This is a great quote from Kara Goucher (2:25:53 marathon – or very fast!)

One thing I know and accept is that, with very few exceptions, nobody goes out on top. Nine times in ten, your best days are behind you before you realize it. Being an elite runner is kind of like a high jump competition: you keep raising the bar until you can’t get over it. Your last effort is always a miss.

Via Competitor.com

With my love affair of Google Calendar (text reminders, shared w/ friends, and overall way better than outlook) I am smitten to find an Iowa Hawkeye’s football schedule. Not a hawk fan? Google also has tons of other sports teams you can add. Last year, I did this manually, so this year with my saved timed, I decided to blog about it and spread the word (your welcome)

Here’s the link to all the google sports calendars: http://www.google.com/googlecalendar/ncaaf.html

Notice they are also in order of “most popular”.  Not surprisingly, Ohio State and Michigan are at the top. Texas might have more fans, but not more fans with internet or know how to use it anyway. Surprisingly, Iowa State is up at 48th. The only explanation I can think of is their pool of engineering talent has hacked the system to count every fan 10 times.

Go Hawks!

If you keep up with my life or blog or tweets or facebook, then you know Michelle and I are engaged. If not, then I’m puzzled why you are reading this.

Our engagement night was planned by SparkNight.com (in Des Moines) and was the best decision I could have made. They made our night truly special.

To read a summary of our story, check out their new website: http://www.sparknight.com/a-sparknight-proposal/

Thanks again, SparkNight!

…well, actually she laughed for about a minute before she said yes.   Our night was planned by SparkNight.com and it was perfect.  The only thing we knew was to be at the hotel around 3:30pm to receive our first clue.  Upon check-in, the desk clerk gave us an envelope which greeted us and revealed the first destination…outdoor ice skating.

Ice Skating

I was excited because I had been wanting to ice skate all winter.  Michelle on the other hand was pretty nervous, as she had only gone once before.  The first lap was pretty slow and my hand almost went numb because of her tense grip.  But by the end, she was doing great and going pretty fast.  Overall, we both enjoyed the skating and were looking forward to the next clue back at the hotel.

The desk clerk was ready with the next envelope which directed us to sbrocco for dinner.  The restaurant was very nice and we were treated like royalty.  I won’t go into the details of what we ate, mainly because I cannot spell nor say them correctly, but it was delicious.  The waitress gave us the third and final envelope which told us to head back to the east village for our last stop, Grand Piano Bistro.

Grand Piano Bistro

The Piano bar had dueling pianos which we both really like.   The talent even played Lady Gaga – Paparazzi for Michelle.  I especially like their version of Muse – Uprising.

When we got back to the hotel, there was a surprise in our room…fresh roses, champagne, candles, and a photo album with the words “our engagement” on the cover.  I then asked Michelle the big question and she laughed.  Thankfully it was more of a “shocked” laugh than a “ha, you got to be kidding” laugh.  She said yes.

Hotel Room 1

As of now, we do not have any plans about when and where we will get married.  Destination weddings seem appealing but that has been the extent of our conversations so far.  But we’ll keep you posted!

Hotel Room 2