City Champs! Well, almost. . .

Friday night, Trip played for the 4th grade city championship, and what a game it was - triple overtime! Trip was clearly the best player on his team, and Marc and I were so glad we could cheer him on. Sadly, his team, the Volunteers, lost at the very end to the Commodores. Who knew that the best sports action in Athens, Georgia would be at the YMCA?

St. Louis

Every year, Marc and the students he advises attend the NACA conference. NACA is aimed at advisors and students who are involved in college programming boards, so there are showcases with lots of comedians, musicians and speakers. Then there is a marketplace where vendors and agents talk to the students about bringing their products to campus.

The guys from Reno 911!

Which one is the monkey?

Marc has a great group of students who serve on the University Union Board of Governors, and I enjoyed meeting them.

Marc's Kiddies

This year's conference was in St. Louis. And since I have never been to Missouri, I decided to join him for the weekend. I expected a downtown that would be a little quieter, since it was the weekend. But one with shops and resturants that we could enjoy. What we saw was very different.

The shuttered shopping mall - so sad!

St. Louis was a ghost town. We joked that I Am Legend could have been flimed in St. Louis since there was no one out and everything was closed. There was a very sad shopping mall that was closed down, and the library was shuttered. We did see a lot of high end lofts for sale, so maybe in three years it will be a different place, but for now it was dreary and empty.

Even the Library was closed down!

St. Louis is probably most famous for the Arch, which is magnificant. I would have liked to have taken the tram to the top, but it was $25 per person! I just couldn't justify spending $50 for a view of a dying city when I am saving money for a wedding!

So if you are looking for a vacation spot, I wouldn't recommend St. Louis.

Marc in a Tux!

We capped off a very busy week (and kick-started a very busy February) by attending the 2008 Celebration of Support. Well, Marc attended. I worked. But any day that Marc is in a tux is a good day! This picture is from the end of the evening, after I ran around the Atlanta History Center many times.

 

Sandy on a Saturday

It was a lazy Saturday for all of us in the McMotte household.

Sandy is very good at lazy.

Everest

Several weeks ago, we had a visitor. His name is Everest and he is a Great Pyrenees. Everest looks like a large white golden retriever, is very sweet and friendly.

Turns out he belongs to a neighbor - they had let him out and he made his way to our house. He arrived on our doorstep (literally) and slept in the pine straw in our front yard. The next morning we let him in and he felt right at home. We tried to call the number on his tag (disconnected) and Marc walked around the neighborhood asking if anyone recognized the dog. When no one did, Marc and Everest went to the Dog Park where Everest was a natural in the car and a big hit with the other dogs and owners. But still, no one recognized him. Marc brought him home and gave him a bath. Mid-bath, the owners rang the doorbell. Marc was sad, because he had fallen a little in love with this gentle giant of a dog.




This past weekend, Everest showed back up at our back door for a visit. This time, we had a current phone number and knew where to take him. Everest was soon reunited with his owner Steve.

Check out the size difference between Everest and Sandy!

Everest is welcome over anytime. Sandy may not feel the same – she does enjoy her only dog status – but we look forward to his next visit.

I'm a Rock Star!

Sunday we braved the cold and joined our friends Ed and Katherine to watch the Green Bay game. They lived in Wisconson while Ed got his Masters degree and since their beloved Bears were out of the playoffs, they adopted Green Bay as their team this year. We had a great time watching the game and meeting their dogs Max and Wrigley.

Wrigley Mirecki

And while the company was great and the food was fabulous, the highlight of my evening was Guitar Hero! It was so much fun. And while I haven't run out to buy one yet, the game and the guitar are getting serious consideration. I was a little apprehensive at first. . .

What am I doing?!?

But it turned out that I loved it!

For those of you who aren't familiar, Guitar Hero uses a "guitar" rather than using a standard controller. The guitar is modeled after a black Gibson SG. and you play with five colored buttons and a strum bar. That's a poor discription, so you can see one here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Gh-guitar-controllers.jpg.

Rock on!

Clean dog!

Sandy Nell went to the groomer on Friday, and as usual, she looks so adorable. They do such a great job. And she always comes home with the sweetest bows and neckerchief.

Sandy is a hit at the groomer - they always tease me about keeping her. I guess there are a lot of dogs that are a pain to wash and groom, but Sandy never barks or growls or whines. She just tries to kiss the groomer and is very patient.

Sandy has always been the perfect dog. And this isn't just a proud Mama talking - everyone who meets her agrees. How anyone could have abandoned her is beyond me. But I count my blessings that they did, because I have had the chance to adopt and love her.

National Championship

Ohio State lost. The McMotte household was not happy about it. . .

Reflections on 2007, Part Four

FOOTBALL! One of the best things about living in Athens is the proximity to my beloved Bulldogs. I was quite upset early in the season at our unemotional play and our ugly, ugly play on the field. But mid season, the team hit a turning point and we ended up with a fabulous season. If you watched the trouncing of Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl, you know what I am talking about.

Tailgating gets two thumbs up!

There was some great tailgating at John's campus apartment this year, and we owe him a huge thank you for his hospitality. Marc and I may have only gotten to stop by for an hour or two each Saturday, it was great relaxing with our friends. And we loved to have friends in from out of town for the games.

This year, Marc was in charge of homecoming, and in my biased opinion, it was the best homecoming in Georgia's history. Marc's parents were in town and our friend Ashley graced us with her fabulousness. I enjoyed watching from the sidelines with my handsome co-worker Matt as the king and queen were announced.



I only went to one away game this year - if you count Georgia/Florida as "away." My brother and I were in SSI with his family and had a good time at the game. We had great seats and the BEST parking spot (We were out of Jax in no time!)and of course, the UGA win topped it all off.


We are really hoping for a spectacular 2008 season. It's just nine short months away!

Reflections on 2007, Part Three

While we had a great time in 2007 in our travels, there was fun to be had here in Athens.

Marc's University Union students brought some fun entertainment to campus this year. Jenny and I were able to talk to Christian Finnegan about how skinny he was getting. I am sure that meeting us on his trip to Athens (His dad is a UGA Grad!) made it his best week ever.

We also were VIPs (not really, but we had the armbands!) for the Ying Yang twins. They put on an incredibly entertaining show, and I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. The people watching was great, too. Jenny and I sat in the back of the room and watched all the action - especially when the entire room started to "walk it out."

We enjoy our football pre-game activities, but did you know that here in Athens we tailgate for baseball, too? We only went to a couple of baseball tailgates in 2007 with the Thompsons, but hopefully 2008 will hold more tailgating for us.

Anne, Ashley, Jenny and Me having a Boybutant Blast

I was very fortunate to have a table at the Boybutante Ball this year, and shared it with three fabulous ladies. Simply put, we had a wonderful time! (Except for the part where I spilled my drink all over our table. But that's to be expected from clumsy me.)

Marc finished a Half Ironman and had a birthday, so what else was there to do but to celebrate?! So Marcfest was born. We have already been discussing Marcfest 08 (or Marcfest 2.0) Anouther big thank you to the Thompsons for the location and help with the planning and implementation of Marcfest. It was a perfect party for Marc - wings, Doritos, PB&J without crusts. And maybe a little liquid refreshment for toasting his accomplishment.






Oh, yeah, and we got engaged! Anne was lovely enough to celebrate by wearing a bridesmaid dress while we had a happy hour in the famous Thompson basement.





One more part, I promise. Next up, a year in UGA football.