I Heart Link!

Disclaimer: If you are disturbed by a non-existent love affair with an animated character, then this post is not for you.

For anyone who has had the unfortunate opportunity to experience my quirkiness, knows that I am irrevocably, obsessively, and otherwise fantastically in love with Link. Don’t ask me why, maybe it’s the ears. I know most people will think I’m a total nut job, but if guys can fantasize about Lara Croft, then Link can save my life any day.

The latest installment of the Legend of Zelda series was just announced the other day. “The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword” is due to be released sometime in 2011. All I can say is, “I have to have it.” Ever since the debut of “Ocarina of Time,” I’ve had all the LOZ games in my possession during debut week. Crazy, right?

Link has come a long way since the first LOZ on Nintendo in 1986. I don’t count the games for the Gameboy platform, as it could never do Link any justice as far as his good looks are concerned. Link was cute then, in a flat, two dimensional kind of way. But his hotness factor was elevated with the time warping, flash forward of “Ocarina of Time.” Then the engineers slapped us all in the face with that insipid, ridiculous, cartoon version of our Hyrulian hero in “Wind Waker.” If you ever have the displeasure to see a pic, vomit on it. He looks horrible! I swear there must be more complaints written about his looks, than there were actual game walkthroughs.

Obviously, someone was listening because in “Twilight Princess” Link became a hunkalicious taste of animated eye-candy! Don’t call the psch ward, I swear I’m ok. It was all I could do to keep the drool off my chin while I played. Great game, BTW.

While “Skyward Sword” looks great, the engineers must have stopped listening to the fans. While Link has retained most of his “Twilight Princess” looks, there is that slight “Wind Waker” cartoon sheen about him. Not happy. But they have plenty of time to fix the problem before the game is released. *hint, hint*

Anyway, it looks like an amazing game. Happy hero video awaits.

p.s. And how can you beat the music! I think that the score/soundtrack of most of the Zelda games are are definitely worthy of an Oscar (in my non-professional, yet musically trained opinion). beautifully composed. Beautifully played. Beautiful.

Happy 30th, Big Daddy!

I'm still catching up on all our April activities. Sorry. Anyway, we were happy to celebrate Eric's 30th birthday!

The girls (Ariel, Vicki, and I) took Eric to his favorite Italian fast food place-Fazoli's. Once you eat their hot and buttery, fresh-out-of-the-oven breadsticks, you'll understand why it's his favorite.

That evening, he had a poker night with the guys at the house. I'm glad he had the opportunity to share this milestone with the peeps that helped get him to this point. For better or worse.

That weekend, the 'rents took us to Cheddar's, our new favorite American restaurant. they have some fat and tasty margaritas for $3.50! I know . . . yum! And jumping back into the cake decorating saddle, Eric requested a monster cake for his bday. Hey, I had a Barbie cake a couple years ago, so no snickering.

I found some pics of what he wanted on the Internet, but the final masterpiece looked more like a McDonald's Fry Guy and less like the monster Eric had envisioned. I chalk it up to artistic interpretation of a theme. It tasted great, so I don't think anyone noticed my (lack of) artistic skills.

This day was also exciting because Ariel took her first two un-aided steps all by herself. We tried our hardest to get it on video, but as she often tells us, "I am not a circus monkey, so don't expect me to perform." And there you have it.

P.S. I did celebrate my 30th back in October. I wish I would have done something big to celebrate, but I was still trying to find a balance with motherhood and wifey-poo duties. So we went to Pet Palace for their annual costume contest instead. I had a great time, but nothing beats an evening with your good friends and an awesome margarita!

The Little One Stopped to High Step Eleven

So in this wintry month of April, our dear Ariel has been practicing her walking. She enjoys cruising the couch and chasing after Pazu. Now, if you ask the dog, this is the worst thing to happen since being neutered. Her second bottom tooth officially broke the surface and all in all, she is doing great. While Eric was away at Boston, the girls had some fun. Vicki and I played "Baby Toss." This is a game where Ariel become the ball and Vicki and I sit on opposite sides of the living room and pass the baby between us. Ariel in turn toddles across the floor, excited to finally be "walking." I tried to get video of it, but it's not the greatest, so you can view them below.

On April Fool's Day, Ariel's little joke was to discover the doggy door. It would have been kinda funny, had I not found her half way out the door. Since she can't navigate going downstairs, that would have been very scary fall. And speaking of stairs, she is a little mountain climber when it comes to scaling the steps leading up from the basement. We can't leave her alone for a minute or she'll have started her ascent. Wish I had that kind of energy.

Ariel is still and avid reader, but even though he hears several stories a day, she's a girl of few words.

Here are the pics of Ariel at 11 months. Enjoy!

thbpbpthpt! I have more toys than you.
a reflection of happy
indecision
grease monkey baby
sunday morning (while she is 10 mo old, I couldn't pass on this)