Farewell College Football 2011

Tonight's BCS title game marks the end of the 2011 season. As an alum/avid fan of Auburn football it's a little bittersweet. Tonight our reign as champions ends, but luckily we come from a dominate conference :) I can't say I'm dying to watch tonight's game between LSU and Alabama- but I am going to watch.

And yes, if I cheer at all (not like I'll be bouncing off the wall in my typical fashion), but if I'd the chance to pick the winner, I'd pick *gasp* Alabama. Why? Not that I have to defend why but I'll give you a few reasons.

1- Keep it in the state. How cool would it be to say the state of AL had the past three national champions? I think it's good for the state and while I don't live in AL, I work there :)
2- I have way more Bama friends than LSU friends. No offense to the LSU friends, but there are maybe 4-5 of you I think. So if I'm going by the greater good the greater number of happy facebook statuses tonight would be a Bama win.
3- I will always invoke the nasty fight I witnessed at an LSU/Bama game where I saw an LSU fan pick a fight with an AU man holding his newborn. Super uncool.
4- Auburn/Bama have had a rough year with some unfortunate events/disasters and both schools really showed that this year they could rise above the sports rivalry and demonstrate some serious goodwill to their fellow Alabamian. This impressed me as a human being.

There you have it. For tonight, and just this once, I'll type Roll Tide, yall!

Month of Thanks- 9 through 13

This week was pretty stressful, but I still try to look at it in perspective. I may not be happy with some things in life, but there are many more things to be thankful for.

So, I'm thankful for:
9) a job in the field I went to school for
10) my health
11) veterans
12) my education and
13) books

All of these have been on my mind the past few days. There are a lot of people my age graduating college and unable to find work in their respective fields. It took a little while, but I did find my current job and I'm very happy there. I feel like no two days are the same and I learn a little something new each week. Side note: I'm probably thankful for my first out of school job too even though it was the pits because it taught me everything I DID NOT want in a career or work place.

I know I mentioned on facebook before November started, but I'm really thankful for my health. In October at work we had a health screening and I had really good results (to quote the nurse "A+"). I had the sniffles for like two seconds yesterday and I thought about it, I haven't been sick-sick in a long time. I think it might have to do with going to the gym and trying to eat better. I have Tim to thank for this. He helps keep me on track- even when I whine and pout that I don't want to go to the gym (like today).

Of course, Friday was Veteran's Day and I'm very thankful to the people who serve and protect our country's interests and well being. My brother recently made Chief Petty Officer and I'm incredibly proud of him.

On Saturday I watched the UGA and Auburn game and even though the score was disappointing I couldn't help but think- I have a degree from there. Yes. Some people cheer for whatever reason- but I cheer with a deep sense of pride in my education. I'm thankful for that. Auburn taught me a lot about myself- good, bad and ugly. I'm thankful for it all.

Today, I'm thankful for books. Why? Because I've been trying to read more. It's low cost entertainment. Especially if you go to the library (ahem, I still need to come get my new card Mr. Chris...). You're never too old to enjoy a good book. Reading helps you in a myriad of ways. I'm currently reading three different books and over the weekend I bought The Hunger Games so...I need to finish these before I start any more.

Game Day: Auburn v Florida Atlantic

My goodness...this game was...special...to say the least! But, regardless, I had fun. On to the photos!

Outside Haley Center. 

Woo AU Marching Band rocks!

Cheesing it up before the Auburn Game in Jordan Hare!

More AU Marching Band!

The Sky was orange and blue, cheering on the Tigers. 

AU Marching Band plus Honor Band.

This is Tim during the first half...pretty sure he was emailing himself...

FINALLY! A touchdown!

Our reaction during the 3rd quarter!

One more :)

Hargis Hall! New sign.

Victory pose on College Street

Game Day: Auburn v Mississippi State

This weekend we went to the game. It was A BLAST! We tailgated with our bestest buddies:

Eric

Chris

Mel

Us :)

Wooo National Champs 2010!!!

Aubie is hands down the best mascot ever.

He's so funny!

Hubs.

War eagle! Fly down the field!

Our seats were nice :) Great view!

We saw lots of the action.

Get 'em tigers!

Thoughts on Toomer's

One of the pictures taken on the day of my graduation from Auburn University. I'm at Toomer's under the beautiful shade of the Oak trees. 

I just wanted to take a little time to let it off my chest how I'm feeling about the tragedy at Toomer's (and yes, losing an iconic piece of history, of nature, of our Auburn family is in fact a tragedy). Is it a tragedy of epic proportions? No. It certainly does not meet the levels of September 11th, JFK's assassination, the Iraq or Afghanistan wars, or any other event of those nature.

Let me just outline a few of my basic thoughts.

1) I am a devoted Auburn alum and fan.
2) I do not "blame" the Alabama fan population. You will NOT see me saying anything about the population as a whole on this matter. This was clearly an act of a fringe lunatic who does not represent his fan base.
3) I am glad to see Alabama, UGA, and other SEC school fans supporting Auburn. This may seem "trite," but I appreciate the solidarity that we have in the SEC. This recent show of support reminds me of why I enjoy the SEC. It is certainly the conference with the best traditions and deeply devoted fans.
4) I think many Auburn folks are overreacting when they try to compare this to any terrorist action. Be careful of the words you choose. Take time to think about what you are saying.
5) I also think some people are being overly harsh about the event. Auburn fans are allowed to feel outrage. They are allowed to grieve for the loss of a cultural artifact. You don't have to like it, you don't have to agree with it, but show some human compassion and keep your negative energy to yourself.
6) For everyone, perspective is important, but remember, your frame of reference is different from everyone else's, so don't expect people to react the same as you.

With that said, I'm deeply sad that I will never get to show my children the trees at Toomer's. In a way I see it in the same light as endangered animals at the zoo. When a species dies out, I always think about it as one less experience to share with the future.  I know that the brick walls and the eagle statues remain at Toomer's, but the beautiful canopy of leaves will not be the same. Maybe we will be blessed by tiny Toomer's Oak seedlings, but that will take many many years, and lots of work.

I will never forget the many nights at Biggin Hall (for non-AU fans its the arts building by Toomer's) for film class. The one night where I ran out to get a fallen branch to use for our "light study." The Auburn v. Florida game that was an AWAY game, but we still all churned out to roll the tree til it looked like a blanket of snow. Finding a cell phone during said rolling event and getting it safely back to its owner. I'll never forget posing at Toomer's for my graduation photo. Proudly wearing my full regalia and smiling as I finished a huge chapter in my life. Who could forget the crazy pancake people? There are so many memories I have from only attending the school for just a few years. I cannot fathom the memories created in over 130 year span.

In sum, I'm pretty sad about this, but the world moves on. War Eagle!

Toomer's tree

Toomer's tree

The Chick-fil-A Cow is busted for working on a Sunday!

That's right! Busted:

Exhibit A: Cow at Auburn Basketball game.

I thought Chick-fil-A took this Sunday non-work day seriously. Well, must not be too seriously. We totally watched the cow perform alongside Aubie at a women's basketball game versus Tennessee on Sunday. We also ate Chick-fil-A fries at the game. Granted, they were not in a Chick-fil-A box...but they were in fact those famous waffle potato fries.

Anywho, that wasn't the main point of tonight's entry. I just wanted to share some fun shots from the game. Our dearest pals Mel and Chris hooked us up with faculty seating at the game and it was sooooo cool to watch from the floor (even if we lost).

Wooo! Cheerleaders. I wish I could do that!

Aubie

Aubie again.

Check out Tim's green sweater! 

Auburn women's basketball. And Tennessee women's basketball.

Did she not get the memo that orange AND blue are our colors too? I thought this was the Auburn coach  for the longest while...

AUBIE!

More players.

Get 'em Tiger!

I went to school there 3 years (ish) and never noticed this sign.

I LOVE BO JACKSON!

Auburn: National Champions!

I also have some videos for your entertainment pleasures. The first one is of me doing the arena Tiger Walk:

And this other is really crazy. It was the halftime show at the game...he was a tight rope gymnast or something. The ending is pretty epic so if you get bored fast forward to the end (though the commentary from Mel, Chris and Tim makes me giggle):

Day Trip to Auburn

Yesterday, Mom, Tim and I went on a quick impromptu visit to Auburn. We had a mission. Eat at Amsterdam Cafe and find my brother a t-shirt for his birthday. Tim and I love love love love LOVE Amsterdam. I seem to always go with the turkey wrap (one of their famous items). He had a rib-eye sandwich and mom went with soup/salad. The atmosphere is always nice and it's just an all around fun treat. Two doors down, while we waited for seating, I visited a newer store called Perch. It had beads and jewelry so I got excited! Anyways, enjoy the photo log of our short visit:

Love it!

A little fuzzy but I wanted to pose!

I'm so proud of my mom for taking this picture. She is camera-illiterate. 

Trees on College St. near Toomer's corner are STILL rolled.

Hargis Hall. Home to the Graduate School.

Bird and Key charms I bought at Perch. Can't wait to let them inspire me to craft up something fun!

She's Crafty!

So I thought I'd try to update you all on something other than the cooking we've been doing (though you all have given us some great positive feedback! Thanks to everyone who has tried a recipe and let us know!!)

I thought I'd post a few photos of some of the crafty things I've been up to lately.

For Christmas gifts this year I made these:

Me painting a tray red.

After adding white stripes.

Gee I wonder where this orange and white tray is going...

black stripes?!?

Finished gift #1

It is MUCH harder to freehand paint an AU than a G...

Paw prints!

Those are just some trays I made. Very easy to do if you have the patience. I've also been dabbling a bit in jewelry making...

A UGA necklace I've made. It's actually more of a choker.

Earrings that match a necklace.

Matching necklace.

War Eagle necklace haha. I made this one as a gift.

Earrings I made Carrie (UGA themed)

The necklace I made Carrie

So yeah. That is one of the many hobbies I've taken on. I really enjoy it. I'm hoping to take this collegiate theme somewhere and make enough to support the hobby (not necessarily a profit, though that would be nice).