Still my favorite holiday

No presents.
Just family, food, and football. (Parades... I can take 'em or leave 'em).
Thanksgiving is the best.
I'm especially lucky that my wife does wonders with a turkey (brining was the secret this year), my in-laws specialize in sumptuous sides, and my mom adds old family favorites (Jello salad just like our Grandma used to make).

I hope you all had a great day. And thanks to all of you.

Season Two: The Fundraising Plan

I just learned that our Winter team has already raised $29,588. Sadly, Team Goodman has not contributed to the team total... yet!

Here's my plan for hitting my goal of $3,000. The total will actually be a mix of real money and "credits" I get for volunteering. I figure the smart folks at TNT/LLS know what they're doing and the credits support the cause nearly almost as much as cold hard cash.

The plan for your review:

Fundraising Goal	$3,000
Source:	Planned amount to be raised:
Local business donation	$700
Volunteer credit	$1,300
Friends & family donations	$800
Personal donation	$200 or whatever is left over!

In Season One - I relied heavily upon Friends and Family, and everyone came through in amazing fashion. My two sisters, my mom, dad, aunts, uncles, family friends, co-workers, former co-workers, college friends, Fort Worth friends, fraternity brothers, and even some people I have never met in person who are friends of TNT/LLS and supporters of the cause all made generous donations.

In Season Two - I really want to diversify and work hard to get a few local businesses to pony up. I figure my increased calorie intake during triathlon training alone is benefiting the local economy. They really should give back. I'll keep you all posted here.

Share your thoughts on this plan (and feel free to make a donation!)

All the best...

For your consideration: A new season with TNT

I'm sharing my thoughts about committing to a new season of training and fundraising with the North Texas Team In Training. For anyone reading this blog, I'd love to hear your thoughts, perspectives, stories or advice on making this commitment. Be forewarned: Should I commit, it won't be long before I'm back asking for your support!

Serious consideration...

TNT is a big commitment for every participant. It supports a great cause. It demands the support those closest to me and it involves my asking nearly everyone I know to lend their financial support.

Connecting everyone to the cause...

The cause is always there, in the background, during every Saturday morning training and during the exciting moments in which we cheer fellow teammates across the finish line. TNT walks the line of educating without preaching and of exposing the issues without forcing the issue. I want to be able to do the same. I want to learn more about how this disease comes about and how medical science, patients, non-profits and the rest of us each play our various roles to combat and win battles against these cancers. I hope to provide some level of amplification for the message coming from patients, medical science and the non-profit groups like LLS in support these groups.

Connecting supporters to the journey...

Is there something compelling for all of us about dozens of regular folks embarking on endurance sports training in support of cancer research and patient care? I think there is.

I'm trying to envision effective ways uncover and report on the stories and the underlying personal narratives that push forward these long seasons and huge efforts - and not my own primarily - so that everyone involved gets a bit more out of this wonderfully crazy concept of "saving lives one mile at a time."

Selfish reasons...

I want to train and complete a Half IronMan distance race. I would go back to the LoneStar Triathlon in Galveston.

I have a borderline obsessive interest in new media (Web logs or blogs, podcasting, and other social media) and I want to use fundraising and training with TNT as an excuse to experiment in and produce these new media, not just consume them as I've been doing.

December 2007 will mark our third year in Fort Worth. We're still relative newbies in this town and in North Texas and TNT gives us a great way to participate with and contribute to the local community.

While I don't have a personal story of a loved one or immediate family member with a blood cancer, LLS leads an important front against caner in general; and the odds suggest that either I or someone close to me will battle cancer in my lifetime and I want to get a head start in that fight!

What do you think?

Dave Ramsey's baby steps

If you've never experienced the Dave Ramsey phenomenon via his daily radio-talk show, or best selling books, you can check him out on his Web site.

Deirdre and I were given an opportunity to see Dave live recently in Dallas. Dave has a lot of great things to say. You really can't argue with the guy actually.

What struck me was his "baby steps" that challenge people to take ideas and put them into practice. It's one thing to know, quite another to do, as we all know who have read self-help books, diet books, exercise books, or even cook books.

Dave is all about getting it done.

Baby step one: "Put $1,000 away form an emergency fund"
Baby step two: "Pay off all debt using the 'debt' snowball"
Baby step three: "Three to six months of expenses in savings"

Find steps 4-7 here: http://www.daveramsey.com/etc/cms/index.cfm?intContentID=2867

Back to step one - Dave also added these fundamental principles of money management

1. You must SAVE money
2. Pay yourself FIRST
3. Give, save, then pay BILLS

While we may see a tension between giving and saving here, Dave's reminding us that it's good to give, right to give, healthy to give, even or especially for those who have the least to give. Give to your community, your church, your favorite non-profit.

Giving aligns the giver and her resources with the world around her. Cool stuff from Dave!