A Very Ziggy Christmas

I am not sure if this will be a continuing trend, but I seem to be the unofficial hav-wartz holiday correspondent. Maybe Chris will write the New Years post and document all our wild and crazy times.

On Dec 23rd we were still missing a Christmas tree. We both planned on surprising each other on the same day by purchasing a tree while the other one was sleeping. Chris was planning on picking up a tree on his way home from work in the morning, and I wanted to go get one after he arrived home to go to bed. Neither of us could execute these goals because the car battery died the night before. While Chris was out purchasing jumper cables for the car, the apt buzzer rang and I opened the door to find a delivery man with a Christmas tree in his arms. Chris' parents had ordered us a tree from a local florist, and the timing was great because while Chris was gone I had time to set it up in the living room. Instead of "running errands" like he said, he was out at a tree farm trying to pick out a tree to carry home as a surprise. Unfortunately they didn't have any in the size he wanted, so when he returned empty handed, he was happy/relieved to find his parent's gift. It was the perfect size for the living room and came decorated with pine cones and berries. We added lights and it made our little hearts fill with Christmas cheer.


On Christmas Eve we were starving so we decided against going to the grocery store and taking the time to make dinner. Instead we went on a walk through the city to see what restaurants were open. We ended up at Bill's Place, a family owned diner specializing in burgers. They cut and grind their own beef daily and some of their burgers were created by and named after celebrities; the The "Carol Doda" burger pays tribute to the legendary North Beach stripper with two matching patties sitting side by side, topped with olives. Get it...the burger is supposed to look like boobs :) I ordered a banana shake that was fantastic, and it was more than enough for both of us to share. After eating we had the joy of walking uphill 10 blocks back to the apt, but the food made it all worth it.

My parents sent me a San Francisco 49ers sweatshirt for Christmas. This is funny because they are the football team I became attached to in 4th grade because everyone else liked the Cowboys. I followed them throughout the years, eventhough I never lived in California or planned on living here. My dad would always get me San Francisco 49ers calendars and other memorabilia each year, and so this year the gift was especially fitting. I hope to attend a game at their stadium and wear the new sweatshirt sometime next year:)

On Christmas day, we drove to Kat and Ray's house in San Mateo...about 35 minutes from our apt. Chris worked with both of them while he was going to UCF but I had only met them once at their going away party, before they moved here two years ago. It was so thoughtful of them to invite us to be part of their holiday celebration, and it was nice to spend time with familiar faces when we were so far away from everyone this year. We met their adorable (almost 2 yr old) daughter Aria, Kat's father and sister, and we all ate dinner together, played video games and watched Christmas movies. It was a lot of fun and we hope to have them over for dinner at our apartment sometime soon.

Christmas magically extended to today, when Chris was able to find a nice tv for a great price on craigslist. He also surprised me with a gift he had been hiding under the table for two days:) We are hoping to get some more furniture this week while Chris has off work. Hopefully this translates into Kitzzy and Jason having something other than camping chairs to sit on when they are visiting San Francisco next week. Also with that new tv, we were able to watch one of Chris' favorite holiday past times...an old network televised Christmas special called "Ziggy's Gift". . . which as of last year we own on dvd. It teaches of Joy, Love, and more Love and Joy.

It was hard being away from family this time of year, but next year we know to purchase plane tickets well in advance :) We hope everyone is having an awesome holiday/winter break and that we talk to you all soon.