Simple Pleasures

I have been a little under the weather today, and I can't exactly pinpoint why. I woke up feeling really congested and with a headache at about 6:30 a.m. I stayed awake while Danny got ready for work, and I watched some television over a bowl of Cheerios. My head started to clear up around 8 a.m., so I laid back down to see if I could get some more rest. Miss Kitty snuggled in beside me on the bed and Daisy curled up on her doggie bed and we had ourselves an enjoyable slumber.

I started stirring around 10 a.m., which means that Daisy started stirring, too, and asking to be let outside. Of course, as Daisy and I got up, Miss Kitty continued her nap for several more hours.

Once I felt my feet were well under me and I wasn't going to suffocate from congestion anytime soon, I decided to make chocolate chip cookies. I bought a bag of chocolate chips to make a chocolate chip pie with for Thanksgiving, but that didn't happen (long story). So, the little morsels were staring me in the face just begging for some action. I gave in. Now, I have about four dozen cookies in my house that are too delicious for a pregnant gal to have within reach. My mission is to give them away tomorrow. For today, I will indulge in a few. After all, they have made me feel better!

SEC FOOTBALL COMMENTARY:

I am not an ESPN sports analyst, nor do I care to know all there is to know about college football (the details, anyway), but I am an avid fan. Being from the south, the SEC is the only conference worth a darn when it comes to football, and the ACC comes in second only because they do have some pretty good traditions in that conference (and I know too many Georgia Tech grads to not be at least a little bit interested). However, when you are an SEC football fan, no matter what team you cheer for, you are a die-hard fan. There is no room for fence-sitters when it comes to Jesus or SEC football in the south...that's just how it is.

Now, I cheer for the Tennessee Vols because my husband graduated from their law school, and I have a great respect for the university. I have also fallen in love with eastern Tennessee and, especially, Knoxville over the years. It is fun to poke at my friends who cheer for other schools and make Saturdays interesting with a bet here and there. Last year, Sarah and I (she cheers for Arkansas) made a bet over the Tennessee vs. Arkansas game, and I wound up having to wear her Arkansas shirt to school and say "Woo, pig souie (sp?)" in front of all of her classes. It was a fun, innocent, little rivalry that we had, and it made a fantastic memory that I will always cherish.

Most of the time, I can be found cheering for other SEC teams when they are playing games that don't affect me too much. I cheered for Georgia twice this year: once, when Mark Richt's entire team took the field after the first touchdown against Florida (absolutely classic!), and the second time when the seniors on the team planned for the blackout game (I even got a little teary-eyed when the players came out in their black jerseys...maybe it's the pregnancy hormones). I cheered for Arkansas a couple of times (Go piggies!), and I cheered for Auburn to beat Alabama.

However, there are some things I won't do. I will not, under any circumstances, ever cheer for a Steve Spurrier team. I respect the guy's trickery and strategy in coaching, but I don't like him. I harbor a great distaste for Florida to this day, and I am not too keen on South Carolina with Spurrier at the reigns. Most importantly, though, I WILL NEVER cheer for LSU.

After living in Louisiana, I have experienced what it is to be around LSU fans. They are the most obnoxious fans in the universe. They aren't fun to play around with about football; they are serious, and seriously rude. They just don't make college football a fun experience for anyone outside their little club. [I hope my dear friends in Louisiana who are LSU fans won't be offended, as I have had this conversation with many of them before.] That being said, they do have an exceptional team...a team that Tennessee has to face this coming Saturday.

In all honesty, Tennessee, to me, hasn't played well enough this year to even be in the SEC Championship game. They have gotten lucky on several occasions, and Phil Fulmer's name has been put through the mud around the Watson household numerous Saturdays. But, they have squeaked by and are facing the Tigers in a game I am almost too scared to watch. It would be much easier to watch Georgia play them, but the cards just haven't been dealt that way.

I am a Vols fan. I utterly despise LSU. But, I don't know that the Big Orange can take the purple and gold. We shall wait and see...

But, in the name of all things holy, I am praying that those sweet little Tennessee boys will get rowdy and get the job done. It would just please my heart to see a victory over those Tigers. I hope you all will join with us as we cheer for the good guys this coming Saturday.

"Good ol' Rocky Top (woo!), Rocky Top Tennessee!"