Who knew boobs were so controversial?

As many of you know, Matthew spends much of his free time browsing a website call boardgamegeek.  It’s a great resource for gamers to share their love and nerdyness for board games.  Matt and I would often joke about the pictures that got lots of attention of the website.  It seemed predictable that any picture feature an attractive (or even semi-attractive) lady got lots of attention.  She got even more if her dirty pillows made an appearance also.  We like to joke that this was 1) because there are not many ladies who play board games and gamer dudes get excited about gamer chicks and 2) because some gamer dudes (you know who you are) don’t get to see chicks or boobs very often.  So Matt and I decided to do a little social experiment of our own.  We posted this picture on the website:

Not surprisingly, it was approved right away.  It received several “thumbs” or recommendations in the first day and a few comments.  To our surprise, many of the comments were negative, e.i., don’t post smut on this website.  By the second day it had more comments and about 50 thumbs.  We thought it was funny but the conversation seemed to be dying out and we figured the buzz was over.  Then, yesterday, the post jumped to over 200 thumbs and spawned another discussion forum.

Discussion Board

To our surprise, the picture also showed up on the front page of the website as one of the top images.

Boardgamegeek.com

And the thumb count is now over 400.

Apparently, Matthew and I started a controversy over boobs and board games.  The forum discussion is really good for the most part.  People are expressing their views and making great arguments for and against the merger of boobs and board games.  We are totally shocked that this picture got so much attention, but we both think it’s cool that it got people talking, which is what we wanted in the first place.

Anyway, I thought I’d share that little adventure with you folks.  I have a feeling that it’ll be fizzling out soon, and I’m not sure how long, if much longer at all, the picture will remain on the front page.  For the moment, it’s been pretty entertaining.

White Christmas?

It’s four days after Christmas, and the snow as finally arrived! This afternoon it decided to snow a little bit and the Portlanders are (as expected) freaking out. It took me an hour to drive 2 miles. From inside a warm and snuggley apartment, it sure is pretty. The big fat snowflakes look so dreamy. I do miss Minnesota winters sometimes, I suppose.

Christmas was lovely. We spent the day with Seth and Nikki and had a lot of fun opening gifts. We all like to have a few laughs under the tree, and our silly dollar store purchases paid for themselves in giggles. I posted pictures on my facebook page. My favorite moment was Matt opening his big present. Me, my mom, my brother, Seth and Nikki all pitched in to buy him the collector edition of War of the Ring. He’d been carrying on about it for months, and he really didn’t think that he’d get it for Christmas. There are only 1600 copies in the world. As a huge nerd, Matt would get even more excited about something like that. I ordered the game back in November, but it won’t actually be here until around March. I wrapped some “decoy” presents for under the tree so Matt wouldn’t get suspicious about only having one gift. Then I wrapped up a bunch of junk from around the house and put a note in the box indicating what his real gift was. I took a video when he opened it. His face was priceless. Here’s the video:

Matt’s Christmas Surprise

After we opened presents, we relaxed for a while. Matt and Nikki made ginger bread houses while Seth and I crocheted. I also did some reading in my book about rats that Seth and Nikki picked out for me. In the evening we watched Christmas Vacation and made stuffed shells for dinner. All turned out very well.

In two days I’ll be getting on an airplane bound for Minneapolis! I have one week to see everybody, enjoy some of my mama’s home cooking, and maybe check out some wedding stuff. Nikki got me the Wedding Edition of Real Simple and I read the whole thing in spite of myself. Now I’m starting to get all excited about planning. It’s going to be tough waiting until March or even April to set a date. I just have to remember to be patient.

Can’t wait to see you cool Minnesotians! We’ll see if I’ve lost all my tolerance for sub-zero temperatures.

Oh by golly have a holly jolly Christmas!

As I posted on facebook, Matthew and I had a glass Pyrex pan explode in our oven. Matthew made a cake for Nikki’s birthday, and mid-way through baking the pan shattered. I know that Pyrex is known to do this if you change temperatures quickly, but it had been baking for at least 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven! I already tried to call Pyrex yesterday, but their phone lines were full and they weren’t taking any more calls. Big surprise. I’ll call them/write them after the holidays. Let me tell you, I am mad. I always endorsed Pyrex as an excellent brand, but I won’t buy another Pyrex pan ever again. On top of dealing with getting a hold of them to complain, we have this delightful mess to deal with:

Anyway, even faulty Pyrex can’t dampen a lively holiday spirit: Merry Christmas! It always finds a way to sneak up on ya. Ninja Christmas. Almost all the gifts are wrapped, and the stockings are hung…on our loft with care. I have a ginger bread candle burning, so it smells like I’m baking even though I’m not. Tonight, I’ll make almond roca. It’s tradition. For dinner I’m making a meatball stew, using Quorn meatballs of course. Those things are so darn tasty. You really need to try them if you haven’t. Tomorrow we are making stuffed shells and pecan pie. Comfort food that will put one foot in the grave. I finally understand why people have New Years resolutions. I used to think that it was about trying to be a better person in the next year, but it’s not. It’s about making up for all the guilty pleasures from the previous holiday season. Good enough for me.

Mom wanted to see some pictures of our decorations, so I took some this morning.

That last picture is my favorite angel. We’ve had her since I was a little girl. I think she’s just on loan for now, but maybe I’ll hide her with all our other Christmas stuff and keep her.

Yesterday I finished my first crochet hat! Thank you dear friends Breanne and Kim for teaching me how! Matthew needed a hat very badly. He never likes any of the hats that we find in stores. I wanted to make one for him, but last year my attempt at knitting one failed. I was sad. But this year: success! No cold ears for my guy this winter.

Lastly, Matt discovered this awesome trivia game on X-box live called 1 versus 100. It’s mostly general trivia, but they also have rounds of specific trivia like “80s” and “Kids movies.” Each round is 30 minutes and you play against other people on X-box live. Usually there are between eight and fifteen thousand people playing at any given time. You get points for answering questions correctly, for getting answering quickly, and for getting questions right that lots of people got wrong. It’s addicting. Anyway, last night we were playing and chatting with Matt’s brother Ryan, and after the first two rounds Matt and I got into the top 10! I don’t think we could have done it without Ryan’s help, but it was still a proud moment. I’d like to share our victorious screen shot (we’re Awesome Dunker):

Well, that’s about it! I hope everybody in Minnesota is staying safe and warm in the big scary blizzard! I do miss the snow, but not that much. Lots of love!

Ps: Did I forget to mention that Matt doesn’t have to work on Christmas? Whoo Friggin’ Whoo!

Jingle Bells!

I can’t believe its already the 19th. Christmas in less than a week! Matthew and I just finished our Christmas cards, and now we’re covered in glitter and our hands are seizing up in severe cramps. Nonetheless, it feels nice to get something big accomplished. I’ve  been pretty stressed out with my grad school essays/applications, and I appreciate those who’ve volunteered to read/critique my work. Last week Matthew and I did find some time to get our place decorated. We had a night of watching Home Alone and stringing popcorn and cranberries. We like to do those sorts of crafty things.

Today at work we had an ugly sweater contest. I actually won! I’m pretty excited. The competition was fierce. I work with some creative ladies. One crafty lady, who was my secret santa, crocheted me a hat that I am really enjoying right now. May never take it off.

Two and a half days of work next week then it’s Christmas time. Matthew MIGHT get Christmas off, but we aren’t getting our hopes up. He’ll find out next week.

In other work news, Matthew got selected to be a member of an animal behavior training force. He’ll be teaching the monkeys to do tricks. Just kidding. He’s going to teach them to stand up and stuff. But it’s really good for him because they only selected 4 techs out of 30 possible candidates. That’s our Matthew being great at his job!

For anybody who hasn’t heard, I’ll be in Minnesota from New Years Eve through the following Friday. I only get a week because my work wouldn’t let me have any additional time off, but we’re going to make the most of it. My mom and I might start looking at wedding venues. We can’t get too excited about anything yet, but it’ll be fun to start some preliminary planning. I do hope to see as many of you as possible while home!

For any non-facebookers, here’s a link to the album with our holiday photos so far INCLUDING pictures of my ugly sweater. Enjoy:

Christmas 2009 Photos

Love, Love, Love, to all.

Oh Christmas Tree!

It seems a little weird to put up a tree the same weekend as Thanksgiving, but what the heck! Christmas is in less than a month. Matthew and I got our tree today and we’re very excited to be getting into the holiday mood. We got a live potted tree as planned, and our apartment is already fragrant with the smells of Christmas. You’re still an awesome holiday Thanksgiving, but it just sucks that you have a way cooler big brother named Christmas.

Yes, those pumpkins are still hanging around. Our apartment is very confused about what time of year it is. But we aren’t: Merry Christmas!

Post Thanksgiving Post

Happy Thanksgiving, folks. I hope everybody’s well-fed and enjoying the leftovers. Matthew and I spent the day with our friends Dan and Kim who were kind enough to invite us over.  Matthew had to work until 2:30, so we ate dinner a bit “late” at 4:00.  Everything turned out very delicious, with the exception of my pecan pie. I forgot the eggs when I went over to Dan and Kim’s, and Kimmy only had one egg, so we used that and some egg substitute. The pie looked smelled delicious, but it didn’t set properly. Just the same it was a nice day.

Matthew had to work today. Neither Matthew nor I have gone out on Black Friday. We usually hunker down and wait for the storm to pass. However, this year Matthew wanted to fight the crowds just to see the train wreck. We talked about possibly shopping before he had to go to work but decided against it. Getting in line at 3 am? Getting elbowed and pushed and trampled? Seeing people at their worst? NO THANKS! Not to say I’m not curious. But I’ve also wondered what’s the big whoop about shooting up heroin, and I’m not about to go do that either.

Tomorrow we have a date to play games with some new friends we met at the game convention. We’re excited to be meeting people who want to hang out and play games and be nerdy! We’ll also probably be going to get a tree some time soon. I’d like to get a small but live tree this year. Having a fake one is easier, and reusable, but it’s just not the same. Nothing says Christmas cheer quite like getting pine needles stuck in your socks all season long. But seriously, nothing does.

Matthew can’t get any time off to fly to MN this January, but my office is closed for a week after New Years, so I may be coming by myself. More to come on that. In the mean time, I’ll be missing you all very much this holiday season!

Ps:

I always feel sad when I write a post but don’t have any pictures to put up. So, here are a couple cute ones of my boys:

Wyatt getting his bath.

Matthew tasting Kombucha.

Friday the 13th…ooohh…scary…

Don’t walk under any ladders today! Just kidding, I’m not superstitious. I am, however, home from work today. The office was closed yesterday and is also closed today, so no work. I’m on “vacation.” I’ve been working on school stuff, so it’s probably for the best, but even so, I think a 5 day weekend is a bit excessive. (I don’t work Wednesdays anyway so presto, 5 day weekend.) On top of that, Matt works this weekend and Seth and Nikki are in Minnesota! Lonely times at the homestead. Just me ‘n Wyatt the rat.

I’m working on my writing samples right now for school, and I have two short stories and an essay that need some work if anybody wants to be a critic.

Not much else is new. It’s rainy season in Portland. Lots and lots and lots and lots…and then lots of rain.  After a hot and sunny Summer, I forgot how much it rains in the fall. Gotta get me some rain boots.

I also made the best cookies ever two days ago. When we get to Minnesota for our next visit, I will make cookies and if anybody wants to be a taster then all the better.

Ps: I’ve also been updating our “pages” located on the right side of this page. I’ve been keeping track of our “adventures” to fun Portland places.

Apartment Tour II

We’ve lived in our place for a year and two months now, and we’ve made a few changes. I decided to just do a second tour of the apartment instead of posting pictures of the new stuff. Here goes!

Our apartment

If that doesn’t tell you how much two people can acquire in one year, I’m not sure what will. My goodness, the consumer machine at work!

Where does the time go?

Things have been a little crazy around here for the past month or so! Most of you are already up-to-date, but to recapitulate:

1. Matthew and I are engaged. We are very excited. He proposed on 9-23-09 on a foot bridge at the base of a beautiful waterfall. For the non-facebookers, here’s the facebook album: 

Engagement Pictures 

We haven’t set a date or made any plans. I need to get all my applications in for graduate school, and then we can do fun things, e.i. plan a wedding. 

2. I took the GRE on 9-30-09 and did well on the things that I needed to do well on. I did score VERY poorly in the math section, but I don’t care. I am content with the outcome overall and I’m not retaking. Score one for the home team!

3. We spent the first weekend in October at a game convention. Super nerdy and super awesome. Nikki and I were sort of spectacles, since there are not many gamer-ladies in the community. There’s another convention in Seattle in January and I think we might go to that one too. It’s much bigger, and it’s in Seattle which means fun times exploring a new city. Sounds like an adventure is a’ brewing. 

4. Matthew got offered the other job that he applied for, but in the end he decided to stay at his current position. Where he is now, there is more room for advancement, continued education, and overall growth. In addition, it will look better on his resume that he worked at the same position for almost two years, rather than 9 months at one job and 9 months at another. He’s going to have to find a new job where ever we end up next, and he wants to do what will help him most when that time comes. 

5. I got a raise! My job is the same though, except…

6. There is a new girl at work and she just happens to be amazing! Her husband is awesome too, and he and Matt seemed to like each other when we all hung out the other weekend. Also, she taught me how to crochet. I’m still learning, but I’m happy to have a new outlet for my crafting needs. It’s all very exciting. 

I think we’re caught up to the present now. It’s been getting colder in Portland, and all the leaves are falling off the trees. I really need to go collect some before they’re all brown and mushy. This rainy fall weather has inspired me to pick up my knitting again. I’ve decided that I’m going to make a blanket out of many knitted squares. It’s a hardy endeavor, but I’m up for it. I’ll put up a picture when it’s all done. Unless its ugly. Well, I’ll probably put up a picture either way. 

Next Friday, Matthew and I will celebrate our 6th anniversary. I’m going to leave work early so we can have more time together in the evening, but we’re not sure what we’re going to do yet. We don’t have plans for Halloween either. We did get some pumpkins from the pumpkin patch, and I think we’ll carve them this weekend. I do love this time of year!

Overall, things are happy and things are good. I haven’t decided on all the schools that I’m applying to, but that’s what today is for. Matthew is at work and I am at home, so I need to be productive. Better get back to it!

Oregonians

Matthew and I successfully attained our Oregon driver’s licenses today! We both passed the test and Matthew had a nice new haircut for his picture. I guess we are officially Oregonians now. Their turn around on the licenses is really fast too! He said we’ll have them in about 5 business days. I wish the turn around for fixing cars were the same. Our car is still being problematic and won’t pass the emissions test. AAHHHKK.

In other news, we are going to a concert tomorrow! It’s an instrumental band called Explosions in the Sky, and Matt is a fan. They’re playing at the Crystal Ballroom about two blocks away. We’ve been wanting to check out that venue, and the tickets were only $21 dollars each, so we went for it! The concert is tomorrow night. It’ll be a late one though. We’ll see how work on Friday goes. I have a feeling it’ll be worth it.

Yesterday Matthew had an interview for a lab position at OHSU. It’s better pay and it would be lab experience which he is not getting right now. He was interviewed by a panel of three people, but he said that despite the set-up being rather intimidating, he thought that it went really well. Lots of head-nodding on their parts, as Matthew said. He’ll probably find out within a few weeks if he got the position. He’s not certain that he will leave Monkey land if he gets this job offer, but it is an option. 

Last thing: As most of you already know, I had a fantastic birthday. Lots of warm wishes, delicious food, Harry Potter galore. Thank you again to all my wonderful friends and family who helped to make it great.