Rome Beer Fest: It's For The Kids!

So this was supposed to be my Thursty Thursday post, but best laid plans etc. ANYWAYS. So last weekend my trip to Baltimore got postponed at the very last minute, luckily my mom had an extra ticket to the Rome Beer Fest! It's a FUNDRAISER a fundraiser for the arts. as if I needed motivation to drink beer. 

The weather couldn't have been better, the sky literally looked like Andy's room in Toy Story. The beer was fantastic. The live music was fantastic. We made friends with a butterfly. It was the most fun! 

Scaly Slimy Spectacular

OKAY SO GUYS. My mom works for a company that does cash register + inventory software, SO WE GOT TO GO TO ZOO ATLANTA. We got a sneak peek of the Scaly Slimy Spectacular! Okay. It was way too cool. I completely recommend it. You should go. I'll go with you. I love the zoo! (if that doesn't make it clear, I'm just excited + I didn't get anything to write this, but I am totally up for Zoo perks.)

I walked up to this guy + he looked right at my camera. Posing. He wanted his picture made, obviously.

They have this new video game where you answer trivia questions + build your own super reptile like pokemon. It's adorable + obviously fun for all ages, since my mom didn't want to leave until she finished her reptile. SPEAKING OF my mom. 

This anaconda was trying to escape. He was ready to get out of there, all Harry Potter style. Like everyone kept checking to make sure he didn't have a way out. Also he was standing like six feet off the ground. obviously, he wasn't too worried about buns, hun.

They also have these super cool new thing where it's a tablet + you can pick the exhibit you're looking at + learn all of the facts. Maybe I'm a super nerd, because I was totally enthralled. I just really dig learning. So, there's that. 

They weren't there yet, BUT THERE ARE GOING TO BE ALLIGATORS! I think they're pretty cool. PLUS THE GIANT TURTLES are getting a new place to hang.  Guys. This exhibit is way better than the old reptile room. My next mission is to meet an elephant. I'll keep you guys up to date on how that process is going. Have you been to the zoo lately?!

Fri-YAY

Guys. Today is a great day. It's supposed to be 85 degrees, I'm wearing a shirt that says "mermaids have more fun" + my horrorscope today says:

 "You might think about spontaneously purchasing an airline ticket to satiate your craving for adventure now that the Moon is camping out in your 9th House of Journeys. But this wanderlust is not simply about getting out of town; you have a powerful longing to experience something outside of your current reality. Your ability to create a fantasy to your liking works in your favor today. It doesn't matter if you can't take time off to go on a wild safari or a shopping excursion in Milan; you can travel to the distant edges of the cosmos and back without ever having to leave home." 

so obviously today is a Fri-YAY. also am I the only one who calls it a "horror-scope" or....? Anyways. Since I have had a week's worth of a writers rut, Melissa totally helped me out with today's post. Here's what I've been pinning lately!!

1. Helene's Instagram Challenge -- even though I cheated yesterday + it was only the second day..
2. These free brushed fonts from He & I 
3. Planning that next trip to Europe around beer seems like a good idea to me....
4. I love the Free People blog + their Monday quotes
5. TASTY FRENCH FRIES THANKS TO MICHELLE #whateverImgettingcheesefries
6. I really need these fancy arrowhead necklaces. all of them

ALSO. IF YOU'RE NOT FOLLOWING ME ON THE TWITTER (hey ps why not? it's a party!) I discovered this yesterday + died. 

HOW CUTE IS JT WHEN GARTH ACTUALLY COMES OUT? DID YOU SING THE THIRD VERSE? fun fact: I've been known to harass sass people who cover that song live + don't sing the third verse.... What's up with you guys? Are you as ready for the weekend as I am? 

5 Reasons You Should Go On An EF College Break Tour

**update** First of all, thanks so much everyone for reading and appreciating my honest words. We did so well that EF not only cancelled my referral code, but took away all of the credits I had earned from actual people I knew and this post. They even updated their terms of service. I see that while I was trying to figure out a solution, someone else was sending their referral code, which apparently hasn't been cancelled, so I can't earn credit for my opinion, but someone can use my opinions to make money off of, real cool EF. real cool. I'm going to leave this up, because I genuinely enjoyed the trip, and you know, apparently still want them to make money off of my honest opinion. More so because I do want there to be an unbiased, very much so not paid for review of the trip. Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions, but I can no longer provide my referral code. For what it's worth, they never contacted me regarding this post, asking to take it down or anything, because it's clearly driving people to take the trips, they didn't tell me they were cancelling my code, and they took away what I had already generated. **

Okay, up front. I was zero percent compensated by EF College Break for this. I am more than willing to share my referral code with anyone who wants to book a trip (I'm not going to include it in this post because I have a feeling it's against the rules I agreed to when I booked my first trip. side note, does anyone ever actually read the "terms + conditions" or do we all just agree? Do you ever wonder if we're like, unknowingly signing over our first born because we didn't want to read them?)

ANYWAYS. When I first stumbled upon EF College Break, through a Facebook ad of all places, I googled the crap out of it. I couldn't find a single trip review that wasn't on their blog. Not that I don't buy those opinions, just that it seemed weird that nothing was on the regular Internet, you know? Positive or negative. Then I vowed that I would blog the living daylights out of my trip so the Internet would know. It's my duty, right? So this is what I got out of my trip + why I will absolutely be going again. 

I 100% stole this picture from facebook. please don't sue me.....

Traveling Solo for maybe just the flight over // I didn't have anyone to travel Europe with me. When I booked the trip I was in a bad place + just needed anything to look forward to. I read all of the posts on their blog about "50% of our travelers sign up alone, 0% travel alone." I thought that was the corniest thing I had ever heard, until I got off the plane in Amsterdam. I literally made friends when I found the people waiting for the bus. That's it. Granted, I can talk to a wall, but I didn't feel like I was forcing anything + I was so pumped to make new friends. We even still chit chat on Facebook today (hey guys, glad you're reading this!) about how we're going to try to go on more trips. I think it helps that we all obviously had that wanderlust gene. 

BOAT TOURS IN AMSTERDAM

Fantastic day-to-day events // To be honest, I wouldn't have known where to begin if I was planning the entire trip by myself. I made a list of things that I absolutely had to see, then followed the planned excursions + optional add on adventures. I could not have possibly found the tour guides that we had on my own. From what I understand, EF is really serious about the people that they hire, and they're great about it. I've talked about our tour guide in London (remember? "what the front door?!"). We had equally fantastic tour guides in every city. Super knowledgable, fun, + not afraid to go off the beaten path. They were great. Honestly. I couldn't say enough nice things about all of our guides. I never once felt like I was drudging through a history class with a monotone professor who lived with the dinosaurs. 

Monthly payments for the win // Oh, you have three grand to drop on a trip today? Well, good for you, want to take me too? I know I didn't have a cool couple grand laying around when I decided to go. I did make a bigger down payment (because last year I didn't owe the IRS money...) then I had totally manageable monthly payments. So I paid off my trip month by month rather than magically being good at money management. It's super empowering to be able to pay something like that off, by the way. It's a steal too. My entire trip was less than I would have paid for a flight to Amsterdam and back. 

this has nothing to do with our tour director because I didn't plan this post while I was there so my photos don't reflect it.

The Tour Directors are the bomb.com // Along the trip we crossed paths with a couple other tour directors, obviously none of them were as kickass as ours (his name was Adam. he's fantastic! I would take a tour 100% just because he's the director.) They are amazing. Just like with the tour guides, they are super selective + only hire the best of the best. I'm sure that if we had a lame tour director who wasn't all about, well I don't know anything but us having a kick ass trip, we wouldn't have had a good trip. Adam wanted to make sure we loved it + had a blast + I don't think we could have had a better director if we tried. 

BECAUSE YOU WANT TO TRAVEL + YOU NEED TO TRAVEL // I have the bug. I have the wanderlust bug bad y'all. I want to go again yesterday. Obviously since I've blogged about wanderlust at least once a week since I've been back. I bet you're tired of hearing it. I wouldn't have been able to realize that dream without the folks at EF + so I cannot say enough good things about the trip. They recently bumped the max age to 27 -- so GO! OH BETTER -- LET'S PICK A TRIP + GO TOGETHER! 

Have I convinced you yet? Do you want to talk about it more? You should totally shoot me an email or stalk me on any other social media outlet (you can see some of my favorite pictures on the instagram machine...) Have you picked out a trip yet? I'm daydreaming of Greek Isles or Thailand or you know, a casual month in Australia + New Zealand. Again. 100%. EF didn't ask me to write this (guys they didn't even pick my pictures on insta to regram, that kinda made my inner blogger sad. I thought I instagrammed awesome pictures. #kaseygoestoeurope.) I just honestly think it was the best decision I have ever made. Hands down. Are you ready to go on an adventure with me?

ALSO. Did you miss my Europe posts? Catch up here:
London
Paris one || two || three
Amsterdam

5 Companies Who Should Sponsor Kasey At The Bat

I've seen Sarah do this post more than once + I think that I've said out loud more than once "you know, xyz should really sponsor my blog, because I love it + I bet I could convince my blogpeople to love it too."

TRAVEL COMPANIES // Hey guys. I love to travel. I just went to Europe + I have the bug bad. I took a bunch of pictures + they're pretty good. So you should send me on your trips, then I'll take quality pictures (that you can totally have the rights to in exchange for sending me on adventures) and be honest about how fantastic your company is and how it's totally worth the money to take your trip over company b. 

JOSE CUERVO (or a new tequila trying to steal my affections) // see here, here, and all of these here. (side note, I have a "tequila" tag + it goes for more than one page of posts. that in itself should let you know that I am a connoisseur + definitely worth hiring as a brand ambassador.)

HAIR PEOPLE// hi hello yes I have a lot of hair, I get a lot of "oh my god your hair is so long + thick + beautiful" which is all very true (super humble about my luscious locks, obviously.) but it is also a nightmare. 98% of the time it's in a sidebraid or a little wavy from being taken out of pigtails. I go through shampoo + conditioner like it's my job already, so if you have a product that you think is fantastic for hard to manage hair, I AM YOUR GIRL. 

RAIN BOOTS// I love jumping in mud puddles + I have to say, I look kind of adorable doing it. So, if you think your boots can live up to a grown person jumping in mud puddles, I'm your girl. Coincidentally, the rain boots I wore yesterday didn't quite cut it... 

if all the raindrops were lemon drops + gumdrops -- oh what a rain that would be ☂

A photo posted by Kasey Decker (@kdsmoove) on Mar 5, 2015 at 11:30am PST

BASEBALL TEAMS// Because we had so many people show up for the first round of Around The Horn yesterday, and because my post on going to MiLB games, even if you don't like baseball, is one of my most read posts, and "baseball" is one of the biggest search terms leading people here. (shortly after "bats wearing sweaters" so, there's that...) So you should definitely give me tickets + tours of your ballparks so I can tell America why they should be coming to your games.

I think I would make an outstanding salesperson for all of you. So the line can start forming now. I'll be anxiously watching my inbox for your inquiries.Who wants to be first?? PS. HAPPY FRIDAY GUYS! WE MADE IT!

I Was Going To Tell You About The Superbowl

I had all of these great plans to blog about all of the things you needed to know for the Super Bowl. Then people beat me to it. So today I'm totally going to cheat. Ready? Okay!

5 Things For Sunday

Questions I Still Have About #deflategate

Sarah tells you everything you could possibly need for Sunday.

Why Marshawn Lynch Doesn't Like Interviews

Bill Nye The Science Guy on Deflated Balls.

PUPPY BOWL. DON'T FORGET THE PUPPY BOWL.

*bonus* Marshawn wins the internet: 

4 Things You Need to MAKE for Your Super Bowl Party
Shameless plug for my kickin' buffalo chicken dip.
THIS SAUSAGE CREAM CHEESE DIP OH MY GOD.
Beer + Cheese Dip
Tequila Sangria, obviously.

3 Drinking Games To Play
Sarah, again, with the best one.
Commercial Bingo!
Puppy Bowl Drinking Game!

2 Party Jams You Need On Your Pregame Playlist
Uptown Funk -- because I cannot get enough of this one right now.
Don't Tell 'Em -- because I really like to sing it "you ain't eatin' don't tell 'em"

1 Commercial You Gotta See

but seriously is this farmer single? all the heart eyed emojis.

And there you have it! All of the things I think you need for the game this weekend! Linking up with Sarah + Karli! Are you having a Super Bowl party this weekend?

5 Questions I Still Have About #Deflategate or #Ballghazi

HELLO FRIDAY. I thought you would never get here. Did you get stuck behind a parade or something on Monday? Anyways. In case you missed it, which I don't know how you could have, the Patriots allegedly illegally deflated the balls for their game against the Colts because it was rainy. In case you're wondering, here's how balls in the NFL work -- QB's pretend they're not as superstitious as baseball players, but that's not true. Each QB has a specific way he likes the ball to feel, so as long as it's within regulations, they can have the ball the way they want it. THAT leads me to question #1.

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If Tom Brady is such an elite QB, how did he not notice that the balls were different? Okay. Now, I used elite in a sassy way because international super model Tom Brady + various other NFL QB's who don't have his hair like to argue about who is the most elite. ANYWAYS. If he's so great (which, obviously he's pretty good, this is his 6th Super Bowl appearance...) how did he not notice the balls were different? If a guy on the Colts DEFENSE noticed it when he intercepted the ball, surely someone who handles it a lot more often would also have known. 

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Why didn't the referees notice? This is actually a bigger one to me than the Tom Brady one. I mean, it's cold, he's wearing gloves, he could make plenty of excuses. The refs though, their job is to make sure the rules are followed. THAT'S YOUR JOB. How are they not in question here? Seriously. One job guys. Why didn't they do anything about it before it was officially a scandal + the game was over? 

What is the NFL going to do about it? I mean. They're all over the board right now with their punishments. It's like they can't quite figure out what the right thing to do is. It's probably in your rule book, guys. You have a lot of rules, maybe someone's only job should be to make sure the punishments are by the book. 

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When is the NFL going to hire Olivia Pope? They really need to. I bet she could fix this entire situation for them. I'm assuming she would start with "TOM. Don't say things like "I'm not squeezing them" because the American public has the collective maturity level of a 14 year old boy, and will giggle. While we're at it, dress like you're giving a press conference." Seriously, what was Tom wearing in that press conference? His comfy Saturday afternoon raking the leaves jumper? 

safety dance

Why is the NFL instead so focused on being a bully to Marshawn Lynch? There is probably nothing that makes me more uncomfortable than watching someone who doesn't like to be in the spotlight be forced into it. Beast Mode just wants to do his job and not have to answer the media's dumb questions. The NFL keeps fining him, which he seems to have no issue with + seems like a fair trade to me, but now they're talking about making bigger sanctions on him for only giving the media one-word answers? C'mon man. 

C'MON MAN

So, Mister Commissioner, if you could get me the answers to these questions, I'd greatly appreciate it. I mean, mostly the one about Olivia Pope. It does sound a little like Tom Brady already hired the handler who got Bill Clinton through the Monica Lewinski thing.. Also, if you're wondering why it was all but one ball that was underinflated, it's because the kickers need the ball to have all the air so they can kick it further. Okay. That's as long as I can talk about balls without giggling. Who am I kidding, I did a lot of giggling. Linking up with Sarah + Karli! 

huh huh huh

What do you think about this? Do you think the Colts should go to the Super Bowl instead? Or do you think the NFL will be soft about it + only give them a slap on the wrist? 

Five Things I Learned From Traveling Alone

HEY GUYS GUESS WHO'S BACK STATESIDE? This girl. I did it. I leaped outside of my comfort zone, apparently completely overcame my issue with flights, and went to EUROPE for nine days and didn't know a soul. I did it. I wasn't scared. I didn't cry. I didn't even get homesick. WHAT. Okay. Here's what I learned about myself: 

my kinda obnoxious sense of direction is worldwide :: It drives the people around me a little crazy how good I am at figuring out how to get places + how to get back. Apparently this is worldwide.

I really can make friends with a wall :: okay, so not literally. I've always said that I've never met a stranger, but being plopped down in Europe not knowing a single person put that to the test! I totally made all sorts of friends.

wanderlust is real y'all :: I had zero desire to come back. I mean I was walking through London planning on how I could start applying to grad schools + get my MBA there. I'm still leaning on that idea. Also I'm ready to pack my bags + travel other places.

I'm really bad at stairs :: so in Europe the stairs are steeper than America. maybe they're more coordinated or more focused on managing space. either way, our last night in Amsterdam I tumbled down the stairs. hit the floor face first. didn't break any bones. it was a miracle. and it was hilarious. 

the more I enjoy a place/activity/adventure, the less pictures I take :: Paris was my least favorite city of them all [I know, the horror! ] but the city I have the most pictures from. I was too busy enjoying the experience to take too many pictures everywhere else. I think that's a good thing.

So that's what I learned about my life! Did you see my instagrams? I found that I had to make a conscious effort to take pictures with my phone, not just Ringo the Rebel. Are y'all ready for never ending recaps of my trip? Because I could talk about it forever. Happy happy Friday (it is Friday, right? I'm not really sure what's going on yet. I tried to give the drive thru lady at Einstein Bros pounds instead of dollars.) I'm off to call FEMA about the disaster area that is my room where my suitcase exploded.............

Five Christmas Things That Freak Me Out

Since everyone is writing all about the Christmas things that they love and look forward to, I thought I'd march the other way and talk about the stuff that really creeps me out. Gives me the holiday heebie jeebies if you would (oh man, that probably sounds so much funnier to me than anyone else..) 

Elf on a Shelf okay, maybe this is because I don't have kids or whatever but a tiny elf reporting everything back to Santa is just weird to me. Plus they look SUPER creepy. I probably would have had nightmares about them if I had one when I was a kid. 

so many inappropriate elf on the shelf things here

that line "say, what's in this drink?" in Baby, It's Cold Outside I mean, hey buddy, what is in her drink? Why you gotta put something in your lady's drink at Christmas? Or ever? I'm sure she just means it's stronger than she realized, but still. What's up with that? Actually. You know what, just the whole song. It seems a little aggressive. She said she can't stay, lend her your coat + let her go home bro.

this is a little better.

those "Elf Yourself" videos or really any of the videos where you put your head on something/someone else's body. I don't know why. It just freaks me out. Probably because your face isn't going the way the rest of the body is and it could totally be like a horror movie. 

the Grinch // okay. I know it's a popular Christmas story but MAN does it freak me out. I don't know why. The cartoon one gave me nightmares as a kid, but then I got over that just in time for them to make one with real people which is even more terrifying. It doesn't help that the people at the front of my dad's neighborhood make + sell wooden cutouts of him.

SEE HOW SCARY IS THAT

mistletoe // this could go either way. I mean, if you're caught under the mistletoe with someone you want to kiss, okay, but what if it's someone you don't want to kiss? what if it's that creepy guy who followed you near it, just hoping you would get close enough for him to say "hoo ohh look who's caught under the mistletoe!"

awkward mistletoe moments

Honorable mentions: eggnog, because what even IS eggnog? are you drinking eggs in rum? it sounds gross ; that song about grandma getting run over by a reindeer, like did she die + we all just think it's okay? it sounds a little like she hit the eggnog too hard + didn't make it home ; he knows when you are sleeping, he knows when you're awake do you ever feel like somebody's waaatchin' you?

What things about the holidays make you uncomfortable? I'm linking up with Sarah + Karli because I'm a fan of awkward situations at Christmas and because I named five things! HEY FRIDAY! 

Five Things Fantasy Football Taught Me

I'm not sure if we've covered whether or not I'm a good loser, I'm not. I definitely need Sarah's "what I said when I was losing" t-shirt. Actually, while you're over there, I kind of want it all. Should have put that on my Christmas list too.... I definitely get really sassy. I don't handle it well. So having easily the worst Fantasy team in our "No Punt Intended" league has been super tough for me, but I've learned some life lessons.

yep, still a super sore loser. // I bet you thought I was going to say that losing a lot taught me to not be a sour sport. Well it didn't. I didn't grow up getting trophies for showing up, you got trophies for winning. (side note. I don't think everyone should get trophies. makes you lazy. winning is actually important.) I don't like to lose especially if I know I'm trying really hard. GUYS. 

that whole "my life is an example of murphy's law" applies here too // I swear "if it can go wrong, it will go wrong" should be Kasey's law. I usually think it's hilarious. Here's how it works, if I start Matt Stafford, Big Ben has a helluva game. If I bench Steven Jackson for Mark Ingram, then Steven Jackson runs forty million yards and scores all of the touchdowns. Also, you're more likely to get injured if you play for me. 

I should have stuck to my strategy of picking colors + cute players// granted, I was a little of a space cadet during the draft , I did do my research, and I picked players I thought would do well. I usually draft/pick teams for pools/etc based on like. Team colors. Mascots. Whether or not I think that player is a babe. I also usually do really well. That's what I get for trying to research! 

even yahoo sports gets sassy // if you didn't see it in my "November Through The Lens" collage, Yahoo sent me a push notification that I had won the moral victory by losing by THIRTY POINTS (thanks Buffalo.) 

that one win last week was even better than if I was undefeated (no it wasn't.) // nope. absence doesn't make the heart grow fonder. losing all year doesn't make that one victory even better. nope. it makes me stomp my foot and shout "HEY, WHY DID IT TAKE Y'ALL SO LONG TO GET IT TOGETHER?" Obviously, I should probably only coach tiny humans if I decide to coach. You know, the ones where it's cute when they run to third instead of first. 

So, that's what being 1-12 through this season has taught me. Next year, I'm drafting based on how cute the players are. #sorrynotsorry. Linking up for Fan Friday AND Oh, Hey Friday! Have you learned anything about your life by losing a lot? 

Clean, Old Fashioned Hate

Hey, what do you call a pretty girl on Tech's campus? a visitor. Sorry, not sorry nerds. The Georgia Georgia Tech rivalry is by far the weirdest one we have. It's one of those that one side feels more than the other. Honestly, we don't really care what Tech does any other time of the year, unless they're playing us. I have some great friends who went to Tech though, and they apparently teach those kids to hate us during orientation. It's more of a sibling rivalry if anything. We have some nicknames for them, and they try to make sassy smart nicknames for us. My favorite is when they put sic. next to our name, as if we're archaic and outdated. Anyways. Here are the five things you need to know about the North Avenue Trade School before you head up to Athens this weekend. 

we run this state // I want to say it was my junior year? The Tech kids talk a huge game. We had Joe Cox, and it was a shaky year for sure. The year before Tech had come to Athens and ripped up the hedges. [side note. don't. touch. the. hedges. we don't take lightly to that and we will not forget that you did that]  so we went down to Atlanta and made a statement. I still have the shirt with "we run this state" written on the eye black of the cartoon Uga. Since 1991, Georgia Tech has won four of the matchups. 

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to hell with Georgia Tech // okay, so that's in our [unofficial..] fight song. we change it for whoever we play, but you know, Georgia Tech has the right amount of syllables [unlike "awwwwburn"]. It's not officially in our fight song though. so Tech wrote their own song "to hell with Georgia" to the same tune as our fight song. They also have us in their official fight song. So. there's that one too. 

the triple option // Tech runs what is referred to as an "option offense" it means they toss the ball around laterally a lot which really stresses me out. It's also hard to defend against because they're in the backfield playing hot potato! Paul Johnson's (Tech's coach) triple option plan is so fancy he even gets his own little note on the wikipedia page. [sorry for citing wikipedia there, I just thought it was crazy that his specific option offense is worth noting.]

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UGA leads // I mentioned that tech has only won 4 times since 1991, well overall the record stands, with Georgia leading, at 69-39-5. I'm not even going to make an ACC dig here. Also, worth noting, Tech won their division and will be playing FSU next weekend. We're still hoping for Missouri to lose because we couldn't beat Florida and Tennessee just couldn't hold onto the ball last week. I don't want to talk about it.

the odds are good, but the goods are odd // so, at Georgia the female to male student ratio is about 60/40. Also, I swear every girl at Georgia is the pretty girl. It's outrageous. You've seen how we dress on gameday. Well, at Tech, the ratio is about 70% males and  30% females.  [hey, which I don't condone, engineering is cool. more girls should be engineers. I was originally an engineering major, I only changed because I'm not so good at chemistry, I actually got into Tech early, and deferred from Georgia.] I did always like going to Tech parties in college, because a lot of the time we ended up being the only girls there. 

Oh, FUN STORY guys. Last year the game was at Tech, and I was trying to find the physics building because that's where the tailgate I was looking for was. So I got most of the way there and got a little turned around, because it's not my campus, and so I asked a couple of Tech students where it was. They sent me in 100% the wrong direction. SO what teams are you rooting for this weekend? You should probably cheer for Arkansas, if you like me at all. 

My Five Favorite Christmas Movies

OH MAN. Okay so I do not follow the whole "no Christmas before Thanksgiving" rule. who even made that up? Scrooge? The Grinch? Oh, those even count as jokes for this post! So, since there's like, one Friday left before December, and that Friday is reserved for my Georgia Georgia Tech post, I figured there was no better time to talk about my favorite Christmas movies!!!!!!

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation // This is all too accurate. If you tell me you haven't had a family vacation like this one, I don't know if you're doing it right. I can't even deal, sometimes I think Eddie is my favorite character. It's just not Christmas until we've watched this movie at least four times with my dad giving commentary + everyone noticing something they haven't seen before. It's tradition! 

Rudolph [and all of the other Claymation movies] // HERBIE JUST WANTS TO BE A DENTIST, OKAY? Just let it happen Papa Elf! I love Rudolph, he's a nugget. I also always have a sunburn on my nose, so we have a ton in common. I just want him to get to play in the reindeer games. Kids are jerks. 

ELF// duh. If you tell me you've never answered the phone "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color!?" I just don't think you've lived. Plus there's a narwhal. Plus Zooey Deschanel. and they sing Pennies From Heaven. THE BEST WAY TO SPREAD CHRISTMAS CHEER IS SINGING LOUD FOR ALL TO HEAR!  

Love Actually // I like to watch this movie at any time during the year, let's be honest, but especially around Christmas! I love the very end when all of the story lines connect back to each other. I realize it led the way for more movies like that Valentine's Day one and whatever else with all the crazy story lines, but I really do love this one. Plus that little kid, when he's in love? oh my goodness. 

HARRY POTTER WEEKENDS // okay. ABC Family loves HP as much as I do + I will always watch Harry Potter if it's on TV, even if it's with all the commercials. I drop everything for a Harry Potter weekend. always. Yes. That's two Alan Rickman movies in a row. I know it's not technically a Christmas movie, but I always make time for a Harry Potter Marathon. You know in the first one when Mrs. Weasely makes Harry a Christmas sweater?! I cry, every time. He's so surprised, you mean I get a Christmas present!? OH ALSO. I just learned via Buzzfeed that when I'm in London, Hogwarts will be SET UP FOR CHRISTMAS.

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I guess claiming all of the claymations and all of the HP movies is kind of cheating at my own list. Guys, I think I have a problem if I can't even follow my own rules. BY THE WAY. If you're in Atlanta, and getting excited about Christmas too, YOU SHOULD RUN THE UGLY SWEATER 5K with us. By run, I obviously mean walk around taking pictures, drinking cocoa, and playing in the snow. PLUS you get a beer at the end. PLUS PLUS UGLY SWEATERS. You can get the entry for less on Living Social RIGHT NOW. [ps, to whom it may concern, that's just a link to the deal, not even one that if you buy it mine ends up free. I registered back in July, like a crazy person.] Do it, we'll have SO MUCH FUN. Sorry not sorry for all of the capital letters.... Okay, I'm linking up with Sarah because I love Christmas movies and that picture of me with Santa, and Karli because I tried to list five movies.. What are your favorite Christmas movies? Anything I should add to my collection?
 

The Deep South's Oldest Rivalry

We're back! I know last week I didn't tell you what you needed to know before going to UGA vs Kentucky, my bad. I was still bummed out about the Florida game. BUT I'M BACK. Kickoff for tomorrow's game against Auburn is set for SEVEN. FIFTEEN. PM. Okay, so if you're wondering, according to Wunderground, it will be a balmy 39 degrees at kickoff. Sorry. What? I'm going to turn into an icicle. I don't do cold weather well y'all. So, aside from the fact that I'll be wearing enough layers to be the Super Puff Marshmallow man's stunt double, here's what you need to know for this weekend!

I bet you were expecting something more pinnable here...

why's it called "the deep south's oldest rivalry?" So, according to Wikipedia, it's not to be confused with The South's Oldest rivalry which is between Virginia and UNC. So, whatever guys. Georgia and Auburn have been battling since 1892, they actually played the first game in Piedmont Park, in February. Crazy right? We've battled nearly every year since then, for a grand total of 117 games. Auburn currently leads 55–54–8. 

war eagle plainsmen tigers // okay. I can never keep this one straight. so here it is what I gathered from the explanation on Auburn's football website: "war eagle" is a battle cry (so I guess like when we call the dawgs?)  they've always been the tigers (apparently this is a "duh" thing because it says they've been the tigers since that game in 1892 against us.) The Plainsman is apparently the paper, so I really don't know what that one gets tossed in (you know, like Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer, for those Bama folks.) OH BUT the "War Eagle" thing came from a story published in the Plainsman! 

I'm just going to leave this here, I couldn't find the original source, just where it had been republished. I'm pretty sure I own this print though, so that makes it less illegal that I don't have a real source? No?

freed gurley // I have a lot of opinions on the whole Todd Gurley situation. I'm not going to share them. Here's a summary: Todd broke the rules, like all the other athletes do, when someone came forward with shaky evidence against him, because apparently he had signed for other guys, Todd owned up to it, admitted his mistake, and the University of Georgia self reported the violation and suspended him. The NCAA commended the University on how they handled the situation, then proceeded to suspend Todd for two more games. The moral of the story, don't do the right thing, tell the NCAA to prove it. Anyways. Todd is back this weekend + I'm sure he's pretty ready to get back into the Heisman race.  

blackout // This one makes me nervous. I don't mind the fans doing it, plus the last time we did it against Auburn, it was huge. I still get chills thinking about it. The team warmed up in their home red uniforms, went back into the tunnel, and when they ran back out after the hype video they were wearing black and we all lost it. I mean I don't think there was a second of that game where the crowd wasn't the loudest it's ever been. We won that game. Then every time we've tried black anything on our uniform, it hasn't ended well. Richt says zero chance of black uni's, so I feel pretty good about it. Here's a video of the sideline + CBS guys doing the Soulja Boi. 

playoffs or what? This is kind of the win or go home game for us. We had a real shot before we lost to Florida. I don't want to talk about that. I operate under the delusion that we can win it all every year. I would like to hear an argument that the winner of the SEC doesn't deserve to go to the CFB Playoffs. That would be a good one. I'd bring popcorn or nachos and beer. This is it though, if we don't upset the Tigers, it's pretty much gonna take an act of God to get us into the playoff picture.

So. Since we lost to Florida, the lucky dress is being retired, at least for a little while (also it's going to be freezing, so that whole sleeveless thing probably wouldn't cut it..) But I'll be there, big alum tailgate and all. OH AND DEEP FRIED TEQUILA. Lookout for a how-to on that next week!! I promise I'll try to take a different picture of the field so I can start mixing the graphic for these posts up..... Linking up with Karli + Sarah, because it's Friday!! What games are you looking forward to this weekend? 

My Five Favorite Things on The Internet This Week

Hello, my name is Kasey, and I'm driving the struggle bus this morning. So obviously it's time for cat videos, right? actually there aren't any cat videos today.. sorry about that. 

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Y'all. I know I shared this yesterday, but I died. To quote the women of my time, I literally can't even. Could it be more perfect that it's a workout video from 1989? Also, while we're talking about Tay, her tumblr is fantastic. Go check that out, I'll wait, maybe do some aerobics..

TOY. STORY. FOUR. yes. absolutely. I don't care that I'm twenty five. I will be seeing that in theatres. I guess since it's set to come out in 2017 that means I'll be twenty eight. oh. this is no longer my favorite thing on the internet. I might start crying...

Okay, I'm better. Now, this one is a little nerdy, tease me if you want, but I love it. Hands down my favorite All About That Base parody video, actually, I like it more than the original. Like Alderan chunks where Alderan space was. Plus, they're Team Unicorn. So there's that too. 

This outstanding bro moment. Teamwork makes the dreamwork, y'all.

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While we're on the topic of dudes, #dudesgreetingdudes is the best. I love it. Check it out.

You see a dude looking all hard & shit. Roll up on him like "Aye yo, smile, son. Damn." BRING SUNSHINE TO HIS DAY. #dudesgreetingdudes
— Elon James White (@elonjames) November 2, 2014

 Ta da! What fun things did y'all find on the internet this week? Linking up with Sarah, because I'm a fan of the internet, and Karli.