Christmas Eve
Well, the gifts are wrapped (with a little help from the muses) and so it's just a matter of enjoying the rest of the evening. I did get an early gift! Bobby came in this morning and said that he was giving me one of my gifts a day early. He said that when I saw it, it would make sense.
So, he went into his closet and brought out...a brand-spankin-new Steve McNair Ravens jersey! Just in time for me to wear it while we played the Steelers today.
I'd gotten my first and only Ravens jersey in 2001, the year that we went to the Super Bowl. It is so old and so well-loved that most of the printing has come off of it, so it is really just a tattered purple t-shirt with lots of tiny holes in it.
Then the Ravens gave me my second early Christmas present today because they played the Steelers in Pittsburgh and once again made fools of them by beating them 31 to 7. The Squealers Steelers are our number-one rivals and have some sort of inexplicable power over our Ravens. We will play great all season...then get devastated by the Steelers. Perhaps as evidence of this, this was the first season in our ten-year franchise history that we beat the Steelers in both games that we played against them and the first time in like five games or so that we've beaten them in Pittsburgh.
Sooo...we managed to score a total of 59 points against them, giving up a bare 7 points (which was off a stoopid, stoopid turnover) this season. And we got 14 sacks on Ben Roethlisberger between both games. Ouch.
And we eliminated them from making it to the playoffs. Was that a tear? *achoo* No, just my dog-hair allergy.
Then the Indianapolis (which I just spelled "Indianapolish," which would be the team my family plays for in all their coupon-clipping, Fells-Point glory) Colts gave me my third Christmas present by losing to the Houston Texans of all teams and letting the Ravens slide gracefully into second place in the AFC.
Sooo...if we win next week and the San Diego Chargers lose, then we will be the first seed in the AFC. Is it too much to ask for a late Christmas present too??
Anyway, Bobby and I had proclaimed that this weekend was reserved for much eating and movie-watching. We went to see three movies over the course of twenty-four hours. On Friday night, we saw A Night at the Museum (fantastically funny and clever; do see it if you want a fun movie!). For Saturday matinee, we saw The Holiday, and last night, we saw Apocalyto for some lighthearted holiday cheer. I won't say how much we've eaten; just trust that it involves four different restaurants and truly disgusting quantities of food.
Christmas Eve is a special tradition for Bobby and me. We don't go anywhere or do anything (aside from going out to lunch for still more eating *wince*). We wrap our presents and lounge around. At night, Bobby makes meatzza for supper, which is a loaded vegetarian pizza. This year's meatzza will include vegetarian pepperoni and sausage, red peppers, green peppers, banana peppers, onions, mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, and unnamed seasonings.
The meatzza comes because my dad always made pizza on Christmas Eve, and this was one of the things I thought I'd miss the most when Bobby and I moved out on our own. Silly, huh? But it's sometimes the smallest things. So Bobby made me pizza for supper that year, and it has gradually evolved from a frozen pie and a cup of soda to a meatzza with Italian salad and champagne. Yummmm....
Before we have the champagne, we'll drive down to the historic district to take Alex for a walk and take some pictures of our hometown at Christmas, then drive to look at some Christmas lights. After the champagne, we'll have eggnog with Puerto Rican Ron del Barrilito (that's a kind of rum) and watch The Polar Express.
Meanwhile, Bobby has also given himself an early Christmas present. He made the very reasonable argument that it would be a shame to get the SeaLife camera on Christmas and not know how to use it. So I let him get it out to read the owner's manual and learn how to use it. So far, he's used it to take some pictures of Alex.
Alex hasn't gotten any Christmas presents yet, but his stocking is filled and overflowing on top of the bookshelf, and every now and then, he glances up at it with wide, hopeful eyes. Just like a little kid at Christmas.
So, he went into his closet and brought out...a brand-spankin-new Steve McNair Ravens jersey! Just in time for me to wear it while we played the Steelers today.
I'd gotten my first and only Ravens jersey in 2001, the year that we went to the Super Bowl. It is so old and so well-loved that most of the printing has come off of it, so it is really just a tattered purple t-shirt with lots of tiny holes in it.
Then the Ravens gave me my second early Christmas present today because they played the Steelers in Pittsburgh and once again made fools of them by beating them 31 to 7. The Squealers Steelers are our number-one rivals and have some sort of inexplicable power over our Ravens. We will play great all season...then get devastated by the Steelers. Perhaps as evidence of this, this was the first season in our ten-year franchise history that we beat the Steelers in both games that we played against them and the first time in like five games or so that we've beaten them in Pittsburgh.
Sooo...we managed to score a total of 59 points against them, giving up a bare 7 points (which was off a stoopid, stoopid turnover) this season. And we got 14 sacks on Ben Roethlisberger between both games. Ouch.
And we eliminated them from making it to the playoffs. Was that a tear? *achoo* No, just my dog-hair allergy.
Then the Indianapolis (which I just spelled "Indianapolish," which would be the team my family plays for in all their coupon-clipping, Fells-Point glory) Colts gave me my third Christmas present by losing to the Houston Texans of all teams and letting the Ravens slide gracefully into second place in the AFC.
Sooo...if we win next week and the San Diego Chargers lose, then we will be the first seed in the AFC. Is it too much to ask for a late Christmas present too??
Anyway, Bobby and I had proclaimed that this weekend was reserved for much eating and movie-watching. We went to see three movies over the course of twenty-four hours. On Friday night, we saw A Night at the Museum (fantastically funny and clever; do see it if you want a fun movie!). For Saturday matinee, we saw The Holiday, and last night, we saw Apocalyto for some lighthearted holiday cheer. I won't say how much we've eaten; just trust that it involves four different restaurants and truly disgusting quantities of food.
Christmas Eve is a special tradition for Bobby and me. We don't go anywhere or do anything (aside from going out to lunch for still more eating *wince*). We wrap our presents and lounge around. At night, Bobby makes meatzza for supper, which is a loaded vegetarian pizza. This year's meatzza will include vegetarian pepperoni and sausage, red peppers, green peppers, banana peppers, onions, mushrooms, fresh mozzarella, and unnamed seasonings.
The meatzza comes because my dad always made pizza on Christmas Eve, and this was one of the things I thought I'd miss the most when Bobby and I moved out on our own. Silly, huh? But it's sometimes the smallest things. So Bobby made me pizza for supper that year, and it has gradually evolved from a frozen pie and a cup of soda to a meatzza with Italian salad and champagne. Yummmm....
Before we have the champagne, we'll drive down to the historic district to take Alex for a walk and take some pictures of our hometown at Christmas, then drive to look at some Christmas lights. After the champagne, we'll have eggnog with Puerto Rican Ron del Barrilito (that's a kind of rum) and watch The Polar Express.
Meanwhile, Bobby has also given himself an early Christmas present. He made the very reasonable argument that it would be a shame to get the SeaLife camera on Christmas and not know how to use it. So I let him get it out to read the owner's manual and learn how to use it. So far, he's used it to take some pictures of Alex.
Alex hasn't gotten any Christmas presents yet, but his stocking is filled and overflowing on top of the bookshelf, and every now and then, he glances up at it with wide, hopeful eyes. Just like a little kid at Christmas.