It was a Merry Christmas!

It was a special treat to have everyone home for Christmas, to spend time together and to celebrate with our traditional Ames Brunch and Woodruff Christmas Eve festivities. We started with brunch and gifts at Laurie and Bob's new house in Riverchase. They have a fantastic new house with great decks overlooking a wooded lot.







We briefly regrouped after brunch and moved on to our next destination, which, of course, included more eating and more gifts.










Santa came during the wee hours bearing lots and lots of gifts for all. Hayes loved all his surprises.

But, alas, all good things must come to an end. Audra, Joey, and Hayes left last night. Beth, Billy, and Gus left his morning. Jackson's here for a few more days, then he reports back for practice then the start of the spring semester.

It has been a wonderful few days with all our family here. These days are precious but few and far between. We are so fortunate that everyone enjoys each other's company.

But, now, even Barkley's playmate, Gus, has gone back to Texas, and she's left with boring ol' Wayne and Libba. Ho-hum. It was fun while it lasted...

Catching up

It has certainly been nice to have a few days to catch up. Catching up would include Christmas shopping, wrapping gifts, and cooking. It includes decorating, although not to any great extent this year. It also includes mundane chores that have been left undone for lack of time like having the carpets and tile floors cleaned. I'm still waiting on the weather to stay dry enough to get anything done in the yard.

Now that I'm through with comps, I can read for fun again. I finished reading The Help, but I'm still working my way through South of Broad. I'm easily distracted by easier reads like anything by Nora Roberts/J.D. Robb and just about anything in the romance genre.

I'm enjoying Jackson being home for a few weeks, and I'm looking forward to Audra, Joey, and Hayes and Beth and Billy being here for a few days. That's what Christmas is all about. There's time enough to worry about all the other things that need to be done. Later.

Merry Christmas!

Christmas is Red & White

I know that Christmas colors are traditionally red and green, but this Christmas' colors are red and white. More specifically, this Christmas' colors are crimson and white.

Everywhere I go, the subject of football comes up. Yes, we hug and exchange the polite Southern-tries and briefly mention Christmas shopping. Then we move on to more important topics such as Bama's 22nd SEC Championship, its first Heisman trophy winner in Mark Ingram, the record-setting number of awards hauled in by this special football team and its coaching staff, and the fact that airlines have added extra flights and several charters to get the thousands of fans out to Pasadena---just to name a few.

I also have to confess that I am superstitious. I've already mentioned that I'll be watching the BCS Championship game sitting in the exact same spot as I did the SEC Championship game. But on top of that, I'm afraid to purchase a t-shirt! I don't want a t-shirt with SEC Champions on it if we're going to be National Champions, and I don't want a t-shirt that shows the BCS Championship game before it's played. And I sure don't want to own a Bama vs Texas shirt if we lose!

So. It's a dilemma. We've had a fantastic year from beginning to..... Well, it has been a fantastic year so far. To finish that thought, we've got to finish the year only one way. As National Champions. Winning #13. Lucky #13.

Then I can buy the t-shirt.

RTR

It's almost ridiculous how much life around here has come to revolve around football. I don't bet on football: a) I still don't fully understand gambling; b) college football is so incredibly "iffy" on any given Saturday; and c) I HATE TO LOSE!

Anyway, I digress. Back to the point. I love football. I will find almost any excuse to discuss it. I want to talk about plays, coaching, officiating, and idiot announcers (i.e., pretty much anyone who works for CBS Sports).

I love the SEC but not so completely that I will pull for any team just because they belong to the SEC (i.e., never for anyone wearing that ugly sherbet orange singing Rocky Top).

I know I'm being silly and superstitious when I refuse to go to an SEC Championship party, because I went last year and we lost! Now that we won, I'll be sitting exactly where I was when we won, and I'll be sure the same people are around me. We'll be eating the same food and sitting in the same spots.

I know in my mind that it's wrong that football is so important, but in my heart I'm thrilled that classes were postposed because Alabama is playing for the National Championship.

I was glued to the television during the Heisman Award Ceremony and cried like I was Mark Ingram's own mother. But if I had his ear, like I'm sure Coach Saban will have, I'd tell him that I sure am proud of him. Now get back to the business at hand. Put the statue away for now. We can take it out and talk about it later, reliving every single moment.

Now it's back to the weight room, practice, watching films, and on to Pasadena. It's time to focus on the prize. The BIG PRIZE. We're all waiting on the edge of our seats to see if this team, this special team, can pull together one more time and focus its laser attack on Texas. It's time to beat Texas. It's time for #13.

Roll Tide Roll

Rammer Jammer

OH the weather outside is frightful. And the TIDE is so delightful. But there's something the Gators should know........
13-0, 13-0, 13-0!!!! RTR

*This began circulating via text messages, etc., during the last minutes of the SEC Championship Game. Had to share.*

Naming by themes

I was on Facebook. I know, I know. That in itself could be the subject of a blog some day. But not today.

Anyway, some things on there are informative, some things are amusing, some things are annoying, and you probably learn things about people you just wish you hadn't.

An acquaintance of ours, apparently took pictures of her friend's newborn baby "Harmony River" who has an older sister (I presume) named "Ocean."

That's all folks. Just had to share.