Super Bowl XLIX - The NFL Experience

Ever wonder how a Wilson football is made?  Curious to see what it feels like to make the call as a referee?  Or just simply love Skittles??   Yes to one...or all??  I certainly have the right place for you - it's NFL Experience!!

This was my first year getting the full NFL Experience...and all I can say is WOW!  It is an extremely impressive layout of the some of the jewels of the NFL (literally...they bring the Super Bowl rings and trophy!) as well as some of the most exciting interactive elements of the game.  I had a blast...and I wasn't even able to stay and play all day. 

Mom and Dad gave passing and kicking a try.  I didn't have on appropriate shoes for kicking, but I did manage to give passing a shot.  I wasn't terrible.

The second photo captures the Art McNally Game Center in our NY office.  I work here on Sundays throughout the season.  You can only imagine how crazy it can get when it's full of people with different games going on every monitor.  I really enjoy this aspect of my job.  Never a dull moment in this room!

Skittles was my favorite interactive area at the event.  SO fun.  And you certainly didn't leave empty handed.  They were passing out bags of Skittles in there like they were going out of style!!

This is how each football begins...

They are then sown almost all the away together...

Pounded with a hammer to firm up the seams...

A "bladder" is inserted and the ball is filled with just enough air to keep it pliable...

It is laced in the next to last step...THIS was amazing to watch!

And finally, pumped full of air!

Who knew making a football involved so many steps and people?  It was incredible to watch this process.  All of the staff at this station actually work at the factory in Ada, Ohio, that makes footballs for the NFL year round.  One employee was even telling us that she was on overtime most of the year just to get them done in time for the season to begin.  We stayed at this station for a long time taking it all in.  I was very impressed with each and every step of the process.

What do you think?  Would you enjoy NFL Experience?

Don't forget to check out my Super Bowl giveaway HERE today!  It ends soon!!

Andrea :)

PS - If the Super Bowl is ever in your home city, I highly suggest checking it out for the day.  They sold $35 tickets...and it was totally worth it from the couple of hours I spent checking things out!

Best Picture Review: The Imitation Game

Summary via IMDb:

Based on the real life story of legendary cryptanalyst Alan Turing, the film portrays the nail-biting race against time by Turing and his brilliant team of code-breakers at Britain's top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park during the darkest days of World War II.

My Thoughts:

Surprisingly, I really enjoyed this movie.  It had not been one that I was excited about watching, but it was wonderful.  I loved how it flashed back and forth from his childhood to the wartime though I could have done without so much of the flashing forward to the present day.  At one point, I got a bit of a headache because it was moving around so often.  After talking more about it with Chris, we concluded it likely was the best strategy, but I guess the present day (1950's) scenes just weren't really all that interesting so they didn't capture my attention as much.  The story itself was fascinating though.  I can't imagine the stress and agony of trying to break a code that changed everyday.  It was thrilling to see them figure out various aspects and work toward the end goal that ultimately changed history.  As the film claims at several different junctures, "sometimes it is the people that no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine".  What an extraordinary story.  Definitely suggest seeing this film.  Quite worthy of its nominations.

Other Nominations:

Actor (Benedict Cumberbatch)
Supporting Actress (Keira Knightley)
Directing (Morten Tyldum)
Film Editing
Music (Original Score)
Production Design
Writing (Adapted Screenplay)

Did you see The Imitation Game?  What were your thoughts?

Andrea :)

Super Bowl XLIX - The City

The Super Bowl truly transforms a city.  It's actually quite phenomenal really.  When I arrived in Phoenix roughly two weeks prior to the Big Game, there were several clues as to the transformation to come, but actually watching it happen...sometimes literally overnight...was amazing.

The airport had plenty of signage and was quite busy even over a week before the big weekend.  I managed to easily find my rental car and head off to downtown Phoenix.  Easy enough...at least for now.

My parents came out the first week I was in town while Chris came into town just a couple days before the Super Bowl.  They experienced entirely different versions of downtown Phoenix.  It was neat to watch the transformation take place, but a total pain when trying to get from place to place toward the end.

 

Mid-week before the big game, NFL House opened to various VIPs...but not before staff had fun there at a soft opening.

And I'd be remiss to forget about the awesome views...and food...at the rotating restaurant at the top of our NFL Headquarter hotel.  I ate there once with each set of guests...double YUM!  They served THE most delicious cornbread with honey butter before the tasty meals arrived to devour. 

I'll share more about NFL Experience and the various aspects of the game soon!  In the meantime, head over HERE to enter my Super Bowl goodie giveaway!!

Andrea :)

Five on Friday

I am so happy it's Friday!!  I've had a long week of re-adjusting to the cold and Eastern time.  It was a totally different two weeks out in Arizona, but I am glad to be back in my own bed after all those days away! 

{ONE}

 
Upon returning home from my trip, I was welcomed with a fabulous swap package from Becca at How I Roll.  We were paired up as a part of the Chase Your Dreams swap that Mia from The Chronicles of Chaos hosted.  We had a great time emailing back and forth to learn more about our goals for the year.  Mine (posted here) include focusing on my health and finally reading through the Bible.  Becca got me some great stuff to get started on those goals!!  I love the book and journal - so handy for studying the Bible and taking notes.  The water bottle and headband are just perfect, too!!

{TWO}

Chris and I plan to finishing up watching the Best Picture nominees this weekend.  We still need to see The Imitation Game and Whiplash.  I have been reviewing the other nominees the past couple of weeks and will continue the next couple leading up to my Oscar predictions just before the big show!

{THREE}

I started my training plan for the half marathon I signed up for in April.  It has been a real struggle this week, but I have begun the journey.  I want to keep track of my progress here so I'm sorting out the best method for that now.  I have until the 15th to decide if I want to register for the NYC Marathon again.  I qualified back in November, but I wanted to see how these first couple of weeks of training went before I fully committed to running another marathon.  It's highly unlikely I'll back out at this point though.

{FOUR}

I am SO close to finishing Wild by Cheryl Strayed.  I was supposed to be done in January for my online book club, but I got a little distracted by all the craziness out in AZ those last two weeks of the month.  Anyway, I am almost done...and can't wait to see the movie.  I am hoping for some gorgeous scenes of that part of the country.  I have no desire to hike the trail, but some of the views sound like they are absolutely amazing!

{FIVE}  

 

I have a giveaway going on right now for some awesome Super Bowl swag.  Check it out HERE!!  I promise you won't be disappointed with these goodies!

Hope you all have an AMAZING weekend!!

Andrea :)

Best Picture Review: The Grand Budapest Hotel

Summary via Fandango:

Wes Anderson heads to Europe for the first time with this Indian Paintbrush production starring Saoirse Ronan, Ralph Fiennes, Bill Murray, and Jude Law. Gustav H., the famous concierge at a legendary hotel situated in the Alps during the 1930's becomes the center of a farcical whirlwind of suspicion when one of his institution's oldest and richest patrons turns up dead and suspiciously leaves him her most priceless work of art -- a Renaissance painting of a boy with an apple. Infuriated that she left anything of value to anyone else, the woman's greedy and nefarious heir uses all manner of underhanded and illegal tactics to pin her death on Gustav and to silence anyone who questions his objective of inheriting every penny of her estate leaving Gustav's trusted lobby boy, Zero, to clear Gustav's name and prove that the grand lady's killer is none other than her own son.

My Thoughts:

I didn't love it, but I also didn't hate it.  It was interesting for lack of a better word.  The story...every single part of it...was certainly farcical, but there was something about it that made me want to keep watching to see how it all shook out.  My favorite scene was when Gustav H. and his prison buddies make a break for it...particularly the end of the scene.  Gustav H. is truly a character for the ages.  What a goofy, goofy man!  I also enjoyed that it was told from the perspective of the lobby boy several decades after the wild series of events occurred.  Not a movie I would particularly recommend to someone, but it wasn't a total waste of my time either.

Other Nominations:

Cinematography

Costume Design

Directing (Wes Anderson)

Film Editing

Makeup & Hairstyling

Music (Original Score)

Production Design

Writing (Original Screenplay)

Did you see The Grand Budapest Hotel?  What did you think?

Andrea :)

Super Bowl Giveaway!

I'm not quite sure if everyone has completely wrapped their mind around the crazy Super Bowl finish yet.  And I certainly have lots of photos and fun details to share from my experience this year, but for now I just wanted to offer you a chance to win some fun Super Bowl swag!!  You will need to be a US resident to win.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Andrea :)

Best Picture Review: Boyhood

Summary via Fandango:

Richard Linklater's Boyhood is a coming-of-age drama that the director spent twelve years making. He cast a young boy, Ellar Coltrane, and shot the film a few days at a time for over a decade so that he could capture how his leading actor and the rest of his cast aged. The film's story simply follows a boy named Mason (Coltrane) as he progresses from age 6 to 18 and deals with the typical travails of childhood like his parents' divorce, bad step-parents, falling in love, finding his artistic voice, and fighting with his bratty older sister. Ethan Hawke and Patricia Arquette co-star as Mason's parents.

My Thoughts:

I saw this one back in the summer when it was originally released.  It was a fabulous chronicle of boyhood.  I enjoyed it!  I love that it followed the same actor over the course of so many years.  What a risky move to start filming something that would take over twelve years to complete!  That alone makes the director Oscar worthy.  SO many things could have happened over that time period that would have destroyed the entire effort so kudos to the director for having the guts to pursue such an endeavor!  Outside of the scope and effort it took to actually make the film, I also really enjoyed following Mason's story documentary style.  Since you were actually following the same boy, all of the various (mostly negative) things that were occurring (particularly in his childhood) felt more real than in other movies where you typically see scenes as flashbacks to younger days.  It was a really neat film and an interesting story though there really wasn't much closure or a strong ending.  It didn't bother me though because, of course, Mason's life was really just beginning as he headed off to college, but if you were hoping for a revelation or life lesson to be learned...you won't find it in this movie's final scenes.  Definitely recommend it, especially to someone with an interest in the child's perspective of divorce, re-marriage, and step-parenting.  I don't have much experience there, but felt this movie gave a fair portrayal from a growing boy's perspective.

Other Nominations:

Supporting Actor (Ethan Hawke)

Supporting Actress (Patricia Arquette)

Directing (Richard Linklater)

Film Editing

Writing (Original Screenplay) 

Did you see Boyhood?  Which part of Mason's life was most interesting to you?

Andrea :)