For My CA Sibs.

Take a look brothers and sister, this is what happens in Iowa. Ughhhh!

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Getting Pumped Up

Over this last month or two I've become rather close with my iPod. We have grown very close and I've come to rely on the tunes that he (the iPod) pumps through my head while I'm out poundin' the pavement. I thought that I should share what is on my running playlist. Before I do that however I must provide a disclaimer. Some of these songs include words in their lyrics that are not appropriate for the faint of heart or he who is without sin. They can be pretty bad. Typically I don't listen to much of this music outside of running, but this stuff really does the trick.

Now for the list:

We Won't Be Quiet by David Crowder

*Take Me Away by 4 Strings - Imagine a song that you would dance to on DDR. It is totally gay. But for some reason makes me want to run.

Crazy in Love by Beyonce' - Yeah, not embarrased by this one whether you think I should be or not.

Until the End by Breaking Benjamin - I LOVE THIS BAND!!!!!!!!!!!!! A LOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You will see much from this artist. "Why give up? Why give in? It's not enough. It never is. So I will go on until the end. We've become desolate. It's not enough. It never is. So I will go on until the end."

Lose Yourself by Eminem - I don't do rap, ever, except when I run. And while Eminem is pretty cool, his lyrics are really quite incredible, and all that, I still don't do rap except when I run. "Look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted-one moment would you capture it or just let it slip? You better lose yourself in the music, the moment You own it, you better never let it go go You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow This opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo"

Points of Authority by Linkin Park

Victory by Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. and their cronies - I watched the movie NOTORIOUS and it was great. B.I.G.'s story is incredible, but it wasn't enough to make me like rap. Maybe I should like rap?

Made to Love by Toby Mac

Follow Me by Breaking Benjamin

So Cold by Breaking Benjamin - "You're so cold, but you feel alive"

Breath by Breaking Benjamin

BOOM by POD

I Will Not Bow by Breaking Benjamin - "I will not bow I will not break I will shut the world away I will not fall I will not fade I will take your breath away"

This is Your Life by Switchfoot - "This is your life, are you who you want to be?"

Can't Be Touched by Body Head Bangers - rap. Lyrics pump me up. "can't Be Touched can't Be Stopped can't Be Moved can't Be Rocked can't Be Shook"

So Much to Say by Dave Matthews Band - This is my favorite artist and he is totally tripping. When you listen to him you completely forget about real life. His lyrics don't always make a lot of sense to me, but his music speaks to my sould. He is a complete hippie and that is why I listen to him while I run. I forget completely that I am running and that is good.

Let's Get it Started by Black Eyed Peas - you know..."and runnin, runnin, and runnin runnin..."

Highway to Hell by AC/DC

The Saints are Comin by U2 and Green Day - The way this song builds can really carry you far and push your jog to the next level.

Halo II theme (Mjolnir Mix) - Heroic...just like me:)

What Would you Say by Dave Matthews Band

Vertigo by U2

I am Free by Desperation Band

Ignition by Toby Mac - "Turn on, turn on the ignition. Everybody! Come on, come on and turn on the ignition."

Tripping Billies by Dave Matthews Band

Big Yellow Taxi by Counting Crows - There are a million versions of this song. Counting Crows does it the best in my oppinion. They have a female vocalist that does harmonies. She is great.

Headstrong by Trapt

I Dare You to Move by Switchfoot

Elevation by U2

Gonna Fly Now by Bill Conti - How can you run without at least one Rocky song?

Africa by Karl Wolf - Great harmonies give me something else to think about. I'm not counting this song as rap. It is too cool.

Till I Collapse by Eminem - Okay so maybe not all rap sucks. Great lyrics set over the "We Will Rock You" beat.
"'Cause sometimes you feel tired,
feel weak, and when you feel weak, you feel like you wanna just give up.
But you gotta search within you, you gotta find that inner strength
and just pull that shit out of you and get that motivation to not give up
and not be a quitter, no matter how bad you wanna just fall flat on your face and collapse."

Go Hard or Go Home by E40

Stronger by Kanye West - "Work it harder, make it better,do it faster, makes us stronger, more than ever, never over, Our work here is never over."

Blow Me Away by Breaking Benjamin - This is actually the end game theme to Halo. I don't really play Halo but its music is awesome. "Fire your guns It's time to run
Blow me away."

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Running

Yes, another post about running.

I am learning a whole bunch of stuff. We have now wrapped up 8 weeks of training for this marathon thing. If you had asked me 3 months ago what I thought about running I would have told you that it wasn't for me and I don't enjoy it. Here is how far we've come, and though I know that I have a long ways yet to go, I have already come a long way.

1. I haven't felt this good or this energized in...well...maybe my whole life. I was even more fit in high school, but even that was so go go go that I'm not sure I could "enjoy" my feeling good.

2. I have a two year old that finds it fun to take off like a bat out of hell anytime we set him down in a store. He can turn on a dime and will NOT look back. He doesn't care if we are following or not. 3 months ago I hated this because, even though he is two, he is fast and I would get tired just chasing him. Not anymore, he doesn't stand a chance now.

3. Long flights of stairs are no problem now.

4. I look forward to the next Rohde rendezvous so we can play football and I can outlast my brothers. I think after a marathon, I might even be able to give Jaron a run for his money.

5. I want to climb Mount Bishop with Jaron. I hated climbing it last time.

6. Runners are really cool people. They always have a word of encouragement as you pass them on the road. They always wave, smile, and warn you of loose dogs or ice or things.

7. Did I mention that I feel great! Every day as I start the run I go about half a mile or 1 mile and I feel sore, but then it is an experience when all of a sudden all pain goes away and you feel like you could run forever. This really happens. I never really believed it. I can promise that you honestly get to a point where it doesn't even matter anymore.

8. I don't suck wind anymore. At this point, I think the only thing that would stop me from running would be pain in my legs or lower back. I don't get tired and need to suck wind. The training is specifically designed to strengthen the areas of the body that are hit hard during running. So I don't think I even have to worry about that.

9. There is an overwhelming sense of pride when I get home and think...yeah, I just ran 2 miles.

10. I can't wait till I'm running 7-8 miles every time I go out.

11. You should see my calf muscles. Yeah, if I can get my belly to go away and my arms to beef up like my calves, I'm going to try out for the next twilight movie. Gosh, if THEY can get a part with their crappy acting, surely I could fit in somewhere.

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Emily's Game

Thanks Emily, I've been wanting to do this all day. :) Pam went to bed, but I just had to get this done.

My Chosen Band:
Dave Matthews Band (of course)

Are you male or female?
What Would You Say


Describe Yourself.
Proudest Monkey


How Do You Feel?
So Damn Lucky


Describe Where You Currently Live.
Down By the River

If You Could Go Anywhere, Where Would You Go?
Louisiana Bayou

Your Favorite Form of Transportation Is A...
Joy Ride

Your Best Friend Is A...
Sister

You and Your Best Friends Are...
Ants Marching

What is the Weather Like?
Still Water

Favorite Time of Day?
When the World Ends

If Your Life Was A TV Show What Would It Be Called?
Where are You Going

What is Life to You?
Hunger for the Great Light

Your Relationship?
Crush

Your Fear?
Alligator Pie (Cockadile)

What is the Best Advice You Have to Give?
Shake Me Like A Monkey

Thought For the Day.
Why I Am

How I Would Like to Die.
Time Bomb

My Soul's Present Condition.
Lying in the Hands of God

My Motto:
Dive In

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A Bushy Christmas!

The following is how I personally think the Bush family's Christmas letter should read. (Sorry guys...sort of...)

Dear family and friends. As many of you know Amber and I had a great year. We spent most of the year waiting and preparing for the little guy that would come to us just a couple of weeks ago. That's right! On November 20th, 2009 the world was introduced to Cooper Michael Bush. He has totally rocked our world.

Well, Amber and I wasted no time in our quest to make sure that little Cooper became a well rounded, well-cultured little man. We have spent the last two weeks traveling the world and seeing the very coolest of places. Here are some of our photos.

We started off by flying east...well...west to get to the east and visit the Great Wall of China. It is pretty big, but apparently you actually can't see it from space.

After taking a nice stroll along the wall we took off toward England to tour London. Here is one of the famous bridges.


At the toll of Big Ben we hopped on the bullet train and zipped off to Paris. Turns out the French really ARE that rude, the women really don't shave their armpits, and they hate fries. Really a bummer of a place but the Eiffel Tower was pretty.


Gladiators once fought here and lions ate Christians here too. All the history in this place. I swear I saw Russell Crowe as well!


Here we are at the Brandenburg Gate in Germany. I learned a lot! 1. They have great chocolate. 2. They like cuckoo clocks. 3. Amber is quite a site in lederhosen.


After Germany it was back east to India where we toured the Taj Mahal. It is beautiful but nothing in India makes sense.


Well this trip couldn't be all play. The president asked me if I would come and give a speech to his staff on how to be the coolest dad in the world. I had the whole room in tears. Mainly because I told them that they were shaping up to be complete political failures.


After my meeting with the prez we headed to South Dakota to see Mt. Rushmore. It is pretty cool I guess.


It was about this time in the trip I got this whim of a feeling that we should do something really unique. So we called up NASA and dropped the president's name. They flew us to the moon so we could hop around for awhile. This is how I know you can't see the Great Wall from space.


Well, we finally got home but had to make just one more stop. Here we are rooting for Iowa. We realized that it was hopeless for us to keep rooting for the fighting Illini. It would be sort of like rooting for France in a war. We've switched over and are now rooting for a REAL team.

Well, the year is about to wrap up and we've got no complaints. Cooper is really a blessing. We hope all of you can have as great a year as we have. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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Twilight: Suddenly Great!

Watch this please.

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C'mon Man

Reward points for the person who can come up with the funniest excuse for this guy.

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Duh.

All I can say is...duh! :)

Obama hasn't done anything in office in his first year except for send more troops to Afghanistan. That is just funny and ironic. I think most people would be humbled by this. I'm pretty sure that the U.S. could completely fall to 3rd world status in his term and he wouldn't be humbled. It is soooo completely sad that it is funny.

Did you hear that global warming is a scam? Oh you already knew that? You should tell the media. Yes, a computer hacker broke into the computer of the leading scientist that was overseeing the study of global warming and low and behold he was outed as being a fraud. Apparently there is a lot of money to any scientist willing to prostitute themselves and sign on to an invention called global warming. Since Mr. Gore couldn't get a Nobel prize for his invention of the Internet, global warming was next, and easier. Just pay off a handful of scientists. The media will believe anything a democrat tells them. Lucky for us, most Americans are still smarter than the media.

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