The Silliest Little Boys

I have quite possibly the cutest nephews ever. My sister will probably agree with me.

Now that they’re getting older, I’m finding it easier and easier to play with them and it seems like they’re not nearly as shy or as clingy to their parents as they used to be. Which makes it way easier for me to be a fun Auntie.

So now, of course, I have to show them off. I spent a lovely day a few weeks ago with four generations of my family hanging out. My nephews (the youngest generation), my sister, brother-in-law, and I (the next youngest), my mom, and my grandmother (the oldest generation). It was pretty rad-tastic. We played in the sun, became lunch for some swarms of hungry mosquitoes, and ate delicious home-made pizza (by my sis) for dinner.

I also had the joy of hanging out with them for a short bit just yesterday evening for a family BBQ.

Check out more awesome pictures on my flickr.

Dragon Age 2: Why the Romances Stink

I’m not one to get super attached to video games – or the romance options in the game for that matter. However, I absolutely love Dragon Age. I love the story lines, [some of] the characters, the setting, the gameplay… the list actually does go on. Despite my love for the game, the romance options in DA2 simply suck. At least in DA Origins you had the charming, sometimes dumb, but white knight in Alistair. So after Alistair and the cutie that he was… we get stuck with the following:

Isabela:

I have a love-hate relationship with Isabela. I love the banter between her and Varic and between her and Aveline. Pete put it best when he said that the Aveline/Isabela relationship worked so well because it captured an odd duo in the same way that Odo and Quark did in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. It’s this odd Thief/Cop relationship that seems to work so beautifully. What is terrible about Isabela is this: She sleeps with you, betrays you, then expects you to take her back. Any time you do anything that follows the law you gain rivalry points. Don’t get me wrong – the directing of the scenes with Isabela and your character’s romance is absolutely hilarious – but seriously. Who would ever let someone crawl back into their bed after stabbing them in the back a million times over? Isabela = Failed Romance.

Anders:

Anders is the biggest wet blanket you’ve ever met. He’s boring and all he can talk about is how he doesn’t want to be too depressing when he talks to you about Justice – a spirit that he’s housing in his body. He tries to prove to you how different he and Justice are, while at the same time whining about how he can’t tell the difference between the two and they couldn’t possibly separate. Anders is a major whiner which means … Failed Romance.

Merrill:

Merrill is cute and all, but she’s also got some serious problems. She is so lonely that she attaches herself to you the second you start flirting with her, gets super nervous, and then won’t let go – like a baby with their bottle. The second you go too far, she has to move in with you. She banished herself from her tribe because she’s into blood magic and wants to repair an evil mirror – which is bound to get someone [or many someones] killed. Merrill is almost like the one you choose because you feel sorry for her, and not really for any other reason. Failed Romance.

Fenris:

Oh Fenris. He is a worse Mary-Sue than Belgarion from Eddings’ Belgariad Series. He’s so special because he has weird tattoos and a hard life – but he’s awesome and can do no wrong! He’s an elf, and, just like Legolas, that makes him beautiful and irresistible. He’s the most annoying character to have with a mage around because no matter what you say or do, he disapproves. He doesn’t really care if you love him or not. Because he’s so much better than you. Definitely a major Failed Romance.

Other Options?

Nope. You don’t get Aveline or Varic.

Getting between Aveline and Donnic and their adorable and awkward relationship is the last thing I would want to do. But Varic? COME ON! The only really charismatic member of your party, loveable, a dwarf with outrageous chest hair and hilarious banter with the other characters… You can only ever flirt with him. Nothing more. Ever. This actually made me really sad when I found out – because of all the characters, Varic is voiced the best, has the best personality, and has the best interactions with you and the other characters. Who couldn’t love this stocky ridiculous dwarf?

Things I LOVE!

I recently read a few posts on this excellent yet simple blog called “1000 Awesome Things“. Then I started to think about all the little things that I love that I think are awesome. Here are some of them:

1. Postsecret:

There is always at least one postsecret card each week that amuses me and makes me laugh. Like this one.

2. Drawing:

I’m not that great at it, but I try. I was always impressed that my big sister Deanna was able to do a very similar drawing to this one. I pretend that I’m good at drawing, but I still enjoy it.

3. Baking and Cakes:

Baking is a great stress reliever for me. I love baking cookies for people (especially because I love the taste of raw cookie dough almost better than the taste of a baked cookie) and I love decorating cakes, even though I always have grander ideas than I can actually produce.

4. Dungeons & Dragons and Fantasy Books:

And I’m not afraid to admit it. I love getting together with friends and playing a fun and silly game where we get to pretend to be heroes and heroines of a fantasy world battling all types of evil. It’s fun to play and it’s fun to read about. But I’m not into larping, let’s get that straight.

5. Road names:

For two reasons. One because I always wonder what possessed someone to name it a certain thing. Was that object or that person important to the namer? Is the street name supposed to be descriptive of the street itself? Was it that they ran out of unique names and just named it the first thing that popped into their head? The second reason is that every time I see pictures of street names from foreign countries in different languages I always wonder if they have some type of significance to the country, town, or city’s heritage or to their culture.

6. Cracking the spine on brand new books and the look of a cracked spine:

The sound of the crack of the spine of a brand new book is a delight for me. I love hearing that sound because it means I’m in for pages upon pages of adventure and thrill. I love the look of a cracked spine because it means that book is well loved, filled with exciting exploit, and ready to be read over again.

7. Peeling labels off of bottles:

I don’t have a representative picture for this one. Sorry – typing “peeling labels” into Google revealed way too many pictures of ladies stripping.

Now everyone says that this must mean sexual frustration and it most certainly is not. The reason I always peel labels off of bottles is because I’m challenging myself to try to peel it off in one go without tearing it. Kind of like peeling an orange in one fell swoop just to be able to have that moment of sweet accomplishment. It’s one of those “Haha! I win, you inanimate object!” Silly but fulfilling.

8. Buying gifts for other people:

I love picking the gift out at whatever store it is. I love the secrecy and anticipation before you give the gift and while the person is opening it. And I absolutely love seeing someone’s face light up when they open it.

Alas…

Those are only some of the things I love and think are awesome. I’ll likely do another post like this one another time because it’s so much fun.

Cheers,

Tess(a)