O.T.W. AU vs. LSU

Good Monday to you.

Let's talk about what an awesome weekend Ryan and I had.

Friday night we stayed in, caught up on our DVR and had a pizza party. Perfection.

We turned in early because we had a big day ahead of us on Saturday.

Ryan and I were in Auburn by 10:00 a.m. Saturday ready for a day of tailgating nonsense. It was such a fun day.

Ready to take on the day; Blair, moi, Brittany, Kristen;  Katie Beth and me. 

I was so excited to get to see my BF, Katie Beth. This is crazy but I haven't seen her in real life since last football season. So I was super stoked to get to hug her neck.

Ali and I went to to the game while Ryan stayed behind at the tailgate spot to watch the game on TV.  Ali and I cheered our hearts out in an attempt to pull us through. It was a stressful game, but I had packed medicine in the form of bourbon minis so we were able to take a little bit of the stress off.

It was close. So close, but LSU came out on top with a score of 12-10. I was proud of our Tigers for holding their own. (although Ryan says there is no such thing as a moral victory--just wins and losses)

Ali and I cheering on Auburn.

After the game Ali and I headed to SkyBar for a couple of drinks, but it was so crowded that we finally decided it would be more fun to ease next door for a little healthy late night snack of McDonald's. #quarterpounderlatenight

Sunday was definitely a day of rest for this gal. It took it out of me but was oh so worth it.

It was a great weekend. I love football season!!

Football is Upon Us!

I get excited about Christmas and Birthdays. My husband gets excited about football and more football.

We got the NFL ticket this year... ask me if I care. Ryan on the other hand keeps telling people to come over because, hes' got all the games.

Good Ole Cam!

Auburn Football is what I care about and it kicks off tomorrow... against Clemson... in the GA Dome.

We will surely have the grilled fired up, pom poms in hand, and ready to kick off the season!!

WAR EAGLE!!!

O.T.W- Awesome Weather Weekend

Over the weekend....

We had a beautiful weekend as far as the weather goes. I mean really, is it February? And did Phil, the groundhog, tell us just last week that we will be having six more weeks of cold winter? Because if so, Phil, was wrong about this past weekend. Sunny skies and in the 70's....

I opened the windows and doors and just embraced the awesomeness that was.

Saturday I decided to stop simply "pinning" stuff on Pintrest and to actually try something out. So, after spending the morning deep cleaning our house (I'm talking base boards and all) I decided to mess up the freshly cleaned kitchen in order to bake a cake!! Nonsensical, I suppose.

A bit unconditional in my ways, I cranked up Dave Matthews' Pandora Station on our new Bose stereo (thanks in-laws), cracked open a cold brew and got to baking. I enjoyed the slight breeze drifting through the house from the open windows as I embarked on a baking journey unsure of where I might end up.

I ended up in Awesome Cake, USA... as I threw down ala Bobby Flay style in my own kitchen. If there's one thing I'm don't lack in, it's giving myself a pat on the back when well deserved. And that's just what I did... patted myself on the back for the uber-moist (weird word there, sorry) Strawberry Yogurt Cake I created. 

As you can tell, I should have let it cool longer prior to icing.  I got a little overeager. 

When Ryan arrived home Saturday afternoon to a clean house, a flour covered wife, and the smell of a freshly baked cake I'm sure he thought to himself how great he had it! (see what I mean about patting myself on the back? it's all in good fun though)

***Side note regarding the cake in case you, yourself, would like to try it: It should be called Strawberry-Lemon Yogurt Cake, as it has lemon zest and lemon juice in the cake. It ended up having a stronger sense of lemon than I originally imagined. I have shared it with family, friends and coworkers alike... all giving rave reviews but it should def have the word "lemon" in the title so that one expects the lemon flavor.***

On Sunday Ryan and I had a breakfast date at the local Huddle House because we're obviously either A.) a little redneck or B)an elderly couple because that was the majority of the other patrons we had breakfast with.  No complaints here though. I loved my waffle!

Since the weather was so nice, when Ryan and I got home from our breakfast date Maggie and I went for a walk. She may be on the small side but Maggie can go step for step with me. Lots of energy!

Sunday night, in honor of the Big Game we ordered pizza and invited a few folks over to partake in the Super Bowl fun.

We took up money for a Monkey Board to make it a bit more interesting. Ryan was the big winner, which meant I kind of won too since we share money. Whoop, Whoop!!

Hope you guys had a great weekend!

O.T.W.-- Fall is Easing On In

Over the weekend...

...We invited folks over to our house to watch the Auburn vs. Clemson game. I made some tailgate foods and we cheered for the Tigers.

Just the girls.

Champ, Kyle and Ryan watching the game.

"We're number 1"

Mack and Kyle taking it easy on the front porch during half time.

Deidra and I found fun Auburn cups for our cocktails.

After the tough loss to Clemson we all loaded up and headed to The Fish Camp to continue watching football and to grill out.

The weather was perfect to spend the evening outside.



Ryan + Jessica 4 Life



You may remember my post regarding the Fish Camp. It's literally a tiny cabin by a pond out in a pasture. It makes for the perfect place to hang out outside to watch football and hang by a campfire. The guys toss horseshoes and grill while the ladies chat about various topics and make s'mores.

It had been a long day so I can assure you it got a bit random.

There is no telling what Ryan is carrying on about in this picture.

In the South football talk can get a bit heated... even if you pull for the same team.



The ladies made S'mores for everyone to wrap up the evening. They were oh so good.

Sunday was spent laying around and taking it easy. Pretty much a typical Fall weekend around our neck of the woods.

O.T.W.- AUBURN

This weekend Ryan and I headed to The Plains for the Auburn vs. Mississippi State game.

It was a beautiful albeit hot day, but perfect for college football.

Ryan and I got off to a rough start... we were later than we had hoped getting on the road, still had to hit up the gas station to stock the cooler, as well as stop by the ATM for a little cash money.

To say it was hectic is somewhat of an understatement. Ryan may have had an attitude but I'm not going to say either way.

Needless to say, we eventually got on the road along with every other Auburn fan around 9:00 for an 11:00 kickoff.

We eventually arrived in our beloved AUBURN and even made to into the stadium prior to kickoff.

Oh look... There's Cam right next Bo. I think they both know best.

Waaaaarrrrrrrr Eaaaaaaggggggllllllleeeee, HEY!

The one thing that we forgot to do... stop by the ATM for cash.

So, upon finally getting to our seats I said... "LET'S GET A HOT DOG!!!" Only to realize we had no cash.

It was tough but we made the best of it and survived without a hot dog or coke or funnel cake or nachos or lemonade. When you can't purchase anything... everything looks SO good.

I sure am glad we made it through because it was a great game.  Auburn held Miss St. at their goal line in the last few seconds to claim the WIN. It was stressful, but awesome!

After the game we got to harass my pal Katie Beth and her husband Brandon at their tailgate spot. We also got to hug on Kaci and Justin for a bit too before heading home.

It was a fun day with my man and Auburn Football! I don't think it gets better than that.   

SEC Champs!

We did it!! Auburn is the 2010 SEC Champions! Ryan and I didn't make it to Atlanta, but we had a gathering of folks at our house to cheer on the tigers as we beat down South Carolina in the SEC Championship.

Deidra and I whipped up a spread for the guys that consisted of wing dip, cookies, and sliders... typical tailgate goodness.

It was exciting and I can only hope we dominate in the same fashion at the BCS National Championship in January!

Deidra and I are scary excited about the win!! (check out Ryan in the background.... he is just as excited he just doesn't show it like we do)

The above photo is of our friend, Mack. He wouldn't pose for a picture because he's a bitter Alabama fan. He was hoping South Carolina beat AU...

I had to toss some bag chairs out in the living room to make room for everyone to celebrate...

but no one seem to mind.

WAR EAGLE!!

O.T.W

Same thing, different weekend against a different team.

Over the past weekend Ryan and I headed to Auburn one more time as the Auburn Tigers hosted the the Georgia Bull Dawgs. It was the last home game of the season and it was a rowdy good time.

The game was intense as was the tailgating. I can't believe football season is so close to it's end. This season has literally flown by. Auburn has the upcoming weekend off, then we face Bama and then it's off the the SEC CHAMPIONSHIP!!

You can bet that Ryan and I will be in attendance as Auburn faces South Carolina once again on December 4th (or at least that's the plan).

Here's a couple of pictures from Saturday:

War Eagle!

Timmy

A couple of nights ago, I went to hear Tim Tebow's mom, Pam, speak at a benefit for Sav-A-Life. With my job, I know exactly how important community resources are, especially that one.

Now, let me back track. I have always had a soft spot for Tim Tebow. The only draw back happen to be that he played for the Florida Gators... ugh!  In the SEC if you don't play for Auburn, then I don't pull for you. Period.

Just as a side note... the best game I attended while in school at Auburn was the 2006 Auburn vs. Florida game. It was the kind of game where you are so stoked that before you know it you are in a full embrace with the person next you that you don't even know. You have tears in your eyes and Bourbon infused diet coke is being toasted throughout...  I cheered so hard that night I couldn't talk for days. Here's a refresher....


* the video is a florida reference; not a tebow reference

But back to the story. I've always thought it was great that Tim Tebow made a point to keep God first and to promote that philosophy without abandon. That's a big deal these days. So when I heard his mom would be sharing their story I knew it would be worth hearing.

You may remember this super bowl ad from last year...

After hearing her speak and explain what the doctor told her, I sat there wondering if I would have had enough faith to do the same thing.

She got pregnant in a third world country, her body then became contaminated with an amoeba, and she was fighting a mean case of dysentery. [my words, not hers-- but I would think dysentery would be hella mean]Her body was fighting off the all things foreign and in doing so it kept trying to terminate the pregnancy. The doctor she was seeing referred to the baby as a "mass of fetal tissue" and told her to abort or it could potentially kill her. She put her faith in God and decided if it would kill her then so be it... it was God's plan. She went on to successfully give birth and it was a wonder that the baby lived.

One of the statistics she gave is that at least 12 would be Heisman trophy winners are aborted each year. She is glad her Heisman trophy winner was not one of the statistics.

Now, I'm not one to express my political beliefs or use my blog as a platform to get on any soap box. Just not my style. To each his own, man. But I will say that my love for Tim Tebow grew a little last night.

I will, however, use my blog to express my football opinions... and it's important to note that now that Timmy (as his mother refers to him) is no longer in the SEC I can outright pull for the team he's playing on. 

I have been trying to find a reason to back an NFL team for as long as I've dated/been married to Ryan since I have to watch a good bit of NFL. So I decided I would pull for whatever team drafted young Tim... So, much to Ryan's dismay, I have officially been a Bronco's fan for the last few months. Hearing his mom share their story and offer a bit of insight into what kind of person he is... reaffirmed my decision.

So here's to Pam for staying strong in her faith, trusting the good Lord and bringing Timmy into this world!

*seriously, if you have the chance to hear her story... it's well worth it.

O.T. (long) W.

Ahhh... I love nothing more than a three day weekend. I LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT. I love nothing more than a day off, if I'm just honest here. I think in another life I was a stay-at-home wife. I think I would be perfect in the role.

I would have the house clean at all times, the laundry organized by color and season, the house decorated to perfection. I would volunteer my time at local food banks, head up a Camp Fire group, and exercise twice a day at least three days a week. Oh to dream! But back to the story at hand... the long holiday weekend.

Ryan and I had an action packed Labor Day weekend. It was the official kick off to AUBURN football. You see, Auburn University has a special place in my heart and, well, the Auburn football team is the only team that matters to me (other than the Denver Broncos-- GO TIM but that's the NFL).

On this same weekend last year Ryan decided to ask me to be his boo for life. You can read all about that right here. I sure am glad he did!

Well, this year the first game of the season was a bit different. Ryan had already made plans to watch the game with some guy friends so I headed to Auburn, AL to spend the day tailgating with the girls.

The girls at the tailgate. (and if you checked the link above regarding last year's opening game.... Yes, I wore the same dress for this year opening game. It was good luck!)

The weather could not have been any better. The high was 86 degrees which means Fall was pretty much in the air in the South. When I heard the weatherman predict a high of 86 and low in the mid fifties I had to ask around to see if I would need a jacket... it's just been that long since I've felt a cool breeze.

Tailgating was awesome and the game was even better! War Eagle!

                                                             I'm not posing at all. This was just a random candid.
 On Sunday, we awoke to yet another beautiful day. So we headed to the lake. It was officially the last weekend of the summer, so we needed to get one more day on the lake under our belts. We enjoyed a ride on the sail boat, which was so relaxing.

Bess and I enjoying the sail boat adventure.

Somehow Lacey ended up "driving" which could have been scary.

Then we decided to head to a concert at our local amphitheater. The line up included The Benjy Davis Project, Shooter Jennings, and Corey Smith.

Deidra and Ali sitting on the lawn at the amphitheater.

I was pumped about Shooter Jennings, as I have several songs on my ipod of his that I like to jam to. Plus he totally rocked it in Walk the Line.

Thanks to a good friend, we got to do a meet and greet with the bands. Like I said, I was most eager to chat it up with Shooter. His manager came out and told us that he would do his meet and greet after the show- we would need to come back then. That was fine with me.

So we snapped a few pictures with Benjy Davis and Corey Smith... both of whom were really nice.

Benjy Davis with Lacey and myself.

The girls with Corey Smith.

The concert was pretty fun. We really jammed to Shooter Jennings.

Are you intrigued as to how I was able to snap a picture from such an angle- high above others...

Well, I had a good angle because Deidra....

...was kind enough to toss me on her shoulders. Ha. She's really strong.

After Shooter's performance we headed to the tour bus and waited. A total of five people actually took the time to come back to meet him. (he's not that famous after all) When he came off stage there we were waiting.

This is the picture I got with him:

Yes, that is him walking right by without any regard to the five people standing there. I was saying, "Hey. Why are you just walking right by?. How rude."

I ended up chatting with his manager and bass guitarist.

I let them know that the fans are what make celebrities who they are. When you only have a total of five fans wanting for a quick picture... you take the picture. I politely asked them to let Mr. Jennings know that he officially lost a fan. (because they cared)

I'm not down with rude... I don't care if your Daddy is Wylon.

Other than Shooter not being the sweetest thing, we all had a good time...

For some reason we decided to recreate this picture from another time at the amphitheater.

 Me and the bro

It was an action packed weekend consisting of lots of good food, lots of our closest friends, a lot of football, a little lake action, some good music and maybe one too many cocktails.

Monday I spent the day watching a Real Housewives marathon while Ryan watched, get this, football.

I officially wish that every weekend was three days long (but who doesn't?).