Taking the Plunge

First of all, I would like to say that I LOVE my new Macbook! It might not sparkly but what it lacks in glitz, it more than makes up for in cool features, cuteness, and coordination with my bedroom furniture. But I digress...

Today I did something I never in a million years thought that I would do. I participated in the 14th Annual MD State Troopers Polar Bear Plunge! Along with thousands of other crazy people, about 25 of my coworkers and their significant others braved the near blizzard to hop into the freezing cold Chesapeake Bay to benefit the Special Olympics. To give you a hint of how cold it was, the day's high was forecasted to be 23 degrees today.

We met up this morning as it was first starting to snow and bundled up to head to the beach. After we registered, got our sweatshirts and took a team photo, there were a ton of activities and tents to visit once we got to the park grounds. We started out in the Ice Lodge tent, which had a live band, tons of food and drink, and even some games going on! Then, we wandered over to the vendor tent and browsed the tables of things for sale. There was a Ravens station with SUPER cute items, but I somehow resisted. Instead, two of my coworkers, Jamie and Jaime, bought ourselves some cute snow gear. Mine is a moose/reindeer, you just can't see the antlers.

Speaking of the Ravens, the Ravenmaniacs were at the Plunge in full effect. They came in their loaded down, huge, purple school bus, dressed in head to toe Ravens gear. During football season, there is a huge feud around school between the Ravens, Redskins, and Steelers fans, so the Ravens fans of course had to take advantage of this photo op! There was also rumor that Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco, was supposed to take a dip in the bay, but due to the snow they cancelled plunges later in the day.

Anyway, after wandering around, trying to stay warm for awhile, it was finally plunge time! (They didn't cancel plunges until AFTER we all hopped in at 1 PM...lucky us.) While some people stripped down to just their bathing suits and bare skin, I opted to keep my long sleeves on and rolled my leggings up instead. Let me tell you, even though I only went in to my knees, it was definitely more than enough plunging for me! A few of the people on our team went all out and dipped their heads under. Braver than me, that's for sure.

All in all, it was a great day! I was able to raise money and give my time (and body heat) for a really amazing cause. It was also really fun to hang out with some of my coworkers outside of an elementary school!

Army Navy Weekend... Sort Of...

As some of you know, the 110th Annual Army v Navy Football Game is taking place tomorrow afternoon in Philly. A few months ago I bought tickets and was VERY excited to brave the cold for the 2nd year in a row. However, after many glitches and an awful cold (which has been making me sound ridiculous, cough, hack and need to blow my nose so much that one of my students asked in horror if I was going to be ok?!?!) I had to sell my tickets. Since I'm a fan of football, in any form, I am very depressed about this fact. Sure, it's FREEZING but the game also has a TON of traditions that are just really cool! So, as I procrastinate grading my 3 inch (literally) tall stack of papers, I decided that to try to make myself feel a little less sad and lucky for having been fortunate enough to go to one A/N game, I would share my experience at last years game!

My good friend and sorority sister, Lauren, has a boyfriend who is currently in his last year at West Point, so she offered me an extra ticket to the game last year. Of course, I jumped at the chance! After working a horrendous private party at the restaurant I used to work at, I headed up to her house around midnight. After sleeping for about 3 and a half hours, we woke up, met her BF, and were on our way to Philly!

We got there around 6 AM, since Lauren's BF had to be there super early to line up or something. We took a short nap in the car then bundled up and headed inside. All of the Navy Midshipmen and West Point Cadets do this super neat march out onto the field before the game starts. It looks really sharp and just shows how disciplined those men and women are. (Even though I secretly thought Army looked much more put together...)

The game started at noon sharp, but not without some fan fare. First of all, Air Force One flew overhead, and since we were in the nosebleeds, it was pretty close to where we were! Parashoot jumpers from Army and Navy cruised onto the field and the Blue Angels and an Army helicopter flew over! When it was time for kickoff, President George W. Bush (who I am a loving fan of, regardless of what anyone says) came out to give a faux kickoff and call the coin toss! Army was debuting their camo uniforms at the game last year and they were very sharp looking! Then, at halftime, the high commander from West Point "handed off" the President to the high commander from the Naval Academy so that he could sit on that side for the rest of the game! I thought that was probably the coolest part of the game (yes, nerd.) Also, since the President was there, there were a ton of sniper shooters ON TOP OF THE STADIUM. It was neat.

I had a hard time choosing who to root for; I've lived very close to Annapolis my whole life and therefore, feel like I should bea Navy girl, buuuut Lauren's BF goes to West Point and I knew how hard he worked at school everyday. Let's just say I cheered for America! It wasn't a super exciting game (Army lost), but it was definitely an experience I will never forget!

As I've said, it was extremely cold. The delicious hot chocolate that Lauren and I bought in plastic travel mugs only kept us warm so long. We also had hadn warmers inside our gloves and shoes, but I still think of it as the coldest day of my life. Let's just say that we spent a lot of time walking around the stadium to keep our blood flowing throughout the game!

I will be sad to not be at the game this year, but am glad that I have my memories (and travel mug!) from last year! Let's go Army! Let's go Navy!

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