Ornette Coleman - The Shape of Jazz to Come (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I'm not a big fan of avant-garde jazz so this album doesn't do much for me.

R.E.M. - Automatic For the People (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album is a bit too paced and musically heavy handed for me. It's an interesting sound and when it works it works very well, but on too many of the songs the heavy strings, strong keyboards, and strumming guitar is all a bit much. Songs like "Drive" stand out because they are able to pull off this orchestral sound, but still keep a sense of life and melody structured around Michael Stipe's voice.

Jay-Z - Reasonable Doubt (Top 500 Countdown Update)

A throw away. Sad to know that his won out over Nas for setting the trend in the late 90's and turning Jay-Z into a multi-millionaire. His raps are too muddled and juvenile, and the beats just don't do anything to make the lyrics or the sound stand out.

David Bowie - Low (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Interesting album, but way to experimental for me. The funny thing about Bowie for me so far is that he has a nice handle on creating good melodies. The trick is bringing the experimental in enough to fully develop those melodies and lyrics to make a strong song and strong album.

Bruce Springsteen - The River (Top 500 Countdown Update)

The River is a tough album to place. As much as I like the songs on the album it has a very disjointed feeling. A good example of this is with the songs "The River" followed by "Point Blank" followed by "Cadillac Ranch" followed by "I'm a Rocker." Each of these songs are very good. "The River" and "Point Blank" are very complimentary of each other as are "Cadillac Ranch" and "I'm a Rocker," but together it just doesn't seem to work. Just another example of how hard it is to make a double album. All in all The River feels like a transitional album. It's a blend of Darkness on the Edge of Town, Nebraska, and Born in the USA. Those albums stand much better on their own than this album does trying to represent all three.

Otis Redding - The Otis Redding Dictionary of Soul (Top 500 Countdown Update)

The energy that is Live in Europe is not here in this studio recording. I think what I learned listening to this album is that I'm not a big Otis Redding fan. If he gets the right grip on a song I'm not sure anyone can do it better, but his harsh bluesy style doesn't work for me consistently on an album. I prefer the more pop R&B sound of Sam and Dave to Redding.

Best Movie Series #1

At some point in my career as a student at the University of Kentucky I took a great class on Japanese film. As part of this class we watched a trilogy made between 1954-1956 best known in the United States as Samurai I, II, and III. The trilogy tells the story of Miyamoto Musashi and is based on the novel by Eiji Yoshikawa Musashi.

Musashi is a more than legendary character in Japanese history and so it is fitting that he is played in this series by the legendary Japanese actor Toshiro Mifune. The three movies are titled Miyamoto Musashi, Duel at Ichijoji Temple, and Ganryu Island Duel. They are each wonderful on their own, but tie together very nicely to tell a very complete story. Mifune is the main force behind this movie as he controls the screen every second he is on it, but he also has a very good supporting cast especially Ken Takakura playing Sasaki Kojiro. The women in the movie are the only question mark as they are all madly in love with Musashi and are generally either evil or weak and do a lot of crying. But if you like westerns and samurai movies this is a must see.

Triathlon #2

Yeah, I did another triathlon! This triathlon was a bit tougher. It took place at Lake Cammack in Burlington. Since the last triathlon, I have really been working on my swimming and biking. I have been swimming 750 meters every day at the pool and doing a long bike 3 times a week. I have cut back on running since the other two sports have been much more difficult.

This week, I truthfully haven't been feeling like myself. I don't know if it was the heat or a stomach bug, but going into this triathlon I felt more nervous about doing it than the last one. I had some stomach cramps this morning, so I wondered how I would do.


I biked the triathlon course over the past two weeks a total of four times which was a huge plus because I knew what to expect and when to expect it. I think this really helped because I biked the absolute fastest I've ever ridden on my bike- I averaged a 16.2 mph over 15 miles which was really something for me.


I was pretty determined to do better on the bike portion since I struggled in the swimming part. The buoys were small in comparison to the last triathlon and the course seemed trickier. It was a rectangle course and the buoys were hard to see after a while. Whereas in the last triathlon, it was a straight shot up and back.

The weather this morning was really humid and not even to the first buoy, my goggles fogged up and I really had a hard time seeing anything. This got me panicky and out of my groove with swimming. I was happy to get out of the water and onto my bike. Matthew saw that as I started, I was swimming angled to the left. I felt this as I was swimming.

The biking went much better. I stayed in a big gear as much as I could and the transition went well into the running. The running course was a trail run...soggy, squishy and very narrow with quick little hills spread here and there. Not my favorite running course at all, and I guess you could tell because my time was slower than in the first one.

All in all, the best part was seeing Matthew there rooting me on and crossing the finish line and of course coming home and taking a really long and hot shower.

Yeah! The Finish LINE!

After doing this triathlon, I am excited about training for the next one. I want to work more on my swimming strokes, running pace and get out more and more and bike but I think that's it for me this season for triathlons. The next big thing coming up will be a 1/2 marathon in November at Pinehurst, NC for the annual turkey trot. This is a really nice race, some hills but overall a good, fun run.

Best Movie Series #2

This trilogy spans 19 years in the making. The first movie in this series was writer/director James Cameron's first big breakthrough. Now I just wish he would get back to making movies instead of documentaries about the Titanic.

The Terminator was released in 1984, followed by Terminator 2: Judgment Day seven years later, then it was 12 years before the final movie Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. There are rumors of a Terminator 4 but I hope it isn't true, because the series to me ended perfectly with the last installment.

These movies are all excellent on their own, and together they tie together an odd twisted futuristic tale. I don't know that I have ever sat in a theater and been happier with a movie than I was with Terminator 3. Even without Cameron doing the directing it still had that same energy, that same feel as the other two with good acting just like the first two movies. But the best part was how it brought the entire story to a nice close, leaving us with a nice perfect loop.

This series has everything, action, romance, a weird concept of time it's all wonderful. I can't say enough about the acting in all three movies. One thing that is good about Cameron, he understands the importance of moving the movie along with good pace and action, but he also knows how to get good acting out of everyone involved. Terminator 2 could have been very bad as it revolves around a kid, but it works because the kid is good.

Like all good movie series the first movie is the cornerstone in the Terminator trilogy. It is an exceptionally good movie that I could watch time and time again.

Whitney Houston - Whitney Houston (Top 500 Countdown Update)

All the songs that you've heard are the only good songs on the album. The other stuff is real pop throw away junk that wasn't good enough to be released as a single. I was never a huge Whitney Houston fan though I really like the song "Saving All My Love For You." It is really the only song on the album that has any real emotion to it for me. The other songs, even the popular singles just don't really seem to have any guts to them. I have to say I'm a bit disappointed as I was hoping there would be a few more songs like "Saving All My Love For You" that never got released. Oh well.

Willie Nelson - Stardust (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Another great rainy Sunday album. A very pretty album with wonderful arrangements the uniqueness is lost on me 30 years later. The problem is that though Nelson is a good singer he's a better songwriter and so he's playing to his weakness on this album. The arrangements are wonderful and he pulls off the songs because of his expressive voice, but there is no real energy to the songs, no grab you moments of emotion or feeling. The arrangements are certainly timeless and that is why it is wonderful to hear in a romantic comedy or on a rainy Sunday afternoon laying around taking a nap with your dog and wife, but not the first album I'm going to grab any other time.

The Grateful Dead - American Beauty (Top 500 Countdown Update)

The Dead followed Workingman's Dead with American Beauty. It continued down the same lines of a folk, bluegrass, rock sound, but this album was much more polished and focused. To me this is the failure of the album. It lost the edge that Workingman's Dead had, and so turns into a slow pretty sounding album of no real interest.

Crosby, Stills & Nash - Crosby, Stills & Nash (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I don't have anything against Crosby, Stills & Nash, but man I'm sleepy after sitting through this album. The album is consistent and nice to listen to, but it just drags along for me.

Tracy Chapman - Tracy Chapman (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Drop "Behind the Wall" and you may have one of the ten best albums of all time. Why is the album so good? Listen to the album now almost 20 years later and the music sounds fresh, the lyrics are still relevant. The album is that good because Chapman has a wonderful voice and the arrangements compliment her voice and lyrics perfectly. Ignoring "Behind the Wall" every song has a good pop melody that is easy to listen to and easy to remember.

The problem with such a good album is that it is almost impossible to follow up. It is hard enough to write such wonderful lyrics let alone mix them with such wonderful arrangements and melodies. This album may have been a bit overplayed in its time, but it deserved the attention it got and it has held up extremely well over time.

The Grateful Dead - Workingman's Dead (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Take out "Cumberland Blues" and "Easy Wind" and you have a fantastic album. With them you have a very good album. These songs are fine on there own, but they just don't seem to fit in with the rest of the album. "Casey Jones" is a bit off as well, but it is such a catchy song it's hard to label it as being a negative influence. I've never listened to the Dead before this countdown except for what I've heard here and there. Where Anthem of the Sun lacked a pop sense this album has it in spades and it really works for me. I'm not sure who influenced Wilco, but I'm guessing they are big fans of this album and I am as well.

Ray Charles - The Genius of Ray Charles (Top 500 Countdown Update)

A good album to throw on for a rainy Sunday. This is the first Ray Charles album I've ever listened to so I didn't really know what to expect. Turns out it sounds about like what I expected. Good vocals, tight arrangements with an odd mix of jazz and soul that works quite well. For the day I'm supposing this was pop, but today I would think of it as vocal jazz in the same way we think of Dinah Washington. I would prefer Washington to Charles, but she's tough competition. I'm not sure what else to say about the album. There was no song that really grabbed me, no moment where I felt really drawn into the recording, for me it was a bit flat. Maybe that's because I've heard so much Ray Charles played in so many Hollywood romantic comedies it just takes away the freshness and wonder of it all.

Blood Sweat and Tears - Child is Father to the Man (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album has not aged very well. It sounds very dated and I don't think that's a good thing. I can understand it being selected for the list because the sound became popular and copied (can you say Chicago), but to me the album is rather weak and a bit too experimental. It sits high up in the list, 264, for an album that is more influential than good.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Cosmo's Factory (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I'm not a huge fan of CCR's sound, but this album has a nice overall feel and a couple of strong songs, but in the end it just doesn't do much for me. Any album that contains an 11 minute song is probably going to be on the outs with me.

Best Movie Series #3

In 1989 my roommate and I got mixed up in the US comic book rebirth. One of the books that got printed during this time was an English version of the graphic series Lone Wolf and Cub originally done in Japan in 1970. Years later there was a rebirth of Samurai movies and many movies that had never been released in the US were released. One series released during this time was a series made starting in 1972 based on the Lone Wolf and Cub graphic series. As soon as I saw that these existed I wanted to see them and I was not disappointed, they are fantastic.

There are six films in the series: Sword of Vengeance, Baby Cart At the River Styx, Baby Cart to Hades, Baby Cart in Peril, Baby Cart in the Land of Demons, and White Heaven In Hell. These movies have fantastic cinematography, fantastic musical scores (very 70's), are extremely violent (definitely not for kids), and wonderfully acted and directed. There is definitely nothing bad to say about these movies, though they are certainly not for everyone.

I think a lot of times what is hard in movie adaptations is to capture the spirit of the novel. This movie series captures it perfectly. The vileness of the Yagyu clan, the brilliance and misery of Ogami Itto, and the innocence of his child. I cannot recommend this series enough, but again warn against the extreme violence.

Eye Candy

This week, I went to the Ackland Art Museum and saw an amazing exhibit, Up Close & Personal, portraits of the artist from Chuck Close to Edward Hopper to Marc Chagall, you get to see different portraits of artists and their spaces.

I saw another exhibit at the Alamance Arts Council here in Graham NC. The exhibit called, the Plein-air Exhibition. The Alamance Arts Council sponsored a plein-air artists's paint out, an opportunity for outdorr painters to paint as a group in the area. These artists and their work are shown at this exhibition. It is really something- the landscapes range from farms, wineries to mountain-tops.

The Who - Quadrophenia (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Starting with "The Real Me" and ending with "Love, Reign O'er Me" it is hard not to love this album. As I've said before I'm not a huge fan of double albums, and in the end that is my main problem with this album. Side 2 drags a bit and the songs are a bit long on side 4. In other words 3/4 of the album is fantastic, but that other 1/4 drags the album down a bit.

Still this is possibly the greatest double album and greatest concept album ever made. Keith Moon and John Entwistle musically dominate this album with Roger Daltrey's voice never sounding better. Pete Townshend also is at his best with his skill at production. All in all this is my favorite Who album and one of my favorite albums of all time.

One thing that makes The Who so unique is how they can be so overwhelming with their sound and yet offer a song with such a strong melody and with such great cohesion that you are not overwhelmed but instead are drawn in to be a part of the song. This album exemplifies this especially on "The Real Me" and "Love, Reign O'er Me." Townshend may be a lunatic, but he had a sense for blending a group of overpowering artists together in a way that worked like no one before or since.

Paul Simon - There Goes Rhymin' Simon (Top 500 Countdown Update)

"Kodachrome" starts this album off with a bang and really pulls you in, but that feeling is lost over the next 8 songs until you get to "Loves Me Like a Rock." It's not just that I know these songs, but that these songs are that much better than the rest of the album. There are a few other tunes that grabbed my ear like "Learn How to Fall," but they tend to strike a strong chord with older Simon and Garfunkel stuff, too strong if you know what I mean.

The Jesus and Mary Chain - Psychocandy (Top 500 Countdown Update)

At a certain time in my life I would have really gotten into this album, but as it is now it doesn't hold a lot for me. I still would vote for listening to "Green Mind" by Dinosaur Junior over "Psychocandy." Why? Well if you've been reading my entries about this countdown you can probably guess it. That album really takes this sound to its pop limits, at least better than any album of the type I've heard.

There are some really nice moments on "Psychocandy," but all in all it is a bit too experimental for me.

Best Movie Series #4

In 1977 I sat in a movie theater in downtown Paducah and saw the most amazing movie I had ever seen. I will never have a movie experience like that again, none of us will. There ended up being 6 movies in the Star Wars series, three of them very good movies. The six in order of story are "Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace", "Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones", "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith", "Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope", "Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back", and "Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi".

"Revenge of the Sith" helped to put this series into the top five. I had been so disappointed with episodes I and II, but III made up for them. But this series is number four on the list for two reasons. Episode IV was the most amazing thing I had ever seen on screen. I will never forget the experience of seeing that movie for the first time. Episode V was even better. My dad and I still talk about those walking tanks, they were fantastic.

Like the Indiana Jones series this series is known to everyone and everyone has seen them, but that doesn't mean they are not very good movies.

The Rolling Stones - Some Girls (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album may have been a bright light on the Stones poor 70's efforts, but that doesn't mean it deserves a place in the top 500 countdown. No doubt "Miss You" is a great song as is "Beast of Burden", but the album is not worth putting on for any of the other tracks.

Beach Boys - Today! (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Maybe the lyrics are brilliant, but I'll never know. I just can't get past the sound of the Beach Boys. I really don't enjoy the sound of the Beach Boys. That said this album falls way down the list for me.

Smokey Robinson and the Miracles - Going to a Go-Go (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Take out the first three songs, "The Tracks of My Tears", "Going to a Go-Go", and "Ooo Baby Baby" and you have a fairly mediocre r&b album. The album is very slow and not very entertaining.

LaBelle - Nightbirds (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album has some really good funk tunes that stand out. Songs like "Lady Marmelade", "What Can I Do For You", "Somebody Somewhere", "Are You Lonely?", "Space Children", and "Don't Bring Me Down". That's more than half of the album while the other bit is ballad, r&b, pop and not all that great at that. The good funk is stacked mostly on the first side of the album and so the energy of the album really starts to drag as the album goes on. The bass work is fantastic on the album and is definitely worth giving a listen to though I can't say I would pick this out to listen to more than once in a blue moon.

Eminem - The Slim Shady LP (Top 500 Countdown Update)

One thing you can say about Eminem is that he is consistent. He carries a very similar feel and sound to all of his albums. This album is very similar to The Marshall Mathers LP. These two albums combined make up the peak of what he's done, but both are still a little too over the top for me.

David Bowie - Aladdin Sane (Top 500 Countdown Update)

I'm not a big fan of the sound that Bowie is going for on this album, though I will say he pulls it off much better than Meatloaf. All in all it's not my favorite and I wouldn't pick it up to put on the turntable, though I really did like the song "Lady Grinning Soul".

Mary J. Blige - My Life (Top 500 Countdown Update)

Her voice is a bit shakey, but the beats, the sound, her singing are all strong. My only problem with the album is that it drags a bit. Certainly not necessary to have 17 tracks. They could easily have cut songs like "Don't Go" which only manage to show the limits of her voice, and had a much tighter, much better album.

Best Movie Series #5

So what is a movie series? Well it could be a trilogy like Lord of the Rings or it could be a series of sequels like Police Academy. When you start to think about it there are a lot of these. In fact there are currently three of these I can think of that I have interest in: Spiderman, Harry Potter, and Batman. Since they aren't completed series they can't be counted for this countdown.

The number five movie series in my countdown is the Indiana Jones series. This series consists of three movies: Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade. Although there has been talk of a fourth movie for years it has been 17 years since the last movie so I'm saying this series is pretty complete for now.

Let's face it this series is carried by the first movie which is one of the greatest movies of all time. Dad had been reading about this movie coming out and couldn't wait to be there for opening night. So there my dad, my brother, and I sat on opening night and we were all completely hooked with the opening action sequence. We all know how great this movie is, it's just fantastic.

The second movie is fairly weak with the introduction of a kid and a poor character played by Kate Capshaw. It was also a bit too violent for me at the time. I know that my dad loves the opening scene to this movie as does Margaret so I'm not sure how much weight that carries for them but it doesn't do much for me. This movie is one reason why Indiana Jones is number five on this list.

The third movie was a great return to what made the first movie fun. It brings back characters that we enjoyed from the first and expands their role as well as introducing Indiana's father played by Sean Connery which gives us some interesting insight into Indiana himself. This movie is really good, especially for the third movie in a series. Drop the second movie and this series would potentially rank higher than it does in the list.

Stock Option Backdating

OK I've heard this mentioned on the news but have never understand what stock option backdating meant. Luckily for me Marketplace is there to explain it for me and by none other than my favorite Allan Sloan.

Horace Mann Scholarship Winner

Margaret has been considering going back to school to work on a PhD in education. Her major concern has been the cost. Well she set out to see if there were any scholarships out there for teachers and she found one sponsored by the Horace Mann Insurance company. She applied and she won! Check out the write up at Horace Mann's web site.

Random

This week I witnessed something completely random and not in a good way: a motorist trying to cause an accident just so he could get out and yell profanity. This shouldn't have bothered me all day but it did and it got me thinking: what's going on with this person to make them react that way?

And then I found this website and this is my response to that really violent act of human nature- counteracting it with random acts of kindness. Go see this site and try it.

Eating with the Dunns

Here's another recipe we found while reading Danny Dunn.

Chocolate Fudge Cake Cookies

2/3 cup macadamia nuts, coarsely chopped

1 pkg chocolate fudge or devil’s food cake mix

1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted

¼ cup sour cream

1 egg

1 cup white chocolate, coarsely chopped

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.Place nuts onto ungreased 15x10x1-inch jelly roll pan. Bake for 7 to 10 minutes or until lightly toasted.Combine cake mix, butter, sour cream, and egg in large bowl. Beat at low speed for 1 minute, scraping bowl often. Increase speed to medium; beat 1 minute (dough will be thick). Stir in white chocolate and toasted macadamia nuts by hand.Drop dough by level tablespoonfuls, 2 inches apart, onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes or until set. Let stand 2 minutes; remove from cookie sheets.

This I Believe

If you have never heard it before you should check out what This I Believe is all about. Ever since I first heard one of these read on NPR I've been thinking of submitting one myself. I never expect it will be chosen to be read, but I'm hopeful it will end up in the archives.

Here is my essay as submitted to This I Believe.


I believe in libraries. I remember spending hours during the week at the public library as a kid with my brother and mother, and on the weekend with my brother and dad. Dad would sit and read the Wall Street Journal or Barrons while my brother and I would read or research anything we wanted about sports, storms, code-breaking, or fiction. It was always a comfortable and inviting place with a friendly, helpful staff.

In high school I went to the library to get away from everything. I could get away from home and friends, and just sit and study, or read. In college it was a place to meet friends and study, to work, or to escape into the minds of all of the great thinkers and writers throughout history. Today the library is a place where I look for books on tape to listen to while I’m driving to work, or to check my email when I’m out of town, or to find out what’s happening in my community.

The great thing about libraries is that what they offer has really never changed. They still offer a friendly and helpful atmosphere in which to learn. Sure now they have computers with internet access and online databases for searching full text magazine articles, but that’s the beauty of libraries. They have always brought people from all classes, from all geographical settings together in their ability to get access to information and learn.

Our libraries connect us to the outside world, to our own communities and government in ways that without them would never exist. Say you’re a high school kid in Nebo, North Carolina and you need to research the Taliban for a school paper. Well thanks to your local library you have full text access to every major newspaper and magazine in the country. You can even get books brought in from other libraries all over the world to help out if needed. What if you want to research a government housing project that went up in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1976. No problem, your library can get you all the government documents related to that.

Libraries play a very important role in how our country develops because they provide people with an opportunity to learn and educate and know about their community and government. Libraries have helped to broker the age of the internet by providing access, training, and creating a level of expectation in reliability and searchability of data. And libraries keep our governments’ activities open and free for its citizens to access and study. Libraries are not just the building sitting in downtown. They represent so much more for our society and culture. I believe in libraries and I hope that when you walk into your library in Needles, California you’ll remember that one day a few years back someone from Graham, North Carolina sat in there and was able to email friends, check maps for directions and just relax for a few minutes on a long drive.

Barry White - Can't Get Enough (Top 500 Countdown Update)

This album starts with an instrumental that really drew me in and made me excited to hear the album. From there it was all downhill. I'm not a huge fan of White's style I found and the music is a bit simplistic and dull.

The Cars - The Cars (Top 500 Countdown Update)

If you had come to me with this album 6 months ago I'm not sure I would have cared that much for it, but after doing this countdown I have a new appreciation for it.

What works so well on this album is the mix of new wave, rock and pop. The opening three songs "Good Times Roll", "My Best Friend's Girl", and "Just What I Needed" all have a nice funky new wave sound, but have great catchy beats and lyrics. The album is pretty tight and never drifts too far from the pop sense that makes those opening three songs so strong and also never wavers too far away from the new wave edge that makes their sound so unique. Later on the album we get "You're All I've Got Tonight" and "Moving In Stereo". This makes for a 9 song album with 5 outstanding songs, 3 good songs and 1 that is a throw away. That's pretty good, much better than the average.

I have new respect for The Cars after listening to this album and thinking of where they fit in with other bands around this time. The nice thing about this album is that it is a good album not just an important album.

NetLibrary Rocks

Have you heard about NetLibrary? I love reading and I love listening to books on tape as I drive and work in the yard. NetLibrary is a division of OCLC Online Computer Library Center, Inc and allows for library patrons to download books, tons and tons of books. You need an MP3 player to listen to the audiofiles. It's great for libraries because smaller libraries that may not have the same access as bigger and more established libraries. I like it because I get to download different kinds of books that my local library doesn't have. Check it out at the above website or ask your local library about it.

Eat and Run

Here are some really good free websites that I have been using more and more lately. The first one is all about running and anything to do with training. It's through Runner's World Magazine and offers advice on nutrition and training guides. If you want to train for a race, you just provide some basic information like. What distance are you training for? How many miles a week do you train now? How hard do you want to train? After you submit answers, you get a specialized training guide for your race. The site is really terrific because it provides information on nutrition and more. Check it out here.

Another site that is really good and free is FitDay. This a free nutrition guide that tracks your exercise and fitness goals. You input calories eaten and excerise done for the day and it gives you a series of reports, charting your progress. By adding information about my diet, I realized I was really low on protein. Since I cut tofu in my diet, I hadn't really replaced in with anything. I started eating more nuts, egg whites and beans. You won't be disappointed, try it.

First Triathlon

Today I did my first triathlon and what a thrill! The triathlon was at Lake Crabtree in Morrisville, NC. I was so nervous this morning. We had to pick up materials by 6:30 a.m.
So with a 40 minute drive to get to Morrisville this morning, I woke up at 4:30 am, walked PD and ate 2 bananas and a glass of gatorade for breakfast.

By the time we arrived at Lake Crabtree, I was all nerves. I was so excited and nervous all in one. Matthew was calm, cool and collected and got the bike all set up and ready to go at my assigned spot.


The group who organized the triathlon did a fantastic job with organizing everything. I had my own bike spot, well marked with my number on it. After you come out of the water, you are disoriented so having a well marked spot was a huge help. There was a guy next to me who said to count the posts, and notice the color tent (green tent) that was where my bike was which was another help after coming out of the swim.



I was in the age 30-34 group, we were the 8th group to start. Matthew stayed right there with me before the swim began. I was very nervous about swimming in a lake- I've never swam in a lake before and didn't know what to expect. All of my training for this triathlon was done in the pool and one of Matthew's friends at work who had done this race the year before said the water was very dirty. So, yeah, I was really nervous and from where we were, it looked like a long way to swim. Then the annoucer sounded 5, 4, 3, 2, 1


I think my adrenaline carried me through the first half of the swim, I alternated between the crawl and the breast stroke because I wanted to make sure that I wasn't steering off course. I've heard that the swimming can be hard but on top of that people easily get off course and have to do more work than necessary. I didn't want that to happen, so alternating worked out well although I think it would have been easier to swim all crawl. I also looked to my left while I was swimming and paced myself accoring to another swimmer who seemed to be swimming parallel to me. This worked out well, because she was going straight and in the right direction. Every so often I would go into the breast stroke to make sure I was on course. I felt panicky at times because I didn't think I was moving at all. In the pool, you know you're moving because you reach the end of the lane, but in a lake you can't really guage your distance all too well. So then came the end of the swimming. I could see Matthew waiting there. As soon as I got up, I gave him a big smile and jogged to the area where my bike was.



I was really disoriented and wet, so I counted the posts and looked at the numbers and found my bike. I wore a great outfit that did a great job in the water- 3 pieces altogether a jog swim bra, a swim shirt and bike/swim shorts. I put my running shirt on that had my number and got my helmet on and was off. I didn't even take time to wipe my feet off. I threw my socks on along with my running sneakers. No clips? I don't use foot clips anymore. Two years ago, I had a horrible bike wreck involving clips and decided I'm just not coordinated enough to use them. Hey we all have our strengths and clips aren't one of mine.



Back to the biking...I took out a packet of electrolyte chews and headed to the area to bike. I got the package open and held them in my hand as I started riding. I ate only 3 since I dropped the packet at mile 4, but this turned out to be fine. The bike was tough- 3 really big hills and my bike was having trouble shifting into different gears. All was good though, and when I saw Matthew at mile 14, I knew it was all good. I felt okay going up the hills and riding in general.
Great to see Matthew.



Then I finished the bike ride and tore off running. There was Matthew with a big smile on his face that got me going that first mile. The course was twisty - not hilly but winding. I went slow the first mile and then the second mile I kicked it up and ran faster. The third mile, I slowed down but then went fast once I saw Matthew and the finish line. And then it was over.



I really loved it. It felt great to do it! After that, I changed and we went to one of my favorite places- Sweet Tomatoes.

Eating With the Dunns

Toward the end of Danny Dunn Invisible Boy they are sitting around the dining room table late at night and holding a discussion over coffee and blueberry muffins.


Blueberry Muffins

1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups blueberries
sugar, for sprinkling tops of muffins


1. Grease 12 cup muffin pan.
2. Preheat oven to 375.
3. In large bowl with mixer at medium speed, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
4. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. Combine flour, baking powder and salt.
6. Add alternately to creamed mixture with milk and vanilla.
7. Crush 1/2 cup berries and add to batter.
8. Fold remaining berries into batter and spoon into muffin pan.
9. Sprinkle with sugar.
10. Bake 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
11. Cool in pan 5 minutes and turn onto wire rack.

Frills or No Frills?

This morning I went to one of my favorite places to do a run, Bolin Creek, in Chapel Hill, NC. I like doing a 3 mile run and then slipping my rollerblades on since the surface is paved, it makes for nice rollerblading.

Since I went pretty early this morning, the sun was just coming out and after my run, I put my MP3 player on and went for a spin. Music sounds so different when you're skating. I felt like I was flying as I listened to River by Joni Mitchell and skated in the park.

You all know what no frills are? I remember growing up and we used to buy everything no frills. nothing fancy, nothing to do . You can find a good definition of no frills here.

So, what are some of the frills in your life?

They can be anything, like my experience today skating in the park and seeing the sun. Sounds hokey? But really, when was your last frill?

My life is so rich with such wonderful things, people I love and things...just want to honor the frills today.