Dear Gator Nation,

While I pride myself on my love of civility and all that it represents. I do on occasion, well, lose it. And on behalf of everyone, everywhere, I have a couple of things to say.

Yes, we are all well over TSPN and the Tebow love fest. We are all completely weirded out by the Urban/Timmy can't bare to be apart relationship. But, we know that these things shall pass. TT will head on to be an at best average quarterback in the NFL, Urban will take the job at Notre Dame (no matter what he says)and like Spurrier, we will soon forget that they ever happened.

What we cannot bear, oh lovers of all things orange, is the way you act. Kicking people when they are down is just a waste of your energy. Yes, my Alma Mater has had arguably the worst season in decades. So, when you, Mr. Random Gator College Kid, say to me in the middle of nowhere SC..."See you in two weeks" (and by "say", I mean mutter under your breath in a threatening yet, cowardly way) I almost feel sorry for you. Is it not enough for you to enjoy your winning season and just leave the rest of us alone? And that goes for all of personal acquaintances who claim the U of F. There really is no need for you not to talk to me for 5 years and then post snide remarks on my facebook wall. You may find yourself defriended if you keep that up.

While I have your attention, I know that you are now accustom to a bit of razzing for your love of the jorts. And you now wear them in a self mocking way. Fine. Whatever. But, you really should know that wearing game day attire out on the town the night before and well after the game is simply not cool. It is not necessary to demonstrate to the world that your wardrobe is limited to an orange and blue polo, khaki shorts and a visor. You look silly. For the love, put on restaurant/bar/club appropriate attire. Class it up a bit. You can do it.

Also, I do not need to hear how God made the sky blue and the sun orange. That does not make God a gator. If so, God must be really busy cheering for Auburn, Illinois, Virginia, Syracuse, UT-El Paso and Clemson (when they mix in the blue). And I really don't see that happening.

So, when those few brave Seminoles head into the Swamp on Saturday, please act like someone who has had a great run. Not with the insensitivity that you love to show so much. All. Year. Long.

Thank you,
A Tired Nole

W...T...Feathers

Angie and I had such big plans for our midweek day off. We dreamed of a nice long run in the morning (but not crazy early) and then we were going to spend the day crafting. Yes. Crafting. Sometimes cool women in their late 20s craft. Deal.

Here is what we were going to make:

You can click for instructions.

It is awesome. We can all agree on that. And Angie and I both have a thing for peacock feathers. Ever since we simultaneously drooled over the feathered place mats that Z Gallerie had last winter. So after our lovely run, we headed out on our adventure to Michael's. To hunt and gather. Well, that lasted all of 10 minutes. Because.... BAM.... there it was! The very wreath that we wanted to make with our own two (well, four) hands.

Cue Angie with the "you have got to be kidding me" face.

So, what did we do? Well, after ranting for a good 15 minutes in the store, we bought the wreath. In all of it's premade glory and then headed to the mall. So much for a day of crafting!

Thank you, Tripp.

You are good and what you do is good.

I cried on the inside.

It would have been on the outside, had we not been in a public place. I am not really big on crying in public. It just isn't my style. So, here is what had me so verklempt....

I know it just looks like a box of earrings to you. And yes, technically, it is just a box of earrings. But to me it was so so so much more than that. As many of you may recall, my jewelry box was taken when our house got broken into. And I was left with only one pair of earrings- the ones that I was wearing that day. And while I do love my gold hoops, they just don't go with every look. (and there was that one day when I forgot one... leaving me looking like a pirate.)

So, last week when I was out with a friend and she said, "I know how much jewelry means to you (well, and me), so........" And cue a sweeping gesture into her purse to reveal the cutest little white box filled with those sparkly gems. Gasp. Heart melt. I was done. No words. (shocking for me... I know.) She didn't have to go to the store and find new earrings for me.... I am sure that she would have rather bought new earrings for herself. But she did. And it meant even more than I thought it could.

Beyond that gift alone, I was reminded of how good my friends are. They are smart, witty, beautiful, caring, compassionate, supportive and thoughtful people. I really have good friends. Do I even deserve that? If even an ounce of their greatness rubs off on me....

Julia, this is your thank you. In the one form that I know you will love.

Because you should know...

I love pumpkin. I really do. So when I stumbled across this recipe (thanks Rossie!), I knew that I had to make them. So, I stalked my local Publix for ALL of their cans of pumpkin. (I do not take this little pumpkin shortage of 2009 lightly.) To all local readers: Club Pub on Ocala is your best bet.

And since everyone has been asking.... here is the recipe. Go. Bake. Be happy.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 package instant butterscotch pudding mix
2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/2 t. ground allspice or nutmeg or cloves*
1 cup butter, room temp.
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 eggs, room temperature
1 t. vanilla extract
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin purée

*I am not a very scientific baker... I just dump in whatever fall spices I have on hand. Go ahead. Judge me. I dare you.

For cream cheese frosting

4 oz. cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
1 t. cinnamon

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Grease 24 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners. Whisk together the flour, pudding mix, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ground ginger and company (see note regarding spices) in a bowl; set aside.

Beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until light and fluffy. The mixture should be noticeably lighter in color. Add the room-temperature eggs one at a time, allowing each egg to blend into the butter mixture before adding the next. Beat in the vanilla extract and pumpkin purée with the last egg. Stir in the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared muffin cups.

Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops and spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.

For icing, combine all ingredients and spread frosting on top of the cupcakes. Makes 24 cupcakes. (Makes more icing that needed. Darn, I just had to eat it by the spoonful.)

I'm enjoying. You should too.

But who am I to tell you what to do?

Kourtney Kardashian and I had a similar week....

We both were recovering from home break-ins. Yes, you read that correctly. While the Greene Girls were out of the house, someone (and company) decided it would be fun to bust through our front door. And I mean bust. Because when Emily and I got home that night, we found pieces of our door frame scattered a good 10 feet. Initial thought, ugh... I am going to have to vacuum tonight. Ok. I lied. My initial thought was "They took the TV!" Yes, Emily's graduation present was gone. It was sad. Sarah's Wii was gone. That was sad. My jewelry box was gone. That was sad. The Country Rock Band Game that was left in the Wii was gone. That was tragic. (Wait...I mean... when we sang along to that Country Rock Band game... Now, that was tragic.) And, yes, I had to vacuum that night.

It is amazing how quickly, in such an unexpected instance, our little mantra became, "It is just stuff." "It is just stuff." "It is just stuff." I wish that I could say that I am not caught up with things of this world. But that just wouldn't be true. There are moments when I really miss our TV. It just seems so wrong now to watch a football game on that ol' 25" Sanyo that I got as a freshman in college. And I have to think to myself, it is just stuff. I occasionally think about the the things in my jewelry box (many that I haven't looked at or thought of in years) and now, suddenly, I miss them. It is just stuff. When I think of the time and effort that was spent replacing our front door. (Not that I was physcially involved in that process). But, It is just stuff. And when on Friday night, I was looking for our tickets to the football game and I realized that ::gasp:: those were stolen also. It is just stuff.

Set your mind on things above, not on eartly things.

Colossians 3:2