I think I am getting too old for this!

It has taken me 10 hours of sleep, 4 Motrin, 8 waking hours, some sausage-cheese muffins, and too many Coke Zeros to help me get over my past two day's activities.

If you guys have no interest in Nascar, you can just skip by today's post and I will try my best to give you a non-Nascar dominated post tomorrow... But I will try to keep this one funny and entertaining as possible.

As most of you know, I live within mere miles of one very popular Nascar race track.

Talladega Super Speedway to be exact.

Twice a year, the population of our small county increases by at least 250,000 people, and the tiny little airport becomes the busiest airport in the South. All people with one thing on their minds....

NASCAR

Now I know all of the negative connotations that come to mind when you hear Nascar....but things have really changed since the red-necked, drunk-fests of the 70's and 80's. There are people here this weekend from all walks of life, all colors, religions, and socio-economic statuses.....just a huge melting pot of people! If you are curious at all, you should head on down to your nearest track one weekend and check it out! You don't have to go to the expense of buying tickets to get the feel Nascar....you can just walk around (for free) and absorb all of the things that Nascar has to offer. You won't get to see the cars run around the track, but you can see so many other things. And if you are lucky, you may see a driver or two!

OK, advertisement over.

Seeing as I am still BROKE, BROKE, BROKE....hubby and I decided not to buy tickets to the race this year. Plus, we were unsure if our favorite driver, Jeremy Mayfield, would actually be in the race. But that didn't stop me from having a great, FREE, couple of days at the track!

Every race weekend for as long as I can remember, I have been very lucky to have some of my Mayfield buddies come into town to watch the race. It has been so great to actually get to meet "in person" the people you "talk" to on the computer every day. This race, my two very good buddies Gladys and Dennis came.

Gladys came in Wednesday evening, so we made plans to spend Thursday together. I couldn't wait to see her! It's been an entire year since she was here. I met her and her hubby, Jack, at the Speedway and off we went! Our first stop was my mom's house. The view at my mother's house is just so beautiful, I just wanted to share it. I also couldn't wait to introduce Gladys to my mother. We had a quick trip, but had a great time.

Our next stop....Olive Garden!

Marty and Jack don't particularly like Olive Garden, so we jumped at the chance to eat something "different". OK, OK...this isn't entirely true.....the real reason we went to Olive Garden was we hoped that we may see our driver, Jeremy, there....it's his favorite place to eat. LOL!

We didn't see Jeremy (bummer), but we did have great food and even better conversation!

Our next stop...My house for dessert!

I made a fresh "Frosting in the cake mix" cake that morning. It was SOOOO good! We stuffed our faces until we were about to explode. By this time, it was time to pick the wild man up at school, so Gladys graciously agreed to go with me and keep me company in the car rider line. Once Jameson got out of school, we headed for the track!

Gladys had found out where all of car haulers parked before getting entrance inside the track. It's a parking area where the hauler drivers can mingle and talk to each other, get a bite to eat and have their trucks washed prior to being locked inside the track for three days. The hauler drivers are usually very nice, and will give out "Hero" cards for their drivers. We had heard through some other fans that Jeremy's driver "Rambo" wasn't as nice as previous drivers.....so Gladys set out to meet the man and make him SMILE! We were hoping our "Southern charm and wit" would win him over!

We got there about 3:15, and several haulers were already there. We looked down the row of trucks, but No Rambo. **BUMMER** So, we decided to wait...

and wait...

And Wait...

AND WAIT!

Now waiting isn't the bad part......but waiting with a 6 y.o. is another story.

He did really good the first hour, OK in the second hour, not so good in the third hour, and by the Fourth hour....FUGETABOUTIT! Jameson was ready to go! We waited until the haulers were starting to pull into the track, and decided we would leave. We didn't get to see Rambo, but we had a good time talking and catching up! Next year, we are going to the airport instead!

For any of the Jr. fans out there:

Friday started bright and early at the track to meet up with my buddy, Dennis. I have met Dennis every race Friday since Sept. 2004. Talladega wouldn't be the same without him! When he came walking up, I almost didn't recognize him. He has been a a strict diet and rigorous exercise program for the past several months and has lost 41 pounds so far. He looked GREAT! We did a lot of catching up and walked around to see all of the souvenir trailers and sponsor display areas.

The Dodge display area had a lot of great activities for kids, so Jameson was thrilled. He had a fantastic time climbing up the rope wall. The girl there was so sweet. He "lost" his first round, so she let him go up by himself a second time so he would "win" a hat. HE LOVED IT!

A little bit later, we met up with Gladys, and spent the rest of the morning walking around. We found our old (not in age, but time we've known her) buddy, Wanda, and spent a little time catching up with her. Race weekend wouldn't be the same without Wanda, either! She used to be on Jeremy's trailer.

After going back to the car to cool off for a bit, we all headed to the SPEED stage to try to get our signs on television. The show was supposed to be recorded at 12:15, so we got there a little before 12:00. The show was delayed due to qualifying and our signs were only showed for about 5 seconds. **BUMMER**

Gladys headed to the stands to watch Cup practice, and me, Jameson and Dennis headed out to get some food and to the car to cool off. Did I mention it was 90 degrees here?

Hmmmmm, lookie.....delicious track food! Home made potato chips!

At one o'clock, Dennis and I headed back to the SPEED stage and I managed to get my signs on the air! WOOO HOOO! After the show was taped, Hermie Sadler (Elliot's brother and Nascar driver) came by and autographed Jameson's shirt. Jameson was a little star-struck!

Next, Dennis and I said our goodbye's and Jameson and I headed home for some rest, hydration, and cooling off!

After I got home, one of my blog readers, Monica, suggested I make a sign for STELLAN and try to get a driver to sign it! WHAT A GREAT IDEA! So, I quickly began making another sign.

Later that evening, I met Gladys at the SPEED stage and we proceeded to fight the crowds, trying to get our signs on! That Gladys is a tiger! She was up near the front in NO TIME! I stayed near the middle of the pack, but thanks to the sticks Gladys' husband made, my sign was EASILY visible! The guests last night were Jeff Gordon, Michael Waltrip, and Kevin Harvick.

After the show was over, Kevin Harvick made a quick rush through the crowd to sign a couple of autographs. I GOT STELLAN'S SIGN AUTOGRAPHED! I was so excited!!! Thank you for the idea, Monica!! (I sent a Tweet to McMamma and she said "ooooooh, how FUN!!!!") I did a horrible job getting a picture, though! Don't you just love how I managed to get that stick right in the middle of his face??

The signs as they looked on television:

After that, Gladys and I said our goodbye's, and I headed for home!

Home Sweet Home!

I was so tired when I got home, I skipped supper, took a long shower, took 4 Motrin, and went right to bed. I slept for 10 whole hours!!! I NEVER sleep that long! Today I have been super lazy, and even decided NOT to go back to the track today. I decided I would much rather watch qualifying and the Nationwide race on the television, in the comfort of my air-conditioned living room.

I am thrilled to say that JEREMY MADE IT IN!!

Now I wish I was going to the race tomorrow! **BUMMER**

I did manage to get out of my chair long enough today to bake some sausage-cheese muffins! **YUMMY!**

My feet are hurting, my back is aching, and my arms are sore...but I can't wait to do it all over again in October!!

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Is there anything you do on an annual basis that completely exhausts you, but you wouldn't miss for the world?