Happy Ending to a Happy Beginning

Yea, we had a grand opening for our Etsy shop about a month ago, and it went really well. The only thing that didn't go exactly as planned was that we were so busy making the grand opening into the huge, smashing success that it was, that we neglected to actually do the work of getting the stuff posted and available. So really, it was a grand preview for a grand opening that was coming soon.

Not a failure, just a slight miscommunication. It reminds me of a funny story that my Mamma likes to tell about me. As a kid, I had a reputation as the kid with the best Halloween parties in town, or maybe even in the whole of Marshall county. We had elaborate costumes, witches on pulleys that flew across the yard, cakes that burst into flames, once we even had a real headless horseman! Oh, and always, always, a casket with a "dead" person popping out. Huge fun right?

Well, one particular year, I had made all my preparations for the party, I may have already been suited up in my Vampire costume, that was almost always my costume of choice, and Mamma found me crying in my room. "What in the world is it?" She asked.

"I forgot to invite anybody." I boo hooed.

The story has a happy ending. My sweet Mamma got on the phone and called all my friend's Mammas. We had a big crowd that night, and my party was a success. Well, I did accidentally set the haunted piano on fire, (this year Dracula happened to get inspired to play a lot of minor chords on the upright piano in the haunted living room/dining room, and there had to be a candelabra and the best place for it to go was the little shelf where the music goes... there's a ledge above that that I didn't notice was right over the candle's flame.) We got it put out without having to call the fire department. Fortunately, my dad was on hand and he was a volunteer fireman at the time. You know this is all true. How or why in the world could I make it up?

In the photo, you see me re-living my past. Only this time I'm at a horse show on Halloween, and I'm getting paid to play those same minor chords I played while setting my poor parent's piano on fire. Sorry y'all. Does anybody else think I look like my Dad in this picture? I feel a little old looking at it.



I got in big trouble, but you know it was so worth it. What is a piano playing Dracula without a candelabra?

Back to the awaken shop. Today, you can go online to shopawaken.etsy.com and shop for our neat, one-of-a-kind, stuff. I really mean it this time. And just like the Halloween party, I pray this story has a happy ending to a happy beginning.

Drive-In Double Date

On Saturday night, we had double date night with our friends, the Phillips. We had all said that it would be fun to go to the drive in, so Amanda, true to form, had researched all of the theatres within a 50 mile radius. She knew what movies were playing, who would charge extra for bringing your own food, the mother's maiden name of the owners, and what they had for breakfast. We chose the drive-in at Lewisburg, TN. It is a neat, family owned operation with a sweet, red-headed girl attendant whose grandparents have owned the theatre since the 50's. It seemed like kind of a one woman show, as she cleaned bathrooms, took up ticket money, ($6.00 per person) and gave the pitch for the concession stand -and the inside scoop on anything else one might want to know, like which horse to bet on for the 2010 Kentucky Derby.



We were a little early, so we pulled into a big parking lot and popped the trunk where Amanda had packed away an amazing spinach dip (1 box frozen chopped spinach, 1/2 cup whole milk Greek yogurt, or sour cream, 1/2 mayonnaise, 1/2 an onion minced, 1 clove garlic minced, a little fresh parsley) with Rosemary and Olive Oil Triscuits, mmm, because we were all hungry. This was everybody's favorite. Disclaimer: the food we ate on this trip is not approved by Crossfit or the Zone diet. It was the weekend!

We happened to be in the parking lot of the biggest Goodwill store I have ever seen.



The Amandas did their own thing for a while, looking at books,



while Christopher found some interesting old vinyl records, yea, that's Reba Rambo. And I took pictures of things that I found entertaining.



This little "coach" looks like he had a long, happy life on some kid's shelf, but the only thing he'll be coaching anymore is maybe the cockroach races when the Goodwill lights go off at night.



We all agreed that this little baby doll sandwich gets the creepy award. If you peeled the little green price tag off the side of its head, I bet blood would spurt out and the head would spin.



Micheal Bolton, Beaches, yea, those were the days. Of what? Big hair, Bette Midler, and tight rolled, acid washed jeans.



Kermit's Grandpa's golfing buddy.



Somebody didn't care one bit for this poor little blue bear.

We had an amazing picnic of one of our favorites, Shrimp and Orzo salad, Tomato and Tuscan Bread salad, (both Ina recipe's which can be found on the food network's website.) Dessert was Amanda's famous Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Then came the movie. No previews, no Coke or popcorn commercials, just straight to it. There was a little getting used to the sound, you tune in your radio to hear it, but there was a little buzz. The tiny bit of rust on the old metal screen just added to the cool factor, but the picture was a little blurry on top of that, but then that might have been our dirty windshield. I think it made us all cry. My Sister's Keeper is the story of a family working through the horrible ordeal of a child's dying of cancer. Beautifully acted, gut wrenchingly sad, my kind of flick.

The highlight of the weekend was really being with great friends in perfect weather and laughing our collective butts off. Thank you, Lord. I don't know what we did to deserve this weekend, but I'll take it and some more, please.

Horseshow Time

As long as I live, late August into September will be forever carved into my mind as horse show time. I grew up going to the Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration and the Racking Horse Celebration every year from the time I was born. It takes me back to sparkling chrome horse trailers, the smell of fresh hay and sawdust, saddle soap and fried food, thousands of horses and people... glory days.

My school notebooks were full of horse drawings and my brain was fixed on daydreams of myself riding around the big ring on my horse with a blue ribbon and cheering fans. Since I've become an adult, I have missed the Celebration just a few times, but even when I'm not there, these memories are so powerful that I'm sure if I never went back, it would still be a benchmark on my brain's emotional calendar.

The anticipation of seeing friends, the competition, the late night barn parties, and the occasional behind the barn mischief was something like mainlining adrenaline to my ten year old brain. So much of who I am now was being formed in those dusty alleys between barns and in the prints of horse's hooves.

I immediately think of my Mamaw Nita Ann and Papaw Harold. Their preparations began months in advance. They always had their big brown and white Pace Arrow motor home stuffed to overflowing with food, show duds, bill caps advertising the names of horses and stables, jackets embroidered in our stable's colors and our names on the front, -all necessary items for a proper Celebration, and that's really only the beginning. Even the golf cart had to be loaded up on the back of a pick-up truck, usually without any of us suffering serious injury, but not always.



Where am I going with this? Well, I guess I'm just thinking about how much those times mean to me right now. And whatever effort went into making them seems trivial when compared to the treasure chest of memories I have today. Yea, we were all utterly exhausted when it was all over, but I would not change a single thing. Maybe the stress of it all contributed to my Mamaw's current failing health and Papaw's heart attack and five hip replacements. But if I could ask my Papaw in heaven right now if it was worth all that effort, I am sure I know exactly what he would say.

"Hell yea boy! Them were some of the best times of our life."

I Love Roller Coasters/Turning Art Into Money

Sorry for that repulsive picture of myself in that last post. What was I thinking!? I thought it was funny at the time, but now every time I check my blog I think it is less funny and more just scary.

Today I worked on my new horse show CD, Swingin' in the Saddle. I want to talk about what I do, and how I got to do it. I know so many musically talented people who have almost forgotten that part of who they are. In most school music settings, the obvious realistic options for making money in a music related field are, school music teacher, member of an orchestra, opera singer, hmm, that's about it as I remember.

That is not the real world. People need music in all kinds of places. And they will pay for it! You just have to find those places, and be able to deliver what they want. Here are just a few of the places I have been able to turn music into money: parties of every kind, church, theme parks, dinner theatre, piano bars, country clubs, weddings, funerals, and last but far from least, horse shows. I played my first horse show when I was maybe sixteen in my hometown of Arab, Alabama for the local Park and Recreation's yearly fundraiser. Now, almost twenty years later, I earn 90% of my income from playing horse shows all over the US. The other 10% comes from church work, parties, and other miscellaneous gigs.

I guess what I'm getting around to is, if you just listen only to what you learn in school, and aren't willing to do something that isn't perfectly laid out before you with step by step instructions, then chances are you will not make much money from music, or any of the creative arts for that matter. Do not hear me saying that I didn't learn a lot in school, I am saying that in my line of work, and probably plenty of others, school is just a starting point for your education. You become the Dean of Students when you get that diploma. You must always be learning.

Right now I am reading Andy Andrew's book, "The Noticer." I think the main point he makes in this book is a principle that has been working for me for quite a while now. Opportunities are everywhere, you simply have to pay attention and notice what is going on around you. You have to be flexible, identify the voices in your life that bring you up, and then you must listen closely.

I can name a short list of people who have mentored me and they are all voices that I still hear often. They are like Andrew's character named Jones. They noticed me, and I noticed them. Then God added his blessing and I am thankful for that.

If you are an artist of any sort, find a place to do your art. Find the people who respond to what you do. Notice those opportunities, and those people who are trying to guide you toward the path that God preordained for you long before you were born. Yea, it might feel a little like a roller coaster ride, but I LOVE roller coasters!

Dealing With Soreness, and Cake

Something that it seems nobody really talks about that much when talking about fitness and exercise is soreness. The fact is, there is quite a lot of pain involved in getting healthy, relatively speaking. That is perfectly normal, and it will not kill you.

Now as you continue to work your muscles, your body adapts. You will become more efficient at recovery. But there have been many nights that I wake up and am shocked at how hard it is to waddle to the bathroom because of the squats, lunges, box jumps, or whatever I did the day before, or even two days before! Climbing up the stairs to get into bed can feel more like scaling Mount Everest, and sitting down, particularly the descent, whew!

I have a motto, one of many, but this one I made up all on my own as best as I can remember. It is, "Life is hard, once you realize that, everything else gets easier." Basically, there is a corner that every person can choose to round. It is when you look around and notice that there is not a single person born into this world that escapes pain. We convince ourselves that ours is unique, somehow worse than other's, or that nobody would understand if they only knew how bad we really had it, but that is a bunch of bull. You are not alone in your pain. And you can withstand far more than you think.

So I have taken a lot of Ibuprofen in my life. Lately I have been going for aspirin instead because Evan, one of my Crossfit trainers, made the point that the very inflammation that Ibuprofen treats is important to building stronger muscles. I'm really simplifying what he actually said, but I think that is the long and short of it. I'm not saying you should pop a pill every time you have a little ache, I'm just sayin' sometimes you've gotta have something.

So if you want to see your body change, don't kid yourself. There is no getting around the soreness and pain. But I believe it is worth it. To me it is like this; do I want to suffer a bit now on my terms, or have my body break down on me because of under use and suffer later? I'll take my medicine now, thank you. When I can do something about it. I know there are no guarantees, but I'm putting my money on working hard for a strong, healthy body now rather than waiting to see what will become of my "temple" by coasting along.

Yea, I just ate a piece of cake. But I have not had dessert all weekend, and this thing has been sitting in there since Amanda made it on Thursday. I had some cake with ice cream. You just can't have it ALL the time. Make it the exception and not the rule. I'm not saying it will be easy, I am saying that it can be done.

I have heard that even a bad picture is better than no picture, so there you go. There is a picture with this post.

Crossfit Chronicles

Today I did something I haven't done before. On Saturdays, some of the really committed crossfitters go out to a local park and do insane workouts. I normally go to a weekly class where I am generally toward top of my class with regard to the amount of time I complete challenges and/or the weight I can lift. Today, however, I was solidly at the bottom of my class, but I still felt great. (Well, like really close to puking, gasping for air, and fire coursing through my legs great.)

At the risk of this blog becoming a little like an Andy Griffith episode where Opie, Andy, Barney or somebody always learns a lesson, there is a lesson to be gleaned from this. You gain strength and confidence from being with people not as strong as you, but you might gain even more from being with people who are much stronger than you in a particular area.

Our warm up was to run up a hill. Not a small one either. Then, the workout was to partner up, and sprint up that hill. At the top of the hill, you keel over and breathe very hard for three to five minutes, then walk back down that hill. I was with Matt and Mike this time. They smoked me, but they encouraged me and did everything they could to build my confidence and never point out my relative weakness.

Then I ran with Jason. I got off to a great start, a little ahead of him! But about halfway up, he breezed my ass like I was standing still. By the last ten yards, it would be a stretch to say I was running, but in my heart and mind, I was running like there was a bear on my heels.

Then, back at the bottom of the hill, you partner up again, pick up weights, from ten to thirty-five pound dumbbells in each hand, and run as hard as you can up that hill. This time I was with Jill. Now the ten pound weights were a hot commodity and they were gone when it came to be my turn, so I ran with twenty-fives against Jill, who had slightly lighter weights, but was ahead of me the entire time. Yea, I was totally beaten by a girl, but all I got was yells of praise and encouragement about how good I was doing.

You have to put yourself in an environment where you are challenged and encouraged if you want to succeed in anything. It teaches you how to act when you are on the other side and you have the opportunity to be patient and encourage someone who may not be as strong as you.

You have to look for opportunities to excel, to be great. You have to step up to the plate and take a swing and be ready for whatever happens. One thing is absolutely certain; you will never do it by settling for the status quo. You have to start somewhere.

Back to Basics

With all of the great produce that is in season right now, and having over half of a lean, local, organic, grass fed cow in our freezer, I've been thinking about food and health a lot. I have also felt a huge amount of energy and been so encouraged by my workouts at Crossfit Murfreesboro.
Link
Thank you, Evan Satterfield and David Branch.

That gets me to today's blog topic. I'd like to get back to the primary value of this blog as it relates to my passion for health and nutrition.

In the last few months, I have gained muscle and lost fat, but more than that, I am stronger and can do things that I couldn't do before. Now when you read that I did that; I can imagine many of you saying to yourselves, "Whoopty doo, good for you," with a proper amount of sarcasm. But, when it's you, it is so much different. When you can walk up the stairs and not be winded, when you can fit into your clothes better, when you see a different person in the mirror, it changes everything.

I cannot give enough emphasis to the value of a healthy lifestyle that includes strenuous exercise and smart eating choices. I want to scream: "Do not believe that you are incapable of being fit!" That is a lie from the devil that will rob you of the best version of yourself. You may not be a lanky supermodel, but you can always improve.

When I was in Junior High School, I was chubby. I wore "huskies." Is that supposed to make a kid feel better? Husky!? I say why not call em' what they are. They're for fat kids! In my house, like most houses, where I grew up, we ate pretty much whatever we wanted. Even if that meant picking up a Snickers, or a bag of greasy chips for an after school snack. If we wanted it, we ate it.

In their defense, my parent's parents were close enough to poverty to remember true hunger, and that memory runs deep enough to pass down for generations. Now, except in rare situations, in the USA, even the poor have enough food to eat, and machines now do much of the physical labor that once kept us healthy. We equate food with so many things besides what it is: fuel. We exchange it for comfort, love, attention, celebration, mourning, reward, entertainment, or a remedy for boredom. You can fill in the blank.

We have to call a spade a spade here. Something has to change, or the next generation will go right on eating themselves to death the way we are! If we don't change, we are sure to lose the very thing we trying to gain when we choose to indulge in crap, and that is, quality of life.

Now, I still have room to improve, but I am pretty fit. And I know that when my health improves, my productivity in every other area of life improves, not to mention that I'm able to have more fun because I have more energy!

So are those extra 20, 30, 50 or more pounds you have by not exercising and choosing bad foods really adding to your quality of life? Are you ready for your heart bypass surgery or diabetes diagnosis?

I really mean for this to be inflammatory. I want you to think. I want you to know that eating healthy and exercising can be much more satisfying than the alternative. It takes work. Basically, it takes stepping out of your comfort zone into the scary unknown. Is that really so bad though? What we fear is almost always worse in our imagination than it is in reality. Start somewhere.

In the photo my Mamma and I are grabbing an opportunity to sweat a little at our family's Fourth of July bash. I am so proud of my Mamma. She has been working out at her local gym, while balancing a full time job and caring for my Mammaw. And she is seeing results.