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Saturday, October 20, 2012

Sweet Home Alabama

The first weekend in October we took the short flight home to Bama to see my family and some college friends. It was non-stop and exhausting but we had a blast. Most of you know about our upgrade rental car, our fun in Auburn, and Auburn's poo in the shoe HA thanks to facebook. I will do my best to fill in some gaps.

1. The Atlanta airport is huge and I will never get use to it. Do you know you have to take a TRAIN away from the airport to get your rental car? Crazy! And the rental car company has kiosks for those who already reserved on-line but they turn them off, act like they are broke, and make people stand in line for hours. Big boo!
2. Although it was sporty and a red bumble bee, I will never get back in another camaro. Cool car but I am too tall. They are SO hard to get in and out of. I kept hitting my head or about killing myself trying to get out. The backup camera was very cool. My next car will have one of those. But the car was almost too high-tech for us. It needed it's on set of instructions. Of course, no manual in the glove box.
3. Valley had not changed much but the traffic stopping Popeye's was interesting. You know you live in a small town when the new restaurant requires traffic cops! Auburn is still growing and a lot of our old stomping grounds had changed. It was great, as always, to walk around downtown and campus.
4. I think I got my most amount of sleep after we got to my parents. I took a three hour nap! We slept in past 7 only 1 day out of the 5. Staying up late and no sleeping in = still not up to speed Heather!
5. We met the family friends for Mexican, the dad side of the family for Italian, and the mom side of the family for Pizza. So lots of eating and good times. Did Heather take pictures, nope. So lets hope my memory sticks for these. It was really good seeing everyone, my family actually showed up to see me (referring to one side in particular), and it was actually enjoyable (once again, referring to one side in particular). :) And beach plans are in the work for next year!
6. I definitely got my shopping fix in. I had some luck and found lots of pieces I had been hunting for. I got lots of Auburn stuff and got to see all my favorite bookstores. I did not get my orange Auburn Nike shorts but I will have family hunt them down for me. They are a hot item and it was a home game weekend so not too disappointed.
7. Auburn with Jason, Christin, Mike, & Matt was just like old times. Partying, going to the game, Niffers, BBQ House, and good music. Ha! We had such a great time catching up and reminiscing. We really have to do it more often. We had not seen Jason & Christin since the wedding! That is just not cool. Best part, I was with some football guys so I got to watch and talk football without feeling like I was the only one who cared. It was amazing! Doug did not even complain when we were all straining our necks at dinner to watch the SC/GA game. And how in the world do a group of people all leave their leftover sitting on the table at the restaurant? So much food wasted. And really good Niffers food at that!
8. The cotton pickin fair was fun as always. I stood in line over half an hour for a corn dog but Doug's fried chicken with green beans, potato salad, and homemade biscuit with a line wrapped around the building took 15 mins. I was not a happy Heather... I got some cute Auburn earrings, an Auburn sign for my desk at work, and an Auburn water bottle koozie (which I LOVE!). Doug got cobbler. Ha! I got to see a couple of high school friends who I have not seen in many years. But it was good, quality time with Mom.
9. I have bad luck with flying. Failing GPS system? On and off the plane? Another delay? REALLY! I give up! But the security line in Atl was small and quick (compared to normal but crazy compared to BWI). When we walked to our gate, Doug ran into someone he knew. How crazy is that! They met in Minnesota at a Best Buy training thing. What's the odds?
10. Big Big Big thanks to Ryan and Sarah for watching Auburn so we could go. I apologize again for the poo and barking but am so happy we had you to keep her. It took her a couple of days but she adjusted and I really think she misses yall. It was so funny when we brought her home. She was like, "I know this place but not sure if I am home or not." She really had to readjust. Her allergies kicked in full force while we were gone. We called the vet and got more antibiotics. Once this round is complete we are doing the testing. I cannot even give her a bath right now because I am scared it will hurt her. I have not seen her break out this bad. I am sure the stress of us leaving had some to do with it. I feel so bad for her.

So that was out trip in a wrap up. I put all the pics on facebook so none left for the blog.

Long time, no blog

I know, I know. I have not blogged all month. Not sure why. Mostly not in the mood, some being too busy, and a lot from being exhausted. I still have not caught up from our vacation to Bama. I will blog about it next in a separate blog and tell you all about it. That trip was no R&R, it was all go, go, go! But we had a great time and I hope we get to do it again soon.

So since my last blog we have not been up to much. Doug is still working all the time, I have been really busy at work, and we have been having lots of fun writing papers for his English class. I made a B+ on my first one (thanks to Sara for reading it and giving me some pointers). Our next one is due in a week. I am so not looking forward to it. I can't believe I once enjoyed doing this!

Last weekend was a busy one. Saturday night we went out to dinner and the casino for Sarah A's B'day. The wait for Cheesecake Factory in the casino was over 3 hours! So we went to Olive Garden and waited a little less than an hour. We had the most cracked out waitress ever. She literally exhausted us from talking so fast and running around. But she got us in and out quickly and brought us everything we asked for. After our stimulating dinner we went to the sense (as in the 5) blowing, over stimulating casino. Between the people, the lights, and the music I had a hangover from that and not the alcohol. Ha! I found the bar, a chair right in front of the SC vs LSU game, and planted myself there for the second half. I made a few friends (one is a FL fan and his group was pulling for LSU, BOO!) and had a great time watching that game. Best part, I could yell at the TV and no one could hear me so I didn't look like a crazy person. :) We had a great time and met some cool people (one of her friends is from Buckhead and her and her fiance are huge Walking Dead friends. - that's our kinda people!).

Now to football. LOVING all the College Gamedays in the SEC, that #1 & #2 are once again SEC, that the SEC has dominated the rankings, and my home state is still ruling the NCAA football scene. Yeah, Auburn sucks a big one this year. But I still love them. I sport my colors every Friday at work and Saturday on the couch :) . As always, I think the top 25 has over rated, non-SEC teams that would be crushed by any of the top ranked SEC teams. I am still not on board the the two new teams added to the SEC but I am thrilled they are getting beat up by the real SEC teams. A&M is growing on me some but Mizwho has earned zero respect from me. (Thank god Auburn does not play them because I would die if we lost to them.) I would rather loose to Kentucky (who if we played would determine the worst team in the SEC) than loose to another tiger team. I am super excited, after missing two weekends of all day football, to be back on the couch today with no plans. Aug - Nov is Sundays only for me but up here with these NFL people they are Sat only. Go figure.

Last Sunday I got dumb and had the bright idea to meet a bunch of people from work at Buffalo Wild Wings. I had not seen some of them in months so I was excited to see them. But Buffalos on a Sunday in NFL country was NOT a good idea. They were packed and it was so loud. The Ravens game was over but the Redskins & Giants games were still on. The manager was really nice and worked really hard to get us a table in a decent amount of time. We had a great time and were still home for Walking Dead! Success!

Tomorrow we are heading to the Renaissance Festival with Doug's parents. It's the last weekend and they have not been yet this year. My goal is to eat fried food and get some jewelry, like always! The weather is suppose to be beautiful so we are super excited!

Now, USC! GO COCKS!
(Sorry Florida, but Spurrier has jumped you in my favorite SEC team rankings)