Category: #AWBU

#AWBU Recap Pinterest Rockstar with Taylor Bradford

By Taylor Bradford

Hi y’all! Taylor here. In case you weren’t able to catch my Pinterest Rockstar session at #AWBU, you are in luck today!! I’m giving you access to my presentation and some notes to help you become a rockstar on Pinterest.First up….the link to my Pinterest Rockstar presentation.  Okay, now let’s chat about Pinterest for a bit. The questions I was receiving during my presentation were great ones. The overwhelming theme, however, was this question…”How do I use Pinterest?” And when I say that, I mean that you are asking yourself that question.
 
 
This is a super important question to ask yourself because it will tell you how you need to proceed to becoming a Pinterest Rockstar. I use Pinterest to curate content. And by curate content, I mean curate ALL the content. Specifically, content that can fit into my pre-existing Pinterest boards. My method might not be your method. Let’s say you are building a brand based on a service. You might structure your pins towards that service. You might not curate all the content out on Pinterest. So figure out how to use Pinterest to best suit your brand. What I taught works for me and my brand. But gives you a great idea on how you can become a Rockstar for your own brand.
So what am I doing to gain followers? I am pinning every 10 minutes. And I use a service called Viral Tag to do this (something I pay for). I’m not going to get into the specifics of my Viral Tag account (that would be an entire post in and of itself! LOL) but it’s what I use to be able to pin that often. I also pin when I have free time. I work on pinning content to my own group boards to build them up!!
 
Group Boardsfind them and get on them. Super important in order to get in front of new audiences. Most of the boards have the instructions on how to get on them (and the rules for the boardmake sure you follow them!). If you don’t see instructions on how to be added, comment on one of the owners most recent pins requesting access. Sometimes that works and sometimes it doesn’t.
Want more Pinterest tips? Check out my original Pinterest Rockstar post here.
 
 
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Taylor Bradford is the owner/editor of PinkHeelsPinkTruck.com, a lifestyle blog with an emphasis on fashion, beauty, fitness, food, blogging tips/tricks, crafts/DIY and books. She is the Community Director of the Texas Women Bloggers,  the founder and co-host of an online book club called the #LiteraryJunkies, and a co-founder/creator of the #NOEXCUSES Fitness Challenge Series. She is a shoe lover, fitness-guru, book hoarder, and wanna-be fashionista. She calls Texas home, Chai Tea Latte’s her go-to drink and time spent with her hubby and friends music to her soul. Her motto in the blogging world is to roll out your own red carpet and keep your big girl panties pulled up high. She’s an open book with blogging and has a passion for sharing everything she learns!!

#AWBU Recap Post: Becoming An Evernote Ninja, or Why You Need To Join My Cult

evernote 1By Bethany Stephens

Earlier this year, Evernote announced that it had reached an astounding 100 million users worldwide.  As a point of reference, Twitter has 271 million monthly active users.  These numbers are interesting because despite its widespread popularity, Evernote still feels widely unknown and underused.  The vast majority of savvy people I interact with are not familiar with Evernote, or they’ve heard about it and don’t really understand the big deal – it’s just another cloud-based note-taking app, right??
 
 
Image source: Evernote
 
The fun upside to Evernote remaining relatively foreign is that discovering another user in a crowd makes it feel like we both know where the fountain of youth is located, and we plan to meet up there later to frolic.
 
I discovered Evernote in 2009 and became an avid user in 2010, and I still find it ironic that the oldest note I have on file is a Far Side cartoon in which a student asks to be excused from class due to his brain being full.  In April 2010, I got tired of looking for that particular cartoon online (apparently I reference it so frequently that this was a huge inconvenience in my life) and filed it in Evernote for easy access:
 
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Credit: The Far Side
 
It actually couldn’t be more appropriate, because that Gary Larson snippet perfectly captures how I feel about Evernote: I use it because my brain feels full, and I simply don’t have the capacity or the desire to try to remember everything.  I’d rather save my limited mental space for remembering which book my daughter is currently reading so that I can ask her about it after school, or for brainstorming big ideas and innovative solutions with colleagues and clients.
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Image source: Evernote
 
So, I’m on a mission to spread the Evernote love.  Rather than finding that other user in a crowd and feeling smug together about what we’ve discovered, I want everyone to understand why I am so darn passionate about Evernote.  Trust me, those around me hear about it ad nauseum, so I’ve had to resort to being an evangelist for unsuspecting crowds and people who aren’t tired of hearing about it.  
 
 evernote collage2
Photo credits: Dining With DebbienwaFoodie (and apparently Jody Dilday and I swapped sweaters)
 
From training sessions for CPG companies based in Northwest Arkansas to serve Walmart – the world’s largest retailer and their top customer – to classes for small groups and teams to a recent session during the Arkansas Women Bloggers conference, I’ll talk about Evernote to anyone who will listen.  Earlier this year I agreed to join the team at Kendal King Group in order to launch a new breed of retail marketing agency called Velocity, and we’ll be making Evernote and Evernote Business training and consultation available to many of our clients.
  • Shameless plug: We’d love to have you follow the Velocity blog and our social accounts (InstagramPinterest & Twitter), and we have many upcoming projects where we will collaborate with bloggers, social media users and freelance writers and designers! We’ll work directly through partners like Stephanie Buckley and The Women Bloggers, so stay tuned to the Arkansas Women Bloggers (and other state sites) for details.
After the recent session at the Arkansas Women Bloggers conference, I agreed to put together a recap post for those who weren’t able to participate in the Evernote session or just wanted a handy reference guide.  
 
However, the thing about Evernote is that it certainly can be a game-changer, but there is a lot of ground to cover!  So, following this “Convince You That Evernote Is Amazing” post will be a series of three additional posts to help you a) understand what the heck Evernote is b) cover the basics of using it and c) turbo-charge your Evernote use with pro tips and best practices.
 
So go ahead, jump on in – the water’s fine.  Here’s one more nudge:
 
 
I’m accustomed to the look on someone’s face during an Evernote session at the exact moment where they realize what it is capable of and how it is applicable in their lives.  At the Arkansas Women Bloggers conference, however, I mistook the perplexed looks on the faces of attendees as an indication that I was missing the mark or doing a poor job of representing the complete fabulousness of Evernote.  It turns out all those furrowed brows and the silence in the room were actually indicative of their brains simultaneously exploding.
 
And hey, what can I say?  That’s exactly what I’m looking for when I introduce someone to Evernote.  
 
I want brains to explode.amy2
 
 

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The rest of this series is on the Magpie Marketing blog.  Enjoy! 
Evernote helps you remember everything and get organized effortlessly. Download Evernote.

#AWBU Recap Freelancing 101: Writing All the Words and Making all the Money

 

Sometimes the hardest part of taking a new path is figuring out whether or not you can make it work. In this session, Laurie, Jamie, and Rhonda helped participants with information they needed to take the leap into the awesome, and sometimes scary, world of freelancing as a writer/blogger/social media professional. Finances, resources, good work habits, and continuing education were all part of this presentation. 
 
 
Are you ready to take the leap?
General qualifications, expectations, and questions to ask yourself before going freelance.
Legal, Schmegal 
Taxes and LLCs and expenses, oh, my!
Building a Portfolio
Portfolio options and building up your writing credits
Finding clients
Doing your research for online and print publications, taking advantage of networking opportunities
What am I worth?
Determining what to charge, increasing rates with experience and skills.
Resources
Bloggers, brand connectors, and continuing education
 
 
lauriemarshall
 
Laurie Marshall is a freelance writer and blogger from northwest Arkansas. In addition to her love for a perfectly turned phrase, she has a passion for reusing and repurposing, and may get a little too excited about power tools and the wall of paint chips at her local home improvement store. Laurie graduated from the BA program in Creative Writing at the University of Arkansas in 2007 at the ripe old age of 39, and after spending six years working at a desk job (that she loved!), she took the leap and began her freelancing career. Her work has been published on VisitRogersArkansas.comTasteArkansas.comNWAMedia.com, and in AY Magazine and Do South, among others. @LaurieMMarshall 

jamiesmith

 

Jamie Smith has been a blogger since 2005 and it has opened up many doors to her, including being the way she met her husband. A journalist by training, Jamie started her own freelance writing business after being laid off four years ago. Jamie’s Notebook is now her full time (sometimes more than full time!) job and her services include corporate blog writing, website, copywriting, and feature writing. Jamie is also active in offering workshops about the need for and process of corporate blogging.

 A “work-at-home fur mom,” Jamie loves spending time with her husband and their four pets. She is also active in several nonprofit organizations, including Dress for Success Northwest Arkansas, Polina’s Promise, and Captivating Heart Women’s Retreat ministries. @JamiesThots

rhondafranz

 

Rhonda Franz is a freelance writer, licensed teacher, home operations specialist, and domestic chef. She combines her professional background and mommyhood experiences to write on family, parenting, cooking, and education. Her articles emphasize the opportunities parents have in everyday experiences to teach children, and offer strategies and solutions for managing a household with an on-call, traveling husband. Rhonda’s work has been featured on the MSNBC Today Show mom blog and NWAMotherlode, and in Chicken Soup for the Soul. She is a contributor to Arkansas Gardener magazine, Peekaboo magazine, and parenting publications around the country. A city girl at heart, she is raising three lively boys in the woods of northwest Arkansas. You can read more about her at rhondafranz.com, and (soon) at captainmom.net, and find her chirping on Twitter as @rhondafranz.

Dear Arkansas

Dear Arkansas,

Please don’t tell Oklahoma, but I have a bit of a crush on you. I was lucky enough to attend AWBU in Rogers earlier this this month. Now, I’m not a newbie—I’ve been to Arkansas before. I’m no stranger to the Natural State, which is why I was so taken by surprise.

I headed north from I-40 on I-49 and the breath was stolen from my body. My jaw quite literally dropped and it was in that moment I became smitten. The views—nay, the panoramic vistas!—the unrelenting smell of pine that wafted through my car’s vents. I just wanted to pull over to the side of the road and write long, glowing tributes to the beauty of the steep, tree-covered mountainsides surrounding me, the beautiful seam created when the tips of the tree line kissed the blue sky, woven with puffy, soft taffy clouds. I could never do it justice.

When I arrived in Rogers and was met with the loving circle that is the Women Bloggers, it was the warm and welcoming embodiment of that welcoming scenery; a group of supportive and caring women surrounded me—but not just me, everyone—and together we assured one another of our inner strength. The group of us knit together in ways unseen, providing an incontrovertible connection that I could feel surrounding me when I took time to get quiet.

Over two days, I was shown the best that Arkansas has to offer—from the supportive bloggers to the amazing businesses sponsoring the conference, family-owned local businesses that stand as examples of what makes not only Arkansas but our country a wonderful place to live. I learned about the passion behind family farms, the importance of a strong work ethic. I was reminded of things important to me that sometimes get lost in the day to day overwhelming grind.

Upon heading back home a few days later—full of information, head spinning from the connections and lessons learned—I realized that I had been given a gift. The gift of Arkansas. I bonded with people and tapped into big ideas, but more than that, I was reminded of what a blessing it is to live in this world, in this time.

And for that, I am thankful. You’ve got my heart, Arkansas.

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Mari Farthing, Oklahoma Women Bloggers

Mari Farthing is the local administrator of Oklahoma Women Bloggers living in the Oklahoma City area with her husband, two tween children, and a pair of red-eared sliders (Gamera and Mud). Originally from Wisconsin, Mari arrived in Oklahoma courtesy of the United States Air Force and decided to put down roots in the red dirt when her husband retired from active duty service in 2011. Mari maintains two of her own blogs, www.MariFarthing.com and www.MariEdits.glogspot.com and contributes to several others (like www.BookyGoodness.com). She blogs about family, music, crafts and cooking, pop culture, writing, editing, books, and really just about anything that runs through her brain. Mari has a wealth of editing experience, including a five-year run as editor of a local parenting publication and two years as contract editor for a local small press. Mari finds inspiration in her children, well-crafted words, and a great glass of wine. Currently Mari continues to write and edit when not knitting and running.

#AWBU 2014 Recap Link-Up

We hiked out of the woods, got all fancied up and went to a hotel for #AWBU 2014. DebbieSteph

Foodie Friday was nothing short of amazing(thanks to Debbie Arnold), there were information packed sessions, tons of laughs, much-needed direction from @alli, and so many Pinterest-worthy photos documenting it all (make sure you post them to the #AWBU 2014 board).  

When I tell people about ARWB and the #AWBU conference, they do not truly understand the impact until they walk in the door. It’s the kind of amazing, can’t-possibly-be-true stories and experiences that literally happen all the time because of the deep and lasting impact of the relationships of our bloggers.  These true relationships developed all because we built a community with a focused mission (Gather, Grow, Connect) and a commitment to doing the right thing. Then, that community grew into a passionate group of bloggers who “get it” and want to not only be a part of the gift, but to pass it on to others.

I am not ready for #AWBU 2014 to end quite yet, so please link-up your follow-up posts from your blogs so we can all read your take on the conference and re-live all the fun, your take-aways, and gratitude for our sponsors and your fellow bloggers. Thank you all for being part of our community and for always being the ones who lift others up.
Stephanie @The Park Wife



Dishing It With Chef Matt McClure {Foodie Friday)

 By Debbie Arnold

matt mcclure

This year’s Foodie Friday preconference of #AWBU featured four outstanding speakers, including Chef Matthew McClure (@matthewrmcclure) of The Hive at 21CBentonville. He encouraged all of us  to eat seasonally and eat locally. Much of his menu at the restaurant is determined by the produce he procures from local vendors and farmers. We were treated to two of his favorites during his presentation which we devoured on the spot.  He graciously agreed to share his Roasted Chicken with Garam Masala Spice and OkraTouille recipes with us.

He brought along a little friend to help with the presentation.

penquin

We might have been tempted to lick the platter!

We are especially thankful to Taste Arkansas for sponsoring Foodie Friday and supporting ARWB. 

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How to cut up a chicken into 10 pieces.

Roasted Chicken with Garam Masala Spices
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For the spice
  1. 2 star anise
  2. 2 guajillo pepper
  3. 1 cinnamon stick
  4. 1 teaspoon mustard seed
  5. 1 teaspoon anise seed
  6. 1/2 teaspoon pink peppercorns
  7. 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
  8. 1 teaspoon cumin
  9. 1 teaspoon coriander
  10. 1/2 teaspoon cloves
For the Chicken
  1. 1 whole chicken cut into 10 pieces
  2. 1/4 cup garam masala spice mix
  3. 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  4. 2 teaspoons sugar
Instructions
  1. Toast the spices and then grind into a fine powder.
  2. Massage the chicken with all spices, salt and sugar.
  3. Roast the chicekn in a 375 degree oven for 25-35 minutes until done.
  4. Remove from the oven and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes.
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
 matt mclure chicken lindsey march

OkraTouille
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Ingredients
  1. 1 yellow onion, diced
  2. 1 pint chopped tomatoes
  3. 1 cup summer squash, diced
  4. 1 pint fresh okra, sliced 1/2-inch thick
  5. Aleppo pepper
  6. salt
  7. canola oil
Instructions
  1. Stew the onion with oil and salt until translucent.
  2. Add chopped tomato to onions and continue to stew until they are completely cooked through and tender.
  3. In a cast iron pan, begin to sear the squash and okra over medium-high heat in canola oil; do not overcook. Allow the squash to cook until it is golden-brown but not mushy.
  4. Repeat this process until all of the squash and okra are cooked and added to the stew.
  5. Once the stew is built, simmer over low heat for 20 minutes to allow the flavors to blend and to thoroughly cook the okra.
  6. Finish with a generous pinch of Aleppa pepper.
  7. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/

debbie headshotDebbie Arnold serves as a co-administrator for Arkansas Women Bloggers and pontificates and eats at Dining With Debbie.  She and her Hubby split their time between Central and Northwest Arkansas.  She loves to cook, develop recipes and have play dates with her two perfect grands.  Mostly, she has play dates with the Perfect Ones.  If you’re interested in writing for Foodie Friday, she’s the one to contact.

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Living and Telling Great Stories: AWBU

AWBU, Alison Chino, Stephanie McCratic
Me + Stephanie Mc.  my conference sponsor.

 

I’m flying home from Arkansas, completely filled up to the brim with all kinds of wonderful from a fabulous weekend in Rogers for AWBU! What a great conference with a wonderful group of folks!

As usual, I learned a ton and got to connect lots of names with faces.

I also had the opportunity to share a little bit from my own blogging journey.

These days, my favorite thing about blogging is the storytelling, so at the conference I shared three ways I think we can find those great stories for our blog.

First we talked about what compels you to subscribe to someone’s site?

I’ll tell you what it is for me.

They make me laugh.

They inspire me.

Or they take me outside of myself, my day, my world for a magical moment.

And the blogs I keep reading over and over for years and years do all three.

They tell great stories.

But in order to tell a great story, you need to live one.

 

Three Kinds of Stories To Live and To Tell

 

The Sacred Everyday

Noteworthy Days

The Grand Adventures

 

The Sacred Everyday  is an easy story to get started in telling because it is the one you are already living. Maybe you think you can’t tell a good story because your real life is boring. And it is. Sort of. Every day we wake up. We do dishes. We do laundry. We take care of kids and pets and lunches and work. We get takeout. We go to bed. Then we wake up and do it again.

Recently I saw this movie, called About Time about a man who could time travel. His father could also time travel and at some point he told his son that his secret to having a happy life was to go back and live each day again. Only the second time around, since he already knew how the day was going to go, he could pay closer attention. Appreciate all the little details of life, people’s expressions. Celebrate the mundane.

So the man started to do that and he found that he appreciated life more. And pretty soon, he stopped needing to go back and live the day again, because he started living the day that way from the start. From the moment he got up, he was awake to life. To people. To miracles.

Donald Miller says this about life in his book about story,  A Million Miles in A Thousand Years:

The experience is so slow you could easily come to believe life isn’t that big of a deal, that life isn’t staggering. What I’m saying is I think life is staggering and we’re just used to it. We are like spoiled children, no longer impressed with the gifts we’re given. It’s just another sunset. Just another rainstorm moving in over the mountain, just another child being born, just another funeral.

He says that maybe we fail to acknowledge the brilliance of life because we don’t want the responsibility inherent in the acknowledgement. If we think life isn’t remarkable, the we can be “unwilling victims rather than grateful participants.”

The small details of life are miraculous if we are paying attention, if we are willing to be struck by the fact that life is staggering.

I’m going to stop there and share the other two ways we can live + tell great stories on another day.

For now, I would love for you to do one of the following:

a) Share a small miracle in the comments, preferably one you noticed in the last 24 hours. A Sacred Everyday moment that could be a story or blog post.

b) Share a link to a blog post where you are focusing on telling a Sacred Everyday kind of story.

c) Write a Sacred Everyday kind of story on your blog and link back to this post or tweet it at me so I can read it.

Bonus: A few blogs I love who do this Sacred Everyday story well:

Kyran Pittman at Planting Dandelions

Jerusalem Greer

Ann Voskamp at A Holy Experience

PS

I LOVED getting to visit with so many of you at AWBU! I’m already looking forward to next year.

XO

Alison

 

 

#AWBU 2014 Celebrating Local Flavor with Riceland Foods

@RicelandFoods
Riceland on Facebook

Riceland

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Arkansas Women Bloggers wishes to express its genuine gratitude for the strong support of and sponsorship by Riceland Foods for #AWBU.  We are extremely proud of our association with this Arkansas-based company. 

Did you know that Arkansas ranks 1st in the nation in rice production, producing close to 50 percent of the nation’s rice. Arkansas’ rice industry supports 2,500 rice farms, employs more than 35,000 Arkansans and contributes over $4 billion annually to the state’s economy.

 

 

Cheddar Rice Souffle with Riceland Rice {Foodie Friday}

 By Talya Boerner of Grace Grits and Gardening

cheddar rice souffle- gracegrits

In the early 1980s, I loaded all my belongings in my yellow corvette (for realz) and headed to Texas. Moving was simple when my belongings consisted of clothes and a bulky stereo.

Today? Not so much. Moving back to Arkansas thirty-three years later is a tad more challenging. There are certain things that can’t be transported by a moving company across state lines. Obvious things like hazardous chemicals, but bourbon and wine? Hmmm. And my plants! Huh? Yeah, I’ll be the crazy person driving a carload of ferns and herbs to Arkansas.

What about food, you ask? Although pantry foods can be moved, I’d rather fill the expensive moving truck with other things. So in light of this food issue, for the past month I’ve been on a mission to cook only from our freezer and pantry. Thus, every night is a pantry raid at our house. I create whatever I can, using what’s on hand. And what’s on hand often includes rice.

 Seriously. 

Riceland Foods, Stuttgart, Arkansas

Apparently I have been stockpiling rice. Arkansas rice to be specific. My family farms rice in Northeast Arkansas, so when I eat Riceland Foods rice milled in Stuttgart, Arkansas, I am buying local. That makes me happy deep in the heart of Texas.

This cheddar rice soufflé (tweaked from my grits soufflé recipe) served as our main supper course one night last week. The soufflé part of the equation combined with rice made the dish light and fluffy. Although this is not a difficult recipe, there is planning involved so set aside two hours for prep, stovetop cooking, cooling and baking. The final result is well worth the effort. I’ll be making this cheddar rice soufflé again soon.

Cheddar Rice Souffle
Serves 8
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Ingredients
  1. 2 cups cooked long-grain Riceland rice
  2. 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
  3. 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  4. 1 ½ cups whole milk
  5. 1 ½ cups sharp cheddar cheese
  6. 2 tablespoons minced green onion
  7. 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
  8. 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
  9. ½ teaspoon salt
  10. ½ teaspoon Tabasco
  11. ¼ teaspoon dry mustard
  12. 3 eggs (room temperature) separated
Instructions
  1. Melt butter on low heat in a heavy saucepan. Add flour. Stir until smooth. Gradually add milk. Heat until thick and bubbly like gravy.
  2. Add rice and all remaining ingredients except eggs. Stir over low heat until mixed well. Mixture will be thick.
  3. Remove pan from heat and let cool for at least thirty minutes.
  4. Beat egg yolks on high speed until lemony yellow color.
  5. Add egg yolks to cooled rice mixture and mix well.
  6. Beat egg whites until stiff peaks form.
  7. (When beating egg whites, make sure there is no water, oil or yolk residue inside your mixer. Even a drop will affect your whites. Egg whites should be at room temperature before beating.)
  8. Gently fold egg whites into rice mixture.
  9. Pour into 1 ½ quart ungreased casserole dish. Bake at 325 degrees for approximately 50 minutes (ovens vary) until knife in center comes out clean and top has a nice golden color. (During baking, resist opening the oven to peek at your dish.)
  10. Serve immediately.
Notes
  1. This is a great way to use leftover rice too!
Arkansas Women Bloggers https://arkansaswomenbloggers.com/
  

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Talya Tat
e Boerner
Owner, Grace Grits and Gardening
@gracegrits
Facebook: Grace Grits Gardening

As the daughter of an Arkansas cotton farmer, Talya grew up making mud pies and does her best thinking wearing gardening gloves. Although she has lived in Dallas since college, she has a continued passion for the Mississippi Delta and returns home to the family farm often. Talya freelances for Front Porch, Bourbon and Boots, East Dallas Advocate and Only in Arkansas. She is working on several writing projects including her first novel.  Follow her heartfelt stories about food, farm, garden and life at Grace Grits and Gardening.   


The winner of our Giveaway for two Bacon Bowl tickets from Petit Jean Meats is Keisha P.  Congrats.  Petit Jean Meats will be in touch.