More Liverpool news...

Liverpool play Chelsea in the Carling Cup final on Sunday. For the uninitiated, the Carling Cup is the first major trophy in the English football calendar and even though it is not as prestigious as the Premiership and the FA Cup, it's still a big deal. Chelsea are easily the best team in the Premiership and Liverpool will have their hands full on Sunday. But after the game against Leverkeusen on Tuesday night hopes are high and coupled with Chelsea having a couple of key injuries there might be a chance of an upset. Anyway, I'll be at the pub on Sunday watching it on the big screen!

The weather...

We're experiencing a bit of a cold-snap in the UK at the moment. The last few days have seen NE winds bringing a lot of cold air and snow. Forecasters are saying that the snow will really get heavy tonight. Keep in mind, of course, what we call heavy snow in the UK, they call a light dusting in other parts of the world.

We've been trying to watch a few movies lately. I've just recently signed up for an Internet DVD rental service. It's actually very good. In the last month we've been able to see six movies without any late-fee worries etc. And, because they come in the post there is virtually no hassle either. There are a number of companies that do this sort of thing - we use LOVEFiLM and would highly recommend the service.

One last thing. Liverpool beat Bayer Leverkeusen 3-1 at Anfield last night in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League. It was a great performance and a good win - marred only by a late goal from Leverkeusen that could have been prevented. The second leg of the tie is in two weeks time in Germany. Come on the Mighty Reds!

Quick update...

First off, Marla's birthday weekend was a success. We did indeed go bowling on Saturday, followed by watching the second half of the Wales-England rugby match. Then in the evening we went to F.east, which is a pan-asian restaurant. There is only one option there now (it used to have a conventional menu), which involves a comprehensive buffet for £14.50. All you can eat buffets are generally wasted on me because I tend not to have a very big appetite at any given meal-time but I was determined to get my money's worth this time and I think I pulled it off. Then after the meal we played quite a few hands of poker (Texas Hold-Em) at Andy & Fi's - a good evening indeed.

On Tuesday (Marla's actual birthday) we had some cake at my parent's and then, after dinner, went to Rachael's flat for some pancakes. That was a good evening too!

Marla's presents included two necklaces, a book about cats (and what they think of humans) and gift vouchers for a health spa place. I gave Marla the complete third series of "24" on DVD. The first and second series were on BBC but since then it has moved to Sky, which means we are unable to see it. So, anyway, we have started watching the DVDs and are quite hooked. We watched three episodes last night and I suspect we will watch at least one more tonight.

Preview of coming attractions...

Marla's birthday is on Tuesday, so this weekend we will be doing something to celebrate. Tentative plans at the moment involve bowling, eating and board-gaming. But all that is yet to be confirmed. Regardless of what we end up doing, I'm sure it'll be a good time.

The Superbowl is this Sunday and it looks like it will be on terrestrial TV in the UK for the first time in a few years... so I'll actually be able to watch it live. I'm not sure who I am rooting for this year. I am not a big fan of either team but I have historically disliked the Patriots more than the Eagles, so "Go Philly!" I guess.