Merry Christmas from the Cook Family!

Call them whatever you want, but don't call them late for dinner!


Boop boop beadoop!

The Little Cat says "Hello"

Sniff. Sniff.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

The best version... ever.







And a fun version for all the Yinzers...

Happy Holidays from WVU

WVU Holiday Card

Dana Holgorsen to WVU

How about this guy? I know. I know. He's a Fabio/Phil Collins/Bobcat Goldthwait look-a-like, but he's also an offensive genius. He's been putting up huge numbers as Texas Tech's and Oklahoma State's offensive coordinator for the past seven or eight seasons.

Reports say he's going to spend one year as our new offensive coordinator, replacing the much beleaguered Jeff Mullen. Now here's where it gets interesting... he's also going to be our Head Coach in Waiting. That means he'll be replacing Bill Stewart as Head Coach in 2012.

At this point nothing has been confirmed by WVU or Oklahoma State. I expect it will be soon, however. There are far too many reports on this information. The WVU Athletic Department will make an announcement within the next 24 hours and save Mountaineer Nation from certain meltdown.

Welcome aboard, Bobcat... er, uh... Dana. We're looking forward to your first BCS Bowl.

Pies and Pints in Charleston

We used to have to drive an hour east to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants. Not anymore! Pies and Pints has finally opened its Charleston pizzeria.



Monday evening we enjoyed our first pies and our first pints. There were so many flavor options we couldn't decide on one pie. So... we split one. My wife's half was a Black Bean Pie. That included "seasoned black beans, cheddar, jalapenos, salsa, cilantro and creme fraiche." My half was the Spinach Garlic Pie. It included "spinach, red onions, gorgonzola, fresh garlic and roma tomatoes."

I washed it down with a Yellow Snow IPA from Rogue and my wife had a draught root beer. It certainly looks like she's drinking a beer, but as much as she wishes it was one, it wasn't. :)

Christmas Music Week

Last Thursday Mrs. Little Cat, myself and Mrs. Little Cat's parents attended the annual Joy to the World performance by Bob Thompson and his Unit.

Another year, another solid jazz performance. I think this was his 18th year in a row.





And then Friday night we attended the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra's annual Christmas concert, Home for the Holidays. As usual, Conductor Grant Cooper put together a spectacular show... elf shoes and all.

The highlight of the show for me, Mrs. Little Cat and probably the rest of our section was when Santa hit the stage and sang Jingle Bells. As he came out, a young man a few rows in front of us (probably seven or eight years old) lost his mind. He yelled and yelled for Santa. He said "Santa! Santa! Santa! Up here. I'm up here! Hi Santa! Santa! Santa!" It was completely adorable and 100% innocent. He really believed it was Santa. He seemed a little disappointed when his mother finally made him sit down and quit yelling, but the rest of us appreciated seeing someone be so genuine.

Good times. :)