year again for Christmas, and the gift Brian got was amazing. Here he is with all the presents: He got a t-shirt that demonstrates the level of thought the gifter put into this (it says, "I'll do the Math, You do the English"): He got some green tea, catnip, and an awesome box that is painted to look like a brick in Super Mario Bros (which was filled with candy). But the most awesome gift was this little painting: The giftor found a photo of me and Brian online that our friend Elle took. Then, the giftor painted a version of it for us. We are amazed by it. Now we just need to figure out how to have it framed so we can keep it forever.

Brian and I had a terrific Christmas day. We started it off with presents for each other. The most amusing gift was the unicorn horn Brian got me for the cats. The cats did not approve. I have never heard Leela cry like she did when this was on her head: Livia didn't cry. She just tried to get away as fast as possible. Too bad Brian is faster: We went out for breakfast at a local bar that happened to be open. So I started my day with a fancy, bourbon drink: Then, we went to the movie theater and saw Wolf of Wall Street, which was pretty darned good. Finally, we capped off the day at the other Copelands' house, where we were fed this super-awesome holiday meal: Yep, that's prime rib with a popover, a pea cup, asparagus, and potatoes. Yummy. We had an excellent day. Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve! I had an exciting day, hitting two houses to celebrate. I managed to take some photos at my family's Christmas Eve brunch. This was during what we call the "Glaser Dice Game." For the game, everyone brings one present valued at $25 or less. All gifts go into the middle and two trays of dice circle the table. When you roll doubles, you can grab a package from the middle. If you get doubles again, you can unwrap it. You have to get doubles yet again if you want to steal someone else's gift. This usually devolves into battles over the particularly good gifts. Here's a candid shot I took of my family while we were playing. Here is the gift I ended up with, provided by my niece Alexa: Brian got the funniest gift, which my nephew Brady brought: Yes, Brian has already tested it out. It's hilarious.

Leela is the queen of her domain: Which happens to be my bed.