Radio Ad for "The Wedding Experience"

Today our ads for The Wedding Experience began to play on five different area radio stations throughout Grand Rapids, MI. Taping radio spots is so much fun to play around with. It was a challenge to create an image for the wedding show using drama and inflection in your voice. I'm certainly not great at it, but enjoy the opportunity when tasked with it.

The equipment and how they edit is amazing to me. They can make you talk faster (even ever so slightly) or slower to fill that 60 or 30 second time-slot perfectly. They can remove the pauses or edit out the slightest error and replace it with the corrected version. Below is what my voice looks like on a computer monitor. Thanks to Gene the Production Director below, and Steve (our cameraman).

The amazing lesson is, if you aren't smiling, you can hear it. I guess it's true that you never are fully dressed without a smile.

www.grweddingexperience.com

Resolution in Training

One of my favorite titles every year is that of Race Director. I am privileged to wear that hat twice a year coordinating two 5K events and one 10K. I've never considered myself a "runner" but I have run, slowly, since grade school.

New Year's Eve 2008 I decided to participate in the New Year's Resolution Run as I was wanted to go to every possible running event to learn how I could make my events better for those who participated. That was one of the hardest 4 miles I have ever run, but somehow, somewhere I decided that 2009 was the year I would accomplish a long standing and long shot goal of finishing a marathon. This was not a goal that I ever considered obtainable, especially when I could not run 4 miles without sneaking in a walk here and there. But last January I made that decision and I spent the next seven months in training. I even started to believe that I could do anything that required endurance. I was after all training for a marathon...

In July 2009, I finished the San Francisco Marathon, beating my time goal, enjoying negative splits, smiling, singing the entire time (sorry if you were within ear shot of me) and without walking (a feat I still have a hard time believing).

After the marathon, life and work became very busy and I have hardly run since. Last week I decided to again participate in the New Year's Resolution Run. It was another difficult 4 miles, but I am excited to get back on that track. It seems the perfect way to kick off a new year. A new year full of new hopes.

While 2009 was a turbulent year, it was an amazing year of growth for me and accomplishments reached. I've set another round of seemingly impossible goals for 2010 and hope that next January, I can reflect and write about having achieved those as well.

Until then, I will continue to participate in as many events as possible as that is the only way that I have found I can make my life and work become best practices. I continue to learn and am encouraged from those around me.

Happy New Year. Mall all of your goals be lofty.

Internet Chivalry

Planning weddings, I love the stories of how people met, how he proposed, etc. etc. etc. It's such a happy business and one where you learn so much about people and their adventures. Life is truly about the journey.

Maybe because it was the magic of New Years Day or because it took an amazing amount of courage (and internet stalking), but I received a flattering email from an absolute complete stranger that I had to share below.

"First, I am not an axe murderer (that's probably the first line of every axe murderer), but I was going somewhere today and saw you shoveling your drive, and thought, hmmm...cute girl, who must be single (otherwise, your man would be out shoveling). I always liked your house - even before it was remodeled. On the way back from a run at the high school - you were pumping gas. I almost stopped and said hello. I chickened out...probably best...Anyway, if you would be interested to chat, I am a completely normal stalker...that's a joke. Happy New Year."

While it's not for me, I admire his attempt. After all, we only live once. Go after what you're interested in. What's the worst that can happen.

Sure Babe Ruth had 714 home runs, but he struck out 1,330 times.

Maybe if he had stopped and shoveled for me, I'd have given him a chance...it's a long driveway.