Archive for October 28th, 2009

One of my very favorite things about fall is the start of college football season. Living in the beautiful Upstate of South Carolina puts me directly in the midst of the Clemson/Carolina debate. Fortunately neither my husband nor myself attended either school, so we can cheer for both. Unless they are playing each other…. which they do the last Sunday of the regular season. My husband attended the College of Charleston which he always refers to as the College of Knowledge. I have since learned that, while it is a lovely campus in a breathtakingly gorgeous town, it is not “officially” called the College of Knowledge as he had led me to believe. I also learned that way back when he went there, the girl-to-boy ratio was something like 15 to 1, and I’m putting my money on that as one of the main reasons he chose to go there.

I love college football. I actually love sports in general. I love baseball. I love my Atlanta Braves. People in the South love love love football, too. Try to plan an activity on a Saturday in the fall and you will be forced to look up the home schedules for your friends’ favorite teams. If there is a home game, your event will come second. My poor son is turning 9 this year….. the same day as the Clemson/Carolina game. We will have to have his birthday party another day whether he likes it or not.

Saturdays in the fall start early when Clemson or Carolina are at home. If it’s a noon game, people will begin to gather for their tailgating at 6am. I’m not kidding. And they eat, eat, eat. And drink, drink, drink. And talk about the team, dissecting each player, play and foible from how ever many seasons they can remember.

Is there a difference between football in the North and the South? So glad you asked!

FOOTBALL NORTH vs SOUTH

Women’s Accessories

North: Chapstick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.

South: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon; money isn’t necessary – that’s what dates/husbands are for, sugah.

 Stadium

North: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

South: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

 Fathers

North: Expect their daughters to understand Shakespeare.

South: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

Homecoming Queen

North: Also a physics major.

South: Also Miss America. (ouch)

 Getting Tickets

North: Five days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus.

South: Five months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus and put your name on a waiting list.

 Getting to the Stadium

North: You ask, “Where’s the stadium?” When you find it, you walk right in.

South: When you’re near it, you’ll hear it. On game day, it becomes the state’s third largest city.

 Parking

North: An hour before game time, the university opens the campus for game parking.

South: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

 Tailgating

North: Raw meat on a grill, beer wtih a lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.

South: Thirty-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn.

 Concessions

North: Drinks served in paper cups, filled to the top with soda.

South: Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team’s mascot on it, filled less than halfway with soda, to ensure enough room for bourbon.

 When National Anthem is Played

North: Stands are less than half-full, and less than half the people stand up.

South: A hundred thousand fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

 After the Game

North: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.

South: Another rack of ribs on the smoker. While somebody goes to the nearest package store for more bourbon, planning begins for next week’s game.

        excerpt from The Grits Guide to Life

Of course, this is a bit of an exaggeration in some areas. But not much. I think you’re just as likely to find a good ole Miller Lite in a cup down here as you are bourbon. What I’ve always loved about college football is the sense of tradition. The students, coaches, fans really and truly love their school and love it with a passion that is usually reserved for spouses and children. Teams may have a history of playing each other for over 100 years. Each game counts. A lot. Pride, lost voices, screams, cheers, frustration, joy… you’ll find it all during college football season. And I for one wouldn’t have it any other way.

Governor Mike Huckabee has a new book coming out in a few days. It is called

A Simple Christmas: Twelve Stories that Celebrate the True Holiday Spirit

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From the Publisher: Christmas has become synonymous with shopping, overindulging, competition, and stress. But according to Mike Huckabee (who was a pastor before getting into politics), that was never God’s intention. Going back to the Nativity, Christmas is supposed to be about simple things: faith, love, family, and hope. The hard part, in today’s crazy world, is remembering that those simple things are the most precious of all.

Now Huckabee recounts twelve Christmas memories–often funny, sometimes deeply moving–that range from his childhood in Arkansas to his years as a young husband and father to his time as a governor and then a presidential candidate. These true stories will help you smile, take a deep breath, and maybe slow down your own holiday treadmill. For instance:

As kids, Mike and his sister would sneak open their gifts before Christmas, play with them, then rewrap them so their parents wouldn’t notice. The plan worked great for several years until one Christmas morning when young Mike unwrapped a brand-new football…that was covered in mud. That led to a powerful lesson about patience.

In 1966, like millions of preteens, Mike was obsessed with the Beatles. He dug in his heels, telling his parents that if they wouldn’t buy him a guitar for Christmas, he didn’t want anything at all. He was selfish, stubborn, and obnoxious, with no idea what it would take for working-class parents to find an extra $99. It took many years for him to understand the sacrifice they made for that life-changing gift–or how it connected to the Lord’s own sacrifice.

Only a year after Mike and his wife, Janet, had gotten married, she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer at the shocking age of twenty. That Christmas of 1975 was the most terrifying and upsetting they would ever know, as they wondered if they would ever get to share another one. But in retrospect, it’s a Christmas they will treasure forever.

If you’re looking for a little clarity, sanity, and inspiration at this insane time of year, you’re sure to enjoy A Simple Christmas.

We are really going to try to keep Christmas simple this year and to refocus our family on the real reason we even have Christmas. My children will be 5 and 9 at Christmas this year, so it is a little hard to completely give up Santa and Rudolph and presents and all the magic that comes with those wonderful things. But my husband and I have made a pledge to each other and to our Lord that we will do our best to keep the focus on the Christ part of Christmas this year.

Governor Huckabee has scheduled a book signing tour for A Simple Christmas.  You can see the full itinerary at http://www.mikehuckabee.com/?Page=SimpleChristmasBookTour.  He will be here in Greenville in November and I can’t wait. I’m hoping I can use my State Coordinator for Team Huck muscle (if there actually is any!) and bypass waiting in line. Hoping!!!

Do you have any ideas to share on how to simplify Christmas and make it more Christ-focused? I’d love to hear them!

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Yesterday dawned cold and rainy. I’m not complaining. I actually enjoy a cold and rainy day on occasion. And I really enjoy delicious aromas emanating from my crock pot on a cold and rainy day. So yesterday I decided to make my Taco Soup to which my children squealed “Yummy!” Being the Facebook lover that I am, of course I felt it necessary to update my status with the coming arrival of said Taco Soup.

It seems that a lot of my Facebook Friends also enjoy a good Taco Soup and several have since asked me for the recipe. So here it is. It was as good as always, as easy as always, and even garnered a recipe request from Magnolia. How can you go wrong?

Chicken Taco Soup

1 onion, chopped
1 16-ounce can chili beans
1 15-ounce can black beans
1 15-ounce can whole kernel corn, drained
1 8-ounce can tomato sauce
1 can or bottle of beer
2 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes with green chiles (I usually use Rotel), undrained
1 package taco seasoning
3 whole, skinless, boneless chicken breasts
shredded Cheddar cheese
sour cream
crushed tortilla chips or Fritos

Put the onion, chili beans, black beans, corn, tomato sauce, beer and diced tomatoes in the slow cooker. This is the toughest part of the recipe. Opening all the cans. Add the taco seasoning and stir. Lay the chicken breasts on top of the mixture and slightly press down until they are just covered. Cook on Low heat for 5 hours.

Serve with lots of cheese, crushed chips and sour cream.

Easy and delicious. Enjoy!