Back in the Saddle Again!

Hello everyone! It's been more than a year since this blog was updated, but I am determined to do a better job moving forward.

Benson and I moved to a new home in West LA near Brentwood, and we are enjoying the process of decorating it. Our good friend Gina Shelton just moved back to Dallas from LA and recommended we blog about the process so she and our other family and friends can enjoy the journey, too! I'll start doing updates about other topics, as well, but the decorating is the most fun at the moment. :) Come visit us at the new place any time!

Here's a link to our neighborhood on google maps: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

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.