Katie the Carnivore.

Jan. 22, 2012


For nine months, Katie was a vegetarian. It started during Lent last year, and she stuck with it through the rest of 2011. Around New Year's, she took it a step further and became a vegan. Her foray into veganism meant special recipes and more than a few trips to the health food section of our local Kroger. At restaurants she would ask how food was prepared. In stores she would read labels, on the lookout for those egg products or chicken broth. Her devotion was admirable.

Then one Sunday after church, she abruptly announced that she wanted MEAT.

Oh, the excitement!

The anticipation!

Katie's first bite of chicken in nine months!

We're proud of Katie for her dedication and perseverance, but wow, is life easier when all four of us are carnivores!

Happy 2012!

Jan. 1, 2012

New Year's Day tradition: Yummy lunch at Nana and Papa's!

Football, friends and fried foods.

Oct. 8, 2011 

So yeah, the Horns lost. By a LOT. That still couldn't put a damper on this Texas-ou weekend! Like I told a friend, any day that starts with corny dogs for breakfast and ends with fried bubblegum can't be all bad.

As is our custom, we were at the Fletcher's stand by 8 a.m. Breakfast of champions.

New this year: little awnings over the mustard and ketchup kiosks. Now that's progress!

Another tradition: Saying howdy to Big Tex.

With the 11 a.m. kickoff, we didn't have too much time to see the rest of the fair, but we did swing through the car show. There we found this truck, a tribute to the first responders of 9/11:

Also in that pavilion, Dede found the buffalo chicken flapjack.

It sounded promising, but in reality? Meh.

We also spent some time around the College Gameday set.

While there, I made a poster to celebrate the next generation of McCoy-Shipley.

We also got to meet Gameday host Kirk Herbstreit. He was a little flat.

Then we stood around and yelled for the Horns anytime Texas was mentioned on the air.

Good times.

 Later on, it was good to hang out with some of our tailgating buddies.

Funny how everyone knows to gather near the cheap beer booth!

Once inside the Cotton Bowl, I took in the Dallas skyline,

and then Dede and I compared shoes.

As kickoff time approached, the Gameday crew moved inside the stadium. From our vantage point we could see Blake Griffin make his picks. (Of course, the sooner picked ou. BOOOOOO! He was right, but still, "BOOOOOOOOOOOOO!")

Then there's the game and all its hoopla:

Ugliest. Flag. Ever.

Shotgun Texas!

Now THAT'S a flag!

So yeah. I didn't take many actual game photos. Too painful. But after a while, since we knew we were going to lose, we were able to sit back and celebrate each (rare) first down.

And hey!

Elvis was there!

And yes, he was wearing burnt orange under that cape.

After the game, we hung around long enough to partake in the fried goodies that have made the State Fair famous:

Deep Fried Salsa? Si!

More Fletcher's Corny Dogs, the gold standard of fair fare.

And then there's the Holy Grail of this year's entries: Fried Bubblegum.

Dede didn't care for the fried bubblegum-flavored marshmallows, but I liked them!

So with our bellies full, we were on our way, another Texas-ou gameday in the books.

Texas-OU.

My favorite day of the football season came a little early this year. It was perfect fair weather, and with a 2:30 kickoff, we had time to see the fair before heading into the Cotton Bowl for the game.
We've spelled Texas with Fletcher's corny dogs and wax cups, so this year we used another State Fair staple: coupons!

This sign has always bothered us! I think we may be misinterpreting it.



Of course, we began our day at the fair with a visit to the Fletcher's corny dog stand.

The breakfast of champions!

Back inside the food court, we met up with some of our tailgating friends.

It was fun to share this Longhorn Experience with these folks!

We also had to get in on the whole "fair food" experience, too. T couldn't resist trying the fried beer.

These little ravioli-looking things had beer (yes, in liquid form) inside them.

And the verdict?

NASTY, NASTY, NASTY!!!

Before the game we had time to wander over to the NFL Experience set up in front of the Hall of State. This was all in preparation for DFW hosting the Super Bowl in January.

Next we moved inside the Hall of State for the big Tom Landry exhibit.

Landry's UT memorabilia

A trophy from the New York Giants defense

Sideline clothes, including the coat worn during the Ice Bowl



A fan made this amazing door.


This part of the exhibit told us that Tom Landry Highway bears the only interstate markers with a symbol on them.

Of course, the items on display had to include that symbol, Landry's famous fedora. The whole exhibit was a fascinating display of his clothes, awards and newspaper clippings, but it made me miss Coach Landry all the more.

Elsewhere in the Hall of State, we found images of Texas football over the years, including this picture of the Bell Blue Raiders.

It was nice to see Colt recognized, too! (He and Sam Bradford were mentioned as Davey O'Brien winners.)


After a quick walk through the midway and a stop in the food court, we made our way into the stadium.

It's always amazing to see the orange and red sea outside the Cotton Bowl right before kickoff. So. many. people!


Now THAT'S a wall-to-wall band!






The game certainly had its exciting moments,

and if not for a muffed punt late in the game, we might've come back to win the thing. But no.


Yet again, we refused to let football ruin our football weekend! And thanks to the 2:30 kickoff, I still had time to make it to one more stadium before the day was done...

(Actual post date: 11/30/10)