1. Dang it! My coach told me not to get my heart rate over 160 today but then I saw you!
2. What’s your PR (Personal Record)? If you go out with me, you will be mine!
3. You can stop chasing your dreams. I am right here.
4. Was that an earthquake or are you rocking this run?
5. You run like DSL. How can I get high-speed access?
6. Roses are red, violets are blue, would you mind if I ran with you?
7. Do you know karate? ‘Cause you have a great finishing kick!
8. (At the end of a race) I am like chocolate pudding. I look like crap but I am sweet as can be!
9. I hope there’s a fireman around, ’cause you’re smokin’ fast!
10. Apart from being a running gear model, what do you do for a living?
11. I am not sure if it was this run or you that just took my breath away.
12. You run faster than my nose in allergy season!
13. Since distance equals velocity times time, let’s let velocity or time approach infinity, because I want to run all the way with you. (For the nerdy runner.)
14. My love for you is like an ultra-marathon. It goes on and on.
15. Your voice is so beautiful, you make fartleks sound appealing.
16. When it comes to love I am in it for the long run. Want to join me?
17. On a scale of 1 -10 you are a 26.2!
18. When I log my run in my journal today, it will say I ran 10 miles with my future wife/husband.
19. My name is Garmin. Will you take me running every day?
20. Excuse me… Do these shorts make me look fast?

Poking around in our analytics at work, I discovered a good picture of the work we put in with our marketing efforts. My boss at AmeriFirst Home Mortgage is fond of the saying “It’s a marathon not a sprint” when it comes to our inbound marketing. The picture below illustrates that. When I joined the company in December 2010 we were getting about 50-80 visits each day from organic search results (people typing search queries and finding AmeriFirst). Over the next 8 months that grew to about 150 visits per day.

One year after I started, our efforts began to pay off with search traffic climbing more quickly each month. We’re now getting about 450-500 visits almost every day from search results. This means our content and marketing efforts are drawing about 1000% more views than December 2010. Bottom line: inbound marketing works and it’s a marathon.

So if you’re a small business who wants to get found online then I’d suggest learning all about Inbound Marketing and figuring out a way to make it happen for your business.

Reflecting: Growing up, I knew I wanted to be a dad someday. I had no idea how much the experience would change me. 7 years ago, my daughter Ava made me a dad for the first time. Her mom and I had some scary moments in those first weeks, but Ava made it through with love and prayers (and great doctors at Bronson). Now, 7 years later, I’m amazed at the compassionate, smart, funny, creative, beautiful daughter God blessed me with.

I love to see how Ava finds her way through her days. She’s a reader, a writer, an active child. She’s an explorer and oh-so-curious. I love that she can go from math homework to English and enjoys it all. She’s a blessing.

My family has changed over the last 7 years. Ava and I are part of a bigger family now with her bonus mom Sonya & bonus sister Zoey. In 2 weeks we celebrate Zoey’s birthday, too. She’s turning 6. I have 2 of the most amazing people in my life: my girls. These two daughters show me everyday how the love of a child can change your life on a dime. A random hug. A spontaneous note. A simple snuggle. It all makes me aware of how much we as parents hold in our hands. These kids are simply awesome.

I love to watch Zoey create. She’s the artist. Her drawing is amazing. Her love of others and compassion is a testament to her mom. Watching Zo pretend and come up with stories is so much fun. She’s a blessing.

So on this birthday of one of my daughters (and the other birthday just around the corner) I look at my life and realized how blessed I am. It’s especially awesome since it’s Good Friday. The blessings I have I give up to God and His amazing love. I’m blessed well beyond what I deserve, and I’m grateful. The God of the universe loves each and every one of us and wants us to know Him. That’s simply mind-blowing. As a dad I get the love of a parent. Now take that and multiply it exponentially onto infinity and we get only a fraction of God’s love for us. Wow.

Happy birthday Ava. Your family loves you.

Happy birthday Zoey. Your family loves you.

On this Valentine’s Day I’m grateful for:

The love of God. The creator of the universe loves me. That’s pretty awesome.

The love of my wife. She takes care of me and our house with a loving hand and a quick wit.

The love of my daughters. Ava and Zoey - your hugs and laughter brighten my day. You girls are amazing gifts.

The love of my parents. With almost 40 years together, my mom and dad are wonderful role models and great people. 

The love of my brother. Despite my treatment of you growing up (or maybe because of it?) we’ve grown into a great relationship and I’m grateful to count you as my friend.

The love of my friends. Those closest to me have helped me through the tough times and been there with me during the great times. Life without friends like you would be lonely.

It’s not just about chocolate and cards. Valentine’s Day can be a time to reflect on the kind of love learned about in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Happy Valentine’s Day everyone.

Flying out of Boston today, I ran into a delay. Apparently the plane I’m supposed to take to Detroit is actually still in Detroit with mechanical issues. Instead of a 12:40 flight, it’s delayed to 2:15 right now with the likelihood of canceling pretty high. Instead of simply wishing me luck, a Delta agent named Pamela C reached out with great customer service.
I’m using a cane right now because I sprained my ankle. She saw this, and helped me re-book my flight, gave me meal vouchers because of the delay and brought me to the SkyMiles Club to wait. None of this was necessary nor did I demand service. She simply wanted to make sure I didn’t have to hobble all over the place trying to deal with the delay.
In a time where airlines have a bad reputation (sometimes deserved in my experience) this Delta agent went above and beyond in her customer service, and was happy to do so. Thanks Pamela and Delta!

I said to @sl22268 “It’s weird. When I talk it’s like my ears shut off. Then when I stop talking I can hear again.
She says: “That’s not weird. I do the same thing when you start talking.”
I’ll give her credit. That was funny!

I had the chance to get in close to some gators, including a 12-plus-foot monster called “Godzilla” recently. Check out the video & story from Critchlow Alligator Sanctuary!

Just a thought for your day: Was at the Tigers’ game last night. Had a wonderful time with a great friend. And met a man named Michael. He was in a wheelchair (no legs - an amputee), panhandling, after the game. Saw him a couple weeks ago after a game we went to, gave him some money - and have been bothered ever since that I never stopped to talked to him. So last night, I really “met” him. He’s not only a wheelchair-bound paraplegic, but he’s mentally limited - living in downtown Detroit - asking people to put money in his Folgers can after a baseball game. Tonight could be the last game of the season for Michael. Met another man like Michael, during last winter’s snow storm, in my home town.  He was trying to maneuver his wheelchair through the deep snow to get back to the group home he lived in.  His leather gloves were worn and wet.  I had two extra pair in the back seat of my car.  He was thrilled to choose between the two pair to replace the ones he had.  It was hard work pushing his wheelchair through the snow back to where he lived.  It was only a couple blocks - and I wondered how long he would have had to work to get back there on his own. Think of him the next time you’re having a bad day, think of people like this.. Maybe pray for them.  Better yet, stop and talk with them.  Find out what they need.  Help them if you can. It helps put things in perspective.  Life is not nearly as bad as it could be.  And there are people everywhere you can help - maybe by just taking a few seconds to stop and talk with them. Thanks to my son, who lived among the homeless this last summer - because he understands that they, too, need someone to truly care about them.  He taught me a lot.It’s so easy to just walk past those we know nothing about. The truly sad thing?  I’m hesitant to hit “send” right now - because of what you might think of me.On behalf of people who don’t have a computer, or gloves, or legs - I will hit “send” now.

In order to reach up to God, we must reach out to our neighbors. Jesus tells us to lift up those in need. It’s why we have the term, “The Good Samaritan”

Matt McC is known for his skills at bullshitting and skating through life. At least in his characters anyway. But this role is completely different. He still pulls from his usual bag of skills. But in The Lincoln Lawyer, he shows all kinds of all other characteristics. It’s interesting to see him take on this character.

The acting aside, I like the writing and the weaving of the history of these characters. They all have a great back story that unfolds through dialogue and events. Also, the cinematography is cool with the lighting, zooms, quick cuts and other techniques.

It’s definitely a good film. The twists, tragedies and storyline are engaging and well told. I’d give it an 8/10.