john mayer & musical inspirations

I love you, John Mayer!

Wow. That’s pretty much all I can say after JM’s rockin’ performance last night. He tore up the guitar for two straight hours, capping off the night with a ten minute version of “Gravity”…I don’t believe he was ready to leave Birmingham yet. I know I wasn’t.

My favorite part of JM’s set occurred when the band went backstage and he pulled out the acoustic guitar. He announced he was going to play a song he wrote in Birmingham, if he could remember how it went…A couple chords in I knew exactly what song it was–”In Your Atmosphere!” This song was on the Where the Light Is live album, and is one of my absolute favorite JM songs. At that moment, life was complete. I think I’ll pause for a second and reflect……

Remember in my first post I expressed that I love running because it is therapeutic for me? A huge part of the reason why that is so is because of music. Without my iPod, I would not be able to run for miles and miles. One thing I have a lot of time to do while running is think about life, and sometimes a certain song or lyric will spark a thought or inspiration that makes me feel so alive, motivated and free. Music is what motivates me to run, and not to stop when I feel weary. My running playlist consists of a broad spectrum of music ranging from Jack’s Mannequin to Akon and Michael Jackson.

During my first half marathon last year in Nashville, I started getting a little worn down around mile nine. “All This Beauty”, a song by The Weepies popped up on the shuffle and I experienced the ultimate “runner’s high.” The lyrics touched me to the bottom of my soul and I felt like I was on top of the world.

Let me assure you friend:
Every day is ice cream and chocolate cake
And what you make of it, let me say
You get what you take from it so be amazed,
And never stop, never stop, never stop
You gotta be brave

I realized in that moment that I have the strength and the ability to do anything I want. The way I see it, everything in life is mind over matter. As cheesy as I may sound, if you believe you can, and are willing to put in the time and effort, you, on your very own, can live the life you have always dreamed of.  So go out there and LIVE IT!

warning:hot man ahead…

Good morning! The snow day is officially over and it’s back to the real world…at least for a few hours…because tonight I have a super hot date with this guy: (source)

Yep that’s right–a super hot date with a half-naked John Mayer. Wishful thinking! Kidding!! My sister, a couple friends and I are heading down to Birmingham this afternoon to claim our 5th row seats at his Battle Studies tour! I have seen JM perform one other time in Huntsville a couple years ago…from the fourth row–I’m one hardcore fan!

In the news…

Yesterday MSNBC reported that Michelle Obama is launching a program today against childhood obesity. Studies show that one in three children is overweight, so I am glad the First Lady is taking some initiative. She plans to get junk food vending machines out of school and require longer PE programs. I hope that her efforts are eventually successful. When I was young, I rarely saw junk food, and sugary sodas weren’t allowed in our house. I played outside from sunrise to sunset and was not a happy camper when I had to come in at night and watch television. Now, kids aren’t encouraged to get outside like they once were because parents are too busy and technology has taken over. Luckily, I stayed in shape by running track and cheerleading, but in high school I ate peanut butter M&M’s and drank Mello Yellow every day…something I hadn’t seen before at home. This is just another case of “voting with our forks” (in the words of Michael Pollan). The more people who demonstrate the desire for high quality, healthy food choices, the more readily available they will become.

In other news, Cooking Light recently published a Fast Food Survival Guide (click to read) outlining some of the  healthier fast food options for when you’re on the road. I try to avoid fast food at all costs because I don’t like the feeling of not knowing whats in my food, the disgusting kind of full I feel after eat the greasy stuff, and the tons of empty calories. However when it comes down to it, I do everything in my power to convince fellow travelers to stop for subs!  My fast food pick is Subway’s Veggie Delight on whole wheat without cheese. I have the bread toasted, loaded up with the works, and topped with pepper, yellow mustard, and red wine vinegar. It is delicious! Avoid creamy dressings, fatty oils, and of course refined or enriched white bread! It is of the devil! Subway has apples, but if you’re in a chippy mood, I’d recommend the Sun Chips…they’re whole grain! What do you choose when you’re stuck with fast food?