Tag: NFLWife

Tailgate Party Time!

Raina Birden1 Comment

Football season is here and we all know what that means right! It’s time for a tailgate party!

A tailgate party is usually at the stadium in the parking lot with your good friends and some great food! Yet, lets just say your favorite team is not playing where you live? Go Chiefs! So when that’s the case my “Tailgate” party will be at home!

We like to host a few football parties during the football season when our favorite teams are playing. Of course being that my husband, JJ Birden, played in the NFL we are partial to the teams he played with. For any of you that might now already know he was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in 1988, from there he went to the Dallas Cowboys briefly, Kansas City Chiefs for 5 years and retired after playing 2 years with the Atlanta Falcons in 1997. Those were some exciting years watching him play. 

Every year there is an NFL draft and then of course the NFL Fantasy League draft. How about a tailgate party draft?  Man Crates asked me to draft our squad of essentials for a NFL tailgate party. They’re a new company that specializes in gifts for men; they have a lot of different themed crates you can send to your man and watch him open with a crowbar! I love this idea, so I thought it would be fun to share some of my “Tailgate” party ideas with you for the ultimate parking lot party! I am sure you will be able to use some of these ideas at your home cook out too! 😉

Man Crates gave me this great graphic to use for my draft. I am going to use the items from it to draft my tailgate party. My goal is to keep it under $25 using the graphics prices. Let’s do this! (my line up is below graphic)

Man Crates-Tailgate_v03

My tailgate line up:

  1. Hot dogs/Burgers – these are definitely a must, when I think of football food this is what first comes to mind. It is also an easy food choice for that portable grill at the stadium.
  2. OPTION PLAY: Chips & Guacamole: We love our guacamole! So our tailgate party is not complete without my guac & chips to munch on! I grew up on my Mom’s homemade guacamole and now my siblings and I have our own tweaked versions of Mom’s original recipe that our families love.
  3. Drinks: I have to admit we are not really beer drinkers in this house, so I would say my substitution for beer would be water & Arizona iced tea. It is hot in Arizona so you must have water or some kind of liquid that keeps you going in the hot sun.
  4. Music: Music is always a must for our tailgate party. The music keeps the party lively and gets you pumped up for the game.
  5. Football: We have to have a football, whats a tailgate party without that! My husband and our children like to throw the football around, it’s a good way to warm up for the real game.
  6. NFL Barware Man Crate: I would choose this Man Crate because although we are not drinking beer, those team glasses are awesome for any type of beverage and there are some great snacks in the Man Crate to munch on with my guacamole & chips, while we wait for those hot dogs and burgers to finish grilling.

That’s my lineup!

I would love to hear what you like to have at your tailgate party. Leave me your ideas in the comments below.

“Football is like life – it requires perseverance, self-denial, hard work, sacrifice, dedication and respect for authority.”
~ Vince Lombardi

He Finished It!

Raina Birden2 Comments

Have any of you ever written a book? It sounds great and wonderful. But after watching my husband go through the process. I am not sure I want to tackle that any day soon. I applaud those of you who have taken on this task.

My husband, JJ, wrote his first book this last year, “When Opportunity Knocks, 8 Surefire Ways to Take Advantage”, amid his other countless responsibilities. I am so proud of what he has accomplished. He started out with a bang of writing but with all the things that have to be taken care of when you are providing for a very large family the writing had to take a back seat. He had to write in the small pockets left over. There were times we would have a little mini staycation, meaning we used points and went to a local hotel so he could write. Those times were very productive for him. He was able to stay focused on his writing. I have to admit they weren’t so bad for me either. I love a good book but don’t get the chance to read very often, so I took those times to catch up on my reading or work on my own projects. One large project last year was graduation videos. I create a graduation video for each graduating senior and I had two last year, so that was a good time to focus on that. I will have to share my process with you sometime. We have another senior this year so I am deep into that along with everything else. 🙂

JJ has always wanted to write a book. He has had some great experiences in his life that have made into some great stories for the chapters of his book. He has had to go through some tough obstacles, but he never let those challenges take him down. His book highlights those experiences and he shows us how he overcame them but also how to help us to overcome our own challenges in able to succeed. Here is an excerpt taken from his website that sums up his book:

book-cover

Throughout JJ’s life, he has dealt with many obstacles. Yet he has never allowed those obstacles to prevent him from achieving success on various levels.

For instance, during his quest to reach the NFL, many people said at 5’10” and 157 lbs, he was too small to play a big man’s game. Instead of allowing such negativity to break his focus, he used it as fuel to prove the doubters wrong, and went on to have a very successful NFL career.

JJ says, “I have met so many people over the years, who could have achieved some amazing things. Yet they allowed someone or the day-to-day challenges of life to get in the way. Therefore, they spend the rest of their life in a state of regret. In life we all have opportunities, no matter who we are, where we come from or our personal situation. The question is do we seize these opportunities and when we do, do we take advantage of them? My goal with this book is to share 8 key principles to help anyone seize their opportunities in life.”

I have had my small part in his book writing process. Besides being his cheerleader, I have been with him for most of his meetings with his mentor & editor, Dr. Will Moreland. I have also helped work with our book cover designer, Ruby James, which I have to say for me is the best part! Now I will have a part in getting the books into the hands of his readers. We just launched autographed pre-orders! It is very exciting times!

I hope all of you will check out my husbands new book, you won’t be disappointed. I think that JJ’s former Kansas City Chiefs Wide Receiver Coach Al Saunders who wrote the forward says it best:

 “This book certainly is not exclusively for the sports fan. Professional football just happened to be a passion JJ had and the National Football League the platform that was presented to realize one of his dreams. The reader will find it speaks to anyone who truly has a desire to succeed, a unique talent to develop or difficult challenge to overcome.

 Whether young or old, male or female, amateur or professional JJ’s words will motivate, inspire and challenge you to be the very best you can be in every phase of your life. He presents a plan for you to take advantage of those opportunities that can make a positive difference.” 

Here is a link if you would like to pre-order “When Opportunity Knocks, 8 Surefire Ways to Take Advantage!”

Have a fabulous week!

“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”
― Maya Angelou