Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Anonymous Support

Most people are surprised that this was Mister's idea for me to write a blog about our everyday lives. Really and truly he's very open about the struggles of his journey to get to the NFL. It hasn't been a cake walk but he has definitely been blessed. Through this blog I have gotten so much feedback, both positive and negative. It has been both encouraging and uplifting...because it gives me a chance to look inside myself. Much like most things in life, there are good and bad things to this football thing. Most people, including my family, think this is all so much fun and we practically have no worries.

Please believe that my struggles are just like yours. There isn't enough time in the day for me to keep things together. I have a closet full of clothes and nothing to wear just like most women. Mister complains every time I head out to the mall like most men. The other day I was talking to one of my friends and she was shocked that I haven't gotten a housekeeper. I was explaining to her that not every NFL wife has a team of people keeping everything tied together. I fall into that category. Don't get me wrong I am considering getting somebody because 4 toilets is just too much for one woman to clean!

Seriously, I pray every night that neither Chris nor I take this opportunity lightly and that we realize how blessed we are at 23 and 24. We pray that we remain humble and down-to-earth, because this is a blessing and God could have chosen somebody else to wear #27. The things that have happened to us, both good and bad, some people never get to experience. So to everyone who has written a message, left a comment, watched a game, lifted a prayer for us, or called to check up on us I thank you. I realize that you never know who's in your corner and whose lives you are affecting; and honestly you don't always have to know.

With the final cuts for the team looming Chris and I are on pins and needles, and trying to find ways to keep busy. He is vacuuming our empty formal living room as we speak! We are hoping for the best....but it really doesn't matter because we know that we have faith and so much love and support. On a different note, please say a prayer for Harry Williams. His girlfriend and I are friends and he's one of Mister's teammates. He was injured in Friday night's game and has had neck surgery. The doctors have told him that his football career is over. So just whisper a little prayer for him and his family.

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Cowboy Fans At Heart

The last time that I wrote I talked about how my whole family is going to the game tomorrow in Dallas. Many of you know my friend high school, but I'm originally from Dallas. My whole family is full of die hard Cowboy fans, and some of them just can't stand the idea of wearing a Texans shirt into Texas Stadium. So what's a girl like me to do?

I grew up loving Troy, Emmitt, Michael, Flozell Adams, and even Deion. When I was in elementary school the Cowboys went to 3 Super Bowls. My family loves the Cowboys. Well, now we have a new sheriff in town, and he doesn't wear a silver star on his helmet. Miter, plays for the lesser known Texas team that is trying to earn the respect of the N.F.L. I have no choice but to support the hubby, I wouldn't dare disrespect him like that. My folks on the other hand....they are questionable!

Some of them have collected Texans shirts and caps over the last 3 years....while some of them has been a little hesitant to even cheer for Mister on game day. As a matter of fact, my aunt text me to ask what number he wore! But tomorrow all 15 of us will be in some sort of Texans gear ready to scream loud and cheer hard. They love Cowboy football, but they love the man wearing the Texans uniform more.

I encourage all of you to tune in tomorrow night at 7 p.m. central time to tune in to the Lone Star Showdown! Make sure you look for #27 in the DARK blue jersey. I sure hope that you will join me in cheering him on in his 1st career start! You don't even know what kinda opportunity this is.....if only you knew his struggle. I'm so excited, he's so excited......just ready for kick off. P.S. --Pray that he doesn't cramp up!

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

A Family Affair

This one will be a venting session, so here we go! The life of a football player involves so much and it takes so much out of you. When people ask me what it's like to be with someone in the NFL my first response is always "it's fun, but it's stressful too!" The emotional rollercoasters that Mister and I have been on have definitely made our relationship stronger. But what I find most interesting is the reactions that we get from people. Some people find it interesting while others think that you (the woman) do not have any goals and ambition.

I'm sure that the plight of a NFL wife is much like any other wife; and I applaud any woman doing her thing and keeping her house/family together. I'm always asking my mom what the difference is between my stress and everybody else's stress. I hate the fact that most people think that because your husband plays football all you want in life is to get your nails done and carry Gucci purses. There are so many ambitious women who are married to athletes, but I think that this stereotype prevails. I know for me, Mister's schedule is so hectic that it takes all that I have to go to work, keep our house clean, eat, workout, and sleep. Let's not even get into how I'm suppose to be supportive of him and go games and even some practices! I do what I think is best for my relationship and my household.

For Mister and I our faith is what holds things together and keeps a balance in our lives. But our families play a major factor as well. They are our support, our encourgement, our backbone! For instance the day Mister moved into the hotel for camp my little godbrothers left a message on our answering machine wishing him good luck. Those are the types of things that keep us going, because for him the game is rough, tough, and physical and for everybody else it's entertainment. For me the games are fun until somebody gets hurt (especially Mister)!

This weekend Mister plays in Dallas and there is a group of 14 of us going to the game. I am so happy, because I don't have to carry the stess of game day all by myself. The anticipation of the game, Mister's nerves, and the atmosphere all wear me out. My mommie and the rest of my family is going to be there, and I can relax because they will have my back! This NFL thing is a family affair, there is no way that I could do this all by myself. I cheer and I scream, but every time he takes the field his health, his life, and his career are on the line and I never forget that.

Monday, August 18, 2008

Random Chaos!

I just got back from New Orleans yesterday around 2 and I'm exhausted! Now I get to look forward to a whole new weekend of things. Three major events take place this weekend....my sister moves into the dorm, I'm hosting my best friend's bridal shower, and of course the Texans vs. Cowboys game. So, I'll probably be a little scatter brained but it's only temporary insanity!

Back to the Saints game....we came out with a win! (I say "we" as though I'm on the team as well!) The highlight of the game was his 2nd career touchdown! Mister's cramps flared up again during the 3rd quarter....but overall he had a good game. He ended the game with 12 carries and 39 yards. I bought our tickets instead of sitting in the Texans section way up on the roof. We sat right in the middle of some Saints season ticket holders....and they were not happy to see us! They were nice, but they did not appreciate me screaming for Mister's team.

This cramp issue has become a serious concern for me because it's affecting his playing time. To sit in the stands and watch him lay motionless on the field was a little much. I've been buying him Pedialyte, but he hasn't been drinking it consistently. He went to the sideline to walk the cramps off, but the trainers decided to take him to the locker room and give him an IV. I'm not a big fan of needles, but Mister doesn't mind it. On the way to the locker room he saw me in the stand and gave me a thumbs up so I wouldn't worry. You know that didn't matter, I still wanted to know EXACTLY what was wrong with him. One my friends text me and told me the announcer on t.v. said it was just cramps. It was definitely a relief, but just adds to my concerns. So hopefully by Friday he will have this cramp thing worked out.

Aside from the game, I got to see two of my friends that I haven't seen since I left New Orleans in 2004. We had a rushed lunch together, but we got to do a little catching up. Good times! You would have never known that we hadn't seen each other in years....I'm just so happy to see them so happy and doing well. By the way, this was my sister's first experience with Cajun food. She was not impressed.

My impressions of the city were good and bad. I was okay until I made a wrong turn and saw a house with spray painted "x" that said they found 2 bodies inside. I took a moment to take things in and it really hit home. I realize just how blessed I am, just on a surface level. I'm not even talking about any of life's luxuries. I hope that the city continues it's rebuilding process. By the number of Saints fans at the game, it's clear that the people of New Orleans have a lot of pride in their city. Which is as it should be. Overall this weekend was a lot of fun, would definitely do it again!

Friday, August 15, 2008

My Big Scare!

Okay, yesterday I get this text message from my uncle and it reads, "Mister fumbled in the red zone?" I'm sitting here like what? Again, my blood pressure rises and I'm getting a little warmed up because I've told Mister that I don't like finding bad news about him on the internet, I would rather hear it from him. So, I got the text message maybe 20 minutes after Mister was off to the evening practice. Which meant it would be 3 or 4 more hours before I would hear from him to clear it up.

In the mean time, I'm looking online and texting my uncle trying to find this report somewhere. I never find it! So the reason I was in a panic is because Mister's rookie year, it was put out in the media that he had a fumbling problem. I personally have never seen him fumble....dating back to his college days; and there is no statistic to be found on him. But the media said that his fumbling problem is what kept him from making the 53 man roster.

Finally, Mister's text me because he was headed to Bourbon with his teammates to see the city. I respond back with "did you fumble yesterday in the red zone in the scrimmage?" He immediately writes back, "no". So of course I was relieved, but sometimes Mister acts like stuff is not a big deal and it really is....or should I say the media makes it a big deal. He reassured me that he didn't fumble.

I have a hard time with the media talking junk about him. Mister can handle it, but I don't like it! Between the media and the fans on the message boards, you really have to have thick skin. Mister's thing is all of this just comes with the territory, but my thing is I didn't sign up for them to be talking bad about him.  Just another reminder that this is "his dream and my reality"!

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Back To The Bottom Of The Map!

Ok.....this one may be a little emotional! Where do I start? Mister and his teammates have already left and gone to New Orleans for this weekend's game. I, on the other hand, have gone back and forth on if I wanted to go. Why, I kept asking myself, am I so nervous to go see my husband play a game in a city that I "knew" so well! Well that's just it....I haven't been back to New Orleans since "Katrina"

Let's rewind and then fast forward at the same time. As many of you know, I went to Dillard University in New Orleans for the first 2 years of undergrad experience. I have so many fond memories of the city, the school, the people, and the food. Unfortunately, I know that the city of New Orleans that I knew will never be the same. While I was in New Orleans in school I had an older cousin who lived in the N.O. and worked at Dillard, but he died this past December. So while I'm a little nervous to see what type of negative effects the hurricane left on the city, I am anxious to see Mister play again!

When Mister got there, I kept asking him what did the city look like and all of these different questions. He of course didn't know! He never saw it before all of the disaster struck! Shewt, he can't even pronounce the street names and suburban city names. I may not know either because I didn't see it right after the hurricane. So, now that it's been 4 years since I left and 3 years since Katrina i'm going to see the Texans beat the Saints and just how far the city has come. I hope that it still has that vibrant spirit and loud streets, but I'm not going to set any expectations. As for Mister and his teammates, they better come home with a win....they don't have any excuses!

Monday, August 11, 2008

Preseason Game 1

Now that the first preseason game is under Chris' belt, I think that he can breath a little easier. Before last season I thought we was a super hero, I thought he could never get hurt or be sick. For the first time ever I saw him struggle with both. His injury was definitely a physical thing but the rehab process was definitely mental. So in game one Chris had high expectations for himself and at the end of the game I don't think that he was satisfied. I think his disappointment came because his expectations were unreasonable for a preseason game and his first game back. But for his overall performance he did pretty well and the knee is just doing superb!

So....as always I was running late, I got to my seat at the end of the first kickoff drive. The first series of the game Denver had the ball....therefore I didn't pay much attention. When we were finally on offense I guess I didn't get the memo because I looked up and Chris was on the field. I wasn't expecting him to be out there so fast. Well come to find out I missed the first play of the offensive series when Ahman Green was in. So of course I'm cheering and stuff....but I'm all tense. To be honest my frustration came when the Denver dudes kept grabbing Chris by the ankle. I was mad and told my sister that they need to make that illegal, because they could break some body's ankle. That was when she reminded me that all of this physical stuff is apart of the game.

The worst part of the night was when the quarterback got sacked! So during the play once he hit the ground he fumbled.....and Chris picked it up and took it another yard or so. Of course, I'm screaming because Chris has the ball until I look over at my god brother and he has his head in his head. I knew then that something went wrong....of course there it was on the Jumbo tron! Chris missed a block in the blitz and got the quarterback killed! I wasn't sure....Trey wasn't really sure....but it's looked really bad. So for the rest of the game....I was quiet.

When the game was over and we saw Chris the first thing I asked was "was that sack your fault"? He of course was like..."yeah" and tried to explain (like I knew what he was talking about). So I asked did he apologized and he said yeah....after that I felt better. Chris is such a good guy.....this game was a reminder for me that this is a team sport!

Sunday, August 10, 2008

Beauty Shop / Texas BBQ

As always, I'm behind...but hey that's typical me right now! So, last week I made an appointment to go to the beauty shop because I was overdue for a relaxer. The lady told me that she had an opening at 7:00 pm on Thursday, which was perfect because I didn't have anywhere else to be and Mister was suppose to be in camp. Of course this is not how things went in the end.

Like always, I'm not always aware of the team's schedule. So on Wednesday night Mister calls and says that he has Thursday evening off and he's coming home. I just sit on the phone and look "big eyed and crazy" (as my momma would say). That's when I inform him that I'm going to the beauty shop and he's going to be home with my sister for awhile. Fast forward to Thursday and I get to the salon and have to wait about 45 minutes....typical black salon! I get my relaxer and a roller set and finally I walk out of there at 10:35. End result, a husband who is a little upset that he had an evening off and no wife to spend it with....but oh well, cause my hair looks good!

This is just a side bar....but definitely a bit of an update on the football front. The day of the "hurricane" that I ran from, Mister had a radio interview with the local sports channel. During the interview they ask him about Memphis BBQ as well as if he's tried any Texas BBQ....and he said NO! I was just shocked....my daddy has barbecued so many times and my momma makes her own sauce and this dude gets on the radio and says no. So I had to remind him that I'm originally from Texas and Memphis was just a pit stop in my life. The people on the radio loved him....obviously he's doing well!

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Weight Loss Plan

The fact that Mister's weight fluctuated so much has been a mystery for so long. I've been thinking about it a lot. At first I was worried that something was wrong with him, but he always says that it's water weight. So over time I've gotten jealous! For instance, last Saturday when he came home after practice he was 216.

So Saturday afternoon we went to BJ's and had pizza and for dinner that night we had smothered pork chops and rice. Before we went to bed that night he was back at 220. Sunday morning we woke up and Mister ate a bowl of Frosted Flakes and a cinnamon roll for breakfast. For lunch he had left over pizza and before he headed back for meetings he had a turkey and cheese sandwich. Before he walked out of the door Sunday evening at 4 he was back up to 224!

Now tell me how crazy that is....and to make things worst the next day he was back down to 214. So now you see why I'm jealous! For our wedding I got a trainer 9 months before and didn't loose a single pound. The trainer said that it was stress and I probably wouldn't loose much and I'd probably only tone a few muscles. But I will say that since the wedding I've lost 12 pounds and I've only gone to the trainer twice.

So I'm trying to decide if I need to get my helmet, pads, and jersey and have my own training camp in the back yard. Clearly training camp does a body good!

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

Safe Return

At 10:30 last night Mister calls and says that the coaches decided that they could go home and wait out the storm with their families. But they are going to have practice at 1:30 Tuesday afternoon. Well at 10:30 I was 2 hours away at my grandma's house watching Jon and Kate Plus 8 on TLC. They picked a fine time to make a decision!

Since the tropical storm didn't do much damage I decided to come home this evening. On the way home my sister and I were driving along and the rain was picking up and the wind was getting a little gusty so I was getting nervous. I had to turn my flashers on so that the crazy people behind me could see me and all of a sudden my sister is screaming my name and pointing. I look to my left and see car after car going into the ditch! My crazy behind thought "oh God we are next", so I started pushing the brake and was just bracing myself for the slide and it never happened. That's when I realized that the people in the left lane had all run into each other and were sliding in the ditch trying to avoid a stopped car. So much for these Texas drivers driving in a hurricane!

I said all of that to say that I made it home safely and Mister had a good practice. I wonder if the next time a hurricane/tropical storm comes should I wait around for the organization to make a decision?

Monday, August 4, 2008

A Tropical Storm

I'm not one for severe weather, so the thought of a tropical storm coming this way is just not what I had in mind. I'm considering going to my Grandma's house to hide out until things settle down. Unfortunately, Mister has to stay here with his teammates and weather the storm. I'm not sure that I'm comfortable leaving him here, but I know that i'm not staying here. I don't play with the weather like that!

Back on the football front....Mister went back to camp yesterday afternoon. I was getting used to having him home again. When he first got home on Saturday he was limping around and just looked like he was on his last leg. But he had his epsom salt bath and some good ole home cooking. So I made sure that he was well rested....although I really needed him to fix this air conditioner vent. By the time he left yesterday he looked like a human again and not a gladiator. He was well over due for a shave!

Speaking of air conditioner vents...let's talk about this home ownership thing! I love our house, but with him gone I have more responsiblity. For instance we were having problems with the electrical outlet because we just had a sprinkler system installed. So I made arrangements for the guy to come out and fix it....but it never dawned on me that I would be home alone. Typically I make arrangements for service people to come when he and I are both home, so of course I'm walking around the house with a knife in my pocket, because see I love my life! lol!

Saturday, August 2, 2008

One Week Down


So today marks one week and one day of training camp. Mister is surviving...it's amazing how fast he and his teammates have worn down. I just got home from the last "open" practice, I just love how the fans get into the spirit. It's exactly one week until the first preseason game....this time next week I'll be headed to the stadium to see them take on the Denver Broncos. I'm so excited....I've really learned to love the game. When football season rolls around things are so fast paced because I have something to look forward to every weekend.

While I was driving home I realized that we have been married for over a month now. It's crazy how fast time goes. I absolutely love being married....it's a lot of fun....especially since I'm blessed to be married to my closest friend. So I mentioned it to Mister and he just looked at me....because of the two a days he can't keep his days straight! He kept asking me if it was Thursday....and today is Saturday. He's shocked that it's been a month as well, we knew that training camp was right around the corner but goodness.

So....back to football! The team took this evening and tomorrow off so Mister is home. I'm going to cook some smothered pork chops and nurse his little cuts back to health. I never understand why he always gets so beat up in practice. I mean these scratches looks like they let the tigers at the zoo loose. His knee is doing so well and he's doing great in practice. During the practice he just looks so tired when he's standing on the sidelines, and then when he gets in.....you see him hit that second gear. Monday he'll be back at it....so i have to enjoy him while he's home!


 
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