Weekly Words To Inspire

This is the last full weekend of August. Kids are starting back to school. Football has begun. Fantasy teams have been drafted. Summer is coming to a close. I feel, for me, it has been another successful summer.
I was lucky enough to run the "Color Me Rad' race on Saturday with a great group of girls.  It was a fun run where color is thrown on you.  I've never taken such a colorful shower! I highly recommend a color run if one is near you.  

Have a marvelous week!


Come to the edge, he said. They said : We are afraid. Come to the edge, he said.  They came. He pushed them and they flew.
- Guillaume Apollinaire

Confront the dark parts of yourself, and work to banish them with illumination and forgiveness.  You willingness to wrestle with your demons will cause your angels to sing. Use the pain as fuel, as a reminder of your strength.  August Wilson  It takes more courage to reveal insecurities than to hide them, more strength to relate to people than to dominate them, more 'manhood' to abide by thought-out principles rather than blind reflex.  Toughness is in the soul and spirit, not in muscles and an immature mind. Alex Karras Our dependency makes slaves out of us, especially if this dependency is a dependency of our self-esteem.  If you need encouragement, praise, pats on the back from everybody, then you make everybody your judge. - Unknown For a good friend who recently delivered a baby boy... Birth is the sudden opening of a window, through which you look out upon a stupendous prospect. For what has happened? A miracle. You have exchanged nothing for the possibility of everything. William MacNeile Dixon Take it easy.

Maybe this'll be my year

Train has a song on their new album called 'Maybe this'll be my year.' I love it.

So I've been MIA, not for bad reasons, but for excellent reasons!

June was pretty subduded...
Big thing was the Lady Antebellum concert. I've realized I'm a concert snob. Darius Rucker is AWESOME live. Go see him. Lady A, I wouldn't waste my time..
But this is how I roll...

July was filled with fun!

Started out completing a The Whiskey Rebellion 5k...

Then I was LUCKY enough to attend back-to-back Dave Matthews concerts. He is a must see. Even if you are not a fan of his music... His live performance is something else. I was "skilled" enough to capture this photo. I believe that this captures the feelings of a DMB concert...

After DMB, I woke up at 5 in the morning and headed to the airport to fly out to LA! 

It was a blast... Here are my favs..

After I took this photo, I headed up the trail behind the Hollywood sign, in my 5 fingers. AAWWWEESOOMMEE.

I visited the Rose Bowl in Pasadena!

Hiked up an intense trail. Best views. Highly recommend it for anyone who wants to be adventours. This was not from the top of the trail, but man... The views were breathe taking.

BING CROSBY. Nothing else needs to be said. 

My 5 fingers entering the Pacific Ocean.

As soon as I got off the plan, literally, a half hour later, I was at the venue to see Toby Keith. It was a great show. It's been great to see how Toby has improved over the years.

 Saturday I slept in for a minute, then headed out to meet some friends to participate in the "Ruckus." I was tired and jet lagged, but It was an awesome experience. I can't wait to do it again! (Well, I've signed up for another mud run on November 3 at Seven Springs.. the day before I leave for 2 weeks!)

Yup. We slide down that..

Now let's enter August... August was calm, until vacation.. which started with taking a trip to Bristol. 

Look at that... Literally in two places at once. Bristol is an awesome town.

I was there for the Gentleman of the Road Tour by Mumford and Sons.  I can't rave enough about this event. It was perfect from start to finish. If you ever have the chance to see Mumford and Sons, do it. They were incredible. 

12 hours later....

I was on my way to Myrtle Beach, SC!

I spent a week there and apparently didn't take many pictures... but I did take this..

Less than a month after touching the Pacific for the first time, back to the Atlantic...

However, I'm a West Coast girl now...

Less than 12 hours after returning from vacation I run ANOTHER 5k... The Flying Monkey 5k..

This one in honor of a friend who lost a battle with Lung Cancer..

 Here we are again.. finishing the race.. Man it felt good. Felt right...

And now... this Saturday I'm running the Color Me Rad race and then I'll take a break until November 3.. Mud on the Mountain. I. Can't. Wait.

So that's my life for the past 3 months. It's been crazy. But it's been amazing. I couldn't have asked for anything better!

This is my year.

Weekly Words To Inspire

A few weeks ago I was very lucky enough to go to back to back Dave Matthews Band concerts. DMB is one of my all time live performers. They are true entertainers, if you go to a concert expecting to hear the songs on the radio, you will be sadly broken-hearted. They are one of the last true popular jam bands. They are true artists and just incredible musicians. Dave does what he wants and how he wants, which is probably why their fans have stayed with them through all these years. I can honestly say, those two nights were just absolutely incredible. Since then, I haven't been able to stop listening to my "DMB" Pandora station. I challenge you to go back and listen to Dave and listen to the words that he says, the lyrics, they mean so much more than just words. In my opinion, he gives a very accurate description of the world we live in. The words for these week are taken from songs that move me. The meaning might be a little hidden, but think about them. I want to know your favorite DMB song!

Have a splendid week! 

"Standing here
The old man said to me,
"Long before these crowded streets
Here stood my dreaming tree."
Below it he would sit
For hours at a time
Now progress takes away
What forever took to find
And now he's falling hard
He feels the falling dark
How he longs to be
Beneath his dreaming tree"

- The Dreaming Tree

"And I'm blown away 

I can't believe that we would 
Lie in our graves 
Wondering if we had 
Spent our living days well 
I can't believe that we would 
Lie in our graves 
Dreaming of things that we 
Might have been "

- Lie in our Graves

"Then comes the day 
Staring at myself I turn to question me 
I wonder do I want the simple, simple life that I once lived in well 
Oh things were quiet then 
In a way they were the better days 
But now I am the proudest monkey you've ever seen "

- Proudest Monkey

"How can I turn away 

Brother/Sister go dancing 
Through my head 
Human as to human 
The future is no place 
To place your better days"

- Cry Freedom

"Take what you can from your dreams, make them as real as anything."

- Grey Street

"She thinks, we look at each other 

Wondering what the other is thinking
But we never say a thing
These crimes between us grow deeper"

- Ants Marching

My favorite Dave song is by far Pig... I could put the whole song in here, but I won't... but I will say this song has gotten me through a lot of tough times...

"From the dark side we can see a glow of something bright 
There's much more than we see here 
Don't burn the day away Is this not enough 
This blessed sip of life Is it not enough 
Staring down at the ground 
Oh then complain and pray more from above 
Greedy little pig 
Stop just watch your world trickle away 
Oh it's your problem now 
It'll all be dead and gone in a few short years "

"Wash out this tired notion That the best is yet to come 
But while you're dancing on the ground  Don't think of when you're gone 
Love love what more is there 
We need the light of love in here 
Don't beat your head  Dry your eyes 
Let the love in there 
There are bad times But that's ok 
Just look for love in it 

Don't burn the day away " 

"On this starry night staring into space 
And I must say 
I feel as small as dust 
Lying down here 
What point could there be troubling 
Head down wondering what will become of me 
Why concern we cannot see 
But no reason to abandon it 
Time is short but that's all right."

- Pig

Take it easy.