Sockoween 2009 - Part 3

It's the classic battle of good versus evil or angel versus devil.

I think Karl can tell you who won. He's trying to hide from his momma because he doesn't want to wear his costume.

No such luck... this rodeo is on!

You can lead a horse to his food bowl, but you can't make him wear his hat.

Sorry cowboy! Your horse is all tuckered out. He's licking his chops after putting on a feedbag.

Big Monkey Throws a Wedding - Part 1

My humans, Laura and Mark, decided to get married spur of the moment on Thursday, October 22nd. Laura asked her co-workers on Wednesday if it would be okay for them to marry at the bank after her shift on Thursday. These ladies went all out at the last minute to create a fabulous atmosphere for the wedding and reception. I take my crown off to salute them.

Here is an old photo that Mark hunted down of he and Laura on their first date in May 1996 at an air show on Ft. Lauderdale Beach. Their heads are circled in green. I was trapped in a bag in Pennsylvania during this period of time, so I didn't even know them yet.

Fast forward to 2009... here are the happy couple still going strong!

Miss Cynthia presided as the officiant and notary public, while Miss Amy and Miss Deb witnessed the ceremony. Here is the transcript from our ceremony.

Miss Cynthia: We are gathered here today to unite Mark and Laura in marriage, which is an institution ordained by the state and made honorable by good primates throughout the ages.

Miss Cynthia to Mark: Do you Mark, take Laura to be your wife, to love, comfort, and cherish from this day forth?

Mark: Yes

Miss Cynthia to Laura: Do you Laura, take your monkey Mark to be your husband to love, comfort, and cherish from this day forth?

Laura: Yes

(Laura and Mark exchange rings.)

Miss Cynthia: Having thus pledged yourselves to each other, I do now, by the virtue of the authority vested in me by the state of Florida, the town of Crystal Beach, and the Honorable Big Monkey, pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss your chimp.

There wasn't a dry eye in the bank. Our wedding guests (from left to right: Farcus, Squeakers and Mr. Monkey) were quite moved. Squeakers was our guest of honor, as he lives at Miss Amy's house.

I would like to highlight the lovely atmosphere that Laura's dear co-workers and friends created for the ceremony. I was feeling rather royal, so I dressed as King Big Monkey for the day's festivities.

Farcus, Mr. Monkey and I frolicked amongst the autumn decorations.

Big Monkey Throws a Wedding - Part 2

Now that the ceremony is over it's time to eat, drink and be merry! The cake is absolutely beautiful and reflects our autumn wedding theme.

Uh oh! The bride is about to mutilate the cake. I determined that she should never be a surgeon.

The groom is first in line to get his piece of cake.

Yummo! I'm chowing down on the cake and a mini Dove chocolate ice cream bar.

I just love weddings... and sparkling cider. Hiccup! I'll be dancing on the table soon.

Big Monkey Throws a Wedding - Part 3

Here's our bride ready to throw her beautiful bouquet to a captive audience. Who will catch it?

Congratulations, Mr. Monkey! You'll be the next one to get hitched!

Sock Monkey Friday 10/9/09 - Gunther and Scarlet

By popular demand, Gunther attended Sock Monkey Friday at the bank again. His girlfriend Scarlet had heard that some ladies requested Gunther's appearance, so she came along to chaperone.

We had fun monkeying around in the lobby before the bank opened. "Can we have some service, please? We'd like to open a checking account."

Gunther was either truly inspired to save or else he was just having fun playing with these giant blocks.

Scarlet had fun hanging around on the Wealth Management display. That's how she rolls.

"Hold all my calls, please," Gunther said authoritatively. "I have to catch up on my e-mail and attend an important conference call."

Eat your heart out, P Diddy and 50 Cent. Check out B-Monk's new style!

Here I am (B-Monk that is) striking a pose in my new fur coat. Let me emphasize to my homies - this coat is 100% faux. No furries were harmed in any way, shape or form to produce this luxurious piece. I think I'll wear it to the Grammys when my hit "Auto-Biggie-Ography" gets nominated for an award.

Non-Sock Monkey Pals - Part 1

I've been meaning to introduce you to some of my other monkey friends that are not of the sock variety. There are too many to mention in one post, but I wanted to highlight a few of them. On the left is our Christmas tree angel. He is counting down the days until he can sit atop our fine faux evergreen. On the right is Mark Monkey. Yes, that's right, his name is Mark. Believe it or not, the company that manufactured him provided the name. He's a rather portly fellow but very jolly.

Continuing with the holiday theme, these are my Valentine buddies. From left to right, Albino Monk, Boxing Gorilla, and Hearty Monk. Aren't they sweet?

This guy is little bit crazy. I try to humor him so he doesn't go ape on me. If you squeeze his paw or try to steal his banana, he'll screech and jump around.

My pal below is our Penn State rally lemur. He is a true blue and white fan!

OK, I had to throw in a picture of me and Neuri. He's a neuron (i.e., brain cell). I thought he looked rather tasty, but I was told not to eat him.

Non-Sock Monkey Pals - Part 2

This is monkey pillow. He's a plushy who's perfectly content being attached to this pillow. Can you blame him?

This little guy is crocheted to look just like a sock monkey complete with pom pom hat.

My homeboy Julius is a true celebrity. He's Paul Frank's brilliant creation based upon a sock monkey his grandma made for him as a child. Hmm... that story sounds familiar.

This is Julius pillow. He's a cozy pal to take a snooze on. Poor guy, I think he's seen his share of drool over the years.

Last, but certainly not least, is Lego Monkey! He's a climbing monk, although after a few falls (caused by clumsy humans) he's required some reassembly. Go Lego Monkey!

Jester Hat

Thanks to a tip from my pal Noah, I found out that Target had some awesome Halloween hats. They were in the pet costume section. My favorite was the jester hat, which Laura so generously purchased for me.

As soon as Laura took it out of the bag, Karl literally climbed up her pant leg to investigate. Little did he know he was about to become the next victim! The hat has a chin strap for pets who are not so cooperative about wearing it. Here's our sad jester boy. C'mon Karl, you're not going to collect any Halloween goodies with that scowl on your cat face.

Sock Monkey Friday 9/25/09 - Food and Surprises - Part 1

My presence was specifically requested this past Friday at the bank by my manager, Miss Amy. I could hardly wait to attend, especially since I found out that lots of food would be involved. When I arrived at the bank, I was presented with this glorious crown bearing my name! What a bonus!

The bank is helping to raise money for the American Heart Association. Anyone who donates gets their very own heart displayed. I had to do my part...

... so here's my heart.

For a brief moment I felt guilty about the non-heart healthy lunch I was about to consume. However, it passed quickly as soon as I laid my eyes upon the pizza.

My friend Eugene and I scarfed down several pieces, and then it was time to move on to the next course.

Sock Monkey Friday 9/25/09 - Food and Surprises - Part 2

Our feast would not have been complete without some yummy desserts. Eugene and I attacked this plate of homemade key lime cookies.

J.J. Gandy's has the best desserts in town - pies, cakes, and cookies. It's all good!

We still had room for some additional treats - two bite brownies.

Between Eugene and I, we had about 20 bites worth.

What a fabulous day! I'm so glad I was asked to be the guest of honor.

The Case of the Missing Ear Bling - an Open-and-Shut Case - Part 1

I've been tantalizing my friends on Facebook this weekend with a secret that I was keeping. However, I'm ready to reveal everything. Drum roll please...

Mark told me that he wanted to ask Laura to marry him! He said he needed some help designing a ring that he could present to her on Friday night when he popped the question. What could he give her initially before selecting something more permanent at the jewelry store? His glance shifted from my eyes to my sparkling bling-filled ears.

I got the hint. I replied, "Mark, I can help you with this task, and we can use one of my ear bling to accomplish it." The wheels started turning, and I came up with a plan to fashion the perfect ring. However, Laura was in and out of the house on Friday. When she came home, I strategically sat in my beach chair so she wouldn't see my bare ear.

Mission accomplished! She didn't notice a thing. However, my rather astute friend Festus was a bit more observant. He confronted me about the missing bling. I should have thought this out better, but I said that I didn't know what happened. It was gone when I woke up this morning. This was not a good thing to say to an aspiring cowboy sheriff. Festus insisted on calling Officer Po Po to file an official police report.

Officer Po Po arrived in his brand new police car and asked me a bunch of questions - when did I first notice the bling was missing, who did I interact with that day, etc. When I insisted that it was no big deal, he looked at me quizzically and shook his head. He could tell I was hiding something, but he just couldn't put his finger on it. After Po Po left, I breathed a sigh of relief and vowed to continue with my project in secret. I would avoid all monkey contact until my mission was complete.

Sparkly ear bling, you're about to become an engagement ring!

The Case of the Missing Ear Bling - an Open-and-Shut Case - Part 2

There's an abundant supply of free bamboo near my home. I thought this might be the perfect material to construct a ring. Now I just need to find a shoot with the proper diameter.

I had to complete this task in a stealthy manner, so I wore my camouflage John Deere cap while I sawed down the bamboo.

After securing my sample of bamboo, I headed off to the machine shop to do some precision handiwork.

After cutting and sanding for hours, the ring is almost done. Now to add the bling...

Ta-Da! Here's the finished product. Mark was so grateful for my help. Friday evening he returned from the pier triumphant because she said YES! For my efforts, I received a replacement ear bling from a fine kiosk in the mall. Officer Po Po declared the Case of the Missing Ear Bling to be officially solved and closed.