Toula's Adventure...

So Charles and I were watching Sports Center and checking on our fantasy football rosters when we heard a strange noise. It sounded like it had come from the back rooms in our house.

Toula had been running around the living room earlier. During that time Charles went to the back and when he came back said that Toula must be under the couch. Well, after hearing that strange noise, we thought we better check to make sure that Toula was indeed under the couch.

I checked, and ... no Toula. Charles went to the back to check and said that Toula was not back there. He said she must be under the couch. Even though I had gotten on the floor and lifted the couch skirt to make sure she wasn't there, Charles had to get on the floor and do the same thing to double check. Well, after he double checked, he confirmed that Toula was definitely NOT under the couch...

After quickly checking under all the furniture in the living room and dining room and calling her for a treat which she did not respond to, I said that she must be in the back. Charles said that there was no way because Toula does not like the hardwood and he had not heard her paws clicking on it while he was in the back. I quickly checked the guest bathroom and, thankfully, Toula was not there. So, that door got shut really quickly!

From the noise we heard, I was scared that Toula was in the laundry area, so while I was checking it, Charles was checking the guest room. All of a sudden, I heard Charles say, "Here she is." So, I go in the guest room and find Charles on the floor looking under the side of the bed. I got on the floor and looked under the end of the bed, and sure enough, there was Toula looking at me. She looked for just a second and then hopped to the other side of the bed. She kept hopping right out of our reach.

So, it was time to bring out the broom - which she hates. I slid it under the bed and out she hopped to the door. I saw her at the door and told Charles she was out. Then I noticed...the computer room door was wide open. As soon as the words got out of my mouth to Charles that that door was open, Toula hopped right in it. We both took off after her.

I closed the guest room door after us and when we got to the computer room, Toula was sitting near the bookcase just looking at us. Charles headed toward her, and she hopped around the bookcase and under the computer desk. Charles said that he had trapped her, but Toula managed to squeeze under the desk and hop out the other side. So Charles is now using his feet to block her path, and I am using my feet and the broom. Toula takes a look around and figures her best bet is to head on out of the room. She quickly hops out and heads toward the guest room. Then her head pops up as she realizes that the door is now closed. We managed to keep her path to the computer room blocked, so she took off hopping back to the living room to under the couch...she was so cute because she was hopping so fast that her paws were slipping on the wood floors! She shot under the couch and kept right on hopping right back to her home. Once she got there, she just flopped down!

Even though she knows that she is not supposed to go back there, it was really hard to stay mad at Toula because she was so cute and so funny throughout her whole adventure! She was really brave to hop across all that wood flooring - she doesn't even like hopping from her home to the living room unless we put a blanket down for her to hop on. And the way she kept evading capture makes us laugh - at least it does now that we are looking back on it! To bad the whole adventure wasn't captured on video. I'm sure that Charles and I looked real funny throughout Toula's adventure!

Toula had quite an adventure this morning, and she is still resting from it!!

The Heat came to Memphis

Last night the Miami Heat came to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies. Charles has several of the players on his fantasy basketball team, so he got an early Christmas present, and we both got to enjoy the game! We arrived at the FedEx Forum early... and found our seats...

I was excited to get there early because we got a Zach Randolph headband...

Our seats turned out to be really good. They were pretty close to the action and gave us a good view of the Heat's bench... We watched as the Grizzlies came out...to shoot around...

and watched some of the Heat do the same. Jerry Stackhouse practiced his free-throws...

and his two handed dribbles...

I guess all players can do that but it was pretty impressive to me!
It was then time for the warm-ups...

The crowd got really excited when the Heat players came out for warm-ups...

We got our first look at LeBron...

We watched as the Heat warmed up...

Charles was glad to see LeBron James... and Chris Bosh... since they are on his team.

I really wanted to see Dwayne Wade, but apparently he got hurt in their last game, so I didn't get to see D. Wade.

Here's a shot of Zach Randolph in his headband and LeBron James in his headband.

After warm-ups, a Blues player played the Star Spangled Banner...

The Heat players were announced...

Then it was time for the Grizzlies... to be announced...

The Grizzlies fans showed their support for the home team...

We got to see LeBron...

do his chalk burst although our camera missed it.

It was then tip-off...

The Heat started out slow...but then started making some shots...

The Grizzlies played a great game...

Mike Conley and Rudy Gay are on Charles's team too. They both played well.

After LeBron spread the ball around with few shots resulting, he took the ball to the rim himself...

At the end of the first quarter, the Grizzlies were leading...

The Grizzlies grandmas and grandpas came out to entertain us...

and entertain us they did!

The Grizzlies took the lead into the half...

Our half-time entertainment were quick change artists. The people in front of us really got a kick out of it!

James and Bosh both had lots of assists and baskets...

as did Conley and Gay...

We enjoyed being close enough... to easily see all the action...

Charles got an up close look at Conley taking a shot and James and Bosh defending...

Zach Randolph had a good game too...

The Heat tied the game up in the 4th... which made the game even more exciting!

Both teams were making their shots. The score remained with just seconds to go in the game. Rudy Gay held on for the last shot and shot the ball right as the buzzer sounded...

It was GOOD!

The Grizzlies won!!

Everyone was excited for the win...

We had such a fun evening at the Forum!

Football Weekend in Starkville

Starkville was the place to be Halloween weekend for football!
Charles and I made our way to Starkville Friday, October 29th to watch the South Panola Tigers take on the Starkville Yellowjackets. We arrived in Starkville just in time for a pre-game dinner, so our first stop just had to be The Little Dooey...Their bbq topped with sweet, mild sauce, waffle fries, corn on the cob, garlic toast and sweet tea was just as good as always! Even without being able to color the placemats and view the fun, placemat artwork while dinning, Charles and I had an enjoyable dinner.

After Little Dooey's, it was time to head to Starkville High School's stadium. With the chill in the air, it was definitely football weather!

Who were we rooting for? S P H !!
The Tigers came ready to play, as always...

Not too much time had ticked off the clock...

before Qyen Griffen (#2) scored the first touchdown of the evening...

All of the SP boys played hard...

It was especially fun to watch Nickolas Brassell (#11) and Kendrick Market (#1), who verbally committed to MSU, play...

The game got even more exciting when Coach Dan Mullen walked the sideline!

I love that he came to watch his boys play!

The Tigers played a good game and won the victory, 47-13!! GO TIGERS!!!

Saturday morning, Charles and I woke up early, had a quick breakfast at our hotel in Columbus and got ready to head back to Starkville. Our first stop of the day was Campus Book Mart where I found a cute MSU sweatshirt, t-shirts, cute tote bag, Christmas ornament and MSU nutcracker (thanks Mama for our Halloween money!!). Charles saw a couple of things he liked but decided to look around before spending his Halloween money, so our next stop was The Lodge.

It was then time for lunch. We decided on Oby's! We got there right when it opened, and there was already a short line...

Even though there is now an Oby's in Oxford (along with a Little Dooey's and Christy's hamburgers - I guess some things are just too good not to share), there is nothing like the original. I guess there is just something about the Starkville air and the pewter plates that make Oby's in Starkville so much better! After a delicious lunch... we decided to stop by some of the shops I used to love during my MSU days. Our first stop was Giggleswick, followed by a walk down Main Street for Occasions, Sullivan's and the Book Mart and then on to Aspen Bay. We also had to drive around Starkville to see all the changes and stop by Cedar Cove. Charles attempted to re-create one of my favorite pictures of him from our MSU days...

However, the tree had grown leaving no lower branches (and we are about 10 years older), so it was harder to climb into than it used to be...

After a stop at City Bagel to pick up some energy bars to bring home, we headed to campus. So much has changed and been added since our last visit. This trip, we stopped by the Union, which is completely different - the food court - complete with all different restaurants - is now on the bottom floor! We just had to tour all of the floors...

After checking out all of the differences both inside and out - where is the fountain used to get soaped?

We walked around campus...

and strolled down memory lane...

Although you can't really see it in this picture, there was a jack-o-lantern beside the light post at Lee Hall...

There were jack-o-lanterns all around campus. This was one of our favorites...
We stopped in the cafeteria for a photo op...

Then headed to The Fountain for some MSU ice cream and DAWG bone cookies since it was game day...

YUM! Delicious... and refreshing...

It was fun being back at MSU...

After a stop at University Florist which now carries McCarty pottery and had a lot of different pieces in, we witnessed the MSU faithful "welcoming" Kentucky with the sound of cow bells...

We then walked past the stadium...

and caught glimpses of the MSU football team...

What a welcoming and loud walk for the DAWGS!!

We then walked to the book store, around the stadium...

and back to the car to drop off packages and get our cow bells for the game.

We then walked back to the stadium for the game...

We decided to go on in the stadium even though it was over an hour before the game. We weren't the only ones getting to the game early...

We found our seats - which turned out to be great - and settled in for an exciting evening...

After some warm-ups...

We saw the Famous Maroon Band...

We watched some more warm-ups...

and got ready for the game...

We listened to Coach Mullen's request to ring responsibly...

It was a perfect day for a ballgame!

Then the DAWGS took the field...

for more warm-ups...

and the first experience of the crowds' enthuiasm...

It was then time for the band's...

MSU...

and STATE...

Charles proudly rang the cowbell I gave him while we were at State...

and I responsibly rang my cowbell that Mama and Daddy gave me on their first visit to MSU my freshman year...

The crowd complied with the request for more cowbell!!

Then it was time...

for the DAWGS to take the field...

The crowd showed that It's Great to be an MSU DAWG!

Bully enjoyed the game too...

Charles had to take this video!!

It was an exciting game to watch...

The Dawgs played well...

Our offense... put some points on the board... Which all us fans appreciated...
Our defense came up with lots of great stops too!

It was Halloween, so many fans were in costume...

including the contest winners - these Maroon and White bears!! They definitely have the black bear beat!!

I liked the corner box telling us when to ring and when to yell and really liked ringing after the MSU scores...

Mississippi State took the lead... into the half...

The band performed spooky songs at half-time...

and were able to celebrate Halloween too...

I liked the Halloween flags... It was a fun half-time show!

The DAWGS came back out ready after the half...

and continued to play well...

The second half brought...

more scoring...

as well as some REALLY bad calls by the refs. It was so much fun to continue to boo them!!

Despite the bad calls, the DAWGS won!!!

We were really excited!

The final: cats 17 and DAWGS 24!!

Way to go Dawgs!!

Maroon...

White...

Fight...Fight... Fight!
We were so glad that the DAWGS hung on for the win!

It was such an exciting game!

We had so much fun!!
Hail State...After the game...we headed back to the hotel in Columbus.

The next morning was Halloween!

Charles surprised me with a treat from the Square Cupboard in Hernando...
I had been wanting this mug to drink my hot chocolate from...

It was the perfect Halloween gift!

After checking out, we headed back to Campus Book Mart so that Charles could spend his Halloween money. He found a really good looking pullover and t-shirt.

We then decided on where to eat lunch - our last meal in Starkville...

and we decided on...

Mexico Tipico!!

During our years at MSU, we definitely spent some time in that restaurant, and it was just as good as we remembered...We were so glad to be back in Starkville... What a great weekend!!!