You know you're from Nebraska when...

Ok, so I actually live in Northern Kentucky now, but I still consider myself I true Nebraskan.  After having been out of Nebraska for awhile now, I really have noticed some things that are so different!  So here is the compilation from my perspective:

You know you're from Nebraska when..

• you know what Runza, Valentinos, and Amigos are.
• you're told you have to take the interstate to get somewhere, that means it is a ways away.
• on that note, you measure "distance" in time to get there.
• a traffic jam means you had to wait through a stop light cycle twice.
• you remember school being canceled due to exteme heat.
• you schedule your wedding around the Husker football schedule (We actually did this)
• someone asks you what the 3rd largest city in Nebraska is, and you say "Memorial Stadium on home football game days" with a dorky grin on your face :)
• you remember Halloween being postponed due to blizzard like conditions.
• on that note, your Halloween costume size was large enough to fit over a winter coat.
• it snows 8 inches, but you don't even watch for school closings as you know you still have school :)
• you know what snipe hunting is.
• you believe you have no accent (we, from what I've been told, run a lot of sounds together and create other sounds - what most call the po-lice, we call the "pleece", or we "warsh" things instead of "wash" them.)
• you (or someone you knew) had gun racks on their truck in the school parking lot.
• it is "pop", no arguments.
• you consider(ed) your 10 minute drive to work a long commute.
• you know that the statue on top of the Captial is not a bowler.
• you know that you cannot pronounce the word "combine" correctly without knowing the context of the situation.
• you have had to explain to someone that people in Nebraska do not drive tractors everywhere!

and my personal favorite...

• You know that the best side to chili is cinnamon rolls!  :)

Ok - fellow Nebraskans, things to add?  Non-Nebraskans - questions?  :)

Here are my little Huskers!

Sea of Red

via

To some, it may just be another typical Saturday morning.  Yet this Saturday marks the beginning of the Nebraska football season.  In addition, it is our first year in the Big Ten!

Yet let's be honest - when does the excitement begin?  For our family, I don't thing it ever really ends.  But I do know that once I start the fall semester I am happy to at least know that means that college football is coming soon!

via Husker Locker

When I lived in Nebraska, I remember the Friday night pep rallies.  Part of the marching band would come in and play There is No Place Like Nebraska...and everyone would clap or sway along.

Then early on Saturday morning you could go by the Student Union area of campus and have some hot dogs and pop as you were surrounded by other Husker fans.  Parts of the marching band and cheerleaders would be around the quad playing music and doing cheers.  You would see people (including young children, students, Larry the Cable Guy, elderly men) wearing their red proudly (some in more crazy fashion than others). 

via Husker Locker

via Google Images

via Google Images

via

Then you waited outside Memorial Stadium to get in (once the gates would open).  Surrounded by other dedicated fans who were the first to arrive in what once was a empty stadium that would soon be crammed with over 70,000 people.

via Huskers.com

via Huskers.com

It gives me goose bumps just thinking about it. 

One thing I have always been certain of, Nebraska has the best and most loyal fans in all of college football.  We have had sold out home games since 1962 (we're approaching 50 years folks!).  We follow our team to support them for away games.  After the game, the fans try to be very gracious, whether we win or lose.  So here is to so many great seasons and to a great first year in the Big Ten Conference!

GOOOOOO BIGGGGGGGG REEEEDDDDDDD!!!!!  GO BIG RED!!

Nebraska Trip - Part III

While I was back in Nebraska, even though it wasn't a holiday season, I had lots of plans. I got to spend a lot of time with my immediate family - we got to play some cards, go out to eat, have a tea party, etc. It was a lot of fun getting to see my niece and nephew and how much they have grown. My brother also had his birthday while I was back and of course, we had to let him win a few games ;)

I also got to see a few of my aunts and cousins spread throughout the week, and even happened to get to see my Uncle Wayne since he happened to be in town.

I got to spend some time with my in-laws, and a most of O's great grandparents. O really loved getting to see his Uncle Austin, and definitely missed getting to see him the second time we were out.

I got to spend lots of time with my great friend, April. She is moving at the end of July to Minnesota, so it is going to be more work for us to get to see each other, but I am sure we will manage.

I also got to have lunch with an old friend from high school - it was a lot of fun catching up!

But one of my favorite parts of my trip was getting a pedicure with my Mom and April, without O! I really missed getting those and may have to find a place here to get my toes done!

Nebraska Trip - Part II

One of the more eventful part of my trip happened in my first 4 hours of being there. I had told my parents the week before that I was pregnant and due around March 8th, but I hadn't told my brother and sis-in-law yet.

I decided to "tell" my brother by sending him a picture of my positive pregnancy test shortly after he arrived. Once he finally got the picture, his first response was "yes". We both sort of looked confused at each other. And then asked, "so what do you think?" He then asked "is that yours" - which of course I responded "yes" and showed my sis-in-law. Then he gave me a shocker and told me that was where they had been today and found out sis-in-law is due March 15th! He then told me that he thought I had gotten ahold of their test - which is where the confusion came from.

As if we couldn't get the first two close enough...

Nebraska Trip - Part I

The most eventful part of my Nebraska trip was getting my first speeding ticket in Northern Illinois.

73 in a 55...construction zone...mandatory court appearance...$375 minimum fine - judge decides. I didn't see that darn reduced speed sign...there weren't even any cones or anything yet.

Luckily, the judge saw it my way and reduced it to a regular speeding ticket...$75 fine. Much better, but still I got my first ticket :(

O behaved relatively well in the court room. I can now tell him he first appeared in court when he was 2!

Back in the saddle

Owen and I ended up coming back on Sunday. Things looked pretty busy for all the family that day so it just made sense to come back a day early and get settled back before going back to school on Tuesday.

So far, so good for Owen - he slept well last night with minimal fighting and ate okay last night considering we just got done with a bit over 12 hour total time trip.

It was really great getting to go back and see everyone. I began to cry a bit on Saturday when I said goodbye to Keira and Aden - though I will miss their parents a lot too! I think it was harder since I know I won't be back until either May or July depending on how my teaching schedule for summer is...that is, how much I am prepared for it.

Our little family has a lot of resolutions this year...Brandon has a few: quit smoking, drink a lot less pop, eat better, and to play more with Owen. I have a few typical ones - lose some weight (30 lbs by end of May), save more money. I want to cut back on my soda too! We haven't let Owen have soda yet so we think we should cut back a lot too so that we aren't being too hypocritical. We just don't want him to be as addicted to it as we are. I also want to start working out more, which will be hard to do, but I will just have to make time. A friend and I are going to play racquetball 2 mornings a week as our afternoons are booked on different days. Finally, I want to stress less about the mess of my house and live in the moment with my husband and son.

Going to work on getting everything I brought home with me put away today as well as grocery shopping. Back to school tomorrow...

I'll be home...after Christmas

Today is my last day of work until the 6th!! Woo Hoo!!! They are actually turning most things off at NKU until the 5th, so I couldn't come in even if I wanted to.

I officially turned in my reappointment materials in my lovely pink binder - it is so me!! Working on getting some planning done for my new class in the Spring. It isn't really new as it is an intro level class but for business majors.

I am going to look at my first house today - the one that is sort of out of our price range...but as my father once said, "it doesn't look to hurt" :) This house is a family that is getting close to being foreclosed on...so we might be able to get it cheaper....maybe. It is absolutely gorgeous online, so we'll see how it looks in person. After I get back from Nebraska, we'll probably really start looking. I know some things I want and don't want - I want a nice kitchen with either an island or pantry with a microwave above the range. I would like to have a 4-bedroom since they seem to be in abundance here. I would like a walk-in closet, non basement laundry. I don't want a split-level or a garage that is not at kitchen level. I don't want to have to get on I-75 if I don't have to. If I absolutely fall in love with a house then I'll do it.

Going to be heading out to Nebraska on Friday morning. Hopefully the weather will be in our favor. Looking forward to being there for awhile, but will miss getting to have a "real" vacation. I guess I might have to take a couple days at Spring Break for myself....

Going to eat at O'Charleys today....going to have a parmesan chicken sandwich!! Yummy!!!

Back to Nebraska

Tuesday, December 09, 2008
Nebraska time Current mood: chipper Category: Life
We went back to Nebraska for Thanksgiving. Honestly, once we arrived it was like I had never been gone. Not much had really changed in Lincoln - though I was glad that the O Street bridge was finally finished!!

Made sure that we ate at Runza one night since that is one of our favorite places that we don't have out in Kentucky! (We do have some favorites from here though - Penn Station, O'Charley's and Max and Erma's are all great!)

I was excited to finally get to see my nephew - he is so cute, facially he reminds me a lot of his sister. She is currently potty-trained so I got to take her to the potty a few times as well - definitely a new experience. Makes me wonder how that will go with Owen - maybe we'll start trying after January when we get back again.

Seeing my new nephew makes me want to have another one - I just don't know if this is the right time with it being my first year and all. But after what happened with Owen, who knows if I can have another one and even if I can, who knows how long it would take. All of you that know me well know that I am a planner and this is just something I don't get a lot of control of, which of course bugs me to death!

Went up to UNL to see some old profs and classmates of mine. It was kind of weird to see people in my office but it isn't like I expected to them to leave the room empty and create and altar for me!

Really enjoyed getting to see my best friend. They say you know you are really good friends when you get together after not seeing each other for a long time and it feels as though you just saw them yesterday. This is one friendship that has really stuck. She is looking for jobs this year - which are going to be really hard to find with the economy the way it is. I hope that she finds something that she will like, but of course I selfishly hope that the place is closer to me!
Getting together with the families was a bit difficult with a cranky 2-year old. We only got to stay for a couple of hours before we had to leave, but it was great seeing everyone. A couple of my cousins are graduating this year and am sorry that I won't get to be back to see them graduate. They have both grown up to me pretty admirable women - it will be interesting to see what they do next.

The drive home was okay for the most part. Owen started get a bit restless just outside the Indiana border - so we only had about 2-2.5 hours left at this point. We'll see how the drive goes by myself in a couple of weeks!!