Sock monkey wanna-be Laura and Gunther are ecstatic over another Saints touchdown!
Our party guests, from left to right: Scarlet, Ben Socklisberger, Gunther, me, Laura, Simon, Troy Monkamalu and Jarvis
Karl couldn't resist joining the couch potatoes, although he struggled to keep his eyes open.
Karl is fast asleep, I'm sitting on his back, and Saints fans everywhere are celebrating!
This is how I plan to spend the majority of the day, lounging and maybe tossing the pigskin around a bit.
Oh... and EATING! Here's my Big Game cake - chocolate with fudge icing. Yummo!
Before the festivities begin, I'm going to make my pick for today's match up between the Colts and the Saints. Which banana will I choose?
After much consideration, I'm picking New Orleans. Geaux Saints!
To make my presentation more memorable, I came up with an acronym (A RED HEEL) for the list of items up for discussion. This phrase is easy for sock monkeys (and humans familiar with sock monkeys) to remember since we're made from red heeled socks. 
I went through the topics by aiming my laser pointer at each item on my presentation board. I was told by Mark that all official presenters must use one of these tools. My pointer is actually in the shape of a mouse. It's used to drive the tuxedo cats at home crazy by moving it haphazardly across the floor, wall, etc. while the cats try to "catch" the elusive red dot.
My presentation was followed by much applause and appreciation by the bank employees. I think this will lead to my promotion to at least the V.P. level (Vice Primate). I'm not sure what compensation I will accept, but the offer must be in the six banana figure range.
I have to include this shot, no matter how much it pains me. The photos you normally see as a finished product in my blog make everything look easy. However, the reality is that I sustain many falls, bumps and bruises in the process. The ugly truth is revealed below. She let me fall about 5 feet to the ground from the top of that sign and doesn't look too concerned about it. I bet she'd be more upset if her precious camera had dropped.
Sometimes I can't even have one moment of peace. I tried to chill out at our pier one day and enjoy a spectacular view of the water. There she is snapping away... sigh.
It's rather frightening to be constantly pursued by the stalkerazzi. I guess it's just the price of being a famous sock monkey.
June 2006 - Here I am in Key Largo at the Holiday Inn where the boat from the famous movie of the same name, "The African Queen" is docked. 
December 2004 - I'm ready to get my drink on at the Flying Monkeys Saloon in Key West. 
Laura and I posing in Times Square, NYC in October 2005. This was Laura's first trip to the Big Apple even though she grew up only 100 miles away.
July 2006 - Laura and I are hiking in Sedona, Arizona. She's sucking down some cool water from her bladder style back pack while I'm suffering from dehydration.
Socks got a refresher course on riding his new stick horse by literally flipping through this book. The pages create an animation of a sock monkey riding his stick horse through the desert. He even winks at the viewer during his ride!
There he goes! It's just like riding a bike. One never forgets how to ride a stick horse. Simulation of the desert ride is accomplished by these strategically placed authentic red rocks from Sedona, Arizona.
Galloping past the red rocks, Socks can barely control his bucking bronco. Yee haw!
If you look closely, you might see icicles hanging from my ears.
Karen made an extra hat, which I lent to Billy Ground Hog so we could go outside and play. BGH is already somewhat equipped for blustery weather in his snowman sweater.
The good news is that this 2 week long cold snap is coming to an end, for the time being. By the weekend, Crystal Beach will see high temperatures of 70 degrees. Hooray!
She was so happy with her gift! Although Mark had complained that he "missed his deadline" to get it done in time for Christmas, it was well worth the wait.
Here's the actual file used to create this work of art. You can get a much better appreciation for how brilliant the colors are. 
Our second contestant is Mark. He grabbed the hat from Laura as soon as she unpacked the gift box. This monkey was on a mission to get warm and become a fashion icon simultaneously.
Simon thinks he rocks the hat better than anymonk.
His twin brother, Jarvis, strikes a pose.
Gunther matter-of-factly says that sock monkey hat looks best on his chrome dome. 
Sitting atop the fridge - smoking shriner monkey and see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil monkey jars
Top - Bucky from the comic "Get Fuzzy." He reminds us of Karl in terms of his appearance and cattitude. Karl sits just like Bucky in this picture quite frequently.
Another work of art by Mark - spitting monkey gets lottery tickets and mini monkey riding bicycle
Karl (about 10 years ago) inside the fridge between the iceberg lettuce and the eggs. Yes, he did this all on his own while Laura was unloading groceries.
Space chimp from NASA in Houston
Friendly shrimp from Bubba Gump Shrimp Company and monkey gift cards from Target and Walmart (depleted long ago)
Sock monkey magnets handmade by my friend, Noah
George Bush chimp thinking about bananas
When Woody stepped away for a moment, Billy Ground Hog put a little post it note over the Ohio on Woody's sign.
Woody pondered for a moment, and then slightly lowered Billy Ground Hog's post it note. 
This is Nano Monkey. He came from ebay, along with many other items in our home. He is called Nano because he is so tiny. To give you an idea of his size, I've placed Nano Monkey on my paw. He's barely 1/2 inch tall.
We received this nifty night light (another Cracker Barrel find) from Mark's dad.
Laura's aunt Betty gave us a different night light. Our house will be lit up by multiple sock monkeys when it gets dark.
Laura received this awesome pair of Paul Frank pajamas from Mark's brother Scott. Julius the monkey is our friend, and so is Paul Frank.
This little dude is crocheted. He's only a few inches tall, so it took some seriously intricate work to create this buddy.
He was made by a nice lady named Meema who lives in Canada and sells her monkeys on ebay. It turns out that a shriner sock monkey Laura purchased two years ago was made by the same person. These two are brothers!
Speaking of brothers, here is one of the Monkey Brothers donning a brand new holiday sweater from Cynthia. He is pushing a shopping cart that Mark bought for us from Think Geek. Think Geek is a good place to find cool toys for your favorite nerd, and they are a monkey friendly company.
We received some delicious buckeyes from our neighbor Joni and from Mark (courtesy of Cracker Barrel). Our native Ohioan, Billy Ground Hog, is ready to devour some of his favorite holiday goody! Buckeyes are basically peanut butter balls covered in chocolate. Yummo!
The hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil monkeys enjoy some brews at a sock pub.
This one is for Mark - the scuba monk. Mark used to snorkel a lot, and it almost seemed like he was scuba diving because he would hold his breath for a long time and swim very deep chasing after sea creatures. This monkey just needs an underwater camera, and he would be Mark.
Good versus evil - which will this sock monkey choose? Laura has a Paul Frank t-shirt with a similar design featuring Julius the monkey.
Here's Mark again playing the bongo drums. He really does have a set and likes to make a lot of noise to bother Laura. Personally, I enjoy his drumming.
The twins have now become triplets! All of them are exactly one day apart. Here's the happy threesome posing on the couch.
Here are the silly boys mimicking the See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil monkeys.
The brothers meet Gunther.
How many giant sock monkeys does it take to fill up a couch? The answer is five. From left to right: Scarlet, Jarvis, Simon, Michelle's monk (name to be determined) and Gunther.
Santa loves coffee... hee hee!
Mark, the wanna be chimp, received a Monkey Butt toiletries gift pack. It includes shampoo, body wash, lotion and powder for his monkey butt! Do you think someone was trying to give him a hint?
Mark is modeling one of the gag gifts for Karen. It's a snuggie like wrap, and the box says the design is a "leaf swirl pattern." They should have put a warning on the box that wearing this for an extended period of time may give you the munchies. Apparently Mark has been wearing it too long because he's attacking the Christmas cookies.
Karl's feline cousins, Gilbert and LT, enjoyed watching some fishing programs on television during the day. Check out the jaws on that monster!
She immediately summoned Officer Po Po and Po Junior to investigate the scene. There is no holiday when it comes to crime.
The fine fellows in blue were able to gather forensic evidence before the crime scene was contaminated by a frenzy of unwrapped presents.
Once Po Po could obtain a warrant, he returned to arrest the perpetrator, Karl. Here he is about to attack some of the Christmas gifts. He's eying up the beef stick... sigh. I guess it's back to cat jail... again.
Another tragedy occurred on our front porch later in the morning. A small dead bird was discovered, but it appears that no foul (or fowl) play was involved. He was relocated to Monkey Hollow in our backyard as his final resting place. RIP, my feathered friend.
Oh boy! What's inside the bag?
First I received a nice Christmas card with my name on the envelope.
Then I found these really cool magnets! Noah made them himself, with a little help from his mom. Noah has a very professional looking business card that he can hand out to others interested in finding his blog. He included one in the package for me.
Then I found this awesome sock monkey tote bag. Noah said his mom made it for Laura, but she can use it to transport me back and forth to the bank or on other adventures. We both LOVE the bag! I jumped into it immediately. We can't thank Noah and his mom enough for sending us these special gifts!
I think the little fellow is taking a shine to Santa Monk.
After posing for pictures with Santa Monk, it was time for our new friend to be sent via interoffice courier - the next step towards his final destination of a new home with a child that loves him. Santa carefully packed him up in a transport bag and humanely cut some air holes so that he wouldn't suffocate. Good luck on the rest of your journey, bear buddy!
The entire week prior to Christmas, sock monkeys infiltrated the bank. It was Sock Monkey Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Here's a photo of Gunther and a few of his little Christmas buddies.
Meanwhile on the home front, our small tree was dominated by sock monkeys of course. Some of these ornaments were given to us as gifts this year. We thank everyone who contributed to the collection!
