We Love Our Tigers

It's Monday again! There's nothing like looking through pictures and reflecting on a fabulous weekend. This weekend's plans were of no surprise. Everyone who knows us knew this was THE football game of the year! Clemson vs. Auburn, Battle of the Tigers, a.k.a. Battle of the Linengers. Since they are in different conferences, this was the first time these two teams have played in regular season since the '70s, and it was a little special to have our Alma Matters face off in our first year of marriage. Friday night we drove into Auburn and headed to Nifer's, a typical pregame tradition. Corn nuggets, fried pickles, burgers and tots! Danny's cousin, Lauren, who lives in NYC was with us and got especially excited for southern sweet potato fries. It was fun to catch up with her and show her one of our "Auburn places."

The next morning we were treated to a behind-the-scenes tour of ESPN Gameday. Lauren took us in the production trailer, as well as the talent trailer. It was very cool to see the producers and staff in action in front of a huge wall of TVs, with everyone chirping commands to someone on the set through their headsets. We got to see Lee Corso, Kirk Herbstreit, Chris Fowler, Desmond Howard, and Danny's favorite, Erin Andrews, up close! I was excited to see Corso put on the Auburn helmet to predict our win, and I got to check off a box on my "wishlist" as Danny snapped my picture with Aubie, Auburn's lovable mascot. It couldn't have been a more exciting start to our day; we can't express how much we appreciate Lauren and all the VIP treatment we received!

We hiked back up to our tailgate and enjoyed hanging out with friends that came in town from Atlanta and Charlotte, while eating and watching other games on tv. We were lucky to set up our RV near one of my dear Italy girls, Ashley, so I was glad to pop over at their hoppin' tailgate and see old friends from college as well.

The game was so fun! We were blessed (again by Lauren) with fantastic seats just twelve rows from the field. After the first two quarters I thought Auburn was going to get creamed, but thankfully they stepped it up in the second half to make for a much more competitive game. It was an unfortunate loss in overtime for Clemson, but Danny truly handled it well and was a great sport. On the way home he saw that our teams are picked for the 2012 Season Opener at the Georgia Dome, which is definitely something to look forward to!

The time of our lives

Green Day's famous lyrics say, "This is the time of your life." I truly think that could be used to describe nearly every stage of life; your protected elementary years, or the carefree college days, and I've been told that when your children go off to college it is pretty nice too. And then who couldn't enjoy retirement? But I think this stage we're currently in, has got to be one of the best!

In the past couple years, Danny and I have had a ball celebrating so many friends' marriages (including our own), new jobs, first homes, etc. Sure, there are worries and obstacles in your late 20's, especially in these tantalizing economic times, but at the same time it completely feels like you've got the world on your shoulders. You're finally "friends" with your parents and siblings, and you've got different circles of close friends offering support in every area (not to mention great social activities left and right), and recently for me, the love and strength of a spouse. Some may beg to differ, but to me growing up is fun! I think the evolution we've experienced in the past five years is extremely amazing, and while life decisions are rather scary, it's pretty cool to really watch your life take shape.

I'm clearly not a philosopher, so where is this going? This morning I received some pretty exciting news! Some good friends just gave birth to their baby girl! I have had a handful of girlfriends deliver sweet little ones this past year, and I've been so excited for their families and have absolutely LOVED meeting each of them. However none of them live in Atlanta, so it's hasn't been as much of a constant. So this new baby kind of brings it a little closer to home for us, as I'm sure we'll see her nearly every week (our new kickball mascot), and get to learn so many valuable things for whenever Danny and I decide to have one of our own! I must add that I have friends scheduled to deliver in November, December, and January; all pretty exciting! Little November Man is local also, so we'll get a taste of both baby girls and baby boys. It's been interesting watching both mommies progress through pregnancy, and I use that word in a positive way, meaning informative. They've both been so open, and it's nice to have mentors lined up for the future. So, cheers to The Long Family and one more reason your late 20's is quite possibly "the time of your life."

Here is a picture of Brandi at her baby shower a couple weeks ago. I was shocked at all the "supplies" needed but how cool they all seem. I know I never had those things when I was little, and I'm sure they would have helped out my parents a lot.

And here is a picture of Greer Elizabeth Long, sent by her daddy, Adam. She was born this morning at 6:13 weighing 7lbs, 13oz.

Why I love shoes

Most people know about my little hobby called shoe shopping. I like to think it just runs in the Stallo side of my family; my Aunt Jerie's shoe collection was legendary, and even my dad is a little guilty with his side of the closet being much more crowded than my moms. It's only natural to have pairs of shoes counted in three-digits, right? (As a note: I was easily motivated to donate quite a few to Goodwill in order to free up space for Danny's clothes when we "consolidated," which is the term he uses to refer to marriage.)

After this past weekend's Linenger saga, also known as Danny vs. The Glass, I fully intend to pass on the interest in shoes as part of our lineage. All jokes aside, and to satisfy those of you who prefer to be practical, I realize that even one pair of shoes would have saved us hours of our cherished weekend. But my rationalization is that IF someone LOVES shoes like I do, they will always be excited to wear them.

This weekend was one of those very few weekends where we had absolutely nothing on our agenda! And with the crazy travel schedule we've been keeping up, we were really excited about it. Saturday we slept in, went to the gym and Costco, both to prepare ourselves for the rest of the day which would be spent watching college football! While I was preparing some tv snacks, Danny, being the great hubby that he is, ran out to take out the trash. Pretty soon I hear him calling from outside the door..."Jessica...." which is a little weird to hear my entire name, rather than just "Jess" from him. I open the door; he's holding his foot and asking for a wet towel. It was clear that he had stepped on glass by the dumpster. Then I realized he was barefoot, and a kind of mean spirited "serves you right for not wearing shoes through the parking lot to the dumpster" thought ran through my head. But that quickly changed. I felt so bad for Danny for the rest of the weekend. It was really painful for him. I tried for HOURS, literally hours, to get this glass out of his foot. Every time I thought it a lost cause, I'd spot the chunk of glass and keep on digging. Football seemed to be a good distraction for Danny, by the end of the night I had a mag-light, tweezers, a broken sewing needle, and one of our wedding present steak knives, trying my best to preform this little surgery.

The next day after church, we stopped in at an urgent care clinic and there were no seats left in the waiting room with a line out the door, so we then went to Walgreens clinic, where we were told they'd be able to take care of him, and also administer the tetanus shot he needed. Well, after three hours of waiting we saw the nurse. She said she didn't have the tools to get the glass out of his foot, but he did get his shot. And we got a long lecture about the disgusting bacterial infections, primarily a result of bird feces, that you can pick up on your feet when you're not wearing shoes. (Hah, you should have seen the shock on her face when I told her about me getting out the steak knife the night before.)

We realized it was going to be very costly, financial and time-wise, to take Danny to the ER, so he called up his mom, who is a nurse, and proposed a "dinner-in exchange for-surgery" plan. After enjoying a yummy new baked ziti recipe, we all sprung into action! His mom opened back up the puncture wound and starting digging, his dad held the light, and I ran around the house gathering gag-rags and anything else I could think of to help our poor patient. Just as she was about to give up (and Danny was about to pass out from pain), she got the idea of using an x-acto knife! I ran to my craft closet and fished out of my design school tackle box a fresh package of blades. Within minutes the glass, which proved to be fairly sizable, popped out, and everyone let out a huge sigh of relief!
This is a rather long story, and probably not very interesting to anyone else, but there is a lesson in it for all: Wear shoes when taking out the trash! And I'm going to add my two cents and say that you should probably consider a pair of shoes solely for taking out the trash, because according to the nurse at Walgreens, there are many disgusting things out there that should not come in contact with ones self. Hope your weekend was less painful than ours! :)

West Palm Beach

Friday after work we flew down to West Palm Beach for a weekend of fun in the sun, continuing this summer's slew of amazing mini-vacations! Saturday morning we woke up bright and early, rented scuba equipment, and headed out with Dayton's brother on his boat for a couple dives. The water was very smooth, the weather absolutely perfect, and the sea life bright and plentiful! Our first site was an old Greek ship wreck about 90 feet down, where we saw tons of angel fish, grouper, trumpet fish, and tangs, Dannny's favorites! Next we headed just a couple miles over to a ledge area, where the reef life was abundant. We saw tons of little puffers, box fish, wrasse, parrot fish, and lion fish hidden in the corals. At our safety stop on the way back up there was a huge silver jelly fish glistening nearby. Danny could give you a more detailed synopsis with his keen knowledge of all things that swim. However, I can say that we were impressed with the variety and size of the marine life we saw, surprisingly better than our latest dive in the Dominican Republic. After we'd used up all the air on the boat we parked it at The Old Key Lime House just in time to see UF's first kickoff of the season. While still being partial to Auburn I can say that this "gator bar" was one of the coolest places to watch a game! Open air, on the water, and everyone cheering for the same team! Great food, drink specials; it was a nice way to spend the afternoon and get us pumped up for the start of football season. After cleaning up and a nice steak dinner at the Demmery's house we met our friends Shannon and Randy downtown to enjoy the nightlife on Clematis for a few hours.

Sunday after church and lunch with Dayton's family we met up again with our Atlanta friends at The Marriott's Vacation Club to spend some time at the beach and at the pool. Shannon's mom hosted a cookout at her house for dinner, and we attempted to play Trivial Pursuit (copyright 1981) during the evening thunderstorm. Monday we slept late (and believe me, we needed it after two exhausting days) and then Dayton drove us around glitzy Palm Beach so I could drool at the spectacular ocean front homes, including Donald Trump's estate, which has a "gold room" where everything is in fact made of gold. Obviously we didn't get to see that in person but I believe our trusty tour guide's description, as there was in fact a gold tower visible to those passing by.

We thoroughly appreciated the long weekend to be able to explore such a beautiful city, as well as Dayton's parents for providing us with a wonderful all-inclusive stay! Once again we are so thankful for great friendships, and the opportunities God presents to enjoy this life He has given us!