"This is the new deep"...

Yesterday Evelyn and I made the final step into our quest for musical nirvana. In April I bought two tickets to see today's god of guitar. The man who successfully brought blues and soul back into the mainstream. Who pulled himself out of the wreckage of his pop hit "Your Body is a Wonderland" and was reborn. After 'Room for Squares' he created a deeply emotional and intimate sound with 'Heavier Things.' But no one really expected the alternative artist to jump headfirst into blues with his Trio. He blew us away with his live album "Try." What an incredible leap for a pop artist to make! But he pulled it off and everyone embraced it. After that, working with Alicia Keys, they wrote "Lesson Learned." Maybe the soul queen inspired some of his R&B rifts in his next album, "Continuum." His Jimi Hendrix covers rocked, his guitar and vocal skills were more refined and he had brought blues to a new crowd who were illiterate to the genre. But in this fan's opinion, no album was quite as satisfying as his latest. "Where the Light Is" (lyrics from 'Gravity') was a live album that blew us away. With five acoustic songs, including a soulful version of Tom Petty's 'Free Falling', eight songs with the Trio and six songs with his new eight member band, this was a masterpiece. His guitar skills more complex and intense, vocals deeper and precise and the band's revival of old songs, "Where The Light Is" is definitely this summer's best album. And I'm not just talking about a great pop chart hit. I'm saying that no one today has the same appreciation and respect for music the way that Mayer does. He takes it to a level we haven't seen in decades. He fuses jazz, blues, and rock with emotional intensity and intellectualism.
Last night Evelyn and I got to see John Mayer for the first time, live. After seven years of music worshiping, we finally saw him in concert! I would just like to say that after all these years, seeing Mayer was unbelievably satisfying. His music was just as brilliant and touching as it as has been. Yet at one point when the lights lifted onto the audience and all you saw was the band sillouhetted on stage while "Gravity" was taken to a new level the lyrics "Just keep me where the light is, love the perfect you, just keep me where the light is..." I felt this euphoric connection to the universe and to everything in it. I knew I was in musical nirvana. And now I know I need to see no other artist to experience that feeling.
I don't really know how to end this blog entry other than to say, if you haven't listened to anything but Mayer's pop hits, it's time to experience his music. "Where the Light Is" is also a DVD for anyone that has a short attention span. So do it!

*Disclaimer*

It has been brought to my attention that maybe I got a little too personal with my "More on Running" entry. Here is a statement for all, but one fellow from Arizona in particular:

This blog is a online journaling website. All that is written here is stuff going on in my life. If you are unable to handle it or are embarrassed by health details, feel free to abstain from reading. I have NO problem if you don't want to read this. I'm doing this blog for myself, mostly, but also for any friends/family to keep up with me. I personally feel that I have done a good job leaving out the intimate details in my life. However, coming from an open (maybe too open) family has made me realize that life is too short to have so many hidden windows. I'm an open book.

There. I apologize if that sounded harsh/rude. I just want to be clear that I am not really a closed off person. So if you don't want to know, don't read. :)

That's all!

My Fun Job! Nannying...

I watch three kids. They are surprisingly fun to watch. Grayson is 8, Luke is 6 and Quinn is 3. Grayson is the typical quiet, responsible oldest sibling. Luke is the most challenging being the middle child who finds it his personal goal in life to torment is younger sister. Quinn is adorable, smart and manipulative. I love them all. They have been an awesome break for the me this summer because massage therapy can get really annoying if it's all you do. My job with them ends next week. But here are some pic uploads from my cellphone.

More on running....

So I'm a fourth of the way into my training for the marathon. I thought I should write SOMETHING about how it's going in order to keep track of myself with my own progress and maintain more accountability.

So.... so far so good. As far as my body goes, I'm doing well. I've almost got my time down to a nine minute mile. It's just being consistent about it. I've found that my ankles and shins bother me after long runs or if I don't properly stretch. Particularly my tibialis anterior and peroneal muscles. I do my best when I'm really well hydrated (like 2-3 L an hour before) and when I have complex carbs in my system two hours before hand. Last Saturday I drove 8 miles up Millcreek Canyon and ran down the canyon and two more miles to Justin's house. However, I did quit 1/2 mile early because I started to recognize that I was experiencing heat stroke. (Nausea, no sweating, chilly.) I had Justin pick me up. That run felt great through the canyon though! Lesson learned.... don't run in July at 3:00 pm when it's 93 degrees.

The hardest part so far is the mental aspect. I do so much infinitely better when I have someone running next to me. My running partner hasn't been running with me for the last month and there really aren't any takers to be a new running partner. (Hmmm... I wonder why...) Caroline, Justin and work friends have all declined. To be honest, I don't blame them.

Anyway, I just need more motivation to keep with the training. It's tough for me to get out there after a long day of work and go "yeah, I'm way excited to run 6 miles tonight!" when I could instead be watching episode after episode of "Lost" with my hot boyfriend.

What else?? I'm noticing that running is really hard not only on my muscles, joints and ligaments, but also on my body systems. My digestion is much more sensitive. I get way sick if I drink milk or have more than one serving of dairy a day. I also can't handle more than three ounces of meat or else I have horrible stomach cramps. It's also really messed up my menstrual cycle. I have no idea what's going on in that department. The doctor didn't know either. She suggested putting me on birth control... like all the other OBs in the world. I personally feel that I should only be on that if I'm using it for what it's intended for. And since I'm not married, I really have no use for it. Natural, normal cycles are healthy and I feel emotionally and spiritually unstable without them. Anyway, I think it's just the running sending it out of whack.


Welllll.... that's all I have about running. Lets see... what else is coming up? I'm going to San Diego with Justin's family in August for a beach/Sea World trip. Yay! My nanny job ends in two weeks. That's both good and bad. School starts at the end of August and I'm enrolled in 16 credit hours. Justin and I are looking at the possibility of going to Brasil in December. Provided that we're married by then.... maybe the trip could even be a honeymoon.... we'll see.

Tchau!