The Palmer Toe

Sometimes it is hard to separate fact from family folklore. But in the Palmer family, we take much pride in the one, clubbed toe. The Palmer Toe is the one with the little dot on it, the second from the left. See the difference from the one on the right? All my sisters have it, my dad, my dad's dad... cousins... although I've never conducted an extensive survey. But the fact that my cousin email address is palmertoe@yahoo.com tells me that at least one does. Any Palmers want to send me pics of their Palmer toes? Maybe we should settle this once and for all...

Ryan, Grace, Julie, me

I see it! The Palmer Toe!

Clementine Ultrasound Pics

Wow. 18 comments on that last one. I think that's a record for me. Seriously, guy, thank you so much for showing your support. Sometime I'll write an entry about how much I love blog comments. And if you visit my blog ever and don't comment... well do it! Bloggers need to feel the love. I don't know what it is. Anyway, here's the album of pics from the ultrasound for the grandmas. Sadly the lady didn't include the money shot. Here's a pic from a carnival I went to on Friday with my friend Lorena and her boys. (I love those things!) It shows a good view of my growing belly at 20 and a half weeks.

It's a girl!!

Talk about the shock of the century. I was sure I was having a boy! But Devin called it. He's been feeling the girl vibe for a few days now. We're so excited! She was a naughty little one during the ultrasound. She kept squirming around and hiding her face whenever we tried to get a look. I think we're going to have our hands full with this one.

Ultrasound countdown... 19 hours

So tomorrow is the big day. Hopefully our little guy/girl isn't being shy so we can find out what colors to buy. Hey, that rhymed. I'm inspired to write a haiku all of a sudden.

The baby inside
It dances like butterflies
Hold still tomorrow
(That one was inspired by the fact that I have to drink 32oz of water in 10 minutes then hold it for an hour. I'll never make it.)

I think this sudden burst of artistic expression is a result of our first birth class that I (Devin was on a trip for school) went to last night. First I had to draw a picture of what I imagined the birth to be like. Then we watched the movie about a birth camp on the Black Sea where hippies go to give birth in the ocean, where the most clothing anyone wears is a headband. Then we practiced relaxation and visualized a "conscious birth". Let's just say I'm glad Devin was busy and will be there for next week's class about nutrition, a far more guy-friendly theme.

Vienna

We loved our 4 days in Vienna. We've been back for about a week but I've been bed-ridden with a European superbug, or maybe just a cold. Anyway, I wanted to get the pictures up and I'll post more details soon.

And we're back... Now for the run-down...We stayed in this great hotel right next to the Prater (big permanent carnival with rides on steroids... or maybe one of those new rave drugs, those rides were crazy). It was a fun atmosphere to walk through every night. Vienna is full of imperial majesty. If you love the royal-ness of Europe, Vienna is the place. We visited the Habsburgs' Palace (treasury, silver and china collection, royal apartments and Sissy museum). We visited the summer palace as well as the Belvedere Palace and art museum. We even went to an opera for 3 Euro! (We had to stand and we ended up sneaking out after an hour but, hey, 3 Euro well-spent.) We experienced the rich music history of Vienna at their House of Music museum, very cool. We wandered the streets, ate new food, rode the tram around and around and around to look admire the architecture. We visited the amazing Stephansdom cathedral... I hope I'm not forgetting anything. The greatest thing about it is all the new things we are now interested in that we had no idea about before. I have Wikipedia-ed like no other. And Devin and I find ourselves discussing all sorts of new and ed-u-ma-cated-sounding topics. Vienna is truly a very beautiful city that could keep us entertained for weeks.

Vienna2008

Prague II

Dobry Den! We're now starting the second leg of our trip. We made it to Vienna tonight and we're really excited to start exploring tomorrow. We loved Prague and felt so at home there. We saw so many beautiful sights and enjoyed the atmosphere so much. We wanted to post the album so you can see what we've been up to. The weather kept treating us with beautiful snow fall. :) (...trying to be positive. Actually, the weather wasn't perfect but didn't really bother us. The city is beautiful in the snow as well.) The goulash and dumplings were amazing! It'll be my new crock-pot meal of choice for the next ward potluck. So yummy.

Prague

Prague I

Hi Everybody. We're just finishing up our 3rd day in Prague. This place is amazing. We're having a great time running around the city, seeing the sights. We flew out of Atlanta Friday night about 2 hours before tornados struck the city. After an all night flight we landed in Amsterdam and then to Prague. We had personal tv's on the flight with a huge movie and tv selection so we basically missed an entire night of sleep. (saw Juno- loved it!) So we've had a wicked time (as in bad) adjusting to the timezone but after 3 days, we're finally there. Saturday night after naps we went out and found an Easter festival in the old town square. It is amazing. The architecture is truly incredible. Then we headed over to the Charles Bridge for a stroll along the river and view of the city. Prague is very deserving of its name of "the city of a thousand spires". The we ate at a cool little French bistro. Sunday we went to church at the mission home/office/chapel. I love going to church in different places. We got to meet a few of the members and feel the same spirit we feel at church at home. Then we walked around the Jewish quarter, explored the streets and basically wandered... I could get lost in this city for years and never get bored... anyway... gatta run. More to come later....

Athens

During the Morris visit one of my favorite days was when the girls went to Athens, GA. It is one of the cutest little university towns (UGA). We wandered a downtown hopping with college kids, looked at the many bulldog statues and had lunch at a quirky restaurant. Then we took a driving tour of the Antebellum Mansions... you wouldn't believe the frat and sorority houses there. Lucky guys. Then we went to the outlet mall for some great girl shopping. My sweet mother-in-law, Joan, bought me these maternity jeans. I love them like my unborn child. Well, maybe not that much but who wouldn't love a pair of jeans that makes your butt look good, even when you're pregnant?
And for fun, here's the latest belly shot. Okay, so maybe I'm sticking it out a little. But I am starting to show, finally, at 16 weeks. Although it is still hard to tell the difference between baby and gut.

Photo Download Avoidance

I don’t know why downloading my photos is so hard for me to get around to doing. I have so many to share but in the meantime, here’s a tag from Laura and I think this is a fun one.
What I was doing 20 years ago: charging the neighborhood kids a dime each to jump on my tramp. Playing their Nintendos for free…
15 years ago: Finishing up my very tumultuous 2-year cheer leading career, looking forward to high school and running an intense campaign for class president against TJ Paxton.
10 years ago: Waiting for graduation and the Celestial Kingdom (aka BYU), having a blast with my girlfriends, working on the Desert Princess as a waitress, still thinking that my room decorated with a disco ball and watermelon/crow/sheep toll paintings was cool.
5 years ago: I was on my mission. Had about 1 month in the field, loving my trainer and area, learning Spanish, experiencing daily miracles that filled me with excitement and the Spirit. A very exhilarating time.
3 years ago: Working at XanGo, buying a gigantic bed, feeling sick of boys, discovering my passion for family history and starting my 4-month family history obsession. Looking for Devin but he was still 8 months away.
1 year ago: On my belated honeymoon to Maui!
This year so far: Pregnant! Enjoying visits from both families, planning trip to Prague and Vienna (2 week countdown!)
Yesterday: Trying to catch the bus but it drove right past me so I had to walk, how pathetic is that? Enjoying a beautiful spring-day walk through downtown and campus.
Today: Contemplating a Pilate's class after work, I might try a new cucumber soup recipe from my sister, Teresa, catch some Idol and a little Sports Center.
Tomorrow: My first prenatal visit with my midwife, Costco run.
This year: Having a baby! Scheming a bunch of exotic trips to take before I’m tied down, internship for Devin, serving in the church and building new relationships.
I tag anyone that needs some blog fodder. Have fun!

Morris' in Town!

We have been so lucky lately to have our families come and visit. This week Devin's mom, sister and niece were here. We did so many fun things around the area and had a blast. Little Lucy is so much fun. I'll do a recap next post but I'm really hungry right now so this one is going to be our food recap. Devin's family and I share a fetish of eating at fun places, generally Food Network suggestions. It is a great way to really get to know the local culture and tastes of a new place. Since the kitchen and I don't get along very well right now, we ate out ALOT... and we loved it.
1. The famous Esso Club in Clemson for Meat-n-3. 2. Asheville's Early Girl Eatery, perfect girl food. 3. The Mellow Mushroom, our favorite pizza joint of all-time. 4. Atlanta's Flying Biscuit, fried green tomatoes and coke salmon. 5. SuperTaco! The only place for real Mexican food here. Conveniently located 300 yards from my office. 6. Chick-Fil-A Cafe at the Atlanta History Center. 7. All you can drink coke products at Coke World. 8. World's largest drive-in, the Varsity. Not pictured: Five Star Day Cafe, gourmet soul food in Athens, GA. Dekalb International Market, my new favorite place to be. You just have to experience it.

Palmer Weekend.

Last weekend Mama and Papa Palmer came out to have the true Clemson experience. We had a blast and showed them everything our little corner of the world had to offer. We visited the falls, drove around the lakes, looked a lake houses, explored the curious, forgotten mill town of Newry, ate at Mac's drive-in and the Esso club, visited Biltmore, shopped for maternity clothes (thanks, Dad!), went to a basketball game, explored Greenville, and just had a wonderful time. My brother-in-law, Nathan, had a lay-over in Atlanta about the time my parents were leaving town so we all met up for dinner in downtown Atlanta at Gladys Knight's restarurant. It was amazing soul food. (Fried chicken and waffles, anyone?) I think we were the only white people there... a good sign, I'd say.

Ramblings

I'm always hard up for blog posts while I get around to uploading pics. My parents were here last weekend so I have all sorts of goods for the blog... We had an awesome time. I'll post the highlights tomorrow hopefully. Anyway, just wanted to let all my seasoned mom friends out there know that I am throwing open the lines for all baby advice. Anything you wish you would have known, books I should read, best baby products, things I have to have, things I don't have to have... I need some help here... anything that's on your mind.

The Big News...

So Devin and I were driving into Atlanta on Saturday to pick up my parents at the airport... It was about 6 in the morning. We were listening to a Fox sports talk radio program based out of LA. Somehow I got the idea it would be comical to try to get on national radio talking about sports. So I called in about 50 times until I got through and the guy put my on! So I'm talking to this guy about some NBA, Jazz argument that Devin was feeding me from the driver's seat. All in all, it was quite exhilarating. I discovered I get a great adrenaline rush from trying to pretend I know what I'm talking about and ending up probably sounding like an idiot for all of the truckers of America to hear. Anyway, that's my story.

And we got this picture taken last week. ...

Trip to Tennessee

Weird that I'm close enough to go to TN for the day. But that's what we did this past weekend. We drove up to Gatlinburg at the entrance to the Smokey Mountain National Park (if you look at the website, see if the bear holding a bouquet freaks you out like it does me) and Pigeon Forge, home of the one and only Dollywood, Dolly Parton's personal theme park. Since we're close enough to get Dollywood commercials now and again, we just had to see it for ourselves. (Sound bytes of Dolly singing "Babes in Toyland" will haunt me for the rest of my life, trust me.)Anyway, both cities were hideous strips of tourist traps and attractions... but as we were exploring I found myself often thinking "that would be so cool to do!" So now we have our list for next time. Here's a few pics.



Check back soon for some new, big, breaking news just for my blogger friends...

Iron Chef Bunchberry- Battle: Peanut Butter

***I've turned into a horrible blogger. It's like New Year's Resoultion in reverse. But my sister-in-law agreed to let me rip off one of her entries until I can post one of my own.***

So now, in the words of my sister-in-law, Sara Cardon, this is our Iron Chef Adventure. Enjoy!

One of my most favorite things we did this Christmas while in Boise, was my family's first attempt at doing "Iron Chef"-- a cooking competition on Food Network that we are all addicted to. First, we divided into two teams of three each, with the most competent chefs as the leaders-- Team Joan: my mom, me, and Jonathan

and Team Sarah: which consisted of my sister-in-law Sarah, my brother Devin (who will here-on be known as the Pessimist for continually saying, "We're doomed!! Oh great!! We're doomed!!") and my sister Whitney.

My dad and little brother Taylor were the judges, along with two other "unbiased" taste-testers from our home ward. Here they are at the Judge's Table.

If you've ever seen the show, you'll know how the basic competition goes, but after reading this you may think my family is considerably bizarre and fanatical. However, we received our "secret ingredient" just moments before the competition began-- PEANUT BUTTER!!--which must be used and feature in EVERY succulent dish. We then had to quickly come up with three dishes we could cook and plate in 1 hour or less-- NO recipes....okay, okay, we were each allowed one. We ran frantically to the grocery store where we were given 20 minutes (extra) and $15 to shop for additional ingredients. Once back into "kitchen stadium" if you will, the madness broke loose. Six chefs trying to create six different dishes in ONE kitchen (one stove top, 2 ovens, one microwave, etc.) plus the Luce going nuts that all of a sudden four of her new best friends were no longer paying attention to her, was total CHAOS!!

But miraculously, the deed was done!! Each team completed three seriously delicious dishes!! Not one fire, nor mishap, nor disgusting dish came out of that kitchen (you can see the aftermath of dishes though).

Although I try not to create monstrously long blog entries, I believe this event merits one (even if it is just my parents reading it). So, here is a run-down of the courses for each team: Chef Joan: 1)Coconut Shrimp with sweet and sour peanut butter dipping sauces, 2)Thai Chicken Fettuccine with Peanut Butter sauce, and 3) Chocolate Peanut Butter Molten cake with vanilla ice cream. As for Chef Sarah: 1)Apple-Peanut Butter-Raisin baklava, 2)Stir-Fry Stuffed dinner Crepes with Peanut Butter Sauce, and 3)Monte-Cristo Peanut Butter Sandwiches with Whipped Cream and Bananas. All of it was fantastic!! How would the judges ever determine a winner?!? In the end, it came down to little Taylor's scores-- the pickiest eater of them all, and though I'm sad to admit it, we were beat by PBJ. Little Taylor gave the PBJs a perfect 10 for taste, plating, and originality. Originality?!? I know, I know. Luckily, we all had a blast despite there being any winners or losers, and my mom and I have sworn to avenge ourselves this Thanksgiving at Iron Chef South Carolina. If your family is looking for something new to do next Christmas, give this competition a whirl....just hire someone to come and do the dishes afterwards.

Christmas Baby!!!

We spent this year in Boise with the whole Morris clan. We partied like crazy and it was so much fun to be with everyone. The best part was our Christmas baby... Lucy! Our 1 year old niece is a ton of fun and was constantly getting mauled by her aunts an uncles.

I sneak a hug while Lucy is distracted with the phone.

Double kisses from her uncles while she looks at her Christmas book.

Best of all she loved us to chase her around the house or dance around her singing "Elmo's World". Adults do the darnedest things. I hope she's enjoying her space now because we definitely didn't give her any. Poor thing!

Snowshoes!

Christmas in Boise this year was a blast. More to come on the whole 2 weeks in a bit. But I have 5 min to post something and a couple pics from our New Year's Day adventure. We went up into the mountains with Devin's parents and tromped around in the snow for awhile. We snowshoed into some beautiful hot springs... still too cold for swimming in the 11 degree weather. I forgot how much I love to go snowshoeing. Fun day!

Feliz Navidad!

I know, I know. I'm sorry to get it stuck in your head. I'm not the greatest title-thinker-upper. Last night, in addition to being a horrible daughter and totally forgetting my dad's birthday (although I did make up for it by finding him a $35 round-trip ticket to come out and see me), we had a great Christmas party with everyone from the ward that spoke Spanish. We all brought Latin food (pupusas, yum! Thanks, Alma!), played Catch Phrase in Spanish and had a white elephant gift exchange with ornaments. And what's a party without lots of chanting? (STEAL, STEAL, STEAL, STEAL) The kids had a great time, too.

Lorena, Laura, Me, Carmen... Kristin and the kids making angels... Ornament gift exchange.

Congratulations, Anna!

We are so happy to have met Anna just as her stars were aligning. She had been searching for what God wanted her to do for about a year, visiting churches, researching religions... she met Caleb about 8 months ago, a convert himself. She and Caleb studied together through the months. We met them at church about 2 months ago during her first visit to church and had them over for dinner. I didn't know what to expect but I certainly didn't expect to find out that Anna, unbeknownst to her, already had a testimony of the restored gospel of Jesus Christ and deep understanding of many of the doctrines. We brought in the sister missionaries and 1 month later she was baptized. Devin was able to perform the baptism, a very sweet experience. Anna is the most excited, knowledgeable, acclimated new convert I've ever met. She has already made such a wonderful contribution to the congregation. Anna and Caleb have been such wonderful friends to us here. Pics coming soon...

Thanksgiving Break

No turkey here. Thursday we drove down to St. Augustine, FL and spent the afternoon on the beach and wandering the streets. St. Augustine is the oldest city in America and site of the fountain of youth. It was very cool. We found all these dead sharks on the beach which was kind of freaky. In the city, we walked around the old fort (because we're too cheap to pay to go in the fort), ate dinner at and English pub, and had our picture taken by a homeless man in the park. (The whole time I'm thinking, "please don't run away with the camera". That's the Thanksgiving spirit, Sarah...)

Friday we went to 3 parks at Disney World: Animal Kingdom, MGM Studios and Epcot. We love Disney World. It was the funnest day. Devin knew exactly where to go and what to do since he's a seasoned Disney World vet. I loved the new Everest ride and the Tower of Terror.

Saturday we got up early and drove to Crystal River, FL. We hopped on a boat and went out snorkeling with the manatees in a spring. During the winter, manatees migrate from the gulf to warmer waters inland where the springs keep the temp around 72 degrees. The manatees are these giant, blubbery, sea creatures that act like little puppies. They'll come over to you and roll over so you can scratch their bellies. It's the craziest thing. They were all around us. We had the time of our lives. We also came face to face more than once with these scary looking tarpon fish. They're about 4 feet long and don't mind coming up close. That was wacky. Then we went back to Gainesville and watched the Cougars beat the Utes, the Tigers beat the Gamecocks and the basketball Cougs put up a pretty good fight against the Tarheels. It was a nice way to relax after so much action.

Funny Guy...

I don't know what it is about guys. Is it so bad that we want to document our vacations and share our memories? Devin gets so sick of me trying to line him up in front of every landmark we see. So in rebellion he has started making goofy faces at me every time I try to take his picture. Then he laughs his head off when I look at the picture afterwards and see his "smile".
Running away from me so I can't retake...
Laughing at me for being so determined to get the shot I want...
I give up.

Biltmore

So pretty much anyone that comes to visit from now on will get a trip to the Biltmore. Cousins Justin and Kira, as our 1st guests, we able to go with us this week for our first look at the mansion. This place is amazing. It is the largest private residence in America. It was built by a Vanderbilt around the turn of the century and has been fantastically restored. I'm sure that place has payed for itself 1000 times considering what they charge to go in there. But it was worth it. We went on a candlelight tour of the house. They had live Christmas music performances, Christmas trees, blazing fireplaces and yummy wassail samples (a privilage we grossly abused, did you have to ask?). The drive up was incredible. The pictures don't do it justice (sticking my camera out the window as we drive by at 80mph). The mountains looked kind of like a giant head of brightly colored cauliflower. Full album.

A Match Made In "Heaven"

Shock. Disbelief. Incredulity. All good words to describe the collective mood of Clemson fans as we somberly filed out following a gut-wrenching 20-17 loss to Boston College Saturday night. Fortunately, I've been here before... lots of times. Game 6 of the 1998 Finals, who can forget Michael Jordan's last great act? I certainly can't. Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS, does the name Bartman ring a bell? Those are perhaps the most famous (or infamous) examples but I feel like I've been a part of more heart-breaking losses and catastrophic collapses than the average sports fan should have to endure in one lifetime. Yet here I sit, reflecting on yet another cruelly disappointing hand dealt by the sports world. Left to wonder if the "thrill of victory" will ever feel quite as sweet as the "agony of defeat" does bitter. And yet like a lemming making his annual death march to the sea, seasons pass and inevitably my "hope springs eternal." Well, enter Clemson. For those of you out west, you probably aren't aware of this but here is a brief resume of Clemson's football over the past few years as told by a local beat-writer.

"But as great as life must be for Boston College right now, the bigger story in this game has to be a Clemson crew that, once again, saw its stomach punched, its emotions gutted, and its heart crushed by yet another late-season mindbender of a loss that leaves souls numb and leaves grown men shaking their heads in disbelief.

It would be cold and merciless to catalogue and list the many miserable moments that have enfolded Clemson football during the Tommy Bowden era. Like clockwork, the Tigers annually display their considerable talent and show just enough to offer the promise of something special, only to become Charlie Brown to an opponent's Lucy at the precise moment when a conference or division crown is there for the taking. Saturday night against Boston College--another program with an uncanny knack for failing to grab the brass ring once it appears in plain sight--Clemson found itself in a test of nerves against the equally sweaty-palmed Eagles. Two teams with tortured gridiron histories traded special teams adventures; bad sacks taken by quarterbacks; untimely penalties committed; passes dropped; and all manner of other football foul-ups. A Clemson team that had been so thoroughly dominant and devastating over the previous four weekends suddenly played tight and tense when a big prize came within reach. Boston College--who started the season strong but then drifted into mediocrity over the past one and a half months--didn't fare any better than Clemson for most of the night. This contest would come down to the final, fateful, fear-filled minutes. One team would try to lose and fail; the other would try to lose and succeed.

Clemson proved to be the more "successful" team.

Forget the last-second sack on Clemson quarterback Cullen Harper, which knocked the Tigers out of comfortable field goal range with just five ticks left in regulation and the home team trailing by three. The moment when the Tigers lost the division title came a few plays earlier. Harper--the author of a storybook season under center--threw a letter-perfect long ball to veteran receiver Aaron Kelly with 42 seconds left. Kelly--open at the goal line--saw the ball clang off his hands. In a game that wasn't won with excellence so much as it was lost by failing nerves, Aaron Kelly made the "big play" for Clemson. But don't blame Kelly too much. An entire Clemson team that had been steamrolling ACC opponents played emotionally straitjacketed football the entire night. BC did so as well. The actual victim of a late-game mistake was irrelevant on this night, because in a flop-sweat festival such as this one, someone was likely to lose this nailbiter before anyone won it.

College football's eternal ability to provide the cruelest and most heartbreaking moments in sports became all too apparent once again on a sad and sorrowful night in Clemson. In a mystery that defies all logical explanation, the fickle finger of fate once again ambushed a team of Tigers that deserves a great deal of empathy and compassion after another gridiron nightmare unfolded before their very eyes."

No wonder I feel so at home here, this team is perfect for me.

Final Score: CURSE 27 (years and counting) DEVIN 0

Kickin' It On The Hill

Hi y'all, it's me...as in blogger me. Yes, Devin too has a cyber-identity. So I've been asked by my wife to make my "first contribution" to the blog. We'll see if this gets a very good response from the web-masses out there, but I'd say the chances are that Sarah will be posting again soon. So the moral of the story is don't get scared away by my ramblings here.

ANNNYYYWAY, so we went to our second to last Clemson home game today. We've been hearing from some our friends who were Clemson undergraduates that to truly experience a home game you had to sit on "The Hill" for at least a quarter or two. Being the adventurous peeps that we iz, we tried it out for a change today. It was fantastic! We got to see the players line up at the top of The Hill prior to the game and then rub the rock and run down onto the field. We were close enough that we were able to smack them on their helmets and shoulder pads as they ran past us onto the field. You know, football stuff. It was fun, you wouldn't believe it but Sarah was really getting into it. She was yelling at some of the Clemson players, trying to get them all fired up. She's quite the closet sports fan. I believe there will be some pictures of all of this posted with this entry, so hopefully that will illustrate what I am trying to describe here. We spent the whole first half on The Hill with all of our freshman friends before heading up to our normal seats for the second half. I would have stayed longer, but I lost feeling in my lower back from standing on an incline for an hour and a half. It was fun to chat with my MRED buddies in the second half, but I did miss hearing about all of the latest fraternity pranks and sorority gossip that we got all caught up on in the first half. Oh well, maybe we'll be so bold to try it again next week. Speaking of which, Clemson gets Boston College at home, winner goes to the ACC Championship game. I'm soooooooo excited! Rumor has it that College Gameday is going to be coming to Clemson for the game, since the Michigan/Ohio State game lost all of its luster courtesy of Wisconsin and Illinois. We'll see what happens, but I've decided that if Gameday comes, I'm going to make a sign that says something cheezy like "Nothing Could Be Finer Than Gameday in Carolina" with a big ole Tiger Paw on it, or maybe "BYU Fans: So This Is What National Exposure Feels Like!!!" or something like that. Send along any suggestions you might have and watch for Sarah and me next Saturday morning. That's right, I'm sure Sarah will be there right alongside me, closet sports fan, remember? You know what the funny thing about all of this is? I can see exactly what's gonna happen before it even does. I'm gonna get all of my hopes up and Clemson is gonna lose on some heart-breaking play next week. But then again this has been a pretty wacky year for college football...maybe all of these upsets have reversed the biggest curse of them all, THE DEVIN CURSE.

But even if all else fails, at least the Gators can't repeat as champs. Ha!

GO TIGERS!!!

Tea Party! Happy 22, Nat.

One of my favorite places to celebrate is at the Grand America Hotel in Salt Lake City for their afternoon tea. My mom and I timed our trip to Utah last month to fall on Nat's 22nd birthday. We decided a tea party would be the perfect way to celebrate. For those of you that haven't been there, it's the best. They have a spot set aside for you in their front lobby, set with china and silver. You pick out your flavor of tea or hot chocolate and they bring it to you in your own teapot. Then they bring out a tray full of little sandwiches and scones with creme and jam. Then they wheel out a pastry cart and you get to choose 3 pastries for dessert. You're pretty much stuffed by the end. We had a great time.

Love this picture? The waiter brought out a little ball and put it in this glass then poured water on it and it turned into a little flower. It acts like a green tea bag. Does anyone know if green tea is "legal"? Please say yes because as you can tell from the picture, it's a little too late.