Successful 10 miler

I ran a ten mile race this past weekend in Minnesota. The race went wonderfully!

Trust me, it is difficult to wake up at 4 a.m. and prepare to run for an hour and a half. Sometimes I wonder why I do it. It seems crazy right? Why pay around $50 to run, when you can do that for free at home? I will say, it does give you a big sense of accomplishment.

Trust me, there are times when I want to quit during each run. In this race, mile 5-6 were awful! I kept weighing my options about dropping out, knowing I wouldn't, but I definitely thought about walking. I pushed passed it, and the rest of the race was smooth sailing.

I finished in 1:38:42. It was actually about a minute or so faster than I expected. I usually am a consistent 10 minute miler. The next race, is in December here in Baton Rouge. I'm gonna push for a faster time, but we'll see it is 13.1 miles.

Sitting this one out

Tomorrow is the first LSU home football game of the season. I'm sorry to say, I am sitting this one out.

As much as I love college football, I don't enjoy sitting in pouring rain all day. Our morning meteorologist said we could get a couple inches of rain tomorrow.

When my colleagues were talking about tailgating this morning in the newsroom, I did have a moments hesitation about my decision, but I think I'm going to opt for staying indoors.

Here's why, whatever football game I go to this season will be my first LSU game experience. So, I want it to be a good one. Funny how I've lived here a couple of years and haven't donned my purple and gold at a Death Valley.

I'm waiting for sunny skies so I can take in all the fun and food without having to wear rain gear.

Tiger Tailgating

This was my first year at the Taste of Tiger Tailgate. Boy have I been missing out. So much fun and so much food to eat.

For those of you who don't know, it's an event where thousands of tiger fans get together for some drinks, food, and music.

I ate sooo much food, you know where it's painful to breathe? Restaurants from all over the area offered samples, which is great, because I had never even heard of some of the restaurants.

I will definitely be making a trip to Cou-yons and Prejeans.

Now I am geared up for the real tiger tailgating. Games start in a week.

So far, so good!

Was anyone else concerned earlier this week about the hurricane forecast? Over the weekend, meteorologists were talking about three systems in the Atlantic.

Luckily, everything seems to be ok. T.S. Ana appears to have dried up, Claudette stayed east, and it seems that Bill will push up the east coast.

Alright, the "experts" are calling for 10 named storms. Four down, six to go. Let's hope they all stay out of the Gulf!

Talk about inspiration....

Every once in awhile, my job gives me get the privilege to see some really amazing things. Last week, I met a teenager who has more talent than I'll ever have.

This kid, from Beaumont, Texas, is an excellent drummer and he does it all with no arms! He uses sweat bands on his arms to hold the sticks. He's in his high school marching band and plays a mean snare. But, he has another challenge to overcome. He also has a prosthetic leg, yet he marches right along side his bandmates. His director told me, Tre Donte (that's his name) never complains and always pushes others to succeed.

He's definitely had to work for his success. Tre Donte said he practices two hours a night and at first he didn't even know how he'd be able to hang onto the sticks. He tried rope and bandanas, but it never worked.

This story made me think about all the things I've quit, because I thought they were too hard. My guitar is still sitting in my room with dust, same as my key board. My golf career lasted about a week. Maybe it's time I gave it all another go.

Living Green

Hope everyone had a good 4th of July and hopefully everyone stayed cool in that awful heat.

As we move into the dog days of summer, I'm hoping that my electric bill does not hit the $130 mark. My air conditioning is constantly on, this is south Louisiana after all.

I recently did a series of stories on people who've decided to adopt an earth friendly lifestyle.
After seeing their electric bills, I can honestly say that when I become a homeowner, green living will be the way I go.

One woman I spoke to installed solar panels a few months ago. I'm guessing it would typically cost upwards of $180 to run her home each month in the summer. She only paid 70 bucks on her bill. And here's the best part, she won't lose electricity if a storm knocks out power. That's enough to make me a believer! I don't know about you, but I was ready to pack my bags and move to a hotel after five days without power after Gustav.

And then there are the people who live in Louisiana System Built Homes. Basically, these houses are built in a factory, assembly line style. You're probably thinking modular home, but you're wrong! These houses can be built however you like. I'm talking two story, five bedroom, three baths. One homeowner runs his house on $130 bucks and he lives in a 3,300 square foot home! It definitely made me see that there is money to be saved by living green. And wouldn't we all like to have a little extra cash these days?

One Month Later

Has it really been a month since I've last posted? Where has the time gone? So many interesting things have happened and I wish I would have kept up on my blogging.

A quick recap...If you are ever out in Denham Springs, you will see one of the most unique animals on one farm.
A farmer out there breeds miniature longhorns. They look completely normal, just a third the size of a big longhorn and the farmer bred the animals himself. It's pretty neat.

I don't know about any of you, but this heat does not seem normal for this time of year in Louisiana. Triple digit feels like temperatures days in a row is not cool! I nearly pass out every time I take my dog Butters out for a walk.

Thursday, Michael Jackson passed away. It seems like everyone I know has some type of MJ memory. Mine is trying in vain to do the moon walk when I was a kid. I remember seeing him with his white socks and short pants just gliding backwards on stage. I wanted to dance just like him. I got the spin down, still can't do the moonwalk.