Tebow-ing

Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, then you’ve heard about NFL Broncos player Tim Tebow and his “antics”. This includes “Tebow-ing” which is now a verb, I guess? Basically, he kneels down to pray in this pose demonstrated below.

Let me give you a little back story here…

As you know, I’m from the South – specifically Tennessee. More specifically the SEC and an alumnus of the University of TN. What you may not know – if you aren’t as acquainted with football as I am – is that Tim Tebow was the quarterback for the Florida Gators in his college days. And Florida is one of Tennessee’s mortal rivals. I told you all about my football centric upbringing here. Being raised like a good little UT girl, I would never jump on the band wagon of a former Florida player! Thus, I have never cared about all this Tebow crap in the media. I roll my eyes and move on.

However, Mr. Tebow has managed to become a star player in the NFL this year AND turn himself into a verb with his Tebowing. Apparently this beckons the media hounds and now he’s freaking everywhere. He’s all over ESPN, all over the news, all over the radio, all over my Facebook and Twitter feeds. It’s obnoxious! I can’t avoid him. EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT HIM AND TAKING PICTURES OF THEMSELVES DOING THIS TEBOW POSE. (Granted, I guess I am talking about him now too, but mine is not the most favorable.)



Olympic Skiier Lindsay Vohn Tebowing



There's even a shirt!

Now to be fair, let me say that at least Tebow is a proper role model of sorts. He appears to be a devout Christian and honorable person. When in college, he openly spoke about still being a virgin because he was waiting until he was married to have sex. He spent his spring breaks in Malaysia helping to build houses or in prisons testifying to criminals trying to turn their lives around. He sports bible verses on his under eye patches. When he sported John 3:16 on his eyes, shortly thereafter John 3:16 became one of the most searched terms on Google. I mean, I guess he is in an upright position to openly discuss his religion and promote it. And I think that’s wonderful of him! The last thing our country needs is another drugged up, overly paid NFL player in the news getting away with murder. At least he is setting the right kind of example. I even would go as far as to say that I feel a little bad for him because he’s created this holier than thou image which just begs for people to try and tear him down. Every little thing he does and says will be heavily judged by nay sayers.

But honestly, he’s just a little over rated. I just can’t love him…I don’t even want to try. It has nothing to do with his Christian image – as I said, I think that’s great of him. But I don’t think that people should expect me to jump on his band wagon just because of that image. Yeah he’s a good football player, and yeah he’s a good Christian...HE STILL PLAYED AT FLORIDA PEOPLE! J

Are y’all buying into this whole Tebow deal?

Routines

Do you have a specific routine that you stick to each day? I’m sure you have some sort of routine that lets you know when it’s time to move on to the next step in your day. I am very much a routine person – very organized, very Type A in this respect. If one thing distracts me from my morning routine, then shit starts going wrong and falling out of order and I forget what’s next. There have been several times that something has called my attention away from my routine in the morning and it has caused me to forget my deodorant or brush my teeth. I can’t help it; I’m just a creature of habit. I like to plan my days pretty tight, which leaves little room for error. Seems like for me once one thing goes off kilter, then it beings a snowball effect. This morning was very much one of those mornings!

Usually in the evenings, I try to think about what I feel like wearing the next day. I don’t go so far as to lay it out, but I just try to get an idea in my head and mentally locate the clothes. This morning I had my little heart set on wearing a certain dress, leggings and boots. I knew it was going to be an ugly rainy day here, so I was dead set on wearing boots. I knew exactly where the dress was, the leggings – not so much. I went on a man hunt for a specific pair of black leggings this morning and when I finally did track them down they were all fuzzy looking. A little frustrating, but not a huge ordeal. Then I go to put on my boots and I realize that my precious dog and gotten chewed up one of the side buckles on the boot – I was livid! We’ve had a minor issue with Ms. Tilly chewing on shoes before – not an entire shoe where it’s not wearable anymore, but just pieces. Like the buckle on my boot, or one of the little jewels on a pair of flats, or the insole of my tennis shoe. She’s such a weirdo, but a cute one!

damaged boot

Cute little shoe eating weirdo

So, here I am cursing my dog with my chewed up boot and fuzzy leggings. Whew – wee bit of a rough start. Then, on my commute to work it proceeds to monsoon (still is actually). We’ve had SO MUCH rain lately in East TN that I’m sick of it! I usually enjoy the cooler weather that winter brings us, but damnit it’s 60 degrees and raining today! That’s not winter! I knew we were getting rain, but I did not expect a thunderstorm. So my point about the rain is that it brings out the worst in people’s driving skills. Traffic this, wreck that – it turns my usually 15-20 minute commute to work into a 45 minute melodrama. A wreck on a major road also made me 15 minutes late for work – which I HATE! Again, it messes with the whole getting to work 15 minutes early to check emails, etc. part of my routine.

It’s only 10am so that makes me nervous about what the remainder of the day has in store for me. I hope it will all be uphill from here – at least my dress is cute! This is my dress – I find it quite ironic when I took the picture of it that I managed to cut most of my face out. Ironic, yet fitting for today.

Reading this back over, I realize it sounds very petty. I don’t mean to make myself out to be a drama queen – but I love a routine! Maybe I just woke up on the wrong side of the bed today…

Who Cares about Football?

Being raised in the South, football is a way of life. This may sound naive, but I'm slowly starting to realize that it's not like that everywhere. I may be generalizing here, but I would say that most Southern girls - at least the majority of the ones I know - were raised on football. Growing up in a small town of less than 10,000, everybody knows everybody. Everybody knew my mama, my Daddy and my business. But I guess I knew theirs too. Our social lives centered around the football field. Friday nights were the high school football games.As a young cheerleader, I adored going to the high school games to watch the pretty cheerleaders. I was honored when my time came to step into that role. Saturdays were for the pee-wee games and watching the mighty Vols play. Back then they won most games, and we had seasons to brag about. Most families then watched the pro games on Sundays. (My family isn't into the NFL as much as high school and college ball.)

My family has held season tickets to the University of Tennessee football games for 40 years! My grandparents have sat in the same section since my dad was young. I was going to the games before I could walk or speak. I didn't have any clue what was going on, but I was there in my little UT cheerleader outfit supporting the Vols. It just feels natural to me, and I love it. I know more about football than most boys - boys who aren't from around here, of course.

My Vols have been struggling and transitioning for the past couple of years. New coaches, new players, new attitudes - it's been a bit of a mess. It hurts to lose, when I remember such greatness not that long ago. And yes, it does actually hurt me a little bit. I know that's crazy - but when something becomes a way of life for you, the setbacks take their toll. Due to Skye's new job scheduling, this will be the first year that we don't buy season tickets. It literally makes me want to cry. It means something to me to go to the games. It's just a tradition, a habit. Tailgating is the best form of socializing, and we make new friends and meet up with old friends every week. I can't imagine what I will do with myself this fall! I'm sure I will find a way to make it down to Neyland, decked out in my brightest orange.

The reason I am reflecting on football today is because the BSC National Championship game is tonight. Alabama vs. LSU. Obviously being a Tennessee fan, both of these teams are rivals to me. However, I live in a house divided. Skye (for whatever reason - best I can gather he was dropped on his head as an infant) is a huge Bama fan. So tonight, in honor of him, I am pulling for Bama to win this thing. This got brought up today at work when a few of us had a full fledged hour long conversation about football. One girl I work with said, "You're gonna watch the game tonight??". Hello? Have you met me? My response was "You're NOT gonna watch the game tonight??". If you don't care about football, then how can you live in this football-centric state? We love it, we live it, we breathe it, we bleed orange. I don't care if you think it's over the top, if you aren't from here then you don't understand it.

Tonight, as much as it makes me cringe, I gotta go for somebody. I can't easily pull for a team with the color purple. (Remember - Orange looks good on everybody! haha) So for tonight, I'm saying Rammer Jammer - Give 'em Hell Alabama! An all SEC match-up is just fine with me, that's how it should be!



2010- Me with Legendary Vols Player & Coach - Johnny Majors



5 Question Friday!

 

Rules for 5QF: Copy and paste the following questions to your blog post, answer them, then watch for the linky post to appear Friday morning and LINK UP!

Oh, and remember (pay close attention...this is the important one)...HAVE FUN!

Questions for Friday, January 6th: (Special thanks to @trooppetrie, @Maggiemaesdays, @Lovely_Lici, @KatieB38, and my cousin Joe [he asked this question of an interviewee once, crazy kid] for their question suggestions! I would love to link you in a future 5QF, so come on over to my community or watch for my Thursday afternoon shout out for questions on Twitter and offer up your best question suggestions! Remember to @5crookedhalos me and use hashtag #5QF if you go the Twitter route!)

1. What is the weather like where you are and do you like it?

Welcome to lovely East TN...it was snowing here and 20 degrees on Monday and today the expected high is a sunny 57. Gotta love weather in the South! Unlike most southerners, I'm actually happy with colder weather and snow in the winter. I'm good with whatever mother nature throws our way.

2. When you're sick what do you seek comfort from?

Sleep is much needed factor for me when I'm under the weather. A good Real Housewives of where ever marathon, some zzzzz's and I'm a happy girl. Luckily, I don't get sick often. I'm not cursed with the wicked allergy problems that most people in my area suffer from. I maybe get one cold a year, if that.

3. What do you need to do before the end of the month?

Plan a trip! We have decided to take a mini-vacay in February during the President's Day holiday. We are looking at West Virginia for some snowboarding time - ya know, since we can't get that here when it's 60 degrees outside.

 

And get back on my watching what I eat "diet" so that I can be on track to lose my last 10 lbs before the end of March.

 

And read 2 books for my 30 books of 2012 goal.

4. Have you ever served on a jury?

I have not - never been called on. In most criminal cases, I would likely be ruled ineligible due to my family affiliation with law enforcement. That tends to cause me to be a little biased against the criminals I guess.

5. If you could be any animal, what would you be and why?

I think a dog. My dog has it made in the shade! Sleeps most of the day, eats whatever she wants, gets to play outside and run around. Plus, she's quite the pampered pooch - she gets her hair done regularly like I do, has someone brush her teeth for her... She's active when she wants to be and lazy when she wants to be.

 

Happy Weekend!

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