A Football Fix

Football is back, y'all!!!! Okay so maybe not games and tailgating, just yet, but camps have started so football has started.  The minute football ends in January/ February I'm already counting down the days until it's back!  Signing Day, the Draft, and Media Days help with that a bit, but there's nothing like football season.  Am I right?  During the off-season, I need multiple football fixes so here's my list of Movies/TV shows that can give you that Football Fix and will definitely get you ready for the season!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS // As if Tim Riggins isn't enough to watch the show, the fact that it centers around a town so consumed in football is reason enough for me.  If you like drama and football in any capacity, Friday Night Lights needs to be on your Netflix "Recently Watched" list, like yesterday.  Clear Eyes, Full Hearts, Can't Lose!

REMEMBER THE TITANS // cause duh

WE ARE MARSHALL //

WHEN THE GAME STANDS TALL // the newest football movie that's already made its way to the top of my list!

THE BLIND SIDE //

DRAFT DAY //

In addition to watching these you can get out and go watch some football practices or play a few games for yourself and then you can start preparing for your fantasy draft!!!

You can bet that I've already watched at least half of these!  I may explode with excitement for the season soon!  Just 5 more weeks!

What do you do to get your "Football Fix"?  Is there a movie I'm missing?

Things I Miss About The North

Since I've lived in the south people will ask me what I miss about the north besides my family and friends.  For a while this question really stumped me.  I really couldn't think of much.  Turns out when I had the chance to think about it, I do miss a few things about the north, most of which revolves around food, which is kind of embarrassing.  But here it is, the things I miss about the north:I miss having a plethora of pizzerias to choose from.  Domino's, Papa John's or whatever other pizza chains there are don't count.  Pizzerias are unique and on a whole different level than chain pizza.  And pretty much everything I just said about pizza applies to bagels too.  Biscuits and croissants are not an accurate substitute for bagels.  How are breakfast sandwiches not a thing in the south?

Italian restaurants (also part of those pizzerias and Olive Garden doesn't count), Italian bakeries, Italian deli markets.  My mom knows how much I love Italian cookies and how much I miss them that she sent me a box of my favorites for my birthday last year! Wawa is the place you go for a plethora of snacks, drinks, and built-to-order sandwiches.  It's typically a place we'd go before a road trip or when we're headed to the beach or really, anytime!  It's easy and delicious.  I love a great sandwich & now they even have chipotle mayo! YUM!  There is nothing (that I've encountered) like WaWa in the south.

Diners are a the type of restaurant where you can get whatever you want and they're typically open all hours of the night.  You're drunk and want breakfast at 2 am, diner.  You want lunch at 9 am, diner.  You want breakfast for dinner, diner.  Diners are relaxed, casual and typically have similar atmospheres and of course a counter to sit at!  They're typically not a chain, but locally owned.

And this may be crazy, but I missed snow!  Just a little bit, though.  I know that if I had as much snow as they did up north this past winter and last I'd be sooo sick of it.  There was a snow storm the weekend I moved last year and I haven't seen that magical white stuff since.  But more importantly, I miss skiing.  This was the second season that I haven't skiied and it's really weird for me.  I'm realizing I'm going to have to plan trips in order to ski again, instead of impromptu trips to the mountains on the weekends.

Even when living in PA I could get to the beach in an hour or less.  Some beaches were further, but day trips to the beach were very frequent.  This is the furthest inland I've ever lived and no beach access isn't good for the water-loving soul.  I need the sound of the ocean and sand between my toes during the summer months.  I'm going through a bit of withdraw, especially since I only got to spend two days at the Jersey Shore this summer, which is unheard of!

Do you have favorite things about the north?

All Dogs Go To Heaven

On July 15th, my home as I know it changed forever.  They say "all dogs go to heaven" but I just wish it didn't have to happen so soon.

About three weeks ago we got the devastating news that Maverick had tumors covering his liver and spleen and his prognosis was not good.  The vet even said surgery wouldn't give him much time.  I flew home that weekend to make sure he knew how much I loved him.  I had plans to come home two weeks after that but couldn't risk it and I'm so glad I did.  We did all of his favorite things with him like taking him on the boat, on long walks in the park and swimming in pool.  Maverick swims in the pool everyday and floats on the raft like he's the king.  We had such a great weekend.

Throughout the next 2 weeks he had good days and bad days but ultimately grew uncomfortable.  Maverick passed away on July 15, 2015, just 3 months after his seventh birthday!

He loved to cuddle in the blankets and suck on his stuffed animals.  He loved to eat ice and peeled apples while he ate them like he was a human.  He slept on the vents on the cold floor and loved to snuggle up close in bed so you could share the pillow.  He knew the tricks that would get him a treat and did them without being prompted.  If you weren't paying the slightest bit of attention to him, he would sit there and put his paw in your lap to make sure you noticed him and to get you to scratch behind his ears.  The minute you stopped he'd look at you like "umm you're not done!".  If everyone was in the kitchen, he'd lay in the middle of floor just to be near everyone.  He liked to sit on a seat in the car and didn't mind trying to share.  He was a dog that thought he was a human and we treated him as such.

From the moment we brought him home he fit in our family like a glove.  Going home will be different without his warm, enthusiastic welcome.  He would get so excited and make sweet whimpering noises that we called the "crying hello".  He couldn't control himself- he was so happy to see the ones he loved when they walked in the door (not everyone got the crying hello)!  It will be different without him snuggling up on the couch and creeping closer and closer until he's laying on top of you.  It's going to be different without him begging for a walk and stretching by the door the second you pull out your sneakers.  Home is going to be different without him there.

I'll love you forever, Maverick.  You were the best dog I've ever known.  Thank you for always being a cuddly, sweet and warm friend.  I'll miss you!

Pride in the SEC

There is nothing ​that I've experienced ​in sports media that compares to the 4 day event of SEC Football Media Days.

The amount of media. The hype. The craze. The flashing lights. The screaming fans. ​It's really a skeptical like no other.

Two years ago I ​was invited to attend ​SEC​ ​M​edia ​D​ays without any affiliation to the conference. I built a relationship with someone who worked there and they offered me an opportunity to volunteer. As someone who was desperately looking to find her way into the industry I jumped at the opportunity. ​The experience immensely​ changed my career.​ And two years later I'm well on my way to the career I've always wanted.​ But that's a story for a different day.

During ​SEC​ ​M​edia ​D​ays I (among other students from schools across the conference) was invited to ​speak with ​Commissionor Greg Sankey​ in a small group setting in his​ ​presidential suite​ at the hotel. Listening to him talk was amazing. As a communications and public relations professional I love hearing people's stories. Hearing his was even better. We heard him talk about the chances he took, the opportunities he took advantage of and ​his emphasis ​in the importance of building relationships. He recommended books for us to read and thanked us for assisting in the production of the event.

As I sat there and took it all in, I realized the pride that beams from him as he talks about the conference. I recognized it because it's the same pride I knew I wanted to be a part of long before ever stepping foot on SEC territory. It's the pride that's felt for a team, a school, the conference as whole. The idea that if it can't be my team, I want it to be a team we're, in a way, associated with. He loves the SEC for the pride it brings among the fans​ and honestly, I do too​. Fans root for the ​SEC​. People chant S-E-C at games and championships for teams that aren't theirs. The SEC as a whole is a community larger than that of just one of its 14 member institutions. It's the greatest conference in college athletics. And as I paraphrase Commissioner Sankey from his opening remarks at the beginning of the week, as a conference we want to be scholars first, champions second.

In all, people want to be a part of the greatness that is the Southeastern Conference. I, for sure, am proud to be!