Christmas No. 1

David's parents came in town Sunday evening and last night we had our Christmas dinner with them. I made PW's pork loin with cranberry sauce with mashed potatoes, green beans, brussels sprouts, and rosemary dinner rolls. YUM! After dinner, we had some of David's mom's delicious chocolate fudge pie. 

After dinner and dessert, we did presents! We got his parents a kindle and a white wine aerator. I think they'll get a lot of use out of both of them. David's parents got us...a fireplace!! We've been looking to install ceramic logs in our wood-burning gas fireplace. We burned firewood last year and it made a huge mess. So even though it was 85 degrees yesterday, we had the fireplace installed and we turned it on!

We love it!!!! Not only does it look pretty, but it puts off some heat! 

David's mom has given him a Christmas ornament each year since he was born. This year, we got TWO! One for him, and one for me!

Isn't mine so cute?! Cupcakes!! I think that it's my favorite ornament now (with the exception of our wedding ornament). 

Riley got a new litter box for Christmas. I think he might be undecided on whether or not he likes it...

Casey got a new bed, although she couldn't be less interested in it...but she did look festive in her Christmas collar!

Since we had the fireplace on, we had to open the windows to cool off the house a bit...Riley wasn't complaining!

David's parents checked out of Hotel Montgomery first thing this morning, and David and I are tidying up the house and washing sheets and towels in preparation for our second holiday guest, MY SISTER!!! She'll be here tonight and she's staying until Sunday! Can't wait to see her and celebrate Christmas No. 2 on Saturday!

Riley . . . AKA the Starving Kitty

We put Riley on a diet about a year ago. The vet told David that if Riley didn't lose weight soon, he'd be diabetic and require insulin shots. So now, Riley gets 1/3 cup of food twice a day, instead of 1/2 cup of food twice a day. And I swear, you'd think we were starving the poor cat. Riley gets fed at 6:30am and at 6:30pm. And you better believe that starting around 5:30pm (sometimes earlier), he's meowing like crazy and pacing back and forth in front of the pantry. As soon as the food hits his bowl, it's gone. I don't even think he chews his food. We usually feed Riley first and then go back into the pantry to fill Casey's bowl, and by the time we come out of the pantry with Casey's food, Riley's done eating (and trying to find a way to sneak some of the dog's food)!

Anyway, when David and I are both out of town, we fill Riley's food bowl with as much food as he would get if we were there. It's up to him whether or not he portions out his food correctly or not. For all we know, he eats all his food the first day and he starves for the next three, five, or seven days. But it's his food, he can do whatever he wants.

So on Friday morning before David left for the airport, he filled Riley's food dish with enough food that *should* last him until Monday when we got back. Hard to say how long that food lasted in the bowl. We came home to this...

Suffice it to say, Riley wasn't very happy when there wasn't anymore food left in his bowl. Either that, or he was so excited to have more than 1/3 cup of food in his bowl, he knocked it off the ledge...and he spent the rest of the weekend eating all the food off the ground. Either way, he was meowing and begging for more food as soon as we got home Monday afternoon.