{ more aggie cookie fun }

It's football season.

That means an abundance of maroon & white.

Whoop!

{ aggie ring day }

The Aggie Ring is the most visible symbol of the Aggie Network that connects Aggies around the world. Dating back over a hundred years, it is a tradition that is deep in symbolism. Every symbol represents values every Aggie should hold: Excellence, Integrity,Leadership, Loyalty, Respect and Selfless Service.

At Texas A&M University, acquiring enough credit hours to order one's Aggie Ring is one of the most treasured rites of passage during ones years in College Station -- Aggie Rings are worn for a lifetime by graduates of TAMU. I could share countless words regarding the special meaning behind the Aggie Ring, but instead I'll simply direct those interested in a more detailed explanation to the Texas A&M Association of Former Students.

A giant gaping whole in my cookie gallery has been staring me in the face ever since I started baking and decorating in earnest -- no Texas A&M cookies. Despite my love and passion for my beloved Aggieland, up here in New England, I've had no occasion requiring Aggie cookies (other than my sister's graduation, which I made down in Texas, but I digress).

So my maroon heart soared when I recently received a request to make cookies honoring and celebrating an Aggie who will be receiving her Ring this week. Whoop (that's Aggie speak for 'Hot damn')!

class of 2033

My little girl is going to be representin' right from the start, thanks to her first Aggie gifts from Aunt B.

The only thing greater than maroon gear is maroon gear in a size newborn.

Whoop!

crawdaddies + march madness

Beverly drove in for the night to visit with Big A, and we made a pot of crab, shrimp and crawfish for dinner. It's a touch early in the season for crawfish, especially since we've had some late cold snaps, so they're still small. But it was a fun way to spend Ty's last weekend home.

Added to a Texas A&M victory in round one of the NCAA Tourney, and it made for a pretty stellar Friday.

tableau tuesday

november 19, 1999

Ten years ago today, the Texas A&M family lost 12 young lives in a horrific accident. To many, it was a silly college tradition. To us, it represented unity and family. Out at Bonfire, we weren't Greeks, or jocks, or CTs, or BQs. We were Aggies. Memories were made out there, and lives were changed.

From its inception as a scrap heap to the more familiar and impressive stack of vertical logs, the Texas Aggie Bonfire symbolized every Aggie's "burning desire" to beat the University of Texas in football. Attracting between 30,000 and 70,000 people each year to watch it burn, Bonfire became a symbol of the deep and unique camaraderie that is the Aggie Spirit.

In preparation for the much-anticipated annual football game against "t.u.", as Aggies refer to their rival, the student-built Texas Aggie Bonfire would burn after Yell Practice. The lighting ceremony included the playing of "The Spirit of Aggieland" by the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band and the traditional reading of "The Last Corps Trip" poem. An outhouse, known as the "t.u. tea room" or "t.u. frat house" was built by sophomores in the Aggie band and sat atop the completed Bonfire. Aggie lore has it that if the Bonfire stood until after midnight, they would win the game.

Since the initial Bonfire in 1909, Texas A&M students have banded together each year to build and burn the Bonfire, and in the process helped it to evolve into the largest in the world. Bonfire burned each year through 1998, with the exception of 1963. That year Bonfire was built but torn down in a tribute to President John F. Kennedy who was assassinated on November 22, 1963. Texas A&M Head Yell Leader Mike Marlowe said, "It is the most we have and the least we can give."

In 1967, responsibility for Bonfire construction was transferred from the Yell Leaders to "Red Pots," students specifically chosen to plan and construct the stack. The safety helmets or "pots" worn by Bonfire construction workers were painted various colors to designate the hierarchy of responsibilities.

In 1955, Bonfire was moved from Simpson Drill Field in front of the Memorial Student Center to Duncan Field, behind the Corps of Cadets area, where it was held for 37 years. The 1992 Bonfire marked the first year Bonfire was built in its final home on the Polo Fields.

The second time in A&M’s history that Bonfire did not burn was almost exactly 92 years after the first Bonfire due to its collapse on November 18th, 1999 at 2:42 a.m. The collapse killed 12 Aggies and injured 27 others.

Five years later, the Bonfire Memorial was dedicated on the exact location of the ’99 Bonfire.

Information from the Texas A&M Hospitality Committee.

tableau tuesday

Beatin' the dirt monkeys in Lubbock is worthy of two pictures.

Gig'em Ags.

i may not agree with his politics

... but I'm proud of the warm reception President Obama received at my beloved Alma Mater, Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas. I'm sure it didn't hurt that he was flanked by Aggie favorite (and legend in his own time around our parts), former Texas A&M University President and now Secretary of Defense, Dr. Robert Gates.

According to student newspaper, The Battalion:

President Barack Obama received a hearty "Howdy" from more than 2,000 attendees at the Presidential Forum on community service on Friday afternoon in Rudder Auditorium at Texas A&M.

"Service isn't separate from our national priorities or second to our national priorities, it's integral to achieving our national priorities," Obama said. "It's how we will meet the challenges of our time."

Aggies are known for their dedication to service, so this non-political speech on a subject that we could all get behind made it easy to temporarily put aside ideological differences.

Mr. Obama was treated with respect, yet dissenting opinions were peacefully on display outside the George Bush Presidential Library and Museum where Obama was invited to speak as a guest of former President, George H. W. Bush.

The First Lady of Texas A&M, Reveille (our beautiful collie mascot) was there to greet the President as well. And one resourceful Aggie football fan even managed to get in a plug for our quarterback, Jerrod Johnson (and a pie-in-the-sky hope at a Heisman).

All in all, a great fall day in the Lone Star State.

four-day weekends and fall

Everything has pretty much come together perfectly this weekend.

I already had Monday off (Columbus Day), and since Ty is home for a few days, I figured I'd make it an even longer weekend and take Friday off as well. His visit is much-too short, but we're trying to make the most of our few days together.

In honor of the occasion, Mother Nature cooperated beautifully and ushered in our first good cold front of the season -- just in time for tailgating and football yesterday. Kick-off against the Cowboys from Oklahoma State was 11:30 a.m., so our tailgate crew did breakfast tacos, Bloody Marys, screwdrivers, and Paula Deen's gorilla bread (holy crap, that stuff is rockin' good).

We also took Aidan to his first football game. He's attended a few tailgates in the past, but he's always been too pooped (or hot) to head over to the stadium. But yesterday's temps, combined with the early kick-off time and Ty being home, was the perfect opportunity to give it a shot. He [unbelievably] slept through the first half, but woke up just in time to watch the Fightin' Texas Aggie Band take the field.

So here we are ... Sunday morning, sipping coffee and enjoying the temps and each other.

And the good news is, tomorrow is a work-less Monday. Woo hoo!

cheering from afar

The nastiness that has affectionately come to be known as pig flu (H1N1 for all you semantics freaks) is keeping me at home this weekend, rather than in College Station cheering on my Fightin' Texas Aggies as they do battle with the Aggies (yes, Aggies) from Utah State.

My little guy needs his mama to cuddle him and give him lots of fluids and love. So its sofa city for us this weekend.

But in spirit, I proudly and vehemently will be sending a stern message to my beloved Texas A&M: beat the ever livin' hell outta Utah State.

I'll miss the cold beer, warm burgers, good friends and roar of the 12th Man. Give 'em hell, boys.

Gig 'em.

tableau tuesday

One of my favorite [guiltless] pleasures in life is pictures. Even though I'm about as photographically talented as the rock I'm currently using as a doorstop, I feel somewhat empty-handed if I don't have my camera with me for a special occasion, or even just an every-day event.

I love the written word. No, scratch that. I'm captivated by the written word. But even more so, I adore the way a picture can trump even the most eloquent of poetry, as far as describing a moment in time.

So I thought I'd begin to dedicate a single blog day a week to one of life's great mediums: pictures.

Dictionary.com describes a tableau as "a vivid or graphic description" and "a ‘picture’ formed by living persons caught in static attitudes." Perfect!

football, family and friends

My beloved Fightin' Texas Aggies opened the season last night at home with a solid and convincing win against New Mexico.

We spent the day tailgating and catching up with family and friends -- and wading through the excitement of college football gameday.

My sister made some killer stuffed mushrooms that we cooked on the grill. Another friend brought the hottest, cheesiest, and yummiest jalapeno dip that I've ever tasted. Drinks were strong and cold, and rain threatened all day (but never materialized), adding the perfect amount of breeze and tolerable temperature levels.

No matter how crazy life can get, returning "home" to College Station amongst the friendliest people in the world, always helps to ground me and remind me how fun this whole ride can be.

So ... beat the hell outta Utah State, Ags!

it's that time of year ....

... the most glorious time of year -- COLLEGE FOOTBALL IS UPON US!

Although my beloved Aggies aren't predicted to do much [again] this season, it feels so damn good to know that the best chunk of the calendar has officially arrived!

I'm not, and never have been, a big people person. I don't like crowds. I hate malls. I have very little tolerance for ignorance. But put me in a stadium -- Kyle Field, to be exact -- with 83,000 of my maroon peeps, and life is just about as good as it can be for me.

We're kicking things off this year at home in College Station against New Mexico. The good guys are picked to win. But for some reason, it doesn't much matter to me. What matters is that fall is in the air, our tailgate crew is already planning the menu (and the tailgate drinks), and we're ready to get things started with Aggie friends and family (minus Ty ... sniff sniff).

So ... beat the ever livin' hell outta New Mexico, Ags!

turkey, pumpkin pie, and football

Ahhh, Thanksgiving time in Texas. For literally generations of families, that's meant the annual showdown between the Texas A&M Aggies and University of Texas Longhorns (or t.u., as we Aggies prefer to call that school in Austin). For the past several years, due to extraneous and bulshitty reasons, the game was moved to the day after Turkey Day, and consequently has became known as T+1. This year, however, the game has rightly been moved back to where it truly belongs -- Thanksgiving Day. Glorious.

Plain and simply, my beloved Aggies are going to get stomped on the gridiron. t.u. is tougher, faster, and very obviously, more talented. Texas A&M has a new coach, old players with bad attitudes, and some new players with not enough experience to keep their heads cool. It hasn't made for a pretty picture this season.

But during the Lone Star Showdown, none of that matters. As cliche as it sounds, you can throw the recordbooks out the window when you're playing this rivalry game. The Aggies have sucked the last two seasons as well, yet managed to pull out a victory against the 'Horns. I don't think that will be the case this year, and again, I think it's going to be a long day for the good guys in maroon and white.

But hey, it's Thanksgiving, and the Aggies and Longhorns are playing football. So it's all good.

great weekend

My beloved Fightin' Texas Aggies won the Big 12 Baseball crown this weekend. I was fortunate enough to be able to sit in the stands with my family for game 2 of the series against the 'Horns. A good time was had by all.


Of course we got in some good eats and drinks along the way ... College Station is a fun place to visit. Anyone who's interested should head up in June for the 2nd Annual Texas Reds Steak and Grape Festival. Should be a great time!


Summer is starting to kick into gear, and it feels darn good. Only 8 days of school left, and then I'm free for awhile.