Passing Time - Boggle

Juz and I looove playing Boggle, it's the latest obsession.  I like to think I'm the Boggle Queen.  Probably cause I bet Sir Justin in 9/10 matches haha.  I've always really been into any kind of word game (except Scrabble augh) because I'm a bit of a reader and I think I have a pretty sweet vocabulary.  Sometimes I totally see words in spanish and german in there too, but I'm not allowed to write them :P

The highest score I've gotten playing with Justin is 54 points I think.. it's because he keeps looking for made up words hoping he'll catch me out (we have a dictionary, but it almost makes it worse because of the amount of ridiculous words that DO exist).  Meanwhile I pull out long words and get 2-3 points more per word.  There's strategy to it :P

Passing Time - Pictionary

When I met Justin I was thrilled to find someone that loves playing board games.  I'd been dying to play quite a few games for a while and over time we've collected a couple of different games.  Unfortunately most games aren't friendly for under four people, which for now is a bit of a hard task.  For example, Pictionary.  It's a game played in pairs, where one player has to guess what the other player is drawing (it's written on a card the drawer picks up) and they have three minutes to convey their message through drawings.  Our solution to not having anyone else to play with is to have 'practice runs' where we pick a card and draw something for the other to guess.  Today I'm presenting you with two of our masterpieces:

Now I know what you're thinking... 

What the hell is that?  Why is it's mouth so big?  Is it an animal?  But wait, it's only got either two legs and a tail or three legs?  Why does it appear to be floating.. wait is it a ghost?

These are all valid guesses.. It may surprise you to learn that this is my Justin's interpretation of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.  Furthermore it may surprise you that I somehow managed to see that and guess the answer which was Alice in Wonderland.  It's not the first miracle I've performed, I managed to get Little Red Riding Hood out of two lines and a mini-tunnel.  Or at least that's what it probably looked like to everyone else!

I wish I could boast that my other half was as skilled as I am at the art of reading min-  I mean deciphering pictographs.  Despite my best efforts to be an artist, sometimes we're just not on the same page.  Take the above picture - the category is Action and the answer is Ouch.  You're thinking holy crap, that's pretty hard to draw, but I do see where you were going with this Silvia.. why.. it's a man holding his sore knee!  Thanks, I know you were totally thinking that.  My darling partner?  Somehow he was fixated on thinking that this was a pregnant woman (A one-legged woman at that).  A pregnant woman with a leg sticking out of her non-existent belly.. wait.. it must be labour! LABOUR! LABOUR! I think I died of laughter afterwards.. 

My Rattikins: Creamy

We bought Miss Creamy with Coco, they are sisters from the same litter.  Justin named her, it's quite cute I asked him to say the first thing he thought of when he looked at her and he said 'Creamy'.  She's my little butterball, the biggest and roundest of the three!  She will always be on the scene at feeding time.

This is my first picture of Creamy and Coco.  She instantly became the alpha of the pair and maintained this position when we introduced Muffin.  Despite her dominance on the inside of a cage, she is painfully shy and will often squeeze herself into tiny corners, while Coco will explore freely and uninhibited.  

Creamy is a tough cookie.  She is the hardest to get out of her cage and the hardest to wash or nail trim.  However, her weakness for food guarantees that she can be persuaded by some kind of currency!

Here she is sitting on Auntie Sian's shoulder :)  She might prefer small spaces, but she is also happy to sit on your shoulder and press into your neck for security.

Here she is playing with her sister Coco, in my make-shift felt bowl.  It's a really easy little playground for anyone who has rats, they like being able to hide in it and move around in the soft materials.  Despite being sisters it's cute how different the two of them are, and how well they compliment each other's interests and objectives.  Coco likes to be challenged and Creamy likes to eat, so any food we leave in the gaps gets pulled out by Coco for all the rats.  Coco likes to rip up things and Creamy enjoys making nests, so sometimes you will see Coco creating the materials for Creamy to work with - they are quite the pair of workers!

The Kitty Kats: Ninja

Before I left home I had two cats that used to be the little centers of my universe - Ninja and Samurai.  I couldn't take them with me when I moved in with Justin because we're not allowed cats or dogs and because my two little furballs had become such a member of my family that I couldn't take that away from them.  I'm happy when I go stay with my family because then I can see my two cats :3  This blog post is about Ninja:

He was bought at six weeks as a Siamese X.. I can guarantee you he is hardly a Siamese at all.  We think he might be cross Russian Blue because he has all the features with the imperfect yellow eyes and white chest tuft.  (But I don't care: In my eyes he is puuurrrrr-fect!).  He has the softest fur and my favourite thing about him are his 'white socks' which we're even cuter on his little kitten feet. >o.o<

I call him "The Prince" because he is a truly regal and sophisticated chap - he is also the master of his domain.  He has definitely loosened up a lot as he gets older (He is almost three years old).  My father is his favourite person in the whole world, followed by my mum now (but only because she feeds him and brushes him every day).  He goes by the name Mister Nin, Ninners and Ninjie.  Ninja has gone through about 12 collars - he absolutely hates them - but he has managed to keep his latest collar for quite a while now.  Funny, since it's a very girly Pink Panther collar with diamantes ;)

Studying

Today all I did was study from about midday to 9pm. So due to that this blog is now about the things that can be found on my desk including one very special little item...

These are my spanish revision notes. I find learning languages that the best way for me to learn is to write idiot-proof notes about rules and verb endings. Then I stick them up on my wall to read a few times a day.

This is my little fluffy stick thing.. it doesn't actually do anything but it lives with my pens to make them more interesting. Every now and then I might bring it out to piss someone off with.. it confuses the rattikins when I tickle them teehee.

This is Lappy 3: The Mac Reincarnation. My parents gave me it for christmas after Lappy 2: The Sony Vaio turned into a technicolor dreamland one day.

LOL. This.. I don't know what the crap this is. It's supposedly a 'wrist rest' but I think that all falls apart once you realise what you're looking at has a pile of poo in it's mouth. But wait! That pile of poo has a function! If you pull it out the little animal that is lovingly about to digest it will vibrate to 'massage' my wrist. The only thing it's massaging is my ribcages from laughing at its existence. Justin gave it to me for christmas last year - there was an entire stall of these guys! All I need to make my life complete now is one of their poo toys - literally a pile of poo that stands about 30cm high. Win!

My Rattikins: Coco

We have three female rats in our family, todays blog will be about Miss Coco (aka Coco Pop, Coco Monster and Coco Puff). I chose her first because it turns out she's the most photogenic - well she must be because I have 5 photos to 1 of the other two girls! (Although the food in the above picture probably has a lot to do with it).

I lubs Coco. She has these little eyes that pop out slightly more than the other two and she is the smallest of the three. I think this is because Coco prefers to have adventures and test her limits rather than chow down on food all day. Unfortunately my little munchkin is the most unwell of the three - she has Respiratory Mycoplasmosis (So does her sister Creamy but Coco's is much worse). It's a common disease in rats and they all apparently have the genetics for it, but it is up to the individual immune system whether they will present with symptoms or not. So every couple of months she will start sneezing and wheezing, which means we have to start her on antibiotics. But she's very brave and takes them well :)

Above she is giving smoochies to her Aunt Sian ;) Coco has probably given me the most strife out of all of them for her escape antics. She's made it behind the dishwasher in the kitchen, even managed to climb into the walls through a powerpoint her daddy left open. She's escaped upstairs to the apartment above us and I've spent hours sitting in front of small holes trying to coax her out with food. She is a little troublemaker but I wouldn't have her any other way :)