Hehe, "monkey balls wrapped in bacon" was a favorite expression of a screenwriting teacher I had. I have shamelessly stolen it so feel free to do the same!

Aw, sorry about your dog. I hope you got to see her before she died.

Thanks for the recs! Black Horses for the King sounds right up my alley. And I'd like to read your fic when I have time! I watched season 7 of Buffy last fall and was really into Spike/Xander for a time. (I'm oh-so-predictable.)

Ooh, neat. What are you fasting for?