Garage Roof Leak - yuck

We have enjoyed an uncharacteristic downpour of rain in SoCal this week, which resulted in the discovery of a leak in our garage roof (surprise!). Rain water cascaded over several storage boxes. While much of the contents got a bit damp, miraculously only a few things were badly damaged. This was mostly due to Benson's decision a few years ago to forego cardboard boxes for storage and move to plastic bins - thanks baby! Things that were saved completely include:

• Our box of favorite clothes through the decades - from my mom's seventies bellbottoms outfits, to Benson's silver rave pants, to my cheerleading uniforms
• A box entirely filled with my college photos and Delta Gamma sorority memories (I found my pledge card and pledge pin, how fun!)
• all of Benson's old yearbooks and high school/college memories
• A box with most of Benson's signed original copies of Medal of Honor: Allied Assault

Items that did not make it through so well included:

• my college paperwork and reference notes from favorite courses
• Benson's airsoft/paintballing clothes and accompanying paraphernalia
• some winter coats (which we just stuck in the dryer and there is no water damage, yay!)
• ...and the worst - Benson's videogame collection, made up of all the games he has worked on over the last 12 years and his favorite hit games from the last 20 (original Doom, Quake and Lara Croft included!!) Not all are damaged due to the way they were stacked (including the three listed, thank goodness) but enough are wet that we might have to trash some.

We have most of the items listed above laid out on sheets in the dry part of the garge, with a fan blowing on them. While this is frustrating to deal with, we are grateful that the situation wasn't worse- the house didn't burn down, the damage was minimal, and we'll be done with the drying and repairs in just a few days.

Uncharted 2: Among Thieves Launch - and Amazing Reviews!!

It has been a looooong time since I posted - I was busy with lots of things and got sidetracked. However, today is a day to post about!!! The videogame Benson has been working on for two years, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, is officially available in retail stores today!

The game is getting RAVE critical reviews, and holds a strong 97% review average from journalist game reviewers across the globe. Out of 57 reviews currently posted to metacritic.com, the average score is 97% - with a whopping 23 of those 57 being PERFECT scores!

To exemplify how significant this is: The top rated, and thus mostly top selling, games over the past three years have been BioShock, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Halo 3 and Gears of War 2. Well-known game industry (and Newsweek) journalist N'Gai Croal posted the below statistics about those games' perfect review scores, asking if Uncharted 2 would be able to beat them all. Most are now surpassed, and I am thinking BioShock is in the crosshairs. :)

Record of Perfect Reviews: BioShock: 34/88; Halo 3: 20/86; COD4: 14/70; Gears 2 13/90

Uncharted 2: 23/57 and counting!

Holiday Weekend

Benson and I have lots of fun activities planned for the Labor Day weekend (he doesn't have to work!!). I'll be surfing and getting together with friends Saturday and then B and I are going to see the fabulous Andrew Jed Band with a group of friends at the Malibu Winery on Saturday night. Let us know if you are around and want to head out there. Show starts at 7!

Benson's Styling Skillzzzz

While I was in Phoenix for the weekend Benson kept in touch via texting and photos to let me know he was thinking about me, and shared his thoughts about how we might be in need of makeovers for himself, me and Stormy. See below for examples of his mad personal styling skillzzzz.

Under the Phoenix Sun

Heading off to Phoenix today for a weekend with several of my high school girlfriends. Since we graduated in '97 we have tried to plan a trip together every year. Some years we have earmarked each others' weddings as the trips, but we've also done Lake of the Ozarks, San Antonio, Nantucket and maybe a few others. We are very lucky this year because Barb Campbell's parents are letting us use their Phoenix condo as our meeting place for free-- saves some cash for sure! We'll be sitting by the pool, going out for drinks and hitting some outlet malls, but really the whole point is to get together and enjoy some quality time. Pics to come upon my return.

Cards over Dodgers 3-2

Went to the Cardinals v Dodgers game tonight with Julie, it was a really nice time! We got a shock though, as the tix I bought from our friend Chance's season tickets were (surprise!) in the Left Field Pavilion (aka bleachers) at Dodger stadium. It is not an exaggeration to say I am fairly leery of the Dodger bleachers, because every time I go to a game I see at least 2 fights and fan ejections occur. Tonight was no exception, though we were totally safe the entire time, even with me in my Cards jersey. (It says Gibson on the back, in case you were wondering). We did see one guy get escorted out for being a general PITA, and that was actually Dodger on Dodger issues! But overall we had a great time chatting and watching the game, eating our Dodger Dogs and nachos. And the Redbirds pulled off a win, with homers from Pujols and Ankiel- woohoo! Going again tomorrow night with Benson, they've slated a new pitcher I think, so should be interesting.

Jaye's Birthday Dinner

Just got home from a birthday dinner for our friend Jaye, lots of fun! About 12 of us showed up at Lare's for delicious Mexican food. Nicole and I shared the mole and verde tamales. We all met some new friends and drank some 'ritas and had a grand old time. Looking forward to Sunday-- church, errands and then beach time!

An End in Sight

Benson's game, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, is officially slated to hit stores in North America on October 13 - that means there is an end in sight for this crazytown work schedule, woo-hoo!!!!!!!!!! (They have to stop working several weeks before that so the game can be processed in manufacturing and shipped to retail stores). See below for the box art for the game. B and I both like the blue.

Photos

Christine, Katie, me and Alex (the Grand Champeen)

Me and Jess!

Uncle Erick, me, Mom and Dad

Home Sweet Home

I returned to LA on Saturday night. It was really fantastic to be with so many family and friends in the midst of a successful work trip, and now I am glad to be home with my hubby. The Midwest Extravaganza was fabulous! Here's a breakdown:

Friday night - out with Alex and Christine and old high school buddies
Saturday - breakfast with Gama Max and Uncle Erick, pool party at Christine's, then out with Alex, Christine and Katie, and the surprise addition of Jessica in from KC!!!
Sunday - 1:30 Cardinals game with mom, dad, and Uncle E; dinner with the previous, plus Gama Max, Jake and Emily; then to The Muny to see Camelot!
Monday - travel to Minneapolis and work from hotel, dinner out with colleagues
Tuesday - successful meetings with the journalists we were visiting, awesome steak dinner at Capital Grill
Wednesday - travel to Chicago, work, and then a delicious Mexican fiesta dinner with Benson's dad Earl, Joanne, Penny, Steve and Kellsie (loved that sangria!)
Thursday - All day meetings in Chicago that went very well, plus dinner with colleagues at the PrimeHouse
Friday - more meetings, then ended the day with cocktails and a long lingering dinner at Sepia with friend Heather
Saturday - brunch with Heather, her husband Tyler, as well as our friend Barb, her husband Dave and their 2 1/2 yr old daughter Michaela; then hopped on an earlier flight to get home sooner :)

Benson picked me up at the airport with a suggestion to go out to a nice dinner to celebrate my return. We walked out to the new-ish Santa Monica restaurant Rivas on Wilshire near 3rd, and then grabbed dessert at Yummy Cupcakes across the street (thanks to Nicole for the suggestions of both in the past, they are on our faves list now).

Photos to come tomorrow.

Midwest Immersion- Love it!!

Tonight I leave for a whirlwind trip to St. Louis, Minneapolis and Chicago. The M-F trips to Minn and Chi-town for work made it easy to tack on the STL trip at the beginning. Sadly I couldn't stay in Chicago for the last weekend due to prior commitments at home, but I expect to go back there for work at least a couple more times in the next year, and will plan time to visit the Chicago family and friends on the Warner Bros dime then! I am seeing a Cards game, trying to get my boss to take the journalists we are visiting to a Twins game, and no time for a White Sox game but we love them anyway! Check in on Benson while I am gone, remind him to come home and sleep instead of working 24/7. :)

Book Club

The book club I am in met on our back patio last night. This month's book was "Loving Frank" by Nancy Horan, a suggestion from Mom. It's the story of Frank Lloyd Wright's mistress Mamah Borthwick Cheney, from her point of view during the early 20th century. Hostesses take turns cooking, so our meal was planned around the use of the neighbor's grill. The menu:

• Three Cheese Grilled Peppers with Sage
• Heirlook Tomato, Goat Cheese and Asparagus Salad
• Chicken Breasts
• Grilled Fruit Kabobs with Nuts and Chocolate Syrup

The turnout of ten classy, thoughtful women led to a very lively discussion ranging from the pros and cons of women's liberation in the last century, to motherhood, government involvement in child rearing, and even the evolution of mens' roles in relation to the modern family. Thanks for a fun and interesting evening girls!

Here's a photo of the patio after we cleaned up- I forgot to take one earlier.

Story Time: Watch Cat

Stormy is our finicky, lazy, 19-pound, indoor-only kitty-- most of the time. Lately he has begun frantically glaring out the front door and windows around 10:30 p.m. every night, so we shut and lock them a bit earlier. We learned our lesson about this kind of mischievous behavior last fall.

Benson was watching The Daily Show in the living room near the front door and I was in the studio checking email, when suddenly Stormy head-butted the screen door and was out like a shot...Benson hollered Stormy's name and was out the door right after him, then witnessed our sweet cat attacking an opossum like something out of Wild Kingdom! (Yes, an opossum half a mile from the Pacific Ocean, go figure).

Stormy had the advantage in the fight; Benson was about to reach into the fray and grab Stormy when he saw the opossum teeth and claws flashing and considered there might be a safer way to separate them-- water hose, broom, etc. I ran through the living room and stood in the doorway with the screen door wide open, and I yelled Stormy's name, too. We are guessing that having both his parents standing over him hollering his name snapped Stormy out of his instinctive attack mode, as his next move was to release the animal and then streak in the front door and under the kitchen table.

The opossum disappeared nimbly over the fence. After much fawning and checking Stormy for injury, plus two calls to 24-hour vets and a firm locking of the door, we settled in for the night. Stormy has been calm, cool and collected since then, aside from frenetic surveillance on occasion. Just this week Benson came home late and thought a neighborhood cat was sauntering down the walkway, but then he spied a rat like tail. Our guess is that it was either our friendly neighborhood Beach Opossum...or a Snipe? :)

Meeting Max Alan Jed

Last night Benson and I had the pleasure of taking dinner to our newly parent-ified friends Andrew and Suzy and meeting the distinguished Max Alan Jed, their 10 day old son. Max impressed our socks off with his calm, cool demeanor the entire time we were there. We enjoyed hearing and sharing stories and are excited to be around to watch Max grow!

Wokcano Explosion

Thanks to Amanda for the free sushi hook-up on Tuesday, to Gina for asking me to be her plus one, and to Romeo for adding to the fun!! The Santa Monica Wokcano restaurant did a free promo night to celebrate one year in the neighborhood with free all-you-can-eat Asian fusion appetizers and free cocktails. I for one am sold on going back again in the near future as a paying customer. Those potstickers were delicious.

Lights will guide you home....

The Coldplay concert last night at the Home Depot Center was phenomenal, one of the best concerts we have ever been to! The band was so fun and classy, the music was beautiful, the weather was warm and enjoyable, and we were able to chill out and relax together.

During "Yellow" all the lights in the stadium were gelled yellow and they released a hundred or so enormous yellow balloons into the crowd for a massive floaty beachball effect. Then the band traveled all the way to the back of the huge stadium (walking just 15 rows in front of us!) to do three songs for the fans in the back, including some really fun improvisations and a Michael Jackson tribute. And THEN they got everyone to take out their cell phones and led the whole stadium in a lightscreen version of The Wave!! It wrapped up with massive amounts of colorful confetti butterflies showering everything in sight. And...all the fans received a FREE CD with nine Coldplay tunes on it as we left the stadium! See CD image below, surrounded by butterflies....

Hapy Birthday Momma!

We love you! Happy Birthday!

It Can Be Done!

Great news for Benson after a doctor's appointment this week! Last year he was diagnosed with significantly high cholesterol, and due to a family history of heart problems he got very serious about getting the issue under control. He started eating tons of fiber, cut his fat intake and calorie intake, and started playing basketball at least twice a week to stay active. Here is part of the email he sent our church small group after he got the results today:

"I went to have my cholesterol checked yesterday and got the results today. Nothing...nada...zip...perfecto...everything!!! The doctor said my current levels put me below the average for heart attack risk. Also kidneys/liver/whatever else is all perfect. So a big praise to God and a thanks to you guys for praying for my health this year. :)"

Also, the doc told him that the American Heart Association recommends peeps over 35 to take 81mg of aspirin every day to help prevent plaque buildup in your arteries, so that's his new plan!
Here's a pic of Benson and the Naughty Dog basketball team:

Our First Warm, Sunny Summer Weekend

On Saturday night we had a dinner-and-a-movie date. Pixar's 'Up' was the feature film, in 3D no less- we looked trendy in our plastic glasses. Dinner was a feast at Fogo de Chao, Benson's favorite restaurant. We chowed down on the cheese rolls, fried banana and salad bar, and had our fill of the meat selection, too. Benson's fave is probably the house special ribeye, and mine is the Linguica (pork sausage). We got lucky because it was near closing time, so they started sharing the special cuts with everyone- we snagged some delicious beef ribs, yum!

Sunday morning Benson played bass guitar in two bands, first at the 9 a.m. service at Bel Air Presbyterian (our home church) and then also the 11 a.m. service at Hollywood Presbyterian Church. He loves these opportunities to play music, and I really dig watching him use his talents. B headed to work after that (still on a crunch schedule) so I visited the Main Street Farmer's Market, went to the beach for some tanning and reading, then met friends Suzy and Lisa for mani-pedis and some very enjoyable girlfriends time over margaritas at Lula's on Main Street. Overall, an eventful but laid-back schedule for this first weekend of real summer weather in Santa Monica.

Coldplay

Just bought two tickets to see one of Benson's favorite bands on July 18-- Coldplay!! Woohoo!!! (Mom, we'll ask them to sing Happy Birthday to you. :)

Take Me Out to the Ballgame

Our blog title alludes to our love of the great American pastime. The below photo demonstrates our top affiliations nicely, and each of our number one teams is the other's number two. Awww. We have tickets to two Cardinals vs. Dodgers games in August! Say some prayers that the rowdy Dodgers don't rough us up too badly (and I'm definitely talking about the scary fans, not the players--Cards will sweep!!). :)

Welcome to the Russells' Home Field Advantage

Benson and Megan finally have a family blog! This space is a place where our loved ones can check in every so often to see what we are doing with our time, talent, energy and passions. It will hopefully help to bridge the gap when more quality catch-up time proves elusive. Here's to keeping family and friends extra close across the miles, even if it's just one mile.