AdBowl 2012

For those of you living under a rock, today was the Super Bowl. I was cheering for the Giants (they're my mother-in-law's team) since my 49ers were out of the running. I think it was a great game - it seemed like it was going to be easy for the Giants at the start but then it got much more competitive. I love a good game that stays close!

We had a regular smorgasbord of food - chips, onion dip, queso, sturgeon (yes, there was fish in my house), Kona ribs, curly fries, chicken wings, and mozzarella sticks. We were definitely not lacking in the food department.

I loved the halftime show. I think this was one of the best ones they've had in years. I loved Madonna and loved that she incorporated LMFAO. Special thanks to Charlie (my brother-in-law) for asking me to explain what LMFAO stands for to my mother-in-law. Awesome. I can't wait for her new CD to come out and can't wait for her to go on tour!!!

On to the ads. My hands down favorite ad was played at the very end of the game - in fact, most of you probably missed it because it was after all of the awards. It was for the Chevy Sonic and was called "Joy":

My favorite part was the grasshopper saying "Everyone remember to go pee pee?". Seriously reminds me of my dad before we hit the road for just about every vacation.

I also really liked the Volkswagon "The Dog Strikes Back" commercial.

Seriously, who doesn't love "Get Up Offa That Thing"?! And that chubby dog was freaking adorable.

I was pretty disappointed with the Budwiser commericals this year - I really think they fell flat. Coca Cola was another one that wasn't that great (sorry Kimi!). Both of these companies have had such amazing commercials in the past that I have started to expect that level from them.

Weekend Wrapup: Football, The Haka & Critters

Today was quite the Sunday in the Smithson/Blankenheim house. We started the day with some serious football watching. My 49ers pulled off another win - so exciting to see them at 3-1! While the game was on, I worked on an apple pie. It really has been forever since I took some time to bake - and while my crust was not fantastic and my pie is not beautiful, it sure does taste good! Once all of this wedding stuff is over, I'll need to brush up on my technique!

After lunch I took a lovely nap... we had all the windows open and the breeze was wonderful! When I woke up, I went out and noticed that football was no longer on TV (seriously, that's blasphemy on a Sunday). Instead, it was rugby. As it turns out, the World Cup was on... New Zealand was playing Canada. For those of you who don't know, Charlie and Mike played rugby all through college... so he was really into this. I sat down to watch and I must say, it is a really interesting game.

The most interesting part of it all, was the New Zealand All Blacks team's pre-game ritual. They perform the haka:

Yeah, they do this before every game. And the other team is just expected to stand there and watch. You have to admit, it's a little intimidating! Apparently, the haka is a traditional war cry and/or dance of the Māori people of New Zealand.

Finally, we ended our day with a little walk down to the game camera. I'm telling you, we hit camera gold today.

Black Bear

Mountain Lion Dragging A Deer

Here's the crazy part... the picture of the mountain lion dragging the deer happened on the night that I was up because my alarm was on the fritz - and right around the time that I heard awful noises outside. How crazy is that?! I find that I'm completely fascinated and completely terrifed all at once.

My First NFL Football Game!

Today we went to my very first NFL football game... to watch the San Francisco 49ers (my team since childhood) play the Seattle Seahawks (Mike's team). We parked in Richmond and took BART all the way into San Francisco, which was a fantastic idea. We ended up saving SO much time and frustration, especially after the game! Here we are on the train:

The very first thing I noticed when we got to the field was how HUGE these guys are... I know on TV some of the linebackers look pretty big, but in person, all of them are massive! The other thing that I noticed was how skinny the field goal posts are! On TV, they've always looked so wide... but they're only 18 feet, 6 inches apart! We got there nice and early, so we had the chance to walk down the field and watch some of the warm ups. Here's 49ers coach Mike Singletary:

Here's Mike and I, all excited to be there:

Of course, when at any sort of sporting event, it is entirely necessary to eat and drink all sorts of unhealthy things (like hot dogs, nachos and beer!):

It was a pretty fun game to watch... the final score was 40-21 with the 49ers winning my first NFL game... it's almost like they knew I was there! :)

I think football is definitely one of those sports that is WAY better to watch in person than on TV. Don't get me wrong, I love my Sunday football, but it was really cool to see and hear this live! There were a couple of field goal attempts that the 49ers made and one of the Seahawks got a hand up to try to stop it - you could hear the slap from where we were sitting! It was also amazing to see how really athletic these guys are... TV doesn't do it justice! They typically cut away from the quarterback after the hands off/passes the ball, but if you really watch, he continues moving through the play after he hands it off... to fake pass or fake another hand off. It's all stuff you almost never see on TV!

Fantastic day!!!