Favorite Moments from Thanksgiving week

Officially Thanksgiving is only one day, but the way it is set up in our family/families, it is a week long extravaganza with fun filled activities such as cooking, eating, catching things on fire, clogging drains, climbing on roofs and rolling on the floor with laughter. History tells us that the first Thanksgiving occurred when the Native Americans gave food to the struggling Pilgrims and as a result shared a meal together. Historians debate the accuracy of this "first meal of Thanks" but regardless of it's truth, I love the tradition of gathering around a table with family and friends to give thanks for our many blessings. After our week of three thanksgivings and more pumpkin pie than my stomach could contain, I have decided to compile a list of our favorite moments this Thanksgiving.

• After picking up my grandmother from Lubbock, Sunday, we attended church as a family to give thanks. Which was followed by roast beef at my aunt Nancy's house. After lunch we made our way up to Nancy's bedroom and someone made a comment about the pitiful and unused treadmill covered in clothing and other junk that took up room in her entirely blue bedroom. To prove that this was in fact a used tredmill, Nancy proceeded to attempt a demonstration of how she DID know how to use the machine. Barefoot and in her Sunday best she strove to turn the machine on, only to find out that the thing wasn't even plugged in. After this the electricity issue was remedied, she began her demonstration, however, after a minute or so, the machine possessed by the demon of speed, sped up to a dead run, nearly throwing barefoot Nancy into the sprint of her life and in a dress of all things. Luckily she was not thrown through the air to her death since she knew the OFF button well.

• Kyle is the perfect husband. It has been confirmed. The evening his parents arrived, we offered our bed, as it was bigger than the guest bed. As we curling up under the covers, he asked if I had my chapstick, knowing that I use it every night before I sleep and that it was on the nightstand next to our bed. I answered that I did not, and without prompting, pouting or puppy dog eyes on my part, my perfect husband left the comfort of the bed in search of my chapstick. Although this was a small thing, this thoughtful act melted my heart into soft butter. He did not have to breach the cold, nor was he asked to, but because he knew that chapstick before bed pleased his wife, he went out of his way and into the cold to retrieve my chapstick. That right there is why I love my husband!
  
• Jennifer my best friend from high school, who now lives in NYC came into town to visit with her family and her Grandfather suffering from cancer for an entire week. I have known Jennifer since middle school, and though our relationship did not start out on a great foot, it has since blossomed into an unconditional and loving bond that I hold as dear to my heart as with a family member. One afternoon, Jen, her sisiter Kimberly, Kyle and I went shopping, and as we walked around Whole Earth Provisions she reached out to hold my hand. We walked to the jewelry section holding hands, probably looking like lesbians, but that didn't matter, what does matter is that I love Jennifer and I know that we will always be there for each other through the good times and the bad.
  
• Our second Thanksgiving meal was with THE ROGERS clan- Kyle's dad's side of the family. When we arrived the kitchen sink drain had been stuffed full with potato peals to it's breaking point. And break it did. A gallon of draino later, and the potato peals wouldn't budge. Doug, one of five brothers climbed onto the roof at his own peril and humiliation to stick the plumbers snake down something or other only accessible on the roof only to be the subject of much laughter and no success in moving potato peals.
  
• Disaster averted- The house was nearly brought to flames when the oven caught on fire from the drippings of the turkey. Luckily it was discovered quickly enough and our flame kissed turkey not only survived the torture, but was delicious.
  
• Upon arrival to the beach house of Kyle's grandparents (on his mom's side) we desperately needed a run. Three thanksgivings and 10 pounds later, working off the many dessert calories was not only a desire but necessity to work off the bulging belly that had grown so large, it had begun speaking. However, as we dressed for our run on the beach, we realized that all of my work out clothes, neatly put together near the front door, did not make it to a bag nor the car. I might, had I not had a speaking belly, chosen to forget the run altogether, but rather I put on Kyle's extra running shorts, my one and only regular, wired bra, and a purple baby tee. There is not doubt about it, I looked ridonkulus! It was my first time running along the beach, and although the sand challenges the body, I enjoyed running with my wonderful husband feeling the salt heavy breeze, listening to the sound of the ocean, and cautiously watching the pelicans and seagulls overhead for frequent poop bombs.
  
• How does one make pecan pie better? Chocolate. Yep chocolate makes everything better. Yummy!
  
• Betos- one of the greatest restaurants in San Antonio and sharing pumpkin empanadas with my two best friends, Leslie and Jennifer plus Peter (les's hubsband) and Nancy Grojean (Jen's mom). Friendships that have changed my life.

I have so much for which to be thankful. Everyday is a blessing. Sometimes it is hard to remember how many blessings we have when we are faced with adversity, but Thanksgiving is a time for remembering and saying thanks! Thank you to all of my family and friends for giving so much of yourselves and being who you are.

Thanksgiving #1 with my mom's side.

Thanksgiving #2 with the Rogers clan
Thanksgiving #3 at the beach with Kyle's mom's side.

The trip to Lubbock

Flying with dogs can be difficult, so most years my grandmother drives down with a student from the University. However, this year, she couldn't find a gullible Texas Tech student to drive a little old, beautiful and youthful lady with a dog to San Antonio to visit her family for Thanksgiving. My mom in all her kindness, volunteered her only daughter to drive the 400 miles to Lubbock and back. Kyle and I didn't really have much else to do, so accepted our fate. The plan was to be on the road by 11 am ( we were feeling ambitious)

• wake up early
• wash the dishes
• go for a run
• pack
  
• drive to library to rent book on CD
• drive to Lubbock

Actual departure time: 1 pm

For the most part, everything went according to plan except the "waking up early." Someone had a snooze happy finger. I'm not going to say who, but the options were either Kyle or me and it wasn't me... I guess you could include Jake the cat in the equation since he bounded into our room, attempting a quick tripping of the zombies as they stumbled into the bathroom and back under the covers without even cracking an eye (we've got some mad skills). After which Jake decided to explore under the covers in case their might be any game hiding below. He was sorely disappointed so when he realized that no food nor game lay under the covers, the waking of the human/zombie game began. We did the dishes- a task we had continuously put off considering that we had run out of forks, glasses, plates- basically all of the dishes.

Once we were on the road- two hours after our attempted departure time- we stopped in Junction, Texas for the best BBQ in Texas at Cooper's BBQ! Oh man was it delicious.

Such awesome decorations!

I didn't think we had moose in Texas, but I guess a head of any animal regardless of where it comes from is good enough for decoration. I know I love to have dead animals watching me as I eat MEAT.

Terrible picture of me, and we forgot to take the picture before I actually ate the rib, but you get the idea. I love me some TEXAS BBQ!

The black berry cobbler isn't too shabby either.

One of my favorite things about this trip, besides listening to the hilarious Huckleberry Fin book on CD was the changing of the leaves. I had forgotten that not all trees in Texas turn a rotting color of death during the season of Not so hot (Fall) and There might be a cool breeze (Winter), but rather some of them actually magically transform into beautiful shades of red and yellow. Some of the trees were magnificent. The drive to Lubbock, we were anxious to be done with the drive, however, I requested on the way back we stop to take a couple of pictures along the way. Kyle assured me that there was a beautiful section in Junction which would be a perfect stopping point. However, with those Y chromosome critters they are as always, at least almost always WRONG. Driving into Junction, Kyle realized that what he was thinking of must have been the spot when I said, "Kyle, Kyle, what about here, those are beautiful trees!" But did we stop there? The exact place he was thinking must have grown legs and changed locations. But to give Kyle credit, after much pouting on my part, Kyle pulled over on the side of I-10, and took some photos of the Texas Hill Country changing colors.


Driving long distances isn't my cup of tea, but I was very glad to have my Grandmother home for Thanksgiving. This thanksgiving, I am thankful for my family more than ever!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I have pretty much been copping out with my recent posts of just funny pictures, rather than adding actual substance to the blog, but I am easily distracted with family, TV, friends and turkey plus the pics are so great I feel that I would depriving you of such great humor, and the "substance" would be lacking since I cannot for the life of me multi-task with the distractions mentioned before. Anyways, I will write more later. Hope you had a great Turkey day! Enjoy!

Two in One

Today is a big day because not only have I been "tagged" for the first time giving me real blogger status, street creds in the blog-o-sphere if you will, but I have been given an award!!! Whooppee!

A cool blog that I like called Life in Chauncelot tagged me for something called 8 random things. We had a blog a couple of months ago called 7 things so in an attempt not to bore you I am going to list 4 random facts about me and 4 about Kyle.

1. My elementary school was named Regency Place, and our mascot was a knight in shining armor. Every six weeks a student from each class would be chosen as the "special" student with the best behavior and/or grades. But rather than be given a silly piece of paper with an award sticker, our students were knighted, down on one knee at a knighting ceremony. It was the coolest thing ever!
2. If I could wear pj and house shoes and fuzzy socks everywhere I go, I would. I love to be comfortable.
3. Almond Joys are my choice of chocolate sin. Creany coconut covered in milk chocolate with two almonds... my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
4. Most couples have a specific side of the bed they sleep on, not me and Kyle. Instead we switch sides every two nights. Kyle once read in a Men's Health Magizine that if you cuddle with you hunny, it is best to switch sides every night so as not to give your back problems.
5. When Kyle was a kid, to get Kyle to eat Chinese food, they told him that the sweet and sour sauce was Chinese ketchup.
6. Kyle was born as a male model, kind of like the kid on Zoolander when he made "the face." Kyle had "a face" except with his eyebrow, he always raised one eyebrow, even as a baby.
7. Kyle's bellybutton is unusually high, no one can ever guess where it is.
8. Kyle began life as a conehead. As he was being birthed he continually hit his mom's pelvic bone until he mishaped his head enough to make his grandmother cry. They tried to recruit him for the SNL skit and movie (jk), but his has head rounded out since then.

Ok, so the tag rules are as follows: Each player starts with eight random fact/habits about themselves. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules. At the end of your blog post, you need to tag eight people and list their names. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’ve been tagged and to read your blog.

Mariah http://myriaheva.blogspot.com/
Tiffany http://rantsandramblingsoftiff.blogspot.com/
Mrs. de Miranda http://mrsdemiranda.blogspot.com/
Ashton and Ana http://ashanna.websitesinaflash.com/
Laura and Aaron http://webbextension.blogspot.com/
Greg http://gregoryvest.blogspot.com/
Lisa http://lchinchilein2007.blogspot.com/
Kimberly http://helloaer.blogspot.com/

THE AWARD

"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to 4 bloggers who must choose 4 blogs and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

http://chauncelot.blogspot.com/
http://myriaheva.blogspot.com/
http://wdwcp03.blogspot.com/
http://eddienalexa.blogspot.com/

Thanksgiving plans

Thanksgiving plans:
Friday Nov. 20-Drive 400 miles from San Antonio to Lubbock, Texas aka: the red flat desert of Texas, complete with tumbleweeds and no naturally growing tree except the mesquite tree which is really a bush.
Sat.- Drive the cutest grandmother in the world (mine) plus her doggie, Athena, back to San Antonio for Thanksgiving fun. 7 hours there and 7 hours back makes for an exciting weekend! Little Athena is a bichon frise, was my first dog ever who now lives with Grandmother and sadly was diagnosed with lung cancer last Thanksgiving. They gave her a couple of months to live so it is a miracle that she has lived as long as she has, but her breathing this trip is considerably worse. Also, best friend Jen, flys in from NYC. Must find time to spend with her and her fam.
Monday- Kyle's parents come in for the week.
Tuesday-make grocery list and go shopping- Grocery stores during the holidays are like trying to buy groceries at a concert, complete body contact, absolutely no space to move or breath, possible fight at every turn, sometimes there is even body surfing over to the next aisle! Yes!
Wednesday- The Rogers clan comes in (Kyle's dad's family) and have Thanksgiving with the Sanders Family (my mom side of the family) a family of nearly all women who are all BOSSY. Lots of "Do this, do that" and not many "pleases." But it works for us. We always have a blast. It is a good thing that Kyle takes directions well... he being the only male besides my cousin and there being lots of things that a male who knows his way around a kitchen and the back of a TV is useful for.
Thursday- Have Thanksgiving with the Rogers Clan. It will be the first Thanksgiving without Grandma Dee Dee, and I know that it will be a trying time for the family.
Friday- Drive down three hours to the coast to have Thanksgiving dinner with Kyle's Mom side of the family. Yep, that is three thanksgiving dinners in three days! So much food, I may not live to survive it. My next post may be from the hospital while I am getting my stomach pumped from a food overdose.
Sat- Sun- we will spend chilaxin at the coast and eating lots and lots of seafood!

All in all, it should be a great Thanksgiving, but the planning and the cooking always makes me nervous.

On another note, I was listening to NPR this week and on Thanksgiving Day, they are playing a segment about the Depression. They had a lot of people interview their parents and grandparents to talk about their childhood during the Depression and how it does or doesn't relate to today. I want to make a video of my grandmother telling either a story of her past or specifically of her experience in the Depression. I encourage as many of you who would like to participate as well, and I will try and figure out how to set up Mr. Linky so we can share with each other. There is so much to learn from our elder generations. After Grandma Dee Dee passed unexpectedly we felt as if there might have been more that she would have liked to say. I wish I had thought of doing this sooner, but it isn't too late for the family members we do have today. Let's take advantage of today. Happy Thanksgiving.

Why I like Kids and some Thanksgiving recipes!

I got this in an email today and thought it was hilarious!

Making bubbles is so much fun!!

Boy discovers electricity

frogmare














living in poverty



you wanna bet I can't!

Future politicians reaching across the aisle

Don't blame me, They bought the generic brand.

portable airconditioning

Cheap amusement park experience.

Also with Thanksgiving around the corner The Scattered Mind of a Tattooed Minivan Mom is have a Thanksgiving recipe swap! What a great idea to get new recipes for the holidays! And if you are looking for even more recipes try Tempt my Tummy Tuesdays. I am going to share two. The first one is an apple crumble. I personally dislike fruit pies, I know I am weird, I just don't like the gooey-ness, but I DO like apple crumble, so if you are weird like me try out this recipe. This has been my favorite of all the ones I have tried.

Apple and Cranberry Crumble

Apples, cranberries, and an oat topping are an ideal combination of flavors for the holidays. Vary this dessert by using different nuts and nut oils in the topping.
Yield
14 servings
Ingredients
Filling:
1 3/4 cups granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup cranberry juice
1 (12-ounce) package fresh cranberries
2 pounds Gala apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (about 6 apples)
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Cooking spray
Topping:
1/2 cup regular oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 cup walnut or canola oil
3 tablespoons honey
2 large egg yolks, lightly beaten
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.
To prepare filling, combine 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, cranberry juice, and fresh cranberries in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until cranberries pop, stirring occasionally (about 10 minutes). Set aside.
Combine apples, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour, and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon in a large zip-top plastic bag. Seal; shake to coat.
Place cranberry mixture in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray; top evenly with apple mixture.
To prepare topping, place oats in a food processor, and pulse until coarsely chopped. Place oats in a large bowl. Lightly spoon 3/4 cup all-purpose flour and whole wheat pastry flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Add flours and next 5 ingredients (through cardamom) to the oats; stir to combine. Combine oil, honey, and egg yolks, stirring with a whisk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until moistened. Squeeze handfuls of topping to form large pieces. Crumble over filling. Bake at 375° for 40 minutes or until topping is golden and bubbly.

This second recipe is what you can do with your turkey left overs. It is amazing! Try it, you won't ever go back to weeks of turkey sandwiches!

White Turkey Chili

BECKY LUIGART-STAYNER

Yield
11 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Ingredients
1 tablespoon stick margarine or butter
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon minced seeded jalapeño pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
3 cups chopped cooked turkey (about 15 ounces)
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, drained and divided
2 (16-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles
1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup 1% low-fat milk
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Preparation
Melt the margarine in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and next 4 ingredients (onion through garlic), and sauté 5 minutes. Add turkey, 1 1/2 cups beans, broth, and next 6 ingredients (broth through black pepper), and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes.
Mash remaining beans. Add mashed beans and milk to the turkey mixture. Simmer, uncovered, 20 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring frequently. Stir in chopped cilantro.

**Happy 100 Post** and the sneezers

Yep, today is our 100th post! Something that certainly requires celebration and maybe a martini. Everyone gather together in a loving circle of peace and love and hold hands. (Yes you have to hold his hand even if it is sweaty!) We will now sing a celebratory song using the tune of "happy birthday"
Happy 100 post to you
You blogged up a slew
You look like a nerd
And you post like one too!
(Yeah, yeah, I know it's bad, but I not everyone is Paul Simon)

But in seriousness we want to thank everyone here for all of their love and support. Thank you to our friends and families, thank you to our bloggy friends and even a thank you to you blogger stalkers and/or lurkers (don't be afraid to make comments) you know who you are. I don't want to imagine where we would be without you. So a big THANK YOU to all of you!!

One way I thought we could commemorate this truly historic event that rivals Disney's 100 years of magic was to review previous favorite posts. So here is a list of some of our favs:

How our blog got it's name: The Yellow Brick Road
One of my first posts about my attempts at cooking: Dangers in the Kitchen
When Kyle and I were volunteers teaching English in Chile, we had some scary moments when the government took our passports: Tale of passports or nearly deported
Also while in Chile we struggled with the language, here is my take on it: Pieces of Spanish
The story of my engagement ring and how it was pirated: The One Ring
When we were studying abroad in Italy, we had a different blog. Even though it wasn't a part of the 100 posts, I thought I would share a fun post. Scroll down to the one called New found Love- it's about gelato!
The Haunted House Kyle and I made from scratch.

On to the part of the title "and the sneezers." Yesterday Kyle and I went for a run outside. The air was cold (cold for Texas is under 70 degrees) and dry (very strange for humid San Antonio). When I returned inside after exposing myself to the highly dangerous outdoors, where microbes run rampant, my nose began to tingle. It was a tingling similar to the one right before you sneeze except this tingling was not localized in one spot, instead it filled both nostrils as if there was million creatures inside dancing the salsa. The sneezing did not start immediately after the tingling as if their mere presence of the tingle was to taunt me, "You know you need to sneeze but it ain't coming, wait for it, wait for it, still no..." But when the sneezes started, they just wouldn't stop.
# of times I sneezed: 1 trillion (no but really I think it was at least 100) I nearly lost my mind and my eyeballs from the ridiculous amount of sneezing racking my body yesterday. I was pretty much a non functioning sneezing machine. If someone had thought to use my sneezes as an energy source, we might have had a long term solution to our energy crisis.
# of Kleenexes used: An entire box plus some. No joke, my nose has been rubbed raw. Santa has vetted me for the place of Rudolf.
Luckily today, I have only sneezed 20 times. What ever caused the sneezers, has left the building and good riddens! Don't come back now ya'll hear!!

To end this post, I thought I would leave you with this amazing video. Man this guy can dance! And if you make it through without a single tear from either tears of laughter or overwhelming joy then you are made of stone! Ok so I didn't actually shed a tear, but I thought about it, plus, Kyle tells me my heart is "as cold as ice" so I don't count.


Where the Hell is Matt? (2008) from Matthew Harding on Vimeo.

Count how many of these places you have visited. How many would you like to visit?

Louisiana Trip

Members of the trip:
Leslie- Best friend from high school. We actually figured out the other day that we have been friends for about 10 years now. (back right with short hair that she just cut for locks of love)
Peter- Leslie’s hubby dub dub in a tub. Ok, sorry about the nonsense, but it’s way more fun than just saying husband.
Diana- Leslie’s little sister who is starting her first semester of college at LSU and plays the clarinet in the marching band. (The band part is an important feature for this story) (She is in green)
Carole: Leslie and Diana’s mommy. Also our (kyle and my) assistant mommy ☺
Vanessa: Me, the coolest blogger ever.
Kyle: Vanessa’s hub dub, who isn’t quite as cool as Vanessa, but is making headway ;)

Leslie, Carole and Diana while we wait for breakfast

Because Leslie and I have known each other for so long, I have known Diana for nearly 10 years as well. However, our relationship was not always what it is today. I cannot actually remember the exact moment I met Diana but I would bet my life savings (-$5000) that she was either crying or whining at the time of our meeting. It is common Carole tells me, that the children in the family suffer from colic, the unexplained crying disorder, not to the age of 6 months as most children do, but till the age of 10 YEARS old. Leslie and Diana have 6 years age difference, so when we were 15 years old were invincible and could conquer the world without any help from those silly adults, Diana was just leaving her colic stage. At nine years old, to us she was just another little bratty, whiny kid. As the years flew by, however, Diana chipped away at her colic tendencies and transformed from an unidentified crying creature that might be of the same species or was more likely an alien to a little human that we could speak with and even with whom we could hang out. In fact, as she entered into middle school, we soon realized that she was gaining strength in her coolness capabilities. We began to enjoy her so much, we (Kyle, and I) moved from being assistant siblings to the dignified position of Diana’s groupies. Yes, you heard correctly, we as college kids, became a high school kids groupies. Weekends we could make it back to San Antonio from our obviously awesome college lives, we would attend a musical Diana was playing in, or a football game in which she was marching.

All of this is to explain why we decided to take a weekend trip consisting of two days from San Antonio to Baton Rouge and back again to see Diana play in the LSU band at their football game.
Leave time for San Antonio: (attempted time) 9:00 am (actual time) 9:20. Pretty good considering past trips.
Pick up time for Leslie and Peter in Houston where they currently live: Noonish
Time Kyle and Carole spent discussing politics: Forever. Political conversations became against the law (we in the back seat decided) once we left the state of Texas.
# of alligators we saw: 10
# of alligators we wrestled and beat with bear hands: 8 (kyle lost two fingers, and Peter lost a big toe, but it was worth it!)
Amount of alligator meat we brought home: one tonrillion pounds

We arrived in Baton Rouge, kind of on time, ran into our hotel rooms to bundle up and got in the car to head out to the game. For those of you in sections of the world that use heaters consistently in the winter might think us Texans and southerners crazy wimps and maybe we are, but I personally enjoy not being afraid of hypothermia when I step outside. However, we had our second cold front this particular weekend. The high in San Antonio was 60 degrees and in Louisiana the projected low was to be in the 40’s. List of clothes I wore to the game: Long johns, jeans, long shirt, sweatshirt, jacket, hat, scarf, but silly me forgot gloves.

Yes, I am wearing my "Don't Mess with Texas!" sweatshirt in Louisiana.

Me and hubby dub

Peter was excited to get the opportunity to wear his Parka. It was certainly cold enough sitting up there, unprotected from the wind.

Leslie however decided that they needed to change jackets for a while to warm up. Doesn't Peter look nice in his girly jacket?

When we arrived to the game and spent 20 minutes going round and round up to the top bleachers, Peter handed our tickets to the man directing ticket holders. He glanced quickly at Peter and said in his Louisiana drawl, “Son, who bought these tickets?”
Peter: “My mother-in-law.”
Man: “Your mother-in-law doesn’t like you very much. Go all the way up to the top and when you get there, say ‘Hi’ to God for me.”

We were looking for Diana. A needle in a haystack.

We found her! It is pretty amazing the zoom powers of cameras these days!

Sure enough we were on the tippity top of the bleachers. You couldn’t any higher than our seats unless you were entering the gates of Heaven. We didn’t meet God up there unless he was in the form of freezing, butt numbing wind! (Butt numbing because you know it is cold if you can’t even feel your butt after short exposure) Luckily for us, our terrible viewing seats didn’t bother us since we don’t give a damn lick about football. In fact, I am ashamed to admit this sense I am a Texan and all, but I don’t even understand the rules for the most part. From having to attend so many games, I have learned certain things such as, touch downs are good, each team wants the ball, and hitting each other’s butts is an acceptable manly act only in football. From our position, it didn’t seem to matter. We saw what was the equivalent to ants building a nest on a big green field, when really LSU, a nationally ranked team was shamefully loosing to a team with no standing or rank and all we could think of us was how to make our icicles of bodies defrost without breaking off a frozen arm or leg in the process. We left the game after the halftime show since we had traveled 8 hours to see little, tiny, indistinguishable ant Diana play her clarinet in the marching band. At half time the score was 27 Troy (from Alabama) to 3 (LSU). LSU did make history that night with the largest comeback of their history, but I can honestly say, I was not sad to have missed it. Rather we enjoyed the televised game in a restaurant with comfort of gumbo and ribs.

Me and the BFF

I am feeling a bit ridiculous in my outfit. Glasses, Ireland cap, furry scarf and a pink Don't Mess with Texas Sweatshirt. I was sporting the dorky look!

We saw Diana for 30 minutes or so around 12:30 am that evening, and then again for breakfast and then got in the car and headed back towards home.

Total amount of time spent on the trip: 38 hours
Total amount of time spent in the car: 16 hours
Total amount of time sleeping: 8 hours
Total amount of time in waking hours not in the car: 8 hours
Total amount of fun: Ubber gubber amounts of fun! We loved every minute of it!

Mike (who we renamed Ferocious Velociraptor Tiger to give him a more appropriate name for a scary mascot) the mascot living it up in his $6 million dollar cage, errr... I mean habitat.