There is a wedding happening this weekend. And I’m a part of it. I’m honored to be a part of of the wedding because I think a whole lot of the two people getting married. They are each former members of my old youth group. Now they’re college grads. A nurse and a soccer coach. Ready to live life together and follow hard after God.

Bev and I actually have been doing some pre-marital counseling with them. And now, as the weekend approaches, we get ready to see them joined together before family and friends. And that means I have get to wear a suit on Saturday.

I had to find my suit. It’s really been forever since I wore it. And when I found it, it was only halfway found. It was the jacket only. So then I had to hunt for the pants. The jacket fit well. The pants? Well, lets say I’ve had the suit a while and haven’t worn it in a while. I got the pants fastened. But didn’t have a shirt tucked in. I may need to do a colon cleanse before the weekend, huh?

But it got me to thinking again about eating well, exercising right, and making healthy choices. I try not to think through these things in terms of vanity or hoping to impress anyone. But I really do want to be healthier, make wiser choices, and take better care of my body so I can be around to enjoy my children and future grandchildren. And the way I eat sometimes, I could make Twix bars be their own food group.

Here are a few sites I’ve been checking in on now and then that I think will help me make a few new choices about how I live.

Nerd Fitness: I recently came across this site. But want to eat it up. He talks about eating clean, exercising with simple movements, and setting goals to smash with a victorious shout. Check it out. You’ll like it. Plus it has a great forum too.
Marks Daily Apple: Mark Sisson lives by what he calls the “Primal Blueprint”. Basically eat/move/rest like our early, early ancestors. He lays it all out here, but his whole site is interesting and has an active forum.
The Paleo Solution: Robb Wolf knows his stuff. I’ve read his book. Now if I’d only put it into practice. But he eats Paleo style. And I really wish I could would as well. Peruse his FAQ. What do you think? [Oh, and he has a forum too]

If I followed the advice and lifestyle of these sites/books, I’m sure I’d have no trouble at all fitting into that suit of mine. And my Saturday would be much more comfortable while I’m actually “IN” the suit.

What sorts of changes do you want to make?

Blake Runs The Gum Tree 10K Run – May 8, 2010 from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

I once again carried my little camera with me to record the Gum Tree 10k Run in Tupelo, Mississippi. It was also my 11th anniversary. My wife and I ran it on the morning of our wedding day back in 1999.

I still have a bit of video from the Double Decker Run I need to get edited down as well.

That’s right, we actually ran a 10k race the morning of our wedding. And four of my groomsmen and one of her bridesmaids. And so did the guy who ran sound at our wedding. It was pretty crazy. Bev finished first out of all of us. And I finished last. But I can say that my mind was on other things, maybe.

But we will go and celebrate our 11th Anniversary tomorrow with another Gumtree run. And just as before, she’ll finish before me. WAY before me. But that’s ok.

And maybe I’ll video this one as well.

But Addie and Ella both ran the kids run. It was a one mile race. I was pretty beat from the 10k just before, so I didn’t run it with them. Bev ran with Ella, but Addie took off on her own. I was waiting on her when she was headed back to the finish line. I whipped out my phone and shot a video as she finished.

Since I wasn’t paying too much attention at first, Addie says she was the first girl and second person overall to finish. She’s probably right, but whether she’s right or not she surely believes it! Watch her zoom by that girl in the green shorts!

Well two weeks ago was the Double Decker 10K race here in Oxford, MS. I was grossly unprepared too. The hills would be my nemesis. And since I knew I wouldn’t be breaking any personal records I decided to make a video of it as well. Here it is.

Double Decker Run 09 from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

She kept telling me she was “helping me” when really she was nudging me to help myself. But I appreciate her a ton for it. It turned out to be fun and makes me ready to do the next one…what ever it happens to be. But with a few interview appointments spread out over a few days and some friends in town over the weekend too, I pushed back the editing of the video til last night. Like really got started at about 11:30pm. And then the re-edits and tweaks that no one else would probably notice kept me going back over it. So I finished around 3am [aided by the fact this was my first time to use iMovie08] so we could show it in church today. But I’m all good.

Anyhow, here it is. It’s not perfect. But it was fun and a learning experience. I hope for more to come soon. Tell me what you think in the comment.

Small Groups (@ The Orchard) Promo from Blake Thompson on Vimeo.

But to compare morning and night running is like comparing, well, night and day. A morning run is WORK. A night run is enjoyable. I never really ran much in high school. Never had a reason. While working at Camp Lake Stephens one summer I ran a little now and then to try to impress a girl. [It must have worked; she married me] The next semester at school she calls to inform me that she signed me up for the Crescent City Classic. I had no idea what that was. But turns out it is the massive 10K race in New Orleans. So I figured i should train for it.

I did. And to this day, my first ever 10K race has been my best time ever. And I guarantee that there’s no threat of breaking it anytime soon. But a night run is the best. Or a run in the rain on a summer afternoon. Sometimes it’s quite nice to go running with a friend. But other times the solitude of a solo run is needed. It’s fun to run in Costa Rica too! [Emily does it in Columbia.]

I don’t know that I’ve ever regretted a run either. But there are plenty of times I’ve thought of running, didn’t, then regretted it later. Sorta like spending time with Jesus. Sometimes I know I should. And I know how beneficial it would be. But I keep saying I’ll get to it soon.

Anywho…running. Do you do it? Do you like it? When is the best time for you to run? And what have your best runs been? Please..do tell!

I have some pics and video of the baby on the camera, but the cord to get it from the camera to the computer is out in the car. I’ll get it when I go to get our overnight stuff.

But just wanted to say thanks for the prayers and calls and texts today. No, the baby doesn’t yet have a name. But once we get a name I’ll be sure to announce it to the world. But both baby and mama are doing well. I think they are both tired. Hopefully that means we all get good sleep tonight.

Pics to come tomorrow!

• Set up a new blog for a friend. Emily Witt is teaching school in Columbia and chasing after Jesus. Make sure you stop in and tell her hello and encourage her in her writing. You want her to write so you can read it. It’s good stuff.
• Talked to a builder about a house he’s building in Oxford.  Building would be nice, but it would be at least a handful of months until we could move in. Ugh! We close on our Clinton house this Friday. So it’s time to start looking hard.
• Got library cards in Oxford. So now we have a PO Box, bank account, and library cards. Are we citizens?
• Got a membership at Blockbuster in Oxford. Later I’ll tell you how much I think I’m going to hate that Blockbuster.
• Slept late twice. Got up early once.
• Watched Mississippi State basketball stage an incredible last minute heroic comeback. Ben Hansbrough is the man. Totally. Oh, and Phil Turner too.  MSU has a decent shot at the Big Dance now. (Here is a nice article about Ben and his bro.)
• Ate w/ the inlaw at Harvey’s. Not sure what I had, but it had steak, grits, onion rings, shrimp, and lots of BBQ sauce.
• Drove to Oxford twice for church. Addison likes to go early and help with setup. Both services were good today. Got to meet some new people and reconnect with some old.

So, there it is. Now it’s time to go to bed… How was your weekend?

I pack it up each morning and usually don’t know til late afternoon or early evening where I’ll be unpacking it for the night. I guess there’s a sense of adventure to it all that way, huh?

But I think we’ve found a buyer for our house. Signed contract and all. There are a few things that a handy man needs to straighten up on the house before it is all said and done, but it is so amazing to be able to say we’ve got a bona fide buyer.

School is starting back up here at the University. So it should make things more interesting around town and campus. There were definitely more college students at church last night. Restaurants will be more crowded and traffic more clogged. But I look forward to it as well. It’s part of the character of the town. Yes, it’s Red and Blue. But that’s okay

I did get to go to Starkville on Saturday with The Fam. Got go to see a MSU basketball game. Man, I miss being able to see every home game. We won, but played pretty sloppy. But a win is a win.

Quite funny.

And if you didn’t know, this is in response to this: 1, 2, 3, 4.

But things may be changing. Have we turned the corner? No. But we’re turning the steering wheel in that direction. With two games to go we’re 6-4. So we could quite possibly be 8-4 at years end. That would mean Cotton Bowl. More likely we’re going to be 7-5. That would mean one of a few different bowls (Music, Independence, Liberty, Chick-Fil-A), but a bowl none the less.

I’d just about cry if we ended up 6-6. That would mean terrible things in the Egg Bowl (on Senior Day) and maybe no bowl at all. But dog gone it if just about 2/3 of the team is returning next year!! How cool is that?

Tomorrow is a HUGE day for MSU football. Biggest game at Scott Field since 2000 when we hosted Alabama. I could have gone to that game but watched it home alone in my one bedroom apartment yelling at the tv and celebrating (not sure where The Wife was.) But Rick Cleveland puts it all in perspective. But to beat them would be huge. MSU hasn’t turned the corner, but they’re starting to turn the wheel. We’d be bowl eligible with two more games to go.

Addie’s last soccer game of the season is in the morning. So we’ll go play soccer then I’ll be on the couch for the next few hours. Should make for a great Saturday.

The weather has turned. And things are changing. Tonight Clinton plays to see who gets to travel to South Panola next week to be the Tiger’s next victim. They have won 70 game straight so far. Amazing. But football will soon be over. Then the holidays and school breaks.

It’s time to get back on the horse and write and write and write…

They score once. Then again. Then again. So it’s 6-5, and tight. The other team is making free subs. I thought you could only do that at the end of a quarter. But the game ends 6-5. We hang on, even though I know we could have made a few substitutions and it been heavily in our favor.

The girls shake hands. All is well. Then someone asks the ref what the scored ended up being. She says, “5-5.” What! No way. Even the opposing coach is surprised (but pleased.) So…it’s just a game, right? Our girls actually still think they won (and so do I.)

Our team won the weekend tournament last weekend. Here’s a picture of them with their medals.

Mississippi State actually won a road game AT Auburn. And after playing a college this coming weekend that started out as a HIGH SCHOOL way back when…we should be 3-1. Now that’s a crazy thought. But we’ll get smacked around pretty good with the road trips after that. So no worries. I’m counting the chicken on the 22nd, but none after that. I guess we’ll know we can at least be 3-9 this season, huh?

The Clinton Arrows are better than people gave them credit for. No doubt.

I wouldn’t have thought it, but girls U-8 Soccer can actually be exciting. Our 8am game got started late because the ref was on the wrong field. And then we got out to a slow start. 0-2 deficit. But then we kicked it in and  won 7-3. How’s that for a comeback? Addie is for sure one of the younger girls on the team. But she tries hard and gets a good lick on the ball sometimes too. She’s getting better I believe.

I preached Sunday morning at The Connection (the 3rd worship service at church which is “contemporary”). It went really, really well I thought. Preached on turning to God in times of trouble. Had some pretty personal stories in there. Used the video from 99 Balloons. And extra effort went into choosing songs that related directly w/ the message. A good morning indeed…

You have been invited to join statedog’s Custom League in Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football.

In order to join the league, follow the link above or go to game front page, click the “Sign Up Now” or “Get Another Team” button and follow the links to “Join a Custom League”. When prompted, enter the League ID# and password below.

League ID#: 248206
Password: gametime

We will send you a confirmation with further details once you have completed the registration process.

–Fantasy Football Commissioner
http://football.fantasysports.yahoo.com/f1

Mississippi State is headed back to Omaha! Yes, this team that was said to have no pitchers and started many freshmen through out the season. This team who was picked last in the SEC…not just the SEC West, but #12 out of 12. This team that battled injuries caused both on and of the field is the first team to have it’s ticket punched for the CWS.

They held off the Clemson Tigers again today. Mitch Moreland had a fantastic weekend as hear earned MVP. He used to come to my former youth group. Was a good kid then. Now he’s a great young man. But it wasn’t just Mitch. It was the whole team.

So now that leaves us with some questions:

• Who will leave and who will come back? Moreland & Easley were both drafted. Easley is gone I expect. Moreland might want to return (he was drafted in the 17th). Jeffrey Rea returned and now he’s getting to go to Omaha. But depending on what happens the next couple of weeks. What will Moreland have to accomplish?
• What will the lineup be? It seems that Polk has used a different lineup almost every game the last three weeks. But whatever he’s been doing, it’s seemed to have paid off lately.
• Will the hitting continue? We had some great bats early on in the season. They tailed off, but they returned when we went to Tallahassee.
• Pitching depth…will it emerge? We pitched 4 guys in each of the last two games. We’ll have to go much deeper to advance in the CWS.
• What will Polk do? Lots of people were grumbling and really dissatisfied w/ him during the season. Some called for his job. But he’s managed a team to the point where they’re right where everyone in college baseball wants to be. Is this his last hurrah? Is this just another year as he keeps on coaching?

MSU Baseball is fun…no doubt about it. Oh, and that record that was set yesterday for Super Regional Attendance