Currently Listening to :: New Country Music Releases

There has been a few new country music singles that need to be added to your playlists, like yesterday!

Randy Houser :: Runnin' Outta Moonlight

I honestly can't believe I haven't told you how much I love this song yet.  It's been on repeat for the past few weeks!  Randy is someone who sometimes flies under the radar, but every once in while has a song that you're like, "WOW! That's awesome!"- hence the reason it's on repeat.  I'm obsessed. 

Miranda Lambert :: All Kinds of Kinds.

This is the newest single off of Miranda's Four the Record album.  I love how Miranda can go from crazy, down-home, redneck, country songs to songs that are so heart-felt and meaningful!  This song sounds like the later, but when you listen to the lyrics, emphasizes that people aren't always what you think they are and that having so many different people is what keeps things going!

Tyler Farr :: Redneck Crazy

After getting to meet and hang out with Tyler Farr, I've been a fan!  This is a wonderful country break-up song.  His team is also doing a great job marketing the song with their Redneck Crazy Video Contest, asking fans to submit videos of them going "Redneck Crazy" and also providing tips on how to be "Redneck Crazy".  The phrase has officially taken on a new meaning!  Also, this song has officially gone GOLD!!

Toby Keith :: Drinks After Work

 Because who doesn't like/need drinks after work, especially in the summer.  This is a no-brainer!

Tim McGraw :: Southern Girl
I love how this song starts out, mentioning different cities/regions!  Also, I'm a wanna-be southern girl who's been "in love with New York City a time or two", so this immediately caught my attention!  :)  Ain't nothing in the whole wide world like a southern girl!  So put on a country song, we'll dance all night long.   (If I could do the emoji with hearts for eyes, I would!)

Florida Georgia Line :: Round Here

Florida Georgia Line is a group that came from nowhere and is topping the charts! During an award show I remember them saying something like, "we were watching it at home last year and this year we're winning an award", but of course when I went to look for clarification on what was said and at which award show, I couldn't find it.
 When Florida Georgia Line did their radio tour, they were already on the radio!  Usually new artists go on radio tours to visit the station, build relationships with the people in charge and play their music for them, hoping they'll play it on the radio.  FGL's first single, Cruise, was already on the radio and topping the charts during their radio tour and was out touring shortly after that.  Talk about some fast success.

I hope you guys enjoy this list!  What are some new-er country songs that you're loving right now?

SEC MEDIA DAYS

Last week I gave you a little preview of my love for the SEC and everything it stands for in College Football, but what I left out is that I had been invited and was on my way to attend the SEC Football MEDIA DAYS!!!!  

This is every girl's dream, right?  Well for me, it was amazing and a wonderful experience that I will never forget!!

As a SEC Media Days, Media Relations Assistant I was assigned various tasks like transcribing player quotes as they were assigned and holding the mic for the media to ask coaches questions during press conferences. I also had the responsibility (along with the other volunteers/assistants) of making sure people without credentials (aka crazed fans) didn't get into the area of the conference where all of the media, coaches and players were bouncing around from room to room.

Through the three days of the conference, which was in Hoover, Alabama, I met so many people, learned so much about the schools in the SEC and realized that this is, for sure, the field I want to be in for my career.  I was on cloud 9 the whole time!

All 14 teams in the Southeastern Conference attended the event throughout the 3 days.  Each school brought their Head Coach and 3 players as well as staff personnel.  Each team had a designated day and time to address the media.  They bounced around from room to room on an average of 10 minute intervals.  Once their "rounds" were done, the schools would leave, some with more commotion from fans than others, and that was it!

Johnny Manziel, as you could imagine, brought a lot of hype to the Media Days.  He's gotten into some trouble with things he's posted on social media and most recently was asked to leave the Manning Passing Academy early due to "over sleeping" and missing a meeting.  And as I'm sure you guessed, that's the type of stuff the media focused on during their time with Johnny and not really about the actual game of football.  I'm going to post about him and his new found fame since becoming the first Freshman Heisman Trophy Winner, so stay tuned for that!

There are 4 new coaches in the SEC this year, Bret Bielema (University of Arkansas), Butch Jones (University of Tennessee), Gus Malzahn (Auburn University), and Mark Stoops (University of Kentucky).  I was fortunate enough to hear all four of them address the media and I have to say that Butch Jones impressed me the most.  I got good vibes from him and he sounded solid in responses, which is important.  Coach Jones said, "We have to focus on the process, not the end result."  I like this because it shows his commitment to enhancing the program at the University of Tennessee, which first and fore most includes the players, it's not just about winning on the field, but off the field as well.  I'm exciting to see what he accomplishes at the University of Tennessee, especially since the program has been struggling for a few years now!

There were some players who impressed me as well, not for the answers to the questions they were asked, but for the way they handled themselves.  AJ McCarron (QB, University of Alabama) and Aaron Murray (QB, University of Georgia) come to mind.  Both of these guys acted like they were excited to be there.  They walked around with smiles on their faces and looked like they were actually enjoying themselves.  It was refreshing.  They were willing to talk to people and usually willing to take pictures.  I'm not saying that other players didn't do that, but I just noticed them doing it.  I think this shows the type of young men they are.  It shows that they're proud of the position they're in, to represent their school and know they are role models to tons of kids who look up to them!  AJ even wore a bow tie with Breast Cancer Ribbons on it in support of his cousin, who was recently diagnosed.  It's good character in athletes that make me love the game even more!!

And last, but not least, I got to meet David Pollack, host and analyst for ESPN (College Game Day and Thursday Night Football), which was the icing on the cake! :)

I'm so grateful for this experience and can't wait to explore a career working in college athletics!

A ROYAL BABY!!!!

Congratulations to William & Kate on the birth of their son, Prince of Chambridge!

Back in May 2011, just 2 weeks after the Royal Wedding, I went to London for an internship.  It was the best experience of my life, to date.  I keep telling myself I'm going to blog about it and first got the idea to start a blog while there.  I wanted a place to document my experience and adventures but stuck to an old fashioned journal which I still love to read every once in a while.  

To say I fell in love with London/England is an understatement.  I fell in love with everything about it.. the country, the city, the culture, The Royal Family, the shopping, the pubs...everything.  I learned more than I could have imagined and was especially fascinated with The Royal Family!!  Their whole family and line to the throne was something I found so intriguing since we don't have anything like that in America!

Ever wonder why there's currently no king?! It's because Queen Elizabeth's husband, Phillip, is Royal by marriage. He can't be of higher power than Elizabeth!  He is referred to as Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh.  But Kate can some day be Queen when William is King! Some may think that's common sense but this is the sort of thing that fascinated me in London!  Who knew?

Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace

The Royals were a big topic of conversation while I was there.  I'm not sure if it's because I kept asking questions or because everyone was still on a high from the Royal Wedding (like I said, I was there 2 weeks later- London was still decorated head-to-toe in William and Kate and I'm still upset I missed it)!

Westminster Abbey- where Wills & Kate got married!!

There was also a lot of talk about William & Kate's future children.  Lots of people said she'd be pregnant within a year because now her main (possibly only) duty was to produce an heir and a spare.  With that there were a lot of questions/concerns.  At this time the rules of royal recession stated that the first born male will become the heir to the throne- meaning that if William and Kate's first born was a girl and then they had a son, the son would supersede the girl as heir to the throne. Poor girl. This hasn't been an issue for generations though. When King George VI became king in 1936 after his father died and older brother abdicated/resigned his duties, he only had daughters (Elizabeth and Margaret) to be the heirs to the throne. If King George had had a younger brother, he would have remained the heir to the throne and Queen Elizabeth would have never been queen! Fascinating. It's all mind boggling, yet so interesting!!!

Then Queen Elizabeth had a first born son (Charles) and then Charles' first born was also a son (William).  So though times were different then (aka women's rights weren't as president as they are today-well you know what I mean) it was never an issue that a younger son would become heir to the throne over an older daughter.

Today, it is an issue.  So before it could become controversial and in an attempt to modernize the monarchy, The United Kingdom changed the rules of royal recession in October 2011.  The rules now state that the first born, regardless of gender will be the heir to the throne.  So before this little prince was even born, we knew it would be the heir to the throne no matter what gender it was or the gender of future siblings.

This is Kensington Palace.  The palace is located near Hyde Park about 2.5 miles away from Buckingham Palace.  This will be the official residence of William, Kate & the Baby Prince!

Kensington Palace!!

UPDATE:  I loveeed watching the announcement of the Royal Baby's birth be placed on the easel outside of Buckingham Palace and then watching William & Kate present the Royal Baby to the world as they left the hospital all via livestream (thanks to E!)  It's all so fascinating to me!

Such a beautiful Royal Family!!!! :)

 Writing this post made me miss everything about London even more.  I can't even describe in words the amazing time I had in that city and how much love I have for it!  Sometimes I even think about naming a future child to reflect the city, what it means to me and everything I learned while there.  Names like London and Kensington would be my top choices!  And though it's only been a few hours, we still don't know the name of this little prince and future King, but I hope it doesn't take a week for them to announce like it did when William was born .  They had 9 months to prepare.

Welcome to the World precious little Prince!! I can't wait to first hear your name, see a picture of you and then watch you grow, totally not in a creepy way!!

UPDATE: And now, only 2 days later, we know that the precious little prince's name is  
George Alexander Louis 
and will be known as His Royal Highness Prince George of Cambridge.
I personally think Prince Alex would have been a cuter, more modern name for the little prince, but to each his own.  The name George is a wonderful fit and beautiful tribute to his ancestors and past kings!

CHEERS!!!!

My Love for the SEC

I honestly think I was raised in the wrong region of the country.  Having two major cities at my disposal can be very exciting, but it's sometimes over the top how much I love Southern culture.

Aside from everything else the culture has to offer, their love and passion for college football is second to none.  When I was starting to think about college at 16/17 years old, I wanted to go to The University of Tennessee.  I wanted big time college football so of course an SEC school would not disappoint in that department.  I didn't want to go to Penn State at all, even though it had that football program I was looking for and then it some how ended up in my top 2 choices by senior year.  I wanted SEC.  I've always wanted to be south of the mason dixon.  (I'll get there one day, hopefully soon!)

My mom didn't like that at all.  She said Tennessee was too far away, so forget about Georgia or Alabama.  Knoxville was probably the closest SEC school, which is about a 10 hour drive from the Philadelphia area and The University of South Carolina is about the same distance.  Her concern was that it wasn't a day trip to come home- meaning it wouldn't be logical to come home for the weekend unless I flew.  Some other circumstances also had persuasion in my decision come senior year.  Since then I've bought a Tennessee sweatshirt, drove by it in the middle of the night on a road trip to Nashville and that's the closest I ever got!

Don't get me wrong, I have never once regretted my decision to attend Rutgers University.  It was the perfect fit for me and I loved every minute of it.  I had been to 99% of Rutgers homes games since 6th grade and had also traveled to Miami, Annapolis, West Point, Syracuse, and Houston (for the Texas Bowl in 2006) to cheer on the Scarlet Knights.  How could I not go to the school who's team I had become a die-hard fan off- being there through the good and the bad.  It became a no brainer!

That being said, sometimes I still wonder what it would have been like to attend an SEC school.  To be part of an entire culture that has the same passion that I do.  To have those burning rivals, and depending on which school you're a fan of, the same determination to beat that one team as the rest of the conference does.  To consistently be viewed as one of the best.  I wonder what that's like.

Rutgers is my favorite team.  There's no doubt I'm a die-hard fan of the Scarlet Knights and I always will be.  But the SEC is my favorite conference.  They're all winners in my book and it's hard for me to pick one team to root for.  Maybe one day I'll work for or attend grad school at one of those schools and be able to religiously root for one team, but for now, I love them all!

via

What's your favorite College Football team?  What's your favorite conference?