Too Much of my Life is Going Undocumented!!!

I keep forgetting about blogging!!! So much has been happening in my life! I just got back from Los Angeles and having the time of my life. My roommate Brass lives in Pasadena, dad had Skymiles, so virtually all I had to pay for were souvenirs. It all worked out so perfectly. I spent New Year's Eve in LA.

I went to the Rose Parade which was AMAZING. I watch it every year on TV and finally made it there to see it live. It was so beautiful. It's so cool to see the ideas people come up with for the enormous floats made of organic materials.

I went to Santa Monica Pier . I just love the Pacific Ocean. It is so beautiful. Very different from the Gulf here. Of course, the pier itself was a wonderful place for people watching. It's a different world there!!!

I went to Disneyland for the second time. Although this time I was older and able to see beyond the illusions, I think it was even more magical. I think I really didn't see beyond the illusions, I saw the magnificence of them. I saw the joy it brought people and how it mystified children. It was still Christmastime in Disneyland which made it even more magical. Sleeping Beauty's castle was dripping with icicle lights and Main Street began with an enormous Christmas tree. The Haunted Mansion was decked out like The NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS!!!! One of my favorite movies. At the end of the day, there were fireworks. I think the show is one of the most spectacular things I've seen in my life. It was amazing. It really took me back to the magic of childhood and the beauty of Walt Disney's dream. Disneyland truly is one of the happiest and most magical places in the world. It's incredible what they do.

I experienced downtown LA and Olvera Street, the Hispanic version of Chinatown, for lack of better words. It was very cool and the food was so genuine and wonderful! I had taquitos with avocado sauce and horchata. Muy Muy delicioso!!!

And of course it was just awesome to visit Hollywood! It's so interesting to see how you react in celebrity situations. I've always said, "I'm not 'that girl' who screams and shakes and passes out when she sees a famous person." But you never really know how to react until you are in that situation. I actually did get really excited and speechless just seeing where places were filmed. Guess I'm still just getting to know myself! I got to drive down a road where the filming of a TV show was in process. I saw the Cinderella Story house, the place where the Office wedding was filmed, multiple houses in commercials, Mr. and Mrs.Smith house, and downtown Hollywood. Grauman's Chinese theatre, the handprints and stars, the Hollywood sign; it all seemed so surreal!!! *Sidenote--Hollywood at nighttime....SUPER interesting...hahaha

I went to a taping of the Price is Right!!! It was so cool!!! I was amazed at how small the studio was. No pictures from that because they take your camera AND cell phone away from you before you go in. They are super strict about the whole thing.

SO. In telling you all of this you would think, "Oh cool, she went to sightsee and visit her friend in LA." Well, yes and no. I did want to sightsee and visit, but my main motivation for making the trek to Pasdena was more than just a pleasure trip. It was a pilgrimage. I was following my boys--The Crimson Tide-in their quest for domination and victory. Being a measly freshman, I had no ticket to the game. I would never set foot inside of the Rose Bowl. However, I sat on a couch only a few miles away cheering my boys to victory. I cringed every time McElroy was sacked. I nearly had heart attack in the first quarter. I felt horrible for McCoy. I nearly cried when Dareus scored a touchdown. I yelled all of the cheers and sang the fight song every time we scored. I looked for my friends on TV. I cried when we WON. I laughed when the gatorade dump happened. I screamed, jumped, danced, ran. It was incredible.

This wasn't just a football team I liked winning a huge game. It was much more than that. It's people I go to school with. It's people who love crimson and houndstooth as much as I do fighting to show that we belong at the top.

At some places, they play football...at Alabama, we live it.

This is Alabama football. ROLL TIDE!!!!!!