Tag: football

  • What I’ve Been Up To: October Edition

    October flew by because it was packed with things to do, places to be, and people to see. My favorite ways to fill up a busy schedule!

    Johnnie Bud and I spent the first weekend of October visiting my little sister Mandy and her other half Joe up in Delaware are their first house. We got a special tour of Dover Air Force Base where my sister is a veterinarian and the officer in charge at the Dover Air Force Base Veterinary Treatment Facility – check out this great Veteran’s Day article on her and the patients she sees daily: Base vet supports mission, your pets. It’s a long 6+ hour drive (about 2 hours north of D.C.), but always worth it to spend some quality downtime with family.

    Johnnie’s brother got married the next weekend on a Sunday – congrats Christopher and Nikki! – and the very next morning was the WRAL TechWire Executive Exchange: Fiber Transforms the Triangle half-day conference held at SAS that I spent no less than three months working on. Every detail, from venue, down to nametags, was painstakingly planned for by my incredible team at WRAL.com and this high-caliber event went off without a hitch. It’s nice to occasionally have a nice, long planning and marketing timeline and a moderate budget to work with!

    Just four short days after the Fiber event, Johnnie Bud and I hoped on a plane bound for Louisville and not only traveled to see NCSU play at Louisville (notice I didn’t say “win”… bummer), but we spent a few days checking out a “new to both of us” city and toured and tasted as many of the stops on the Urban Bourbon Trail as possible. Louisville’s got a great food and beverage culture, but their downtown foot traffic is surprisingly slow on the weekends compared to somewhere like Raleigh. I would love to visit again in 5-10 years to see if that has changed.

    We wrapped up the month with more places to be at the UConn vs. ECU game in Greenville (thanks for the hospitality, Cory and Alison!), another lovely night of fundraising for the Rex Foundation at the Rex Gala, and as with every October, a quick visit to the NC State Fair!

    Business-wise, I’m thrilled to say that several projects were completed for Raleighwood Media Group clients and I even had the opportunity to develop three proposals for new business (social media management and email marketing projects) which are all coming to fruition now that we’re in November… also known at #Movember. So #LetItGrowRDU and I’ll check in next month. Thanks for reading, y’all!

  • Football Players + BB Guns

    I feel like I’m the only one who’s noticed this so far:

    Oct. 8, 2014 – No. 19 ECU suspends 3 after BB gun incident

    Seven days later…

    Oct. 15, 2014 – NC State suspends seven players following BB gun incident

    Are these kids all from the same small town or something? I can’t for the life of me remember any of my college cohorts entertaining themselves with BB guns.

    Get it together, y’all.

  • It’s Game Week

    …and no matter the outcome of the game, I know it’s going to be a great tailgate when it starts with an email like this:

    To be a State fan takes real character, it just makes you stronger. So when you all have kids and Uncle Evan is teaching them this, you’ll appreciate that I’m doing it to help make them a better person.

    Who’s ready for a little Wolfpack vs. Tar Heel football, y’all?!


    image via PACK NIPS HEELS at SportsPosterWarehouse.com

    By the way, that picture was taken during my (super) senior year at State. What a great win that was to see in person! Let’s go for another W, Wolfpack!

  • I’m Still Here…

    …just doing a lot of working (and I do mean A LOT), social events and weddings, tailgating, and the like. It is that time of year, again. I’ve also been DVRing a lot of 5 Ingredient Fix with Claire Robinson on Food Network. (I promise I’ll explain next why that’s related.)

    Back to the tailgating!
    I served up these two recipes, courtesy of Claire, for the NCSU vs. S. Alabama tailgate last weekend:
    Brie and Onion Puff
    Memphis Banana Bites

    They went so quickly, I didn’t even get pics. One suggestion? On the Memphis Banana Bites, I cut down on time in a big way by spreading the banana chips out on wax paper in the bottom of a 9×13 glass pan and poured the chocolate and peanut butter melt all over the top. I let it cool and then let my fellow tailgaters break off pieces (like a bark) to enjoy at their own pace. Perfection!

    I think I’m going to take these next week fr the NCSU vs. GT tailgate (before I leave early for Brandon and Tiffany’s wedding!): Spicy Baked Chickpeas.

    What are your meatless tailgate favorites?
  • Talking Football Already?

    What’s that you say? There are less than 2 weeks until college football starts?

    How did this happen??

    (And where did my summer go?)


    GO PACK!

    PS – For those who are wondering, I did not renew my season tickets this year. Our schedule is kind of lame, honestly. Between the games at UNC that Nick has season tickets for – and Thursday night games usually being hard to get to in a timely fashion – it just didn’t make sense. But I’ll be buying some single game tickets, as available!

  • Toys for Tots and the Wolfpack!

    Toys for Tots is a campaign that my family and I have participated in through various groups over the years (for example: the Ray Price Harley-Davidson Toys for Tots Toy Run).

    Here’s another great opportunity to do a little good while having a lot of fun!

    via GoPack.com

    NC State head football coach Tom O’Brien expects his players to be champions in the classroom, in the community and on the football field. As part of that effort, the NC State football program announced today that it will be partnering with Coca-Cola and Harris Teeter to collect new toys and donations throughout the 2009 football season to benefit the U.S. Marine Corp’s Toys for Tots campaign.

    During each game this season, Coca-Cola will donate $500 to the NC State/Toys for Tots Fund for every touchdown the Wolfpack scores. At the conclusion of the season, representatives from the Wolfpack football program will use the funds to purchase toys that will be donated to Toys for Tots and distributed to needy children. During the 2008 season, Coca-Cola contributed $17,000 for the 34 Wolfpack touchdowns scored.

    Coca Cola will also join with Harris Teeter throughout the Triangle to set up drop-off locations for fans to donate toys. From November 5 – December 10, Toys for Tots/Coca-Cola displays with toy-donation bins will be located in Raleigh-area Harris Teeter locations. Fans can drop off new toys to any of the participating Harris Teeter locations (see below for list of locations.)

    Football fans in the Triangle will have an additional opportunity to donate to the cause when NC State hosts Clemson at Carter-Finley Stadium on Saturday, November 14. A toy drive will take place in the Wolfpack Fan Zone, located in front of the RBC Center. Coca-Cola and Toys for Tots representatives will be on hand to collect toys in the Wolfpack Fan Zone up until kick-off. Although all toy donations are appreciated, new toys for toddlers ages 2-4 and pre-teens ages 10-12 are needed most. Cash donations will also be accepted at the stadium gates until kick-off, and at the toy donation area in Fan Zone. Fans donating a new toy or a cash gift at the Fan Zone on game day will also receive a free 2 Liter from Coca-Cola and Harris Teeter.

    Visit GoPack.com/ToysForTots over the season for updates or ToysforTots.org for information at events in your area and how to get involved!

    PS – Kudos to game-day beverage Coca-Cola for it’s season-long commitment to this program!

  • Fantasy Football

    This is for Nick and Joey… or more so, Adrianne.

    All you girlfriends and wives out there who are already competing with Sundays and Mondays – enjoy.

    Click here to watch online: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gtVWia5B5vM

    PS – If someone from FX happens to stumble upon this blog… it was a pain in the ass trying to help promote your new show for you (the website was impossible to find, I couldn’t grab the video code from there, and the branded YouTube page is all kinds of broken). Just FYI. (Sorry, marketing kid rant.)

  • Zac Brown Band Coming to Cary

    It’s a little messed up that they backed out of the State Fair, but I guess I won’t hold a grudge… and will still put their next local show on my calendar.

    Via ZBB email today:

    The Breaking Southern Ground Tour 2009
    Kicking off September 24th in Cary, NC.

    Tickets on sale August 14th, 2009
    (Thanks for the advance notice guys… *insert sarcastic look here*.)

    Thank goodness it’s a Thursday concert and doesn’t interfere with weddings (Nikki and Randy’s that weekend) and wait for it… college football (NCSU vs. Pittsburgh)!

  • PUMPED

    While everyone is celebrating last night’s UNC victory over Duke, let’s be honest… both are tops… one was going to win. More importantly, let it be known that NCSU beat Wake!

    And in even MORE fantastic news, look what came out today:


    (Click to enlarge.)

    Heck to the yes
    .

    I have been agonizing over whether or not to renew my tickets. I know what most of you are thinking “umm, there’s nothing to consider – get them already“, but it’s just that it’s SO much money. Totally worth it, but still, so much money.

    Scout.com and GoPack.com are reporting four weeks of opening at home (ie: half of the season will be warm weather tailgating!), 3 of those being evening games (tentatively), and NCSU vs. UNC on home turf on a holiday weekend.

    I think the decision has already been made. Goodbye $900.00 – Hello season two in the end zone seats!

    (Image: GoPack.com)

  • Super Bowl Recessionistas

    Yup – just used another buzz word – “recessionistas”.

    This year we’ll be doing Super Bowl festivities with college friends at casa de Adrianne, Joey, and Sweetie… but not to the tune of $57.00/person! My word… apparently our manfriends could equally as well pull us out of a recession as we girls can spend money on shopping, entertaining, and traveling.

    In the spirit of not breaking the bank on the ‘Bowl…. let’s do some recipe sharing. My first comes from Nick’s mom (who luckily has me to share these kinds of things with as Nick only has a brother):

    Super Bowl Dip

    Ingredients:
    -1 pkg Velveeta Cheese (I got for the healthier version and you can also mix in other flavors of shredded cheese for kick… ie: pepper jack?)
    -1 lb sausage (you can go less)
    -1 lb beef (again, you can go less)
    -1 bottle of salsa
    -A few spoonfuls of sour cream

    Preparation:
    Brown the meats in a skillet and melt the cheese.
    Combine all ingredients in a large (and I mean large) mixing bowl.
    Serve hot.

    SO easy and our friends LOVE it.