In mid-December, a fellow pilot and I flew from Beaumont to 
Tallahassee International in a minimally equipped IFR
172.  With only one radio and a VOR/LOC, we filed and flew
IFR at 11,000.  With a 50 knot tailwind at 11,000 we
were calculating fuel from the portable GPS, and had
received a forecast of "1500 few" for tallahassee and
the south coast for our arrival.

As we got closer, the weather forecast didn't change, but the
reported weather became 1000 broken as we were about an hour out.
We had lost some time as my copilot was training for the CFII
rating and flying from the right seat.  Every time I
used my flashlight to look at a chart, she would be
briefly blinded and our headings would vary by 20 degrees or so.

As we continued through the very dark clouds, we continued
to update the weather.  Our tailwind subsided significantly,
and the reports were down to 500 overcast 6 miles.

Tallahassee tower switched to the E-W ILS as we were getting
vectors, and we hypoxically got out the other chart,
and studied it.  We had flown 11 hours that day, and the
new report of 350 overcast was not welcome since the
LOC minimums were 400AGL for ILS RWY 27.

I took over for the last part of the approach, since we were
minimum fuel and the instruments were right in front of me.
Tower gave us a low altitude alert at one point on final, and I 
climbed back up from 600 to 740, fighting hypoxia.  We
then started another descent and timed it in.

The clouds began to glow all around us, and as I descended to 500,
the centerline lights came into view.  At 400 I could see
we were in the middle of and halfway down the runway
so I dropped 40 of flaps, cut power off, and full slipped.
We landed with about 1000 feet of the 8000 foot runway remaining.
I tied down and then got on my knees and kissed the ground.

I swore the engine surged once or twice on final.  We put
37.2 gallons in the 39 gallon tanks the next day (not even
a legal VFR reserve remained).

If the tower hadn't switched to the centerline lights runway,
if we hadn't filled the tanks to dripping off the back of the
wing when we left Beaumont, or if we had missed the approach, 
I'm afraid we would have been a backyard lawn ornament.

Lessons:  

1.  Gas is important.  I have five hours of tach time
worth of gas.  I will only fly 3 tach hours IFR or at night.
"Tailwinds," vectors, and 20 degree course corrections eat a
lot of gas.  Gas is a good substitute for brains.

2.  A forecast is a prediction.  Be ready to land 0/0.  Alternates
mean nothing if they are subject to the same weather as the
primary.  The forecasters lie, but not on purpose.

3.  Centerline lights are a godsend.  Pick airports that have them.
File your alternate as a centerline light airport, if possible. 

4.  Two pilots is MUCH better than one.  I would've been much
too tired otherwise.  As it was I kept the needle in the donut
for the whole approach because my copilot had flown for so long.

5.  Get out all the approaches to the airport ahead of time,
so you don't fumble if the approach is switched. 

6.  Learn to fly the localizer with less than 1/4 deflection to 
the threshold every time.  Being on centerline solves a lot
of problems.

Some folks say "just get a glideslope!".  Silly rabbit, that
just encourages you to takeoff when forecasts are 800/2,
and then when it goes 0/0 you're in trouble.  I'm glad I flew
a good localizer, and I think the G/S wouldn't be the
saving grace, the centerline lights were the big deal saver.