Texas Is National Championship Bound!!!!

Holy - this is going to be the death of me- Batman!!!

I HATE games like this... I seriously stoped breathing for the last minute. Usually in a down-to-the-last-minute (in this case it was the last second) game I'm more than happy to put the fate of the world on our quarterback's shoulders (a la Vince Young) but a kicker? That's just too much for me to take.

Even though the kick wasn't pretty it got the job done ... we are heading to Pasadena to face the Crimson Tide for the National Championship and I can't think of a match up I'd rather see. Alabama has had such a tremendous year! 

Sadly, I won't actually be at the game unlike some of my friends... yeah that's right G-money I'm talking about you! Instead I'm sure I'll be sitting at home stuffing my face with chips and queso and yelling at the tv, but that's another post I'm sure no one wants to hear about.

I'll leave you with a few words from Mac Brown from just a few moments ago...  "we're the best come from behind team". So very true Mac, but must I always carry a bottle of tums with me to watch a game?

Now I'm off to sleep with a huge goofy grin on my face!

Cheers,
Ouiser

~Update~ New Folgers Coffee Christmas Commercial

Hat tip to one fabulous reader, Jonathan for sharing a link to the  the new Folgers Coffee Christmas commercial.

You might remember I blogged about my love of the original commercial circa the 1980's here and then about the new commercial here. As promised I'm adding the video clip for all of you that have been on pins and needless waiting to see it yourself.



Do you love it? Hate it? Could care less?

If you love it here's a free tip, try tuning into the Hallmark channel I'm pretty sure they play it at least once during every commercial break.

Okay back to the Texas vs. Nebraska game. Thank the God of all things football that we made that last touch down.

Cheers,
Ouiser

Football Friday ~ UT vs. Missouri

I honestly don't have too much to say about this week's game, other than to remind you about it in the first place. This week the Longhorns are away from home playing Missouri.

And although it may seem like I'm obsessed with college football I'm not really, other than flipping through the week's games a little every Saturday. And since I don't really harbor any like or dislike of Missouri I haven't bothered to learn much about their team this year... okay, really any year.

Never the less I hope that Mack Brown and the team play better than they did last week. Don't get me wrong, I'm pleased as punch that we beat Oklahoma (and attempting to be a respectful daughter I didn't rub it in at all when I talked to Mamere) but it wasn't a pretty game.

So in short -- don't forget to tune in on Saturday for the game. Kick off is at 7pm in Columbia, MO and is being aired on ABC.

Texas Fight!

Cheers,
Ousier

Football, Family & Shopping

It has been cold and rainy for the past week here in DC and although I'd already planned to stay in with the family and watch the TX / OU game Saturday afternoon (note: this year's game is certainly not going to go into the books as one of the best played by either team but at least the Longhorns pulled out a win in the end) that was about all we did and by Sunday the family was going a little stir crazy.

Well that and my eye sight was beginning to blur from spending countless hours reading Twilight fan fiction. I've really gotta stop... errr, that might be asking too much to go cold turkey... I've really got to cut down, that at least sounds more reasonable. right? Did I mention I'm actually attending a Twilight book party this week? A friend of mine is hosting so it's not some weird group I found online, never the less DH just laughs at me and I hope doesn't think I'm too crazy.

Anyway, by Sunday we were itching to do something-- anything-- so off we went to Mt. Vernon's Fall Harvest Family Days. We packed up the diaper bag with only the absolute necessities for the afternoon outing- diapers, wipes and ziplock bags-check, water & sippycup- check, plenty of toys-check and the most important- goldfish!

Other than attending a friend's wedding last year at the Mt. Vernon Inn, it had been years since I'd been to the property. And although the walk down (and worse back up) the hill was quite a work out for this super pregnant mamma ~3 weeks to go~ it was nice to get a little exercise even if I had to stop every once in a while to catch my breath, adjust my pants and pull up my wool socks. But DH was a trooper and pushed our little one along the muddy, rocky path in our Macclaren umbrella stroller, not exactly meant for off roading but neither are the legs of a 16 month old.

All joking aside, we had a great time and I loved watching how much our son enjoyed the hay bale maze even if he was a little scared of the man in colonial costume trying to give him a high five afterwards. And he was mesmerized by the two horses running in circles around us... something about separating the grain from the wheat... but I digress.

Once we made our way home and I was able to get the kiddo down for a late nap I realized DH and I are officially parents. Never in my wildest dreams would I have the thought about attending such an event when I was single or frankly even as a newlywed but now its looking like these weekends are going to be our future for the next -- well a lot of years! And that's okay.

Did I mention shopping in today's topic? Well here it is... Even before we left the house I realized I really had no appropriate shoes/boots for this outing. Of course DH suggested tennis shoes but I'm really no fan unless I'm actually working out. I have no need for them in any other situation. Instead I wore wool argyle socks and my black patton flats. You may recall me detailing how they saved my life in this older post.

As you might expect they weren't the best shoe choice. I was thinking more about a nice pair of warm and fuzzy uggs. I never really jumped on the ugg bandwagon when they were "new" because I never seemed to have a need but now that I'm home and in a more casual dress setting I'm thinking the Mayfaire boot in cement brown (awful name by the way) would be perfect for the upcoming winter. (I tried to post a picture but frankly I'm still having trouble with bloggers updated posting format. I honestly don't even know how to spell check in this new format... sorry!)

I especially like that these have a back zipper as my feet can get warm pretty quickly. Who am I kidding, I get warm pretty quickly. I always joke that I'm "heating for two" because for some reason when pregnant I'm always hot, I even had the windows open last night in the 40 degree weather to cool off after making dinner.

And speaking of dinner, last night I made one of DH's favorite, Cracker Barrel's Chicken & Dumplings. It does take a bit of commitment~ several hours and more pots, pans and dishes than I like but that's what makes it a good weekend recipe and there are always plenty of left overs! Perfect, since I'm going to be out this week for the aforementioned Twilight party! (snicker snicker)

Oh and totally off topic but quite serious nonetheless, I'm in need of your help and am putting out a call for any and all suggestions!!! I'm in real need of new night cream-- see the seriousness of this issue? If you're over 30 you do!

Any ideas? Do you love yours? Please share! I just used the last of mine last night. I'm not wild about it but it's not awful either. And I should mention I'm not looking for something in the Creme de La Mer category but other than that I'm open to all suggestions. Thank you thank you thank you!

Happy Monday!

Cheers,

Ouiser

Friday Football Fever ~ Texas vs OU Weekend

If you are a Texas Football fan this is the most exciting weekend of the year... and the most unpredictable. I'm just about equal parts excited and nervous.

For those that haven't been counting down the months weeks and days for this game, I'll explain. Every October Texas and Oklahoma meet in Dallas for the Red River Shootout. Yes, I know the image above says rivalry but that's only because they changed the name a few years ago. I guess "shootout" seemed too violent. Sorta like the DC Basketball team went from being the Bullets to the Wizards. Mmm, yes yes I feel much safer now don't you?

Back to Texas. This is the biggest rivalry game for both teams and over the many many years of the match up there is one thing I can say for certain, there is no way to predict the outcome. I've seen years were Oklahoma was the #1 team in the nation and Texas was .... how shall I put this... in a rebuilding phase and yet somehow managed to whoop the Sooners. And sadly I've seen the reverse as well.

As if the game wasn't a big enough draw it's always held during the State Fair of Texas... oh yeah are you thinking about Big Tex and the best corn dogs ever? No? Well you should be they are faaaanastic. One of these days I'm going to get my boys down to Texas for the game but until then we'll just have to watch from a far.

Although I was born in Texas and grew up in Austin, I feel compelled to mention that both my parents are from Oklahoma and Mamere attended OU (although for the record she also attended UT but I don't want to start an online tiff with my mother, that's just tacky). So we are as you might say, "a house divided". In fact the first year my mother was forced to miss the game (by her doctor's orders) was the year I was born as she was more than 9 months pregnant and was told she couldn't travel to Dallas. Thankfully I was so adorable that she forgot all about missing the game once I arrived. (yes, I'm an only child and suffer from all the misgivings that come along with that status.)

I can assure you that our house will be tuned in for the BIG game, the pre-show, post-show and anything else we can find to watch being so far away from Texas.

If you regularly follow my blog I'll be making my Southwestern Corn Dip for DH and I and will have our son decked out in his UT finest. I've mentioned these overalls before but I don't think I ever posted a picture. They were given to us by a good friend of mine from my early days in DC who has now returned to the promise land (that's Austin if you didn't already guess) with her husband and little boy. I love these overalls and we always get so many compliments when my son is out and about in them.

So if you are a fan I don't need to tell you to watch, but even if you aren't tune in at 11AM (Austin time) to watch some down home good 'ol college football!

Happy Football Friday!

Cheers,

Ouiser

Friday Football Fever

Happy Friday Everyone!

It's a bit humid and rainy here today which is perfect as I'm completely absorbed with the book I'm reading, Something Dangerous. As you may recall from an earlier post this is the second book in a fiction family saga trilogy. Like the first book, No Angel it's filled with conflicting characters, intense romance and sadly some very poor behavior. I'm about half way through so I'm sure you can expect a full review early next week.

On to college football!

This weekend the Texas Longhorns are again at home and taking on the UTEP Miners tomorrow at 2:30 pm (Austin time). For those unfamiliar with this team, they are the University of Texas at El Paso. Now I'm certainly not one to take ANY game for granted but I'm guessing the odds are fairly good that we win this one. Of course last week's game against the also unranked Tx Tech Red Raiders was (while a great game) a terribly uneasy nail biter until literally the last 2 minutes. Something I'd prefer not to go through tomorrow.

Instead I'm hoping to casually check the scores as I'm fairly confident that the game is not televised here. Plus DH and I are taking our little one to the National's baseball game against the Atlanta Braves. It'll be our last game of the season as a family since I'm getting progressively more pregnant (6 weeks to go). It'll be our little one's third game and we are always so impressed (and never biased) with how well he handles himself! I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the predicted rain holds off so that we can enjoy at least a few innings.

In my brief search for a fun UT football image to go along with this post I've discovered some very disturbing images. It's amazing what some "fans" will purchase in support of their preferred team. While I do admit to dressing my son up in UT jumpers and even an adorable burnt orange set of overalls I just can't fathom spending money on some of these things. Eek gad!

Do you own any thing outrageously tacky that you just love? Send me a picture, I'd love to see it and hear all about your sports team lovin'!

In the mean time here are few of my personal favs... oh and yes if you are wondering about the above picture it is in fact a stuffed longhorn pacifier, something every baby needs.

Cheers,

Ouiser

~ Friday Football Fever ~

Photo Note: Yes this is exactly what our little one will be wearing tomorrow, he's nothing if not an avid sports fan and supporter!

Just a quick mini-post to remind you Texas Longhorn fans of this weekend's BIG game against Texas Tech's Red Raiders. Thank goodness tomorrow's game is at home surrounded by more than 100,000 screaming fans. Not a bad way to get pumped up for a game, huh? Boy do I wish I could whisk the family off to Austin for the game. One of these days I'll get my boys down there...

I find it painful even now to bring up the debacle that was last season's Big 12 Championship but because we lost to Tech (our only loss I might add) it created a bizarre situation involving Oklahoma, Tech and Texas. It is a painful reminder of how desperately the BCS needs to be revamped to include a playoff system instead of the antiquated popularity contest amongst coaches, reporters and computers. But I will get off my soap box and return to my excitement and anticipation for tomorrow's match up.

Kick off is at 7pm (Austin time) and will be aired on ABC. If you find your self, like me oh so far way in Washington DC, ABC is airing the game locally. Thank goodness! Just in time for the family to have dinner out, perhaps our favorite Mexican spot, Rio Grande Cafe then home to tuck in the little one and back to the sofa in time for kick off!

Cheers,

Ousier

Football Fever Begins...

Fall is my favorite time of year for a number of reasons, but one in particular is football season! As a good southern girl, I was raised to love football. And growing up in Austin I paid little attention to the NFL, other then attending the occasional Oilers game when we were in Houston. Why bother when you had the Longhorns just down the street?

However, I married a serious Chicago Bears fan (gratuitous excuse to insert- the '85 Superbowl shuffle) so I've been forced into watching a number of NFL games and to be fair, I do recognize how and why some people prefer the NFL. To me it's like comparing apples and oranges, they are really so different. Which is a nice way of saying I like college better, but do actually enjoy watching some NFL games even if I occasionally blurt out "why is the clock still running, they got the first down?"

So, last night I put down down my book and watched a "new to me" show ~ HBO: Hard Knocks Training Camp with the Cincinnati Bengals with DH. I found it completely fascinating! As a girl, I am always looking for the likable character in any story. This one has plenty! Not only is it an interesting look behind the scenes of every aspect of the team - players, families, coaches and management. Its also a really cool look at the players personalities.

My favorite part was actually off the field. They showed Tank Johnson attempting to put together his daughters' new bunk bed, this of course after a full day's work out. I was rolling I was laughing so hard, of course my mind immediately went to my own memory of DH putting together our son's swing set and the problems that ensued.

There is a hilarious bit with Carson Palmer talking to his center about trying to "keep clean" because after practice he noticed the top of his hand reeked. I won't go any further than that, but again hilarious.

I love getting to know the players' personalities because for me it will make watching the games this fall all the more interesting. I know I'll be routing for Tank Johnson and Chris Henry (He's got a great story!) whenever we catch a Cincinnati game.

The show airs on HBO, Wednesdays at 10pm and although the series is already in week 3, like everything else you can always go to HBO on demand to catch up on the past two episodes this weekend.

I hope you'll watch and enjoy as I have!


Cheers,
Ouiser