the forty-four day challenge FINALE

it's done, friends! it's in the bag! that's all she freakin' wrote. you want one biscuit i'll give you two. you'd think i was from the show me state...cause i showed you i could do it? that was awful! anyway...it's done and done. i officially ran 200 hundred miles in 44 days!! feels good. which brings me to my next point...
I RAN 1000 MILES IN 2011!!!!!!!!!!!

accomplishing goals is the BEST feeling ever! errvvverrr!!

now to come up with my list of goals for 2012.........any ideas!?!

happy birthday to my dad (again)

well...it's happened again. my dad has gotten one year older today. good for him for being completely boss and awesome at doing things like rocking at life and not appearing to be one year older. trust me...i'm taking notes. by the way...in case you're wondering what to get a mid-fifty year old dude: a good book and a r/c helicopter is apparently the way to go.

call me unoriginal but i really liked my birthday post i did for him last year...so feel free to read that by clicking the link below:

happy birthday dad.

he wants to be a paperback writer

before i even get into this post you gotta listen/watch this:

for years now i have wanted to write a book. it feels silly to admit. i have no idea why. out of all three people i have told this to, not one has said i can't do it or that it's a dumb idea. the only one who has said these things? me. i'm my worst critic.

i have a few ideas to write about, but no idea which one to start with. to be honest with you...i don't even know HOW to start. do i use my computer? do i use a pen and a notebook? do i find an old typewriter and head for the mountains? do i hire someone to write down my thoughts?

what do i do!?!

the longest blog post in the history of blog posts...and also my longest title to any of my blog posts ever.

Sucky Scenario 1:

young kid: what do you do for a living?
me: oh, i'm a musician.
young kid: no way! are you on the radio?
me: no, but i have a cd.
young kid: no way! is it at wal-mart?
me: *long melodramatic sigh*

how long have i been saying i need to start playing more shows again? oh, right...a long time now. not to sound like a total conceited jerkface...but i'm just really tired of hearing music lately and thinking, "my music is way better...why am i not doing what i want with my music!?!" same reason you're not doing what you want to be doing (assuming you're like most people). it's freakin' difficult to do what you really want to do in life. why?

Sucky Scenario 2:

random person: what do you do for a living?
me: oh, i'm a manager at a lawncare company.
random person: that's cool. do you like it?
me: umm...yeah. it looks great on a resume. it's not ideally what i want to be doing though.
random person: well...what do you want to be doing?
me: *long melodramatic sigh*

how many times will i continue to set myself up for people to ask me what i want to do with my life? the only consistent answer i give when asked this question: "i don't really know yet...all i know is i want to help people out" (way to keep it super general, tony.)

here's the deal:
someone needs to tell me what to do with my life!

in all honesty and realness...i know i'm currently doing what God is calling me to do; however, i also know that He is calling me to do more. a lot more. that's all i got. that's the only little insight/direction He's hooking me up with so far. tricky, huh!? so, now combine that with a wife who is pretty much going through the same thing and what do you have...actually, probably a pretty typical Jesus-following married couple. sometimes it feels like i should just know everything i want to know. you know? i know. it's like this in my head: "hmmm....i don't know the answer to this question i'm asking myself...well...i think i should know the answer", so when i don't i get upset. am i completely insane or just partially?

i'm understanding (will never completely understand) how God works and it's hard sometimes to be okay with His process of doing things. ya know...'doing things' meaning: saving the WORLD! anyway...i'm good at letting myself get in the way and slow that process down sometimes. most often it's me demanding some sort of answer and/or direction in my life.

Sucky Scenario 3:

emily: we have way too much.
me: yeah, i know. we suck.
emily: seriously, we have way too much. why?
me: don't know. i want to give it all away and do more.
emily: well where's the balance? how can we live happy, but not feel like we have too much?
me: *long melodramatic sigh*

i'm going to be real honest here by letting you know a little something about me. i'm sort of an emotional dude. i'm very connected with my inner-feelings. i cry and i'm proud of it. i cry every now and then and a lot of times it's annoying. the other day i was reading an email that was forwarded on to me from someone from my Church. it included some pictures and updates on the recent devastation that happened in the Mitumba slums in Kenya. before then i was refusing to look at the pictures knowing how i'd take it. well...it was worse than expected. i had just sat down to eat my dinner before rushing out the door for whatever. first picture...bawling. tears were literally falling into my dinner. thoughts started racing through my head. "why would something like this happen?!" "why should this happen to them!?" "why did this not happen to me!?" and worse yet, "why do i feel so safe in saying that something like this won't happen to me!?" it made me sick.

typical american way of thinking: i have questions and i demand them to be answered now.

i really don't want to make this a classic 'life sucks, but..." post where i complain about life being hard and then wrap it up with a, "...but it's all good...i still have my health! winky face" it's just tough not having all of the big picture God is trying to show me. i know there's a big picture. i can see the frame and i can make out a few of the colors. other than that i just feel like a little kid standing in front of a candy store. no idea exactly where to look, but i know it all looks good and i want it all. now.

p.s. congratulations on reading (or skimming all the way to the bottom) through the entire post! you're now a record holder in my book for reading my longest post ever! i promise that my next post will be short and sweetly sweet!

p.p.s. seriously...thanks for reading.

the forty-four day challenge UPDATE

wee-hoo...i'm almost half way done with the infamous self-declared 'forty-four day challenge' and i feel pretty good. i have officially logged 887 miles so far in 2011 with only 113 left to go between tomorrow (when i run yet another five miler) and december 31. my body is holding up well with the increase in miles. i was struggling to hit 20 in a week, so bumping it up closer to 30 was a bit of an increase. especially since they say to increase mileage "smart" it should be no more than 10% each week. my knees are just a little achy...mainly in a "dude...why are you doing this to us" sorta way, but other than that i feel grrrrrrrrrreeaatt!

so, if you're ever in the peoria area and want to go out and run a five miler with me...chances are i'm out somewhere so let me know and we can run together! seriously...my routes are getting boring.
click on the photo below (or else) and you can check out my training log. trust me...it's the most interesting/exciting thing you will ever see. ever.

welp...see ya later.