Christmas Photos

Kat's ear featuring half of one of her gifts.

Kat and Lily enjoying another gift that matches quite well with their outfits.

This is me enjoying my new shirt that Lloyd sent me. Although it did not lead to a victory on Christmas Day, I still liked wearing it. My hand signals represent the Suns being the 8th best team in the NBA (not because I'm a member of the Van Buren Boys).

This is me looking through my new binoculars that Kat's parents sent me. Kat got some as well. They are great for looking at houses that are built on the mountains north of our apartment.

This is Lily taking a sniff of her present. It contained a new hedgehog plush toy, which soon will be destroyed. That is how you know she likes it.

Thanks to all who sent gifts, and I hope everyone had a blessed Christmas.

Beasts!

These photos aren't exactly perfect - actually, they make the Zapruder film look like Wall-E - but the excuse is that it was 3 a.m. and enormous wild boar-like creatures were tromping around our home. Thus, it was hard to keep a steady hand while simultaneously hearing their primeval, bloodthirsty grunts. But last night we were visited by two wild javelinas who were wandering around near the dog patch outside our back balcony. They might have been lost, in search of poodles (?!?) or just trying to scare people. But they were pretty cool/frightening to see.

Kat and I had only seen them one other time when we were out for a walk and they ran through a wash. They are quite large and look like they would enjoy gnawing on your femur. As Kat and I went back to sleep - and tried to get the dogs to calm down - we both had the same thought:

"I'm glad we don't live on the first floor!"

You kids ready to learn?

The shirt shown above, probably my favorite of the many that I own, is now largely a relic of the past thanks to the most recent trade. The D'Antoni era that I enjoyed so much is clearly very much over. Despite the fact that most people in Arizona had begun loathing Boris Diaw about two years ago, I always liked his style of play. I enjoyed his "big guy who played small, small guy who played big" abilities as well as his French-ness. I fully expect that Larry Brown will soon banish him from even suiting up, but I won't forget the intriguing way he played the game.

One other note on the above picture, I was trying to make a sad face in order to convey my disappointment, but instead I just looked like I always do (sort of my own version of Blue Steel). Acting!

I didn't love this trade - although many other people did - but it probably needed to happen. Apparently Raja Bell did not care for Terry Porter's coaching, and Diaw has never shown that he could play alongside Stoudemire. And despite how much I enjoy Boris, I don't love him Badenov (did you see what I did there?) to take him over Amare.

However, I have a tentative plan for reworking the shirt to keep it in my rotation. Tell me what you think:


Another interesting angle of the trade was the continuing meltdown of Steve Nash, who does not appear to be having a lot of fun or enjoying the post-D'Antoni era. Nash sounded like he should be on suicide watch after the trade. His stats are way down. The team revolves around Shaq, when he plays, and Amare when Shaq doesn't. And this all occurs while D'Antoni takes the dregs of Isiah Thomas's intellectually bankrupt regime and still manages to get the Knicks to win about as often as they lose. It's an impressive achievement considering the players involved. I have not had a chance to watch complete NBA games, so I could be way off in my analysis. However, if the outcome of a season is going to be the same either way, I'd prefer entertaining to boring. I think right now the Suns are a little boring, and even they know it.

In happier NBA news, it is almost required viewing to check the NBA highlights each day to see the exploits of one Lebron Raymone James as well as Dwyane (Dwayne) Wade. LeBron is basically playing like a genetics experiment gone awesome that crossed a locomotive with an eagle with a computer with a headband. And although Charles Barkley has been asking for it for about five years, LeBron is playing like more of a finisher, rather than a point guard, and I think the Cavs (and of course the viewing public - I mean look at these dunks!) are better off for it. Their competition has not been exactly stellar lately, but it is hard to complain when they win in a blowout every night.

As for Wade, his team isn't very good, but he continues to play like he did in the Olympics. I don't know that he can be stopped on the pick and roll because he is so good at splitting the defenders. I just hope he can last the whole season without getting hurt, but he is definitely playing at a high level.

And of course, I haven't even mentioned the Celtics and the Lakers, who appear to be on a collision course for June (assuming LeBron and the LeBronnaires) don't stop the C's first. I think it should be an exciting season, and if my obvious brilliant thoughts don't pump you up, then maybe you aren't an NBA fan. And that's OK.

In other news I have been avoiding by talking about the NBA, I finished my finals for law school. They were punishingly punishing. It was not fun. I will talk about them no more.

In better news, here is a photo from Kat's birthday party from a while back.

The people in attendance sort of changed over time, so we didn't get a full group shot. But here were a few of the guests enjoying the event (check out the nice matching crowns!), and there is me videotaping the taking of a picture (file under apples, trees, distance falling from).

And since it wouldn't be a true Jeffrey blog post without a photo of the Boom's official mascot, Lily, here is the poodle sunning herself after a busy day of doing whatever it is she does.


So, that's all, I guess. I hope everyone is doing well. Merry Christmas!