Bernie, I'm Hooome!

Wofford Homecoming is THIS weekend!!! I am super excited (as if the underlining and caps lock didn't give it away). When I was a junior in high school and my father insisted on visiting every single college in the southeast...ok a slight exaggeration but oh well, anyway, I owe my father a great deal because I firmly believe that my time at Wofford forever changed my future. When we arrived for our tour the weather was PERFECT. Birds were signing, flowers were blooming, etc. It was the Disney of colleges and I was in.


Greatest place on earth. Period.

I will be forever grateful for my time at Wofford and think that Homecoming is a celebration of that time, for all of the Wofford community. It is a very special place and I think the overwhelming amount of alumni that attend every year attest to that.  

Graduation. Sad day.

Friday night there is a band party downtown, Saturday is the football game vs. the Citadel (Go Terriers!) and then lots and lots of well-needed time with friends all weekend long. I am getting so excited that I can barely form sentences so this is the end for now. Thanks for reading!

Mary

Tiger Town

Now, as I have tried to make clear before, I am a Georgia Bulldog fan first and foremost. However, this fall Blair and I have been able to go to two Clemson games with our friends Sarah and Whitner and it has been so much fun. Besides all of the orange and the purple (well, mainly all the orange) the Clemson campus is beautiful and we always have a good time. Sarah is quite the tailgate chef so once we arrive we get our spot set up and we [Blair] inhales Sarah's famous ham biscuits and onion rolls. After lounging in the beautiful weather for a while we go into the game and the cheering begins. This past weekend Clemson took on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. I say "took on" because it looked like the Tech just let Clemson drag them around the field like extra baggage. Sorry Tech...Not. Anyway, just wanted to share a few pictures from the weekend (You're welcome Mom)


Branch and Reath siblings.




Host and hostess sporting their Clemson colors.




Please note the neato visor in the bottom of this picture. The woman sitting next to her had a matching one. Yup.

 Always so much fun. Always leave sunburned and tired. If that's the price you pay for enjoying a football game then so be it. Thanks for reading!

Mary

Halloween for Breakfast?

At work on Friday we are having a "Halloween Breakfast". This is really throwing people off. So far people have signed up to bring muffins, breakfast casseroles, fruit, and Halloween cookies...that's right, cookies. Needless to say I think someone is going to have to roll me onto the elevator before 5:00 on Friday so I can make it to Wofford Homecoming. Apparently there is also a breakfast casserole bake-off happening so it is only fair that I sample them both, naturally.


I hope someone brings these. HINT HINT



And a pumpkin roll. Please and thank you.



Oh hello breakfast casserole, I'm Mary. We are going to be best friends.

I will happily report back about the "breakfast" once I recover from the food coma that I will undoubtedly slip into. Thanks for reading!

Mary

Sister!

My sister Laura is a junior at the University of Georgia and we have not seen each other since August. That is about to change because I GET TO SEE MY SISTER TOMORROW! Blair and I are going to the Clemson game tomorrow with a few friends and Laura is taking a bus up to Clemson with the Georgia Tech crowd (ew, Tech cooties). Regardless of our football affiliations I am so excited! I love love love this time of year and cannot wait to spend the day with friends, go to town at our tailgate feast (If you read the fair post you know how I feel about this kind of food), and see my long lost sister!

Thing 1 (me) and Thing 2 (Laura) soon to be reunited!

Also, my roommates and I saw Hootie and the Blowfish LIVE last night at their tribute concert in Five Points. No big deal. Definitely a sign it's going to be a wonderful weekend! Thanks for reading!

Mary

Fair Play

I LOVE THE FAIR!!! Well, I should clarify. I do not love feeling ill from everything that I consumed at the fair (which I shall list, I have no shame) but I love the lights, the music, being with friends, the rides, and the food. Did I already mention the food? Oh well. Candace, Marsha, and Sam are big fair advocates so last night we made the trip and it was a huge success! I mean how could it not be? Just look at the excitement...



Marsha and Sam are excited. I am sad I could not capture Marsha jumping for joy.

Upon entering the South Carolina State Fair the smell of unhealthy goodness was overwhelming. Candace and I both got corn dogs, Marsha picked up her chicken fingers and Sam and Candace invested in some french fries for the group. We ate at picnic tables in the food court and then decided it would be a good idea to begin our adventures on the rides (clearly a good idea after everything we just ate). Sam and Marsha, the real ride enthusiasts rode things with names like "Fireball" or "Space Roller". Candace and I were there for moral support until we rode the "Swing Tower"....which is exactly what it sounds like. As the swings (which you ride in pairs, Candace was my date) are being pulled up into the air and we can see the entire fair grounds from our seats Candace starts to say "Whoa dude, whoa dude, whoa dude!!!" The excitement was just too much.


Clearly we hated the food at the fair...not. Please note Marsha patiently waiting for her chicken fingers in the background.

 
Following our adventures on the swings Marsha, Sam, and Candace convinced me that I just had to ride the "Crazy Mouse". This was a cruel trick. This is a roller coaster, and I use that term loosely, in which the four of us sat in a little cart, me on the edge. Not ok. I felt like my body was going to be thrown from our cart over the fairgrounds and Marsha, Sam, and Candace just think this is sooo funny. This is exhibited in the photo that the "Crazy Mouse" is kind enough to snap of you. My face is that of pure terror, my friends think this could not be funnier. Candace and I also rode the Pharaoh boat ride (I don't remember its witty fair name) where a girl proceeded to scream at the top of her lungs the before the ride even started so Candace and I were laughing to hard to notice our stomachs were in our throats.

Success.

On our way out we decided we should get dessert. Obviously. So a few chocolate dipped cones and mini doughnuts later we finally made it home where we all promptly sank into a food coma. Our deepest thanks to the fair, we will meet again next year. Thanks for reading!

Mary

Special Request

Blair has requested a "shout out" in the blog talking about "how awesome I [Blair] am" (direct quote). I don't think anyone really wants to read on and on about how "awesome" I think Blair is so I have decided instead to share some of Blair's most flattering moments captured by yours truly on film. Enjoy.


Blair wants me to stop taking his picture. This is one of my personal all time favorites.




Yes, Blair I am taking your picture.



FACE SWIPED.



Don't even know where to start with this one.

On a serious note, Blair is a spectacular son, brother, and friend. As these pictures show he never fails to provide a few laughs and I am very lucky to know him. And I hope he forgives for this post/knows what to expect the next time he asks for a shout out. Thanks for reading!

WH.
Mary



Belly Dancing Bust

My roommate Sam says she distinctly remembers being younger and someone asking her what she wants to be when she grows up and she responded with "a belly dancer". Therefore, it is no real surprise that when Sam finds belly dancing classes in our area she recruits me and Marsha to tag along. Big mistake. Not the asking Marsha part, the asking me part. This is what I feel like as the instructor starts to show us the choreography...

Overwhelmed. Period.

Marsha might as well be the teacher's assistant as she immediately picks up on all of the moves. Sam is so excited that the steps seem to come naturally to her. Not the case for me, I have never been much of a dancer (watch my home videos and you will see, sorry Mom and Dad for making you sit through those recitals). I think my lack of dancing ability results from years and years of horseback riding where every move is absolutely controlled; back, arms, hands, legs, and feet. These movements do not include a a great deal of constant, fluid motion so belly dancing was a struggle for me, to say the least. I did however have a lot of fun and would go to the class again once my body has time to recover because I am SO sore. Belly dancing has a specific posture that you are meant to hold while dancing so today my arms, neck, and back are not feeling so hot.

Will not be a back up dancer for Shakira anytime soon. You are welcome world.

So while Marsha and Sam while probably move up to the intermediate level class sometime soon I will either permanently stay at the beginner level or continue to rely on running for my source of exercise and embarrassment. Thanks for reading!

Mary