Put your game face on, Part 1

Because I am SO ready for Saturday to get here, I decided I'd do a YouTube video each day this week of some of my favorite Alabama memories. I'm starting with a video about the tradition of the Million Dollar Band. Why? Because it is the sound of the band playing "Yea Alabama" that gets my blood pumping. There is nothing like hearing the band playing on the quad before the game, and then to hear 90,000+ singing along during pregame...if I have to explain, you wouldn't understand!

ROLL TIDE!

It's THAT time...football season!!!

If you have followed my blog any at all for the past year, you know how much I adore my beloved Crimson Tide. You know that I would rather spend my Saturdays between September and November in a stadium. When the games are away, I can be found glued to the TV from the time Sports Center comes on until the last game goes off (or on some rare occasions, until I fall asleep because I just cannot keep my eyes open.) Yeah, I know that isn't "typical" for a female, but when you look at the females in my family, none of us are typical. And we like it that way. :)

My mom's side of the family is very much sports oriented. My uncles played high school ball, my aunt was a softball player, and my brother and all of my cousins played at least one sport. One of my cousins, Bryne, was the punter for Bama in the 90s. He was actually on the '92 Championship team (and the ring is not only gorgeous, but it is huge.) In high school, I played softball. I wasn't the greatest player, but I loved it.

As a youngster, I remember either listening to or watching Bama play on Saturdays. Back then, teams were only on TV once or twice a season, so those televised games were special. I remember the '79 Sugar Bowl when Bama beat Penn State with the goal-line stand. They showed JoePa, and for just the briefest of moments, I felt sorry for him because his team had lost. I also remember the 1986 (I think) Penn State game at Bryant-Denney. During warm ups, one of the Penn State balls hit one the members of the Million Dollar Band. Coach Paterno walked across the field to check on the band member. I always thought that was very classy. He could have easily had the attitude that she was in the way.

As the season opener against Virginia Tech looms near, the butterflies begin to build. There are times when I actually feel physically ill because I'm so tense and nervous. Just sitting here blogging about it has caused me to get "that" feeling. If you don't know what feeling I'm talking about, there is no way I can explain it to you, and not to be disrespectful, but you probably wouldn't understand anyway. After such an amazing season last year, the entire Crimson Nation hopes for a repeat. I think that is what makes me even more nervous. And I know that there are people out there who are just waiting for Bama to get that first loss.

Be prepared to read posts throughout the season about Bama. Sometimes I might even be obnoxious, but only if you are a fan of "the cow college" as Coach Bryant used to say. (ALL of my barner friends and family members KNOW that I love them!)

Alabama Bloggers is gearing up for a Football Carnival. Click on over and pick up your button (but only if it's the Alabama button.) Blog about it and earn points for your team!

Oh, and I can't leave without saying...

ROLL TIDE ROLL!!!!!!

So, um, yeah...sassy shoes = pain!

I have the most awesome pair of red, peep-toe wedge-heeled shoes that I love, love, love. BUT they kill, kill, kill my feet. This morning I stared into my closet praying that something comfy was going to be clean and ironed, but alas, nothing was. Now, because I roll out of bed at 4:45 every morning, there is plenty of time for me to iron and still get to work sometime between 6:30 and 6:45, but I hate to iron. So I decided to pull out the navy striped skirt, the red top, and the RED SHOES.

I got ready, put on my awesome red, peep-toe wedge-heeled shoes and headed out the door. No problems. Got to work, got out of the car, walked across to the building, walked up the stairs and to my room--just hoping that Karen would have Band-Aids 'cause I ain't got none in my room. (That's my "not in English teacher" mode.) Fortunately, she did. And they helped. Until about lunch time. Now I'm sitting here dreading the walk down the hall and the stairs, across to the parking lot, and to the car because I know it's gonna hurt. I don't dare take my shoes off until I get home because if I do, the blisters will feel even worse when I have to put the shoes back on. Oh, when will I learn? If I were a teacher who sat at the podium all day, it wouldn't be a problem at all, but nope...I'm a wanderer. (It makes it a lot easier to make sure students are paying attention.)

Plans for this evening include ironing because I will be wearing my cute pink and green polka dot Yellow Box flip flops tomorrow. :)

Y'all have a GREAT day.

Yard crashin', clean sweepin' fools

So, this was our weekend to stay with John's mom. Linda called on Thursday to ask if we'd mind helping out in the yard on Saturday, which we didn't. Except that I'm so horribly out of shape that I am so sore. That's beside the point, though. We spent about four hours cutting, pruning, pulling, and tossing. Fortunately, the weather was WON.DER.FUL. We moved Billie's swing from the patio area and put it under a nice shade tree. Not only will it be in the shade, but she'll be able to enjoy the nice fall breezes much better since the swing won't be blocked on two sides like it was on the patio. The yard looks so good, but by Sunday, she had already forgotten who had done it and when. :(

Sunday, Connie made chocolate gravy and biscuits for breakfast. Danny and Linda came over for that, and then Connie, Linda, and I sent John, Danny, and Billie for a nice Sunday drive. Linda and Connie had planned on cleaning out some of Billie's clothes, and that can't be done while she is there. While Linda and Connie went through her closet and drawers, I cleaned out the bathroom and the linen closet. It is hard to believe that one person can accumulate so much...stuff...in two very tiny areas! I bet I used three or four garbage bags just for the bathroom and closet. Linda and Connie probably loaded up three or four, maybe five, bags of clothes. And there are still two bedroom closets left to do.

We did some straightening and tossing in the kitchen, too. That was actually when we sent the "boys" out with their mom. Connie was going through one of the cabinets trying to toss old stuff and reorganize the rest. She found five (I think) jars of peanut butter. One of them had a 2007 expiration date on it, so Connie put it aside to throw away. Billie opened it and smelled it and was insistent that it was okay because it smelled okay. I'm not going to definitely say that it WAS bad, but I wouldn't make a sandwich with it. Besides, there were several other jars that weren't out of date. Ah, Alzheimer's.

We got to see Will and Maggie B, too. Will has recently discovered that John and I live close to Auburn, so he wants to come see us so we can take him down there. Amy told him that Aunt Trina doesn't love him that much. LOL He asked me if I'd take him, and I told him NOOOOOO. I don't go to Auburn. hahaha Of course, if he did come to visit, we would take him, but neither of us would be very good tour guides because we know next to nothing about the AU campus. And we like it that way.

Maggie just smiles and laughs all the time, and she is starting to really imitate words. She says bye, doggie, high five, and a couple of others that I don't remember right now. If Aunt Trina has ANYTHING to do with it, Little Miss Maggie Moo won't ever say anything except ROLL TIDE! (I used to be able to bribe Will, but I'm not sure that I still can.)

After a night of CRAZY dreams, I am certainly not excited to be up and at it this early. I'm already at work, and I wouldn't normally post when there are a few things that I need to be doing, but if I didn't do it now, I don't know when I'd get it done. It's going to be a crazy couple of days--grocery store/house cleaning tonight, bunco tomorrow night. The kids will be happy to know that there probably won't be much, if any, homework for the next couple of days. :)

I have got to get busy, so that's it for now. Hope you have a GREAT day!

Love,

I'm such a BAD bloggy friend!

***Edit: I was right about where John was. He has a new "toy," but if anyone deserves it, it is he! :)***

I haven't been reading blogs much at all lately. Really, I haven't been reading them much for a couple of months now. It isn't that I don't WANT to. It's been TIME! Well, that plus the fact that my wireless internet is STILL wonky from the storm back in July, so I don't have internet access on my laptop. Let me tell ya what...having a wireless laptop is definitely my preferred way of surfing the 'net! For whatever reason, the desktop won't recognize the wireless router, so the laptop isn't getting a signal. SO, if I usually read your blog but I haven't been by lately or left a comment, please forgive me.

Hang on...ONE of these dogs is gassy... BAD! I've GOT to get them outside before I suffocate.

OK...they're out. And they are gonna stay out until I'm fairly certain one or both of them have pooped.

So, it's almost the end of week 2 of the 2009-2010 school year. I still have no complaints. Except for the fact that my feet are still killing me. The older I get, the harder it is to adjust to starting back after the summer. The fact that I'm on a concrete floor all day long doesn't help. And I'm not one of those teachers who can sit behind a podium and teach. I'm constantly walking around the room.

Ah ha! Bama was the stinky party. LOL

I've got some sad news to share. My daughter Jessi's dog Lulu got hit and killed on Monday. It has been a very tough week for her. Anyone who is an animal lover can understand. It hurts me to know that she is hurting.

This will be our weekend in Hartselle. Pray for me to have patience. :) My sis-in-law Tisha called yesterday to give us the heads up that Billie has been turning the heat on because she gets cold. Tim wanted to tell John that he might want to shut the vent in her bedroom. Thinking that might be a VERY good idea!!!

I'm wondering where that wonderful man of mine is. When I got home about 5:30, he had been home but was gone in the truck. I tried to call his cell, but he didn't answer. I'm seriously thinking that he may have gone to look at another truck down in Auburn. When he was pulling the boat up the hill a couple of weeks ago, he almost didn't make it, so he has been tossing around the idea of selling his truck AND the Miata and getting a 4WD. (If you know of anyone who would like a '98 Ford F-150 that is in VERY good condition, let me know! I'll get you a good deal on one. LOL) He found a couple online in Auburn. They had very low miles on them, and neither price was bad. Guess we shall see.

OK--I'm gonna go. I've got some work to do for tomorrow. Have a GREAT Friday and a GREAT weekend!

Love,