University of Houston - Kevin Kolb

While I know that Ruth is going to be none-too-happy that I am promoting UH right now instead of my beloved Aggies, she as well as you (the reader) are going to have to understand that I am an expert on college football (I mean, it's my career - ya know) and therefore have allowed room in my heart (and life) for more than one college team. And - while I will always "bleed maroon" - I also stand proudly behind the Houston Cougars, especially during this time of change at UH that I am so lucky to be a part of. As most of you know I handle UH sports marketing and have had the priviledge to be on the sidelines during one of the most significant years in recent UH football history. Kevin Kolb, our senior quarterback and Heisman-Trophy candidate (yes, I know it's a long shot BUT STILL - he's awesome!) is getting geared up right now for his last regular season game at Robertson Stadium in his college career. I've attached a link to an article I read today about him and the potential this young man has to change the face of a university that has been overlooked too many times in recent years - he's making things happen, along with a solid, talented football team and a list of accomplished coaches - this is the year of the Cougars! If you have any spare time, this article is worth a read...I promise! AND - let me just go ahead and throw this out there - the Cougars play at 2:30 pm this Saturday at Robertson Stadium against Tulsa...it's the biggest game of the year and we need YOU in the seats. Let me know if you need ticket information or have other questions - I'm happy to help get your butt in our seats in anyway that I can! =) Here's the Kevin Kolb Article Link .

Happy Halloween - Happy Hour Anyone?

Good Morning and Happy Halloween! Thought I'd start off your day with a little humor...check out the '80s jogger picture of Marc. Can you imagine waking up to this in the morning? Well I did today...startling, I know. Marc LOVES getting dressed up for Halloween and why shouldn't he - he is so good at playing the part in all his outfits! He cracks me up - hopefully these pics are as enjoyable for you as they are for me. I'll also go ahead and include pics from last year at Halloween - oh, and another one of Marc having fun trying on his little league baseball uniform...at the age of 27. I get lots of laughs from these pics - thought you might too. I told you he was really good at dressing up! I love you baby - thanks for always keeping me entertained!

The best station in the nation - or at least in Houston, for sure - THE BUZZ is going to be out at 702 (www.702houston.com) tonight to celebrate Halloween. I expect lots of inappropriate constumes and drunken stupidity by most who attend BUT it is Halloween and what would this holiday be without all of those things? I am heading over to meet Marc and some other Clear Channel peeps and would love for anyone and everyone to COME ON OUT! We'll be there around 5pm or so - stop by for a drink or at least just a good laugh...you know there will be lots of things worth seeing out tonight so join us for some Halloween humor!

Hope everyone has a very fun, safe and Happy Halloween! If there is any left over chocolate after you Trick or Treat - let me know - I bet I can find someone to eat it for you... (ME) !

Weekend Review

Welcome to Jenn's Weekend in Review...and what a weekend it was - I have lots to share so bare with me!

Football consumed the majority of my days as it always does this time of the year. First off, let's talk about the Houston Cougars! We are 6 and 3, kids and do you know what that means - the Houston Cougars are bowl eligible...AND...with a 4 and 1 record in C-USA, we are in the running to be in the conference championship game - I am pumped!

This weekend was the busiest of my home football games as we had Capital One here to announce the winner of their Capital One Houston Mascot Challenge. For those who don't know, this is the client I signed on this year that I've been working really hard to keep happy - the women I work with on this account are AMAZING and I've had a blast getting to know them all... Capital One is a genius as far as I'm concerned when it comes to marketing - check out this website for more details on this past weekend's events www.houstonmascotchallenge.com . You can see that we had a blast with all the mascots - this is April, my co-worker and Mike, my manager and me - posing with most of the 15 finalists from the local Houston high schools, prior to the game on Saturday. After four months of planning, it was a huge success - all that was missing was YOU! Our attendance stunk for this game so I'm begging everyone to get out this upcoming Saturday and support your home team - UH Cougars play Tulsa at 2:30 pm in Robertson Stadium for the UH Homecoming game - I promise it'll be an entertaining day...contact me for more info about how to get tickets, etc.

Next on the docket - GOOOOO AGGIES!!! We are 8 and 1 and I am so proud and excited to see what happens next! I know a lot of people were a little concerned about the Baylor game and I am happy to say that we showed up and played the A&M football that Aggie fans expect from our talented football team. Big game this weekend against Oklahoma at Kyle Field - I'll be there in spirit as I work all day on Saturday...and don't forget, ESPN Gameday is coming to Aggieland...take advantage all you students and former students out there. This isn't something that happens often - ENJOY IT...it'll be worth getting up early, I promise!

Thought I'd put up a few fun pics from the College Station weekend we spent with my brother when A&M played Texas Tech... What a weekend! The loss sucked but we had a blast reliving our college days on Saturday night. It was great to spend time with my family and friends as always...loved it - don't think I've laughed that hard in a long time -cannot wait to go back again!

And, just a quick bit of props to my Cowboys - way to go Romo! While I'll admit that I'm a huge Drew Bledsoe fan, I will admit that the team of T.O. and Romo really made some things happen this week against Carolina... I was happy to see a different Cowboy team out there this week - much different than the cowgirls that took the field during Monday Night Football of last week... I'm sure you all remember that debacle.

OK, enough for now - much more later!

Disappointment

Sooo - not sure how many people I've told about our ISP (work) related goal to hit our sales budget by today, Friday, October 27th BUT in case I haven't mentioned it - it's kindof a BIG DEAL. I'm sorry to say that here I am - at 3:55 pm - frustrated and frazzled after a very intense day of .... waiting. Waiting for the phone to ring - waiting for a decision to be made - waiting for a fax - waiting on an email - waiting, and waiting, and waiting...... If I was a nail-biter, my fingers would be nubbs by now. We have about an hour to go and we need about 17k in contracts to come in... It's still do-able but unrealistic I guess... I need to LET GO of the dream...lol. Just disappointed - if we would have hit our goal today we would have won a trip to a place called Lake Oconee in Georgia - as you can see from the pictures, this has Resort and Spa time written all over it - nothing like a pampering trip from your company. OR, and even better for me, we could have won a cash prize. Cash to pay for Christmas and birthday presents, wedding, rehearsal dinner, reception, new clothes, new tires, doctor's appointments - oh, the list could go on and on... I'll keep you updated as the saga of hitting our first team goal at UH continues - everyone keep your fingers crossed... OH, the life of sales - gotta love it! There's always next year, right?

Football, Faith, Friends, Family...

Ever noticed that lots of important things start with the 6th letter in the alphabet - F?

F #1 - Football

What a fantastic weekend of football - between my beloved Aggies and the ever-struggling, yet promising (with another win this week...) Cougars, my Saturday was jam packed with the sport of all sports, college football BABY! I have to brag about my dear brother for a moment - I received a phone call late Saturday night from a very excited (and exhausted) newbie Texas Aggie bragging about his first big road trip to the OSU vs. Aggie game on Saturday. Seems he and a mass of his friends had the weekend of a college freshman's lifetime in the thriving metropolis of Stillwater, Oklahoma where they were witness to the phenomenal win over an OSU team they should have beat the pants off of...but - we won, and the "W" is all that matters. So, props to my baby bro and his friend Jayce for making it to the great state of Oklahoma to "yell" our Aggies on to victory!

On a less exciting note, NFL was a disaster all around for me this weekend...the Steelers tried to give Marc and I both a heart attack, flip-flopping the lead no less than 5 times, finally ending the game in a big, fat "L" - at least I got a nice, juicy cheeseburger from tailgaters during half time that made the loss a little more bareable. And as for my Cowboys, I'm not sure they remember that they wear blue uniforms with stars on their helmets - I didn't see much but the last few minutes of the 4th was enough to convince me I was happy I didn't waste my time...maybe next week we'll throw the football to our team members instead of those on the opposing team - just a thought...a suggestion...Cowboys, I love you but you stunk it up tonight...time to ship up or shape out peeps. T.O. seems to be only one of many worries...

F #2 - Faith

This weekend in RCIA we learned about the history of the Catholic church - the 2000 year and counting history of the Catholic church... In an hour and a half. Talk about information overload - but it was all so SO so interesting. A nun named Sister Madeline Grace (Girls - I really like this name...hands off - and I think you know what I mean...) enlightened us on the development of the Catholic Church over the years and the creation of so many other denominations of religion that I have had questions about for years. Why are their Lutherans and Baptist and Methodists and Catholics and Pentecosts and...uh, the list goes on and on but I think you get my point. The coolest part of it all was learning about my Baptist past, and hearing from a Catholic nun how similar our religious pasts are. And - how so many different denominations have spider webbed from one - all sharing the same common belief with minor differences here and there. Don't get hung up on the small stuff here - all is still right with Catholics and Baptists - I'm just lucky to have both educations...I really feel like it's making me a fuller, more devoted Christian... A Christian more at peace now with my beliefs than I have been as of yet in my life! How cool is that!?

F #3 - Friends

On a more serious note - just for a minute - I have a lot of friends going through a lot of stuff right now. I'm worried about them all - think of them often and pray for them as much as I possibly can... Between the cancer that is racing through my friends lives (and bodies) and the injuries and wrecks and ear infections and dislocated backs and oh, the list goes on and on... I am just - humbled. I am so lucky to have so many people around me that love me for who I am - that I know I could call on at any time and place - I just hope all of you out there know that I am here for whatever you need, whenever you need it...I am so thankful for each of you and am hoping things start looking up for each of you real soon. I read this quote and thought it was beautiful - a friend is one who strengthens you with prayers, blesses you with love and encourages you with hope - maybe remember this quote from day to day this week and say a quick prayer of thanks for all the wonderful parts and people in each of our lives...we are each so blessed in our own ways, take time to be thankful this week.


F #4 - Family

Most importantly in times like these, while enjoying a weekend of football, learning more about my faith and remembering to be thankful for my friends - I am reminded how lucky I am to have my family. A mom and dad that are so supportive and loving, a baby brother that makes me so proud sometimes that I just can't stop smiling and a fiance who is going to be the most amazing husband that I could have ever imagined...actually, I couldn't have imagined him - he's more perfect than I could have ever thought up for myself...

I am so lucky. And thankful. And happy.

Keep your F's in mind this week - they are the life and love and heart of YOU!

Welcome To My Wonderful World

So everyone who's anyone (mainly my two best girlfriends) is doing this blogging thing now and I thought it might be time for me to give it a real go - I tried it once before and it lasted for a day or so... Hopefully this attempt will go much better. I think I'll be able to use this as a tool to talk about lots of the things that are happening in my life right now...Marc and I just got engaged and we are in the process of planning our wedding so this will be an easy way to keep a lot of people "in the know" about how the planning is going. First bit of wedding news for everyone to know - we OFFICIALLY have set a date for the wedding...09-08-07. Marc's favorite potential theme at the moment is - Countdown to Lockdown - oh boy.

Also, I am currently in the process of converting from my wonderful Baptist denomination into a very educated Catholic Christian...Marc keeps joking about me "joining the cult" - it's a JOKE everyone, a joke! I hope this will be a way for me to share with you the many exciting changes going on in my life and the awesome things I'm learning every day about my faith and ME! This will also be an opportunity for me to try and ease the mind of family and friends who are supportive of this transformation in my life, but also curious to really understand what Catholicism is all about. I am looking forward sharing as much as I can...and hearing from you any thoughts you can contribute to this time of change for me.

So, check back often and you'll be able to see things "my way" for a few moments, as I go through the challenges of being a football frenzied sports marketer who works ridiculous hours and in her spare time, plans a wedding and strives to learn what it means to be a good Catholic Christian, among the many-many other things I do from day to day... And just like everyone else - there are just never enough hours to get it all done. Welcome to the Episode's of Jenn (uhm, that's me...)!