Blarney Stones

These were the most wonderful things I've ever eaten from Detroit Beer Company.

Corned Beef, Swiss Cheese, Sauerkraut Dusted with Rye&Caraway Bread Crumbs

Deep Fried with Thousand Island Dipping Sauce

#BFF&theSuperBowl

So I took yesterday off to spend with my #BFF.

It had been far too long since we were able to spend a day together, thus it was totally necessary. Mr.U dropped me off at her work on Sunday afternoon. I shopped – and found a great, new top – while she finished up then we headed home to finish the adorable cupcakes she’d made for the SuperBowl Party we planned to attend at a trendy apartment in a classic building downtown with some of #BFF’s new&artsy friends. She made these cute, little toppers for the cupcakes and they all thought they looked just as wonderful as they tasted. Everyone else brought dips&snacks and the apartment owners made a snack-stadium and nachos. We got front row seats to watch the game and crossed our fingers that #BFF’s point-prediction (17-21 Ravens) would win her some prices at work. Unfortunately, she didn’t but we did enjoy BlueMoon&YumYums and got to hang out with some fun, new people.

The next day – we slept till noon and laid around her house while a blizzard took over the outside world. Late in the evening, she took me to the train station and we sat in her toasty car listening to Bruno Mars (trying not to pee) and waiting.

Probably one of the best day’s off I’ve ever taken.

Last Game

The last Lion’s game of the season was a memorable one – not because we lost (no surprise there) but because my brother and his buddies came in from Chicago. He’d gotten me a new jersey for Christmas and I was pumped to wear it – though I had to take it off when we were losing in the 4th quarter… can’t jinx a new jersey by wearing it through a losing game.

Mr.U&I met them at Loco's prior to the game then headed back to the Greektown Hotel so the guys could change into their silly game-day outfits. Once we got in line at the stadium, Bears fans from every direction were yelling “Da Bears!” at our group – a point in the day that was certainly not Mr.U’s favorite. And in our seats, which were conveniently in the same section, we passed around smiles&beers throughout the game. After the loss, we headed to Detroit Pub for food&drinks. Of course – I had too many, got emotional, and needed to head home early. Before that mishap, though, it had been a pretty good day.

I guess the biggest thing about that day was my realization the next morning that I need to control my drinking better… getting drunk and crying is annoying – especially when the things I’m crying about happened over 3 years ago. New Year’s resolution to Never Do That Again.

BlurryKentFans

Two of my brother’s best friends he met in Chicago went to Kent State University, so when their football team made it to the MAC Championship game at Ford Field on Friday night, the 3 of them decided they needed to head our way for the game. Mr.U&I already got 4 free tickets just for being Lion’s season ticket holders, but on at the Thanksgiving game we sweet-talked the ticket booth guy into giving us one more.

We left work early Friday to pick the 3 of them up from the train downtown and drop them off at the Greektown Casino. After parking our own car in the free-MGM-structure and walking back to Greektown, we started slamming drinks at the casino bar. Too bad for us, neither of us had eaten enough to be drinking so quickly and – after quite a few pitcher&shot deals at Detroit Pub – we barely stumbled into Ford Field and down into the Kent State student section for the game. I insisted on getting sweet, roasted almonds and falling all over the place … ripping a hole in my favorite jeans and new winter jacket.

Around 3am I woke up in the hotel room with Mr.U nowhere to be found. A little freaked out about my missing boyfriend&cellphone&wallet, I threw on my boots and my brother&I headed down to wander the streets and look for my drunk&lost boyfriend. Ofcourse, when we got to where my car should have been, it wasn’t there. So we grabbed a cabbed and headed to our home … for the whole 20min ride all I did was hope&pray that we’d find him safely tucked in our bed. And there he was. So I drove my irritated brother back into downtown and left him at the hotel.

That night was too blurry for me … for how fun it started, I wish I’d remembered it’s ending. I definitely don’t drink enough these days to hold my own with the big boys.

Thursday's Loss

The Detroit Lions have a magical ability for finding new ways to lose.

After a horrible call by the refs and an unnecessary review flag from Coach Schwartz, the energy in the stadium went from buzzing&excited to angry&frustrated with “Boooos” booming from every direction and rumbling inside my body. Every single time – from that moment on – that a ref was shown on the big screen, the boooos boomed again and the Lions never quite recovered, though they've started off with such energy, and even with the extra over-time to pull out a win. I felt like the emotional highs&lows of the game seriously beat me down. My brain felt like mush and my heart seemed to ache as we walked back to our car to drive home. Mr.U attempted to “say one thing then move on” from the loss, but we couldn’t help going through every horrible play and missed opportunity that led to the last-minute downfall and loss of our Lions. It was so incredibly frustrating and I needed a rest before dinner.

Someday… Lions, please win for us. These season ticket holders will love you through anything, but another winning season – with a playoff appearance – would be absolutely wonderful.

The halftime show was pretty funny, though - at least the people who were so excited to see it. I'd never heard the Detroit song Kid Rock played, but the effects were pretty cool. This big circle thing dropped down from the ceiling displaying images the whole time and the field was filled with female, youth dancers who had a pretty sweet routine. All-in-all, it was a great game with a good halftime show and an anything-but-good ending.

OldTime Tailgate

This weekend’s Lion’s tailgate was just like old times

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in the Marilyn Monroe Lot with a bunch of frat boys.

It was a fun change considering we haven’t done much tailgating this season. It was freezing and I spent most of the time in Gloria with my hands glued to the heating vents, but we drank more beers than we’ve tended to before this season’s games and I suppose we have to spice up our lives every once in a while.

After the game, we took a nice walk to a friend’s loft downtown to hang out for a while, which made me want to move downtown and live in the slowly developing metropolis… maybe someday.

PINK&Football

The NFL takes the month of October – Breast Cancer Awareness Month – very seriously. Since the Lion’s only had one home game this month, Ford Field was decked out in Pink this Sunday. On the way to the stadium, we were handed ribbons to wear in the game – sponsored by PINK and the NFL. (two of my favorite things) We also got Pink towels to wave around upon entering. And all the players were covered in Pink, which was pretty adorable to see.

Pink Shoes

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Pink Sweatbands

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Pink Gloves

And they ran out through a tunnel of Breast Cancer Survivors banging together Pink, plastic sticks and hugging Roary, the Lion’s mascot. It was precious&inspiring. Anyone banding together for a cost tends to get to me. The whole game (and all its advocacy) was pretty wonderful – our last minute win was the perfect ending.

Sober Game

After Mr.U’s home-opener debacle – including denial of entrance into Ford Field and the loss of his iPhone – he’s decided that games without black-out-drunk-tailgate mornings may be a good idea.

So, this Sunday, we got Motor City Casino buffet breakfast with his mom before walking from MGM to the field for an early, entirely-sober game day. It was pretty wild to see the seats almost completely empty, but it was a fun experience and I actually enjoyed the entire game without any booze. Some of the fans in front of us were embarrassingly drunk&unruly, which made me appreciate our decision to behave for a change.

Too bad our team couldn’t pull anything together for a win.

 

But at least we got MGM Grand Casino lunch buffet after the loss.

Tailgate Time

This Saturday (today) was the home-opener at the University of Michigan, so tailgating with my best-male-highschool friend was my only Saturday Plan. Since Mr.U had to head across the state for his last master’s class, I had him drop me off downtown Ann Arbor at 8am to kick-off my day with BMHS. We had some liquored up coffee, a bowl, and some funzies before walking through campus to breakfast. We went to a great little restaurant called Seva’s with lots of vegan options and a sweet, catwalk-esque set-up. After breakfast we stopped by our tailgate spot to pick some things up before heading home and grabbing the roommate. We went back over to start the grill, made friends with the neighbors, played beerpong on their porch, then headed back to our tailgate for some delicious food and Michigan brews. Once the game was about to start, everyone headed toward the stadium and I started my 2mile trek to the mall where Mr.U planned to pick me up to avoid traffic. The walk was wonderful on such a beautiful day though such a contagiously exciting fall football atmosphere.

Stadium Buzz

The first preseason game put quite the buzz in the downtown air.
As we walked from Greektown to the stadium the streets were filled with fans in HonoluluBlue&Silver (like my lovely fingernails) and the seats were filled with beer-in-hand men and Victoria’s Secret Pink-clad girls. I always think people-watching is a great time – and at a sporting event it’s even more interesting. It’s easy to spot those who are completely out of their element (girls in cropped jersey tops & knee-high boots) and those who’ve waited all year to kick-off football season again.
The seats were a little too hard for my BonyBack&SoberMindset, but it was nice to be back in the climate-controlled stadium watching our boys take the field.

BoysBeingBoys

This weekend was Mr.U’s best friend’s Going-Away Party before him and his girlfriend (my VPBF) move to China for a year. We stopped for some “China Beer” before the party and enjoyed it during the grill-out where the guys played 500 in the front yard (rather competitively for Saturday afternoon fun) prior to Pokémon-drinking-game-time. After we’d all had quite a few beers, we walked over to a house-party where Mr.U got super trashed, cried, and needed to be walked back home. A couple fields and super dark streets later and we made it to Mr.U’sBF’s house. Not allowed to go in before the others returned, we hunkered down in the back of the jeep for a cold, hard night of sleep in the driveway. When we woke, the jeep wouldn’t start. Once we got it jumped, Chinese buffet with the boys was in order.Interesting&Adventurous “Last Weekend.”

Practice&Beer

I got out of work early yesterday for a “dentist appointment” – and/or a trip to the Lion’s training facility for special, season-ticket-holder practice and meet&greet time. I was shocked by the amount of people who came out just to watch these players practice, but – despite the big crowd – it ended up being a lot of fun. We didn’t stay for the greeting part, which was basically the players walking through the lines of people for handshakes. So, instead, we headed to Dearborn to have dinner&drinks at Bailey’s. I had a hard cider to start off and an amazing plate of nachos while Mr.U enjoyed a burger an some craft brews.

Thanks, Lions, for the excuse for a nice date-day.

Football Treats

Oh, the Super Bowl: such a media-crazed sporting event. I can honestly say that it’s potentially my least favorite game of the year. But it is a fun time to get together, enjoy some yummy snacks, and watch a couple hours of entertaining television. It’s also pretty interesting to observe other’s reactions to the event... Some of TheGirls had absolutely no clue about the game: “is there a 4th period in football?” “we don’t need volume, that man in the stripes is making hand gestures.” Barbie stuck with her love for her favorite team (or most gorgeous quarterback) while KFry found reasons to love the opposition and Mr.U rooted for anything against “the Ugg-wearing Fairy.” The New Girl relentlessly criticized the halftime show and The Random HookUp made off-the-wall comments while sipping his 151. I snuggled&giggled&munched on yummies including Peanut Butter Muscle Balls (compliments of Mr.U who thought “eat my balls!” was the funniest saying of the night), taco dip, and delicious homemade mac-n-cheese & pretzel bites. My belly was full, “my team” won, and I ended the night on the futon curled up next to my favorite Lion’s fan.

Rain or Shine

Over winter break, my university played in a Bowl Game and a ton of friend’s came out to tailgate and support the team. Unfortunately for all of us, no matter how pumped we were for parking-lot-shots and grilled-out-foods, the weather strongly disliked the idea of cooperating. We spent the first couple hours of the afternoon in an Irish Pub across the street, then – after shots&pitchers – we decided a proper tailgate was a must. Umbrellas in hand we passed bottles of liquor between us, snuggled for warmth, and prepared for the game. Ironically enough, the stadium is indoors and, obviously, heated – so we weren’t freezing once we’d braved the weather and made it inside again. Our team may have lost, but the day was a blast – a little fuzzy in memory and pretty hilarious thanks to a “nap fit for a KING.”

The Soon-To-Be-Engaged Couple
He proposed to her the next day - I can't imagine how excited he was this whole time!

The DX-AOII Gang

Mr.U drinking a beer under my Victoria's Secret Umbrella

2 of my Besties snugglin' me

Traverse City Cherry Pucker