Glory, Glory.....it's Football Friday (link up)

Fanatics asked me about baseball memories, which turned into my post about baseball the other day. Well, in the spirit of Football season, they asked the same question about football. I took my baseball post back to my childhood, and while I have the same types of memories with football -my brother played football too- I figured I would switch it up this time and talk about my first (an so far, only) Georgia Bulldogs game...So, here's to thinking back to that day...
Alarm is buzzing! Rise and shine. It's game day! It's time to get ready and hop in the car for that short, but long, drive down to Athens.

Coming down 129, passing by the fields and pastures, as you pass the 10 Loop and continue onto Prince Avenue, the excitement begins to build.

Find a lot & pick a spot.

From there, as you emerge from your car, you observe the excitement of people around you. You sense the camaraderie of strangers gathered for the same reason. Maybe even smell the smell of hot dogs, burgers or maybe even ribs cooking over a grill. you hear the clinking of bottles, and everyone begins to celebrate. You see people mingling and playing games of cornhole. Ahh, tailgating.

It's time to make your way down the streets of downtown Athens. It's a nice walk, and a great small city to walk through. As you're making your trek, passing the shops, restaurants and bars you can tell it's undoubtedly game day. Passing the historic Georgia Theatre, you then make your way down Lumpkin Street, and then Broad Street. You'll soon come face to face with the iconic black iron arch. Pass under that arch and through the campus, reaching Sanford Drive.

Many people don the colors, red, black, and white, are also making there way to the same destination as you. The atmosphere is exciting. 

You're there,..

Sanford Stadium.

Ticket scanned, snacks and drinks purchased, it's time to make your way to your seats. 

It's amazing, once you take a step into the stands. The seats slowly start to fill. The field is freshly painted, the infamous hedges are trimmed. Teams are on the field stretching and warming up. 

Hairy Dog is on the sidelines. Uga is in his nice, cooled down, dog house. 

Almost time...

The field clears and the UGA Redcoats Marching Band starts to play...

the planes fly over, 

the banner is set up....

and the team bursts through, reemerging ready to play! 

Then, by the flip of a coin, just like that, it's time for kickoff. 

And this? This is what we've been waiting for.

The anticipation, the excitement, the nerves...

Football season has returned and it's game time!

Not everyone's journey to Sanford Stadium is the same but I can imagine the excitement is all the same. The Dawg Nation is a loyal fanbase. We love our football and we love our Dawgs. Seeing a game Between the Hedges is such a fun experience. If you get there in time & can get a good spot, you can see the Dawg Walk before the game. And on victorious days there is a long line for the bell, students and fans alike get to ring the bell. I have unfortunately only attended one game in person (that needs to change!) but it's a whole different experience being there in person. I haven't been able to experience the Dawg Walk, but I hope that is something I can do in the future. If you are a Georgia Bulldog fan, I definitely recommend you catch at game at Sanford Stadium, if you haven't before!

As football season is warming up, I am SOO ready to get back to watching the guys on the field, both college (and Pro). We wait around all year for it to return. And it's back, a few short weeks to kick off and I'm praying for a great season! Good luck to you and your team.

As for my team..

We say, GOOOOOO DAWGS! SIC 'EM! WOOF WOOF WOOF WOOF!

U-G-A! U-G-A! U-G-A!

I've gotta give another shout out to Fanatics for asking me to be park of this. Check out their site & all the goodies on there. I've seen plenty of shirts that I think are SO cute. Like these...

pair them with some jeans, or some black skinnies, or shorts -cause it's hot down here-, and I think it'd be a good practical game day outfit!

As far as my pro teams...(Falcons, Broncos, Bengals, Lions....and I'm gonna be watching a bit of the Dolphins this year too...-Oh, Knowshon, the things I do for you....-) Some of my favorites are....

I'm not going to include and Dolphin gear just yet...I'm probably only "bandwagon" status right now. Gotta ease into these relationships, ya know! ;-)

So, how about you?! Who are you cheering for? What colors are you wearing? Do you have any football stories or memories?! 

Go link up with my lovely friend, Erin, for FOOTBALL FRIDAY and talk football with the rest of us!

Lovins!

♥♥♥

Brandy

Pop-Up Grounders

When it comes to reminiscing about your childhood there can be a flood of wonderful memories. Sports are, or can be, one of them. Primarily baseball, football, gymnastics and NASCAR, in my home.
I feel like baseball is almost always a staple in a persons childhood in some way. I believe I have mentioned before that I would like to get more into baseball than I am. There really is just something about baseball.

Source

We watched it when I was younger. We are an Atlanta Braves family who had Braves memorabilia all over shelves in our living room. My favorite player was David Justice. And of course Chipper, and Maddux, etc. I wish I could remember watching it more, the 90's were a pretty amazing time for the Braves.
My brother played when he was a kid so, of course, I can't forget that many of my days were spent at the ball fields watching him play, or just walking around and playing on my own.
There are also the times spent tossing the ball around at home or playing with family.

Fanatics.com is an online retailer for everything sports. They have plenty of merchandise to choose from for several different sports; football, basketball, soccer, NASCAR, hockey, baseball, etc. Fanatics also likes to hear from, well, the fanatics! When I was asked about some of my favorite baseball memories I figured I would give it a go. So, today I figured I'd reminisce a little with you all.

As I mentioned, many a days were spent on the baseball fields in town. It was always so fun to me to get to there. I always remember walking around the fields. I even made a friend who was a few years older than me, her name was Nicole, who would walk around with me whenever she was there for her brothers games or practices. I remember the concession stand, the water fountains, even the bathrooms (I know, weird). My point is, it was such a familiar almost comforting, place for me. It was fun watching the guys play the game.
I so wish I had a picture of those fields. It's unfortunate that years ago they were leveled out and now there that is where a pool, the health department and the new courthouse are all located. I still get bothered by that. Because now? Now the fields are located back behind all of that. You can't see the fields when you drive by anymore. And to me, that's sad.
Fun fact: years ago when we were looking through my moms chest of pictures, while looking at some of my brothers team photos we realized that my brother and my husband were on the same teams a couple of times. That's so cool to me. 

Of course, having a sporty brother meant also getting to play those sports at home.
There are countless time of playing baseball in the yard. At home practice is important, too. Even if it is just for fun.
One thing we used to play a lot of is pop-up grounders. It's good for practice in catching pop-ups and grounders. I can remember one afternoon in particular, it was myself, my brother and a couple of my cousins, and we were playing pop-up grounders. It was a gloomy kind of day and was starting to drizzle a little bit when we had started to play. Then came the thunder, and even the lightning. But be played. And it was so fun. Rain, sweat, dirt, laughter and family bonding -or competition-. [Obviously it's probably not the greatest idea to be playing baseball in the storm but rest assured that our parents wouldn't let us be too reckless. ;-) ]

For whatever reason, I can remember that. Whether it be the family time, the time outside, playing in the rain, thunder, and lightning, for whatever the reason it sticks with me. And it all centered around getting out there and playing ball!

I think baseball will always have kind of a special place in my heart. It's my goal to go to at least one MLB game, to see the Braves, of course! And I'd honestly prefer to see it at The Ted! [pictured- not my photo]
I definitely don't want my baseball memories to end with the childhood ones. So, seriously, take me out to the ballgame, please?! :)

Source (this is such a great picture!)

What about you all? Do you have any baseball memories or stories?! 

Lovins!
Xoxo♥ 
Brandy 

*Go "Like" Fanatics on Facebook! You may even see some deals posted on there... (for example, the $10 of orders over $75 + Free shipping). 
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**OH....& you should head over to get your baseball hats & other gear from Fanatics!They have a great selection. I love this hat.

They have a little something for everyone in the family, even our beloved pets!

Knock, Knock...

Hello?
Who's there?

Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

Talk about being M.I.A.!
I've only peppered posts one here since about May.
Other than that, I've been about 98% absent from the blog world & on one hand, I'm okay with it, but...on the other...I realllly miss it!

Let me see if I can update you on a bit of my summer in one post...

June:
-Doug & I celebrated his birthday & our 11yr/3yr anniversary.
-We also vacationed with my parents & nephew to Chattanooga. So fun. We did the typical Chatt. visit, Lookout Mountain (Ruby Falls, Rock City and the Incline Railway) and the Tennessee Aquarium. We haven't been there since my brother and I were kids & Doug hasn't been there since he was a kid either. I'm glad I was there for my nephew's first trip there. Lots fun and walking. I got to take a picture by a Bald Eagle, and pet an owl. My Dad got to have a vulture land on his arm-I have a video of that happening, that I have yet you upload. But still, I mean, that's a pretty bad-a trip. ;-) haha...

Ruby Falls

Point Park, Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, TN

 

My Love & Me

Lovers Leap

One-winged Bald Eagle, Rock City, Chattanooga, TN

Tennessee Aquarium, Chattanooga, TN

July
-Celebrated the Fourth low-key again. Just the hubs, mother- & brother-in-law.
-I scared the crap outta myself when I had what I thought was a mole that had doubled or tripled in size. Turned out to be an aggravated capillary, or something along those lines (I think it's basically a blood blister). Regardless, it was able to be burnt off. Thank goodness.
-Celebrated my birthday. The hubbers bought me Beauty and the Beast & even curled up in the bed and watched it with me. ♥
-Hubs, myself, my ma-in-law & C. went to see Def Leppard and Kiss...aaaand the drunk shenanigans of Sissy made it quite an interesting night...to say they least. I felt bad..a little...but I still had a blast. Love me some Def Leppard (was my 3rd time seeing them), I'm ready for Def Lep. 4.0. Oh, and KISS? If you've never been to a KISS show, go! They are great!
-Ended out the month by attending my Dad's work picnic with the family & it was a good time. Got to check out a new (to me) park in Athens. It's called Athens Memorial Park. It was fun playing on the playground with my nephew and niece and her mom. Also fun seeing the ducks, geese, turtles and fish. This park also has a small walk through Zoo. Bears, gator, deer, turkey, reptiles, etc..

Birthday Dinner

"Super Moon" on July 12th

Joe Elliott, Def Leppard, Atlanta 7-18-14

Def Leppard, Atlanta 7-18-14

KISS, Atlanta 7-18-14

Gene Simmons, KISS, Atlanta 7-18-14

August
-Started off bittersweet. I helped throw a bridal shower for my husbands cousin. For as hectic as it was for his mom and myself to make sure we had everything, I think it was success. We thankfully had plenty of help in other areas, such as food. His family is pretty amazing at coming together and pitching in when it comes to these kinds of things.
-And then 2 days later, on August 4th, our family was hit hard with a decision I had hoped we'd never have to make. We had to put our beloved cat to sleep. He was out oldest. We've had him for the longest (ever since he was able to be given away as a kitten). He was about 16 or 17. His health had been declining quite a bit in the past 6 months and in the last couple of weeks it was even worse. One of the hardest days for us, that's for sure. My parents brought him home and we laid him to rest. And I miss him so much. He's been gone for 2 weeks and a day now and I still find myself wanting to check for him at night to see if he's ready to come in. We lost a member of our family. It's so sad and it's definitely different around here. It's hard.
-I am completely devastated by the extremely unexpected suicide of Robin Williams. So terrible.
-Doug & I had a date night this past weekend and decided to go see a movie. We chose to support one of our favorite comedian, Jon Reep, in his newest movie- Into The Storm. Um, in case you have not watched this but are interested I won't say too much. But, I will say, I have always been terrified of tornadoes, always. This movie, to me, was SO intense. I'm, pretty sure I trembled most of the time. I can't even handle the thought of a severe thunderstorm right now. But, that being said, I did think it was a good movie. I would recommend it.
-My brother got a coondog. Well we currently have 2 but he's holding one for a friend of the family for now. You can see their cuteness on my IG. I'm in love.
-I went back to the doctor. Anyone who's been around these part may know what I'm referring to. Cross your fingers for Doug & I. :-)

Bridal Shower

Patches, aka Mr. Kitty & Me in May 2013. Gosh I just miss him..so much!

I'm still working, only 2 days a week now.  I still have my days but, overall it's going well & I'm getting great experience and that's what keep telling myself. Other than that I've been kind of keeping to myself. My favorite time of year is rolling around. I feel like there's already so much planned. It's a bit tiring to think about, but also exciting. I also have a baby shower to plan -for my cousin, I'm not prego-, then of course the holidays and then my mother in law have a 2nd bridal shower to start planning for. There are several birthdays.. I already have 3 concert for sure planned. And then throw in the holidays & FOOTBALL SEASON (WOOOO!!!). Yea,...the rest of the year is most definitely kind of busy! ;-)

Well, I know I haven't commented on pretty much anyone's blogs lately. I do miss you all and I do plan on catching up a little on reading.

Lovins & stuff!
♥♥♥
Brandy