Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Pictures From the Weekend


Both teams, before the game. Please notice that they are A LOT further away than they were in the last picture from 2 years ago. We were much higher in the stands, but, honestly, they were better seats because we could see the entire field. Percy Harvin scored two touchdowns and I'm pretty sure he looked straight at us after both scores.


In front of the Heavener Center. The glass doors up the steps house three Heisman trophies and two Lombardi crystal footballs. Will there be another one placed there in January?

Anniversary Trip + a quick Obama story

DSD and I talked about going out of town for our anniversary, but we didn't want to spend too much money (so California wine country was out) and it was our weekend to have his son and working with the boy's mother is not always easy. So, we decided we would just wait and see what came up.

And he surprised me with tickets to KY @ UF tickets in Gainesville on the 25th! He thought this was be fun and sentimental. (Don't tell him I would have rather gone to Jacksonville this weekend for UF/UGA, it would hurt his feelings. But it will be a MUCH better ballgame.)

Then we found out that the KY @ UF game was Homecoming for UF. Homecoming? Fun! Parades and pagents and pep rallies, Oh My!

Well, the pagent was held earlier in the month. And the parade was at 12 EDT, so we weren't going to make it. But the pep rally (called the Gator Growl) was at 7pm and we could make that. Tickets were $20 each, but we felt it would be worth it for The Steve Miller Band alone.

I'm really glad we went. It was fun, but I think it was one of those things that I will not be required to do again in this lifetime.

The best part, though, was during the part called "Growl News." During the entire pep rally there were videos of former Gators or famous Floridians who spoke about how great the Gators are, how much they were supporting the team, the school, etc. Many (present and former politicians) spoke of how important this election is and how each of us need to vote. But at the end of each video (1 - 2 minutes) the person said, "Let the Gator Growl."

"Growl News" seemed to be a take-off of SNL's "Weekend Update." There was a cute Top 10 list and a bunch of stuff that only the current students seemed to get. Then, at the end, up popped John McCain on the video. There was A LOT of noise in the stadium! Much clapping and yelling and whistling. It was disheartening. McLame spoke of voting and blah, blah, blah and, of course, "Let the Gator Growl."

The "News" team then began to sign off, but there was SUDDENLY breaking news. Someone rushed out and put some paper on the desk and everyone became very energized and then, there he was, the next President of the United States (on video, of course) and I.didn't.hear.a.word.he.said! Except for "Let the Gator Growl." The stadium absolutely lost its mind and it didn't quiet down until he was almost finished. That was the most noise I heard in there all night. More than for Coach Meyer, more than for the Steve Miller Band, more than for the comedian (who was funny, but I can't remember his name) and much, much, much more than for McSame. It was a beautiful moment. And, an enlightening one. If the Gator Growl was any indication of the way people are voting in Florida, Obama will win in a landslide.

On Saturday, of course, Florida routed Kentucky 63-5. I enjoyed the game, the atmosphere, the other fans. But I think my favorite part was listening to the noise the crowd made, not for an entire football team, but for one great man.

Obama '08.

One week to go!

Sunday, October 26, 2008

An Engagement Story

In case anyone out there has not realized it, I LOVE college football. All of it. But I love the University of Florida Gator football team the best in all the land! Why? you may ask. Because, I will answer. I did not attend the University of Florida. There were many reasons for that, too many to name, but I have been a Gator fan as far back as I can remember. And I did march on Florida Field in a band competition in 1983 (I was a junior in H.S.).

So, I had always loved the Gators, from afar. While I have lived only four short hours from Gainesville for over 20 years, I had never attended a game there. Never. Attended. A. College. Football. Game. Anywhere. I have always watched it on TV, in the air conditioning, with the ability to drink alcoholic beverages at my fingertips.

DSD and I had been talking about getting married, and he surprised me with tickets to the Kentucky @ UF game in September 2006. We drove to Gainesville on Friday, checked into our motel (which has sense been closed, 'nuff said) and scoped out the UF campus, for parking, sports bars, etc. and hung out in our room Friday night.

Saturday dawned clear and HOT! We had breakfast and got ready for the game (7:45 EDT on ESPN) and drove to the campus in the early afternoon to get a decent parking place. We parked on Museum Rd and started the trek up Fraternity Dr. (DSD tells this part better than I). Somewhere about halfway up this street that had no sidewalks, so we are walking in the street, the wrong way, right beside the curb, I stepped (or misstepped) onto what can only be described as a small indention in the pavement, twisted my right ankle and went down hard on my left shin onto the curb. According to him (he was walking in front of me) he heard, "Dammit," and turned around to see me sprawled in the grass. He came back to check on me, heard, "ankle," and almost had a heart attack. He had the ring in his pocket, you see, and was convinced I had just broken my ankle and we were going to spend the rest of the evening in the ER. Does he propose in the ER or just wait until we can get tickets to another game? All his planning down the toilet! (I heard his thoughts later, of course, and all of this probably went through his mind in the span of about 3 seconds.)

I was fine. I was glad no one had seen this unfortunate, ungraceful business and I had a little scrape on my left shin, but I was fine. We went on up to the stadium, did a little shopping, visited with various tailgators, and found a sports bar with the afternoon games on. It was incredibly hot, so I HAD NOTHING ALCOHOLIC TO DRINK! I drank water and diet soda and DSD had a couple of beers. We stayed there for a couple of hours before deciding to find someplace to eat a quick dinner. A couple of subs, some more shopping and it was time to make our way to our gate and find our seats.

"The Swamp," of course, is amazing. Loud and obnoxious and, an absolutely wonderful place to watch a college football game. Florida struggled some against a fairly decent Kentucky team. The outcome was still iffy at halftime, but the Gators managed to pull out a 25-19 win.

So, the game was over and everyone was filing out of the stadium, but DSD and I absolutely agree that there is never a reason to rush for the car just to sit in traffic. We are always the last to leave a movie or the 4th of July fireworks. So the fact that he wanted to wait didn't raise any red flags to me. I was enjoying the atmosphere, thrilled my Gators had won, sad that the game was over.

And, he dropped to one knee, pulled out the ring, and asked me to marry him! I think we tickled the Alachua County police officer who watched the entire thing while guarding the grass. I, of course, said "yes" and he gave me the ring and we played a little smoochy face. And then I admired the ring and we played a little more smoochy face before starting off toward the truck.

There were still plenty of people wandering around campus and many, many vehicles sitting in traffic trying to get off campus, so we were not alone at this point. We walked around Stadium Drive and started back down Fraternity. Fraternity had bumper to bumper traffic, so we were walking single file, in the exact same spot I had fallen earlier: in the road, but off to the side, this time we were walking with traffic. At one point I said, "Didn't I fall around here earlier?" DSD said, "Yes, right here," and made a big showing of stepping over the cracked indention thing (I should have taken a picture of it since a description is beyond me) and so I made a big show of stepping over it also.

A couple of steps later, however, I almost had a heart attack as a scooter roared in beween me and the traffic that was sitting still. I turned to my right to see if there were more scooters to come and, yep, you guessed, ended up sprawled on the grass AGAIN. DSD says all he heard was, "God DAMMIT" and turned find me struggling to sit up. I can only imagine the laughs that everyone in traffic recieved, because this time this unfortunate, ungraceful business was viewed by MANY!

DSD helped me up, listened to my explanation of what happened and then threatened me if I didn't walk on the grass. I limped the last block or so to the truck, now with scrapes on both shins, my right knee and my right arm from wrist to elbow!

We got into the truck and rolled down the windows to try to look pleadingly at oncoming traffic to let us out. I attempted to rest my right arm on the window, but, of course, that was difficult with the scrape on it. So I shifted it slightly back for comfort, but it hit the door lock, which wasn't so comfortable. I just lifted my arm and locked the door with my elbow, catching the skin of my arm, just behind the elbow, causing an instant, and painful, blood blister!

We finally reached the hotel. Our room had not been cleaned, so we needed new towels and, of course, ice. I offered to get the ice while he got new towels, but he told me to "sit down, relax and don't move," fearing for my life, I think, if I attempted to walk anywhere.

I am really not a total klutz. For the most part I can walk AND chew gum at the same time. This just makes the entire story more amusing. So, of course, the joke is now that I must be protected anytime I am near a sporting event. We managed tickets to the Florida/Florida State game later that same year in Tallahassee. DSD's bff offered his daughters Barbie roller blading pads to protect my elbows and knees. Many offered their canes, and I think one guy even offered his late wife's wheelchair!

The best part? We are now living happlily ever after!




Me, before the game, with only a scrape on my left (hidden shin).



Did you think I would leave you without a picture of the team? Keep in mind this is the same team who won the 2006 National Championship! Go Gators!

Monday, October 20, 2008

It's Our Anniversary!*** Updated to add picture

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Isn't it amazing that DSD and I have been married for a year already? It seems like last week that I was freaking out about the weather, the booze, the food, and the insanity. The only thing I never freaked about was that I knew that marrying him was the best, smartest thing I had ever done. Well, once I got to the point that I could say, "We are getting married." For the first six months of our engagement I kept telling people, "We are having a wedding."

We have been through a lot since we started living together in the summer of 2001. We both brought baggage to our relationship, 3 exes, 4 kids, the various trust issues. My ex never figured out how to parent, or even be a partner in a relationship. He was caught up in the 'Southern Sheriff Syndrome' and their infallibility. DSD's last ex managed to get them so far in debt he was struggling to make ends meet AND she cheated on him. But we've managed to move past all that. Three of the kids are grown now; two of them are out on their own. And we keep the dealings with the exes to a minimum at all times.

We were never planning to marry. We figured (for years) that we were married in our hearts and we didn't need a silly little piece of paper. But we got older and realized that marriage does have plenty of legal benefits (which is why homosexual couples should be allowed to marry) and we starting thinking it wouldn't be sooo bad. And I promised him I didn't need a huge church wedding with 14 bridesmaids and doves loosened to poop on the crowd. So he proposed (with a giant rock) on 24 Sept 2006 (if just ONE person asked, I would tell you the whole story. It's pretty funny) and we got married on 20 Oct 2007. And I wouldn't change a thing about our lives. He is definitely the best thing that ever happened to me.

Happy Anniversary, baby, I love you more each day.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Cheney has a Heart?

"doctors discovered a recurrence of an abnormal heart rhythm"

Am I confused? I thought for your heart to malfunction, you had to have one to begin with.

Or maybe that is his soul I am thinking of.

Blogger is Being Strange

But what else is new? This is an attempt to get my last post to actually appear.

Less Than 100 Days!

I have been watching my "Backwards Bush" counter on the side for the last year, waiting, waiting, waiting, for the moment it dropped to less than 100 days. I don't know why that number is significant in my head, but, for some reason, the drop into double digits feels like freedom. It makes me feel like this nightmare really does have a chance of ending.

So the happy thought for today is this:

Three weeks from now the entire Palin family will fade away, out of our collective consciousness, back to Alaska.

Ninety six days from now, the healing for our entire country can begin.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Proud of my State... for the moment

We, as Floridians, are used to listening to what enormous morons we are and have in our state. It seems that every time we turn around there is another news story about our state government or just the people of the state acting in ways that would embarrass anyone with a brain (and I include myself in that number). So it was very nice to open Time.com and realize that, while my generation (and the Boomer generation) in this state may still have an average IQ of about 74, the younger generation is sitting up, paying attention and doing what is right for this country of ours.

the once easily pigeonholed demographics in the Sunshine State are changing, and many pundits say the 30-and-under crowd could turn out to be the decisive factor in this year's closely contested race...polls through September showed [McCain] and Obama in a dead heat, Obama seems to be pulling away as the nation's economic crisis worsens. Four polls released last week show Obama not only leading —one, by Quinnipiac University, has him up by as much as eight points — but breaking the 50% barrier for the first time. and Obama in a dead heat, Obama seems to be pulling away as the nation's economic crisis worsens...The question is whether this group — which always talks an idealistic game but tends to sleep in on election day — has gotten more serious about actually turning out to vote. More than 150,000 voters under age 30 voted in Florida's Democratic primary this year, despite the fact that Obama didn't even campaign there because the national party had ruled the election wouldn't count. (That was due to Florida changing its primary date in violation of both GOP and Democratic Party rules). Almost 135,000 in that age group voted in the state's Republican primary. Those figures still accounted for less than 10% of all Florida primary voters, but they represented a 14% turnout for that bloc, up from a measly 4% in 2000.

My 19 year old son has watched this election closely. I wanted him to just do as he was told and vote the way I wanted him to, but he wanted to make up his own mind. (rolls eyes) Luckily he has brain and will be voting Obama. His ex-gf is a PoliSci major at UF and is voting Obama. His new (almost) gf is supporting Obama. And every single one of his friends who have been in my house is supporting Obama. Or so they say when I grill them.*

Let's hear it for the kids! Hopefully they will actually get out of bed and to the polls on election day! (My son will; I will drive him personally)

*I don't actually grill them. I just ask if they are registered voters. If they say Yes, I leave them alone. If they say No, I grill them to find out why not!

Friday, October 3, 2008

A Little Riddle (courtesy of BabyBoy)

How is voting like driving?




R is for Reverse

D is for Drive

Tickled me. :-)

Friday Babbling

Blogger has been 'wonky' for me for the last week or so, I don't know if it was my computer or Blogger itself. I managed the last post with it being strange, but didn't have the energy to fight it anymore. It appears to be normal now though. Weird.
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Please notice that I have not expressed my opinion on the 'bailout.' I don't know enough or understand enough to make any sense and, now that it has passed, my opinion isn't worth a damn anyway.
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Last weekend was a prime example of why I adore college football. While I didn't watch much after that embarrassing loss (IN THE SWAMP) to Ole Miss, DSD did and kept me informed of what was happening. There were seven total upsets last weekend. Seven. Amazing. The polls have been turned upside down, again. And after last night's USF loss to Pitt, it may be another crazy weekend. Are we reliving the 2007 season? And how great is that if we are?
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I didn't watch the debate last night. Palin is a nutjob, as far as I can tell, and I am not voting for McCain if he is the only person on the ticket, so why waste my time? I only watch them if I am unsure who to vote for and I have known since the nomination process ended that I was voting for Obama. My son, however, is a first time Presidential voter and is enjoying the process. He is 19, so, of course, he missed last week's Presidential debate. It was Friday, there is a new girlfriend, what can you expect? But he didn't miss a minute of last night's. He didn't think Palin stunk it up too badly. He thought she should get out more and see some new movies though, since all of her "Top Gun" references got old. :-) (I think he was kidding)
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Just for the record, he is voting for Obama. As is his new girlfriend, so I forgave her for wearing an FSU shirt in my house. Just.This.Once.
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Have a great weekend!