Crock Pot Soup and Apes

Alternately titled: Why My Valentine's Day Rocked

So, to understand this post you might need to know my distaste for Valentine's Day. No, I was never jilted. I never felt bad for being single or had terrible Valentine's Days of the past. I just, well, never got into it. We used to have anti-Valentine's parties in high school (even when I was in relationships). I guess my take on it has been that true love doesn't need a day. And chocolates won't cut it. It just simply lives itself out in everyday life.  And anything you do on that one day won't make up for a year's worth of letting the romance take a back seat.

Which is why I am pretty lucky to have a man who loves romance. The way I love romance. One case in point: when I left the house this is what my table looked like:

And, magically, my romantic husband made all this laundry disappear.

Folded.

Into drawers.

See? So romantic.  

So yeah. We had decided we wouldn't spend money but we would just spend a lovely night together.  At our house.  No steak. No expensive treats.  Just time together. So I made some crock pot soup (buffalo chicken and it was DELIGHTFUL!) and we had sparkling red wine from Trader Joe's.  

(Please take note of the dishes on the counter. This is real life, people.)

We could have bought chocolate covered strawberries. 

Oh we could have. But instead, the darling man-o-mine made me a whole batch.

And cheesecake swirl brownies (no photo, sorry).  We ate til we were stuffed.  We ate romantically under candlelight.

Total lie, people. We ate on the couch while catching up on Thursday night TV from the week before. Ro.  Mance.  In the real world.

Don't think Eric was the only one living out his romance. I took one for the team and watched a movie that I would NEVER in a million years watch.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Yes, friends, we watched apes to celebrate our love.

Because, really, love is nothing if you can't compromise and watch apes for your best friend.

We laughed and snuggled and had the most low-key, low-pressure, highly-adorable-in-the-most-nerdy-way evening.  

So I guess you could say, I am a fan of Valentine's Day.

Done our way.

Hope you all had a lovely Valentine's Day.  I'm off to catch up on this week's Thursday's night TV and hang out with my man, our two pups and new foster pup.

If that doesn't say romance in the real world, I don't know what does.

Winning the Big Game

If you're not from my part of the world, seeing this title on Sunday afternoon may have you thinking football. I do love me some football but The Big Game this weekend for those of us who cheer for Mizzou was last night. And it was a basketball game.  And we won.

Barely.

But we won.

Today is a celebration. Giants, who? We are just pumped for the giant turnout for yesterday's affair.

Now, let me back up and start at the beginning. Mizzou and kU (we do not capitalize that university's title because it is neither a proper noun nor a proper place) have had a rivalry since the Civil War. The origins aren't something to be proud of but the fact that it is the oldest rivalry west of the Mississippi river is.  Yes, we have been rivals for as long as any of those of us wearing black and gold or red and blue can remember.

So this year, you might have heard a bit of news about Mizzou. Maybe you haven't. Either way, Mizzou is leaving the Big XII conference and are headed to bigger and better things in the SEC. When we go, we are leaving behind the good ol rivalry. Yes, the jayhawks have said they will no longer play us if we aren't a part of their conference. Now, while this may all change, we have to believe them at this point. So, each sport's contest this year is said to be the last of its kind. Who knows if that is actually true but it definitely ups the ante.

If you have made it through all that explanation, I applaud you.

So.

Last night was the last home MU/kU basketball game for Mizzou fans. College Game day arrived. Students camped in the rain for more than 48 hours. And people came from far and wide to attend. Reports surfaced that fans were paying hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars for tickets. Yeah, there was no chance in the world we were going. Not even a little.

So. I hedged my bets and wrote  the following on facebook:

I knew there was zero chance. Zero. But I also figured, what did I have to lose? People scoffed. And got quite the entertainment from my musing.

Until Saturday morning, that is. When a friend of mine texted and said she couldn't use her tickets after all. Would I take them off her hands? 

Um, seriously?

So yes. That is the longest version ever of how Eric and I got to go to watch the #4 ranked tigers whoop up on the #8 beakers.

((What is a Jayhawk anyway?))

((and what does that have to do with rock and chalk?))

So, here are some photos of the loudest sporting event I've ever seen/heard:

Headed to get our tickets. This is the real definition of spirit fingers!

Isn't my man adorable? It doesn't hurt that I've turned him into such an avid tiger fan. He might have been cheering louder than me. But only because his voice is louder than mine naturally.

This little dude and his buddy were having a great time but the noise level was a bit much for him. Heck, it was a bit much for anyone. My ears were ringing when my head hit the pillow last night.

Side note, I was cheering so loud my voice would intermittently go out. The earmuff kid's friend looked back at me, grinned, and gave me a high five. Yeah, I'm cool enough for the 12 year old kid to high five. I'll take it!

Pre-game warmups. Don't worry. The stands became full quickly. This was an hour before the game. But look at that student section. Talk about the sixth man!!

See? I told you it got more full. Also, if it looks smoky that's because it was smoky! They had a giant fireworks display right after Truman rappelled from the ceiling. I don't know if they thought the fireworks thing through all the way, because it was smoky and hazy up until about half time. I heard it wasn't as bad on the floor. I hope for the players' sakes that's true.

It got rocky for a patch in the middle there. But as it turns out, taking charges can win you games. Just ask Kim English. And all our other players. So yes, we won. And do you see our students charging the court? That's right. The answer is no. Because we knew we would win, of course!!

Here we are, celebrating our victory. It's amazing that we aren't dripping with sweat. We were jumping and yelling for the majority of the game. I would say I didn't get a workout in yesterday but that all changed at tipoff.

On our way out, we got a photo with the Gameday bus. It was such a good game. Too bad we'll never play them at our house again.

Or will we, jayhawks?

The choice is yours.

Thank you to my ticket fairy for a wonderful date night with my man. We won't forget this any time soon!