Slurpeeeeeeeeeeees

We got Slurpees!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Made it!

The view from our hotel!


We are in Downtown Disney and loving it :)


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

We on the road, yo

On the road. Too busy laughing to write much.

Ghetto rigged the GPS :)




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Almost Tampa-bound!

Getting ready to leave for Tampa (or really Orlando, I guess) and I'm trying out this nifty new BlogPress app for my phone. I think it'll make live-blogging from the trip pretty awesome.
I guess I should be packing and cleaning. Almost time to leave! So excited!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Location:India Rd,Opelika,United States

Yay!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Oh wow.

I've become a blog slacker again. It's amazing how little blogging I actually get done when I'm not at work doing nothing for 8 hours at a time.


And it's not going to get any better right now. I'm just here to apologize and promise to do better later. I'm hoping to do some blogging from Tampa. I just need someone to jailbreak my phone first :)


Merry Christmas, everyone!

Holy humidity, Batman!

I ran again this morning. It wasn't quite as bad as yesterday, but the humidity was killer again. And my dog wanted no part in slowing down. But I went, and that's the important part. This makes 4 out of the last 5 days and twice in a row again. I'm not going to jinx it yet and say that I'm back, but if I keep it up, maybe I'll at least be able to stick with it for a while.

As I write this, I am scarfing down a bowl of Special K, my first meal of the day. Bananas in the bottom, of course. I don't think I'm going to do a full-out crazy diet like I did this past spring (though the results were undeniable), but I do need to eat better. Working this awful schedule has thrown off my eating schedule, too, so I've gotten in the habit of grabbing whatever I can when I can. Unfortunately, that ends up being fast food a lot of nights. Time to nip that one in the bud.

Benjamin and I saw "Invictus" yesterday afternoon. That marked the third time I've gone to the movie theater with every intention of seeing "The Blind Side" and watched something else. But "Invictus" was a wonderful movie. It runs 2:15 with 25 minutes worth of previews at our theater on top of that, but if you have an afternoon to spend, I definitely recommend it.

I have a whole host of errands to run today, but I'm taking my time eating my breakfast. I need to get on the ball. Christmas shopping absolutely has to be finished today so I can put everything else toward the Tampa trip. Even though it's going to be a butt-ton of fun, all of that fun is going to cost money. So hopefully after today, I can save for amusement parks (because that's what's going to eat us alive).

I guess I should go dry my hair and get ready for a day of running around. I need to make a written list so I don't forget to do anything. This should be my last day of work before the big break, and Jason gets home Saturday, so I'm just excited all around. I can't wait to spend Christmas with him :)

You may not appreciate this as much as I do

But Jason's wonderful mother bought me these shoes for Christmas:

They make me happy.

With the little black dress and black tights? Yes. 

That's all for now. Just thought I'd share. They're currently under the McCain Christmas tree, just waiting for me. Hurry up, December 25!

Oh, and I went running this morning. Almost passed out. Probably should have eaten something first. But it got done, and that's all that matters. Now I'm off to get ready for lunch with Benjamin and hopefully knock out these Tampa plans.  

While I have your attention

See if you can spot the real donut in our Christmas tree at work:

Blame George and Panda for that one. 

Also, Jessica and I were wandering around Books-A-Million looking for a place to sit down (apparently my new gorgeous boots weren't, in fact, made for walking), and guess which section we happened to settle in front of...

Yeah, F our lives. 

And one more thing. I wore orange argyle socks under my boots tonight. 

 

 They were ballin'. Just thought I'd share.

I don't need any more books.

I have so many books.


Not only do I have a ridiculous number of books, but I have a ridiculous number of books that I haven't even read yet. I collect books like I collect shoes: I see them, I fall in love with them, and I have to have them.


Some of my books remind me of my childhood. Some of them cheer me up. Some of them help me get out that good cry. Some of them just look pretty on my shelf. And some of them captivate me.


Unfortunately, the majority of them just sit there, untouched, while I ADD some other book that catches my attention.


So I've decided that I don't need any more books. I actually decided this a while back but I went to Books-A-Million tonight with Jessica after dinner to walk around and ended up purchasing two books at full price that I absolutely did not need.

Seeing "Julie and Julia" made me fall in love with Julia Child all over again. I had to have these books.

So since I indulged after my initial pledge, I'll make an official one, in writing.


I absolutely will not buy any more books until my night stand has been cleared because all of the books piled on top of it have been read, including tonight's purchases.

This is going to be hard to stick to. I see political books, particularly anything about Reagan, and I automatically pick them up. I see romance novels, particularly anything historical, and I automatically pick them up. I see mysteries, particularly anything by Kathy Reichs, and I automatically pick them up. I see used books, particularly ones with notes in the margins, and I pick them up.

There's something comforting about old books.

Knowing that you're reading the same words that someone else has read, embarking on the same adventure, ending up at the same destination, is somewhat magical. I always wonder, especially when I don't have the benefit of the previous reader's margin notes, if I'm imagining the story in the same way that they did.

Right now my literary elephant in the room is Atlas Shrugged.

Yeah, it's a beast.

I've been trying to sit down and finish this book for months now. I'm not even close to finished. I love the story, and I know what happens, but I need to experience finishing the book. My copy isn't old, but it's beginning to look that way fast. I carried it with me everywhere I went for months. I've written plenty of notes in the margins for my benefit later or for the benefit of the next reader of my worn copy. They're not brilliant observations or anything, just modern parallels or ideas I found interesting. I always like to know what a previous reader found interesting.

So until I finish this beast and several other beasts on my night stand, I'm cutting my book habit off. It's probably best that I stay out of bookstores around the holidays. Too many sales and too much temptation.

I'll stick to shoes until this book thing shakes out.

Stuck inside today

Looks like I won't be running this morning.

I can soldier on through the cold, but the rain is a bit too much. Didn't I buy a treadmill for just such occasions? Oh yeah, it didn't fit in the new room arrangement. Strategic planning error.

The Tampa roadtrip planning process has hit a few speedbumps. An integral part of our group, Mr. Ballew, can only get off of work for 2 days, throwing a wrench into the plans. Another issue is that we're trying to coordinate two separate groups. Benjamin owes his allegiance to both groups, and it's starting to get difficult to plan around it. I might possibly owe my allegiance to both groups as well, but that totally wasn't my fault. Anyway, long story short, both groups want to stay at different hotels and are staying for vastly different lengths of time. We want to go down to Tampa on the 31st (possibly driving through the night on the 30th after Ben gets off work) and stay until the 3rd, when George and Eric have to head up to Mobile for the GMAC Bowl. We are planning to go to Disney for New Year's and visit Busch Gardens and lots of other fun stuff while we're down there because we don't get to go there everyday. The other group wants to leave on the 31st and come back on the 1st, which I reaaaaaaaalllllly don't want to do.

Oh well. We'll work it out.

Considering I slept for 12 hours yesterday, I'm surprisingly tired right now. Maybe I'll be able to get to sleep before too long and I can get up early enough to run before dinner with Jess. I know it's lame, but I'll probably end up at Daylight tonight visiting Justin because my sleep schedule is so messed up.

Looking forward to the next couple of days with nothing to do (but worry about Tampa planning). It's nice to have a few days off every now and then.

I miss Mitch Hedberg

I've seen this special a million times, and I still laugh out loud every time.


Mitch Hedberg Comedy Central Special

A-Rock | MySpace Video

We lost a funny one.

Time for bitterness about the Heisman?

Not really.

I'm happy for Mark Ingram as a person. I'm happy that he has won an award and a title that he can carry with him for the rest of his life. He obviously works hard and this is his reward.

I wish Colt McCoy could have taken it home, but Suh really made sure that wasn't going to happen. Oh well. What can you do, right?

Hook 'em Horns.

Note: I have been a Texas fan for a few years now. It started during the Vince Young years and hasn't really dropped off. I'm not just rooting for Texas because they're playing Alabama. I'm rooting for Texas because I actually like UT (Though I'd be straight up lying if I said that playing Alabama didn't help).

2 in a row!

Just a quick update:

I managed to drag my butt running in the cold and misty weather this morning and ran even more than yesterday!

Yep, imagine these in pink and that's what I run in. Way more comfortable than Shox, I promise. 

Sammy loved it again and I needed it after the Chinese I had for lunch and Taco Bell I had for dinner. I need to change my eating habits...drastically.

Oh, and I asked Bill about switching shifts. I may be off the night shift after the new year. Yay!

No shooting today, sadly. The weather won't cooperate. But maybe next week? There's a possibility neither Justin nor I will be working so we may take advantage of that extra time.

Okay, quick update over. I'll be back with something more substantive later.

Hasta.

Also...

I fell through a chair at work.

And Justin wouldn't help me up before he took a picture first.

In my defense, Bill did break the seat first. I just fell through it.

That's all.

Yeah, I changed the name of the blog

It's not like I have a million readers to confuse anyway.

And it makes me laugh.

The main title is a 30 Rock reference and the subtitle is a play on grapes and wine AND complaining, which is frequent on this blog...you know, like whining? Because of the squashing of the grapes and the complaining? Right? Anyone?

Whatever. It's funny to me.

For real, for real

I think it's time for a real blog post. Nothing football-related (as best as I can help it) and lots of opinion-y rambling about nothing, exactly as it should be.

So I went running today for the first time in a while. It's negative butt ass cold outside, but I figured today was as good a day as any to start back. I've gained back all of that weight I lost in the spring so it's time to get back in shape. I took my oldest dog, Sammy, with me. He needed a break from the mammoth puppy, Higgins. Higgins is up to just under 90 lbs and terrorizes poor Sammy. And Sammy loves to run, so I thought it would be a perfect fit.

Note to self: Running is hard.

You'd think I'd remember this after the bazillionth time I've restarted a running kick, but I am never quite prepared for how tough the first one is. I am used to being able to cruise right along, even in the cold, but today was kinda difficult. I'm hoping to go tomorrow and the day after that, so hopefully it'll get easier. And Sammy loved it. We'll see how it goes tomorrow.

Last night, the boys (George, Justin, and Eric, who is a loser and doesn't have a blog) came up to Daylight to hang out and in George and Eric's case, to study (and eventually sleep). We should have had the camera rolling the whole time,  but we did manage to capture at least one retarded thing that went on.

And that's when George invented the hole in a cup.



George thought the hole in the bottom of his cup was better than a straw. Justin sure showed him.

I need to get after it and upload some more MarcDevin videos. It just takes too long for them to actually upload. But I'm going to have to try to stay awake if we are going to go shooting this afternoon, so that's what I may be doing to keep alert.

For now, I am going to catch up on my Thursday TV that I slept through (a favorite TV shows blog will be coming, don't worry) and try to control my craving for cheap Chinese. It's only 10 am. Definitely not time for lunch yet.

Hopefully there will be more exciting news later. I've got some pictures that I've been meaning to post so here they are all at once without proper context. Isn't it more fun that way?

We went to the Auburn/Virginia basketball game to get our vouchers for the bowl tickets. It filled up a little more after this, but not much. But by some miracle, we won that game. War Eagle!

Annnnnnd Ben and I had a photo shoot.

This is just what we do.

Look, being a Mac user doesn't change the fact that you lose all of your cool points by driving a Kia minivan. Sorry, them's the rules.

The genius management at work decided to put the extra donut cutting machine right in the middle of the stock aisle. Guess where all of the stuff we need to stock the front is? That's right! Behind it! Fail.

Justin decided to squirt cream cheese icing in his mouth. Yes, he is an idiot.

And finally, courtesy of the Plainsman Parking Lot, a truer statement has never been made about Auburn's use of the Wildcat this year:

 Yeah, you know it's funny...'cause it's true.

Well, I almost made it the whole time without talking about football. But I was making fun of us, so that has to count for something, right Will? I'll try harder next time.

My Two Cents: Not just an Auburn blog

Re: the title: I'm not talented enough to have such a narrow focus.


This accidentally became an Auburn-centric blog over the last couple of weeks. It's not, really, and the content is going to have to open up a little, but the last few things I've had to write about have definitely been football-related.

I'll try to do better about that. I know there are other interesting things out there, like Auburn basketball, for instance. Except not really at all. I went to the basketball game to get my voucher for the bowl ticket and though it was a really good game right there at the end, I find it really hard to get into basketball. I'll share the pictures/stories of that one later.

In other news, um, I don't really have any. Daylight is the usual clusterf*** and I'm actually considering getting a job at the OA.

I'm getting super crunk about this Tampa roadtrip. Hopefully we can mimic the same roster as the Baton Rouge trip with a couple of cool additions. I love roadtrips.

Sorry I didn't have anything interesting to say. I just realized that with the redesign and all of the football posts lately, this thing has kind of gotten out of control. I'll try to do better.

It's official!

I will be spending New Year's in Tampa!

Got my ticket for the Outback Bowl this morning. Can't wait for the road trip, the game, and the inevitable stop at Busch Gardens!

War Eagle!


***Update***
Upon closer examination of this post and the picture at the top of it, I have realized that my ticket also doubles as a coupon for a free Bloomin' Onion. Legit.

Update! The morning after

God did it again.

After a terrible football night, He managed to show off yet again with another beautiful sunrise. I wish the camera would do it justice. The pinks and oranges were unbelievable.

It's comforting to know that even though football might not swing our way, God is still looking out for us. War Eagle.

Well that didn't work out like I'd hoped.

All aboard the USS SEC Championship Failboat! Alabama brought its A-game and Florida forgot to show up. Fail.

This post could very easily take a turn for the petty, but I will do my best to prevent that.

As I sat on Jason's parents' couch in their great room, watching the fourth quarter of the SEC Championship game tick away, surrounded by Alabama Christmas memorabilia (Congratulations, they found a way to make me hate Christmas. Awesome) and a very large Daniel Moore print of Alabama winning the 1992 national championship, a really scary thought crept up and slapped me in the face:

Oh my goodness. They really could get 13*

In the interest of preserving family harmony, however, I added a little more rum to my pineapple juice and decided to grin and bear it.

To tell you the truth, this one hurt more than the Iron Bowl. At the end of the Iron Bowl, I was so focused on how proud I was of our team and how much of a fight they put up, I didn't really have a chance to feel that "kicked in the gut" feeling. I feel it now.

Is that petty? Probably. Can I really help it? No. My feelings about Alabama parallel Jason's mom's feelings about Auburn. If Tuscaloosa disappeared into a sink hole, if Bryant-Denny imploded, if Nick Saban quit tomorrow and took the Notre Dame job, if Alabama suddenly and unexpectedly received the death penalty from the NCAA for heinous violations they didn't have a name for yet, I wouldn't shed a tear. Sure, after a while, it wouldn't be any fun not to have them around, but for that first few years, it would be magical. Part of me feels guilty about that, but the other part of me hates being treated like a little brother and being called "The Barn," like agriculture doesn't feed their crimson-clad bodies. I hope they choke on their steaks.

I need a distraction from the rum hangover and the sick feeling in the pit of my stomach that that game left. I hated to see Tebow cry, but he was a class act during his post-game interview. Tebow said the Alabama program and its fans were classy when he could have easily talked about himself. And what do the Alabama fans do? They relentlessly taunt him for crying and make a liar out of him by being the exact opposite of classy. Congratulations, you turds. For as much work as the players and coaches put into Alabama's program, their fans--the vocal ones at least--have no concept of humility. Hard work and humility go hand in hand. A few horrible people make the entire fanbase look bad. 

But even as much as I hate Alabama--and I do hate them, I hate the arrogance and the bragging and Rammer Jammer--I love Auburn more than I could ever hate Alabama. And that's what I have to focus on tonight. In all likelihood, we are going to receive an excellent bowl bid and compared to the dizzying downward spiral of last season, at least we have hope. Gene's system seems to be working, and that's all we can really ask for at this point.

So I'm doing my best to put UA out of my mind, at least for now. The national championship game is a month away, and Christmas and our bowl game will fall between now and then. That should be plenty of distraction from what will inevitably twist my stomach in knots. But you know what, even if they do win it, the sun will come up the next morning, and it will be brilliant shades of orange and blue in all of God's glory**

Other than the obvious football differences, I really enjoyed spending the evening with Jason's parents. Lauren's parents were also over there and it was nice to have everyone together, even if Lauren was a loser and skipped out. I got to show off my new shoes (which I am convinced angered the football gods because they're the perfect shade of crimson) and we're all going to the mall tomorrow afternoon for a little shopping. When you take football out of the equation, I love love love Jason's parents.

Tonight is my last night of work for my work week. Two nights off and no city council meeting Tuesday. What could be better? Well, every night off would be better, but I have to be able to afford to feed my shoe habit.

Speaking of which, did I tell you? Oh, that's right. I've been a sketchy blogger lately. I got the boots. I paid way too much for them, but they're perfect and gorgeous and will be amazing for this winter. Happy girl :)

Overall, I'd give this day a D. The food over at the McCain's salvaged the passing grade (by high school standards at least), but everything else was a complete waste. Luckily, if the good Lord is willing, we will get to try it all over again tomorrow. No football, though, so much less opportunity for disappointment. I'll take shoe shopping over watching Alabama win an SEC Championship any day.

*Or, you know, 5. Either way.
**I just probably won't see that sunrise, or the next several. I'll be in bed. Wallowing. Hook 'em Horns.

Don't let my gorgeous crimson pumps fool you

For at least tonight, my heart belongs to the Gators.

On pins and needles. That is all.

MarcDevin LeRoy works at Office Max

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Benjamin? Because I love him a lot.

In addition to our feature film project and the music video for "Obamacare frownie face," we've been working on a short series of web videos chronicling the adventures of MarcDevin LeRoy, an Office Max employee with a flair for life.

The first video can be seen in the previous entry. We are posting one per day, and here is the newest one:



Like I said, I love him.

Only for Benjamin would I embarrass myself this much...

So I may or may not have rewritten all of the horrible song "LoL :-)" to reflect the health care debate. I would only do this for Benjamin.

Again, this may not have happened, but if it did, here is the original awful song (with the amazing visuals that Ben and I about died laughing over.

And here are my lyrics, if in fact I actually wasted an hour of my life writing them:

Obamacare Frownie Face

Shawty said I swear, gon' need some health care
Obamacare, frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face
Swaty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

Shawty called my phone, I was busy (I was busy)
Said she was sick and feelin dizzy
Then I felt my phone buzz, I know what the flu does
She need a doc like really

Then she sent a text that read, baby I ain't cured
Then she sent another one that said I'm uninsured
So I sent her a frownie face and said let's get you well
She said Obamacare will help me, and I began to yell

Then I said this whole affair, it'll kill our health care
Docs won't have incentives for the top notch repair
It's on its way lines and forms, I hissed
All the innovation will be lost to waiting lists

Shawty said I swear, gon' need some health care
Obamacare, frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face
Shawty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

Go to senate.gov and read up
Oh wait the bill's not there cuz they nothin but corrupt
Swaty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

See our problem ain't lack of any insurance regulation
It's the fact that these companies aren't in any competition
Feds come in regulate, say you stay within your state
Government-created monopolies cause all this frustration

The free market keeps a balance, keeps things real nice
Keeps companies in line who try to drive up the price
Yo insurance won't cover your condition?
The free market would find you one that would--that's called competition.

A trillion dollars to talk to a federal bureaucrat?
No thanks, Chairman O, I'll keep my income tax.
Deregulate the system and give doctors back the power
You'll see more people insured and less grief within the hour.

Shawty said I swear, gon' need some health care
Obamacare, frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face
Swaty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

Go to senate.gov and read up
Oh wait the bill's not there cuz they nothin but corrupt
Swaty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face
Private healthcare's fine, y'all, Obamacare frownie face
Shawty said Stupack means no insured abortions
I told her Stupack will be axed in committee contortion

What about illegals, she said it's not in there
I told her that's the point exactly, not stated, not regulated
She's all upset, accusing me of tactics just to scare

She just doesn't get it, we all have to buy it
Pelosi and O said told us,
it's either jail time or you better empty out your wallet

They'll require jobs to provide coverage for us
Or pay a fee that is less expensive and thus
We get dropped off onto the the government's plan
That was designed all along, built in before it began

Shawty said I swear, gon' need some health care
Obamacare, frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face
Swaty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

Go to senate.gov and read up
Oh wait the bill's not there cuz they nothin but corrupt
Swaty got that swine flu, insurance won't pay through
Obamacare frownie face, Obamacare, frownie face

***Note*** These are rough and not really true to rhythm yet. But yeah, I've got mad skillz, yo.

Benjamin and I also spent most of the night making a series of videos about a really cool cat who works at Office Max. His name is MarcDevin LeRoy and he's pretty much amazing. Look for those videos on my YouTube channel or Facebook. Basically, Benjamin and I make a great team. I wish we had the other third of the Alliance to work with, but things happen. We're just rolling with it.

Finally! A break!

I'm off for the next two days! Yay!

Jason goes back to Texas today. Boo! 

That's all. I'll be back with more when I can collect my thoughts and/or get some sleep.

Heartbreak and the nonexistence of moral victories

So this is a crappy picture, but it's the only one I remembered to take because Eric didn't remind me like I told him to :)

This post is going to be scattered and disjointed because I'm about to crash. I worked last night, went to the Iron Bowl, screamed my voice away, jumped until my legs turned to jelly, watched Auburn give it their all, left with a heavy heart, and now I'm working again. I'm exhausted, but I'll never be sorry that I went to that game.

The Iron Bowl was a heatbreaker this year. But I think Auburn was in it more than anyone (except the team itself) expected them to be.

Justin sold me a student ticket at the last minute, so I got to experience the amazing atmosphere of the Auburn student section during an Iron Bowl. I'm so grateful to George, Eric, and company for saving me a seat in their section. I got to sit with Pokey and Stephen who both make me look like a tame fan (I know, right?). They were intense, but that was an intense game. When Auburn jumped out to an early lead, I've never screamed so loud or jumped so high in my life, and I definitely wasn't the only one. And yeah, our voices were almost gone after the first quarter. Jorge had to join Pokey during the 2nd half to fix the voodoo when things started to go south. Those two have to sit together or things end up badly. And it was so great to see Rachel and Madison. I love sitting with this group. There's genuine love for the Auburn Tigers and you can feel it on every play.

We had the nicest Alabama fan in front of us. He was extremely polite and gracious and told us he refused to sing "Rammer Jammer" after such a great game where no one beat the hell out of anyone else (you know my feelings about "Rammer Jammer," so I'll leave it at that). He was an all-around nice guy and a great reminder that there are great fans everywhere, even some that wear crimson.

I rode with Jason and his parents to the game on the shuttle. It was tough being with Alabama fans before the game, but after the game, even they admitted that Auburn played one hell of a game (if you knew Jason's parents you'd know what a big deal that was). As we were waiting in line to catch the shuttle back to Tiger Town, Jason noticed someone he said looked "like she could be Stacey Heath's sister." I looked over in that direction, saw her, and realized after I saw Will that it really was Stacey. We exchanged "Good games" and everyone seemed to enjoy the random encounter. I don't know why Jason seeing Stacey and thinking it was just a girl who looked like her cracked me up so much, but it was really neat to see them after we had been waiting in that line for what seemed like hours. It very well could have been half an hour, but my legs were tired and I was ready to get on a bus. But striking up conversations with random fans wearing both colors (as well as long lost friends across the line) kept us entertained while the line moved. The shuttle system at Auburn is amazingly efficient considering how many buses they coordinate and move through gameday traffic.

As far as the game goes, I couldn't have really asked any more of Auburn. The defense, the undermanned, young, injury-ridden defense played with heart, and through most of the game, whenever we asked them to come up with the big stop, they obliged until they just ran out of gas. Pokey put it best: "We just didn't have enough bullets in the gun." The 4th quarter went the way the 4th quarter has been going for Alabama all year, strong. And our 4th quarter game seemed to fall off somewhere after the Tennessee game. Bama beat us when it mattered: when the game was on the line.

There are no moral victories in football. I will not budge on that point. Auburn lost that game. In the record books, it will show an L, not an "Auburn won most of the time 1/2 L." We made crucial mistakes that ultimately cost us the game, and yeah, I'm disappointed in the outcome, but that team has nothing to hang its head about. The 2009 Iron Bowl was one of my favorites, and that's saying something considering we didn't win. I don't feel completely sick to my stomach about it, and that's a testament to the fight our boys put up.

I'm not gonna lie, though. I got a little emotional. I don't think we've ever lost and Iron Bowl when I didn't tear up just a little. Right after our last ditch effort hit the ground and their players ran on the field, our band struck up "War Eagle," and I lost it. The love that we felt for that team couldn't be tainted by "Rammer Jammer."

Yeah, I just teared up a little writing that [and proofreading it]. I'm a loser, but I love Auburn.

Last time, I said that at the end of the day, regardless of the outcome, one thing would separate us from them: We believe in Auburn and love it. They believe in Alabama, and Alabama is truly a force to be reckoned with. But I wouldn't trade one minute of being an Auburn fan for all of Alabama's glory. There's just something different about sitting in Jordan-Hare and watching Nova fly over the sea of orange and its perfect color wheel complement and tailgating with people you've known forever or even just met and witnessing Tiger Walk and rolling Toomer's Corner and having "War Eagle" moments and singing our fight song to show love for our beloved Tigers, even after a heartbreaking loss. I am a part of Auburn, and Auburn is a part of me. Auburn is my home, and Auburn is my family.

It's great to be an Auburn Tiger and it always will be. Always.

War. Damn. Eagle.

Update: We lost the Iron Bowl and the sun did come up again in Auburn this morning.  In fact, the sun came up in such a way to remind us all that no matter what the outcome of a football game, God is still on our side. WDE. By the way, this picture doesn't nearly do the sunrise justice. The orange was brilliant.

On football and holding my tongue

It's so easy. It's so easy to fall into the trap that they set. My Bama Facebook friends do it on purpose, I've decided. They try to get reactions out of us. Like this one:

A friend of mine from the Crimson White put up a link to the now infamous screen shot where Auburn was identified as being in Georgia with the caption, "Apparently this was some big news scandal or something... I don't get it. AU is in Georgia. Right?" 

And I had the perfect comeback. PERFECT: "And UA is in Birmingham, right? Because that's what a good portion of your fanbase thinks," (because they totally do, I've witnessed this).


But I didn't use it. I have typed it out twice now and decided to erase it before hitting send both times. I can't. I just can't get dragged down into a futile argument. It will only upset me and will do no one any good.

I generally try to keep my negative Alabama comments to a minimum, at least in the public setting. I graduated from the University of Alabama and spent three years there. I know a thing or two about being treated like crap. I wore orange in the student section at the Iron Bowl my freshman year, which was my own choice, but I never expected to be treated the way I was. The spitting and the throwing of minis (which are thankfully plastic now) and the trying to steal my shaker--it was all unreal. And that was just freshman year. I never hid the fact that I was an Auburn fan, again my choice, but I did my best not to start any arguments or cause any trouble about it. Because at the end of the day, I just want to be left alone. Football gets to me. I love Auburn. Love it. I feel the ups and downs of the season in my heart, my gut, and my soul. It runs that deeply. So when Alabama fans with their superiority complex talk trash about the place I love and grew up, it upsets me. When they incessantly scream 36-0 when we aren't even talking about football, I get annoyed. When they call it a cow college, implying that the agricultural contributions Auburn has made to this state are somehow worthless and beneath them, I get angry. And when they think that they are better than us simply by being Alabama fans, I get sad. I willingly admit that Alabama is a great school. It has a beautiful campus, and for what they specialize in, they do extremely well. But Auburn is also a great school, just in different areas. So what does all of this have to do with football? 

You tell me. 

This rivalry has become about much more than football. It's not just about the game anymore. It's about two schools who play separate but integral roles within their state. It's about two polar opposite fanbases who hate each other intensely during football season. It's about bragging rights. It's about whether or not seasons are considered successes. It's about houses divided. 

And it's about loving your team, whichever one that is. Mine is Auburn, and no matter how much I may dislike Alabama, I will never dislike them as much as I love Auburn. People lose sight of that sometimes, I think. I may or may not want Alabama to lose at everything it ever competes at, but I would never tell my Alabama friends (or enemies) that. I hate it when people are rude to me, especially about this subject, and I guess I want to extend that same courtesy to others. 


There is always going to be trash talk, and some say that's what makes it fun, and if you're able to separate yourself from it and not take any of it personally, I'm sure it is. But I can't. I bleed orange and blue. I hate to see awful and unnecessary things written for no purpose other than to be mean and assert supposed superiority. But it's going to happen. So my challenge is not to react. I don't want to say anything I'll regret.

So onto Friday. This gives me comfort: After the game is won or lost, after the players bleed, the tailgates come down, the fans go home, the sportswriters meet their deadlines, and after our hearts break or burst with joy, no matter what the outcome, it's this simple mantra that separates us from them: We believe in Auburn and love it.

Started a slow clap for it being over. I wasn't the only one. That's two and a half hours of my life I'm never getting back.

Oh the melodrama.

Taylor Lautner is hottttttt. This movie is still stupid.

Still laaaaaaaaaaaaaaame.

So far: laaaaaaaaaaaaaaame

Preview for Avatar. Don't think so.

Live blogging from New Moon. My friend made me go. I had to have a drink before. True story.

Oops

I almost fell off into blogging oblivion again. Good thing I have a few extra hours this afternoon to catch up.

There's not a lot of news to report. I've been working a good bit, but that's nothing new. My paycheck for this week is going to blow, but the next one should be adequate. Only working half a week is killer in terms of pay, but my new boots aren't too far away.

After I got off of work this morning, I went over to Lauren's to watch the last two episodes of Freaks and Geeks. We've been working on the series for a couple of weeks now, but we really don't have that much to show for it because it only lasted 18 episodes. Have I ever mentioned what a TRAGEDY that was? Freaks and Geeks was an amazing show. The three main burnout guys are all now huge stars in their own right: James Franco, Seth Rogan, and Jason Segel. And the main geeky guy is now Dr. Sweets on Bones, my absolute favorite non-comedy. The show touched on so many great themes of growing up, kind of like Wonder Years, but edgier and funnier. Annnnnd they canceled it after one season. Like I said, tragedy.

After I left Lauren's, I went to Target because seeing Jason Segel in Freaks and Geeks has been making me want to watch Forgetting Sarah Marshall for a while now. So I went in search of it (and almost bought a pair of merlot colored shoes that I most certainly did not need) and found it for a reasonable price at Target. I made Benjamin come watch it with me, and aside from the really awkward scene at the beginning, I think he thought it was decently funny. We still have the last few minutes to finish because he was going to be late for his first day at Office Max, but I'm sure we'll find an excuse to get together and finish it up. We have a script to write, after all.

I'm looking forward to having tonight off. I haven't yet decided whether or not I should go to sleep at a normal time hopefully wake up at a decent time tomorrow or if I should try to stay on my schedule and continue being a night owl. Oh well. We'll see if I can make it through the afternoon without falling asleep.

Things are crappy again with that situation I thought was fixed. I don't know that it can be fixed completely. I've got more praying to do. It'll turn around eventually.

There was a lot of mindless rambling in this one. Maybe it's time for the POTD and me to go to bed:

This one isn't funny, but it is pretty awesome. Ben drew this during senior year using colored pencils on illustration board. Blair, Anais, and I have all used this as a profile picture at some point. Oh, and I think it won some awards, too. <3 him.

And I guess I have to do a timely one:

This is what I want to happen Friday. Just throwing that out there.

And I guess a funny one for good measure:

Pretty much yeah.

Well it seems that my body has made that sleep decision for me. It's definitely time for bed. I'm going to go ahead and post this before I fall asleep typing and there'd be no telling what I might write. Bad plan. 

Desperation

I'm having to start this post a little early tonight. I haven't had much sleep, so blogging might end up being the only thing that keeps me awake until it's time to clean the lobby. Part of me was hoping that tonight would be a little busy so it would keep me from falling asleep, but quiet nights are kind of nice, too. Having a little extra time to clean and, well, blog, is kinda cool.

I had my first douche bag customer tonight. I'll spare you the story, but suffice to say he was a complete and total dick. But I guess out of all the customers I've had in three weeks, one asshat isn't too terrible. It could be much, much worse.

The classical piano concert tonight was amazing. Ji-Yong was phenomenal. I can't believe he's only 18. His technical skill was impressive, but his ability to put so much feeling into a piano piece was really breathtaking. And with no sheet music! I'm so grateful to Benjamin for asking me to go. Having a chance to see this prodigy perform was quite possibly a once in a lifetime experience. And I'm not gonna lie, we both looked pretty classy. Just like future Oscar winners should look (No, I'm not letting that dream go. It's going to happen. Furreal furreal).

I'm running out of good (appropriate) options for POTD. I guess I'll have to go on a picture/macro/comic hunt when I have some free time. For now, this one will have to do:

If the text is too small, it reads: Wonka's Boat Ride: Causing childhood trauma since 1971. This one makes me laugh because I can't watch that scene without getting freaked out.

 I guess I should go do some real work now. I'm all mopey tonight, but I blame that on the serious lack of sleep, the crappy customer, and another unfortunate situation. But they'll all work themselves out and when I get off this morning, I'm going to sleep the heck out of the whole day.

I'm going to go turn the music up to drown out the boys' CONSTANT Call of Duty jabber. I can't take it anymore.

Falling in love at the donut shop

I decided to come up with the lamest, most unrelated title possible for this blog. I think I succeeded.

I'm working currently. "Working" is a relative term, obviously. I'm actually sitting here at the closed-out register on my laptop internetting without much of a real purpose. It's been a slow night, but even though it's been slow, I've seen four Opelika people, whereas before I'd only seen one the entire time I've worked here.  So that's cool.

Tonight is going to be a difficult one, unfortunately. I was able to get to sleep pretty quickly this morning, around 9-ish, but Vickie (one of the owners of Daylight) called around 3 to inform me that I had to work through Thanksgiving. The good news is that I get the week of Christmas off and beyond until after New Years when we reopen. So even though I'll be working the entire time Jason is home for Thanksgiving, at least I get all the time with him at Christmas. That makes me happy :)

I'm in a much better mood than I was a couple of days ago. God can do wonderful things. All you have to do is ask.

Benjamin and I are going to see world-renowned pianist Ji-Yong in concert at the OPAC tomorrow night, or I guess tonight, technically. I heard a commercial for it on the radio on my way home from work this morning (or yesterday morning, stupid night shift) and thought it sounded really awesome and when I woke up this afternoon, there was a message from Ben asking if I wanted to go. It's going to be amazing. He's a senior at Juliard and has been playing piano practically from birth. Can't wait!

This really has been the most self-indulgent entry yet. I don't really have much to say, but I'm really trying to keep myself awake at work. I guess I'll go clean tables and sweep. That way I won't have to do it at morning rush.

If you find yourself bored and looking for something to occupy your time, head on over to George's blog Something to Talk About and click some of his ads. He's hoping for a big paycheck from Google--haha!

Oh, and the POTD:

I am a huge dork. 

God works wonders.

He really does.
That's all.

Just for Justin...

Since someone *cough cough Justin Luangkhot cough cough* told us that he only looks at blogs for pictures and probably wouldn't read text if it was longer than a sentence, I'm going to do an all-pictures one today. Honestly, it saves me from having to think of clever things to say anyway.

Without further adieu, here are today's PsOTD:

The good old days

Tuscaloosa is rough on a man, let me tell ya

 War Eagle!

This may be my favorite cartoon ever.

I just had a discussion about this one. One of the best. The file is actually named lauren.jpg :)

And finally, there's never been a truer statement. I would probably cry. Scratch that, I would DEFINITELY cry.

Today is about relaxation and and getting happy again. I am giving the problem that I keep cryptically referring to over to God in hopes that He will soften one heart or take the burden off the other. Maybe both. I'm not sure I could handle it, but I know He can. So hopefully no more moping :)

I almost forgot!

The POTD:

This made me laugh out loud. 

Dang it.

I fell asleep early last night and woke up early this morning. This was not the plan. I'm supposed to be back on my night shift schedule. Tonight is going to suck. Badly. But I think I'm working with Justin and Troy, so at least there will be good people in the back to keep me awake.

But while I'm up, I might as well make the most of it. My plan for the day is to run, eat a good lunch, put on a boring movie, and hopefully get a good nap before City Council. Whether or not that actually happens remains to be seen. I keep waffling back and forth as whether or not to quit my Observer job. I really do enjoy reporting on the City Council and the Planning Commission, but with my sleep schedule, I don't have a lot of time. Oh well. It's extra Europe money, at the very least.

Oh, back to work. We had an interesting night a week or so ago. I was ringing up a customer and we heard this really loud crash and saw a flash of light, which turned out to be an SUV running off the road and crashing into our Daylight Donuts sign, sending it about 30 feet across the parking lot. We went outside to see if everyone was okay, and two guys got out of the car, said something to each other, and took off. We called the police and they came and took statements and all of that stuff, but as best as we can tell, the drivers were intoxicated illegals who had borrowed that SUV. They never caught them, as far as we know. Way to go, APD. The way they wrecked the vehicle, though, was priceless:

A wide shot of the carnage. The vehicle is sitting directly on top of the post where the sign used to be.

Another angle, with leaking radiator fluid. These guys did a number on this thing.

The front of the SUV. It loos like one of their heads hit the windshield, but there was no blood on it, so who knows? Anyway, sorry for the crappy quality, but as you have seen, the only camera I ever actually use is on my phone and night time picture-taking is not one of its strong suits.

I guess I should go ahead and start my day. I've been internetting since about 9 this morning. I had to send a message and get some things off my chest and since then I've been talking to Jorge about how much we'd like to punch Paul Finebaum in the face and catching up on emails. I still haven't completely caught up from the Kentucky trip. In an unexpected plot twist, cold weather has become my favorite to run in. I'm looking forward to today's run. The epic hill on Northgate Drive is perfect for working out aggression and emotions. I need that today.

Exhaustion

I slept until 3 this afternoon. I've barely been up for 8 hours and I'm still exhausted. I'm mostly emotionally drained, but I'll save those details for my real diary. Suffice to say, at the end of the day, the only guy a girl can depend on is her daddy.

Benjamin and I were up late last night, first watching some great season 2 episodes of 30 Rock, then comment-bombing © Emmanuel Bello-Ogunu, one of our friends from middle school. Comment-bombing © is one of Ben's and my favorite hobbies. We miscalculated Emmanuel's however, because he was online at the time. The ideal situation is for a person to log into Facebook to find 99 notifications of picture comments. It's basically our way of showing the world how ballin we think that person is. After we comment-bombed © E-man, we set our sights on our future Oscar-winning screenplay, "Godfather of the Night," which is a working title. I can't give away any of the amazing plot, but involves fast cars, drugs, and road rage. We can't take credit for the idea, however. While we were coming back from the crap hole that is Baton Rouge, LA, George told us a story of a drug runner that Benjamin and I fell in love with. It's going to be epic. After we write the real screenplay, then we'll write the spoof, "Fairy Godmother of the Night," and then the porno, which doesn't have a title yet. Lastly, we'll write the children's book. Saving it until last is going to be a challenge because we have a tendency to turn everything we do into a children's book:
Chapter 1: He was a bad bad man.
Chapter 2: Where did he get all of those drugs?
Chapter 3: Why is he so mad?
Chapter 4: He goes so fast in his car.
Chapter 5: That was a big explosion.
(you get the idea)
Anywho, the whole thing is going to be amazing. We'll sweep the Academy Awards for sure.

Thanksgiving is fast-approaching. You'd never know by looking at department stores or other decorations, though. Christmas--the commercialized, non-Jesus-centric, money-driven one--has completely eclipsed Thanksgiving. It seems like it happens sooner and sooner every year. Thanksgiving, a day we are supposed to take the time to appreciate our loved ones and all that God has blessed us with, gets thrown into the shadow of the illusion that the more stuff we buy, the happier we are. Something about that just doesn't add up to me. So before we get bombarded with sale papers and Christmas music, we should take a little time to be thankful for what we have instead of worrying about what we don't. *steps off of soap box* There now. Opinionated moment over.

Since this wouldn't be one of my blogs without a random, unrelated picture, here's today's POTD:

Fight the power. 

Breaking news

Benjamin and I are going to win an Oscar. Maybe several. It'll all make sense in a few years.

That is all.

Instead of crossword puzzles

Instead of tackling my new book of crossword puzzles (Yeah, I'm that much of a dork), I figured that in the interest of keeping this blog current like I promised for the hundredth time, I should probably do some sort of update. Now my only problem is finding something worthwhile to talk about.

I guess I'll start with the obvious. I'm wasting time after just having cleaned my room waiting on Benjamin to come over to watch some 30 Rock. In all likelihood, he'll sketch out, but it was a decent excuse to clean my room. Plus, I may actually get my 30 Rock DVDs back if he decides to come over after all.

I awoke to an interesting notification from Google this morning when I tried to sign in to my Gmail. Apparently someone tried to hack into my account overnight and they made me change my password, which was extremely annoying because I choose passwords that I can remember instead of for security. Until now, I was never worried that anyone would hack into anything of mine. I mean, I'd like to think I don't have any enemies. I live my life the best way I know how and try to be good to people. It's worked pretty well so far, or so I thought. I'm thinking this may be sinister because under one of the previous blogs about Jason's firefighting, an anonymous commenter said "Your boyfriend looks like an unkempt neanderthal," which I immediately took down. The next morning, the hacking alert happens. The two may not be related, but if they are, I have a good idea who is doing it, and trust me, if it's who I think it is, their intentions are far from good. If nothing else, it's a good lesson in controlling anger, bitterness, and resentment because he obviously hasn't been able to.

In other news, I find this comic to be extremely hilarious:

Also this:

So maybe I like making fun of Japanese culture. Or maybe I just wanted to post a picture of a duck and this was the first one I found.  If I were a betting woman, I'd put my money on the latter. It's a much safer bet.

Since this post has devolved into randomness, I guess I better quit while I'm ahead. I had an incredibly awkward dinner where I inadvertently crashed a date without knowing at first. But in my defense, he asked me to come to dinner without mentioning her, so really it was his fault. That didn't make it any less awkward. So before I create any more awkwardness with incoherent rambling, I'll peace out and go watch some 30 Rock with Benjamin. No, he didn't sketch out. Points for Ben :)

My Old Kentucky Home [Away from Home]

Just got back from Lexington--literally. We walked in the door almost 2 hours ago. We left at 11 this morning and through the magic of pit stops, distillery tours, and tourist trap lunch destinations, it took us right at 11 hours to get back. But aside from the monster drive (both ways), the trip was fantastic.

We started out on Wednesday morning and drove all day in the Prius (Don't get me started about how much I hate that vehicle) to finally reach Lexington around 7pm that night. Somewhere there was a time change in there, but your guess is as good as mine as to what time it actually was. The only picture that really turned out from the road was in Huntsville:

As you can see, that one wasn't very good either. Not only did I forget my actual camera and have to rely on my phone for photographic evidence of my travels, but I also happen to really suck at taking pictures, as you can see by my failed attempt at capturing the Corvette Museum for Jason:

Awesome, right? Anyway, once we got to Lexington, we unloaded, ate quite possibly the best tamales in the world (random, I know, but they were so far beyond amazing), and I got to play with my aunt's dog, Molly. Molly is an 8-year-old Yorkie mix with an appetite for life--and anything you happen to be eating at the time. She's a sweet heart, though:

She's a little small (As we all know, I think dogs have to be at least 50 lbs to be considered REAL dogs), but she grows on you.

On Thursday morning, we sat in on the Mayor's Alliance on Substance Abuse meeting (My aunt is the Commissioner of Public Health for Lexington and Fayette County so we got to tag along and pretend to be important), where I got to meet KY Supreme Court Justice Mary Noble. My aunt kept insisting that I meet positive role models of women in law, and to say the least, Justice Noble qualifies. She is a fascinating woman and her work in the drug courts is remarkable. Did I take any pictures with Justice Noble? Of course I didn't. Why would I want to have a record of something like that?

After the meeting, we headed up to Henry County to our favorite winery in Kentucky, the Smith-Berry Winery. The drive up there was gorgeous. We started out on the interstate but most of the trip was a winding highway through the Kentucky countryside. I got a few photos, but they don't do it justice:

 

My problem is that I never think to take pictures when I should take them. I should have gotten a picture of the winery, but I didn't think about it. Take my word for it, though: It's gorgeous. It's a little farm house with a barn that sits on farmland the family converted to a vineyard. We usually buy a case of their Bluegrass Blush (everyone's favorite) but this year they had several new wines and one of them was a blackberry. It was sweet initially but finished tart so you weren't left feeling sick from the sweetness. We were so fond of it that we broke from tradition and split the case between the blush and the blackberry. That may not sound radical, but if you knew my mother, you would know what a great feat it was. The blush might be her favorite thing in the world. 

 Friday was a busy, busy day. The entire purpose of the Lexington trip was so that I could take an official campus tour of the UK Law School but we packed so much more into our last full day in town. We started the day by visiting the Greenebaum Doll & McDonald law office so I could meet Ted Martin, the attorney for the Health Department, and pick his brain. We toured the extensive--but mostly for show--law library the firm boasts and had lunch at a great little place down the street. He made me feel a lot better about law school and practicing in general. I guess that's why my aunt wanted me to meet him. Oh yeah, during lunch, I met a federal judge. He happened to walk by and speak to Ted. Did I have anything clever to say to him when he asked (after he'd been told I was looking at law school) if I ever wanted to earn an honest living? Of course not. All I could say was, "No sir!" Fail. Epic fail, Rossmanith.

On a random note, have you seen this Newsweek cover? It makes me want to puke:

I snapped this picture while waiting in the lobby of the law firm. Just thought I'd share. It's gross.

But I digress. The actual UK Law School visit was pretty cool. The building is kind of old, but not old enough to be historic, just old enough to be old. But the students kind of liked it. The student lounge is called "The Dirty Lounge," not because it's dirty, but because it's worn in. There was one other prospective student on the tour with me who happened to be from Birmingham. We sat in on a torts class where I learned that shared liability in a civil suit is ridiculously convoluted. I'm looking forward to law school, let me tell ya.

Aesthetically, UK has a beautiful campus. Did I think to take a picture of the aforementioned old law school building? Nope. But I did get a picture of one of the more famous structures on campus (other than Rupp Arena):

Memorial Hall is featured on the UK logo and is right next door to the law school. It's no Samford Hall, but at least they tried, right?

So the verdict on going all the way to Lexington for law school? While the campus is GORGEOUS and Lexington is a great city, I just didn't feel at home there.

After I wrapped up my visit (and dealt with the bloody mess that my high heels left my poor feet), we spent the rest of the day shopping. We started out in Lexington and then made our way north. We drove into Cincinnati at rush hour (not our smartest decision of the day) and putted along at 4 mph until we got to whatever open-air mall we ended up at. While getting there was a chore, the shopping center itself was pretty neat. We found a few good sales, spent a little too much money on things that weren't on sale (I can't say no to pretty dresses. When even I whip out the debit card, you know it's serious), and really enjoyed our last night together. And after an entire autumn of searching, I finally found the perfect pair of brown boots. Perfect heel, perfect toe, perfect boots:

Now all I have to do is find a black pair with a higher heel and I'll be set for winter. Did I mention that I'm a shoe addict? Oh, well I am. Everyone has one ridiculous thing that they spend their money on. My ridiculous thing is shoes. On the wonderful Auburn roadtrip to Baton Rouge (I'll get to that trip in a later post), every time the boys would start talking about cars in that really annoying way, Rachel and I would match it with talk about shoes. It's amazing how parallel we could run those conversations.

Leaving this morning was a chore. We didn't get back from Cincinnati until late last night so getting up was the last thing we wanted to do. But eventually we got the car packed and we got on the road. We stopped at the Maker's Mark historic distillery to grab a few Christmas presents and really enjoyed seeing the site. Although "stopped by" is a little misleading because the distillery itself is about 19 of the curviest miles ever away from the Bluegrass Parkway into the middle of nowhere. How many bars did AT&T provide me with out there? I'll let my iPhone answer that for you:

(Yes, I just took that picture. Yes, I forgot to take one at the time. No, I'm not ashamed of it. Yes, the service really is that bad at my house.) And that was before we turned off on the long winding road the distillery was actually on. Then my phone kindly told me I had "No Service" and refused to do anything. According to Verizon, there's a map for that (And seriously, the fact that AT&T is suing Verizon over those ads is ridiculous. I wish they would spend their money expanding their coverage instead of suing competing companies who call them out on it. Just saying). But we made it there and back to the Bluegrass Parkway without incident, even when we thought we heard the banjos.

 

Yes! My awesome photography captures yet another priceless Kentucky moment. Didn't I even remind myself on this blog to bring a real camera?

We stopped at the Whistle Stop Cafe for lunch in Glendale, KY. It was nearly 2 and we were still in Kentucky. This did not bode well for the rest of the trip. But the food was pretty good, despite being an obvious tourist trap. We filled up on fried green tomatoes before our entrees even came out. Needless to say, we took our leftovers with us (We never travel without an unnecessarily large cooler. My family is strange, but sometimes that comes in handy) and they'll make a fine lunch tomorrow.

The rest of the trip was a blur of interstate, terrible drivers, never being in the correct lane in Nashville, worrying about Jason (whose phone and debit card were both stolen while he was in Austin. I hadn't heard from him in 24 hours and I was really worried), and listening to a terribly disappointing Auburn game on the radio.

So now, a couple of hours after I started this travel tale (Hey give me a break. I've been catching up on a ton of email and Facebooking that I missed while my phone was my only source of internet for 4 days. Plus, I had to get the post-game report from George and the boys and those things take time), I've finally come to the end of it. Next time I go somewhere I promise to take better pictures. Maybe. If I remember. And bring a real camera. So yeah probably not.