Just Call Me Professor

Tonight I am becoming a college professor. That is right folks, yours truly is co-teaching an advertising class tonight. Please stop laughing. The class tonight is focused around media so I am going in to talk about what a media buyer really does. No text book, just the cold, hard truth.

Here is rundown of what I will be talking about tonight:

• Budgeting
• Planning
• Negotiating
• Print and Outdoor placement
  
• Daypart strategy
• Nielsen and Arbitron ratings
• Cost per point, reach and frequency
• Sweeps
  
• Premier week results (what network and shows won the week!)

That is very brief, but it will probably take me about one hour. I'm so excited to show them all the numbers I get to play with and the math that goes along with my job. WOOHOO! Seriously, I love that part of my job. I'm a math nerd.

This should be pretty painless unlike the flu shot I just got....ouch.

I'm Just So Proud!

Today is Kody's last day on his two month adventure to Big 10 country. I know, I can't believe it either. These last two months have flown by and have gone better than I ever could have imagined. Kody loved all of his rotations and learned a lot. He had his first residency interview in Ohio this week and just got another invitation today for an interview at a program in Michigan! We know just because he gets interviews does not mean he gets a spot, but we are so excited because these are programs he really liked. We are still waiting to hear from others, but so far so good. I can't wait to see him. We'll have a few days together before he takes off for Oklahoma City in October.

And the most exciting part....

We get to watch our first Florida game of the year together tomorrow! It just doesn't feel like football season without Kody around. Finally, we can yell at the TV together and not just over the phone. Feels like old times...

Shout Out

My Florida family is having a big shin dig tonight at my parent's new pad in gator land and well, I'm not there. Neither is Kody. I really hope my mom, dad, Robin, Aunt Linda, Jennifer, Bill, Aly, Uncle Reed, Aunt Laura, Kylie and Bo have a GREAT time together. At least Julie missed out too. That makes me feel a smidge better.

Seriously guys, have fun, don't worry about me. I plan on spending the evening watch Grey's Anatomy and The Office with Bailey and eating spoonfuls of almond butter. It is going to be awesome!

If you aren't sure how Kody and I feel about being left out then I will let the following picture do the talking. Love you guys!

Fight Gone Bad!

Saturday is the big day! The Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser will take place this Saturday, September 26th at CrossFit gyms across the WORLD! I have raised $150 so far. My goal is $500. You can still help me reach my goal! All donations go towards Athletes for a Cure (prostate cancer research) and The Wounded Warrior Project (helps disabled vets transition back into everyday life).

Click here to go to my donation page. Any little bit helps! CrossFit has raised over $755,000 so far!!!! Simply amazing. People are so generous. Thanks to everyone that has already donated. You guys rock.

Premier Week!

It is my one of my favorite weeks of the year, second only to Christmas. It is premier week! That's right, all the new shows are rolling out. New seasons of old favorites are starting back up. It is just a glorious time of year. Since I buy media for a living, which includes TV, I have to pay extra special attention to what is going on in TV land. Here is a run down of some of my favorite new shows so far and a few that I am very excited about, but are still on my DVR waiting patiently to be viewed.

Seen It and Love It:

CBS - The Good Wife (Tuesday, 9PM central)
Julianna Margulies (ER) and Josh Charles (Sports Night, Dead Poets Society) star in this new drama. Alicia (Margulies) is the wife of a very public figure who has embarrassed his entire family with adventures with "working women". Think Elliot Spitzer and the call girl. Alicia goes back to work as a lawyer for friend Will (Charles...love him!). She struggles with building back her career, marriage and being a mother.
Why I Like It: Josh Charles. OK, besides him, Alica's character is rockin. She is intelligent. It gives good inside to public marriages behind the scenes. She has to deal with her husband's mistakes while maintaining a positive public image herself. I love courtroom drama, so there is lots of that too since she is , well, a lawyer. I have high hopes for this one!

FOX - Glee (Wednesday, 8PM central)
OK, we already know I love this one, but let me talk about it a little bit more. Glee is so smart. Smart, smart, smart. It is a show that will appeal to the masses. There is something for everyone. High school drama, musical numbers, quirky kids, weird adult relationships and most importantly Jane Lynch as the high school's cheerleader/protein shake drinking coach. She is fantastic. Last night she talked about how caning should be allowed in schools. Seriously? Her character is just too much and I love every bit of it.
Why I Like It: It makes me laugh and makes me sing. Seriously, that is all I need.

NBC - Community (Thursday, 8:30PM)
Oh Joel McHale. Jeff Winger (McHale) has enrolled in community college. His degree from Columbia (the country, not ivy league) is not exactly smiled upon by the law firm he works for as a lawyer. Oops. He heads back to school to get his credits. He begins to fancy a young lady named Britta and lies about being a certified Spanish tutor. She needs help in Spanish. He wants to be her knight in shining armor. He actually knows nothing about Spanish. The cast is great. Chevy Chase joins the cast as Pierce, a man who has experienced everything life has to offer and loves to share his wisdom. Danny Pudi, who plays Abed, is my favorite character. He loves pop culture and will befriend anyone. He is hysterical. I'm hoping this one picks up speed. All the sitcoms I start to love get tossed to the side mid season. (Notes From the Underbelly....I miss you)
Why I Like It: Lots of different personalities on screen.

On My DVR...Patiently Waiting:

CBS - NCIS LA (Tuesday, 8PM central)
Welcome back Chris O'Donnell. I love this guy. LL Cool J stars in this one as well. I am so eager to see these two on screen as a duo! We love NCIS in my house so I am hopeful this one is a keeper. I haven't heard much about it yet, so we will see.

ABC - Cougar Town (Wednesday, 8:30PM central)
Courtney Cox is back! Enough said. I'm there. I am a huge Courtney Cox fan. She will always be Monica in my heart, but I love her no matter what she does. The fact that this show is called Cougar Town alone makes me laugh. High hopes here. I need another good sitcom in my life. This one is airing again this Friday at 8:30PM if you missed it.

Coming Soon:

ABC - Flash Forward (Thursday, 7PM central)
This one is getting lots of buzz in media circles. I'm intrigued.

So Glad You Are Back:
CBS - Criminal Minds (Wednesday, 8PM)
ABC - Grey's Anatomy (Thursday, 8PM)
CBS - Numbers (Friday, 9PM)
ABC - Brother's and Sister's (Sunday, 9PM)

*Please note, I do not watch all these show as the regularly air. That is what my DVR is for. I do not spend every spare moment in front of the television. It just sounds like I do. Don't judge me. I just like my entertainment.

Oh Acura...

Today I took my Lil Acura Legend into the shop. The check engine light has been going on and off for about a month now. I know, a month is a long time to wait to take it in. In my defense, it would come on and then go off for two days and then come back on. I thought it was just confused. It wasn't. Plus, I'm a one car family right now. Kody isn't around to help me out. I needed to wait until they had a loaner for me to drive.

Mr. Acura just called to give me the prognosis on Lil Legend. Looks like I have a EGR valve malfunction, which is causing the check engine light confusion. I also lost the backing around my back windshield the other day on the highway. It just flew right off. Crazy! They told my my battery failed the juice test and my muffler is totally rusted out. Normally I would scream LIAR! and run the other way. However, Lil Legend if fifteen years old. I have had her since I turned sixteen. How many people have their first car eleven plus years later? We have done well together. She has never had any major mechanical problems so I guess it is about time for a tune up.

Sadly, this makeover would cost me $2,000 +. I'm not paying that. Our plan has always been to get through medical school without taking on a car payment. So far so good! We plan on replacing Lil Legend before residency. I'm having a bit of a hard time coming to grips with that, but I know it will be for the best. She will make someone (who really likes cars and wants to play with one) very happy. For now I'm just replacing the EGR valve. It is the most necessary of repairs and won't cost us an arm and a leg. Thank goodness. I can get a battery anymore and for much less.

No, I did not consult Kody. He believes all car repairs are totally unnecessary even when they are totally necessary and throws a huge fit. Besides, I'm the one that takes care of everything when it comes to the lawn, cars, repairs and finance. Since he's not here with car number two, I need a reliable car at all times. Now Lil Legend will be in tip top shape. He'll be happy.

On the upside, I'm driving a loaner car until Lil Legend is ready to go. It is a 2009 silver Acura TL. GORGEOUS! I feel so fancy. It has the start and stop engine button...no key. I'm kind of a big deal now.

A Few Thoughts...

Thought Number 1:
Saturday was a BIG day. BIG. Florida opened up SEC play against the evil Tennessee Volunteers. OK, they aren't evil. I just said that for dramatic effect. I'm sure they are all very nice, respectable people except for one (cough cough Lane Kiffin cough cough). Alright, even Lane Kiffen is OK. His wife is a Florida graduate. Anyway, my big plan was to make it to Edmond in time for kick off. I'm making great time on I-44 from Tulsa. All the sudden I hit mile marker 148...just eleven miles from my exit. Traffic stops. Ugh. I proceed at a crawl for the next thirty minutes and pass five count them FIVE separate wrecks in an eight mile stretch. I'm not exaggerating, I promise. Here is the best part. They aren't just fender benders. These cars are smashed, turned 180 degrees and have flat tires. Hopefully no one was injured of course. How in the world did this happen? Then I realize the OU/Tulsa game was starting at 2:30. It just so happens that three of the five wrecks slowing me on my way to the Florida game via television are all wearing OU or Tulsa shirts. OH MY GOODNESS. Are Sooner and Golden Hurricane fans that bad of drivers? The answer is simple. Yes. Luckily I had on my Florida shirt so every knew I was not responsible for any of the ridiculousness on the turnpike. And yes, it was complete ridiculousness. Maybe OU and Tulsa should both implement some driving hours into their degree programs. Dont' worry...I only missed the first three minutes of my game. We won.

Thought Number 2:
Sunday morning I took the train to Fort Worth so I could attend my future sister in law's (Ashley) bridal shower. I love taking the train to Fort Worth. It is relaxing and sort of an adventure. The conductor came over the intercom just as we pulled out of the station. He proceeded to say how the Heartland Flyer is a family train and parents should keep their kids from running up and down the aisle. You know, the usual stuff that a good parent wouldn't need to hear from a train conductor because most parents do their best to not let their children annoy the heck out of everyone around them. The minute he quit talking a boy about six went flying down the aisle with his giant, blue, plastic gun. This went on for about oh....four hours. It was OK though, I slept through two hours of it. When I woke up though he was still at it. His mother most have slept through it too. Goodness.

Thought Number 3:
At lunch today I met with a rep at a great Mexican restaurant. My new meal of choice is fajitas minus the beans, rice and tortillas. Before you judge me, it is totally yummy and totally paleo. I love it. I tell him that I want the lunch fajitas without all the extra stuff...I just want the skillet. My mouth waters just thinking about. The next ten minutes I am full of anticipation waiting for my yummy meal. He brings are food out and what did he bring me? A plate with a chicken breast on it and a side of guacamole. Ummmm, where is my skillet? Where are my onions and peppers? Where is the sizzle? He proceeds to tell me that he tried to save me some money by just bringing the chicken, but the kitchen forgot about the skillet. Well sir, I appreciate the thought, but I didn't' ask you to save me money...I asked for a fajita skillet! He felt bad, but it was OK. I ate it and it was still yummy. Words of advice to servers at Mexican restaurants: If I ask for a skillet bring me one...with everything...like I ordered the first time. Is it that difficult? I think not.

The end. I feel better now. Happy last day of summer!

Seriously?

My parents are currently flying to Florida so they can go here tomorrow....



To tailgate and go to this game....



While I remain here.....



And will be watching the game of the year on one of these....



Can someone explain to me to me how this happened? My dad is already talking about how the Gators are "gonna choke". The eternal optimist.

Acafellas

Did you catch Glee last night? Oh. My. Seriously. I was laughing the entire episode. Bell Biv Devo and Color Me Badd covers? Amazing. Right up my ally. I picture Kody in an Acafellas type group in ten or so years. I think that would be awesome. It will be a good way to let off steam away from the hospital, right? I'm starting to think of songs I want his group to sing...I'm sure there will be some *N SYNC and possibly Britney? Yes, Britney.



If you did not see Glee last night you must go watch it immediately. Go here now.

I am officially an Acafellas fan. Where do I get my CD?

Shameless Plug

It is about a week and a half until the fantastic Fight Gone Bad Fundraiser! So far I have raised $120! $120! I know, I'm super pumped. Thanks to everyone who has donated. If you are interested in helping me reach my goal of $500 go here to donate. It is tax deductible too. :)

It is for a great cause. We are raising money for prostate cancer research and the Wounded Warrior Project. My CrossFit team is traveling to OKC to compete on Saturday, September 26th against other CrossFitters. It is happening all over the country. CrossFit junkies like myself have raised over $409,00 so far. How awesome is that! What to go CrossFit!

In other news, Biggest Loser premiers tonight! I've never actually watched a full season in its entirety. I'm jumping on the bandwagon.

I'm On a Mission...

...to clean out my closet. I'm going to donate all my clothes that need someone to wear them.

I have raided one side of the closet and pulled out items that I haven't worn in ages. I am in an awkward phase. I still have everything that I wore in college. It all still fits. It is all stuff I would still probably wear, but I don't because I have an office job. A lot of it is stuff I know I should give up. I gave myself a pep talk and told myself someone else needs this much more than I do. I've never been good about getting rid of clothes. I have some weird emotional attachment to certain items. I'm going to do my best to suck it up and do it. If I haven't worn it in the past year then chances are I probably won't next year. Right?

I went through all my drawers last week and surprisingly only pulled out a few pairs of pants to donate. Everything else is t-shirts. I love my t-shirts. I only wear about 5% of them, but I love the other 95%. They are all my old softball/soccer/swimming shirts and college (theta) shirts. I want to make a quilt of them, but heaven knows I will not be doing that myself. Anyone know someone that does that for like...ummm....free??

I told myself when Kody left that I would have this done by the time he got back. That was almost seven weeks ago. I just started. I have two weeks to go. We decided to start cleaning out the house in case we end up finding out in February that we will be moving. Hopefully if we do this now it will make moving a lot less painful. If we end up staying then I will simply have a clutter free home. Fantastic!

Anticipation

Whenever I have had a long week and just need a break I like to keep these imagines in my head.

My dinner reservation on the beach in twelve weeks.




My accommodations for five glorious evenings in Mexico. Swim up room...cha-ching!



We leave twelve weeks from today. 84 days....but whose counting?

Glee!

Tonight, my new favorite show is premiering on Fox. GLEE! The pilot aired after the season finale of American Idol in May. Kody and I are already head over heels in love with this show. I fully expect all of you to check it out tonight or at least set your DVR to record it. If you ever dreamed about your high school cafeteria busting out into song and choreographed dance (my ultimate fantasy) then this show is for you! Go ahead...Glee it up!

Check out the Tulsa World article on this show here.

I'm serious....watch it.

Goodness

Last night I finished reading My Sister's Keeper. I'm not sure who out there has actually read this book, but oh my goodness...could it have had more of a tearjerker ending? Seriously, I did not expect it at all (which I appreciate), but it still broke my heart. I felt like such a nerd....sitting in bed reading with my dog...tears in my eyes. It is a book Ginny...a book! Now I have to go watch the movie...

Gotta Stop...

The residency match application (ERAS) has a pretty sweet system. You fill out one application, approve the release of your board scores, and determine what letters of recommendation you want to have available for different specialties to see. It is a nice streamlined process. At least, it seems a lot better than the agony of filling out multiple medical school applications! Since we have submitted the application to the ten different programs, ERAS allows us to track the progress of each application. We can see what day and time each program downloaded the application, transcript, COMLEX scores (board scores), letters of recommendation, etc.

OK, obviously, this is bad new for me. I have been obsessively checking the status of all programs since it was submitted yesterday. I keep texting Kody saying "OKC has your stuff", "OSU just download your application", "Pontiac hasn't looked yet", "COMLEX just released your scores and now everyone can see them".

OH MY GOODNESS. Why in the world would they allow me to be able to torture myself this way?

No, I can't just not look. Not. Possible.

Can't Believe It...

We submitted Kody's application today. I don't know if I feel relief or anxiety. Maybe a bit of both. It is such a strange feeling. 3 1/2 years of medical school almost complete. Now all we can do is pray and wait. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will start hearing about interviews. Most programs are interviewing during October. Most programs only interview you if you have rotated with them. He applied to ten programs and has rotated at five of them. Sometimes students apply to every program in their desired specialty. There are thirty one orthopedic programs across the country. However, knowing that he would more than likely only get interviews where he had rotated, we stuck to the five he went to and five that he was interested in, but didn't make it to in person.

Please keep us in your prayers. Kody has worked so hard. He has put everything he has into this and now it is completely out of our hands. I'm so thankful that I have a husband who is so determined to be as good as he can be and has goals he wants to accomplish. I'm also lucky that he considers my well being (and Bailey's!) while trying to obtain those goals. We are a good team!

So Close I Can Taste It...

In approximately 56 hours the college football season will begin. I am beyond excited. I live for this time of year. Seriously...live for it.

The Herbies came out today. I love Kirk Herbstreit. He's my best ESPN commentator friend. Kody will be thrilled because Aaron Hernandez gets some major props. He's Florida's awesome tight end. Kody has a man crush on Aaron Hernandez. Don't tell anyone.

In other news, the ERAS application officially opens today. That means Kody starts sending his application out to residency programs TODAY. Yup, the rest of life will be decided in a few short months.

Here is a picture of Bailey getting her chew on. She's awesome.