Wildflower Triathlon...the end of an era

I will not be on this blog until next Tuesday (and maybe not until Wednesday). I am leaving tomorrow 635 AM for Northern California. My final TNT trip...

Have a great rest of the week/weekend.

Peace.

The Weekend..it just keeps getting better.

another list why Friday, Saturday and Sunday made me smile:

Marc Broussard show
holding hands
send off for Wildflower Half Ironman
sleeping in
long workouts
magbot.magzilla. (enough said)
embracing change
Gateway Church service
smoothie from Lift after long workout
Saturday night date
2 bricks back-to-back, feeling strong
spanish lessons
late night bike ride to J&As

Life is good.

New Job. Livestrong.

It's official and since work knows...I can post it here. I gave my notice today with Team In Training and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. My final day will be May 9th, 2008 and I will be starting a job with The Lance Armstrong Foundation on May 19th, 2008. I am more than excited about this opportunity and know this is going to be a good move for me. Still working in the athletic realm, I will head up the marathon program and work with another guy on the cycling events and other Grass Roots Efforts. And you better believe LAF will have a Triathlon program when I get done with it! This job is allowing me to dream big and put my stamp on the fight against cancer...get ready!

In most types of change comes sadness and I will miss being around my TNT family. I have made some amazing friends, I have grown as a person and I have been stretched to my limits. All of these are good things when you move down a new path in life, having left the full time world of entertainment!

So here I am...moving down a new road. I have so many friends that have come alongside me during all of this. I am always seeing that my life has a Soundtrack to it and this time I have heard India Arie's song..There's Hope over and over again in my head..

There's hope
It doesn't cost a thing to smile
You don't have to pay to laugh
You better thank God for that

Someone wrote this to me recently...“What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.” That is what I hope for TNT and LLS, that what I have left behind is passion to stay committed to an incredible cause and to a great program that continues to change lives! Patients and families still need us to fight for them until there is a cure.

The key to change is to let go of fear and in the last 5 months...I have done just that! Here is to some pretty incredible change coming up and maybe some good blogging!!

I know what some of you are thinking. Yes, will I get caught staring at Lance's legs? I might but just so you know....I have my eyes on another cyclist legs right now!

Cheers!!!

things that made me smile this week

I feel like for the next 6 weeks I am in the fire. Training 2 times per day, long weekends and finding time for a 40+ hour per week job. I have a bit of a head cold right now, and hope I can shake it. In the midst of all that you got to find reasons to smile cause that is what makes the day go by quicker.

Things that made me smile this week

Late nights.
Early wake-up.
coffee at LIFT.
laundry over at Fuller's.
1:45 100m swim.
iCard from Maggie.
random text messages.
beer at lunch.
the TNT Wildflower team.
Shelby Lynne's latest CD.
Jack Murray.
job offer.
strong run this AM.
feeling smitten.

possibly a new song....

I might have a new muse for some new songs....

He wakes me in the morning
like a satin slip stealing through my window.
He comforts me in evening,
keeps me believin' that he knows me well.
And lately when I'm lonely
and I have only the mountain's sorrow.
He thunders over me and he is carrying tomorrow.....

stay tuned....this was just on the way to work.

"I'm going to do one of my own songs...."

The reason for the title up top is because when Shelby Lynne made this announcement in the midst of doing covers from her latest album (full of Dusty Springfield gems) my face and heart smiled. I had a slight fear that I would only hear songs from her most recent release so this auspicious announcement on Wednesday night, roughly 30 minutes into her show at Atone's was met with cheers and applause!!!

The first of her own songs, “Telephone,” landed with a welcome jolt; (and her comments about drunk dialing couldn't be more true!) something opened up and loosened in her voice, and she seemed infinitely more at ease. This calm self-assurance made the rest of the evening feel almost like a different show.

Ms. Lynne drew from a few of her previous releases, notably “I Am Shelby Lynne,” her major-label breakthrough from 2000. At one point she performed three in a row from that album, beginning with “Where I’m From,” a love letter to her home state of Alabama and then On “Your Lies,” an anthem of hurt and indignation. The harmonies were DELICIOUS as her band joined in.

If you have "Just a Little Lovin'," she includes one original balland on it called "Pretend." She said she included this because she could imagine Ms. Springfield singing it. The arrangement was simple yet so effective. John Jackson fingerpicking an acoustic and Brian Harrison playing a bass flute. Yes, a bass flute. As Ms. Lynne pointed out...."What rock and roll, country artists tours with a bass flute?....f-in me, that's who!"

The moment and song I will remember the most is when she started to play "When Johnny met June," off the album Suit Yourself. "Their music wasn't a big influence on me. It was their character, their individual styles, what they were like as people. They weren't afraid to stick out. That's what I so admired about Johnny Cash and June Carter," Lynne said. The lyrics to this song are about what she felt the day she heard that Johnny Cash died. If you haven't heard this tune, go get it. (here is sample of the first verse below, it only gets better from here)

Got some news today from the radio man
He spoke the words softly and as somber as he can
The world stood still and the sky opened up
made my way to fill up my coffee cup.
Then it occurred to me as the daylight sky shone blue
Today’s the day that
Johnny met June.

It was a perfect evening. I was tired the entire next day because well, I had been up since 500 AM for my swim practice but the fatigue was worth it. I finally got to see someone that I have admired since hearing her in 2000. What I love is that you can tell she is who she wants to be up on that stage. She loves what she does for a living and she loves to share it.

I hope I get to see her again.

Thanks Scotty for letting me go for your birthday!! You actually share a birthday with Dusty Springfield....I did in fact raise a beer to you and Dusty! And yes, the pictures above...we were that close. Don't be jealous Scotty!

Cheers!!

Why Shelby of course....

Do we remember this post??

Yes, the dream comes true tonight. Shelby Lynne for $25 is playing at Antone's and I will be there. Can't wait....can't wait.

I have been waiting to see her live for a few years now....thanks to Miss Amber, it all happens tonight!!!