snadblog

What a crazy week and a half it’s been getting ready for Christmas and then celebrating it. It has been busy and fun, and I haven’t had much time to sit in front of the computer, which is both frustrating and a welcome change of pace.

We spent Christmas Eve at my folks’ house with the family. We had lots of fun, filled our guts with tiny food (we always do all appetizers on Christmas Eve… yum!), and even opened a few presents. Jack went with us and he behaved perfectly, just happy to be around people who would pet him all night.

The highlight of the evening was when Emily changed into her new Christmas nightgown and I announced her entrance into the room with “Ladies and Gentlemen! Presenting Little Miss Emily in her new! red! NIGHTGOWN!!!!” She ran down the hall, giggling with delight as we all applauded her. As those of you who spend any time with 3-yr-old children can guess, this entrance had to be made more than once. More than two or three times. Emily was after me all night, begging me to “do the little miss red Emily words, Chica!” I obliged, of course, at least a dozen times, and she was the most well-announced person around.

On Christmas Day, we all got up really early and headed over to Mike and Shanon’s house. We all arrived before Emily woke up, assuring us a front row seat at the Santa show that followed. The gifts Emily received seemed to have multiplied while in hiding, and she had plenty of opening to do. She enjoyed opening presents so much, in fact, that every time she handed you a present to open, she would ask if she could open it for you. If you agreed, she would take it and announce what it was before it was even opened (if she knew), tear off the paper, hand it to you, then run off to find the next one to open. Despite the eagerness, we still managed to slow down this year and stretch the gifts out over the better part of the day. We got to play with everything as it was opened, which made it a lot more fun for everyone.

I received two new camera lenses as gifts this year (for my digital SLR). My parents got me a 50mm f1.8 and Dennis got me a 100mm f2.8 macro. It is amazing to look at how my photo quality changed from Christmas Eve (with the old lens) to Christmas day (with the new 50mm). I played around with the macro lens, too, but it is really particular about being held steady and it requires very careful focus. I’m currently troubleshooting a problem with my tripod, and once that’s working I hope to have some great macro shots to share. In the meanwhile, I am learning a LOT about depth-of-field and focus, and I’m loving it. Now I just need a new camera bag to hold all this gear!

One of my favorite gifts Emily received for Christmas was a Chicago Bears cheerleader uniform. If we lived in Chicago, this would likely be a very typical gift and you’d see them everywhere in stores. But in Kentucky? Not so much. However, Mom and I were in Walmart one day and out of the corner of my eye I saw the familiar C on a field of orange. We couldn’t believe it, but there was a whole rack of Bears uniforms. No other teams were present, just the Bears. And they were marked down to $13 and they had Emily’s size. It was just too perfect, so we had to get it. We thought it would be a fun joke for Dad and for me, and Emily could cheer on the games next year (this season is pretty much over), but when Emily opened the box, she loved the uniform and insisted on wearing it immediately — and through most of the day! Pretty adorable, I have to say.

So I have only 4 more days left of vacation, then it’ll be back to work (shh!  I know!).  Unfortunately, I’ve still got tons of stuff on my list that I meant to do during the break.  I guess I’d better get busy!

Yeah, I know. My Bears lost the Super Bowl. But you know what? It’s okay. Just making it to the big game was enough for me. Really! It was the first time I ever watched a Super Bowl and genuinely cared about one of the teams playing, so it was very special to me. Despite the great season the Bears had, years of experience have me still conditioned to be amazed when they win, not surprised when they lose. I went into this game ready to enjoy it for what it was. I was surrounded by good friends and we had lots of fun, and there were several great cheering moments during the game that made it all worth it.

My love for the Bears hasn’t wavered, and I’ll be there for their next Super Bowl, even if it takes another twenty-one years to happen.

Besides, I can live for quite a while just on the giddiness I got from making a re-usable decoration for the party: a rug that looks like a football field!

I’m so excited! My Chicago Bears just won the NFC Championship game and are headed to the Super Bowl in two weeks! That’s right, I said “my”. I’ve put in the time, I’ve walked the walk, and I’m sitting here ready take in all the glory.

I learned to love the Bears when my Dad’s friend introduced them to us back in 1985. Dad and I followed in his footsteps and adopted the Bears as our home team. Sure, we were quick to jump on the bandwagon and become die-hard fans of the legendary team that just happened to win the Super Bowl that year. I know it was easy; I was just following the crowd. But in the years that followed, I continued to be a fan. For years. And years. Twenty-one, to be exact. And every year, hoping to see them succeed again.

I’ve collected football cards, I’ve clipped game recaps, I’ve watched countless losses over bowls of hard pretzels. I’ve attended several games that the Bears lost, but I was still happy to be there, with -30F windchill, watching them lose. The highlight of a weekend trip to Chicago last year was standing outside of Soldier Field. I was a patient and willing fan, just biding my time until their eventual comeback. And at last, I’ve got it. This season has been great, and I loved every minute of today’s championship game.

To all of you who have exclaimed today, “Well, I guess Sandra’s happy!”… You’re darn straight.