It's ALL good!

"You may only be someone in the world, but to someone else, you may be the world"

It once again is getting busy, in all kinds of ways. Amanda’s wedding planning has commenced; we are working on the plans for the Team RWB Tri Camp; still working through the thought processes of forming a non-profit; and the training has begun…see what I mean?

Part 1: With the engagement right before Christmas, family obligations for the holidays were enough to deal with. Once Matt and Amanda got home, though, the focus changed. I went up last night because Amanda wanted me there for the dress-shopping. She had a  10:00 am appointment this morning at the bridal shop, so I met her, her mother, Matt’s aunt and Davida, one of Amanda’s friends and a bridesmaid, promptly when the doors opened. I got to meet Matt’s dad last night as well, so that was good.

I think even though she tried on 7 or 8 dresses, Amanda went through fewer dresses than any of the brides-to-be that were in the store. The first one she tried on looked really nice and fit her well. Another 5 or 6 that just didn’t appeal to her, a couple of rejects somebody else thought she should try, and then Amanda tried another. This one looked really nice on Amanda, wasn’t excessively decorated with all that beading or whatever it is they put on there, and Amanda really liked the dress. She was happy with the fit and the look. Amanda and another friend of hers had been to a different store earlier in the week, and Davida asked her whether she liked this one more so than the others – no hesitation, Amanda said yes. Amanda sat down in the dress, pranced around the store a bit… pretty much doing the road test. Veils, slips, etc – all that stuff us guys have no clue about – followed, and then we were done! Didn’t even have to go to another store! Pretty awesome, from the non-shopper Dad’s perspective.

A bite to eat, and then a short trip to Amanda’s and Matt’s church. This was the first time I had seen the inside. They have an awesome pipe organ, and a friend of Matt’s  in the band will be playing for the ceremony. Assuming I don’t fall flat on my face walking down that aisle, I am looking forward to hearing those pipes playing! July will be here before we know it!

Part 2: Briana and I were asked by our triathlon friend Brittany if we would consider being the local logistics managers for a tri camp Team Red, White and Blue is putting together here in Austin. The local coach of triathlete pro Jessica Jacobs (who won MY Ironman!) and husband of pro Kelly Williamson, Derick will be working with 20 military veterans in all three disciplines over 2 and a half days. Briana and I will be putting together the home stays, the food, transportation and a number of other things, so Derick can focus on delivering the training product without worrying about the “minutia”. It will be nice to see Jess again, since I got to meet her in Florida. As soon as Brittany talks to Derick, I think Briana and I will be getting busy.

Part 3: I had a conversation with Dave, the founder of the IronHeart Racing, this past week. One of the things we both want to do is find a way to channel donations through a non-profit so the dollars can be used to support athletes supporting our charities. I had talked about this briefly when we were at Ironman Arizona this past November. It is a time commitment, and something you would need to commit to long-term. So I have to give it a lot of thought. If I make the decision to move forward, it will involve some other folks because there are legal requirements to have multiple individuals leading the effort.

Lastly, I have been doing some running, some swimming, and getting out on the bike some more. Tomorrow I have a long ride planned; 100 miles if the weather cooperates. You know me; I am usually up for a challenge… Kristi put out the challenge to do 12 centuries in 12 months, in 2012 obviously. I was originally planning on doing it today, before Amanda called about the dress-shopping. So as long as the weather cooperates, I will likely be pushing it for 6 hours or so tomorrow after church. If I remember, I will put the video camera on the helmet tonight. That ought to be entertaining!

Wish me luck!