Ashley's blogging debut

Hi everyone

As you can see, Nick decided that it would be a good idea to share his blog. So now he describes it as "our" blog. I guess as a welcoming gift, he changed the background to my favorite color purple. Even though I keep a daily journal, I never thought that I would want to go public but I'm excited to share some of my thoughts with you all.

First things first... We're getting married!!! I know that Nick posted the news on his last entry but I just wanted to share my excitement. Just in case you haven't heard our story, here it goes. (Well my side of it at least) Nick was the first person that I met at my first class on the first day of school at SDSU. So we became friends and lab partners. I started to like him our sophomore year but never wanted to admit it. I just wanted to focus on school so I tried to fight the feelings for about 3 years. I guess I loss the fight because they just wouldn't go away. During our senior year I began seriously praying about my feelings for Nick. Even though I felt tortured by constantly being around him and trying to hide my feelings, I decided to trust God that if anything was to happen between us it was going to have to be up to God to make it happen. Around this same time last year we began hanging out a lot which led to dating after we graduated. Now a year later we are engaged!! Every time I think about our relationship it reminds me that God does hear my prayers.

Being engaged has been filled with much excitement but along with it has come some trials and opposition. The last few weeks especially have been quite difficult for us. It seems like everyday we have had to fight discouragement and frustration. I knew that planning a wedding wasn't going to be easy but Nick and I promised ourselves that we would have fun with it. I think for now on we are going to take a different approach to planning this wedding and it will definitely include fun and complete trust in God. I am a firm believer that there will always be opposition right before a breakthrough. I also believe that through it all, Nick and I have gotten closer and closer. Everyday my love for him increases. One of my entries in my journal on October 17 reads, "I really don't know what's going to happen now, but I do know that I love God with everything that I have in me and I also love Nick with my entire being".

We are a blessed couple... We have amazing family and friends that continue to support us. Soon the details of our wedding will begin to iron out. I can't wait to see how all this pans out. So much more to come soon!

Steps of Faith

I've been making some moves lately if you haven't already heard. First I headed out from Atlanta to San Diego on a 4 day adventure of Motel 6 and Waffle House meeting all kinds of characters all the way. GA, AL, MS, LA, TX, NM, AZ, and CA. I was unsure of whether this was right decision or not. But at this point nothing ever seems to be sure.

Of course if I hadn't come to San Diego then I probably wouldn't have proposed to my fiance and given some thought to living at home for a while. So, yes I am getting MARRIED. Long story short it was an unplanned, spur of the moment proposal. I called her father to ask for her hand in marriage over the phone in the bathroom after seeing the movie "Fireproof" (a must see I recommend http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/). We headed down to Sunset Cliffs. I decided to go there since that was where our first date was. I proposed there in with the cold wind wisping across our faces.

Soon after I headed home to the Bay Area, and we started our wedding planning which will be a bit of grind with a proposed date in March or April. I've decided to live at home and work until Ashley and I tie the knot. And then we will move in together.

Through all the stuff that's going on between a wedding, football, living circumstances, and work, I try to stay grounded and not in space.

My focus has taken a big shift from football to our upcoming wedding, but my regime in preparation for a professional football opportunity has not changed. The door is still open and I will continue to pursue it until God closes that door.

It's a new beginning and not the end of the world like some say it is.

Wedding planning can be overwhelming, but we are just trying to have fun.

(I know the new color is a little womanly, but it's our wedding colors)

Just Waiting

Maybe if I could cut some rug like these guys then Lovie might have second thoughts.

Much time has past and I am currently in Atlanta living with my agent Terry Bolar. I didn't make the team with the Bears or their 8-man practice squad. So after a weekend of deciding what to do next I headed back to Atlanta to setup a home base for a couple weeks.

Right now its the waiting game for me. I'm waiting to see if any roster spots open up on any teams out there in the NFL. I continue to train with John Hefner who worked with me pre-draft. I know the harsh reality of this game, league, business but I am not going to be discouraged. When I started this I intended to go at it and pursue it for a while. 2-3 years. Then I will consider moving on. I may have to seek other jobs to keep myself afloat, but that's just what I may have to do.

This to me is more than a dream. Its part of the plan God had written a long time ago. So I press on. Many would say I'm just wasting my time, but I'll know when to check out. That time has not come yet.

I'm back to days of solitude where getting out is usually for either training or eating. Not much else.

Nothing to be sad about. I still keep my spirits high. Big things are to come and not just in football, but other things. I let you know more about that once it happens.

Beauty From Outside to Within

I didn't want to give anybody the impression that Ashley looks like the picture from the last blog entry all the time. The fisrt one is us at the Getty, and the other two are camera phone pics from her friend's and her dads wedding. I think she'll appreciate these pics more:

Deep Dish Pizza & Tasty Wraps

It's been a while since I last put something in. I've been busy with preparation for training camp which started last Wednesday on the 23rd. I had gone back to San Diego for our 4 week break to train at school and spend time with my lady and friends.

I ventured up to the Bay Area briefly for a weekend to see the family who are doing very well. Martin is enjoying his new job with Covidien (http://www.covidien.com/), playing with surgical toys. Mother is settling at a good pace into her new apartment.

Chaz came out with us one night since he's playing for the Raiders and was in town. My mother, Chaz, my lady and I had a fun time trying to find a restaurant that was still open at 10pm. There are plenty in San Francisco, but you have to know where they are.

I then went back to San Diego for my last week there and spent a lot of time with my girlfriend Ashley, since we will be living apart for a while. Surprisingly, the picture above is the only picture I took during my entire stay in San Diego as the batteries died on my uncharged camera. So I wasn't able to take a more decent pic, but that was all I had. Sorry babe. We were in Balboa Park enjoying the scenery.

Below is a video of old clips from last June. It depicts some fun the rookies and I had together during OTA's. Enjoy

Brown, White, Sayers, Taylor...Just to name a few

Last friday me and the rookies flew to Canton, Ohio to the Pro Football Hall of Fame as part of the NFL's rookie orientation program. They flew us out there to learn of the history, create awareness of the ups and downs, and to have a good foundation to start our careers with.

Gale Sayers, Chicago Bear Hall of Famer from the late 60's, tagged along with us. Currently owner of a large computer manufacturing business, he has made impacts in and outside of the game. He's a man of few words, but to just be with him was an honor in itself.

It was long day, but it was well worth out time. Check it out:

Update

Currently we just finished mini camp. The veterans are here and you don't get as many opportunities now since the focus is on them. So I have to take advantage of every opportunity I get. We have training this week. So we'll spending more time "pumping-it-up".

On Friday we will be flying to Canton, Ohio to check out the Hall of Fame. Gale Sayers will tag along with us. So it should be quite an experience.

More Slide shows. Coming Soon

OTA's

Stands for Offseason Training Activity.

Right now I am residing in a hotel in Lake Forest, Illnois which in North of downtown Chicago. It's a suburb region far from the city.

We just started practice yesterday with all the veterans out there minus Brian Urlacher and Tommie Harris. Probably contract negociations. The veterans are cool. Nothing too crazy has happened to me. Or yet. I'm back to being a rookie again so I have to start from the bottom just like I did in high school and college.

We probably have the most relaxed camp out of anybody's since Coach Smith likes to keep our practices to a minimum to keep his guys healthy. That's one of the most important things at this level since you can potentially play 24 games in one season. Preseason (4), Season (16), Playoffs (4).

I've already falling in love with this city especially in the downtown area. It's amazing. Next time I will post pictures of our trip to a Cubs game and our tour of the city.

Soon I will be in San Diego to celebrate graduating from college and it will be wonderful to see family, friends and my beaitful lady.

See Yall later.

A certain city that starts with a "C" and ends with an "O" with "HICAG" in the middle

If you don't know already I was picked up as an undrafted free agent by the "Da Bears" so I will be making Chicago my new home for a while. Hopefully a long while.

I am back at home now. I woke not to long ago at about 1pm. Decided to sleep in a bit. I was bit tired from the weekend.

Everything in my opinion went well. It was overwhelmed at first and I had a some nervousness when I first got there. I believe all of us (Draftpicks, free agents, and tryout guys) had some butterflies about the whole thing. On the first day they told us to slow down and stop going so hard when we went against each other. They didn't want us hurting one another and also just wanted us to focus on what we were doing less then how hard we would do it.

I like the D line coach. He's a real country fellow from Mississippi. It was given hard time at first for being so quite the first couple of days. I was just trying to feel everything and get comfortable with how everything works. No it was because I was mumbling.

The weather up there was off and on. The first day of practice was inside there the indoor facility (http://www.kalwall.com/chicago.htm) because of the heavy rain, but warm temperatures. The next day was about 40 degrees, cold, wet, and raining. But it was still football kind of weather. So I fought through cramps and stiffness to get through practice. Lots of Gatorade and extra electrolyte packets.

On the first and second day they did a thorough physical with a chest X-ray, an eye examination, breathing test, a standard Dr.'s physical, EKG, dental, orthopedists exam, hearing test (like the one you do when your 6), and then they take your blood and urine and test that for anything on top of looking at your medical history. After that they take our weight and body fat in the Bod Pod (http://www.wheaton.edu/ahs/Facilities/BodPod.png). It's really hard to do the Bod Pod right the first time so it took me like 5 times to get it right. So they don't miss a beat.

The food was great. Much like cafeteria style but nonetheless great stuff.

Even in these first four days they were cramming a lot of information into our heads about everything from how to talk to media to the proper way to conduct ourselves in different places to how to club and rip on a pop up bag.

Yesterday we had chapel with Ray McElroy, the team chaplain. He's real passionate man who has used his platform as an NFL player to reach out many youth across the states (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGlVqHCrw5o).

Overall it was a very intense weekend and they didn't waist one minute of our time with practice and all the different meetings we had. But I look foward to continue training next week on the 16th when the whole team reports for training. So there will be more to come.

NFL News

So the latest as of today is that the Patriots just called me a couple of hours ago and let me know that they would be interested in picking me as a priority free agent for their outside rusher position. The same position that Mike Vrabel plays on their team .

I called Terry afterwards to let him know and he informed that the Green Bay Packers are interested as well. They emailed him to let him know. So I may recieve a call from them in the near future sometime before the draft.

So as of now...

Chicago: 6th or 7th rd to free agent
http://www.chicagobears.com/
Patriots: Priority free agent
http://www.patriots.com/
Green Bay: Shown interest
http://www.packers.com/

Nothing is ever promised or "written on paper" so don't get to excited until next Sunday when I should recieve word from these teams during the 6th or 7th round or soon there after.

Right now I continue to work and train the best I can. Where ever I end up I need to be ready for that opportunity.

THE INFERNO

While visiting Ashley and her family one night. We had a cordial gathering with some "could be better" Chinese food. Ashley's mom decided to get the fireplace going with a couple of Duraflames. Very proud of the inferno she created, she went outside to look and to her surprise flames and sparks raged from the chimney and danced across the roof.

With the utmost in mother urgency, she rushed inside. "Someone call 911," she said. Focused on the meal in front of me and and not knowing what was happening, I thought she was singing the Wyclef song, "...somebody call 911..." I quickly realized that the fire was a little out of the ordinary.

Ashley and her mom told us to vacate the premises as soon as possible. Ashley grabbed valuables and we all went outside and saw the fire display. I figured why let the house burn so I went inside to try and out the fire.

My Boy Scout expertise lacked the knowledge needed to extinguish a log doused in flammable chemicals so I read the log package figuring there would be some emergency instructions. While pondering over the small writing, Evan, Ashley's brother handed me an extinguisher. "Oh that should work." It pretty much put out the fire.

The whole Vallejo city fire department paraded onto the scene as you can see. After a thorough inspection as we waited outside in the cold brisk air, the boys in yellow made there exit. They had informed us that Duraflames aren't exactly the safest things to burn especially when you use more than one (http://www.duraflame.com/aa_faq/faq01.php) Check out Product Safety.

Well they say you only call 911 once or twice within a lifetime so that's one for Ashley's mom.

Getty March 14

While in San Diego. I rode with Ashley to LA so she could take care of dress business for a wedding. She planned a trip to the Getty Center. The famous art museum. I've driven by it many times on my way to the Bay, but never actually new what it was. I always thought it some exclusive celebrity club where Robin Leech greets you at the door.

We met up with her friend Tamra and her fiance. Quite a couple. Lots of character.

Enjoy my photos of excursion in the LA hills. There's nice view of beautiful traffic on the I-405.

The Run Down March 8

I'm going to quickly run down whats been going on.

I left Atlanta to San Diego to run at Pro Day ( a testing day for NFL scouts to come and see).

I stayed in San Diego for 3 weeks to enjoy some time with friends and my lovely girlfriend and continue training at the SDSU facility. I did well on Pro Day and I'm glad that event has past.

ATL to DC Feb 22

Before I left Atlanta I shot up to DC to visit middle brother. I had a blast seeing some sights and getting a peak at "Life of Cory." We checked his area, drove to Annapolis to see where Dad was born when grandpa was at the Naval Academy.

I'm trying to catch with whats been happenin so I'm going to run through pretty quickly here accompanied by some pictures to give you some visuals.

Above is my man Chuck. He's looked for me ever since I came out to Atlanta. He kind of took me under his wing, and I just tried to soak up all that he had to say. He wasn't always so "kosher". During the practices you didn't want to have your five year old daughter near by in other words.

People say we look alike. I dont' believe so but nonetheless he thinks it's funny. He says I look like Craig David. It seems everywhere I go somebody says I look like somebody. At SDSU it was Will and that still occurs now even when we're not around each other.

First Chow Mein, then Chimichangas, now Fried Chicken

Making this transition in a new chapter of life has been simplified but at the same time more difficult. My priorities have narrowed since there is no school factor for the time being. Now the biggest things on my list is God and football. The journey I have taken to Atlanta to train was not an easy choice. To come across the nation to an area I almost know nothing about was a step into the "wilderness". But I was and am confident the decision I made was the right one.

I have a good focus on my training here and I believe the people here know how to bring out my potential.

It's only a matter of time before I return to San Diego for Pro Day. This is only a small but crucial part of my NFL journey.

In coming out here I am using my phone more than I ever have in my entire life. I don't want to lose those connections I have made with people from the best state in the nation so Inow have officially become dependent on this form of communication. But I guess this blog is just one way to share this journey.

Enjoy the cover of my never ending story

Check out "A Day In The Life" of Nicholas Osborn: