YES WE WILL!!!!!

I am so proud to be an American and a Chicagoan right now. And I am so very relieved--my stomach has been churning all day reliving the 2000 election night mess.

After the celebrations, it is time to harness all that energy, inspiration and passion from the campaign to continue working together.

My name is Laura and I approve this message

So a few weeks ago, I signed up on Google Alerts for the phrase "Felt Inspired". (For those of you who are unfamiliar, Google scans the internet for all mentions of the phrase and sends a daily email with the listings). I knew that I would receive findings that had nothing to do with my items and that I would have to scan the findings.

While I meant this as basic marketing research to see where my items were being mentioned, it has resulted in some very interesting findings. On any given day, I receive a list of about a half dozen mentions of the phrase "felt inspired". And every day, at least one of those mentions is in regard to Barack Obama and the Obama/Biden ticket. Not a single mention has been in regard to the McCain/Palin ticket.

People blogging about wanting to do more for their neighborhoods, their communities, to volunteer for a cause--all because of the vision that Obama is sharing and that people feel like they are being heard and included. People feeling a sense of empowerment and their own inportance in the future of our country. And the strong feeling that something better is on the horizon--for all of us.

Think about it--do you ever remember our electorate being this involved and empassioned over a candidate or campaign? We have one week left--do what you can. Talk with your friends, neighbors, co-workers. Visit a swing state--I plan to go to Indiana this weekend. And if you're undecided, dig deep into your soul.

Vote Obama/Biden!

Big Shoulders and the best t-shirt ever

Yesterday was the annual Big Shoulders open water swim in Lake Michigan. This was the third year I competed and I was happy to take 7 minutes off my previous time. There is something about open water swimming that is so fascinating to me. Some find it boring, or even frightening, but the lack of a black line and endless flip turns is so relaxing and even zen-like at times. Swimming was my first sport—before rowing, cycling and cross-country skiing, so there is such a back-to-basics relaxation there for me.

This year I only had time to compete in one race, but of course, it’s my favorite one. It’s deemed as the most “architecturally significant swimming race” and who is going to argue that? With every breath, you see the amazing Chicago skyline.

While I was happy with my time, there was little time to get heady about it. Shortly after I finished, not one but two guys came in having done the entire race in butterfly. Then came two amputees: a woman with one leg and amazingly, a man with one arm.

And then there’s the t-shirt—you gotta love the t-shirt!