I found a great quote tonight and thought I'd share it here in hopes it would help encourage someone else as much as it did me. Enjoy.

Our greatest fear is not that we are inadequate,

but that we are powerful beyond measure.

It is our light, not our darkness, that frightens us.

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant,

gorgeous, handsome, talented and fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be?

You are a child of God.

Your playing small does not serve the world.

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking

so that other people won't feel insecure around you.

We were born to make manifest the glory of God within us.

It is not just in some; it is in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we consciously give

other people permission to do the same.

As we are liberated from our fear,

our presence automatically liberates others.

~Nelson Mandela

Turkey Day Redux

Today being the last day of Thanksgiving break, I thought I'd finish up the holiday cooking by roasting the turkey I didn't get to last Thursday. I decided to try a couple new recipes that really looked great. I used the cajun injector on the turkey. Half was done with the cajun butter, the other half with garlic & herb. I rubbed the bird down with salt, stuffed butter underneath the skin, and covered the skin with cajun spice.

I don't usually stuff my turkeys, but this year I made an exception. I went with a recipe for jalapeno andouille cornbread stuffing. The stuff was so good, I saved some of the andouille, veggies, and spice and threw it into an omelet. Insane flavor. I became an instant fan.

I've included the recipes below for anyone who's interested. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves turkey that really lights up your taste buds.

Cajun-Injected Spicy Turkey
Ingredients
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon concentrated liquid crab and shrimp boil (recommended: Zatarian's)
1/4 cup apple cider
3/4 cup honey
1 (12-ounce) bottle beer
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1/2 cup Creole seasoning
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup finely minced garlic
1 (10 to 12-pound) turkey, rinsed well inside and out, patted dry
4 teaspoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cups chicken broth, as needed for bottom of roasting pan

Directions
Make the marinade by combining the Worcestershire sauce, crab boil, apple cider, honey, beer, salt, allspice, Creole seasoning, cayenne, olive oil, and minced garlic in a blender and process until very smooth, about 5 minutes. Fill a large syringe* and inject turkey in the breast and thigh area, as well as the back, wings, and legs, with at least 2/3 of the marinade. You will have to fill the syringe numerous times.

Preheat the oven to 420 degrees F and line a large roasting pan with aluminum foil.

Season the injected turkey well both inside and out with the kosher salt and black pepper. Place the turkey in a large roasting pan lined with aluminum foil and pour the remaining marinade all over the turkey. Bake the turkey uncovered for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F, add 1 cup of the chicken broth to the roasting pan, and continue to bake the turkey until golden brown and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the deepest part between the thigh and the leg registers 165 degrees F. (If the turkey begins to brown too much, tent loosely with aluminum foil until it is done. Also, add more broth as necessary to keep the bottom of the roasting pan from burning.)

When the turkey is done, remove it from the oven and set aside to rest at least 20 minutes before carving.

* Large syringes designed especially for injecting turkeys may be purchased at many grocery stores in the spice / marinade / seasoning sections; many folks inject turkeys before frying them.

Andouille Corn Bread Stuffing
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup chopped onions
4 ounces (1/2 cup) chopped andouille sausage
1/4 cup chopped green onions
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped green bell peppers
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon Emeril's Creole Seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 turns freshly ground black pepper
1 cup coarsely crumbled Jalapeno Corn Muffins
1/2 cup Basic Chicken Stock
Instructions
Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the onions and andouille and sautÈ for 1 minute. Add the green onions, celery, bell peppers, and garlic and stir-fry for 1 minute.

Stir in the Creole Seasoning, salt, pepper, corn muffins, and stock and cook, stirring and shaking the skillet, for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat. Use immediately.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

Handyman

Today was pretty cool. After a couple days of pure laziness, I decided that as long as I was spending time in the house, the house was going to be a place I enjoyed being in. So....I made a run to Lowes, picked up a few supplies, and rebuilt my first fence. It was a little harder than I thought it would be, but it turned out great. I couldn't be happier. I also managed to fix the garbage disposal, change the air filter, do 3 loads of laundry, and clean my bathroom.

While I was outside working on the fence, Shell sanded and spackled the walls, changed out the bathroom light bulbs, vacuumed the sun room, and rearranged the weight set. Once I got back inside, we set up the Christmas tree, rearranged some furniture, met Yaakoub for dinner, whipped up some guac and pita chips, and watched 4 Christmases.

In hindsight, Shell was a trooper. The day started soooo slowly, I was going crazy. But, we finished strong and got so much done. There's just a few things left to finish up tomorrow. Finish painting the spackled walls, decorate the Christmas tree, finish the laundry, clean out the garage, set up the weight set, and cook the extra Thanksgiving turkey. I've also got to find time to get in a run and make it to the 11:30 service at Celebration Church. It's going to be a great day. I can't wait!!

Detox Results

Well, the results are finally in. Shell is now officially the big winner. Today we went out to Chipotle for a burrito bowl to celebrate. It's odd, before the program, we'd both eat our own burrito loaded with rice, guac, pinto beans, steak, tortilla, and extra chips and salsa. Today we split a burrito bowl with, black beans, light rice, chicken, pico, lettuce, salsa, guac, no tort and no chips. We both walked away full and happy. That's the big win for us. We're big on lifestyle changes, not so much on the actual numbers. We know that changing our daily habits will reap long term rewards.

...but for all the "numbers" people out there. Here are our final stats:

Shell:

Weight lost: 25lbs

Inches lost: 3+

Sizes lost: 3+

Percentage body fat decrease: 5

Rion:

Weight lost: 12lbs

Inches lost: 2

Sizes lost: n/a

Percentage body fat decrease: 3

We'll save these figures and come back to them after my birthday when we go again. I'm already looking forward to the next round. We've got a group of friends ready to do it with us. I'm not sure which I'm more excited about, our success or theirs. Honestly, I think theirs. It's going to be very cool watching their lives change for the better. I can't wait!!

Detox Day 21

Well, the end is near. 21 days of detox and diet and I'm feeling great. Final tallies will be in tomorrw, but it looks like Shell is going to be the big winner, she's about 25 lbs and several inches as of last Friday and she hasn't let up yet. Neither of us were perfect, but I'm so proud of her. This was her idea and she stuck to the detox, she committed to finish and she did it. It's a major accomplishment for her. She's broken several bad lifestyle habits and along the way she's discovered that she really does have more inside than she knew.

We finish out the day with our usual Sunday night breakfast with the team. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs followed by a piece of chocolate at midnight. Hey everyone has their own thing, that's ours. Tomorrow is B-day. Hello Mr. Burrito!!

9am: Shake

1pm: Lunch with Brooksie & Maryori Ash @ The Monument Cafe in Georgetown. Grilled red snapper, sweet potatoe casserole, steamed spinach, and green beans (oh, two biscuits as well).

3pm: small side salad

6pm: organic food bar

9pm: Sunday night team breakfast. Pancakes, sausage, and eggs.

12pm: 2 KitKat pieces left over from Halloween.

Detox Day 20

I caught the redeye from Portland to Austin tonight. The flight was oversold and it looked like two other guys and one woman would be sleeping in the airport that night. Everything worked out fine, though. We all managed to find seats at the last minute and I made it to Houston just fine. After a 3.5 hour layover, I caught the 45 minute flight to Austin and was home safe.

Quote from the Houston Hobby PA:

"The current security level is orange...Please be aware that any inappropriate jokes concerning security may result in your arrest. Thank you and enjoy your flight."

It's so good to see Shell again. There's nothing like coming home to an awesome, loving wife. I can't wait until we can make these trips together. Hope really is the best of things. It gives you focus, spurs you to movement, and reveals your passion through the pursuit of your dreams.

6am: 1/2 organic food bar

9am: 1/2 organic food bar

12pm: italian lentil & veggie soup

1210pm: crashed and took a long nap.

7pm: tilapia with mango salsa

730pm: shake

9pm: organic food bar

945: baby carrots

Detox Day 19

What a fun run this morning. 630am run in the rain and cold through downtown Portland, Portland State University, and into the hills. The view was great. The hills were tough. The streets were clear which made it seem like I had the city to myself. What a great start to the day.

I got to work a little late today. 4 police officers stopped the train for 5-10 minutes. It turns out that someone called in to report a guy on the train. The caller said he was walking around swinging a machete. How that could happen on a packed train without someone getting hurt is beyond me. Regardless of the validity of the report, the call was made, so the officers stopped the train and pulled everyone off except for, of course, the guy sitting next to me. Turns out that somewhere between calls to his uncle and sister he apparently did the reported machete swinging. I'll be the first to admit that the guy wasn't all there, but I really got the feeling that some lady got scared and sweetened the story some. I can't prove that, I'm just saying...

I did learn something from the event. When the 4 police were arresting the man (carrying his 3 bags and a backpack), they all had their taser guns drawn except for one. The one without a taser gun had a shotgun. I thought it was a bit much to bring a shotgun to a knife fight until I saw the rifle but. In big red letters it said, "Less Lethal."

I'm still not sure how I feel about that. Should I be glad because it probably won't kill someone or worried because it's uncertain exactly how "less lethal" it is. What does less lethal mean anyway? Are there varying degrees of lethality? What would a highly lethal shotgun look like? Is there a minimal amount of lethality that something can have and still be called lethal? What separates a "barely lethal" rifle from a pellet gun? I'm so confused. Who thinks of these things?

8am: Shake

830am: apple

9am: orange

1030am: 1/2 organic food bar

12:30: Szechwan chicken @ House of Louie

2pm: 1/2 organic food bar

3pm: orange & apple

7pm: Seafood & salad buffet @ Todai in the Pioneer Plaza Mall. Watercrest salad, spinach salad, sprout salad, cantaloupe, watermelon, salmon sushimi, 3 pieces of eel, and snow crab legs...I found out after the fact that shrimp and snow crab legs were not on "the list." Oh well. I passed on the chicken, steak, ribs, fried food, ice cream, pie, cake, ice cream, prime rib, and ice cream, so I'm calling it a good day.

Detox Day 18

Off day running. Busy day at SC. Booth duty, meetings, last minute get-togethers and booth tear down. I forgot my food bars and there wasn't much time to find lunch, so I had to make due with apples and oranges. Some of the TACCsters made an early run to VooDoo Donuts and left about half a dozen pastries out for whoever. That hurt, but after I got upwind I didn't really mind. For dinner I went to Jake's Grill in the Governor. Nice restaurant, but they brought me a ton of white rice with the Mahi Mahi, so I ended up finding a thai place down the street and got some Mango Curry. All in all a great day.

I also had an opportunity to meet up with Tony Rizzutto. No one knew if he was related to Shell's family, but after talking for an hour or so, I think there's a pretty good chance. He's a happy retired marine who dislikes exercise, loves learning new things, and has been happily married for 41 years. Oh, the stories. If you're ever in Portland, look up Tony on Facebook. Meeting him is worth the plane fare.

7am: Shake

8am: apple

9am: orange

10am: apple

4pm: orange

430pm: 1/2 apple

6pm: seared spicy mahi mahi with grilled vegetables at Jake's Grill in the Governor

9pm: mango vegetable curry and veggie egg roll at The Thai Peacock. (good, but I'd take a mulligan for the spicy red)

Detox Day 17

Fun run this morning. 5.5 miles. Meetings all day. Cool people, schwag, and brainstorming filled in the gaps. Day ends with mixers by Kaust and Dell, Intel, Microsoft, Voltaire, and HP.

Today was a rough day to stick to the diet, but I did it. The key was passing on good choices in favor of great choices. The Kaust reception was probably the best one I've been to. They transformed an entire banquet floor into a Saudi harem (minus the girls). There were 4 food stations and 2 carving stations. All you can eat and drink of prime rib, smoked turkey, shrimp, salmon, chicken, fruit, raw veggies, couscous, shiitake mushrooms with celery puree, sashimi, cakes, cheesecakes, tarts, mousse, liquor, wine, and beer. Kaust is founded and owned by King Abdulah of Saudi Arabia, and it showed. This reception was fit for a king. Absolutely incredible food, presentation, service, and selection of venue. There were so many good dishes there, I had to pass on some really good ones in favor of the great ones for my diet. I jumped on the mushrooms, turkey, fruit, veggies, shrimp, sashimi, and water. It took everything I had not to destroy the dessert bar, but I held strong. I'm calling this a great night for will power.

6am: 1/2 organic food bar

830am: shake w/ banana

9am: 1/2 organic food bar

1030am: 1/2 organic food bar

130pm: salmon with steamed veggies (squash, onion, broccoli, diced tomoatoes)

230pm: apple

3pm: orange

4pm: orange

530: organic food bar

8:30: shiitake mushrooms, hickory smoked turkey, fruit kabobs, raw veggies (red and yellow bell peppers, carrots, asparagus spear), 1 monster shrimp, smoked salmon sashimi, celery puree

In hindsight that looks like a lot for dinner, and it was a bit more than I've been eating lately, but I really did have small portions. I don't think the turkey, shrimp, and salmon added up to more than 8 oz combined.

Detox Day 16

Talk about a strong finish, today couldn't have finished better. I was up at 6am pacific for a quick loop around Portland's river walk. I hadn't run it before, so I stopped by the front desk to get directions and a map. She said it was a 3 mile loop, so no big deal there. I figured I'd finish up in with roughly a 4 mile run after the short job to get there and back. That's what I thought, but instead I got an unexpected tour of Portland. The 3 mile loop was actually a little more than 5 miles. The 4 mile run was about 6.5 and I got a chance to check out all of the river walk. Yes it was raining. Yes it was cold and windy. But it was such a beautiful view, everything was worth it. What a blessing.

From there I cleaned up, caught the MAX (their light rail) and headed to the conference. I got there just in time to present that morning. Everyone loved the talk, and I spend the rest of the day meeting people and walking around. I managed to track down a salad for lunch and took advantage of all the vendor parties for dinner.

One of the challenges today was navigating to good food. The Univa UD happy hour was great. They had some veggie spring rolls, crispy baked potato bites, and tilapia egg rolls. That stuff was amazing. The next party was even better. They had a full veggie bar AND a dessert bar with tons of fruit (next the 5 kinds of cake :-) With all the walking and talking and meeting and greeting, this was exactly what I needed. Wonderful finish to the day. I'm so thankful!

6:30am: shake

9pm: 1/2 organic food bar

11pm: 1/2 organic food bar

1pm: salad with 4oz of chicken

4pm: 1/2 organic food bar

7pm: veggie spring rolls, crispy baked potato bites, and tilapia egg rolls

9pm: couscous, brown/wild rice & veggie salad, fresh tomatoes, 2oz baked chicken

Detox Day 15

Hello Portland. Here comes the fun part of the detox. Week 3 and I'm surrounded by really tasty, unhealthy free food all week long. I think this week will be less about maintaining a perfect diet and more about taking what I've learned and navigating around the really bad stuff to maintain good nutrition.

Today I flew out at 7am, which meant I rose bright and early at 4am. I packed enough supplements and meal bars for the week so I'd always have good food on me. I also packed the powder mix for smoothies and a shaker cup. This way I can duck into a smoothie or coffee shop and have them mix it for me on the go. It's a cheap, healthy alternative to coffee and donuts.

Arriving at the conference, I forgot how big the place was and how much walking was involved. A couple years back they used RFID to track everyone at the conference and see how much they walked throughout the week. The winner was an older researcher who wound up walking 40 miles of the course of the 7 day conference. wow. Amazing considering that the main floor was only open for 4 days that year. I think I put in about 3 miles today. Fun.

Around 530pm they started bringing out waves of food and setting up buffets throughout the showroom floor. Beef skewers, quesadillas, pasta, broiled turkey in gravy, fresh white bread, rolls, veggie trays, and veggie egg rolls. Given the choices and the reality that I'd go another 4 hours without food if I didn't eat something, I opted for the veggie egg rolls and the raw veggie tray. The egg rolls weren't the healthiest choice, and I suppose I broke the diet a bit since I think they were made from a corn wrap, but given the options it wasn't so bad.

One day up. One day down. I'm counting it a victory. Tomorrow's goal is to find some fresh fish here in town and dig in!!

5am: shake

7am: 1/2 organic food bar

9am: small gala apple

10am: 1/2 organic food bar

3pm: banana

530pm: 4 veggie egg rolls, raw veggie selection

630: more raw veggies

9pm: shake

Detox Day 14

What a day, what a day. I'm officially worn out. 6 miles to start the day followed by a birthday party for the young Ms. Trevino, then off for shopping with shell, dinner with the Ash's, a late night adjustment (more on that in a moment), then back for a counseling session with JP, and finally finishing packing for Portland. I feel like I earned my 2 hours of sleep :-)

So I got adjusted today before taking off for Portland. Shell figured I should get it done just in case since I got rear-ended on Friday. I was indifferent either way since I really wasn't in any pain. Well, Brooksie just got back into town today, so while we were over visiting, he set up the portable table and did a quick adjustment on me. OMG. OUCH. My back and neck were waaaaaay out of alignment. It usually sounds like the 4th of July, but this time the fireworks were all going off underground. It felt like a bass line rolling down my back. Wow. I was NOT expecting that. But, that being said, I felt better by the end of the night and the soreness in my neck was pretty much gone. All I gotta say is thank goodness for my chiro.

Today's food intake was interesting to say the least.

9am: shake

11am: lentil soup

1pm: 1/2 organic food bar

3pm: 1/2 organic food bar

4pm: blueberry oat organic food bar (this was maryori's idea. I'm not a fan, but hey, she's done it before and I haven't, so I'll take her advice. It tasted like a bowl of oatmeal with blueberries. Exactly that texture and taste.)

5pm: bowl of maryori's special recipe ratatouile. She's on to something here. It's not one of Shell's salads, but it definitely has that louisiana flavor to it.

6pm: resisted all of maryori's twisted attempts to trick us into eating ice cream, frozen yogurt, halloween candy, and sweets that she keeps in the house. That was a really dirty trick on her part, but Shell and I made it through. Actually it wasn't that bad. I didn't really crave it or want to eat it to tell you the truth. Perhaps those habits are starting to take hold.

8pm: Smoked shell again in a watermelon eating contest. I own here at these. :-)

9pm: 4oz home-made guacamole and carrots.

1030pm: medium gala apple

Detox Day 13

What a day. Talk about productivity. Today I changed the oil in both cars, cut and trimmed the lawn, finished off 8 loads of laundry, cleaned the toilets, took my car in for body work, caught up on my detox blogs, went shopping with Shell, and packed for Portland. It has been a full day. To top it all off, I'm treating myself to some herbal tea with stevia. A good ending to a great day.

In yesterday's blog I forgot to mention that I got rear-ended coming home for Shell's amazing mango salsa tilapia dinner. It's one of those wrecks where it's technically his fault, but really it's just a bad intersection. I suppose I'm lucky I haven't gotten hit or hit anyone there before. That particular intersection averages about 15 collisions a week. At some point they'll have to redo it it make it less of a hazard.

Anyway, the driver was a young kid. He'd spent the last 4 years building his car from scratch. He's just gotten his license and was taking his car out for a spin when he hit me from behind. His custom ride crumpled like a foil balloon and I got a shiny new headache. I suppose it could have been a bad deal, but there's always a silver lining, so after talking to him for a bit, I found out his dad owned a body shop just down the street. A few minutes later his dad arrived, we worked things out, and after exchanging info all is well in the world. The kid will be driving again as soon as he can get his front end back in one piece and I'll get a new back end and some extra paint and body work thrown in for free.

And to think, that could have gone completely different had I let myself have a bad attitude about the situation. Praise God for the opportunity to see the good side of people.

Before I go, huge props to LSU for the big W over La Tech and to everyone running in the San Antonio Rock 'n' Roll marathon next year. I'll see you on the line next year!

9am: shake

12pm: Mama Fe's in Georgetown, slammin' brown rice veggie bowl with red pepper curry sauce. Shell had the seared tuna salad and tofu lettuce wraps. This place is awesome!!

2pm: watermelon

3pm: 1/2 organic food bar

4pm: carrots

5pm: 1/3 organic food bar

6pm: shell's newly famous baked tilapia with mango salsa, and spinach salad with fresh mushrooms

8pm: rest of organic food bar

10pm: grilled portobello mushrooms, light raspberry vinagrette salad with grape tomatoes and apple.

Detox Day 12

Short night of sleep. Today I'm up and on the move. I went for a short run, but my heart wasn't in it and I turned around about a mile in. I came back home and washed both the cars, reset all the solar lamps in the front yard, hung a broom wrack in the laundry room, changed, and headed to the eye doc to get fitted for some glasses.

On a side note, there is a VAST difference in the quality of care you get at an independent optometrist and the Wal-Mart vision center. Honestly, it's night and day. The technology, care, attention to detail, service, everything is so far superior at the independent's office, it's not even comparable. No way to go back to WMVS. No way. If any of you are in need of an eye care professional, check out the Patel Eye Clinic in Georgetown, TX. You can find him on the web and on facebook. If you're in the Austin metro area, he's worth the short drive.

I was unusually full of energy today. So much so that I had to talk myself into going to bed around 1. Before then I had done dishes, a load of laundry, swept the floors and knocked out a couple chapters in a good book. It's another good day.

8am: shake

930am: 1/2 food bar

1030am: 1/2 food bar

1130am: apple

1pm: can of lentil soup

2pm: shell stopped by with an apple and a shake.

5pm: Shell made the world's best baked tilapia with mango salsa. I don't know where she's coming up with this stuff, but she's really hitting her stride. Simply amazing!!

7pm: Watermelon eating contest with shell.

9pm: carrots and grape tomatoes

Detox Day 11

Yaaaaaay! Today we get to add fish back into the mix. Shell was so excited. She's been fiending for tuna ever since we started. To celebrate I ran by whole foods and picked up 6oz of Ahi Tuna and made her a sesame seared tuna app. Sadly, it wasn't my best, but it was pretty good. Shell made me another variation on her killer salads and we both feasted.

I heard a man say one time that runners forget they're in a race, they just love to run. He was saying that it's not the finish line that creates the addiction, it's the journey there. Today was another reminder of the value of the pursuit. I'd got so caught up in developing some habits that until Shell reminded me, I'd forgotten that our diet was opening up today. I just got caught up in the pursuit of a better diet. I'll count that as a small victory along the way.

9am: shake

11am: apple

12pm: can of lentil soup

2pm: shell brought me one of her famous salads, an apple and an organic food bar.. I ate the salad quickly.

3pm: 1/2 the organic food bar

430pm: another apple (i know, not much balance in there today.)

530pm: 1/2 the organic food bar

7pm: sesame seared tuna over fresh spinach salad

930pm: grapes

11pm: shake

Detox Day 10

Today started out on the wrong foot. I woke up late and forgot to make my shake or take any food with me when I left the house. As a result, I was really hurting by 11am. By 1130, I took off and went hunting at Whole Foods for sustenance. I settled on a Lentil Dal (Thanks for the recommendation Praveen) and a big Gala Apple. The rest of the day was pretty unproductive. It took until 330 before my focus came back. By then it was a quick wrap and off to see Shell.

Shell, by the way, is doing awesome. She's been off adderol for over a week now and outside of some random blond moments, you wouldn't even notice it. I'm starting to think there's something to what Jenny McCarthy's been saying.

On a side note, a lot of people have been asking about a shorter detox program. Shell and I have a 7 day detox, titled the same, that we recommend. I posted some information about it here if you'd like to check it out.

Today's food intake:

12:40pm 1lb Gala apple. Rediculous, but delicious

1:30pm Amy's Curry Lentil Dal Soup

2:30pm shake. Shell showed up and saved the day again. What would I do without this woman. She's amazing.

6pm Organic food bar

9pm 1lb Gala apple. What is it with all the apples today?

9:30pm Veggie spaghetti

Another great day in the books!

Detox Day 9

Another great day in the books. Sleep is great and I'm feeling full all day long. I never would have guessed that eating less and eating better would get rid of my cravings for bad food and give me more sustained energy. What a perk!

Today Shell informed me that she's down 2 inches and almost 13 pounds from the start of the program. (Originally I thought it was 19, but she corrected me last night.) That's insane. She's losing almost 2lb/day. The odd thing is that it's coming off in a healthy way. Her body is just flushing all the toxins and left over food out of her digestive track. She's having more bowel movements and her energy level is up just like mine. As a result, it's a positive cycle. She eats well so her body functions right. Her body functions right, so she feels better. She feels better so she's more active. She's more active so she's loses weight and accomplishes more. She's accomplishing more and looking better, so she's incentivized to keep up the diet. Now that's a pattern I can get behind.

As my own testimonial, I'm down about 12 pounds from last Monday. I'm quite a bit bigger than Shell, though, so hers is absolutely amazing. I'm so proud of my wifey for lifey.

Here's my day 9 diet:

9am: Shake

11am: 1lb Gala Apple (score!!)

1pm: Shell brought in some sweet veggie rolls that she learned how to make at Whole Foods. I should have snapped a picture. They were amazing. Hopefully she makes them again.

3pm: 6oz homemade ratatouille

4pm: 4oz bag of baby carrots

5:30pm: 9oz Lentil soup and shake (strawberry. mmmm)

8:30pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar

9:30pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar (I couldn't help it :-) )

11:30pm: Shell's amazing raspberry salad. (spinach leaves, baby white mushrooms, raspberries, grapes, grape tomatoes)

Another great day. Thursday we can start adding fish and lean meats back into our diet.

Detox Day 8

Today I headed to the chiro for an adjustment and massage to start the day. I'd love for it to be a swedish massage or sports massage, but until the trigger points are gone in my neck and shoulders, it's deep tissue/trigger point work. Very painful, but very effective. Despite the pain during the treatment, I always feel great heading out of the office. Today's food intake is as follows.

Breakfast: SP Complete shake

10am: 1/3 of a cantelope

1130am: 1/3 of an Organic Food bar

1pm: Shell brought me an 8oz can of Lentil Veggie Soup and made the world's best salad...again. It was beautiful to look at and even better to eat. I don't know where she comes up with these, but the woman has found her calling. Simply amazing!!! (spinach leaves, grape tomoatoes, apples, green seedless grapes, baby white mushrooms, raspberry vinagrette dressing)

3:30pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar

6pm: 1/2 Organic Food Bar

9pm: SP Complete shake, 8oz ratatouille

notes: Today was the first time during the detox that I wasn't hungry. I felt FULL all day. This is a good sign. Despite the protein deficiency, I'm finding ways to deal with hunger without overdosing on carbs, sugars, and proteins. I can honestly say that, while it may not seem natural yet, I was very content with the soup and salad at lunch.

No workout today. Tomorrow is a short morning run.

Detox Day 7

The first week of our detox came to an end today. We sent it out with a bang making Ratatouli, salad, Lentil Veggie Soup, two shakes, and some fruit and veggies to snack on. Today we ate well. It really wasn't an option. I did a 6 mile run in the morning and would have collapsed if I didn't inhale as many calories as possible. I feel good in an odd way. I'm almost feeling lighter on my feet. Tonight I will sleep well. The only thing of note is that today ends the detox part of the program. From here on out it's just digestive cleansing and habit forming. I'm looking forward to it.

SP Detox Week 1

This past Monday, Nov 2, 2009, Shell and I started the Standard Process 21 Day Detox and Cleansing Program. It's a full out, go hard or go home detox encompassing diet, exercise, and supplements. All in all, it's not so bad. I slacked pretty hard on writing down reviews of every day up until now, so I'll just review the past week, journal today, and commit to blogging my journey through detox starting today.

Prep:

The week before the program, our dietician, Brooksie Ash, recommended that I, "get all of those carbs, sugars, etc out of your system before Monday." He's a learned doctor. I took him at his word. I would later learn on day 2 that that was stupid. Ramping up your sugar, carb, and meat intake before a detox only makes your body miss them that much more when they're gone.

Day 1 (Mon, 11/2/09):

I really wasn't prepared for this. I stopped eating at midnight last night and I didn't get any food until Shell showed up with lunch around 1:30pm. No morning shake. No supplements. No sustenance. I crashed hard around 11am. After the shake and some rabbit food, I felt better. The rest of the day wasn't so bad except for the caffeen headaches that kicked in around 7pm.

Day 2

I didn't get a ton of sleep, but I did feel alert when I woke up. I started out drinking shake & taking my pills first thing in the morning. There are a ton of supplement pills to take. 10 pills 3x a day. It's redonkulous. I almost felt like a druggie after taking them again at lunch, but it passed. Speaking of passed, my lower intestine is flushing...wow, um, no comment. The challenge for today was energy. I didn't have much. I tried eating some rabbit food, but it just wasn't cutting it. I was HUNGRY all day long. I did manage to get in a light 4mile run after work. The shakes are life-savers. I also discovered lentil soup. I'd actually never had lentils until now. I'm a HUGE fan. Good, good stuff. One side note, the skin on my right hand started peeling for a few hours today. From about 7-10pm skin just started shedding in one small area on the back of my right hand. At about 10pm it stopped. I scrubbed it really well with soap and water, and it seemed like it had never peeled in the first place. Odd.

Day 3:

My energy was back up today. I'm pretty sore from the run yesterday, but I expected that given the lack of protein in my diet. I finally figured out that I'll have to plan ahead if I want to make this work. I started bringing food to work with me. Nothing big, but the carrots and celery were nice to snack on. Shell made some killer salad for dinner. I'm feeling pretty good.

Day 4:

Hello Thursday. I'm wired from dawn to dusk. Incredible energy. Great 4 mile run. I had lunch at Souper Salad (score!!) and finally found a place where I could really get some good stuff into me. It's kind of odd that I'm not having any cravings. The only things I really miss are the taste of chocolate, steak burrito meat, and having enough protein in my body...maybe those are cravings. Perhaps. But they're not addictions.

Day 5:

The scar on the back of my right hand is disappearing. It's just above the area that peeled on Tuesday. I have no idea if it's related, but it started happening today. I'm starting to crave lentils. I haven't had any since Tuesday, but those were awesome. Shell brought home some Veggie Butterbean Soup from Souper Salad (her new home away from home) and I'm in love. Between that and a nice salad at lunch it was an awesome food day. I didn't even really mind that they catered in fajitas at work today. Sadly, we'd find out that Lima Beans are not allowed. Oh well. I'm pleading ignorance. Dr. Brooksie and Maryori are doing this with us and they ate them at lunch. You'd think you could trust the people that talked you into the plan to set the standard. Water under the bridge. The soup was awesome. No run this day. Tomorrow is a longer run. The only real challenge was that I struggled with focus a little big later in the evening.

Day 6 (today):

Energy levels have stabilized. Today I was out at the single mom's oil change at Celebration Church. Lots of people. Lots of fun. I almost hit a wall about 11am, but I remembered I brought an Organic Food Bar with me and that hit the spot. Around 1pm Shell made another run to Souper Salad and brought me back a plate of goodness and an apple. Energy levels back up. I found a recipe for an apple vinegar oil dressing and shell made a late run to the store to whip up some salads and soup. Another great day.

Acts of Random Kindness (ARK)

It's that time of year again. Halloween is this weekend, and the holidays are around the corner. Let's start off the season with a bang. Over the next 48 hours, I'm challenging every person who reads this to do 1 act of random kindness (ARK). What exactly is an ARK? It could be just about anything that leaves someone feeling better after you did it than before.

Performing an ARK is about personally demonstrating that there's still good in this world and you're part of it. It's providing hope to the hopeless, encouragement to the discouraged, love to the unloved, and compassion to the world around you.

ARKs don't have to be big things. ARKs are just something positive and unexpected that you do for another person that they didn't expect. That person could be your spouse, a coworker, a friend, your neighbor, or even a stranger. If they have a pulse, they're a great candidate, so stop worrying, and go show them they matter.

I put together a (short) list of ARKs below. Feel free to use these, or come up with your own. Whatever you decide to do, leave a post on my wall sharing your ARK with me and my friends. I can't wait to hear about how You chose to make a difference.

1. Complement someone on their clothes, appearance, a job well done, their personality, etc.
2. Pick up the tab for someone at lunch.
3. Stay a couple minutes later to help a coworker finish up a task.
4. Stop to listen to a friend.
5. Offer to babysit so some friends can have a night out.
6. Encourage someone at the gym.
7. Write a letter to your favorite teacher thanking them.
8. Tell a child how great their parents are.
9. Bring some snacks for people to share at work.
10. Ask your parents/grandparents to tell you something you haven't heard about them.
11. Volunteer for community service.
12. Volunteer to help someone move.
13. Write a thank you note.
14. Call up a friend to pray with them.

If you're still looking for more things to do, or just want to find out more about serving, check out a good book by Dino Rizzo titled, Servolution.

Separation of Church and State

Ever wonder where the phrase "Separation of Church and State" came from? Don't look in the Declaration of Independence. It's not there. Don't look in the Constitution. It's not there. Don't look in the Bill of Rights. It's not there. Here's an excerpt from a talk by David Barton explaining it's origination. Enjoy the history lesson and please, read the rest of this short essay, "America's Godly Heritage" available here.

The First Amendment never intended to separate Christian principles from government. Yet today, we so often hear the First Amendment coupled with the phrase "separation of church and state." The First Amendment simply states:

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof."

Obviously, the words "separation," "church," or "state" are not found in the First Amendment; furthermore, that phrase appears in no founding document!

While most recognized the phrase "separation of church and state," few know its source; but it is important to understand the origins of that phrase. What is the history of the First Amendment?

The process of drafting the First Amendment made the intent of the Founders abundantly clear; for before they approved the final wording, the First Amendment went through nearly a dozen different iterations and extensive discussions.

Those discussions - recorded in the Congressional Records from June 7 through September 25 of 1789 - make it clear their intent for the First Amendment. By it, the Founders were saying: "We do not want in America what we had in Great Britain: we don't want one denomination running the nation. We will not all be Catholics, or Anglicans, or any other single denomination. We do want God's principles, but we don't want one denomination running the nation."

This intent was well understood, as evidenced by court rulings after the First Amendment. For example, a 1799 court declared:

"By our form of government, the Christian religion is the established religion; and all sects and denominations of Christians are placed on the same equal footing.[1]"

Again, note the emphasis: "We do want Christian principles - we do want God's principles - but we don't want one denomination to run the nation."

Thomas Jefferson, to whom the now popular phrase "Separation of Church and State," is attributed, also believed, as did the other Founders, that the First Amendment simply prevented the Federal establishment of a single denomination - a fact he had made clear in a letter to Benjamin Rush. In that letter, Jefferson committed himself as President to not allowing the Episcopalians, the Congregationalists, or any other denomination, to achieve what Jefferson called the "establishment of a particular form of Christianity." So what is the source of Jefferson's now infamous phrase?

On November 7, 1801, the Baptists of Danbury Conneticut wrote Jefferson, concerned that the guarantee of the "free exercise of religion" appeared in the First Amendment. To them, this suggested that the right to religious exercise was a government-granted rather than a God-granted right, thus implying that someday the governement might try to regulate religious expression. They believed that freedom of religion was a God-granted, unalienable right, and that the government should be powerless to restrict religious activities unless, as the Baptists explained, those activities caused someone to "work ill to his neighbor."[20]

Jefferson understood their concern. In his response he assured them that the free exercise of religion was indeed an unalienable right and would not be meddled with by the government. Jefferson pointed out to them that there was a "wall of separation between church and state" to insure that the government would never interfere with religious activities. [21]

Today all we hear of Jefferson's letter is the phrase, "a wall of separation between church and state" without either the context, or the explanation given in the letter, or its application by earlier courts. Up until 1947, the clear understanding of the First Amendment for a century-and-a-half was that it prohibited the establishment of a single national denomination. National policies and rulings in that century-and-a-half always reflected that interpretation.

For example, in 1853, a group petitioned Congress to separate Christian principles from government. They desired a so-called "separation of church and state" with chaplains being turned out of the congress, the military, etc. Their petition was referred to the House and the Senate Judiciary Committees, which investigated for almost a year to see if it would be possible to separate Christian principles from government.

Both the house and the Senate Judiciary Committees returned with their reports. The following are excerpts from the House report delivered on March 27, 1854 (the Senate report was very similar):

"Had the people [the Founding Fathers], during the Revolution, had a suspicion of any attempt to war against Christianity, that Revolution would have been strangled in its cradle. At the time of the adoption of the Constitution and the amendments, the universal sentiment was that Christianity should be encouraged, but not any one sect [denomination]...In this age, there is no substitute for Christianity...That was the religion of the founders of the republic, and they expected it to remain the religion of their descendants."[22]

Two months later, the Judiciary Committee made this strong declaration:

"The great, vital, and conservative element in our system [the thing that holds our system together] is the belief of our people in the pure doctrines and divine truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ."[23]

The Committees explained that they would not separate these principles and activities which had made us so successful - they had been our foundation, our basis.

During the 1870s, 1880s, 1890s, yet another group which challenged specific Christian principles in government arrived before the Supreme Court. Jefferson's letter had remained unused for years, for as time had progressed after its use in 1802 - and after no national denomination had been established - his letter had fallen into obscurity. But now - seventy-five years later - in the case Reynolds v. United States [24], the plaintiffs resurrected Jefferson's letter, hoping to use it to their advantage.

In that case, the Court printed a lengthy segment of Jefferson's letter and then used his letter on "separation of church and state" to again prove that it was permissible to maintain Christian values, principles, and practices in official policy. For the next 15 years during that legal controversy, the Supreme Court utilized Jefferson's letter to ensure that Christian principles remained a part of government.

Following this controversy, Jefferson's letter again fell into disuse. It then remained silent for the next 70 years until 1947, when, in Everson v. Board of Education [25], the Court, for the first time, did not cite Jefferson's entire letter, but selected only eight words from it. The Court now announced:

"The First Amendment has erected "A wall of separation between church and state." That wall must be kept high and impregnable." [26]

This was the new philosophy for the Court. Why would the Court take Jefferson's letter completely out of context and cite only eight of its words? Dr. William James, the Father of Modern Psychology - and a strong opponent of religious principles in government and education - perhaps explained the Court's new strategy when he stated:

"There is nothing so absurd but if you repeat it often enough people will believe it"

This statement precisely describes the tact utilized by the Court in the years following its 1947 announcement. The Court began regularly to speak of a "separation of church and state," broadly explaining that, "This is what the Founders wanted - separation of church and state. This is the great intent." The Court failed to quote the Founders; it just generically asserted that this is what the Founders wanted.

The courts continued on this track so steadily that, in 198, in a case called Baer v. Kolmorgen [27] one of the judges was tired of hearing the phrase and wrote a dissent warning that if the court did not stop talking about the "separation of church and state," people were going to thinking it was part of the Constitution. [28] That warning was in 1958!

Nevertheless, the Court continued to talk about separation until June 25th, 1962, when, in the case Engel v. Vitale, [29] the Court delivered its first ever ruling which completely separated Christian principles from eduction; the case struck down school prayer. Even the World Book Encyclopedia's 1963 Yearbook noted that this case was the first time there had been a separation of church and state in eduction. [30]

In that 1962 case, the Court redefined the meaning and application of a single word: the word "church." For 170 years prior to that case, the word, "church" - as used in the phrase "separation of church and state" - was defined to mean "a federally established denomination." However, in 1962, the Court explained that the word "church would now mean "a religious activity in public." This was the turning point in the interpretation of the First Amendment.

Understand what the Court had just announced: no longer would the First Amendment simply prohibit the establishment of a federal denomination, it now would prohibit religious activities in public settings. This current doctrine of separation is a brand new doctrine; it is not something from the Founding Fathers, and it is not in any founding document. Even outside observers recognize that this policy is a recent one. yet, notice how much has been relinquished in recent years under this new doctrine.

School prayer was the first casualty of the redefinition of the First Amendment in the 1962 Engel case. School prayer had never before been challenged; for, clearly, school prayer had never established a national denomination and therefore had always been acceptable. But under the new definition, school prayer definitely was a religious activity in public and was therefore now deemed to be unconstitutional.

That 1962 case which first redefined the First Amendment and then removed school prayer was notible in a number of aspects. Recall that the 1892 Supreme Court case offered 87 percidents to maintain the includsion of Christian principles in our laws and institutions. This 1962 case which removed school prayer was just the opposite; it quoted "zero" previous legal cases. Without any historical or legal base, the Court simply made an announcement: "We'll not have prayer in schools anymore; that violates the Constitution." A brand new direction was taken.

Within a 12-month period of time, in two more cases in 1963, [31] the Court had not only removed prayer but also Bible reading, religious classes, and religious instruction; this was a radical reversal.

...

The Greatest

The greatest sin: fear
The best day: today
The biggest fool: the boy who will not go to school
The best town: where you succeed
The most agreeable companion: the one who would not have you any different from what you are
The great bore: one who will not come to the point
A still greater bore: one who keeps on talking after he has made his point
The great deceiver: one who deceives himself
The greatest secret of production: saving waste
The best work: what you like; what you love
The best play: work
The greatest comfort: the knowledge that you have done your work well
The greatest mistake: giving up
The most expensive indulgence: hate
The cheapest, easiest, and stupidest thing to do: finding fault
The greatest troublemaker: one who talks too much
The greatest stumbling block: indecision
The most dangerous person: the liar
The most ridiculous asset: pride
The worst bankrupt: the soul that has lost its enthusiasm
The cleverest man: one who always does what he thinks is right
The most disagreeable person: the complainer
The best teacher: the one who makes you want to learn
The meanest feeling of which any human being is capable: feeling bad at another’s success
The greatest need: common sense
The greatest puzzle: life
The greatest mystery: death
The greatest thought: God
The greatest thing, bar none, in the world: love

The Man Who Thinks He Can

If you think you are beaten, you are;
If you think you dare not, you don’t.
If you’d like to win, but think you can’t,
It’s almost a cinch you won’t.
If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost,
For out in the world we find
Success begins with a fellow’s will;
It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you’re outclassed, you are;
You’ve got to think high to rise.
You’ve got to be sure of yourself before
You can ever win a prize.
Life’s battles don’t always go
To the stronger or faster man;
But soon or late the man who wins
Is the one who thinks he can.

by Walter D. Wintle

Week 5: Hot Tubs

Today was a recovery day after yesterday's 2x5k. I wasn't too sore, but I was really happy to have a day of rest for my hamstrings. They've been tight again lately with all the rain, so having a day of rest would do them some good. With that in mind, I got in a short lift and core body workout, then headed to the pool for a short swim.

It's been a couple weeks since I hit the weights for a full circuit, so I backed off a bit knowing I was going to be sore the next day. My legs started burning after the single leg squats, so I did 3 sets of double legs squats afterwards and completely set my butt on fire. Why, you ask. Why not!

From the weight room I hit the pool. 200 warmup, 50x4, 50 kick, 200 cool down. I shared a lane with a woman training for her first tri after a couple years. She has 3 kids, works full time, her husband is going back to school and she's still finding time to keep her training schedule. Awesome. I love being around winners.

After the swim I hopped in the whirl pool for a few minutes. While I was in there, I met a man named Mike. Mike owns a painting company. About 20 years ago he owned a retail paint store and decided to transition away from retail and into contracting. I stayed a bit longer than I planned just to get a chance to pick his brain on his experiences. When it was all said and done, his advice to his family, friends, and to me were to find something you love doing and figure out how to make money doing it.

I finally crawled out, said goodbye, showered and headed home to see my baby for date night.

Good people. Good advice. Good day.

Week 6: Red Poppy 5k

Today was my long run of the week. It was also Red Poppy Festival 5k day. Do I do the fun run or my long run?...Decisions, decisions. I decided to do both. So, I woke up around 8 and headed up to the race site. I went out for about 5k before the race, then joined the field of 200 at the start line to run the course.

The run before the race was really fun. I met a man named Mike. Mike had run in the Texas Roundup yesterday and was doing this race to support his friend. Mike started out excited and ready to run, then about 500m into the warmup decided he didn't have enough left in his tank to do the race and warm up with me, so he turned around.

Luckily, there was a couple running just up ahead of us. I say by to Mike and caught up with them. They were out for a 10 mile loop, so I joined them for about 20 minutes when I turned off and headed back to the race. Along the way we got to talk about them, them and more them. Normally that would be a bit of a stretch for me, but these were some pretty cool people. They met at 18, married at 21 and got their masters degrees together a couple years later. They took the first 11 years just to enjoy each other and see the world before deciding to have kids at 33. Now, they have 3 kids ranging in age from 5 to 18 months.

I asked them what brought them out this morning. She said she's training for Danskin and he's training just to stay in shape. Sundays are their "date mornings." They make time every Sunday morning to go out and run together. It's something they did when they met at 18 and have clung to it ever since. When I asked what has been the greatest lesson they've learned, they said, "Communication. Not just on the big things, but the little things. Communicating with each other all the time is so important. Also, keeping up your common interests. The things that brought you together are what will keep you together. You've got to work to keep them alive. When we met we were athletes and we've grown up together as athletes. It doesn't matter what it is, just work to keep it alive."

I couldn't have asked for better running partners this morning. I was kind of sad to turn off and head back, but I was glad to make some new friends along the way. It was a good warmup.

Back at the race site, the field was everything I though it would be. Small town 5k. Everyman field. No timing chips. No worries. I changed into my Servolution shirt and joined a couple other Celebration folk at the start line.

We took off at a 10 minute pace and sped up a little after the first quarter mile. Instead of signs and banners, they had locals standing on the side of the road waving and saying "turn here." I love small town races :)

At the 2 mile mark some of the people around me started fading fast, so I kicked into motivation mode and began willing them onto the finish. Huff, wheeze, stride, affirm, repeat. We rode that mantra all the way to the finish. Crossing the finish line, their smile returned, the pain faded away, and they realized it was all worth it. That's the great part about a struggle: it gives you something to overcome.

There are good days and bad days. They had themselves a good day. So did I. Maybe next year I'll figure out what a Red Poppy is.

Week 6: Brick

Shell and I got a chance to meet up with Kelley and Randee after work on Friday. I love getting around Kelley. One day I'll have to share her story, but let me just say that she's an inspiration in a lot of ways. Today, we were talking and she mentioned how she was swimming earlier that day. I'd been itching to swim for a while now. That was all she had to say to push me over the edge. Within 30 minutes I was in the pool hammering out laps.

I hadn't swam in a while, so I cut the swim short at 850yds, changed, and ran across the street to the track for speed work. 8x400 with 75m rest in between sets. I had such a good time during this workout. I love the smell of chlorine that comes out when I sweat on the run of a swim/run brick. Even after yesterday's cross-training workout I felt strong. The last 400 was stronger than the first. I was averaging about 6:30 miles. I'll take it. Afterwards I jogged back, showered, and slept like I earned it.

Great day!

Week 6: Goals

Today I wanted to mix it up a little bit. I had a 5 mile run scheduled, but I'd missed Monday's lifting session, so, given my time crunch, I mixed the two into a nice cross-training workout. Starting out at ROC, I made 1.5 laps around PRC stopping for a different activity. I alternated between 20 pushups, 50 crunches, and 20 squats. This turned into a great workout. The combination of strength and aerobic activity worked up a great sweat. Total time was 47 minutes. I made it through 3 cycles of the strength exercises. By the last one, my legs were a little sore, but feeling strong.

Somewhere around minute 20, I started to think about goals. I remember when I was in grad school, I was so set on finishing, graduating, finally "making it". Then, before I knew it, I was done. Looking up after my defense, I realized that I'd overcome some good challenges, but it hadn't really gotten any closer to where I wanted to be.

I don't know if I was really expecting to get a paycheck at the end of my defense, or if I thought there'd be one taped to the back of my diploma, but somehow it just felt odd to come all that way and not really be anywhere.

Maybe you can relate. I guess it's kind of like if you've ever driven by a house where the grass has grow up to the windows of the car parked in the front yard. If you grew up in Iowa, you know what I'm talking about. It seems like you always see that scene in front of houses with huge front yards. Every once in a while they'll get out the John Deer and spend an entire day cutting the grass.

Please don't take this the wrong way. Cutting the grass is nice. It's an accomplishment, but it doesn't change the fact that you've got a broken down Plymouth sitting on cinder blocks in the front yard. Focus. Good effort, wrong direction.

That's how I felt. At the time it didn't really bother me because there was still another step out there. It was time to get a J-O-B. In my mind, the degree wasn't an answer, it was just a prerequisite to success. After all, why would our entire society stress college so much unless it was the answer?

I'd always heard, "go to school, get good grades, get your degree, and get a good job." So, I did. A couple months later, I took a job at LSU. Check. Check. Check. Check. Now what? I went to work, collected my paycheck, dealt with the shock of taxes and fell into a routine. It was nice for the first few months, but something was missing. I couldn't shake the feeling that there had to be more to it than this.

Have you ever looked around where you work at the people who have been there a few years longer than you and wondered if that's where you'll be in a few short years? I did. I found myself staring right in the face of mediocrity and it terrified me.

I guess I was shooting at nothing and hitting it every time. I just didn't want to be average anymore. School, software, papers...I could spend the next 50 years doing the same thing over and over again and what would there be to show for it? I realized I'd put myself in a situation where I was never challenged to come alive. Benjamin Franklin was talking about me when he said, "Most men die at 25 and are buried at 75." Nature never stagnates. Either you're growing or you're dying. I wasn't growing.

Unfortunately all I'd know is what I'd been told. If one job wasn't working out for me, what else was there but another job? So that's what I did. Austin here I come. More money, different scenery, same results. I shot at nothing and hit it again. Thinking back, I suppose that the problem wasn't really the job. There's nothing wrong with a job. Everyone's gotta pay the bills, but if your the kind of person that aspires to do more in life, then it's pretty rare that a job will be the right vehicle to get you where you want to go.

I like the analogy of trying to get from New York to London on a bicycle. It won't matter who you are. You could be Lance Armstrong and it's still not going to happen. Having the right vehicle makes all the difference in getting to your goals.

I suppose that's why I'm so grateful to have found LTD. For me, and now my family, it's been a vehicle to get us where we want to go. More than that, it's been an educational system that reminds me to think, dream, and take action. It's given me opportunities to build friendships and develop relationships. It's helped me develop as a husband, a christian, a member of the community, and an employee. Through LTD I've learned skills that I've applied in every area of my life.

Shell's perfect. I'm not. I'm still growing and changing on a daily basis. I've learned to enjoy the journey and the struggle. I've learned that it's only through overcoming those struggles that I can earn my own self-respect. It's been a blessing and be sure that we're not done yet.

Week 6: Doing the Robot

I think spring fever is here. All day long I was itching to get outside. The weather was perfect: temperature in the mid 70's, light breeze, and a couple fluffy clouds in the sky to cut the intense Texas sun. Endurance sport is made for days like this. If it weren't for back to back to back to back meetings, I'd have gone crazy with anticipation. I almost pulled a Mick Swope during the third meeting and bowed out with appendicitis. Somehow I figured the buy guy would have seen me running by his office on the way out.

Finally, freedom came around 5pm. My hamstring has been giving me trouble for about 3 weeks now. I've cut my training volume back quite a bit to give it a chance to rest. That hasn't seemed to work too well, so yesterday I started taking a couple ibuprofen with my multivitamin (Double X) to deal with any inflammation that may be in there. I'm hoping that and some ice will do the trick. The only other thing I can think of if this doesn't work is to hit the pool. Somehow everything seems to heal better and faster when I'm swimming regularly.

I took extra time to go through a few hamstring specific stretches before heading out today. Today's run was off the schedule. I went out for 6 miles at an easy pace. That's about 2 laps around PRC. I made it through the first lap without really noticing anything at all. I was just caught up listening to my ipod. Towards the end of the second lap, I caught up to another employee in the middle of his run. What is it about guys that makes us want to run? I guess we're all just wild at heart. Without saying a word, we both instinctively broke out into a foot race to the top of the hill. He won by a couple steps. I told myself I'd run 5 miles further. Who knows. It felt good to race.

I finished the run with a light jog back to the ROC and some more stretching. Pasta for dinner and some great in-house entertainment made it a great night. I think I actually strained something watching shell break out into an impromptu robot listening to "God So Loved". If I'd had milk, it would have shot out my nose. I'm giving that 10 second section of her dance a 10 on the unintentional comedy scale and automatic entry into the "moments in life I'll always remember and tell the kids and grandkids." I can't believe how much I love this woman.

Week 7: Mid-week Run

Do you ever have those mornings when you wake up in the morning and just have to run? Today was one of those days. Last night I slacked getting up in the morning and didn't make it out after church to run. So this morning I woke up itching to run. At least that's my story.

Shell tells it differently. According to her, I woke up at 7am to let the dog out then somehow stripped naked and passed out (still naked) on the couch next to the back door. About an hour later she woke up and found me on the couch. Evidently it was chilly there by the door because I had wrapped the dog blanket around myself in what Shell referred to as a human breakfast burrito.

Like the good wife she is, Shell paused to take in the scene before kissing me softly on the forehead to wake me up. That's when she discovered that the burrito had some special sauce. That's also when she discovered that our dog, Teddy, has an unnatural love of special sauce. I'm a little fuzzy on this part, but Shell said that somehow, from out in the yard, Teddy caught a whiff and came running. He shot across the patio, into the house and onto the couch and started burrowing.

Shell said she would have stopped him, but she couldn't really do anything through the laughter.

So according to Shell, how I really woke up this morning was naked, shivering, wrapped up in blanket like a rudy's taco with the dog digging in my butt and smelling like moldy cheese...and I don't even like cheese. I think she's making it up, but who knows.

Anyway, once I woke up, I went out for a light 5+ mile run. 25 minutes out and back whatever that works out to be. I took the taco lover with me on the run. I'm beginning to wonder about him. No matter how far we run, he always stops at the same two places to poop. I don't know if he's holding out for those spots, or if it's an allergic reaction to the grass or what, but every time like clockwork, BAAAAAM.

The run felt great. My hamstrings were still feeling good afterwards. I stretched throughout the day and tonight I had a great dinner of tilapia and rice a la Shell. You know we usually have beans with tilapia. I'm wondering if she's thinking ahead to tomorrow morning.

Week 8: Long Run

Yesterday was a good day. We woke up and helped out with the 3-4yr olds during the 930 and 1130 services at Celebration. At 130 we went home and I had just enough time to get in my run before returning at 4 to help set up for the Revolve party that night after and help out with the lighting during the 630 service. Then, just when I almost had enough time to sit down for a second, we realized no one had started cooking for the party, so I got the opportunity to dust off my charcoal skills and cook up burgers for the party. I've not slept that hard in a while. I've also not felt more that I've earned the sleep than yesterday. It was nice finally finding some people who would let us serve them.

I really feel like one of the great sorrows in life isn't that we've not been blessed, but that we've been offered thousands of blessings and turned them all down.

Onto my run...

Today was the long run of the week. I had a 10k on the books. It was warm and sunny and I'd missed a pace race the day before, so I decided to go a bit longer today. I grabbed Teddy (or rather he grabbed his leash and followed me) and headed out for 30 minutes, turned around and made it about a mile back before Teddy stopped and plopped down in the shade refusing to move.

At this point I'm not so much worried about the run as I am about how to get us back to the house in the next 45 minutes without carrying him. I ended up letting him drink the rest of my water out of my hand and walk/jogging home. Evidently he recovered the last mile because when we turned the corner to our street, he took off. I'd say it was a good run all around.

Ironically enough, this morning I got an article forwarded to me out of the blue by a guy I work with. It was about how some researchers think that before we had weapons, we used to kill our food by running them to death. Teddy, buddy, I think you may be done with long runs until this winter.

Week 8: Speed and Strength

I've missed a couple days this week. Today I made wednesday's workout and threw in a weight session just for good measure. I started out at the McNeal high school track doing 7x400 with a 45 second rest in between sets. I averaged about 1:37 on the 400. That puts me at around a 6:30 mile, which was the pace I wanted for these 400's.

After the speed work, I headed over to the gym for a quick lift. I felt pretty good when I got there, so I stretched it a bit longer than usual.

2x16 Leg lifts

2x25 Bicycle crunches

1x10 Leg thrusts

2x8 @ 30 lbs Single leg squats

2x10 alternating Calf raises

3x6 Pull-ups

3x10 @ 135 Shrugs

3x8 @ 65 Standing rows

3x8 @ 79 Single arm bent cable rows

3x8 @ 15 Standing front raises

3x8 @ 35 Dumbbell military presses

8@135, 8@155, 8@165, 6@185 Bench press

Afterwards, I was cached. I headed home for dinner with shell and a good night's sleep. Sleep didn't really come that early, but the dinner was slammin'. Shell baked tilapia, made spanish rice and black beans. Served with fresh tortillas. She did an amazing job on dinner. Thanks love. It was just what I needed.

25 Confessions of a Husband

Just for the record...

1. My favorite thing when I come home is seeing you walk up to me without saying a word and hug me like I'd been gone for a year.

2. I've never known anyone who looked good in everything they wear. If I had to pick, though, I'd say you've come the closest of the people I've seen try. (ps - sorry about last weekend. I know it was my turn at laundry day.)

3. Sometimes it scares me how good of a mom you're going to be. When kids see you, they just sit, listen and are deeply impacted. When kids see me, they think, "wow, who brought the human jungle gym?!" You're amazing.

4. I really do like tofu. Every time you cook it, it tastes great. I'm just morally opposed to vegetarian food for religious reasons.

5. Remember when we used to race to Baton Rouge in separate cars? That's one of my favorite memories ever. You're like Andretti, but hot, young, and my wife. If we keep racing, I think you might even beat me one day...if you're lucky.

6. My favorite "I love you's" come at night when you're not really awake because you're only saying what's really deep down in there.

7. I remember one day when I was younger, I forgot my lunch at home and someone brought it to me at school. I used to pray that when I grew up someone would do that for me when I was at work. Thanks for answering my prayers.

8. I dream bigger when I'm around you.

9. I love cooking for you because when we first started dating, you ate that nasty chicken marsala recipe I messed up. If you'll eat that out of love way back then, I know whatever I make today is going to be ok.

10. I love hearing you pray. It's like eavesdropping on a lifelong love affair.

11. In our house in Baton rouge, I could always hear you walking around. You walked like a tap dancer: heel-toe, heel-toe. At first I thought you were just a heavy walker. Later I learned you really were a tap dancer. In hind sight, I think both were right. You've made the biggest footprints in my life just by walking into it.

12. I have no idea how you use 5 towels a day, but whatever you're doing, keep it up. You look great, love.

13. Same thing with the toilet paper. I'm completely baffled, but keep it up.

14. I looked up 4 different Michelada recipes for you, trying to find one you'd like. Turns out you prefer the bottled mix. Thanks for Zing-ing so I could Zang. You always keep me on my toes; giving me opportunities to learn more about you.

15. You were right, I could totally eat sushi every day.

16. Teddy is completely convinced he's your guard dog. Watch out world. It's Teddy, your killer Miniature Schnauzer guard dog. woof

17. Sometimes you'll tell me a joke and I'll laugh. Then I'll remember how you told it a few hours later and fall over laughing. You're so good at telling jokes.

18. Sometimes I get dressed in the dark and I don't realize until much later that none of my clothes match. That never happens when we're going somewhere together...Thanks.

19. I love that you always sit up front where ever we go. I know that you need to, but I still love it about you.

20. I never understood what the deal was with you and the kitchen. Now I realize that you have such a desire to be good at everything you do that you only have 4-5 things that you'll cook for anyone but me. I have to confess that those 4-5 things are really, really good.

21. When you talk about your friends, you only mention the good stuff. I never understood that when we met, but now I realize that you're incapable of remember the bad in people. That amazes me about you.

22. I'm really not testing your drink for poison when I take a sip. I just like sharing stuff with you.

23. You really do do maverick-y things.

24. I don't understand anything about hair, but I think yours is amazing. For the record, I'm totally jealous that when yours falls out, new hair grows in to replace it.

25. I know you're really super woman. I'm just playing along because I love the hero inside of you too.

Week 8: Strength and Distance

It was a crazy day today. In fact, the entire week has been hectic. Shell spent the week in Baton Rouge, I spent the week finishing up demos of 2 projects, submitting content for 3 papers, writing a demo from scratch for a Friday SC09 deadline, and still trying to find time to work out. It was insane to say the least. The good news is I got everything but the SC paper done. We decided to push that to a poster submission to give us more time for results and some interesting research. I think the only thing I didn't do this week was sleep. I'm going to enjoy that sometime very, very soon.

Tuesday's run was uneventful: 40 minutes around tacc. Fun, but nothing notable except for the sore hammies.

Wednesday's run was cancelled due to insane weather and me tunneling in on my deadlines for the week.

Thursday's run was great. It was supposed to be 3 miles easy. I wound up running with Michael G and John after work. I started out on my own, met up with Michael, ran with him for 15 minutes until he had to leave, then caught up with John as Michael was turning away and ran with him during his workout. Total duration was 54 minutes. I felt great afterwards and my hammies finally started to loosen up. Once the run was over, I headed to the Y to do some strength training. Everything went smoothly. I ran through the same workout as always. Bench went up to 165, Front standing raises went up to 20's. Tri pressdowns were with the ropes. Met a guy from South Carolina at the gym. Pretty cool guy. He kept telling me he wants to find something else to do in the medial field because he thinks he's not getting paid what he's worth. I had to bite, so I asked what he thought he was worth. He said $25/hr. Maybe it's me, but even I know he's worth more than that. Who sets their own personal value at 50k/yr. Depressing, but common.

My Kind of Story

Today I realized that I'm somewhere between 1/3 and 1/2 of the way through the story of my life and there's still something big missing. What I mean by that is that it still lacks something to really engage people. That something is a hero.

I've been thinking through what a movie about my life would look like. Shell loves to imagine which actors and actresses would play the main roles. I'm less interested in casting than content. Perhaps it's my own vanity, but if there's going to be a movie about me, I'd like to be the most memorable character in it. I'd like to be the Rocky, the Maximus, the Neo. I'd like to be the hero. That's my kind of story.

Superstars don't work with Martin Short

If you don't know who Martin Short is, you might remember him as Jack Frost from The Santa Clause 3, or Ned Nederlander in The Three Amigos, or from SNL waaay back in the day. He's an incredibly funny guy, who's remembered for his great characters, amazing presence, and stealing the show in every movie he's ever done. Kind of like Seann William Scott (aka Stiffler from American Pie) but with talent.

Please don't take this the wrong way, but when it comes to the story of my life, I don't want a Martin Short in my movie. Why? because Martin Short steals the show. When people leave the theatre, they don't remember the leading characters in his movies, they remember how Martin Short overshadowed the other characters. You don't see Stallone, Gibson, Ford and DeNiro sharing time with Martin Short. Why? Because they play heros. They are the stars of their movies. When you watch Rocky, there's no question who the hero is. His character, his story, is bigger than life. No one overshadows Stallone in those movies, not even Action Jackson.

You see, the only time a bit character can overshadow the rest of a movie is when the movie lacks a real hero. When it comes down to telling the story of my life, I want to be Tom Cruise. Minus the insanity...and taller...and not a heathen. I'm just being serious. I want to know that I was the one who inspired. I want to know that I was the one impacting the world around me and not the other way around. I want to live the story of a man with two loves in his life: his wife and God. I want the story to reveal a man whose actions were not always perfect, but his intentions always were. I want people to look into my life and say, "That's how I want to live!" I want my story to show a man who was remembered for remembering other people. How crazy is that. I spent the first 22 years of my life as the athlete only to spend the rest of it being the cheerleader :) Irony. That's my kind of story.

My kind of hero

Shell and I were talking the other day and we found this really cool site where you can make yourself over as a superhero. You pick your outfit, your physique, your powers... It's pretty cool. I love games like that because they get my imagination working overtime. I started thinking about what kind of super powers I wanted to have. That turned out to be a tough question. There are so many great superheroes out there with so many great powers. How does one choose strength vs speed? Psychic powers vs long life? Then it occurred to me that I might not be asking the right question at all.

What really defines a superhero? Is it their powers; their costume; their personality? It seems to me that the how without the why doesn't really matter. To me, at least, a superhero is defined by his cause. Would anyone buy a comic about Boris, the young man with super strength who spends all his time chopping down trees in the Pacific Northwest and never leaves his house after dark? No, who cares about a beefed up lumberjack? Who cares that he has the powers if he's not using them to accomplish something greater than himself. If he never uses them to impact lives, he's not a hero. That's not my kind of story.

On the other hand, would anyone buy a comic book about a teenage boy who could absorb knowledge by touching books and used that to power to learn about history and law and fight injustice around the world. Would the story be just as good if he couldn't absorb the knowledge but instead got it reading normally? Isn't that the story of the Pretender?

Seems to me that being super isn't a prerequisite to being a hero. Heroes need a cause to fight for. They need something bigger than themselves. How they do that is secondary. They are heroes because they're willing to go when others stay. Stand when others sit, and speak when others remain silent. Hero and human both start out the same way, they just differ on the follow through.

Back to my superhero. What do I want him to be known for? How about always being there when you're most needed. How about the ability to make the people around you feel better when you're there than when you're not. How about the power to inspire. How about the wisdom to use your powers to raise the powers of those around you. If I were a superhero, I'd love to be remembered for those things. I'd read a comic about that super. That's my kind of hero.

My kind of hero isn't super. He isn't born winning the genetic lottery. He doesn't have powers and abilities that I don't have. My kind of hero is just a man who decided that he could do more and be more on a daily basis. Despite being tired, hurt, let down and abandoned, he decided to be a friend, a leader, a father, and a husband one more time. My kind of hero is human.

We spend so much time saying if. If I could do this. If I could do that. If I had that. If only... A hero's only if is, "If I've been given the gift of another day, what can I do bless the world." Excuses don't inspire. They only lower the quality of life in every place they're used. My kind of hero doesn't make excuses, they fight to make a difference.

My kind of story

So I guess it comes down to me deciding how I'm going to write my story. I read one time that every man's story needs a battle to fight, a beauty to win, and a dragon to slay. I think I've got all of those identified by now. The one thing I still need to keep developing is the struggle. You can't be a hero without a victory and you can't become victorious without overcoming a struggle. It's about time I stopped trying to get out of the struggle and started embracing it. My life is crying out for a hero and there's no one who can fill that roll but me.

In my life, there are many, many examples of people who don't believe in me. I can't walk down the street without hearing someone tell me I can't do this or I'll never succeed at that. What I'm learning is that every time someone doesn't believe in me, I get another opportunity to believe in myself. And you know what? That fires me up. I ought to give those people a hug because they're helping me fill in the 'good parts' of my story. They're helping me to be a hero in the making.

There's never been a story like mine and there never will be again. My struggles and my victories are mine and mine alone. The one thing I do know is that at the end of the day, when the horn blows and my life flashes before me, I'll look at the example I've been to the world around me and the servant I've been to my God, and I'll be able to say that my life was 100% my kind of story.

Week 8: Strength and Stretch

Something about the end of yesterday's run did it to me. My hamstrings were incredibly sore after the race and all day today. As much as I love plyos, I love not tearing a hammy better. Today was an ice and stretching day. I woke up and stretched. I went to work and stretched. I walked around the office a couple times and stretched... You get the idea. After a long, hot shower my legs were finally starting to loosen up some. Coincidentally, it's warming up again. Not sure if the temperature change outside from 85-45-70's had anything to do with it. I'd rather not have to find out again.

Hope and the 80%

Today was the Capital 10k in Austin. I'm not sure if the 10k refers to the distance or the number of people in the event because both are true. It was a pretty awesome sight. The starting line ran back at least a quarter mile. People started rolling in around 745am and kept coming until after the start at 9am. I made a promise to shell that I'd be home by 10 so we could make it to church by 11, so rather than run with the crowd, I got there at 7am, ran the 10k course, then added on another 2 miles to round out my Sunday workout. By the time I finished my workout, the race was about to begin and, for the first time in quite a while, I had the opportunity to watch a race begin from the outside looking in.

Watching the masses of people congregate at the start line is always a sight to see. There are so many twists and turns and so many thin threads intertwined just for people to get there, it's a wonder anyone ever makes it at all. The level of excitement in this race wasn't as high as an IM or even the Austin Marathon, but there was a sense of community in this race that wasn't in the other two. Having some time to reflect on this today, I think it's another example of how people have figured out how to break the 80/20 rule.

If you've never heard of the 80/20 before, it simply says that within any population of people, 20% of the population will be responsible for generating 80% of the output. It's not my idea. It's not even something I had heard of up until a couple years ago, but it is, never-the-less, a fact. In America today, the 80/20 split is working just as it always has...and will barring Obama & big blue going Evita on us. Look around in your office, your church, your family, etc...the 80/20 rule is working everywhere. There are performers and clock punchers. There's nothing wrong being in either group. We all choose to which group to belong. It is what it is.

Occasionally, some bright person will realize that they'd rather move their agenda on sooner than later and find a way to spur the 80% to action. The formula is pretty straight forward, J Paul Getty said it this way, "I'd rather have 1% of 100 men's effort than 100% of my own." How does one accomplish this? Someone in the 20% lower's their standard so the 80% can have some hope of catching up.

Take an sales force for example. Given 10 salesmen, 1 will be the clear superstar, 1-2 will be better than average, 3-4 will be strictly average and 3-4 will pray they have a job next month. That's a normal distribution and normally, what most managers would do is remind everyone of how great the top couple salesmen are and use that indirect pressure and guilt to try and drive the rest of the staff to do better. That never works. The reason is simple: belief. It's not for lack of desire, or even talent, that the 80% are in the 80%. I'd argue most times, they just don't believe they can be anything other than that. Hope deferred makes the heart sick and soon they just give up and shut down the extra activity that, over time, would propel them to the top. Pitty.

The successful sales manager, however, realizes that his job is to foster belief, not sales. When the staff believes they can sell more, their activity level increases and inevitably they will sell more. If you're a numbers person, consider this:

2 salesmen moving 5 units a week and 4 moving 1 unit a week and 4 moving none = 14

vs.

2 salesmen moving 5 units a week and 8 moving 2 = 26 units

This isn't a massive increase in activity. In most cases, it's just a matter of the 80% people doing an extra 10% of work with the right expectation and yielding significantly better results. In the above example, simply focusing on building the belief of the 80% that they could move 2 units rather than pointing out how the 20% could move 5 resulted in nearly doubling the company's bottom line.

Why am I talking about this? It's because that's what jumped out at me today. The Austin Marathon and Cap 10k are both local races. The marathon drew a few thousand local participants for a grueling event which earns you a medal, t-shirt, and pics. The 10k drew 18 thousand local participants for a manageable 10k run OR walk. All participants got a t-shirt, pics, and bunch of warm fuzzies. Which race was more effective at engaging the community? Here's a hint, a good portion of those marathon participants were part of the 10k as well.

Top performers are going to perform because that's what they do. The cost and effort don't really matter to them. Winners find a way to win. The masses, however need something that they can reach out and touch. For most people, 13.1 miles is simply too much to believe they can do. 6 miles, walking as much of it as need be, however is entirely doable. The average New Yorkers walks 5 miles a day. Surely a Texan can walk/job 6 miles. There's belief there. It's a goal that people believe they can achieve, so more are willing to try.

What I learned from this morning was that big goals are not accomplished by herculean efforts of the elite, but rather by a bunch of small contributions by the majority of people. I sincerely hope you're a dreamer like me. If so, then this is good news. Your dreams just got a lot closer because they depend less on your own effort and more on your ability to get small amounts of effort from a lot of people. I'd argue that the best way to do that is to surround yourself with people who are going anywhere near where you're going and become the biggest blessing in their lives helping them get there.

Today was a long day, no doubt. It was a good day. I learned something about myself and about the world around me. I believe it's these small insights that change the way we look at and function in the world that allow us to be better servants and therein leaders. It's pretty rare that I ever really feel like I've got it right at the end of the day. Today, however, I really feel like I figured something out. Father, did I make you smile?