Hello October!

It's officially Fall Y'all!  The greatest time of the year!  Except in Texas where it's still 90 degrees and you wouldn't dream of turning off your A/C just yet.  Maybe some time in late December or early January. 

KJ is settling into college life very nicely.  She likes her roommate, she's made friends and she's successfully survived Rush at Ole Miss, one of the most competitive in the country.  And no, she didn't have a consultant.  She did it all on her own. 
http://thedmonline.com/rush-submission/

She had an extremely positive Rush experience and we're very, very proud of her!  Ole Miss has changed things up a bit and did things a little different than when T was there.  After visiting all 11 houses, KJ was invited back to 6 (max of 8).  Out of those 6 she went back to 5 (max 5).  Then on Pref day she was invited back to 2 (max 2).  Although she was an AOPi legacy, she #wentKappa on Bid Day.  She was so, so excited!  I couldn't be there for Bid Day but T, Pony Boy and T's friend Maddie were there to support her as well as her roommate Maddie.  She's had her pinning ceremony, had lunch at the house a couple of times already and has a formal coming up.  Baby girl is branching out on her own and doing great! 

Coach and I went to 3 football games during the month of September.  We went to the Ole Miss vs. Texas Tech game in Houston (which was a lot of fun!).  He had been in Houston all week so I flew down on Friday and we did a bar crawl with Ole Miss and Tech fans.  We followed the cheerleaders from bar to bar and although we had great seats, Coach won two sets of 50 yard-line tickets (total of 4 additional tickets!).  We ended up giving them to some folks we met from Oxford. 

Then we attended the Kent State game with the Martins.  Or, I should say we tailgated in the Grove with the Martins, never even bothered to go into the game.  After the crushing loss to Alabama, we thought we'd have a better time if we didn't actually go into the stadium.  T and Dew came in for the weekend and we all had a great time despite the torrential downpour at the end of the game. 

Last weekend we attended the Arkansas vs. Texas A&M game at AT&T Stadium (aka Jerry World).  One of Coach's vendors had a suite which, in my humble opinion, is the only way to watch a game!  Hahaha!!!  Seriously though, I love not having to wait in line for the ladies room or for concessions.  That stadium is first class all the way.  From the super friendly ticket agents at the gate, to the elevator attendant to the security people telling you to have a safe drive home after the game.  The suite was gorgeous, the food and drink was plentiful.  The A&M fans were awesome to watch.  Very loud (hence the whole 12th man thing) and very entertaining.  And their band was incredible.  Extremely precise. 

So now we're gearing up for our Annual Week of Family Festivities (our niece's birthday and our anniversary on October 11, Coach's birthday on October 12, KJ's birthday on October 13 and my mom's birthday on October 15). 

Are you Ready???

Last week was KJ's Freshman Orientation at Ole Miss.  Even though I've been through this once before with T, it was a great refresher with a lot of new information. 

We got to Oxford Wednesday night, completed early registration, got set up in our dorm rooms and had dinner w/ my wonderful Godson, Z.  He was still on campus for ROTC but drove back to Cincy Friday afternoon.  We had dinner at Old Venice (personal fave!) and I was so tired I went back to the dorm and settled in with my book.  I didn't sleep good that night but Thursday night I was out like a like by 9 PM and slept like a rock star!  KJ's orientation roommate got in late Wednesday night and we all went out for breakfast before Orientation officially kicked-off.  She was from the same small town as T's very own Pony Boy!  What are the chances??

As this was not my first rodeo, I was very prepared for my 2-night stay in the dorm.  I had my fan, my own pillow and blankie, my own towels, my make-up mirror and even a small lamp, plenty of water and snacks.  I felt bad for some of the kids and parents who had to fly in to Memphis, rent a car, etc.  Some of them had never even stepped foot on campus before and you can just see the looks of utter confusion and anxiety on their faces. 

I think I actually learned more at KJ's orientation versus T's.  I was so overwhelmed way back then.  T had graduated from high school on a Thursday (I think) and we were at Orientation two days later.  It was a lot to take in.  I was much more relaxed and confident knowing daughter #2 will be in good hands.  Ole Miss does an OUTSTANDING job of disseminating information and allieviating any fears you (or your child!) may have.  It's truly a family atmosphere and several administrators give out their personal cell phone numbers.  How awesome is that???

Thankful Season

No surprise that Thanksgiving is my fav, fav, fav holiday but man!  It goes by so fast!  T arrived very late Tuesday night as she drove from a meeting in Muscle Shoals.  I went into the office for a little bit Wednesday and am so glad my girls are old enough to want to take over the cooking responsibilities!  I received a huge bird from my hotel and our sweet realtor gave us an apple pie that was as big as a hubcap.  My friend LCM recently introduced T to splotchcocking and it cut cooking time in half.  T had also cooked a turkey using this method on Sunday for her B'ham Friendsgiving.  It's not a pretty presentation but it's delicious!

The girls did a fabulous job with their menu -- we had two different appetizers:  a prosciutto-wrapped asparagus and a baked brie with blackberry jam.  Besides the turkey and apple pie, they made green beans, stuffing from scratch, crock pot mashed potatoes, a mixed greens salad with feta, walnuts, cranberries and an apple cider vinegrette.  I really don't mind doing all the dishes if someone else cooks!

The previous weekend was spent w/ the Martins in Oxford.  As always, a super great time!  LCM hooked us up with the most perfect hotel rooms, Z, AG & KJ took care of the tent Friday night and now that KJ and Z are both 18, T and Pony Boy let them tag-along in Oxford.  Coach and Dean-o tormented our server at Old Venice and we did a little bar-hopping and ended up at the Round Table and spent some time at the fire pit at the hotel.  LCM is very creative and made an awesome banner for the tent and her table décor was perfect!  Of course we love walking around the Grove to sneak a peek at what everyone else is doing, too.  Game day started of kind of iffy weather-wise.  The rain didn't hit until 2 or 3 hours before kick-off and we hunkered down in the Grove.  And the rain brought much, much cooler temps and we were all kind of wet and cold and miserable because of the score.  LCM and the girls and I headed back to the hotel while the guys stuck it out at the game.  We had so much fun sitting in the hotel late night, BS-ing, laughing and finishing off our adult beverages and snacks. 

I've only gone Black Friday shopping once and I swore I'd never do it again.  I have been doing a lot of my Christmas shopping on-line and now those Amazon packages are piling up on the front porch.  KJ is at a weird place this year -- she had a bunch of dorm things on her Christmas list.  T and Pony Boy are going to Dublin for New Year's (yes, she has ants in her pants and gypsy in her blood) so her list consists of travel items and clothes.  And Coach continues to be an enigma.  He is the hardest person to buy for.  I mean, seriously.  What do you buy the man who has everything???? 

Too Early??

Is it too early to be excited about football season? 

This house does not discriminate.  We love it all . . . college, professional, peewee, high school.  Shoot.  I think Cosmo even watches Canadian football once in a while.  Hopefully we'll get to a bunch of games in the Grove this season and if

Saw this the other day on the Girl Meets Gameday blog (I think she posted it way back in May but I'm just now seeing it.  I need to catch up on some blog reading I guess!). 

I'm a total Martha.  Everything coordinates in a classy, elegant way . . . the outfit, the accessories, the tailgate menu, the tailgate décor. 
http://girlmeetsgameday.wordpress.com/2013/05/04/which-tailgater-are-you/

Chicks !!!

Fathers, be good to your daughters

Daughters will love like you do

Girls become lovers who turn into mothers

So mothers, be good to your daughters too

(John Mayer)

So happy to have "all my chicks in the nest!"  (So dorky but that's one of my favorite sayings!). 

I drove out to Oxford Friday morning and pulled up in front of T's dorm around 12 noon.  Her car was already packed and ready to go so we took my car and had a nice leisurely lunch on the Square, did some shopping, she returned a couple of textbooks, re-newed her mail box, etc.  We had my nephew's Flat Stanley with us and took some photos of Flat Stanley at the Grove, the Walk of Champions, in front of T's sorority house, on the field at the Vaught, etc. 

T was so organized for move-out it was crazy scary.  She is one of the most organized people I have ever met in my life.  I don't know where she gets it from.  I'm organized but she takes it to a whole different level.  The only thing left in her room were her mini-fridge and a garment bag w/ cocktail dresses.  Other than those two items, she had her car totally and completely packed.  She swept out her room, called her RA check her out, we slid the mini-fridge in my backseat and off we went.  Basically, I drove out to Oxford to pick up a fridge.

Love having T-bone home; she's such a big help to me!  This morning KJ had to be at school early so T drove her (I heard some type of yelling in the garage before they left --KJ was wearing a pair of T's shoes w/out asking), the girls have menu planed, grocery shopped and plan to cook every night this week and they've even played tennis a couple of times.  T starts her internship tomorrow morning and has to be at the studio at Zero Dark Thirty.

BIG love

This week is Big/Little Week at AOPi.  T's big sister reached out to me before the Thanksgiving break and ask for some funny stores about T, her favorite color, movies, etc. 

Monday's theme was "Girls Night In" and T's Big had some wonderful things for her with a super sweet poem.  She had several t-shirts, a chevron Pillow w/ T's initial on it, several monogrammed canvases (a couple framed), a couple of T's favorite movies, a popcorn bucket, candy, nail polish, toe separators, stuff for a home facial, etc. 

Tuesday's theme was "The Grove"and T's sweet Big showered her with all sorts of tailgaiting supplies -- a customized hand-painted cooler filled with red Solo Cups, Chips + Salsa, personalized wine glasses, stuff to play flip cup, can coozies, some more t-shirts and a cute Tank-Top, a Colonel Reb canvas painting and Tuesday's poem was hilarous!!!

Can't wait to see what Wednesday brings!

Flim Flam, Bim Bam

Are you ready?

Hell yes!

Damn Right!

Hotty Toddy, Gosh almighty Who the hell are we?

Hey!

Flim Flam, Bim Bam Ole Miss, By Damn!

OK. Not gonna lie. It was kind of weird rooting for a team other than the Tide or the Jets.  But we had a great time with T, got to see 5 of the 7 Hoover kids, visited with some old friends, met some new friends and just soaked up all that is tailgating at the Grove. 

 

The Grove was quite an experience . . . tailgating at it's finest.  The kids were all decked out, the tents were gorgeous (I was in heaven and got lots of ideas for my dining room table!) and the food was delish!  

 

 

Ole Miss won but it was an ugly win.  KJ and I giggled the whole time and drove Cosmo nuts.  He bought me a seat cushion and KJ a jersey to keep us quiet.  We kept asking him when they were going to play "Sweet Home Alabama" and under our breath we would say "Roll Tide Roll" when it was 1st and 10.  KJ had her picture taken with the cheerleaders and we did the Walk of Champions a couple of hours prior to kick-off.  

 

 

On our way home on Sunday we stopped at a nice little park in Tupelo and let KJ run around and play in the splash park. 

It's OK Thursday . . .

It's OK . . .



...to have 3 Graduation Parties on Saturday, a Tea on Sunday, another get-together on Monday, another Grad party on Tuesday and my own child's high school graduation next Thursday and not have ANY thing to wear.  ARRRGGGHHH! 

...that I really, really enjoyed my Vinnie del Rocco today. 

...to be really, really excited about my family coming in to attend aforementioned graduation. 

...that T bought two super cute Ole Miss game-day dresses today.  Still doesn't help my aforementioned wardrobe situation. 

...to have random young men approach me at the mall while I'm on line getting a smoothie and ask if I'm Champ's wife.  Never know what to say...."why yes!  Yes, I am!"  What if the kid didn't get a lot of playing time?  "Um, sorry!  You've obviously mistaken me for someone else!" 

...to pull the parent card and force T to get her wisdom teeth done.  Wow.  She is not a happy camper. 

...to be sad about Donna Summer's passing.  So many of my middle-school memories have Donna Summer songs playing in the background.