An Ode to Yolanda

I'm not a car person per say. I can't tell you a whole lot about engines other than how they basically work. I will ogle over a Corvette but that's about it. I'm just not into cars. 

I was however in love with my first car, Yolanda, or as in love as you can be with an inanimate object.  I came home from a camp session the summer before my sophomore year to a pretty baby blue car.  She was a simple girl - no power locks, roll down windows, and no cruise control.  She had an upgraded sound system (thanks Mom and Dad!) and was easy to park. So essentially exactly what an almost 16 year old girl needed. 

Some of her favorite roads were U.S. 27 between home and Lincoln, U.S. 98 between the Southwood Publix and Saint George Island, I 10 between home and camp, and the back Georgia roads between Tally and Auburn.  She even enjoyed the ride between Auburn and Baton Rogue when the occasion was right.  As of late, she was becoming a fan of I 85 between Atlanta and Auburn. 

She always gently {and sometimes loudly} reminded me to wear my seatbelt.  Her favorite accessories were a warm fuzzy and leather name tag hanging from the rear view mirror, the Auburn alumna and Episcopal shield stickers on her back window, and the ever present car blanket in her trunk. 

She took us to too many volleyball tournaments, Happenings, and away football games to count. She got me safely to births, graduations, weddings, and funerals. In short, she was the best. 

A few weeks ago, a nice but at the same time very mean man hit her with his car. She protected me beautifully but was pretty beat up herself.  The insurance people called the result of the damage a total loss. I said my goodbyes and bawled to the poor kid at the wrecking yard. 

Almost 9 years, a whole lot of amazing road trips, and that one time we ran out of gas in front of the gas station made for a hard goodbye.  I'm excited for the grown up adventure of owning a car {well part owning it until I pay the bank off} but the new car is going to have a whole lot to live up to in the coming years. Here's to you Yolanda, the best dang car a girl could ever have. 

DISCLAIMER : I'm physically a-okay. The accident was the other driver's fault. 

Silly September

I went into the month of September thinking let me sleep when September ends, not so much wake me up when September ends.  Four straight weekends of football madness with the small things called work and laundry mixed in the other five days.  Prepping for four weekends of travelling and/or having people in town meant having enough frozen breakfasts ready to go and making sure I scheduled laundry time during the week.  I think I'm still in a daze from it but the best kind of daze [and not because of how well my team did in the first four weeks of the season].

Weekend One aka Labor Day

Mercifully, Auburn opened up the season with the Chick-fil-a Kickoff in the Georgia Dome which meant I got to sleep in my own bed this weekend.  The weekend kicked off with a trip to the Aquarium with two of my best friends.  I managed to go a long time without going but am obsessed now; definitely worth a trip if you haven't been!

Penguins!

Saturday was spent as it should be with corn hole, new and old friends, and Auburn giving us one too many heart attacks.  Games at the Dome are always fun but there's something off about not being on a college campus.  I much prefer grass lawns or at least walking by a library and thinking "thank goodness I'm not in there anymore" to a downtown parking lot.

A country apart but no issue picking back up!

The Labor Day holiday came at a perfect time as it gave me time to spend the day with my sister for her birthday.  She and her family just recently moved to a town about an hour from me so I try to take advantage of the proximity.  

Weekend Two aka Jumbotron Weekend

This weekend brought Auburn's home opener and unveiling of our new jumbotron.  The season ticket girls (two Atlanta friends and myself) headed over Friday night since the next day would be an early morning.  11 o'clock kickoff means mimosas should start by 8 so we threw together a make shift tailgate at a friend's before heading into the game.  Let me just say that walking in 15 to 30 minutes prior to kickoff and having a specific seat is the best thing since sliced bread.  I wouldn't trade my memories from student section for anything but once you start paying taxes and health insurance, a real seat is required on Saturdays.   

If you follow CFB at all, you know this was a ratchet game for the Tigers as we struggled against what should of been an easy team.  We pulled out a win in overtime but no one was quite sure if celebration or sighs of relief were more appropriate.  As always though, a win is a win and being back in Jordan-Hare is all we really wanted out of the weekend. 

Season Ticket Squad!

Weekend Three aka the One I Wait for All Year

Don't let anyone ever convince you that LSU fans are mean or that Baton Rogue is a gross place.  They know how to tailgate and hate Alabama just as much as I do so are good people in my book.  One of my best friend's from Auburn has family in Baton Rogue that we have gone and stayed with for every Auburn game played in Death Valley.  It's always a good time but this time meant seeing a beautiful baby and friends that live too far for regular visits.  

LSU and Auburn Thetas

The 8 of us live in 6 different cities!

We didn't pretend that we were 19 years old and had a relaxing Friday night catching up after some of us encountered crazy traffic jams and long work days.  Saturday morning was another early morning for me but I'll take early mornings because of football and gumbo over early mornings because of work any time.  The game was less than spectacular from Auburn's point of view and the hottest I've ever been on a fall Saturday.  Saturday evening brought another chill night of catching up and games.  Saying goodbye to the group wasn't too hard Sunday morning because I was seeing the majority the following weekend.

Weekend Four aka the One Where I Pretend I'm Back in School

So I didn't pretend to be 19 during weekend three but weekend four was full on throw back.  Most of my college family was in town and we made the most of it.  Lots of shenanigans, reminiscing, and creating of new memories filled the 48 hours.  It was another rough game for Auburn but I made it through the 2012 season so still deem this weekend a success.  We wrapped up our weekend with a Sunday food tour of Big Blue Bagel at 9 am and Pannie George's at 11 am.  It's funny how you can stretch your stomach when necessary.  The see you later's were hard this time because I don't get IRL time with a lot of the people until March.  As always, snapchats and phone calls will make it easier.

We're worse than herding cats.

So I made it through September in one piece and another year older.  It was a month filled with good people, bad football, and lots of naps on lunch breaks.  I live for the fall, not because of pumpkins or Halloween movies, but because football season is about more than wins : it's about people coming together and having a dang good time.  {That's not to say I'm not secretly still hoping every other team will take a dive bomb and Auburn will end up number 1}.      

The infamous "burnt orange" scarf.