Monday, January 24, 2011

Cowboy Stadium Has Officially Become SuperBowl XLV



Yesterday, Cowboy Stadium was still being ruled by the Cowboys, so we were able to take a tour with Gabe and Jayme Valdez. Today the staduim is being ruled by the NFL and the FBI. 

Gabe is a chef at the stadium and was our official host. He has a "fob" that opens many doors. First, though, we had to get through the Super Bowl security that was guarding the outside of the stadium. All of these people wore jackets that said S.A.F.E. When we were almost to the entrance where we were supposed to meet Gabe and Jayme, Barry asked one of the S.A.F.E jacket people what S.A.F.E stood for. The man didn't know what it stood for, but said the company was out of Floriday and  they worked every Super Bowl.  Then he said,  "Where did we think we were going?" I don't know if we really weren't supposed to be where we were, or if the man was just embarrassed and decided to exert his power. We could go no further until Gabe came outside and rescued us.

Inside we met up with Lauren and Tennessee, who had to use a wheelchair due to a recent knee surgery.  They had received a ride in a golf cart from the parking lot and were just taken to the door. Their driver must not have been S.A.F.E. In the meantime, Jayme had designated Tennessee as her Make a Wish Child for the tour. Here is an abbreviated summary of our tour. 


Tennessee


Jayme takes off with her Make a Wish child
We started at the top. This photo was taken where the Dr. Pepper Club usually is. 
It has been taken out, because Dr. Pepper is not one of the
Super Bowl sponsors. 


Bleachers have been put in that area. I do believe that the people sitting on the top of these bleachers may be higher than the scoreboard. 

We rode up and down on this elevator with some players you may recognize, or possibly just some veterinarians.

Gabe showed us one of the kitchens with a million dollars worth of equipment in it. He did not whip up any Truffle Mac and Cheese, but they will have it ready for the Super Bowl.

Supplies are coming in everyday.
Then, we went into a suite. This particular suite had alligator hide covering the bar. 

 Notice the looks on Robin and Lauren's faces when Gabe told them that a suite pays $295.00+tax+gratuity for a tray of sixty shrimp.
We also visited Jerry Jones' suite. I have no photos, because his personal guard didn't look too happy that we were there.This is not his guard, but this was similar to how he looked as he watched us. The suite was very tasteful and there were cute photographs of his grandchildren. 

Next, Tom, Mike, Roger, and I had to talk some football. 

When working an event, the chefs and waitstaff walk at least six miles a day. I don't know how much we walked, but we were getting a little hungry. We visited the pastry kitchen. Lucky for us, Pastry Chef Katie had some leftover cookies and blueberry muffins in her kitchen. They were yummy. 
Did you know that the goal posts for the Super Bowl are different than the ones used during the season for the NFL? Here is one of  the official Super Bowl Goal post. It was getting all spruced up.

On to the interview room where Barry interviewed a former state champion basketball player.

Down to the field. 

Locker rooms were next. First the Cowboys locker room and a side trip into the trainer's room.


The Aggies

Our name is always misspelled.

Take this guy off your Fantasy Football team.

Barry and Chris met some cheerleaders at the dedication before the stadium opened. However, they can't really remember which ones. So we just took pictures in front of several of them, and they can pretend they know them.

We went into several of the clubs and bars. The lighting and my little flash did not work well together, so you will just have to imagine very nice lounges, artwork, and fixtures. 

We appreciate Gabe giving us this tour on his day off. He won't have another day off until after the Super Bowl. Thanks to Jayme for probably getting him to do it! As Barry, Tennessee, and Lauren drove off in the golf cart to the parking lot, 
Chris, Robin, and I began walking and took time for a photo op.

This worked out well for us, since the kind golf cart driver came back, picked us up, and delivered us to our car. He must have still been a good ol' Texan not a S.A.F.E.






























Saturday, January 22, 2011

Satellite Sisters and Their Stalkers, I Mean Fans


Lian Dolan, Julie Dolan, Becky, & Jan



This past Thursday, Becky F. and I went to Dallas to meet author, Lian Dolan. Lian is also one of the Satellite Sisters and has her own podcast and blog, The Chaos Chronicles. I have previously mentioned them on this blog. Lian has written her first novel, Helen of Pasadena, and was in Dallas to promote the book. Her sister Julie, also a Satellite Sister, and known for her International News Round-Ups was there to promote Lian.  
Since I began listening to these ladies when they were on XM radio years ago, I know a lot about them. When they started podcasting, Becky began listening (after I showed her how to download a podcast). It was hard not to feel like stalkers when we knew so much about them, and they didn’t know anything about us. They were kind and didn’t let on if they were terrified of us. They even posed for a photo and looked happy. Right?  


Now when my daughter, Michelle, asks me “Mom, you do realize that these people don’t know you?”, I can honestly say, “Yes they do!” However, that might just mean they have a restraining order out on me.

Friday, January 21, 2011

And the Award Goes To...


After much deliberation the winning paint colors have been chosen. There are some that can't believe it took this many samples for me to make a decision on neutral colors. See that wall color behind Barry? That is pretty much what I ended up with for the wall color. Does anyone need some paint samples?

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Thirty Six Years


Today is our thirty sixth anniversary. We met thirty seven years ago. While Barry was at our home that weekend, he juggled while riding a bicycle backwards. He was also wearing a clip-on bowtie on a plain white tee shirt.

Trust me, if you meet someone like that, hang on to them!

Monday, January 17, 2011

A Random List

This is just a random list to catch up on some of the going-ons around the BrierPatch.

1. I will be a Pisces forever.



2. How cute is it for a two year old to be in her room singing "it's our time to sing together" even though she is supposed to be taking a nap?
3. How difficult is it to spend the afternoon with a two year old that didn't take a nap?
4. Everyone loves an iPad.


5. There might be winners in the wall paint color category.
6. Need sunshine to look at paint colors and know for sure. Does this mean I must wait until March?
7. Barry doing a great job getting both houses ready. Who knew he just needed me to be gone for an extended time?
8. How wonderful it is to have a newborn sleep in your arms.


9. How many times a day can a two year old drop something?



A colored goldfish disaster.

10.Happy 100th Birthday to Aunt Eleanor- you are a beautiful lady.

Monday, January 10, 2011

Too Many Choices


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad
Remember when there was only one box of crayons with eight colors in it? Oh, those were the good old days. A blue was blue, a red was red, a yellow was yellow and so on.

Barry and I are trying to pick out paint colors for the new house. We have now purchased eighteen sample cans of paint. We were the only customers at Sherwin Williams yesterday. So if you would like to put a "happy" spin on this story, at least Sherwin Williams had a little business on a rainy, snowy day.

Our daughter-in-law, Shannon helped us Saturday then spent Sunday answering frantic text and phone calls from me.

By 9:00pm, Barry got tired and lost his patience. He said it didn't matter what color we chose, anything would look fine. I am putting that statement in print because he will deny saying it later when he is living with those colors.

I do need to add that I dropped paint drops on our driveway. Cleaning that up in freezing weather did not help Barry's attitude toward paint color. I play fair when it comes to calling each other out.

I am having a real Deja Vu about this blog. I am also nostalgic over those little boxes of eight crayons. Do they even make those anymore?

Friday, January 7, 2011

First Week of 2011

We are only six days in to 2011, but it feels like January is already slipping away. Right now Barry and I are in separate cities. He is at home with a clean dog (while I am usually there with a dog that has gotten all wet that morning and is covered in grass and leaves.) I guess since I was not there for Barry to say "Bingo needs to be brushed before he comes in", he took him to the clinic and had him groomed. if you would like to see how nice Bingo looks you can see him on Facebook.




I am in Houston helping Joanie and Jacob with Ava and Lucy. Since Joanie cant lift right now, Ava and I have been hanging out and having a good time. We have been to the playground, cleaned house ( Ava loves to dust), had general playtime, did hair and makeup, colored, grocery shopped, went to the library, and cooked to name a few activities. Lucy has slept and eaten. Joanie has slept and eaten very little. New moms are amazing.