Well, we're off to see the Boss!! At 10 AM this morning tickets went on sale for Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band who will be playing here in St. Paul on November 2nd. Myself along with some friends (sans Julie) will be going to what will be another AWESOME concert I'm sure! His new CD (called "Magic") will hit the stores on October 2nd. Can't wait!
If you've never seen Bruce before I highly recommend it. He puts on an amazing show, especially with the E Street Band. His historic 4-hour marathon concerts have been reduced to about 3 to 3 1/2 hours, but the intensity and excitement are still intact. The band is tight and loud - definitely one of the best live acts ever. Keep your eyes here as I will surely be blogging on the highlights of the concert.
Friday, September 21, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
If April Showers Bring May Flowers...
On Sunday we held the 3rd annual German Dinner at Gasthof to benefit LLS. Each year the event has increased in size and this year we had over 400 guests and 300 items in the auction! All the TNT participants who took advantage of the event did a great job of selling tickets and getting items donated. We had well over $20,000 in auction items! Great job everyone!
We're still tallying the money but we know it will be another record year. We're flirting with the idea of having two of these events each year which would be a lot of work but we know we can come close to selling the place out each time. Everyone has such a great time at Gasthof and people who attended in prior years are always asking when the next one will be. It just keeps snowballing which is awesome!
I've been reading a book over the last few weeks that is a collection of war letters from U.S. soldiers from each of our wars, from the Civil War to Desert Storm. I find myself in awe of what these men and women endured and it makes me appreciate all the more the sacrifices they make. It's very humbling. Right now I'm reading letters written during WWII. There is usually some commentary between the letters to give you an idea of what was going on or what the letter is referring to, which really helps to put you in the right frame of mind. As I'm reading them I'll share with you any that really affect me.
**************************************************************
I found the historical tidbit below to be very interesting. Perhaps you will too. This is from a daily email I get from Bill Federer.
SEPTEMBER 16, 1620, according to the Gregorian Calendar, 102 Pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower.
The 66-day journey of 2,750 miles encountered storms so rough the beam supporting the main mast cracked and was propped back in place with an iron screw of a printer's press.
One youth, John Howland, was swept overboard by a freezing wave and rescued. His descendants include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Humphrey Bogart, Franklin D. Roosevelt and George W. Bush.
On the Pilgrims' voyage, a boy died, and a mother gave birth.
Intending to land in Virginia, they were blown off-course. Of their landing, Governor William Bradford wrote:
"Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element."
Though half died that first bitter winter, Governor William Bradford wrote:
"Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations...for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world."
We're still tallying the money but we know it will be another record year. We're flirting with the idea of having two of these events each year which would be a lot of work but we know we can come close to selling the place out each time. Everyone has such a great time at Gasthof and people who attended in prior years are always asking when the next one will be. It just keeps snowballing which is awesome!
I've been reading a book over the last few weeks that is a collection of war letters from U.S. soldiers from each of our wars, from the Civil War to Desert Storm. I find myself in awe of what these men and women endured and it makes me appreciate all the more the sacrifices they make. It's very humbling. Right now I'm reading letters written during WWII. There is usually some commentary between the letters to give you an idea of what was going on or what the letter is referring to, which really helps to put you in the right frame of mind. As I'm reading them I'll share with you any that really affect me.
**************************************************************
I found the historical tidbit below to be very interesting. Perhaps you will too. This is from a daily email I get from Bill Federer.
SEPTEMBER 16, 1620, according to the Gregorian Calendar, 102 Pilgrims set sail on the Mayflower.
The 66-day journey of 2,750 miles encountered storms so rough the beam supporting the main mast cracked and was propped back in place with an iron screw of a printer's press.
One youth, John Howland, was swept overboard by a freezing wave and rescued. His descendants include Ralph Waldo Emerson, Humphrey Bogart, Franklin D. Roosevelt and George W. Bush.
On the Pilgrims' voyage, a boy died, and a mother gave birth.
Intending to land in Virginia, they were blown off-course. Of their landing, Governor William Bradford wrote:
"Being thus arrived in a good harbor, and brought safe to land, they fell upon their knees and blessed the God of Heaven who had brought them over the vast and furious ocean, and delivered them from all the perils and miseries thereof, again to set their feet on the firm and stable earth, their proper element."
Though half died that first bitter winter, Governor William Bradford wrote:
"Last and not least, they cherished a great hope and inward zeal of laying good foundations...for the propagation and advance of the gospel of the kingdom of Christ in the remote parts of the world."
The Veteran Voice
I have a lot to blog about and hopefully over the next week you'll be hearing a lot from me. Anything would be more than what I've been doing over the last month. Very bad of me. Please do forgive.
This first post will be a short one as I need to get back to work. I wanted to point out a new blog I've added called Vox Veterana which is Latin for "The Veteran Voice" or "Voice of the Veteran". I just learned about this blog and it seems to be a really good one from what I've read so far. Please check it out if you can. It is worth your time.
This coming Sunday Julie (along with some TNT alumni) will be participating in the Iron Girl in Bloomington. Here is the website. Come out and cheer everyone on if you can! We'd love to see you!
This first post will be a short one as I need to get back to work. I wanted to point out a new blog I've added called Vox Veterana which is Latin for "The Veteran Voice" or "Voice of the Veteran". I just learned about this blog and it seems to be a really good one from what I've read so far. Please check it out if you can. It is worth your time.
This coming Sunday Julie (along with some TNT alumni) will be participating in the Iron Girl in Bloomington. Here is the website. Come out and cheer everyone on if you can! We'd love to see you!
Monday, September 10, 2007
Men Made of Iron
We had three great friends complete their first Ironman in Madison on Sunday. A hearty "congrats!" go out to Bob, Mike and Andy. Julie and I got to see Bob cross the finish line on the computer. They were doing a live feed of the finish line over the internet which was pretty cool.
The thought of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a full marathon (26.2 miles) sounds downright crazy, but it was pretty amazing to watch these normal (term used loosely), everyday folks completing this incredible endurance event, most of them taking 14, 15, 16+ hours to complete it. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment they must feel. Congrats again!!
And people who say they could never do anything like that or that they're too old to exercise should just look at Frank Farrar, a 78-year old man who came in just under the 17-hour time limit. I mean JUST under...
I Frank can do it....
The thought of swimming 2.4 miles, biking 112 miles, and then running a full marathon (26.2 miles) sounds downright crazy, but it was pretty amazing to watch these normal (term used loosely), everyday folks completing this incredible endurance event, most of them taking 14, 15, 16+ hours to complete it. I can only imagine the sense of accomplishment they must feel. Congrats again!!
And people who say they could never do anything like that or that they're too old to exercise should just look at Frank Farrar, a 78-year old man who came in just under the 17-hour time limit. I mean JUST under...
I Frank can do it....
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Over 8,000 Served
I always hated the idea of going back to school. August was one of the worst months because you KNEW school was just around the corner. Julie really loved going back to school if only for the reason that she'd get all new stuff - new crayons, paper, pencils, etc. I hated it.
And yet it wasn't as tho school was bad once you were there. I got along with everyone well enough and looked forward to my brown-bag lunch every day. I used to have peanut butter and jelly, pringles, and some sort of Capri-Sun drink box thing. I would bet over 99% of the time I had PB&J for lunch. I once figured that if I had PB&J every day from age 4 to 20 that would be roughly 4,400 sandwiches. And if you assume 3.5 sandwiches per week from age 20 to 38 then we're looking at over 8,000 PB&J sandwiches. Wow.
After lunch we'd have recess and play 4-square, football, smear the queer, kickball, you name it. And it was probably around 4th or 5th grade that they got those big plastic cones with 4 different "chutes" coming out if it. You'd throw the basketball into the top of the cone and the ball would come out one of the chutes, hopefully yours. I never did understand the point of that game.
But the best part about going to school was riding the school bus. You would work your way towards the back each year with the ultimate joy of being in 8th grade and sitting at the very back of the bus. By 8th grade we were also playing cards on the bus, usually Euchre. Ahhh, the good days...
So many memories come back thinking about school and most of them are pretty good. All kids have their ups and downs but I can honestly say it was an overall enjoyable experience. Well, that is until the back-to-school ads came out.
And yet it wasn't as tho school was bad once you were there. I got along with everyone well enough and looked forward to my brown-bag lunch every day. I used to have peanut butter and jelly, pringles, and some sort of Capri-Sun drink box thing. I would bet over 99% of the time I had PB&J for lunch. I once figured that if I had PB&J every day from age 4 to 20 that would be roughly 4,400 sandwiches. And if you assume 3.5 sandwiches per week from age 20 to 38 then we're looking at over 8,000 PB&J sandwiches. Wow.
After lunch we'd have recess and play 4-square, football, smear the queer, kickball, you name it. And it was probably around 4th or 5th grade that they got those big plastic cones with 4 different "chutes" coming out if it. You'd throw the basketball into the top of the cone and the ball would come out one of the chutes, hopefully yours. I never did understand the point of that game.
But the best part about going to school was riding the school bus. You would work your way towards the back each year with the ultimate joy of being in 8th grade and sitting at the very back of the bus. By 8th grade we were also playing cards on the bus, usually Euchre. Ahhh, the good days...
So many memories come back thinking about school and most of them are pretty good. All kids have their ups and downs but I can honestly say it was an overall enjoyable experience. Well, that is until the back-to-school ads came out.
Radio Nowhere
My 100th post and, although short, is a great one!!
If you have not yet heard the new Bruce Springsteen song it's AWESOME! I heard it twice on the radio yesterday and it rocks! He's got the full E Street Band behind him and they really kick it. More info on the new album, out Oct 2nd, can be found here.
Also, he'll be touring with the E Street Band this fall and will be playing at the Excel Energy Center on November 2nd. I will be there. Anyone want to join me?! Guaranteed to be an awesome show. There's nothing like a Springsteen concert!
If you have not yet heard the new Bruce Springsteen song it's AWESOME! I heard it twice on the radio yesterday and it rocks! He's got the full E Street Band behind him and they really kick it. More info on the new album, out Oct 2nd, can be found here.
Also, he'll be touring with the E Street Band this fall and will be playing at the Excel Energy Center on November 2nd. I will be there. Anyone want to join me?! Guaranteed to be an awesome show. There's nothing like a Springsteen concert!
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
48 Hours
I have added a link to a new blog. This new blog is being hosted by Andrew Prest - a current TNT participant who lost his brother to cancer last year and is training to complete the Disney Triathlon next month. Check out his blog - very inspirational.
I'm still on a high from the Ragnar Relay and still lacking sleep. The storms that came through last night didn't help with the latter. While the 48 hours or so that were spent in tight quarters with some great people was physically challenging it still seemed to go by so fast. Maybe the runners don't feel that way but it sure seemed to fly by to me.
Last night Julie and I were looking at the pictures we took over those 48 hours and it made me all the more nostalgic. Especially the video Julie took of Stacy, Emily and Chris dancing on Saturday morning. What a riot! Hopefully we'll be posting some pictures here soon.
Speaking of pictures from Ragnar I was doing some searching on line yesterday and came across this blog from one of the ultra runners who was part of a 6-person team that also did Ragnar. It's amazing to me that these guys were doing 40+ miles and maintaining just over a 6-minute mile pace! And he was this slowest runner of the group from what it sounds like. They did the whole 208 miles averaging a 6:07 mile pace. Unreal. Or just plain sick.
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