I ♥ Faces
Pet Week

Be sure to visit Amy & Angie's I ♥ Faces website this week to see all the adorable Pet Faces.

You know I am not going to let a contest or opportunity pass me by to put Roxy on display.

Roxy - Pomeranian

What Are You Hooked On?

Julia @ Hooked on Houses is hosting "Hooked On Fridays" today. Click here to take a look at what her blog readers are hooked on.

I am hooked on Pepperidge Farm Shortbread Cookies. I can't stop eating them and find myself buying 2 packages at a time. When it comes to sweets, I like things with a hint of sweet but not overpowering.

Eaten with a big glass of milk, these cookies are oh so delicious!























Be sure to visit Julia's blog to see the addictions, passions and cravings of her blog readers!

Better run......I have cookies calling my name! I can't think of anything I'd rather eat this morning for breakfast.

What are YOU hooked on???

I ♥ Faces
The First Contest

As a supporter of the new I ♥ Faces photo sharing site, I am entering a picture of my 3 year old niece, Summer, who is in deep thought before her first ballet recital.

This week's theme is "Anything Goes". I don't at all expect to win but I am having fun participating. Join in the fun and submit a picture!! Click here to view the site.

Introducing a new blog for the new year: I ♥ Faces








Amy @ Living Locurto, along with her blogging buddy Angie, are the co-founders of a new photography sharing site. This is for anyone who loves to take pictures - both amateurs & professionals. Click here to see I ♥ Faces.

In addition to the photos of faces & the contests, I am MOST excited about the photography tips that will be shared. I love to take pictures and literally have thousands of them, but I'm a point-and-shoot person. I don't know much beyond that.

On special occasions throughout the year, we can show off our pets faces and February 2nd will be the the first Pet Day. The winner of the first Pet Contest will have their pet's photo on the button. Don't you think Roxy's face belongs there?

























Also, be sure to visit & join the I ♥ Faces Group on Facebook. You don't have to be a Facebook member, just click here.

Big 12 Showcase

University of Oklahoma

Located in Norman, Oklahoma, OU has a student enrollment of approximately 30,000 students.

An Oklahoma native, Brian (and one of my favorite co-workers) is our guest blogger. I hadn't met an Oklahoma fan prior to moving to the Dallas area 14 years ago. They're a rarity in the southern half of Texas, but once you approach the DFW area, they are too numerous to count!

Brian's family descends on Dallas every year for the Red River Showdown between Texas & OU. They are big fans! Here is Brian's story:

"OU ticket holders since 1973, traditions include making a batch of Bloody Mary's before every home game. No trip down to Dallas for the Red River Rivalry is complete without a visit to Benihana restaurant. Even though our family includes two Oklahoma State University (OSU) graduates and one current student at OSU's College of Osteopathic Medicine in Tulsa, the family is entirely Sooner faithful. BOOMER SOONER!"

I took this picture at the 2007 TX/ OU game in Dallas. I was the lone person in burnt orange in a sea of crimson red. I'm surprised I survived!!
Brian, his sister Ann & her friend Lauren

"2008 OSU/OU Rivalry: All of Oklahoma (and the Big 12 South) talked about this game all week. The Bedlam Game was in Stillwater this year, and due to a restriction on single-ticket purchases, the usual crew that includes my parents, didn't go. Due to this restriction (only season tickets can be purchased for OSU football games this year), there were 12,000 empty seats at Boone Pickens Stadium."

Brian's nephew Joseph in his OU shirt & red wagon

Thanks Brian for representing OU as the guest blogger!!

Sooner Schooner
The Sooner Schooner is pulled by 2 white ponies named Boomer & Sooner. OU's Ruf/Neks are the caretakers and drivers of the schooner.

Tune in tonight as OU plays for the BSC National Championship title!

As a side note, did you know that Bob Stoops (head football coach) wife is a National Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics?

Big 12 Showcase

Baylor University

Baylor is located in Waco, Texas and is a private Baptist university. Their total enrollment is 14,500.

Thanks to Baylor Grad Angela for serving as the guest blogger. She is a high school friend and also a recent Facebook friend. She never knew if she accepted me as a friend on Facebook that she would get asked to write this segment. She likely regrets that acceptance!!

Angela is funny and possibly one of the quickest and wittiest people I know. I hope you are as entertained as me with her story.

"Okay, as promised, I will regale you with fascinating tales of Baylor football rituals (80s style...I have no idea what they do down there now).

First of all, as you may or may not know, Baylor is the world's largest Baptist University. Apparently, this is important to them because they mention it every chance they get. It's also known to those of us who went there as "Jerusalem on the Brazos." It's the only private school in the Big 12. Translation: we can't afford to pay our football coach an OU-sized salary.

Baylor has many traditions. Unfortunately, none of them include winning football games. We didn't always suck. During the Grant Teaff coaching days of the Southwest Conference, we actually managed to have a winning record a few times. We rarely beat UT or A&M but could hold our own against powerhouses like SMU (post death penalty), Rice and TCU. Then, along came Gov. Ann Richards, a Baylor alum who decided that Baylor needed to have a place in the soon-to-be-formed Big 12 conference. Basically, Gov. Richards signed us up to be the perpetual cellar dweller and everyone's favorite Homecoming opponent. Thanks Ann."

"In the 80's, game days meant DRESSING UP...like church but on Saturday. Although it was Fall, it was also Waco so the temps were usually in the 80s but there were theme sweaters waiting to be worn so all the Baylor girls would drag out their "football" or "fall pumpkin" sweaters, matched with a lace collar, some tights and a skirt and head off to the game. (Oh, and a bow...all Baylor girls wore a sporting bow the size of a luna moth in their Texas sized hair.) I don't know what the guys did but you can be sure it didn't include drinking. It probably didn't include praying either or we would've won more games.

Baylor has a group of freshmen (it was all guys in the 80s) called the Baylor Line. Theoretically, they were a pep squad but in reality, they were a group of guys who hadn't gotten into a fraternity yet and needed to join a group where they could wear matching shirts with nicknames (and sometimes phone numbers) printed on the back.

Baylor cheers...well, really, the only one I recall is the "Sic 'Em Bears" bit. This freaked me out the first time I walked into a cafeteria and saw students doing it. They were standing on chairs each with one arm extended and raised out straight (think Hitler) and going "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh"...rising to a crescendo while shaking their outstretched hands and ending in a loud "Sic 'Em Bears." It seemed a little charismatic-y for a Baptist school, but I got used to it. They do it at every game. Many times. Over and over.

Baylor has actual live baby bears that come to the football games. They ride around in little wagons, play on slides, and drink Dr Pepper. They're like little furry preschoolers...very cute. You want to pet them but you can't. They are "handled" by a fraternity called the Baylor Chamber. I think PETA has tried to have this tradition stopped but so far, because Baylor is in Texas and not in Vermont or Oregon, they haven't had much luck."

"Baylor songs...no one knows the Alma Mater but they play it at every game. They also play one called "That Good Ol' Baylor Line" (which everyone knows how to sing. It "bears" no mention of the aforementioned pre-fraternity so it's not about them) and they sing "Texas, Our Texas" which a lot of people also do not know. Thanks to Mrs. Moore, my 7th grade Texas history teacher, I do.

So, that's all I can really recall...I probably didn't actually watch a lot of the games myself. I think I was distracted by the prickly heat I developed as a result of wearing 3 layers of Laura Ashley in the Texas heat.

Sic 'Em,
Angela"

"Here's a picture taken at the Baylor/A&M game in 1987. (We lost of course).
This photo scares me on many levels...first, there's the guy behind us in
the cowboy hat. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a student. I'm also pretty sure
he wasn't a cowboy. He looks like he might be an escapee from a mental
institution. (And no, he wasn't my date.)

Also, there's our hair...could it be any bigger and frizzier and still fit
in the frame? And why am I wearing a bandana?! I don't even recall owning
a bandana. Only dogs should wear bandanas...and cowboys.

But what scares me more than anything is that woman in the giant sunglasses.
That's my mom...she was 43 when that picture was taken. I'm 41 now.
(Insert music from "Psycho" here.)"

BAYLORBAYLORBAYLORBAYLORBAYLORBAYLORBAYLOR

To keep Angela as a Facebook friend (and a friend in real life), I am posting a recent picture so no one will blackball me for posting the one from 1987. They're both really great pictures!

My high school friends celebrating Angela's 40th birthday:
Kelly*, Mary Jo*, Elizabeth R., Angela*, Elizabeth D.
(*pictured above in 1987 picture)

Thanks again to Angela for taking the time to write about her Baylor experience and providing some of these pictures. Next time I pass through Waco, I'll chuckle thinking of the traditions you shared with us!

The Campus

Big 12 Showcase

University of Texas

Welcome to Austin and the Texas Longhorns! The University of Texas is located 1-2 miles from the Texas Capitol and the school is home to more than 50,000 students.

Austin is the best city in the state of Texas. I still lament over my move from Austin to Plano 14 years ago. Why did I ever leave?

Not only can you catch a glimpse of the beauty of the Texas Hill Country, but the UT Tower reigns as one of city's great landmarks. It is illuminated burnt orange for significant events.

In stark contrast to the conservative campus at Texas A&M, Austin is known for its flaming liberals and has much pride in the city's motto of "Keep Austin Weird".

I always enjoy taking a walk down "the drag" (a.k.a. Guadalupe Street) in the middle of the UT campus to see what's in style. When I lived in Austin, the hip style on the drag was spiked and mohawked hair (to the extreme - in fact, they used jello mix to keep it in place).

photo courtesy of Austin Style Watch

UT has many student organizations, three of which I want to highlight. Two are significant to our family because my cousin Sam & my brother Derek were members.

The Silver Spurs organization are the caretakers of the mascot Bevo. They are responsible for getting Bevo to athletic events and other special appearances. Bevo attended an inauguration party in Washington DC 4 years ago for George W. Bush.
The Texas Cowboys operate & fire Smokey the Cannon, and the Texas Wranglers are the support for Texas basketball.

My brother Derek who is a 1993 UT grad is the guest blogger. His passion in life is UT athletics and attending any & all of their sporting events. He writes about a typical UT football game experience. He & his college friends have been tailgating in the same spot since graduation.

"Here are a couple of traditions for our UT tailgates.

• Especially before having kids, and maybe once a year now, Sheri and I will arrive two hours before kickoff at the North entrance to the stadium and welcome the Longhorn Team! They arrive via chartered bus and have police escorts. It's like meeting someone famous or being front row at your favorite rock concert. Nothing like getting all excited and jumping up and down screaming for 18-21 year olds. "I love you Sergio Kindle!!!!!". Stalker!

• For big games/tailgates, we'll send out a current college student (squatter) three or four days in advance of the game to "hold our spot". We've got a great tailgate spot right by the stadium and sometimes people will try and snag it. We'll all get $$$ together and pay for all the pizza and beer the squatter can eat or drink. Usually this is one of our friends brothers that is still in college and they are happy to do it for cold beer and pizza.

• For the tailgate itself, we'll usually grill hamburgers or other stuff and have 3 or 4 kegs. Believe it or not, all the kegs are ALWAYS floated after the game. During a game this year, a group (38 yr olds) even ended up doing keg stands in honor of the Longhorn victory. (We even had a wife do a keg stand-impressive!). note from KV: it was not Sheri
  

• After the game, everybody meets right back at the tailgate spot and "breaks down" the game and relives our favorite plays.

• The next morning, we always finish our Austin trip with a stop at Trudy's Tex Mex. I love reading about the game in the Austin American Statesman while eating Migas and Fajitas!"

Sheri, Hunter & Derek at a UT football game during the 2007 season

The 2005 National Championship was a big highlight for Derek & his tailgating friends. They all flew into Vegas and spent some time gambling before driving to Pasadena, CA for the Rose Bowl.

4th down at the Rose Bowl

One of the best pictures taken was that of Derek & all his buddies who attended the 2005 National Championship game with the final score of the game on the big scoreboard in the background. Too bad we couldn't get it scanned for this blog post. They were all ecstatic and in full burnt orange. (Ginny - you have the same picture of you & Fred. Send it my way & I'll post it.)

Derek & Sheri have passed their love of the University of Texas to Hunter & Summer.

Thanks DC for providing your game day story and being the guest blogger!

HOOK 'EM!

Tune in to the Fiesta Bowl tonight when Texas takes on the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Texas QB Colt McCoy - a crowd favorite

Big 12 Showcase

Texas A&M

Located in College Station, Texas A&M University sits on a 5,000 acre campus with 48,000 plus students. This school has many rituals & long lasting traditions which completely fascinate me. In fact, I need a guide every time I visit to make sure I stay in line with what's expected and with what comes so naturally to its current and former students. The campus is conservative and every piece of everything has meaning - trees, grass (don't step on it!), buildings......the list is endless.

Reveille - the First Lady on campus

I am excited to have 2 guest bloggers to represent Texas A&M!

The first is 16 year old Blake L. who tells us of his yearly trip to a football game with his grandparents, and the second is Tracey S. who re-lives Thanksgiving Day 2008 when Texas A&M played Texas.

TAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMU

Guest writer Blake L with his twin brother Scott posing with a member of the Corp of Cadets before a football game a few years ago.

Gig Em

"Every year, Poppy and Gammy take Scott and I to a Texas A&M Football game. This year we attended the Texas Tech vs. A&M game. Poppy and Gam picked us up bright and early at 5:30. (The game was at 11:30.) We made it to College Station in no time with Poppy's Daytona-like driving. Once we entered the town, the issue arose of what street we should turn on to get to the stadium. We ended turning on the right street, which led us to our parking lot, compliments of Mr. M. Monical. There you could see the different tailgators getting ready to BBQ. It was a little chilly, but great weather for the game. We made our first stop at the Memorial Student Center (MSC). In the MSC is the cafeteria and bookstore. The MSC honors the Aggies who have given their life in the different US wars and conflicts. As well, it honors the Aggies who are currently serving in the US military. Mine and Scott's attention was drawn to the bookstore. Any type of Aggie merchandise is sold there. Scott and I both bought a t-shirt. Next, we ate in the cafeteria. In years past, we've eaten in the BBQ line. However, lunch is served at 11:00, and we were there at 10:00. Instead of BBQ, we ate a tasty breakfest burrito. After eating the burrito, we decided to go watch the team march in, but I didn't know that the team had already marched in. So, I led Gammy and Poppy across the campus. Somehow, I managed to lead Gammy and Poppy to the Corp's dorm area. All the Corp members were lining up in their individual groups. It was quite interesting. After walking all that way, Poppy decided to ask when the team would march in. We found out that the team had marched in an hour earlier, but the Corp was going to march in in 15 minutes. So, we found a good spot along to watch them. They were led through the street by the The Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. It was amazing to see the number of men and women who are in the Corp. After 10 minutes of watching, we decided to head towards the stadium. Our seats were awesome. They were right on the 50 yard line. Sadly we watched the Aggies lose 43-25. The experience was awesome and I 'm looking forward to next year."

Thanks Blake for the wonderful re-cap of your experience on campus this year!

I get completely mesmerized by the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band. I could watch them for hours.

TAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMU

Tracey's writing talents are on display as she captures the Texas A&M vs. Texas game in poetic fashion.

Brody & Kavan - Bill & Tracey's Boyz

Bill & the Boyz grilling chicken for Thanksgiving & for the big game

Thanksgiving Day
With the Spurgeon’s
GIG ‘EM AGGIES

Twas Thanksgiving day
at the Spurgeon household.
Where the grill was warm
and the beer was cold.

The food non-traditional,
Pasta salad and Wings.
The conversation was "AGGIES"
among other things.

Brody wanted a jersey
Burnt orange for U.T..
You can imagine the response
he got from his daddy!

So everyone dressed
in AGGIE attire.
Game time approached
And the excitement got higher.

The boys played ball
On our backyard field,
While the chicken got cooked
And the potatoes got peeled.

1st quarter...there’s hope,
The AGGIES could win!!!
2nd quarter…it’s over,
The cuss words begin.

Brody in maroon
Flashes the “hook ‘em” sign,
Kavan’s getting grumpy,
The day is starting to decline.

3rd quarter…28 – 3
Boys are out…
Sound asleep…
Then Bill begins to SHOUT!

“Tackle ‘em AGGIES
Where have you been ---?
Just go ahead AGGIES
Let ‘em win”.

4th quarter…
’Nuff said
Diehard AGGIE fans
Are ready for bed.

The clock is still running,
There’s still time.
Even though the score is
49-9.

Game over….
No close call
But there’s always next year.
For AGGIE football!!

So from the Spurgeons
Aggie Fans with no shame….
Happy Thanksgiving to All
And to All good game….

tailgating in the backyard

This is truly one of the most hilarious things I've seen. Kavan went to Build-A-Bear and selected a longhorn for the stuffed animal and dressed it in Aggie attire! Give the little guy a break! He's only 2!

Their team may not have won but I'd say the BBQ chicken drumsticks are BIG winners! How delicious do they look??

His stuffed animal may be of the wrong breed, but I'd say he makes up for it with the house shoes!

TAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMUTAMU

Thanks again and AWESOME job to Blake L and Tracey S for writing your Texas A&M stories.

There isn't a bowl game to promote for the Aggies this year, but we'll be waiting because we all know that when the Wreckin' Crew makes it back, they'll be back big and with a vengeance!

Big 12 Showcase

Texas Tech

This post about Texas Tech captures the pictures Mary Duane, my aunt, provided from their weekend in Lubbock visiting my cousins (their grandchildren) Trey & Tara. Not only were the avid UT fans in town for the football game, they also celebrated Tara's 21st birthday.

Location: Lubbock, Texas
Event: Texas Tech vs. University of Texas football game
Date: Saturday, November 1, 2008

all the Tech fans wore black to the game
With an enrollment over 28,000, Texas Tech University is located in the South Plains of Texas.

One of the most well known landmarks on campus is the statue of Will Rogers and his horse Soapsuds. The statue stands at 9'11" tall and weights 3,200 pounds; its estimated cost was $25,000. On the base of the statue, the inscription reads "Lovable Old Will Rogers on is favorite horse, 'Soapsuds,' riding into the Western sunset." Before every home football game the Saddle Tramps wrap Old Will with red crepe paper. Will Rogers and Soapsuds have also been wrapped up in black crepe paper to mourn national tragedies.

before the game
Jeff, Tara, Meg

Guns Up!

loading the trolley for the big game

Masked Rider
With her guns up, the Masked Rider leads the football team onto the field for all the home games.

Tara & Gene (my first cousin)

my cousin Trey with his finance Meg (and Cappy the 3 month old dog)

I want to send a big thank you out to Mary Duane for providing the awesome pictures from their weekend in Lubbock!

Tune in to the Cotton Bowl which will be broadcast live from Dallas on Friday, January 2 to see the showdown between Texas Tech and Ole Miss.