It's time for another happiness alphabet entry. This blog post is brought to you by the letter I :)

Internet-Seriously, what did we do without it? (see also: G, Google)

iPhone-Hello my name is Erin and I am an iPhone-aholic. I had it for approximately 17 minutes before I knew I couldn't live without it. I swear if I could take my online grad school classes on it, I don't think I'd need a computer at all. And I don't even have the new one yet. (But don't worry, I will soon).

Ice Cream-You know I have to have at least one food entry per letter, so here you go. I ♥ Ice Cream. And in case you are looking for great ice cream, here are my suggestions:

Best at home? Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla or Blue Bell Banana Pudding (it's worth the $6, I promise)

Best in Lexington (or Cincinnati)? Greaters. I am partial to the Mocha Chocolate Chip or the Cookies and Cream Milkshakes.

Best on Planet Earth (and conveniently Best in Eastern Kentucky)? Crisp's Dairy Treat. Anything from Crisp's Dairy Treat. And while you are there, get a hot dog. And some onion rings.

Instant gratification food- You know: chips & salsa at a Mexican restaurant, the peanuts at Logans, the breadsticks at Olive Garden. I like when a restaurant feeds me as soon as I sit down.

That being said, I am a completely predictable crier. And while I did my fair share of tearing up in the principal's office my first few years at Rosey D (which I didn't realize until Paul called me in there once and before he started talking to me, he pulled out the Kleenex box and sat it on the top of his desk), and I did have a little bit of a breakdown on Autumn's couch last year, I usually save my tears for fictional characters.

And when I cry while watching TV or movies, it's always at the same point. When Rachel gets off the plane...

When January Jones sees Matthew Fox in We are Marshall after she thought he'd died in the plane crash.

When the little old man in Field of Dreams gets choked up talking about all the blue hats they found in Doc Graham's office after he died that he never got around to giving his wife.

When Peter comes home at Christmas and surprises his family with a fresh pot of coffee.

And just in case you thought I was lying, I seriously just started crying watching these clips on YouTube. And if you don't, then have Dorothy use the oil can to loosen you up, because you need to see the Wizard for a heart.

I am not sure how keen I am on this whole "summers off" thing. When I was in the classroom, and even the computer lab, it was necessary to get a break from the kids and deescalate my stress levels. However, now that I am not working with kids on a day to day basis, I don't know that I will enjoy this summer as much as those in the past. Case in point: it's day 4 of my summer and I am already bored. I bought a pool pass and have been several times, I have been to a Reds game, and I have seen both movies that are in the theatre that I wanted to see... so now what? Most of my friends from work live in Nicholasville, so I don't get to see them as much in the summer. And my non work friends live way far away, and while I'd be perfectly happy moving to Annapolis for the summer, Jenny still has to get up and go to work every day, so I am not sure how that would work out... And while my Facebook friends keep posting pictures of all of the wonderful places they have been, I am wondering if there is an angle I could photograph my house to make it look tropical, because I am pretty sure this is where I will be spending my summer.

So there it is. My summer confession. Someone remind me of this in August when I am complaining about going back to work.

The date was September 27, 2003. Inspectors in Iraq were still searching for Weapons of Mass Destruction, large-scale earthquakes had happened in Japan and China earlier in the week, and my friends Kim and Bill were moving from Midway to Lexington. As a first year season ticket holder, I had already seen two losses, so I decided to give myself a week off and do the friendly thing and help with the move. Then UK nearly beat Florida, and all that was running through my mind was What if I’d missed it? And then I knew. I was one of them. The Commonwealth Stadium faithful. The ones who show up week after week, regardless of circumstances. The ones who stay to hear “My Old Kentucky Home” at the end of the game, regardless of what the scoreboard says, from the blazing heat of September to the cold rain of November. I haven’t missed a game since that fateful day in 2003. During my 43 game streak, (which, if you’re keeping track, means I only need 370 more to beat Jim Brown) I have seen 22 wins and 19 losses. Here are my picks for the three games that stand out the most to me.

·Most Memorable: vs Arkansas, November 1, 2003, L 71-63 7OT—We all know the stats on this one. Longest game in NCAA history. Seven overtimes. Lasted just shy of five hours. But only if you were there do you really remember it. Remember that Arkansas never trailed in regulation, but our boys kept fighting back. Remember when Hefty Lefty hit Chris Bernard for a touchdown in the fourth quarter and good ole Taylor Begley nailed the extra point to send us into overtime. When Lorenzen hit Derek Abney for the two-point conversion in the fourth overtime, I knew that this was going to be a game for the books, even if the Cats might not be able to pull out a victory. And I was right.

·Most Painful Loss: vs Tennessee, November 24, 2007, L 52-50 4OT—It might seem that picking the worst loss would be tough when the first three seasons you watched were losing seasons. But this was an easy choice for me. This one hurt the most. It hurt because it wasn’t a losing season. It was the year we beat #9 Louisville and #1 LSU, the year fueled by the momentum of the first Bowl victory since most of the boys on the team were born, the year we were ranked in the Top Ten for the first time in thirty years. It hurt because it was the senior year of Woodson. And Tamme. And Burton. And Johnson. And it hurt because, as the Alabama fan says in his YouTube monologue, “I hate Tennessee, man!”

·Most Exciting Win: vs Florida Atlantic, September 29, 2007, W 45-17—Okay, hear me out on this one. I know I saw the goalposts come down against Georgia in 2006, and the come-from-behind victories against Louisville and LSU in 2007. I know this was the game that ended Andre Woodson’s consecutive passes without interception at 325. And I know it was against Florida Atlantic. But we won convincingly with Woodson throwing five touchdown passes. This win put us #8 in both the Coaches’ Poll and the AP Poll. And more importantly, we were 5-0. Undefeated. A chance to be bowl eligible only six games into the season. It felt good.

So there you go, my three stand-outs. Agree? Disagree? Let me hear it.


About Me:
Being born in December 1978, I like to think I was conceived the night UK beat Duke in the National Championship game (well, I don’t actually like to think about being conceived at all, but you get my point.) At 11, I was sitting in shock on my parents’ blue flowered couch when the Laettner shot went in. At 13, I was skipping school and waiting in line for Midnight Madness to begin. At 15, I was in Atlanta trying to figure out why Marty Moore didn’t just fall on the ball. At 16, I was convinced that I was going to marry Travis Ford, then at 19, Jeff Sheppard. When I graduated from UK, the first big purchase I made was a pair of season football tickets. I was sure the additional ticket would belong to a husband by now, but alas, not everything works out like you think it will (see Gillespie, Billy Clyde). So yeah, I’m a Cats fan. I live in Lexington, and in my spare time, I am the District Technology Integration Specialist for Jessamine County Schools (which sadly isn’t as important as it sounds). I am also working on my second Masters Degree/Principal Certification. And when I’m not writing my bio, I am able to condense my thoughts to 140 characters or less, so you can follow me on Twitter @erinwaggoner.