5 Stages of Using a Port-a-Potty

Saturday, Tommy and I betray our university and drove up to Auburn, Alabama to go all-out redneck with our friends at the Alpha Psi Rodeo. We had a BLAST!

There was incredibly beautiful weather here in Alabama, sunny with a high of 78 and no humidity, a rare combination. We played games, watched bulls buck cowboys, hung out with some old friends and met a bunch of fun new people, and got to see Alan Jackson perform! His music is the soundtrack of my childhood and I had forgotten just how many great songs he has. Exhibit A:

There was one tiny hitch in the day, though. It's the problem with most outdoor events. Can you guess? Yes, I am talking about outdoor lavatories.

Is there anyone who actually enjoys using these plastic outhouses? I really doubt it but, hey, if they exist there will probably be a show for them on MTV soon. As for the rest of us, Port-a-Johns become a necessary evil, like paying for gas or eating salad. You have to do it but, Lord, how you don't want to.

I've put together this list of the 5 Stages of Using a Port-a-Potty so that you know that you'll know that you aren't facing this alone.

1. Denial
It's pretty early in the day and you've only started to feel a little tingle deep in your lower abdomen. "I don't really have to go." you think, "I'll just hold it and the feeling will go away."

2. Anger
At this point you have come to the realization that what you're feeling is definitely your body's desire to release fluids and you're mad about it. "Why did I drink so fast?! I know better than that! Why do I have this thimble-sized bladder? WHY, GOD? WHY??"

3. Bargaining 
The normal reaction to feelings of helplessness and vulnerability is often a need to regain control. 

• I'll slow down and maybe I can put it off for a little while.
• The line is so long... I'll just wait until it dies down.
• GOD, IF YOU TAKE IT AWAY I WON'T MAKE FUN OF THE CLEARLY WASTED GIRL EVER AGAIN! 

But, try as you may, none of this will help. Plus, we both know that you're going to laugh at the girl when she walks into the truck's side mirror for the third time.

4. Depression
This is the longest stage and occurs from the moment you start walking towards the bank of Porta Loos and will continue throughout the first use. Issues in this stage range from "It smells like a used diaper filled with Indian food!" to "Don't people aim????" and "There's no toilet paper... Twerk dry?" and in the worst case scenarios, "IT'S OVERFLOWING!!!!"

No matter how clean these toilet huts may be, they're still pretty gross. Especially when competing with 20,000 other people for a seat.

5. Acceptance 
Well, you've broken the barrier and there's no stopping you now. Feeling a little defiled, you've now come to terms with the fact that this is part of the experience when attending a 15-hour outdoor event. You realize that when it comes down to it, the smelly trips to the Port-a-Potty are worth all the fun you'll have and memories you're making. You also realize that the chances of getting your hands on some actual toilet paper are slim so you make sure that all future trips include a pocket full of napkins.

So don't worry if you're main concern is what you're going to do when it all hits the fan, you're in good company. Just try to put aside your apprehension and enjoy the day.

A little Alan Jackson to sing you out:

Hooray for Love!

Our sweet friends, Brooks and Mary Ann, are engaged! Hip-hip-hooray! hip-hip-hooray! 

Mary Ann and I met though a mutual friend when our combined awkwardness overflowed into a handshake/hug/high five. She's such a sweetheart, you guys! A year and a half ago we were sitting in biology class looking at pictures of Facebook of some cute boy she'd taken to a date party. 

Last June, Tommy would come home from class and tell me about some "frat guy who is always late to class. Probably because he's hungover."

In July, Mary Ann was spending her summer in Wyoming. Tom and I went to try the newly opened Steel City Pops and when I got to the front of the line I had another overflow of awkward. 

 "I've seen you on Facebook! You're Brooks!"  

the creepy stalker inside me blurted out.

After a very surprised/frightened look and a bit of conversation, we discovered that Brooks was the "hungover frat guy" (who is actually neither of those things) and the we are Mary Ann's friends who got married super young. That's usually something that weirds college-aged people out but Brooks' enthusiasm about young marriage was refreshing and told us that he was a different kind of dude. 

Mary Ann and Brooks are fun, sweet, God-fearing people and we are overflowing with joy over their engagement! To know the two of them as a couple is to know that you are in the presence of true love. They deserve all the happiness in the world and I just know that God is going to bless the crap out of their engagement and marriage! Congratulations, guys! Love you both!

Best Friend Date

I love my best friend! 

Today we went on a pretty scenic hike at Lake Nichol

We talked, climbed on the rocks, tossed pebbles, and dreamed of summer (thoughts fueled by the muggy 78 degrees) as we hiked all the trails that ran near the lake. It was so nice to spend a day with my BFF without any distractions.

We've got crazy eyes!

Afterwards we celebrated by eating lots of cheese and salsa at Lupe's, where gift cards are "abailible"

Thanks for inviting me out, Syd! It was sooooo fuuuuun! Love you!

Warrior Dash

Saturday, Tommy, Sydney, Kacie, and I geared up and ran Warrior Dash!

Mud, obstacles, and crazy hats galore! Made for a pretty exciting Saturday and very sore Sunday. It also proved what we all knew: Kacie is in great shape and I should run more often. Overall it was a successful run and the obstacles were pretty easy. Except for one.

There was one obstacle about halfway through that I was not stupid enough not be afraid of. Its basically a large arch made out of 2X4s. I got to the top and while I was waiting on the girl in front of me to climb down, realized exactly how easily I could slip and die. Suddenly, I lost it. I'm not one to be afraid of things like this but I started freaking out. The boards are about two feet apart, slick with mud, and too narrow to stand on but too wide for my smallish hands to grasp. I was 12 feet above ground with nothing between but crisp November air. At this point I was frozen and started yelling, "I DON'T LIKE THIS! I DON'T LIKE THIS!" over and over. Strangers started to try and comfort this crazy girl saying things like, "You can do it, sweetie!" and "Breathe, honey. You're almost there." [Ever notice how generous people are with the pet names when they're trying to be empathetic?] Eventually I did make it down and went through the other obstacles with ease, but I think I embarrassed Tommy! HA!

Except for my episode, Warrior Dash was a good time. However, I think I'll stick to Spartan Races. Personally, I find their obstacles more physically challenging without making me fear for my life.

sumo suits and catching up

Hello there!
Wow... its been over a year since I darkened the (virtual) door of this little blog. I didn't intend to abandon it, but life is pretty uneventful on this side of the screen. I hope this finds you well!
I spent the summer taking classes and am getting into the Teacher Education Program which keeps me pretty busy. I've found that my day-to-day goings on have been best reflected in a small journal.

But a few weeks ago my best friend told me that she missed reading my posts, so I guess I'll write one. It just so happens to be about her birthday party!

Sydney turned 21 on October 7th. She didn't know it, but we had been planning a surprise party for her for months! Honestly, on her birthday we all felt like complete jerks because we kind of blew her off and didn't offer to do anything special for her big two-one. Little did she know that we were actually the Three Best Friends That Anyone Could Have!!!

[I apologize from the crappy quality of the photos. I dropped the picture-taking ball and had to steal from instagram!]

 

You see, she mentioned that she would love to sumo wrestle a la The Office episode "Beach Day". We made it happen! And we totally wrestled in the front yard on a Monday night. Trust me, all the cool kids are doing it. 

It resulted in a lot of this:

It was super fun! And yes, she's continued to wear the suits in her daily life. One of the many, many reasons that I love her! 

Fellow party planners sandwiching the birthday girl! (At this point I was catching my plate on fire. NBD.)
I so enjoy planning parties for the people I love! It's wicked awesome!

Other than throwing sort of weird-themed ragers, we've done some pretty fun things over this past year. In March, Tom and I ran Spartan Sprint in Conyers, Georgia. I AM SPARTA! AROO!
In June, Tommy's sister joined the Mrs. club.
Oh! And we totally got to see the Backstreet Boys!! What?! Yes. It was fantastic. Fangirled big time over Nick Carter. Tommy also took me to see John Mayer, which was on my bucket list. Loved it! Except for the creepy old drunk guy who kept asking to take pictures with me. Why do creepy drunk guys have to make things so weird all the time?

I guess in the mundane-ness of my day-to-day, some pretty exciting things have happened. I should really do a better job of documenting it all. I'm going to try to get back into the swing of keeping up this little blog. However, that does not mean that I'm going to post regularly. And I'm not going to let myself feel bad about that. This semester I've had to learn to say, "no" to some things without feeling guilty and its been a hard lesson to learn. But more on that later.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you've been since we last spoke (typed)! Sending love from my glowing screen to yours!

the happiest 5K on the planet!

COLOR RUN!!!!!!! It was awesome, you guys!!!!!

Tommy, Brandon, Sydney, Mary Ann, Chandler, and I (collectively we call ourselves the Rainbow Ninjas) headed to Birmingham at 6am this morning to run our first 5K in the pouring rain that Hurricane Isaac is so sweetly dumping on us. On the way there I was being a bit of a Debbie Downer because of the general ickiness of the day, but in the end it made our color stick better and kept us cool! God knows what He's doing! Yay for rain!

Color Zones were loads of fun and we went through a couple of them twice, just to make sure we got what we came for. A Color Thrower gave me a face-full of blue so I came out looking like a scary female Braveheart/Avatar monster!

When we crossed the finish line it was time for the Color Celebration, which is exactly as much fun as the name implies! On the count of three everyone throws their paint powder into the air and creates a giant rainbow cloud! It was the most awesome and most terrible thing all at once. When everyone throws and is dancing and singing to Call Me Maybe, it a blast! But when you suck down a pound of dust because you're singing to Call Me Maybe, it's an awful coughing mess! All I could think was, "I'm going to die. At Color Run. How lame is that?!"

As you can see, none of us died due to extreme color exposure. Though we may have lost our sanity! HA!

Even in the rain, Color Run was super fun! It's coming to Tuscaloosa October 6 so get your tickets and try it out! I'm thinking of volunteering to be a Color Thrower.
How was your Labor Day?

*click here to see more of our goofy pictures

make this tonight!

Pinterest in constantly amazing me! And with that statement I have already lost all my male readers. HA! But seriously, I am constantly finding wonderful, magical things on that nifty site!
Between moving and starting school last week I haven't done any real cooking (because frozen pizza doesn't count) and we've eaten a lot of take out, which stinks because I really enjoy preparing meals.  We're mostly settled now and I am finally back in the kitchen! Woo! Last night I pulled two recipes from my pinboard for dinner and they turned out to be delicious! I'm not usually one to brag about my culinary (can you call it "culinary" if you use a Crockpot?) success, mostly because Tommy is my only judge and he risks his chances for getting the good lovin if he doesn't eat everything, but my BFF Sydney had dinner with us last night and she scraped her plate clean! That's what friends are for, to tell you if your cooking sucks.
Anyway, I wanted to share these recipes with you because they are finger licking good and super easy! Try them tonight and let me know how it goes!

Crockpot BBQ Chicken

This is a recipe I've made before and it's Tommy's favorite. I like to use Sweet Baby Ray's Sweet & Spicy BBQ sauce and tear the chicken into chunks right before it's served. 

Cheddar and Herb Biscuits

WOWZA! First time making these and they were heavenly! 

We also had our favorite side dish, garlic brussles sprouts that are Sydney's mom's recipe and not from Pinterest. I know, I know, as kids television taught us to hate brussles, but they are so yummy when cooked this way: 

Cut the brussels in half and saute them in olive oil and garlic over medium-high heat, I like to use two big ol heaping spoonfuls of minced garlic. When they have turned a bright green and the flat bottoms start to brown, remove them from heat and place on a foil-covered cookie sheet. Sprinkle with sea salt and bake until the tops start to turn brown around the edges, usually about 3-7 minutes depending on how hot your oven is. I just pop mine in with whatever else I've got cooking, like the biscuits last night, and watch them to make sure they don't burn.

That's it! Pretty simple and a huge pay off! I have chicken and biscuits left over for lunch today. Come on 12 o'clock! Let me know if you try out these recipes and how you like them. Have a lovely Tuesday!

i love festivals!

Last weekend Tommy and I went to the Kentuck Arts Festival with Syd and Lynda!
I love going to Kentuck every year and seeing all the cool art, but Tom had never been so I had to take him!

Let me say, I have always been a volunteer at the festival and got in free so I had no idea what everything cost. It was $10 a ticket to get in (not so bad), but they wanted $15 for a 3-piece chicken finger basket! What?!? And because there were no prices listed, we ordered two! We thought they would be about $5. Nope! Now we know to eat before we come!

Despite unintentionally spending a huge chunk of our money right off the bat, we had a really great day browsing through all the booths and checking out each artists unique style with good friends. I bought a cute little ring made from an old silver teaspoon! We got another cool something I can't tell you about because it's my dad's Christmas present! He is going to love it! Before we left we even got to see Kara's baby sister Anabelle at Justin's tent! I love his mixed media paintings! I'm determined to have them in my grown-up house.

See that stick in Tom's bag? Well he and Lynda decided that some of the "art" looked like something that could be done by a child or picked out of the backyard yet it was priced extreamly high. So they got a stick and Lynda bet Tom $10 that couldn't get someone to ask him where he'd bought such a beautiful "gnarled branch" before we left. We caught several people admiring it but no one said anything! But as were getting off the shuttle at our car I heard a woman whisper to her husband, "He bought himself a little tree! How nice! I wish I'd seen that!"
Score!

arg! a pirate party for me matey

My pretty friend Kara has moved to Pensacola for college...

We're all really sad and we miss her so much cause she's the shizzle and it's depressing when the shizzel leaves! BUT it did give me a chance to throw my first surprise party! Since she's going to Pensacola State the theme was...drumroll please...PIRATES!!!

(because apparently you couldn't figure that out from the title)

I had a very small budget for this party and did it all for under $20!

Pensacola Pirate pennant cupcakes

Of course there had to be a photobooth!
Wonderful Meghan let me borrow her set up and it was so much fun!
Here are a few of my faves:

**speech bubble chalkboard by Playing Grown Up