Scenes from the Red River Rivalry Weekend

Matt hit up Fletcher's Corny Dog. I haven't had my annual treat....yet.

Ah, Red River Rivalry weekend....for those of you not from Texas or Oklahoma, this is a huge football weekend between OU and UT that occurs each year at the Cotton Bowl at the State Fair of Texas.  As someone who went to a high school and a university without a football team, it is sometimes an overwhelming venture.  It's fun to watch everyone decked out in their school colors and see how passionate the fans are about their respective teams.  I am still trying to figure out how a punter and a place kicker differ on the field and why five minutes in football takes twenty minutes in real time.  Nonetheless, I survived my third Red River Rivalry weekend with flying colors....yellow and black.  

 My cute little opening show announcers while Trackside Tina, our racing expert looks on from the audience.

 Immediately following the game.  We survived!  Sweaty, but rather gleeful. 

 I've been tweeting for Toyota Trucks while at the fair. Crystal is one of Toyota's most enthusiastic fans and she came out to say "hi".  We were so happy to finally meet her!

 A night show!  It's been hot here, look how shiny I am!

 And then it rained.  I found a new use for Toyota bags on the way home....and I'm always advertising for them.

 That would be my co-host also avoiding the rain.

 The battle of the teams.  I aligned with UT while Matt aligned with OU for their schools' fight song.

 Hitting the RC Tundra race tent with a little bit of Toyota trivia.

 Limbo time!  Everyone made it through this game safely. Phew.  The crowds had been drinking for awhile when we began this game.

 There were thousands of people in our display watching the game which was only a few feet away.

Parting shot......

Photos Courtesy of Kristyn Burtt, Matt Troyer, and Tina Pettet.

Scenes from a Weekend at The State Fair of Texas

I have officially completed 18 days so far at the State Fair of Texas and I have to say, it is much easier the second time around.  I have to thank the weather for cooperating this year; gone are the fleeces, gloves, hats, and scarves from last year.  I can't believe I will be home in one week after a month in Texas! Catch a glimpse of my weekend in photos:

Here I am, eating the famous Fletcher's Corny Dog.  Now, the Fletcher Family claims they invented the corn dog.  I don't who invented it, but it's delicious.  Read the history of the corn dog here.

My co-host decided to hijack my iPhone and change my wallpaper to his lovely mug.  I decided that he must really want his photos published, so I tagged him on my private Facebook page.  Let me tell you, he really enjoyed that one.  Little does he know, he's on my blog too!

Here's where I get a little grumpy at the city of Dallas, DART, their transportation system, had a huge debacle last year during the UT/OU game with getting people to the fair and the game on time.  They did a great job at the game this year, however, this weekend was even busier than game weekend.  Did they learn their lesson?  Nope, here are the crowds waiting to get on an available train.  Sigh.  

Larry at the ice cream stand is my best friend at the fair.  He kindly hooks me up with a vanilla soft serve every once in awhile.  Perfect for a hot summer day!  (By the way, notice my millions of freckles on my face!  I wear a hat and SPF 85 every day.  Geez!)

Happy 10th Birthday to the Toyota Prius--10.10.10!  My favorite car and probably one of the most innovative technological breakthroughs of the last decade.  This car was a game-changer back in 2000 when it was launched. Toyota hoped to sell about 12, 000 units that year.  Now, over a million Prius have been sold worldwide and over 650 MILLION gallons of gas have been saved.  

Yes, I am so strong, I can hold up a Dodge Ram with only two hands.  We're that strong at Toyota.

Um, attractive picture of my nap.  Yes, this wound up on Facebook too, all thanks to my co-host, Matt Troyer.  Hey, it was a long weekend and I needed to recharge.  I hope your weekend was just as much fun!

Musings......

It's been awhile since I have done a Musings post, but I am stuck in a bit of a writer's block today.  Actually, I think it is more of a Groundhog's Day type of scenario, every day is the same for me through October 17th.  Since I significantly covered the State Fair of Texas last year, I am trying to branch out.  The only problem?  My mind is blank.  So here are a few things that I have been thinking about lately, not enough for a full post, but here are some highlights:

1.  I Feel Frumpy:  Um.....not feeling so fashionable these last few weeks.  Yes, this is my wardrobe for the run of the show.  I cannot wait to be back in a dress and heels where I belong.  I either look like a bumble bee or Charlie Brown in my yellow and black.  Discuss.......

2. Gymnastics:  I am an uber-geek when it comes to gymnastics.  I never participated in the sport, but I love watching it.  I have even been to the last two Olympic trials just to catch all of the action live.  So, I am excited that the World Championship is coming up in Rotterdam from October 16-24.  The US Worlds Team was selected yesterday including the 2008 Silver Medal winning gymnasts, Alicia Sacramone and Bridget Sloan.  Go, USA!

3.  Football:  Since we are on the topic of sports, this was my view from the stage while I emceed the OU/UT, Red River Rivalry festivities outside of the Cotton Bowl last Saturday.  I didn't grow up in football country nor did I go to a high school/university with a team.  Heck, my school was the NYU Violets and our big sport was fencing with athletes like Jerry O'Connell.  Yes, that Jerry O'Connell, the one married to Rebecca Romijn.  Regardless, the fans are passionate about the game and their team.  It was overwhelming to have all of those people staring at you.  Congratulations to OU for pulling out the win this year, but UT wins the fashion award for the cutest school fashions.  The dresses with cowboy boots were awesome.

*UPDATE* If you are a fan of Longhorn Fashions, head over to Adored Austin's site to enter to win a UT-inspired clutch.

4. Home:  I miss home.  Being away for 26 days is hard, especially when the BF sends you cute pictures of the puppy.

What has been on your Muse List lately?  Give me the details in the comments below.

The Final Days: Can I get a "Yee Haw"?

What an experience it was! 25 days at The State Fair of Texas, braving the elements, learning the religion of football, and eating more toxic food than one body can handle. It wasn't all hard work, we did have time for a spa night.......

With fantastic clay masks and cucumber to cool our tired eyes......

......because our days were filled with State Fair-like activities. A cow....actually a Brahmen. See, I learned something while I was there.

Yet the weather continued to test our patience and the drains that were built uphill. Yes, I said uphill.

So, the sweeping continued and I swept a pretty mean broom.......

I was so good that Mary Poppins offered me a Broadway contract as a chimney sweep......

Once the rain stopped, the raking began to dry out all of the rain......

Can you tell we were confused about the weather on a daily basis?

Just wondering.....is this a typical Texas sign?

The delicious fried food run continued with some soul food........good for the soul, not for the waistline.

Here it is.....fried butter!

I brave the first bite.......

Thinking about it..........

It's pretty good......although I am not sure my face is convincing enough.

Corn in a cup from the infamous Fuel City....corn, hot sauce, sour cream, butter, and cotija cheese! Heart attack in a cup.

Sigh, now the monkeys have joined the bananas in Texas.

There was a nightly electric light parade, kind of like Disney. Kind of........

Have you ever seen an albino catfish? Me neither. Moving on......

Interacting with the crowds during Toyota Live.

Talking future technology.....

And my personal favorite, the PHEV Prius! The first 10 in the test fleet were just distributed in Colorado.

Everyone likes to join in on the fun. Three little ones giving us their rendition of "ABC".
This is important to Texans and we have the sticker to prove it.

I had a true lesson in the religion of football while I was here. I went to a high school and a university without a football team. We played lacrosse and field hockey, what do I know? So, we must decorate the Tundras with OU and UT colors.

Even Scooby Doo was getting in on the action.....

Let's call this DARTgate 2009. I thought LA didn't know how to handle public transportation, but Dallas exceeded LA's failure. A 3 hour wait to get a train to carry you 2 miles=FAIL.

A UT fan dancing his way to a prize on the Toyota Live stage. The crowds were huge that day.

We muscled our way through 25 days....or at least Troyer tried to.

But we succeeded in having fun, ate tons of fried things, and mopped up buckets of rain. It indeed was a pleasure, Texas. Thanks for having us. Yee Haw!