Are you ready for some football?!?!

I live in South Bend, Indiana. Most people have no idea where that is until I say the magic words NOTRE DAME. Notre Dame is actually a town unto itself these days, but originally its address was South Bend. We also have Holy Cross, St. Mary's, and Bethel College as well as Brown Mackie, Ivy Tech and IUSB. Some would call us a college town and that would be true, but Notre Dame is more than a university, its an American institution which makes us a tourist town. Notre Dame provides the largest employment base in the area and is supplemented by conference halls and numerous hotels providing lodging for Notre Dame related events. I work at the best hotel (yep I said that), Holiday Inn located in the City Center Building....that's us....the tallest building (and the best views) in the area.

Notre Dame students provide volunteerism for our social programs as well. You can find these earnest students contributing to our city in numerous ways from reading to inner city children to helping to build Habitat for Humanity homes. These students are at every food drive and every walkathon in our financially strapped community. They are helping us to rebuild after the disasterous turn the Nation's economy took a few years back. They are good people. I'm proud that we, as a community, have something to do with these incredible young men and women.

I meet the students often. They often come to stay at our hotel during thier college interviews and of course for games and to visit their visiting parents. Good kids.

So this would be enough to make our community grateful, but Notre Dame also provides Notre Dame sports....the most famous of which is FOOTBALL!!!! We love football around here. Blue and Gold are our colors followed closely by green. We are the FIGHTING IRISH.

If we can't go to the games, every bar and major restaurant in town, even the local Burger King, has them on big screen for us. We call out to the players by first name as if we know them personally. Jimmy is our first born son right now. He can do no wrong or no right depending on who you talk to. Tailgating is a verb. If we can't tailgate for real, we have tailgate parties. My neighbors BBQ in 30 degree weather and watch the game from a big screen TV in the Garage while having a freezing party outside in the driveway. Being cold is part of the experience. If the players are cold....then we want to be too.

My 16 year old son puts up signs on our front door during the biggest games of the year. NO MICHIGAN FANS ALLOWED. USC FANS ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. He means it. He has a squirt gun. A big one and he's not shy about using it. He will be your friend every day but game day. On game day YOU are the ENEMY. You must be soaked.

We live and breathe Notre Dame football. We love them and hate them and yell at the players like they are our own misbehaving children when they don't play the way we want. We also shed tears for them for every disappointment and every incredible win.

I don't even understand all the rules and I've won on two football pools this year. The only rule I need to understand is WE ARE NOTRE DAME.

GO IRISH!!! Beat USC! (sorry USC...this year we really want it!)

Today's the Day of Autumnal Giggling!

It's one of those mornings.

No, not the kind where your alarm mysteriously takes a vacation when you're sure you set it and the water in the shower is perpetually cold and traffic is miserable.

Not one of those mornings.

This is the exact opposite.

This is even more rare.

I woke up this morning and the covers were the exact temperature they should be. The bed was supporting my body everywhere it needed to be supported. Sure, it was raining outside (again....welcome to Southeast Alaska!), but the raindrops actually sounded kind of cool outside the window. My usually-grumpy-in-the-morning husband was actually chipper this morning--perhaps a sign that I should be on the lookout for the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, but I'll think about that later--and went off to work almost on time.

And me?

I'm sitting here, still under the covers (still the perfect temperature) and feeling mischievous.

What should I do today, on this first day of October? I'll admit, I think what's got me in this mood is the fact that it is fall. Delicious, beautiful, amazing fall. It's a time for apple cider, falling leaves, and the cutest wardrobe of the entire year.

What do I want to wear today?

Something that will make me giggle in self-satisfaction at work when customers aren't looking, definitely.

What do I want to do today?

Something that will make me giggle in child-like joy, definitely.

Oh yes, today is a day to giggle. Not in a teenage, "I-just-saw-my-favorite-teen-heartthrob" kind of way, but in an adult, "I-just-did-something-that-polite-society-would-consider-immature-and-I-loved-it" kind of way.

And so I challenge you, lovely ladies of Woman's World Magazine,

to make today your own Autumnal Giggling Day!

Since we're all reading this from around the world, I know it won't be autumnal for all of you, but perhaps the first of October is the best day of Spring where you are!

Here's what you need to do:

1. No matter what hemisphere you're in, play this at some point in the day, preferably at the beginning.

2. Go to your closet, pick out the thing that you think is prettiest, and wear it. Love it. Enjoy it. Chances are it's a twirly skirt. Twirl as much as physically possible today.

3. Smile at at least one person you don't know. For optimal effect, do it on a public transit system right as you sit down. It will leave them wondering during the whole ride.

4. Also, pick out a piece of jewelry you own that means something to you. Maybe it's the bracelet your grandmother gave you. Or the macaroni necklace your child made for you. Or the first piece of jewelry your significant other ever gave you. Or a big splurge purchase you made for yourself with a particularly awesome paycheck. Don't wear it. Put it in your pocket. Or, wear it, but wear it in a way that no one will see, like under a bulky sweater. Pick it up at random points throughout the day and smile at the memories it contains as well as the fact that no one else around you even knows it's there.

5. If possible, dance down a hallway to Madonna's "Material Girl", either playing in your head or on a real sound system.

Have fun, ladies!

And let me know how it goes.

:)

Blessings,

Cindy

http://wherescindynow.blogspot.com/