Billy Wagner a Met!

NL East take warning! Billy Wagner is a Met (not a Phil anymore) and he's going to be shutting down Met games unlike a certain Looper we used to own.

Great signing, Omar!

Feel The Magic...solved...

It's solved. :-) Doesn't take long. Fun game...I'd but it at around 7.3/10. Too short...but once solved, there's other stuff to work on like finding new clothes, and playing tougher games. :-)

Now, I'm busy at work on Nintendogs. Michele is eons ahead of me, but I still want to fight through it. Just over a week til Animal Crossing, so time is running low!

...

Today is the dreaded put-up-the-tree day. It's arduous work, but once it's done we're happy. :-) I'm almost done with my shopping. I'm done with Michele, too, except for the stocking stuffers. Every year, she james up my stocking (not a euphamism) with all sorts of stuff...this year I must try to beat her out. ;-)

Ouch.

My right-hand is very sore. Too much Feel The Magic XY/XX. One more level to beat the game.

Owwww.

Dear Nintendo DS Diary...

Dear Nintendo DS Diary -

Why do you take up so much of my time? You are like crack...and I am the addict. I solved Mario Kart's 1-player mode Thursday morning before Thanksgiving dinner...and now that I've unlocked R.O.B., I have been playing your WiFi nearly non-stop.

Since I've solved Final Fantasy, and just finished re-reading Harry Potter 5, I now have time freed up to tend to my puppies again...and I will be doing a lot of frisbee pratice with you tomorrow. Holy, man...

Just 10 days to go til Animal Crossing. :-/

...

In lighter news...Thanksgiving on Thursday went well...yummy food, the whole family was there (the in-laws and clan), and Andy even brought his new girlfriend over, Caryn. (Surely spelled wrong.) She was nice. Then, we watched the Broncos beat the 'Boys in overtime and it was all a happy day! :-)

This weekend, I've made excellent progress in Marauder's Map (the map editor for Chess Avatara), and I plan on doing some more damage tomorrow.

The Mets are now pursuing Billy Wagner, Benjo Molina, and Ramon Hernandez...so expect another big signing this week!

Carlos Delgado a Met!

The Mets have traded one of my faves, Mike Jacobs, and top pitching prospect Yusmeiro Petit to the Florida Marlins for mega-slugger first baseman, Carlos Delgado.

A GREAT deal for the Mets -- though it will hurt to part with Petit on this...plus the sentimental favorite Mike Jacobs.

But, with a 3-4-5 of Beltran-Delgado-Wright...watch out!!!

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

Michele and I went out to see the movie last night...it's pretty hard to rate, so no Blancos will be doled. :-) It was a great movie...but it butchered the book. Several characters were left out, and some pretty important events were rearranged...hmmmm....

I'm kinda speechless here.

Not sure what to say..............

Read the book. :-)

Sorry, Calabro...

Broncos 27
Jets 0

Wal-Mart *GASP!*

Last night, the Jeffco Young Dems, and some other stragglers, congregated at our friend Linnea's house to watch he new Wal-Mart documentary Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price.

As one who vows never, EVER to set foot inside of a Wal-Mart again, it was good to learn some new information on how they, and to a lesser effect some other stores, have such a destructive effect on local economies.

While the documentary didn't go into ever single facet of why shopping at Wal-Mart is bad, they did focus on a few important issues more in depth:

* The economic effect Wal-Mart has on locally run businesses
* The slave labor employed in China to produce "cheap" goods
* The poor Wal-Mart health insurance scam

To give a quick summary...Wal-Mart's business plan is to keep its "worker" employees out of full-time employment, with soddy insurance plans, and encouraging welfare. They disrupt enough local business with their slave-driven low-prices, which puts local shops out of business -- therefore the money you put into the Wal-Mart store you shop at is getting syphoned off to John Walton and his family, and not your local city.

Bottom line...always prefer a local mom-and-pop shop if possible. After that, choose your superstore wisely. I think next year I will push for Costco over Target. Target may not be so terrible, but Costco is a blue organization while Target feeds donations to the Chimp-In-Chief.

Before seeing the movie, I bought the book The United States of Wal-Mart that I am really looking forward to reading! This should give a broader look at the Wal-Mart giant. As I plan on doing some serious volunteer work next year for Bill Winter, CO-6 candidate for Congress, I want to learn more in-depth details on the most important issues our country faces.

Linn through a great get-together, and now the next plan is for our 1st Annual Festivus Party...so I need to do some research. :-)

Final Fantasy Complete: Just Under 26 Hours!

I have completed Final Fantasy! Wahooooo-ey! In just under 26 hours of total play time...not too shabby as it was my first RPG (when I started it), and I had a lot to learn about how to play.

Very cool! Now, I can move on to one of the enormous number of games that are awaiting me. :-) Which will it be?

I can now play either Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney or Final Fantasy II.

Seeing as I am most likely ready to give FF a rest for a bit, it looks Like Phoenix Wright. But rather than start it now, I'll likely wait a while whilst I finish Harry Potter 5. Perhaps I'll at least wait til December...possibly January.

Whew!

In the meantime, I have plenty of games to diddle around with. And Avatara. So back to work I go! ;-)

The Charge Of The Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Half a league, half a league,
Half a league onward,
All in the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.
'Forward, the Light Brigade!
Charge for the guns!' he said:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'
Was there a man dismay'd ?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Some one had blunder'd:
Their's not to make reply,
Their's not to reason why,
Their's but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death
Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon in front of them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
Boldly they rode and well,
Into the jaws of Death,
Into the mouth of Hell
Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare,
Flash'd as they turn'd in air
Sabring the gunners there,
Charging an army, while
All the world wonder'd:
Plunged in the battery-smoke
Right thro' the line they broke;
Cossack and Russian
Reel'd from the sabre-stroke
Shatter'd and sunder'd.
Then they rode back, but not
Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,
Cannon to left of them,
Cannon behind them
Volley'd and thunder'd;
Storm'd at with shot and shell,
While horse and hero fell,
They that had fought so well
Came thro' the jaws of Death,
Back from the mouth of Hell,
All that was left of them,
Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?
O the wild charge they made!
All the world wonder'd.
Honour the charge they made!
Honour the Light Brigade,
Noble six hundred!

Drowning in Fun

I have a really bad habit. OK, prolly a few, but one that I've known for a while, and would like to shed, but it's tough. :-)

The bad habit is that I organize my leisure time too much and when I get overwhelmed, I start treating my entertainment like a list of job tasks. Then I over-organize...and do things like blog about my Avatara progress.

Oh wait.

This blog is all about everything I am doing, or plan on doing, in my spare time. There's a lot in the queue, and I've been trying to finish some stuff to make room. As you can see, it's becoming task-oriented.

Here's everything I'm doing now:

* Chess Avatara
* Reading Harry Potter 5
* Playing Final Fantasy I

Two of these tasks will be done in the short-term. Obviously, Avatara will be going deep into 2006, and is a slow work in progress.

Now, here's everything I plan on doing...all of which I either have the book/game, or am otherwise ready to start:

* Play Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
* Play Super Mario 64 DS
* Read Harry Potter 6
* Read the Wal-Mart book I bought last week
* Read Al Franken's The Truth: With Jokes
* Play Final Fantasy II

In addition to this bloating list, I also have some coming districtions:

* Buy and Play Animal Crossing: Wild World
* Buy and Play Final Fantasy III
* Buy and Play Final Fantasy IV

All the while, I'm still wanting to play Guild Wars, which I haven't played in 3 weeks! I'm wondering if my best bet is to put GW in moth balls til the Spring...it's an open-ended game and eating into my other activities.

...

Well, it's all entertainment. No rush, eh?

It's Time For Harry Potter!!!

Hey, is this the first Harry Potter movie to be seen while I've been blogging? I think so! :-)

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire begins today! I can't wait! Michele and I are attending a movie night with the Young Dems, to see the new Wal-Mart documentary, but afterwards we may be headed to the theaters to catch the new HP.

WE CANNOT WAIT!!!

Scott McClellan is a Dick...

"Congressman Murtha is a respected veteran and politician who has a record of supporting a strong America. So it is baffling that he is endorsing the policy positions of Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party. The eve of an historic democratic election in Iraq is not the time to surrender to the terrorists. After seeing his statement, we remain baffled -- nowhere does he explain how retreating from Iraq makes America safer."

These people are in charge of our country. Where's my buddy, Glenn? Glenn, stop voting for these horrible people. :-(

I Heart John Murtha!

Senator John Murtha (D-PA), a Vietnam veteran and one of the most influential foreign affairs voices in the Senate, called for the troops to return home today! He is my hero!

The MSM is going bananas over this...even Faux News!

See his speech here, care of Crooks and Liars:

The Livin' on ZaBlanc blog begins........NOW.

Another liberal fun day today! :-) Michele, Vincen, James, and I went to watch Al Franken do his show LIVE at the Boulder Theater!

The day started much like the AM 760 1st-year Anniversary party went...TRAFFIC. C-470 had a bad accident, and we were thrown 45 minutes of course. But, once again, Boulder trafic was a breeze and we made it well early ahead of the show.

In fact, just as we got there and parked, the line started moving in to the theater, which is grand, cause it was bone-cold F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G.

Be The Change was there again in this cramped, but cozy theater. We were treated to some chatter, and then Bill Winter came and gave a talk. He's the head of Be The Change. (Spokesman? Whatever...)

BILL WINTER IS RUNNING AGAINST TOM TANCREDO FOR CONGRESS!!!

This hasn't been announced, but all the rumors are flying, and Winter capped off the speculation today with this line:

"Who here wants to see Tancredo get his ass kicked, military style?!"

Winter is, of course, a vet and a great speaker and so very passionate. I love him! And Michele and I will help him S-M-O-K-E Tancredo come the 2006 election. He hinted at an official announcement next week. :-)

Then, Al came on, and he was great. He started with an SNL-esque monologue, of which part I taped on camera, and then launched into the show. The crowd was positively jubilant and the show was both funny and informative. Heck, Mark Luther was even there in person...the "resident dittohead."

After the show, they announced that Franken would be signing/greeting/etc at the front. Michele booked it and got about 8th in line! 5 minutes later, we joined her...

We got our book signed and the four of us got a GREAT picture with him! :-D SO COOL! Michele seemed enamored with him -- he grabbed her to bring her close when she seemed shy. Michelelocked arms with Stuart Smalley! ;-)

After the show, we enjoyed the Cheesecake Factory and then came home to decompress. We're now headed to Target to get pics printed up...including the Al Franken pic above.

What a great day! :-)

It's Mario Kart Day!!!

Today is the release day for Mario Kart DS! :-D Can't wait! Can't wait! During lunch today...in the best-case scenario...I'll have the game and be playing it on the Wi-Fi connectioN!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, today is one of the biggest days in Nintendo history...the first network-playable game produced by Nintendo!!!

My handle will be, of course...ZaBlanc. ;-)

Happy Birthday by Weird Al Yankovic

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

Well, it's time to celebrate your birthday, it happens every year
We'll eat a lot of broccoli and drink a lot of beer
You should be good and happy that there's something you can eat
A million people every day are starving in the street

Your daddy's in the gutter with the wretched and the poor
Your mama's in the kitchen with a can of Cycle Four
There's garbage in the water
There's poison in the sky
I guess it won't be long before we're all gonna die

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you

Well, what's the matter little friend, you think this party is the pits
Enjoy it while you can, we'll soon be blown to bits
The monkeys in the pentagon are gonna cook our goose
Their finger's on the button, all they need it an excuse

It doesn't take a military genius to see
We'll all be crispy critters after World War III
There's nowhere you can run to, nowhere you can hide
When they drop the big one, we all get fried

(Come on boys and girls, sing along, ok?)

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
wow! (background screaming, sound effect)

Well there's a punk in the alley and he's looking for a fight
There's an Arab on the corner buying everything in sight
There's a mother in the ghetto with another mouth to feed
Seems that everywhere you look today there's misery and greed

I guess you know the Earth is gonna crash into the sun
But that's no reason why we shouldn't have a little fun
So if you think it's scary, if it's more than you can take
Just blow out the candles and have a piece of cake

Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
Happy birthday
Happy birthday to you
wow!

And a pinch to grow an inch!

Happy 29th Birthday To Me!

A Happy Day for the Polar Bears! :-)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican leaders in the U.S. House of Representatives abandoned, at least temporarily, a drive to open Alaska's National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling after concluding on Wednesday the initiative was threatening passage of a huge bill to cut spending.

"ANWR and OCS will be out" of the legislation, said House Budget Committee Chairman Jim Nussle, an Iowa Republican.

Besides the Alaska oil drilling initiative, the House spending-reduction bill had also called for opening outer-continental shelf, or offshore areas, to oil and gas drilling.

The Last Day of 28

Tomorrow is my birthday, and the end of 28. I turn 29 tomorrow, one of the big, freaky years of a lifetime. :-) But, I have no fears, and in fact I look forward to it being a great one. In the next year, I will see:

* One more year with the Yog :-)
* Our 2nd Anniversary
* Chess Avatara released
* My first major election as an active Democrat
* Mario Kart DS and Animal Crossing DS ;-)
* My car will be paid off!
* A trip to NY, more time with family and friends and all that jazz!

My first birthday gift of the year was a check from my mom. Very nice of her! :-) What shall I do with it? I definitely needs some clothes, so I will go on a nice spree this weekend (15% off at Kohl's!) ... after that, I may get some magazine subscriptions, books, games, or whatever. We shall see.

29, here I come!

Blog Quiz: What is this?

When the Pawn Hits the Conflicts He Thinks Like a King What He Knows Throws the Blows When He Goes to the Fight and He'll Win the Whole Thing 'Fore He Enters the Ring There's No Body to Batter When Your Mind Is Your Might So When You Go Solo, You Hold Your Own Hand and Remember That Depth Is the Greatest of Heights and if You Know Where You Stand, Then You Know Where to Land and if You Fall It Won't Matter, 'Cuz You'll Know That You're Right

Drowning in the Pool

Lately, I've been drowning a bit in things I need to get done. So, excuse me for a moment, whilst I blog for myself. :-)

In terms of games I'm playing, let's list em out: Guild Wars, Super Mario 64 DS, and Final Fantasy. Now, I haven't played Guild Wars since before Chris's visit, so I need to get back on that one. As for Mario 64 DS, I want to keep that going as it's helping my DS touch-screen ability which will help in future games...plus I like it.

Final Fantasy has gone on for a long time. Remember, I started playing this game when Michele and I were playing Minish Cap! I needed a game to play while I waited for her to stop playing her session. I am STILL playing it! Not only that...I only have 1 of 4 crystals glowing, so I have a long way to go.

So -- in terms of games -- what I need to do is get a Guild Wars session in soon, start pushing on Final Fantasy, and limit Mario to a couple stars a day and keep it a more low and steady progression.

...

The big priority, the side company, is Chess Avatara. Right now, I am in a holding pattern as I work on "Marauder's Map," the map editor for Avatara. I've promised to finish it by the end of Novemeber, though I didn't forsee my laptop hard drive frying! :-( I will still push forward to finish it by end of November, but I'll give myself a pass if I fail to accomplish the goal.

Avatara will still take many, many more months to complete. Admittedly, I have a lot of framework done, but the game isn't fleshed out at all. It still needs graphics, level designs, and tie-in to the database. Obviously, a January 2006 release is impossible. In fact, it still may take a majority of 2006 to finish this thing.

Boy, I hope it will all be worth it. :-)

...

As for other activities, we're finishing up the firesale of GBA equipment as Michele and I have eached bought the Nintendo DS! I have the teal bundle, she has the pink. Both are way cool, and we're glad we waited. :-)

Our Vacation with Calabro!

One of my best friends, Chris Calabro, visited from New York last week. He was here from Oct. 24th to Oct. 30th. We did a lot of stuff and had a lot of fun! :-)

Before I blog our good times, I should summarize who the hell this meatball is. I met Chris in 10th grade, at Saunders High School in Yonkers, NY. This was in 1991.

We would have met anyway, but we became good friends because we sat near each other in our Tech Elec class for 3 out of 9 periods of the day. (Blanco, Calabro...) Through high school, we were close pals. Afterwards, we stayed friends despite going our different ways in college...then dropped out of touch when I moved out to Colorado to attend CSU in 1995. For a few years, we were deeply out of touch, but after the dark ages we got back in touch and since 2002 we've been very close again, even though we live so far away from each other.

We celebrated the coming of 2003 in Times Square atop a hotel. Chris was a groomsman in my wedding in April 2004, and we've kept in touch via IM and email and blogging.

But now, it's time for a look at our vacation.... :-)

Monday, Oct. 24th: The Arrival

Michele and I worked as usual on Monday, muscles sore and bones aching from the cleaning and scrubbing and preparation we'd done over the weekend. But at 10:30 PM, Calabro's flight was coming in!

He came in on JetBlue, but things were running late. We finally called him, and he was giving us the usual jib-jab about still being in NY, etc. But of course, he was merely rounding the corned. While still on the phone with Michele, here's Chris walking in off the escalator, ready to start our trip! :-D

A million jokes in the car later, we arrived home. Chris and I stayed up until about 3:30 AM chatting, while Michele had to go to sleep early so she could wake up for work the next morning. :-( Chris did a lot of catching up -- heck, even during my wedding weekend we didn't have much time to chat. We talked girls, jobs, family, friends, etc. Then alas, it was too late...we had to go to sleep.

Tuesday, Oct. 25th: Back to Ft. Collins!

Originally on Tuesday, I'd planned for Chris and I to go tour Invesco Field at Mile High (Home of the Denver Broncos). But, at the last minute on Monday, I learned that Invesco wasn't available for tours til Thursday! So, there was a change in plans.

On Tuesday, with Michele at work, Chris and I drove about 75 miles north to Ft. Collins! This is where I went to college from 1995 to 1998, and is generally regarded by me as my favorite town and most adventurous time of my life. :-) During the trip, Chris and I of course had plenty of time to talk somemore, and indeed we did.

Equipped with a rudimentary map of the campus area, we explored the old haunts. We stopped by Prospect Plaza, my first apartment! We circled the campus, and then we stopped at a little privately-owned music store on W. Elizabeth named Finest. This was the music store located pretty close to where my dorm was. It's a great little store, and I bought many CD's there. Chris, however, was in HEAVEN.

You see, Chris is a bit of a music buff. :-) He scoured every cassette tape and every piece of vinyl (he likes the vintage stuff) and scored about 10 new albums. We also picked up the new Fiona Apple CD (excellent!) and I also got a Beatles tape for my car.

Chris oogled all the girls, and escaped arrest a few times for squeezing the granola girls. In the end, though, he avoided any arrests. ;-)

Then, we drove over to the Computer Science building, parked, and walked on to campus. What fun! The only downside here is that I'm an idiot and forgot the camera. :-( We went through the Oval (a beautiful lawn sits there), checked out some of the buildings I had classes in (Clark, Glover, etc.) and then went to the Lory Student Center for lunch. This was always my favorite place to eat! At the time, it was Hardees, but it was the seating area I loved...grungy, lots of dark spots, and a great place to escape from your dormmates, classes, and everything and just enjoy some food and read.

This time, it was Carl's Jr. and a completely renovated eating area. :-( But it was nice, and Chris and I chatted some more while he made some tough decisions on who on campus he would abduct and marry. (Bella will be pissed, Chris.)

We came back home to meet up with Michele, after listening to some Fiona while we waited for her to arrive. :-) Then, the three of us drove west to Idaho Springs for dinner at Beau Joe's! Mmmmmm...Beau Joe's.

That's Colorad'-style pizza for the East'nas reading this.

And the day was done.

Wednesday, Oct. 26th: Atop Pikes Peak

Wednesday was Michele's first day to spend with us. We went south about 75 miles to Colorado Springs to do something that even the Yog and I haven't done: take the train to Pikes Peak!

Pikes Peak is one of the "fourteeners" in Colorado (mountains over 14,000 feet), and we took the cog train to the top! There are only two cog trains in the United States, and this one by far goes the highest! It was an hour-fifteen ride up to the top of Pike's Peak, and what a view!

It was freezing-damn cold, too. :-) But, the train ride is fun...and cozy with neighbors. At the top, we ate some doughnuts, had our lunch, and then enjoyed the view. Breathtaking.

After the train ride, we detoured it back to Manitou Springs and did some shopping at the local stores. We did some Christmas shopping, but we were pretty exhausted from the confining train ride and decided to head back.

Back to town, and we went Western on poor Chris and went to Traildust Steakhouse -- a GREAT place to eat. Oh, baby! The onion rings are simply to DIE for, though nowadays they don't stack em on the rod like they used to. Oh, well. Also, there was no live music yet because we got there too early. I definitely wanted Chris to experience the ho-down that it always is there, but we screwed up the timing.

Ah well, maybe next time.

Late Wednesday night, we wound up the evening by watching Family Guy DVD's and shooting the breeze. Another great day!

Thursday, Oct. 27th: Invesco Field at Mile High

When you're hosting a visit from a sports-loving freak of a friend, you might think it's easy to show them some sports-related sites. Well, not when it's a Yankee/Jet friends in Colorado!

On Thursday, Chris, Michele, and I did the downtown thing. We went to Invesco Field at Mile High, where the Denver Broncos play, and visited the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame and did the Invesco Field tour.

Both were amazing!

The HOF was a real treat, a very snazzy place with lots of old pics of Denver sports lore...but the tour was the real treat. :-)

On the tour, you get to go backstage to see the club seats, the tunnels underground, the stall where Thunder is kept (the horse who runs around after every Bronco score), and you even get to go out on to the field! It was so much fun!

After the tour, we spent some time at Dave and Buster's! Actually, my work was holding a party there, and so we decided that I'd spend some time my company while Michele and Chris had dinner. Afterwards, we all went back to the arcade to party in the game rooms and had a great time. I managed to acquire 3 $10 game cards from co-workers, so I got to play a lot. ;-) The three of us won some cool prizes, too...including a fart machine which because quite the little devil over the rest of the week. I nailed Chris so many times with it, what a dork. BUA HAHA HAH H!

After D&B's, we did a little walking downtown, stopped at Virgin Megastore, and capped off the night with some Dairy Queen. Mmmmmm, Dairy Queen.

Special note: I need to shed a few pounds this month. :-)

Friday, Oct. 28th: Here's Johnny!!!

Friday was a lazier day...we started off with Le Peep for breakfast after we all slept in a bit to catch up on our rest. :-) Le Peep is a great little brunch place, and devoured skillets and french toasts.

Then, we headed northwest a ways and went to Estes Park. Estes Park is one of Michele and I's favorite places. Good shopping, good treats, and it's the home of the Stanley Hotel -- where Stephen King stayed and hatched the idea for The Shining. *You hear that Glenn...we're taking YOU, too!)

My personal little highlight is the gigantic cookie I ate, which I always love, whenever we're there. Think two GIANT chocolate chip cookies, with fudge spread between them, into a sandwich with more calories than I can count on my toes 500 times over. ;-)

But, worth it!

Which leads us to our most anticipated dinner of the week, Cinzetti's. :-) A real treat for us in Denver...I know it must be a chain, but I'm not sure where else...it's an Italian buffet. I know, I know, buffets are cheap and sleezy places, but NOT this one. This is a fancy-shmancy and nice place to go, and we gorged on all manner of Italian dishes: sausage and peppers, meatballs, meatloaf, Tuscan chicken, house salads, shrimp, etc.

DELICIOUS!

Saturday, Oct. 29th: Haunted Halloween

This was the only well-planned day of the trip...a Halloween party at our friend Adriana's and Haunted House hopping in the evening. :-) It was the most planned because Adri planned it 2 months early and well, there was no choice in the matter.

I should say that on Thursday, while we were downtown, we searched out a charming little shop named The Wizard's Chest to get costumes. As always, Michele and I waited til the last minute and had no idea what to get. Michele did a great job though, and got the cutest dinosaur hat that just made you laugh whenever you looked at it. So cute. :-) Chris and I got pimp hats...as pictured above.

So, on Saturday, Michele made cupcakes while Chris and I helped (ate them). Then, Adri's party at 2 PM. We all had a great time. There was good food (Mmmmm, Italian sausage!) and candy and friends and then we did some pumpkin carving!

Afterwards, we went Haunted House hopping. We planned for three, but could only make two because of lines. It was SO fun! We went to Heritage Square for Spider Mansion, and then we found a new one we'd never gone to: Field of Corpses.

OMFG, let me tell you that I've never been so scared in my life. TONS of live actors, it was hilarious, even if Chris didn't think so. ;-)

At the end of the night, everyone went to a late dinner...but alas, us three had to bail early as Chris was flying out the next morning. :-(

Sunday, Oct. 30th: Goodbye, Farewell...

Sunday, the final day. :-( No time to do anything, as Chris flew out at 11:30 AM. We dropped him off at the airport, ate Burger King together, and got our last pictures and chatter in.

It was sad to see him go, but we all had a great time and can't wait for next time -- when we'll bring Chris to the mountains for some snowmobiling. ;-)

Until next time my friend...

Michele's Jurassic Costume

Here was Michele with her funny hat. How cute! :-)

Chris's Pajamas!

Watch out ladies, Chris is wearing his ladykiller pajamas. Commence swoons!

Minka the Zombie

Just cause it's so damn hilarious and she's not in the picture below, here's our friend Minka as a zombie on Halloween. How perfect. :-)

Happy Halloween!

Here's the group shot of all of us at the Halloween party. On the left is Greg the Sushi dish, Minka's hubby. Next to him are the vampire host couple, Adriana and Aaron.

Standing on the far right is Kimmie, AKA Violet, as a goth doll. (Awesome!) Seated at the foot of the stairs is Colleen the hippie (incidentally, she's my ex) and her current boyfriend , Mike the rockstar.

Behind her is me, the pimp, and Michele the dinosaur nest. ;-)

Behind her is Kimmie's hubby, Ramon, who is also a goth doll. (Me forgets what his name was.)

To his side is Kevin, who donned Russian garb. At the very top is Calabro, with his pimp hat on.

Stampede!!!

At Invesco Field, there's a set of beautiful statues of wild Broncos running up the steps. There are seven, and they represent God himself: John Elway. ;-) This was an art shot I took of Chris under the lead statue, and me with the camera underneat Chris. :-)

I'm too sexy for this ski jacket!

This was an incidental snapshot of Michele. I'm not sure what she was doing, but she was acting model-ly and I snapped this and it was so damn perfect. She could be in a magazine. How hot is that?! :-D

We're Back!

My laptop is back and running and Livin' on ZaBlanc is back online! :-) Yeah! Avatara and all my apps have been restored (I reinstalled everything last night and today, ukkkk!) and I'll soon be blogging about Calabro's trip to CO. :-)

Harry Reid Superstar!

Pictured above, from L to R, is Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV), and Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL).

Yesterday, Harry Reid took the Senate by the cahones and demanded, nay...DEMANDED...that the investigation into faux Iraqi intelligence continue! Bill Frist was made his bitch. AWESOME JOB, HARRY! We love ya, man!!