Paint Your Pet

I've been wanting to do a painting class for a while now, and instead of waiting for a group of "friends" to go with me, I decided to be independent, because let's be honest when am I not?, and go by myself.  I was hoping there would be a room full of people and I would just blend in, instead there was one other couple and then me… I stood out like a sore thumb.  The best part, I talked to Baylor the entire time - they probably thought was a loon. 
I heard about this place in town and they were doing a Paint your Pet day and you could bring your pet and you would paint a picture of them.  Of course I couldn't get it off my mind and then I just HAD to do it.  So last week I sent them one of my favorite pictures of Baylor and decided that no matter what I would go.  When I got to Studio Cellar (the place here in town) there were 2 other people and they did not bring their pet.  I walked in and seemed very awkward I am sure and asked if pets were allowed.  How can anyone say no to Baylor, he is just so captivating upon first interaction.  
They said "of course he can stay", I don't know if they were allowed or not - but Baylor stayed.  They even gave him a dog treat and got him a water bowl :)
Below are the pictures of my progress.  It was a mixture of emotions, painting this picture.  Overwhelming, patience (technically not an emotion, but I don't care), frustration, excitement, happiness, and I had an absolute blast.  Not going to say it wasn't challenging, but if you haven't done this - you need to do it!  
The place has over 30 different paintings you can choose from and they range from realistic to abstract and there is always someone in there that can help you, so you don't have to be apart of a party or go at a specific time - which makes it a very fun, spontaneous activity! Definitely want to go back.

Baylor did so good, not on his leash!  He just sat at my feet while I painted.  The blank canvas had the sketch on it when I got there.  It was really nice to have to outline done. All I had to do was basically paint by numbers.  And the girl was really nice and helped me do a lot of shading (that is her favorite part of painting - I don't get it).

These are my progressions of painting. I think for the first time painting I did a pretty good job.  Notice all of the pictures behind me in the last picture… those are the different paintings you can do. 

The Original and the Painting… can you tell which one is which? 

The normal stuff.

Finally, it's Friday.  The thing is - my week is JUST BEGINNING. You see in the world of sports - the weekend is the most hectic, busy, and overwhelming, which means, unlike 99% of the world, I look forward to Mondays.  Quiet and evaluating.  It's simple and I love it. 
This week, however, has not been quiet and evaluating.  It has been long and taxing. Everyday was filled with something after work and man, by the end of the week I am exhausted. Who cares right? I work in sports - and I have a "dream job".  Fact. [sometimes]
Today it is imperative that I live out Nehemiah 8:10 [the verse my blog is named after], and not just figuratively, I must believe it with every muscle fiber in my body and literally live this out.  I have no strength today to do anything and I am going to need all the energy I can get at 4:00 pm today when Tennis hosts Kids Day for dozens of kids, and I'm in charge. Oh. Boy. 
So today - the JOY of the LORD is my STRENGTH! And I will live this out.  
Last night I shared my "Story" with my lifegroup - it was so intimidating, at one point I was shaking. Anyways, I remembered most of the most important parts of my story - however I thought you would find it interesting that I left out these parts:
- Moving to Columbia - 2 ex-boyfriends - The job dilemma of the Spring of 2013 - My baptism. WOW - can't believe I forgot that one - The beginning of my mascot career at OBU and the last thing I can remember about forgetting: -mission trips, bible camps, etc.. that I attended that shaped me today. 
Isn't it funny the things we forget in our story.  My story is full of great things and I think last night I used my story to hit on my sin struggles and where I had repented in my life and how I had overcome those things, as encouragement to my fellow travelers.  However, the best parts of my story are my birth into eternal life and full redemption throughout my life.  Isn't it funny that even though joy and eternal life is a bi-product of the repentance process, I left those parts out, and only focused on the negative.  Strange to think about.  
Have a great day!

Top 10 Reasons I Work in Sports

Top 10 Reasons I Work In Sports: 10. Keeps you on your toes - you never know what you will be doing!  And I love it.  Everyday I come to work with the expectation that I could be doing everything from scheduling tweets to running around town doing grassroots - and I love the unknown, however, some days it would be nice to just sit in the office. 
9.  The Atmosphere.  I love being on the edge of games and actually feeling like you are a part of the game.  We work so hard in marketing to create such a great environment to cheer on the team - that when we see a great crowd and an intense game, it's great to feel like you had a hand in that.  

8.  The Clothes.  Not going to lie.  We get hooked up!  I love wearing my Gamecock stuff, and when I was a Baylor Bear I loved wearing my Baylor stuff.  It is all about where your loyalty is at that moment - and currently mine is with South Carolina.   So needless to say, when it is raining - I wear my jacket, when it is warm, I wear my vest, and when I am traveling I have 4 different travel bags to choose from. And its awesome. 

7. Relocation.  Now most of the time I say this is the worst part of sports, but let's consider the positive.  How cool is it that by the age of 25, I have successfully lived in the great state of Texas AND on the east coast and traveled all over Texas and the Carolinas.  Not many people can say that! [DISCLAIMER: Could not have done it without the love and support and $$$ help from my family]

6.  It's just plain FUN.  Yes, it's hard work and long hours [I don't think you understand long hours]. But it is so fun.  The events are fun, working with coaches and sports are fun, and yah - the office might be super tense most of the time, I'm doing what I love. 

5. Constantly Learning. If you know anything about me, I love sports.  I also love learning - so much so that I gladly went to Grad School and would gladly go again!  It's the mindset of increasing your knowledge in a topic and hopefully, becoming an expert on it.  I am certainly not an expert on marketing or sports for that matter - but I am constantly learning, and that's what I love about it.  

4. Its go Go GO. I am a fast paced person and that is something that I admire about myself. Apathy is not in my vocabulary.  I do like my occasional lazy days and nights off watching Law and Order or NCIS, but I am most of the time running like a lady with her hair on fire.  Everything ALWAYS works out, but needless to say its fast paced and a multi-tasking 

3. Season Turnover.  Everyone likes the seasons.  It's change, it's new beginnings, it's refreshing.  And its one of my favorite things about sports.  I know that during Football, I have 8 home games [MAYBE] and then its over.  Basketball gets a little longer, and then its my favorite time of year - Baseball!  There is nothing better then after a LONG year of sports to know that you will end it on top, with Baseball.  

2. Creativity/Grassroots - I know what you are probably thinking, what the heck is grassroots?  It is a term coined for marketing to people in their everyday lives - door to door. It's taking posters and schedule cards to people at their work or standing in the middle of campus telling people about the upcoming games.  It's interactive and I love it.  The other part of this is you always have to have energy and creative new slogans/mini-campaigns.  Which means, everyday you are trying to come up with the next best-most interactive thing!  And I love that.  

1. Sports Family.  I love my coaches, coworkers, and interns.  They make my days!  Every sport dynamic is different, but everywhere I have worked there are people that surround you that are in the same busy hectic lifestyle you are... and that is where we find solace.  And I love it! 

Statistically - people that have birthdays, live longer.

There goes another year.  But I'm alive and healthy so that is a lot more than a lot of people at my age (especially if you've watched Dallas Buyers Club - I haven't seen it, but that's what I hear).  Every year the day comes and the day passes.  Already it's mid-afternoon and I'm wondering where my day has gone.  My BIRTH DAY! I was born at 2:03 pm so I have a couple more hours until I am officially 25 years old, but the day is literally flying by.   
Quarter of a century.  WOW! And what do I have to show for it?  I've completed a lot. High School, College, Grad School, My First Job, My first cross-country move, my first and second and third half-marathon, Lots of books, killed multiple iPhones, lots of boys.  I haven't killed lots of boys... there have just been lots of boys.  Just a lot has happened.  So I want to make this year count.  I didn't put a ton of thought into it - just made a list of things I can accomplish and some things that would be challenging and then others, I'll be lucky if I complete. 
So many of the challenges in my 25th year are things I want to do in my life.  So why not mark them off the list and replace them with better more challenging things.  I have decided that #24 Journal Everyday - I will journal everyday about my life as a 25 year old.  It might be cool.  And it might be trash. We will see.  
That is what this process is about - seeing how far I can push myself to do things out of the norm.  Change it up a bit.  25 years is too long to live life the same.  This next Quarter of a Century will definitely be interesting.  Can you imagine what will happen....Okay, sidetracked!  That is a whole other post.  Follow me on Instagram here at Abby_Turner or on Twitter here at Abby_Turner or #25while25
It's going to be fun
So here we go.  To a new year. To a new list. And to 25 challenging, fun, easy, and unpredictable moments to come!

10 things you need to know about the SEC Network

10.  It's a GREAT thing for everyone… even if it is uncomfortable right now! 9. The SEC Network will not have High School Games, no plans to show bowl games, and will not host the coach's shows of any SEC member institution.   8.  There will be SEC Sports and sports-related programming 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, just like SEC Nation, and come August, SEC TV will no longer exist.  7.  This is a conference-wide network.  The goal is to provide equitable exposure for each of the SEC member institutions.  The SEC Network will achieve this goal without each school having its own block of time to program. 6. The digital network (the 1,000 games from 4.) will be just like WatchEPSN.  You must have the cable provider login in order to watch the programs (meaning you must have AT&T U-Verse or DISH).  5. The first game on the SECNETWORK is Texas A&M at South Carolina on August 28th, 2014.   4. Over 1,000 games will be produced for the network and digital site.  450 of those 1,000 will be live on television.  There will be about 45 football games, over 100 MBB games, 60 WBB games, 75 Baseball, 50 softball, and 120 Olympic sport events will be live on the network.  3. If a game is on the SEC Network - the ONLY way to watch that game is to have a cable provider that has the SEC-Network.  As of today AT&T U-VERSE and DISH are the only 2 providers that have bought the SEC Network for their subscribers. Click here for the story. 2. YOU CAN NOT BUY SEC-NETWORK GAMES ANYWHERE.  It's AT&T U-Verse, DISH, or LIVE in stadium. 1. Want the SEC Network on your Cable Provider.  You can pressure your cable provider at GETSECNETWORK.com.  Click now and tell them you want it!   Have any more questions?  Leave a comment and I will answer them!  Oh and the best part about the SEC Network… guess who will be a host? This guy… Tim Tebow!  

the importance of color

Since I have decided to pause my blog life and blog about things to effect me, here it goes, these first ones might be a little rough. 
Color is everywhere around us and is one of the most important things to consider when branding your product.  Take for instance Big Blue and, depending on where you are from, you immediately think of schools like Duke or Kentucky.  Maybe you see Green and Yellow and immediately think of the Green Bay Packers or Oregon (probably not going to think Baylor - but maybe…).  It's important when branding that you consider a specific color - a specific shade.  North Carolina isn't just blue - they are Tar Heel Blue (or a sky blue to general public).  
One of the most used sports colors is RED.  Think about some poplar teams - Cardinals, Braves, Redsocks, Redskins, and Bucs - just to name a few… But then think about the SEC alone and all of the shades of red. Alabama is Crimson, but is it that much different then the Razorback, Ole Miss, or Georgia Red and even the South Carolina "Garnet"?  Then you have the maroon shades in Texas A&M and Mississippi State.  Just take a look at all of the colors:

Brands communicate meanings with the language of color.  It is comparable to say "A color is worth a thousand words."  A single color can convey a lot of information in just a first glance.  Depending on what state you are from Red could be Texas A&M (or Texas Tech - but lets stay with the SEC thing), Arkansas, Georgia, Alabama, Ole Miss, Mississippi State…  But why have so many schools chosen red?  Think about it what is the SEC known for?  WINNING. a POWER house, IMPORTANCE, RELEVANCE… and what does the RED color convey in general? All of those things.  It is a natural way to associate with the SEC Culture.  
In the News: Arkansas has announced they are changing their color from PMS 200 to PMS 202.  Look above in the chart… Texas A&M uses PMS 281 which is a much more purple red than its counterparts.  Much to my surprise Mississippi State (which looks Maroon everywhere but the branding guide) uses PMS 202 - which is the same as the South Carolina Garnet and the new Arkansas Red.  Interesting Right?  Because they call it Maroon (Commonly thought as PMS 281).  

I mean these colors are basically the same right?  Needless to say it is important to think about your color when creating a brand because the color will supersede anything you can do as a sports biz professional.  Half of why you change your color (over time) is that your uniforms might not specifically match you "official" color.  Just think about about it.  There are no longer 7 different types of red in the SEC.  There are basically 3 - the Maroon, the Garnet (Arkansas, South Carolina, and Miss St), and then the Red (Georgia, Alabama, and Ole Miss).  Interesting thought that schools are changing colors to match uniforms.  What does that tell you about the power of the apparel companies and the power of the schools?  Under Armour, Adidas, and Nike have decided to cut costs and create only a few uniform colors, and it is the schools that are now adapting to what the companies give them to work with.  This fascinates me! I love color because it is so essential to everything marketing is.  I hope you found this just half as interesting.  

It's not just about ordering a uniform in a specific color or saying it is Razorback Red.  There is a lot more that goes into it - and it must look the same on every publication that is produced, because in marketing your brand. is. everything. 

How this effects you:

You are your brand.  Which means just like the color must stay the same and be consistent to convey the brand, we must strive for the same consistency in our life to convey the correct brand.  It doesn't help if at work sometimes I use Razorback Red and sometimes I use Carolina Garnet.  People will become confused and look at our publications as unreliable and unprofessional.  We must remain consistent.  Sometimes life is hard and sometimes we don't always put our best foot forward, but we need to STRIVE to always remember that people are watching us and that we are our own brand every second of every day - whether we are at the Oscars or in the grocery store.  Think about it. 

Hope you enjoyed my NEW post - let me know what you think!