SCARY STUFF!

Oh my nasty! Happy halloween, y'all!

Gross Miscalculation

Well, I figured this would be a week to recover from last week's busy-ness but as the title states, that was a miscalculation on my part. You see, I swapped two field trips for two "Fall Celebrations" at the kids' respective schools and I also swapped the hubby's birthday and all the associated running around looking for a suitable present for halloween's associated running around. Incidentally, halloween (I can't even capitalize it) is my least favorite "holiday." I know, I know--I'm the GRINCH of halloween. Still, being the hypocrite I am, I begrudgingly participate in the dress up and candy portion of this day, mostly because my husband wants the kiddos to participate to some degree. It would not hurt my feelings in the least if this day went the way of the dodo bird. Alas, it has not so I have spent the past few days hand-painting cardboard boxes and Rit-dying courduroy pants and ironing letters onto shirts, etc. The end result will be pretty cute if I do say so myself. I will try to post pics soon but not much has changed from the previous posts about technical difficulties with the camera. It appears the SD card is corrupt but at least we were able to burn the existing pics onto CDs. Now we've got to get a new SD card or do something soon. There will be pics from tonight though, you can bet your bottom dollar because we've worked too hard to not document these costumes in film. I am hoping to make a real post in the morning to discuss the following topics: Why we no longer need halloween in this country, the Saban bowl, the final results in scorecard voting, and Che Guevera's hair (preferably in that order.)

PS-- Here's a few verses I find appropriate on good ole All Hallow's Eve (It's easier for me to just type than link to these verses):

" Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul." Matthew 10:28; "So we say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?'" Hebrews 13:6; "I, even I, am He who comforts you. Who are you that you fear mortal men, the sons of men, who are but grass." Isaiah 51:12; and of course there's this Holy nugget of truth "No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:37-39. AMEN!

Mike Dubose...

...cannot catch a break (unless having Shaun Alexander on your roster and basically winning a SEC Championship for you counts). Yup, you got it... Mike Dubose coaches (using the term loosely) the other team.

PS-- I'm feeling a little blah today and am wicked tired after all those late-night World Series games. I'll try to stop "cheating" and post some original thoughts of my own soon... maybe tomorrow.

Bigfoot?

I've spent the last 10 minutes trying to find much-debated pics of the supposed "Bigfoot" taken in Pennsylvania a few weeks ago. (Not because I believe in Bigfoot mind you but because I like to be in the so-called loop.) I'll save you some time and energy: click here. I cast my vote for a wooly mammoth youngster with a dropfoot. Any thoughts?

Mystery Solved

This mystery is solved. And you thought Simeon Castille and Roy Upchurch had problems with the law?!?!

Technical Difficulties

Well, folks, that's what we're having in my house right now. More specifically, we're not able to upload pics to our computer at this time. We unplugged the printer dock a month or so ago and just now got around to plugging it back in. Now we can't get our computer to recognize the camera, hence our inability to upload. We've tried a couple of things to no avail but all of this did jolt us into action regarding burning the existing pics to CD. We did that tonight for the first time (we've had the camera for a YEAR!) but now we've still got to fix the other problems. The point to this story is that there won't be any new pics anytime soon. And it's a shame because I have one of a giant yellow dreidel from an Alabama game.

Pics

So, I'm going to experiment with adding some real photos to my site--ya know, not just ones I've ripped off from the internet. Why yes, this is my first rodeo so cut me some slack while I intermittently work on uploading some pics. The first is of my husband's birthday cake this weekend. Yes, it says "Rate My Poo" below a pile of melted Tootsie Rolls and yes the number, which incidentally is indicative of his age, says 30! A lovely lady at work made it for him since he discusses "poo" so regularly at work (and to boot, he seems to enjoy doing so!). Me thinks birthday cakes are more frequently associated with this variation of that word. Just outta curiosity, does anyone else know about the Rate My Poo website?

Whitey,

Is this you? I love how this guy is known to have a violent temper who always carries a knife but he's also an animal-lover known to frequent libraries and go for long walks on the beach to "maintain his physique." I think Whitey's gone soft...

Hallelujah!

Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." Matthew 19:26

An Inspiration...

This is simply too good to pass up, even though I need to be typing other stuff, you know the stuff that pays the bills. Anyway, I tip my houndstooth straw hat to that old broad.

Quick Post to Clarify

It has come to my attention that I may appear to have a "preoccupation" with Alabama football. Is there enough evidence to convict? Let me see... it does appear that the Football tag takes the cake and if you throw in the Football with a side of randomness then it's not even close. So let me attempt to clarify (and perhaps look a little itty bit less like a loser, though "I ain't never been nuthin' but a winna"--jeez, I really do have a problem!) Okay, okay, let me start over. How bout I try out using the nifty lists format? What am I asking y'all for? Only FOUR WHOLE PEOPLE have voted... like it's soooooo hard to click. (Bitter much? Nooooo, not me.)

For real, here it go:

So, Stephanie, why do you post so much about football?

• It's football season and it seems like all we do is go to games this time of year. So naturally it's on my mind.
• It's something I enjoy discussing (I think I would have been a coach if I was a man) and since I type about 200 words per minute, it's easy for a simple post to digress into a manifesto.
• It is true that I do eat, sleep, and breathe college football (though I should get credit for having successfully nixed my nasty football recruiting habit)
• Honestly (and seriously might I add) I don't feel comfortable discussing my personal life on the world wide web. I know, I know. We are an intimate group here on Steph's Other Space but eventually I'll hit it big (think Ariana Huffington--God forbid!) and these posts will all be archived, right? So I don't have the brainpower to come up with cute yet meaningful pseudonyms and I can't use our real names for sure... we're practically the only ones in this state other than my in-laws and my sweet, sweet mother-in-law will tell anyone anything if you just ask. Love ya Nana Ana-Nay! You know what might help? If you commented and introduced yourself! :)

So is there anything else in your life besides football?

• If you are my child's teacher then you probably think I obsess about their safety and education (in that order). I am at my oldest's son's school at least once a week meeting with the teacher, volunteering, and basically stalking my own child. Truthfully, I opted out of the standard parent-teacher conference last week because there's nothing left to talk about.
• If you are my husband then you probably think I obsess about his upcoming 30th birthday...what does he want for his birthday? (No, Carhartt pants don't count.) What does he want to do that day? (No, that doesn't count either!) What kind of cake does he want? (Who cares? He's getting a cookie cake.)
• If you are our neighbors then you probably think we obsess about working on our house. We've pretty much been in various states of remodeling for the past 4 1/2 years! And there's still the ENTIRE outside of the house to paint. Ugh. And the trim to finish and the window treatments and the pictures to hang...
• If you are my computer, you think I obsess about typing medical records. And now I have a blog? "Oh, great" groans the faded keyboard.
• If you are my van, you think I obsess about schlepping the kids to and fro.
• If you are my TV then you think I obsess about Fox News, The Nanny, and Reba with once-weekly breaks for The Office (don't call on Thursdays at 8PM, I won't answer the phone) and as much as it pains the TV to admit, Friday Night Lights.
• My husband would also say I am obsessive about blogging but I say hogwash... reiterating I type quite fast, thank you very much.

Anything you're obviously not obsessing about?

• Clean floors
• Stray eyebrow hairs
• Getting enough sleep
• Catching up on laundry
• Christmas shopping

Okay, that last list just officially became a "to do" list. Well, now that the cabinet guy is finished I can get back to living life and counting down the minutes til the Saban Bowl. Did I type that out loud?

PS-- Blogger Dashboard would like to state that it thinks I'm obsessed with editing my posts. Steph's OCD= new and exciting things every time you read a post!

Never too busy...

... to stop and pray for Crosby and his family (or at least I try not to consider myself too busy) so I wanted to just share a Bible story that has been on my heart during this whole situation. For any of you who watch Veggietales, you know about Rack, Shack, and Benny and the fiery furnace. I think about the real people (Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego) and their unwaivering faith. Here's what they said:

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, "O Nebuchadnezzar, we
do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown
into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He
will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if He does not, we want you
to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold
you have set up." Daniel 3:16-18

Even though things didn't go as planned (I doubt they expected God to let Nebby go as far as throwing them into the furnace) they were not going to stop worshipping their God, the one true God--I Am. I think Meredith has been a pillar of faith throughout this short yet exhausting journey thus far and I wish for a happy miraculous ending but I'm trying to pray for God's will to be done. Again, please join me (You can find a link to their Caring Bridge Journal on the side -->)

Let's just say it wasn't bad...

There is much to say after the Tennessee game but I'll make it simple: It was the antithesis of the Skank Bowl and I'd drive to Tuscaloosa tonight to do it all over again if I could. But something tells me the dark, wet empty stadium on a Monday night just wouldn't be the same. So all I have now are the warm fuzzy memories, a few pics (that I will try to upload here at a later date), and a promise from my husband that he will hand-make a scorecard from the game to add to my collection. Now he could've just BOUGHT a real scorecard from the game (see post somewhere below regarding his *ahem* thriftiness) like I asked and avoided the task of carefully sketching a scorecard--because let's face it, I'm going to be picky at this point-- but he now has a whole 5 extra bucks to show for it so congrats, hon. You know, I'm really over it now but oh yeah, I'll take my wallet to the next game. If you want to read up on the weekend's sporting events, I suggest you check out al.com or tidesports.com or maybe even espn.go.com because there's too dang much to link to here. I do recognize that about 75% of my "fan base" doesn't care to relive most of the weekend. Understandable and I don't mean that in a smart-ay way... we've been there, done that about a gazillion times over the past few years and it, well, sucks. I also have thoughts about UA's textbook-gate and am in no way avoiding the subject... there's just not much info right now so I don't have an opinion yet. I can report that it didn't seem to rain on our parade this weekend. Other than posting some pics, I probably won't recap this weekend. We're approaching the 24-hour limit that Saban imposes on his team regarding wins or losses (you know, I'm like an honorary team captain and all) PLUS it's an off-weekend and I know my loyal readers are dying for me to post about other stuff. But guess what (chicken butt!) I have a muy busy week so I may not get to post much at all, though I'm going to try because posting is 100% for my benefit (as evidenced by the Dear Sister posts!) But hey, if someone else is reading then that's just gravy.

Until we meet again:
There's this (the stuff of nightmares and funny SNL skits--Sorry! it's sad, I know) and this (not looking so "crazy paranoid" anymore) and this (because isn't that all that really matters? PS- I heart Huckabee, too!) And of course, there's this...

PPS: You wouldn't believe how many choices I had on that last link--thank God for the video cell phone!

You're My Dixieland Delight:

Last but not least

Enjoy! What? It's not like I've taught my little half-yankee son all the words or anything like that...

Cram Session

So you already know that I'm a history nerd and a college football fanatic with a soft spot for Dear Sister parodies. You should also add habitual crammer to that list. Yes, it is FRIDAY, as in the day we leave before home games, and I still haven't packed or cleaned or written my thesis on the UA-UT rivalry. But you see, there's so much subject matter and only so few precious moments of quiet bought by the never-failing Nintendo Gamecube. So where to begin? Where to end? Let's see how this goes:


Once upon a time, in the faraway foothills of Appalachia, there was an ogre named Phil. (Or you could just imagine this in orange.) Wait a minute, I don't think I can make this sound childlike at all. After all, we're talking gluttony, envy, maybe murder. So a parable would work much better, no? Okay, I'll cut to the chase then: Alabama and Tennessee have always been neck-n-neck in the SEC. I'm pretty sure that Tennessee is second to Bama in overall conference championships while having no real in-state competition (love ya, Vandy--mean it!) There's a lot of coaching changes and recruiting that crosses state lines so naturally an intense rivalry has solidified over the years. Alabama really got up on the Big Orange a few years ago and rolled off about 9 straight games without a loss (truth be told, it was 8 straight wins and the 9th was a tie.) So UT axed ole Johnny Majors... enter Phillip Fulmer stage right (and stage left considering his size). I'm not sure what the history is behind him-- other than completely occluded, again given his considerable girth--but something got his XXXL under-roos in a wad. Now what do all true competitors do when they are sick and tired of losing to their biggest rival? Why they squeal to the NCAA (National Conspiracy Against Alabama) of course! And squeal he did. It was eventually revealed in a court of law that he was the "secret witness" in that bungled case a few years ago that cost the Alabama program tens of millions (and oh, about three or four coaches!) That's not speculation...it's a matter of public record! Now Alabama was far from blameless in the case. We paid $200,000 for a defensive tackle from Memphis... a defensive tackle, folks! I mean, Reggie Bush only cost USC about $150,000 and won a Heisman-- we got hosed! But I digress...

Now obviously that's against the rules but surely the NCAA isn't going to make a federal case outta it, right? WRONG! They did--literally! Logan Young, a "prominent" Alabama booster who didn't even go to Alabama but was friends with (you guessed it) Tha Bayer, and represented everything the UT faithful hated about Alabama football, and oh yeah! He was the guy who footed the bill for Albert Means so he eventually faced trumped up charges in federal court that were prosecuted by his hillbilly ex-girlfriend's-new-husband's-first-cousin of a prosecutor. The whole thing was nothing short of a bad, bordering on humorous, three-ring circus (you can read more about it here, incidentally not written by a Bammer). That is, until Logan turned up dead. The first reports were that his body was beaten and bloodied so badly that dental records were required to ID his body. The house was taped off and there was an ongoing homicide investigation. Suddenly, in just a day or two, his death was ruled the result of an accidental tumble down the stairs. Man, I hate it when that happens. So Logan Young never got the chance at an appeal. I'm sure everyone's memories will fade over time but to me (and I know my father will disagree) this story shifted from a proverbial axe to grind to quite possibly an axe actually being ground right into someone's head. And did I forget to mention that one of the lawyers involved this case was also physically assaulted and his briefcase with key documents stolen? Um yeah, no one was ever arrested. I wish I made this stuff up. By my own admission, I've simplified and condensed this story as time would allow but nonetheless I think I've made my case for viewing Tennessee as one of the all-time great evils rivals. And I think I made my case for jealousy, possibly murder. But what about gluttony, you say? For that, click here.

Wish I had more time and as always, I encourage ongoing dialogue in the form of COMMENTS on my page. If anyone out there on the world wide web has an info regarding this case, don't contact me... contact your local Crimestoppers--they pay cash! (Just kidding folks! But seriously, don't contact me and drag me into it!)

Roll Tide for the good guys!

I am nothing if not informative,

right? If you're like me then all this stuff can be confusing so you need to read as much as you can about it all before the switch to digital. And oh yeah, I really just want more flat panel TVs (they just look so much prettier) and my husband is cheap frugal so that info comes in handy.

Virtual Friends-->

So I'm starting a list of friends with blogs (see sidebar). Please click on the links and give them some blog meter love! I'll have to work on bulking up that list. You know, like friends on myspace... don't want to look like a loo-ser! Please let me know if you have a blog that I don't know about... I'm pretty self-absorbed these days. :)

Because...

...I'm also a college football fanatic with a thing for Dear Sister stuff.

Okay, so the hit is not that impressive in real time but try telling me you don't feel sorry for that little white boy in slo-mo. (Pay special attention to his head!)

PS: Poor Mr. Zach Smith can relive that moment to different tunes here and here. There's even a youtube tribute with a splash of the movie Friday but I won't link to it. If you've seen the movie then you can guess what they reference.

Excuse me...

...I have a history degree and a thing for Dear Sister stuff. And a low-grade fever. Again, sorry.

UT Preview:

Without making any promises, (you know, verbal contracts are binding in this state and I hate arbitration...) I am planning a post to discuss the nature of the UA-UT rivalry. I think most nonpartisans (ie: you ain't gotta dog in the fight) would be surprised at the, shall we say, intensity of emotions. I will try to collect my own thoughts and put them together before we head to T-town this weekend to yell our friggin' guts out! Until then, here's a sampling of what others are feeling this week:

Found this on the tidesports.com forums Please note--These were not written by me but I can't say that I totally disagree!:

(By an Alabama fan, with apologies to Mark Twain and his "War Prayer", from which this was plagiarized) O Lord, as our Crimson Soldiers, idol's of Dixie's heart, go forth unto battle, be with them, and be with us, as we also go forth from the peace of our high-definition sanctuaries unto the field of conflict to smite the lamentable Orange pestilence that doth soil thy creation. Help us to cripple their minions, bringing thunder and fire upon upon the pathetic hordes of their followers. Let us, Dear Lord, bring agonizing contusion upon the anterior cruciate ligaments of their offensive Volunteers, to separate the shoulders of their defenders, to pulverize the quadriceps of all who dare to oppose us, until they rise no more, hauled from the battlefield in a John Deere utility vehicle.And let us, O Merciful Father, from whom all good and mercy originates, brutalize their Coach, to envelope and crush the beast under a wave of Crimson Steel, smashing his internal organs until the rancid tonnage of his gut spills onto the field into a congealing mass of semi-digested cream filled donuts, to so sicken and horrify the unwashed masses of the northern land, that they never again dare venture from the squalor of the Rocky Top wasteland. We ask these blessings of thee, O Lord, in the name of peace and humble sportsmanship. Amen.

Then there's this: And for the record, I believe the exact color of Tennessee orange is Kraft Macaroni and Cheese sauce powder orange. Girl, you know it's true.

Pray On...

I love watching God work.... join me! It is truly a privilege!

Random to say the least...

While attempting to google my blog, I stumbled across this blog. Look familiar? So apparently my alternate identity (you know, as in alternate universe?) is a male doctor in Bahrain. I didn't take the time to read much so of course there could be all sorts of things on there that I don't agree with in any shape, form, or fashion but I was struck at the overall layout similarities and the latest post on rugby... aka macho football. Weird.

Nothing says maternal...

...like big boobs, right? Check out what Kate McCann (little Madeleine's mom) has to say about that here. Oh my, I think she may be the most maternal woman I've read about since Patsy Ramsey.

Cats Win! Cats Win! Cats Win!

So glad for Team Nathaniel!

I love this pic!

It has certainly been my experience over the years that the ladies in the SEC care just as much as the men-- maybe even more as evidenced by this sacrifice of shiny red Manolo Blahniks after the UA-UM game:

Battle of the Bangs...

*Note from the editor: I am taking advantage of a brief quiet moment in our household (boys out for a bike ride with Daddy) to comment on the Alabama-Ole Miss game so please feel free to skip this post if reading it might endanger your vision due to excessive eye-rolling. It will be light (possibly nonexistent) on links and heavy on football. My apologies in advance to the pure randomists out there.

...Bangs, as in feathery wispy hair covering your forehead as opposed to explosions or big hits more commonly associated with football games. Alas, this is the annual game between two pretty boy schools with the grand poobah of all Bama Bangs under center for UA. If you're neutral then I think you will agree that it was a great game. If you're an Ole Miss fan then you probably think your team got hosed. There were indeed a few calls that may have favored Bama, including the call that essentially ended the game. But in an attempt at an unbiased opinion, I think the rules state a player cannot be the first to touch the ball after he has ventured out of bounds, which the Ole Miss player clearly did. Now it was a toss-up between who touched it first and frankly Lionel Mitchell should have had the INT outright, but what-ev. I was just glad to see the good guys (that would be the boys in white) play a much better game. Is there room for improvement? Absolutely, but they appeared to care for once. So, Nick Saban had a cold all week... PSYCH! (or "sike" if you like, I think that's the official 8th grade spelling) I will choose to believe he strained his vocal cords peeling some paint off the locker room walls before and after practices this week. Who knew he was reading my blog? Come on, Nicky, leave me a comment! I shall also continue criticize J.P. Wilson in posts from here on out as well since he obviously took offense (pun intended) from my earlier post. Or maybe he was just inspired by all the cute co-eds and hotty totty that flows so freely in the Grove. Again, what-ev... just ROLL TIDE!

PS-- Welcome back Mr. Toss Sweep!

Save A Life... Be A Plumber

Hope my hubby doesn't get any ideas...

Random Conversations (Enjoy!)

Eldest son to me: "Mom, what's a missionary?"

Me: "Someone who goes somewhere to tell people about Jesus. I would like to be a missionary some day."

Eldest: "I want to be a trucker."

Me: "Hmmm."

Eldest: "Or someone who takes care of monkeys. What would happen if you got a pet monkey?"

Me: "I would no longer be married to your father."

See, the randomness runs deep in our veins.

Uh-Woo-Woo

Somebody's in trouble...

Okay, so I don't have much time at all before I have to report for car-line duty but I couldn't resist posting that link before I let the day slip away (which it inevitably does once I get our eldest back home each day!) I have lots of things I would like to post about but it takes so much time and effort and frankly I've felt quite lazy this week. I don't have nearly the caliber of commentary following the UA-Houston game as I did the previous week but that is sort of self-explanatory, isn't it? We did get a flyover with real jets, et al and not just the police helicopters on patrol per usual. John Parker Wilson is not helping himself in any way, which makes me think not wasting my time/money on making an "I {heart} JPW" shirt to wear to the games was a good move. Saved me money on couples therapy, too. I do think I need to point out that The Eunuch Bowl (see first ever post) was played last week and it appears that not only did Oklahoma take UT's manhood, so to speak, they also won the game.

And in total random news, I am mc'lovin' this right now. I saw a bottle in my sister's stuff (or possibly her kids?) and decided to try it out since my hair has felt kind of crunchy since the summer, even though I've used chlorine removal shampoo. Basically, it was 4 bucks well spent and at the very least is making my hair smell yummy. That is probably totally useless info for you but I was just putting it out there for you to do what you will with it... you know, like a little PSA for dry hair sufferers.

Last, but not least... I've wanted to mention this in passing but let's face it, there's no easy way to segway into what I'm going to say (as eloquently as possible): In high-def, you can totally tell the gender of the Buffalo Bills mascot...

Buffalo Bills Throwback Helmet

Waaaahhhhhut?

How on earth did I miss this? I found that little nugget of randomness during my internet research after I saw this on Foxnews.com this afternoon. I can't believe that story has somehow slipped under my radar until now. While I doubt there are many of "my" readers (as I affectionately refer to all 5 of you) who don't know this tidbit, I will go ahead and share that I too have lupus. There, that's that... I'm out. I was going to do it on International Lupus Day but hey it's International Lupus Day somewhere, right? I'd like to think I've always had a good sense of humor regarding this topic but now I fear my prognosis is much, much more grave.

A Cautionary Tale

Okay, so I'm usually totally over-the-top in randomness and tomfoolery but I'm dead serious about protecting your kids (and yourself if you feel so inclined.) I will jump up and down, stand on a soapbox, yell til I'm blue in the face, etc to get the point across that it is a sick and fallen world we live in so we've got to take the threat against our kids seriously. There are a hundred stories out there just like this one.

As I like to say, just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not after you!

Go Trees!

So the smart kids with no mascot beat the big, bad Trojans this weekend. My oldest son (probably the only kid in the whole state with a Stanford t-shirt) wore his Stanford football shirt proudly all day Saturday. Big deal, huh? Well, Stanford didn't beat USC until Saturday night. :)

I bet the folks from Palo Alto would pay him to wear that shirt before every game... hmmmmm.

Busy times ahead...

For one, this weekend is particulary busy so that means win or lose, I probably won't have time to post again until sometime next week. Should we lose (a very real possibility in my mind--not to be confused with probability), I won't be dodging anyone. If you know me personally then you know it is laughable that I would be able to "dodge" any Aubs at all. But that's neither here nor there...

What I would like is to make one last-ditch plea before the weekend for folks to post me a comment. Are y'all milking me for some sort of outlandish bribe? (ie: I'll post the pics status post wisdom teeth removal several years ago if I get "x" amount of comments) Hey it might work but I'm going to appeal first to your sense of kindness and just grovel: Puuuurrrrrrtttttttty, purty please! Those who are exempt from this little experiment: Stacy (Shayne too but not sure she still reads) Shannon, Jenn, and Lysha with a big cyber-hug {{hug}} to boot.

ROLL TIDE!

I'd be remiss...

...if I didn't mention that today was my Granny's birthday and I miss her.

Notes from The Skank Bowl...

...aka Jacksonville Municipal Stadium aka The Gator Bowl aka The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party, which incidentally is the most appropriate title. This trip was probably the worst I road game trip I can recall, including the time I went to Neyland Stadium and almost got into a physical altercation with a UT fan (no surprise there!) That also includes the time I went to Oxford and we LOST to Ole Miss (big surprise there!) So you can probably deduce that more than the loss is to blame.

But before I jump in head first, I have to explain the whole "Young Girl" sitch. It's kind of an ongoing joke with my parents (okay really just my dad but that sounds bad and it's nothing like that I assure you!) We were all sittin around, playin dominoes, listenin to music when we heard that song. Me and my hubby couldn't believe this song is still in circulation considering the times (too many examples to link). If you did your homework, then you will note that the words of that song go something like "better run, girl, you're much too young girl" or "so hurry home to your momma...before we go too far" Is it just me or can you not believe that song is still on the radio?!?!? Wouldn't you know we heard it again on satellite radio during our trip to Florida last weekend? We quickly realized we were mistakenly listening to Playboy channel's pedophile station and changed it. No, that last sentence was a test to see if you were paying attention. However, we really did hear the song and we had my dad laughing so hard with our thoughts on the song. He thinks we're blowing it all out of proportion (okay, we kinda did just for kicks) but then I found the original video and decided that Gary Puckett is definitely a perv/freak, or at least he was. And while I was browsing youtube, I found a video of him performing the song (wait for this....) at Epcot. You just can't make this stuff up.

Now onto football... Alabama obviously did not study my points to the game. Otherwise, they would have known that you have to outscore the other team... works every time! I literally chanted "no huddle, no huddle" about half-way through the 1st quarter but no one joined me. In fact, my husband pretended he didn't know me. My cheering did clearly draw attention from the crowd as I'm pretty sure I heard some drunkard mumble something about "that little sober girl" and "doesn't she know this is a cocktail party?!?!" I would love to say that our team and fans fought the good fight and came out on the losing end but such was not the case... unless River City Showdown really meant drinking competition. In that case, the giant golden keg goes to the Sabanation! Lest anyone thinks I have jumped ship, let me assure you that our experiences at BDS (or any college stadium for that matter) are nothing like that. It just seems that the sober UA fans (excluding us) didn't make the trip. FSU fans didn't bowl me over with their class and dignity, either. That reminds me... here's an unsolicited fashion tip: This is not a dress. It is a shirt so please wear pants. Bonus fashion tip: Ba-donka-donks by nature don't fit into a size 2. Indeed, that little slit will give way.

I'm surprised at how easy the media has been on Bama this week. There's some obvious problems with the offense that I personally believe could be corrected, yet they have not been so far. I have confidence in the coaching staff but am a little bewildered at some of their choices. And I'll go ahead and say it, for $4 mill I want to see a little theatrics. You know--a little jumpin, a little shoutin', a little grabbin' of the facemasks. $3.9 mill can be purely coaching but throw us a friggin' bone and give us $100,000 worth of inspiration... which of course brings me to this. You're welcome.

Now it's not all Saban's fault. I am convinced that John Parker Wilson is a junkie-- an adrenaline junkie! He once told me (because you know we're tight and all) "hey, it's sooooo much cooler if you come from behind to win. I mean, I look so much cooler when I do it that way." [tosses Bama bangs to the side] "Oh no, I can't change..." [cue Freebird]

So there's an insiders look at the collapse of a rockin' 3-0 season. Being 3-2 sucks, doesn't it? Oh if only there was anyone else out there that was 3-2....

Absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?

(Hint: A good way to express that growing fondness in your heart is TO COMMENT! I'm feeling insecure about the size of my blog, people! Shouldn't I have 50 hundred million readers by now?!?! But I digress...)

Okay, I know it's been a while. Let me see where I left off (scrolling down...) Oops! The more I think about it, the more I regret leaving a link to the Gary Puckett's "Young Girl" video as my parting post. BUT there is a story to that song and I promise to get to it soon. I'll leave you hangin' a little while longer though. Basically it's just another busy football season in our household this year. It's nothing new but this blog thang is so I'm not always able to post as frequently as I anticipated. I'd be a gazillionaire if I could invent a computer chip that would keep track of the thoughts in your brain and then post them automatically on your blog. I know what you're thinking "Gazillionaire? Really? I doubt anyone other than you and maybe a handful of nerdy bloggers would want that" but I'm telling you, the government contracts would set me for life. Anywhoo...

So I've had all these fleeting thoughts over the past couple of days that would have made interesting posts but the operative word there is fleeting. I can't remember a dern thing now so I'll have to work off of my last post. Then I promise to post my astounding and incredibly insightful thoughts on UA's last football game so put your bookie on hold until then. (I kid, I kid... don't ever put your bookie on hold)

The banquet Monday night was AWESOME, as expected. It was a fundraiser for a Christian ministry with many branches but it's primary focus is helping men and women kick addictions. There is a house for men, a house for women (including pregnant women), and there is also an emergency shelter for women and children fleeing abuse. This organization also heads up mission trips all over the world throughout the year. Basically they do just about anything they can to reach out to people in the name of Jesus (Their motto quite appropriately is "Putting God's love into action... where the action is at!) We consider it a privilege to in any way be associated with them and look forward to the day when we can do more.

The speaker that night told two stories to illustrate his point of leaving your mark on the world. These are paraphrased of course but the gist goes like this... Alfred Nobel was the inventor of dynamite and made a fortune off of that and other armaments. An erroneous obituary published before his death claiming "the merchant of death is dead" spurred him on to leave a better legacy for his name so he left the bulk of his estate to fund five prestigious awards, including what is known as the Nobel Peace Prize. Good story, right? Well, there's another lady from about the same time period that also made a fortune off of armaments. Her name was Sarah Winchester and her husband's family's company made essentially the first functional repeating rifle (aka "the gun that won the West") Cue the Civil War and now their family is filthy rich. They had one child, a girl who died at about 6 months of age, and then a few years later her husband died of tuberculosis. Understandably , she took these losses quite hard. Not so understandably, she sought the advice of a spiritual medium who told her she was being haunted by the spirits of all those killed by Winchester guns. According to him, they were seeking revenge on her family so she should move and build a house to appease them/confuse them. This is the result. Whatta waste. She was convinced that she would die (at the hands of the spirits I suppose) if construction ever stopped so work continued 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, for 38 YEARS! I've been fascinated by this story on so many levels (and have read more about it here and here.) First, I'm struck by how many stories there are throughout history of women losing a child and it basically consuming them... modern-day versions: exhibit a and exhibit b). Never underestimate the sting of that kind of loss. But I'm equally struck by the thought of how desperate she was to save her own life and how it didn't have to be that way. Her story is fascinating to say the least.

Well, it just doesn't seem right to cover the Young Girl video and football in the same post so I'll leave it at that for now. Look for another post veddy, veddy soon though.

Just so you know...

...I'm not in hiding, not that there's anything wrong with that. I seriously considered staying in the sunshine state, at least until the toilet paper blew out of the trees downtown. The good news: there wasn't any toilet paper in my trees. Well, I do have a scathing review of the game this weekend but really no time to write it. For now I'll just say that the so-called home of the largest outdoor cocktail party on earth was all it was cracked up to be.

It. Was. Miserable.

We're table hosts at a fundraiser tonight which means 3 things:
1. I must clean the house so the babysitter doesn't call DHR.
2. I must do laundry so that said fundraiser doesn't take up a love offering for our family.
3. I must start working on my unruly hair hours before I need to look presentable.

Here's some homework for tonight though. We'll discuss it at my next posting.