50/50

Depending on what sort of fan you are - baseball or football - it was either a really good Sunday in Baltimore or a really bad one.

If you happen to love Baseball in Maryland, you're probably a little grumpy this evening.  The Orioles lost Friday then managed to pull out a win last night.  But the streak wouldn't continue, and they ended up losing again today.  Of course they are still the AL East champions, so I suppose you can't be too grumpy.  They're not in the knockout rounds just yet, so a small loss to the Sox was just a bump in the road to the World Series.

On the other hand, if you're a football fan in Baltimore, you are happy and a bit leery this evening.  The Ravens by no means looked fantastic today.  Joe threw some ugly passes and players that should have caught the ball, didn't.  But the Browns made some HUGE mistakes too and we ended up with a win anyway.  But the worrisome part was the potentially season-ending (career-ending?) injury to the one of the best guys on the team - Dennis Pitta.  He's a big player who just came off the IR a few months ago, where he spent most of the 2013-2014 season for a fractured hip.  It was scary to see him do pretty much the same thing today.  Sad because we may not have him this season, but even more upsetting because he's such a great guy and you never want to see players hurt.  Fingers are crossed in Baltimore tonight, I'm sure.

At least Maryland can celebrate one win tonight.  But with the way the Ravens looked today, I'm almost certain that the Orioles will have more wins in their future than the Ravens will...

Friday Five

1. "Delicious!" by Ruth Reichl: I've read a few of her other books before but this was her first novel and I fell in love with it.  For some reason I haven't been reading as much as I usually do this summer, and this was the first book that I flew through and couldn't put down. Fantastically chick lit and foodie lit - my two favorite types of books.  Seriously, how could it have gone wrong?!

2. A fabulous sports week: Not only did the Ravens triumphantly return last night to a 23-3 win against the Niners, but the Orioles are also winning currently 12-2 during their 60th anniversary game.  To top it all off, Tiger Woods missed the cut and Rory McIlroy is in the lead for the 3rd week in a row.  Now if we could Phil Mickelson to start playing actual golf again as opposed to the putt-putt he's been playing the last few months, things would be perfect!

3.  Not to sound like a broken record, but seriously, the GISHWHES'ers are doing some astoundingly awesome things!  Check them out!  They so deserve the recognition mostly for being brave enough to go for it!

4.  File this under the label "Strangest News Story You'll Read All Week" - Kama the Surfing Pig...Yep, you read that right.  He's a pig that lives in Hawaii and has a thing for surfing...apparently.  It's bizarre, yes.  And a pig doesn't really have facial expressions but he certainly looks like he's having a good time : )

5. I'm still not over the trauma of having to present but I have to say I feel a bit accomplished in the fact that I didn't completely suck.  I'm also pretty darn proud of myself for getting a bunch of tech geek guys to actually Pin things to Pinterest.  I'm totally taking that as a win!

Happy NFL Draft Day!

I say Happy Draft Day, because I'm presuming this whole draft thing is a happy day, based on the way everyone is reacting.  I'm a football fan and I get plays and rules but this whole draft thing confounds me.  I know the general gist.  Lots of teams, buy lots of players for lots of money.  But rounds, and numbers of picks, and people sitting in the audience watching all of this happen while random other people announce the picks is just completely confusing.   

It's been on ESPN ALL stinking weekend and I can't turn on the computer without seeing updates. Has it ever been this big a deal before?  I mean, it's cool and all to see the Ravens getting some nifty players but if I could figure out even a fraction of what was happening, I think it may be a bit more exciting! 

Go Ravens!

It's that time of year again folks.  As much as I like summer, I've been waiting since we won the Super Bowl for the new season to start.  Of course, these are just pre-season games and don't really mean much, but it's something.  Seeing as the Ravens are currently up by almost 29 points in the 3rd, the purple birds are giving me a very happy ending to a crappy day (i.e. - I hate the dentist!)  So there's really not much more to say but...

Go Ravens!!!

Things I've Learned This Week

~It's a good thing I understand military time, because it seems it's used primarily in England.  I've seen it on telephones and in articles.  I just assumed this was a US military thing but I suppose not.

~An ASBO is a sort of disorderly conduct citation in England.  I'm not bright enough to remember what the acronym stands for but I can at least give you the basics (and since I don't plan to ever get one, the basics will be sufficient.)

~Ray Lewis is retiring which is just depressing and a half.  If you are a Ravens fan or just a fan of the NFL in general, you must know that big Ray (we use Big Ray to distinguish him from Little Ray Rice here in B-more) is one of the most influential players to ever play the game.  He's inspirational, a tough cookie and an all around awesome person and we in Baltimore are going to miss him terribly! But I also learned he'll be starting on ESPN as a commentator so at least we'll still get our Ray fix.

~All stupid stinking FICA (not even sure what this is) taxes will be going up ~3% this week.  What the heck?!  I know it has to be done but seriously, can't you just tax the rich dudes that actually have money to spare?

~It is supposedly possible to cut fabric with the Cricut.  This cannot be confirmed as I have not yet tried but I can't wait to give it a shot!

~This is not as easy as the pictures make it seem and it really just looks like a small animal is nesting in your ponytail.

And lastly:

~I am, without a doubt, the most boring twitter-er (tweeter?) EVER. 

Color Me Confused

For the record, I am by no means upset by this but I am completely confused by the outcome of the Ravens season.  We've positively stunk these last few games, and somehow we clinched a playoff berth last weekend.  Then today, we LOSE to the Bengals, and yet we gain a home playoff game.  How does this happen? But you know what, I'm not really going to focus on that too much...

Go Ravens!

What to Say?

How is it that I have almost too much to say and not enough all at the same time?  I could talk about how excited I am for Christmas to come.  I really am like a kid in a candy store during this time.  I can't wait for family and friends to open the presents I've so carefully picked out, and of course I can't wait to open my own presents as well.

I could talk about the amazing snowhead teapot I received tonight which sounds like a completely off the wall gift but really isn't when you factor in my obsessions with snowheads AND tea.  Or I could talk about how the Ravens finally looked like a professional NFL team today when they pulled out a win over the Giants today for the first time in weeks.  And how good it was to see the Steelers lose and be eliminated from playoff contention.

Or I could discuss how proud I am of myself that I am completely packed for my upcoming trip with a suitcase that's perfectly balanced and not overweight.  I'm a stickler for a good packing job.  But I suppose none of this is interesting enough for an engaging post.  So I suppose there's nothing more to say than Merry Christmas! 

Too Close for Comfort

As a fan of a fairly good football team, I think we take our Ravens for granted.  We just assume that they're going to win when they're playing a team that's 4 and 5.  But, no.  We're forced to sit on the edge of our seats for 4 hours, until the time when the whole darn shebang comes down to Justin Tucker's right foot.  Holy Moly!  And people wonder why I already have grey hair!

But we won, and I suppose that's all that matters.  9 and 2 baby!  Not a bad way to end a wonderful long weekend full of Christmas shopping, Christmas decorating, a new restaurant and lots & lots of turkey with the family.

I suppose it's time to bring on Monday...after all, it's the only way I'm going to see Friday : )

Ugly

If you are a football fan, you've most likely seen the score for today's Ravens game.  There's not much to say other than it was truly, horribly, epically ugly: 43-13.  I'm not sure I've ever seen a game with such a high-scoring opponent.  After a so-so year, plagued with injuries and quite a few not-so-pretty games, this darn team has got to get it together.

I love my Ravens but not if they keep playing like this!  The worse part was seeing the faces of Flacco, Suggs and Harbaugh.  It was almost like they were having a difficult time believing what was happening...as was the rest of Maryland surely.  In the end ESPN said it best in its headline after the game.

"Ravens Game a Mid Night Dreary" - ESPN

Go Ravens!

After a disappointing Orioles game this past Friday, there were high hopes for today's Ravens game.  Luckily, though our boys didn't play as well as they could have (Except for Jacoby Jones: 108 yard touchdown! Woohoo!), we managed to pull out a win.  While we're still depressed by the loss to the Yanks, the win today certainly managed to buoy our spirits.  5-1 for the first time under Harbaugh - not much to say other than,

Go Ravens!!!

Birds of Baltimore

There's been quite a bit of excitement here in the Baltimore area this week.  We Ravens fans are usually fairly excited throughout the season.  And when we are doing fairly well, we tend to go a little overboard.  But what's really gotten us riled up this week is the fact that the Orioles played in their first playoff game in 15 years on Thursday and won. This means that we move on in the playoffs but more importantly we get to play the Yankees...at home!

With the Ravens AND Orioles due to play today, Baltimoreans were more than a little excited.  The Ravens game went off without a hitch.  They played sloppy but not as sloppy as Kansas City and came out on top of a crazy low scorer (9-3).  But unfortunately MD's goofy weather has gotten in the way of our Orioles' fun this evening.  The game was due to start at 6:15 but as of 8:30, it's still rain delayed.  It would seem the excitement will be holding off until tomorrow, I assume but who knows?

But that's ok.  We are still super proud of our Birds of Baltimore and we'll be riding the fun train as long as this lasts!