6 Things I learned during TX/OU weekend

1. Old men from OU are mean.

We were sitting at the hotel bar on Friday night waiting to meet one of Brandon's friends from work. There were just a handful of people down there, but one group in particular stood out. It was a table of eight or so men decked out in their OU attire. They appeared to be in their mid to late sixties.

As I was walking back from the restroom one of them shouted, "Hey, come over here! What does the back of your shirt say?" {I was wearing a Longhorn shirt that one of my friends gave me when I graduated. It was from the PINK line at Victoria's Secret, and the back read "PINK Loves Longhorn Alumni". It's a really cute shirt.}

I {being the sweet and innocent person that I am} walked over and let them read the back of my shirt. I thought to myself, 'Aww, these sweet old men are still coming back for the rivalry!'

Wrong. About the 'sweet' part. The trash talkin' began.

Old man: "There's no way you've already graduated!"
Me {in my sweetest voice, wanting to represent my team well}: "Yes, sir! I sure did!"
Old man: "What year did you graduate?"
Me {again, smiling and trying to be nice}: "2010!"
Old man: "Oh yeah... Well how did OU treat you when you were there?"
Me: "We actually did really well against OU when I was in school."
Old men: "Oh, yeah right! Haha! That's a lie!"
Me: "Well, we did go to the national championship. That's what I remember!"
Old men: "Oh yea! And how'd that turn out for you???"
Me: "Yeah, that was a tough game. Colt got hurt, and..."
Old men: Laughing.

2. I'm way too nice to stand up to them.


When I realized that this group of OU fans had no interest in having a nice conversation with me I decided to walk away.

Me: "Well I was going to be nice to ya'll, but since you're being mean I'm going to leave."

Good one, Emily. Nice comeback. For a kindergartner.

I walked back to my group saying my real comebacks in my head...'How can you say that's a lie?? I'm pretty sure you're so old you can't even remember how we did against OU!'... 'At least we went to the national championship!'...'How'd that season turn out for yOU??'

As I walked away one of the men shouted, "Hey, you can't wear that shirt! You haven't graduated!"

Seriously??? Did we not just discuss this??

3. Piano bars are my favorite.

I kind of already knew this, but Friday night just proved me right. After visiting with Brandon's work friend we headed to Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. We walked in, ordered drinks, and got escorted right to the front row. Score!

Sitting in the front really made the night. We were right in the middle of everything; the battle of the Texas and OU fight songs, the men vs. ladies competitions, singing on the stage. Multiple times.

This night definitely made my list of funnest nights ever.

One of my favorite moments was during one of the table vs. table competitions. The pianist asked one member from each table to go up on stage. {Amber was our representative.} The people on stage had to learn a set of hand motions to a song. As the pianist played the song, the people on stage tried to teach the hand motions to the people at their respective tables. The table with the best performance won.

Since hand motions weren't really Brandon's cup of tea, Michelle and I competed for our table. We were standing up {at the front of the bar, remember?} putting all of our energy and effort into learning these motions. We were taking this competition very seriously. The song was played over and over, and each time it got faster. Each time it played our motions got bigger and bigger. We were really getting into it!

Right when we started to get the hang of this little dance the pianist announced, "Extra points will be given for skin!" Skin. As in showing skin that is usually covered by clothing. Except Michelle and I heard skiing. Like snow skiing.

We simultaneously looked at each other and said, "Skiing!" And we immediately started pumping our arms back and forth as if we were maneuvering ski poles. I was thinking, 'Oh yeah, we got this. No one else is pumping their arms as fast as we are!'

That's because no one else was even pumping their arms. They were all glancing around the room to see if anyone was brave enough {or intoxicated enough} to show skin.

And Michelle and I were at the front of the bar skiing like crazy.


4. Some people don't know what being a fan really means. 



At the game on Saturday there were some girls sitting behind us who apparently thought they were better fans than the rest of us. They screamed at us in their highest pitched voices to yell louder, the entire game. Forget the fact that one of them yelled "Let's go offense!!" when we were on defense, twice. And nevermind that one of them missed the entire first quarter of the game.

We got to the stadium almost an hour before kick-off. We've read Orangebloods on a regular basis. We've kept up with recruiting. And coaching. And the recovery status of players on the injured list.

But if being a fan were based on the price of your handbag or how revealing your game day attire was, these girls would have won. Hands down.

5. When you go back to watch your alma mater's football team, things may not be exactly the same as you remembered.

Like I told those mean OU men, when I was at Texas the football team did really well. I have fond memories of watching the 'McCoy-Shipley' duo play and seeing Will Muschamp get our defense fired up on the sidelines. Oh, the memories.

Now I've watched almost every game since I graduated, and I know that our team has struggled since that year. Please don't rub it in. But for some reason I was still expecting to see Colt-and-Jordan-like-plays on the field. I mean, that's how it was last time I was at the Cotton Bowl? Boy, did I miss those two.

If you pay any attention to college football at all you know that the TX/OU game was a complete nightmare. For Texas. I don't even know what to say. Except that I've never attended a game like that, one where Texas played so poorly. It was disappointing. That's all I'm going to say.

6. State Fair cotton candy is the best cotton candy EVER.

Michelle and I have always loved cotton candy. We've eaten cotton candy everything; ice cream, fro-yo, lollipops, the-cotton-candy-they-used-to-sell-at-Movie-Gallery-in-Yoakum-that-isn't-even-very-good-but-we-ate-it-anyway-because-it-was-still-cotton-candy. You could say that we are cotton candy freaks! 

We had been looking forward to this cotton candy all weekend, and after the game we headed straight to the giant cotton candy stand we had spotted earlier in the day. It was a long walk through a giant crowd of people {we could hardly even move}, and as we shoved and elbowed our way towards the stand Brandon said, "This better be some good cotton candy..."



{Oh, yeah. We each got our own bag. BTW- We were tired from lack of sleep and standing for four hours,
and the humidity was awful so our hair looks kind of gross. But the cotton candy was good!}

Oh, it was! It was amazing. I wish I could have bought enough to last me until State Fair next year.



And because I have no where else to put this picture...

{Breakfast at the fair: corndog, margarita, fried s'more}



Although we came home with a loss, this was definitely one of my favorite weekends. And I'd say I learned some pretty valuable lessons!

Weekend Update

This weekend was one of my favorite weekends! Brandon came home Friday after being out of town all of last week, which already made Princess and I happy. Add in a few college football games, good food, the Texas Longhorns, and my first ever fantasy draft...

...Now that's what you call a good weekend.

1: Chili dog, 2: Princess's football season collar, 3: Longhorns taking the field,
4: Princess {and B in the background} in their game day attire, 5: Our first Longhorn Network experience



The first weekend of college football for Brandon is huge. I knew this. And I wanted to make sure that we made the most of it. I knew our weekend would be spent in front of the TV watching football, and the one way I knew I could make it even better was by planning our menu.

I decided to carry on my parents tradition of having 'game food'. All weekend. I went to the store on Friday and bought everything we needed for nachos, burgers, and hot dogs. Oh, the hot dogs.

When I was younger my family ate the same thing during almost every Texas football game. Mom would make a pot of chili, Dad grilled hot dogs, and when everything was ready Dad would say, "The concession stand is open!" If we got hungry again in the fourth quarter? That's when they'd bring out the nachos. It was their little way of bringing a bit of DKR right into our living room.

So... On Saturday I was really looking forward to the hot dogs. Like I almost made them for breakfast.

After spending the morning watching Game Day and eating way too much we showered and got ready for our game. The Texas game. Russel {Brandon's friend from work who is also a Texas Ex and loves Longhorn football just as much as we do} came over, and we headed to the Texas Exes watch party.

Me, Brandon, Russel

The party was held at a local bar, and if I couldn't be at the game then this was definitely the next best place to be. We were in a huge room full of fellow Longhorns, watching the game on a giant screen, singing 'The Eyes of Texas' in a crowd of burnt orange.

We. Were. Loving it.

After the game, which Texas won, we started making plans to go back next week. It was just such a good feeling to be in a room full of people who understand, who get it, who know what it's like to yell Texas Fight  at the top of your lungs in a crowd of 100,000+. For the first time since we've lived here, I felt 'at home'.

And let me tell you, that is a good feeling.

Sunday morning after church we we started focusing on our draft for The Pivo League.

I wonder what this could be??

Come back Wednesday to meet my first ever fantasy football team...

A Letter to College Me

Dear Emily,

Congrats! You just got accepted to The University of Texas. So go on, enjoy the Forty Acres. Because the next four years will be some of the best years of your life.

To say that your first semester will be tough is an understatement. After several months of pain and swelling, you will find out that you actually have a stress fracture in your foot {and that it's been there since your high school graduation}. You're going to hate the boot and crutches.

Did I mention you'll live on the 3rd floor of your apartment?

Besides the boot and crutches, you will remember this as the semester you took calculus. It will be hard one of the hardest things you've ever had to do in your whole life. You will study and study and study. You will spend every afternoon in tutoring. You will work your butt off and think you know what you're doing, and you will still bomb every test.

Guess what.. You pass {thanks to a 20-point curve},
and life gets so much better.

Sophomore year will be filled with great experiences. You will start volunteering at the hospital, and this is where you find your home. You'll start in the TreeHouse gift shop, and you will love it. Your weeks will soon revolve around what day you get to go in and volunteer, and at the end of that semester you will get offered a job.

Take it. 

This job will teach you so much. You will learn how to run a store, how to balance a cash drawer, and how to select and display merchandise. You will learn how to manage volunteers and how to approach tough situations with dignity and grace. You will learn about life, love, friendship, marriage, and faith. You will learn all of this from the volunteers and the people who work with you.

Soak it all in.
These lessons and memories will stay with you forever .

Your junior year will be even better. You will be really busy, sometimes too busy. You will push and push yourself to get in as many volunteer hours and as much experience as you possibly can.

Keep pushing.

It is totally worth it.

This year you will turn twenty-one. Yes, the big 2-1. You will celebrate by going to dinner with your friends, and a few nights later you will experience 6th street for the first time. You will wake up the next morning with a headache and skip class to eat breakfast at Juan-in-a-Million with your friends.

Don't feel guilty.

You're only young once.

Senior year will be here before you know it.

This is the year your dreams come true. 

You will sit in the senior section during Texas Football season. You will "Come Early, Be Loud, & Stay Late". You will wear burnt orange every Saturday and make memories that you'll never forget.

Take lots of pictures.

Oh, and pack sunscrean for OU weekend. 

The first semester will fly by, and during finals week your boyfriend will call and invite you over for dinner. You'll throw on your most comfortable clothes, and head over for what you think is a quick dinner and evening of studying.

Wear make-up.

He's going to get down on one knee and ask you to be his wife.  

You will apply for, interview, and accept the child life practicum. You will keep working at the gift shop, continue to push yourself, and you will soon discover your limits.

Ask for help.
You don't have to be superwoman.

Towards the end of this year you will apply for a child life internship. You will know how tough and competative this process is. But you will set your goals high and apply all over the country.

Don't worry, you end up exactly where you need to be. 

And after four short years you will graduate.
You will have laughed more, cried more, and learned more than you could have anywhere else.
You will have grown up.
You will have found yourself.

And when graduation day comes...

Enjoy the fireworks.

Thanksgiving Summary

This Thanksgiving was abslutely amazing! Brandon and I spent time with both of our families, got to see several of our close friends, and witnessed the Texas Longhorns beat the Aggies. It just couldn't get any better! Oh, and Michelle and I cooked our first Thanksgiving meal! All by ourselves!

When we woke up on Wednesday morning, Michelle and I started cooking. We had planned the menu (ham, dressing, green bean bundles, mashed potatos, sweet potato casserole, and pie) earlier in the week, and Mom and Dad made sure we had all the groceries ahead of time. Michelle and I were determined to prepare the meal with NO help, which meant Mom was banned from the kitchen all day. I think this may have been one of the hardest things Mom has even done. But I think we all learned something from the experience. After hours of cooking, our family (Mom, Dad, Michelle, James, Brandon, PaPaw, Me) sat down and enjoyed the yummy food that Michelle and I worked so hard on. I felt so proud of us! I just kept looking at all the food on the table and thinking, "We did that!"

Green Bean Bundles

Dressing--made in MaMaw's dressing pan :)

Coconut, Buttermilk, and Pumpkin Pies

We cooked our Thanksgiving meal on Wednesday, because on Thursday Brandon, Michelle, and I all went to the Texas vs. Texas A&M football game. Michelle went with some of her Aggie friends, and Brandon and I sat with our friend, Craig. And I'm so glad we went! I had never been to a game at Kyle Field, and I'm glad I got to experience it. Aggie fans can get pretty loud, but there's just something about being at DKR and hearing over 100,000 people yell "TEXAS FIGHT" that gives me chills every time! Did I mention that TEXAS WON??!!!!

Michelle and I before the game



The Texas band made me proud :)



Brandon and I after the game (a little wind-blown).

 We had fun being at the game, but it was a little awkward at the end. Texas won with a field goal, and Brandon and I went crazy (yelling, clapping, throwing our horns up crazy) until we noticed that everyone around us was standing in silence (we were at Kyle Field, remember?). At that moment I wished I was watching the game with the same group that watched the 2009 Big XII Championship together (you know who you are). We quietly walked back to the tailgate, feeling proud to be Texas Longhorns :)

We spent the rest of the weekend relaxing with family and visiting several of our friends. We had fun, but we're glad to be back in Corpus. Our favorite time together is hanging out at home, with Princess of course!

***We also bought our first Christmas Tree! I'm not posting pictures, because you have to come visit if you want to see ;)