Hey dudes...since my last post there have been two Texas tailgates, one away game, a trip home to Dallas, some exciting news regarding a several trips in the upcoming future, Emmy's, a smattering of new fall TV, and just ya know, LIFE.

let's touch base and regroup on the basics.

FOOTBALL

Texas is doing pretty...pretty good! We've got a couple major tests coming up with West Virginia and Oklahoma, but so far this season and the tailgating that has gone along with it has been vewwwy fun. I've got a camping trip scheduled for this Saturday, aka our first conference game against Oklahoma State, so...I'm trying to figure that out. Do they have outlets in the woods? Wifi? How does one...watch..TV...in the wilderness? I now FULLY understand why our dads were so concerned with getting their radios to work on Indian Princess campouts. "Here, honey...I got you a stick and a knife. You use the knife to slowly wittle the stick down. No, yah, it's totally safe. Just let me know when you're done, and I'll find you another stick. No, this really is something your Native American ancestors used to do and in no way is me trying to occupy your time so I can listen to the game. Have fun!"

Roomie and I at the tailgate

DALLAS

I went home for the first time since May this past weekend and it was so great. I checked off all the basics-seeing old co-workers, spending time with the Dallas friends at Oktoberfest, lazy time and a home cooked meal at my Mama's, and related to that- cuddle time with all the kitties and puppies at home. And of course, I saw my hairdresser. I've been seeing her for the past TWELVE YEARS, YALL. We may be separated by 200 miles, but this is a long distance relationship that I am committed to making work.

Dallas, you so shiny and pretty.

Taken before I left. Look how sad they look...

TEE-VEE

I'm kind of a TV junkie. I love good television. Thanks to the wonders of Netflix and DVR, I can enjoy good TV AND not be couch-bound every night. That being said, I was really looking forward to the Emmy's. But man...other than Louis C.K. getting some well-deserved writing awards, Claire Danes getting recognized for her amazing performance on Homeland, and Jessica Lange still being the Empress of Everything, I was SO disappointed. Jon Hamm and Christina Hendricks got R O B B E D. Mad Men in general got robbed. 0 wins for 17 nominations. I like Homeland, I really do, but come ON. On that note, I'm toying with the idea of re-capping some of my favorite shows for you guys. (Community? New Girl? Dexter? AHS? we'll see...)

ELLIPTICAL MARATHON...YUP

Oh, just a major reason I started this blog. Maybe I should touch on this subject. I'm still at the gym 3-4 times a week. I've been spicing things up with spin class and some weight lifting...yall, I got a little burned out of being on the elliptical that much every week. I also felt like I hit a bit of a plateau. I'm re-working a training schedule that includes some non-elliptical activity so that I can keep my pea-brain entertained and keep my body from zoning out. BREAK!

TRIPS!

some exciting travel coming up! going to put this very much in a nutshell, because i'll be doing a full post soon. in summary: Los Angeles! Dallas (again)! New Orleans Mardi Gras!

tis time. time once again for texas football. college football. saturdays where entire populations point towards their respective stadiums. lots of people describe baseball as America's great national pastime. maybe those people sucked at football.

to say i'm excited is an understatement. our tailgate has been months in the making. there have been at least 150 emails about preparations. we basically bought all the hamburger meat they had at costco. i don't even eat red meat and this excites me. last night i was making bacon to put in a variation of these suckers and was thrilled because i was making something other than lean meat, whole grains, or veggies. it's healthy, i know, blah blah but ermahgerd. boring. our tailgate beer sponsor, MillerCoors, came through again so the triple hops brewed beer will flow like the Guadalupe River. us girls have all of our burnt orange apparel from Longhorn Fashions picked out and coordinated so that we don't show up wearing the same outfit. the HORROR. can you imagine? i need my smelling salts. please know i'm kidding. about the smelling salts. not the outfit coordination. that is very, very serious.

anyway, the point is i couldn't be more excited about the longhorns. the game. the food. the drink. the cowboy boots. the camaraderie. the competition. and certainly not least of all: the tunes.

so this week, i bring you a tailgate edition of friday tunes. many of these are a Texan's version of an Irish drinking ballad. i can guarantee that my friends from school have either hiccuped, sang, or stumbled their way through a two-step to these songs. sometimes all three at the same time! we're multi-talented like that. of course i capped it off with the Texas fight song. if you like what you hear, subscribe to my "tailgate" playlist on spotify.



can't have a friday tunes: tailgate edition without mentioning our very own in-house musician and close friend of mine, John Edward Baumann. he'll be playing most of our tailgates and is an up and coming Texas musician. he is a seriously talented wordsmith, and his songs always make me smile. or cry. I'M IN A GLASS CASE OF EMOTION. i've included some of my faves.








in the spirit of competition...please see my newest favorite quote regarding Austin/UT Football from Drew Magary's 2012 Hater's Lover's Guide to the Top 25.

"All the food in Austin is dirt cheap and impossibly good, and when I went to Franklin BBQ I deliberately tried to give myself a heart attack by stuffing my face with brisket and very small bourbon pies. The women there are not unattractive, and the folks all look extremely content with their lives. Meanwhile, 20 million people voluntarily cram themselves into a New York City subway car every morning wanting either to kill everyone around them or to kill themselves because killing yourself is kind of easier. Austin is better. And I like that the University of Texas has the balls to cause entire conference shifts without actually moving anywhere. They just break apart alliances and leave other schools bankrupt for the sheer joy of it. That's my kind of heartless bureaucracy."

yep. hook 'em!