The second base position just got a whole lot beefier, as today three of the position's top guns have been activated from the disabled list. Proud owners of Dustin Pedroia, Chase Utley, and Martin Prado have been forced to plug holes with stragglers like Adam Kennedy and Blake DeWitt. Now is your time to rejoice.

Dustin Pedroia returns to the Red Sox after breaking his left foot nearly two months ago on June 26. In his stead, Bill Hall received the majority of starts at 2B, with Eric Patterson and Jed Lowrie also seeing action. Hall hit 12 homers after Pedroia went down, providing decent numbers for fantasy owners. Hall will likely get significant starts in CF with Jacoby Ellsbury heading back to the DL after more pain in his slow healing fractured ribs. While Pedroia might not be 100 percent game ready, he is still a must start in all leagues. But be wary, he does tend to run in red-hot and ice-cold streaks. A slow start is a realistic expectation while he shakes off the rust. He was hitting .292 with 12 HR and 41 RBI prior to the injury, and had raised his average .38 points in June (from .254).

Right thumb surgery has sidelined Chase Utley since June 29. It had long been speculated that Utley was struggling with the thumb, forcing him to make adjustments to his swing. That could very well be the reason for his average production in the season's first three months. His .277, 11 HR, 37 RBI stat line looks solid for most second baseman, but for Utley those figures are a disappointment. If Utley is pain free, expect a big final push from him once he settles in. His stroke is the epitome of 'simple' and it shouldn't take him long to rediscover it. Placido Polanco will now shift back to third base full time, and Wilson Valdez will hit the bench. The 32-year-old Valdez did a more than admirable job being thrust into regular action, but was never a fantasy option.

A career utility man, Martin Prado's fractured finger might have come at an ideal time (well, no injury is ideal). His batting average had plummeted .22 points from .337 to .315 in the month of July suggesting he needed a breather. Maybe sitting on the sidelines for a short while and re-energizing his body will be a positive in the long run. Unlike his 2B compatriots, he's only been out since July 31 and could find his groove in a flash. All-star selection Omar Infante continued to rake in his absence putting up seven multi-hit games thus far in August. Infante possesses position eligibility all over the diamond, and should continue to see regular ABs at third base with Chipper Jones on the shelf for the year. Once again, Troy Glaus could be the big loser.

In other injury news, Charlie Manuel characterized first baseman Ryan Howard's chances of returning to the lineup before Friday as "slim". Howard has been out since August 2 with sprained ligaments in his ankle. He's eligible to come off the DL today, but that's obviously not happening. How exactly the Phillies plan to handle his rehabilitation remains unclear. Patience is the key my fantasy brethren, patience. Meanwhile, Mike Sweeney will continue to get the bulk of starts at 1B and is a realistic option in NL-only leagues until big number six returns.

Written by Adam Ganeles exclusively for TheFantasyFix.com. Look for Adam's weekly insight into MiLB & MLB ball.

Who will have the strongest return out of Pedroia, Utley or Prado?
Leave a comment and let us know, or reply to us on twitter @TheFantasyFix

__________________________________________________________________

Here are some more articles that will smack some sense into you...

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Sabermetric Series: BABIP For Dummies

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Fantasy Baseball's Top 50 Pitchers Post All-Star Break  

MLB Fantasy Baseball Second Half Ranks: Third Base

MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Ranks: Second Base  
 
MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Ranks: First Base

MLB Fantasy Baseball Post ASB Positional Ranks: Catcher

Easy Steals and Cheap Thrills

MLB Closer Carousel: American League Report & Fantasy Baseball Implications

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Why Tony Romo & Phillip Rivers Should Lead Your Fantasy Team

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2010 Fantasy Football's Most Under & Overrated Running Backs

2010 Fantasy Football's Most Under & Overrated Quarterbacks

Fantasy Football's Late Round Fliers

MAURICE JONES-DREW & THE SIRIUS XM 2010 CELEBRITY FANTASY FOOTBALL DRAFT

2010 Sirius XM Fantasy Football Draft Recap

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This article was featured at this week's "The High Calling." Please click here for the original post.

As children, we knew all about kingdoms. We erected make-believe castles, dreamt of princes and princesses, and battled rival knights. We donned bath towels and called them royal robes, wore garish crowns of cut-out gold paper, and rode the family dog like a white steed.


An Insight into Human Nature

Really, it's all about the kingdom of me. Like Kevin Baugh, I don't need anyone else. I don't need another king. I don't need anyone else. I have me.


Kingdoms in Conflict
Adam couldn't live under a ruler who had given him utter freedom, but felt unduly burdened by just one rule hanging on a tree. It didn't take but a few words of persuasion and Adam created his own government rule. And Eve was right in the mix, challenging Adam's leadership, questioning what he heard from God. Every human since has had issues with authority and leadership. Humanity has rolled in a series of disastrous events from self-rule.

Power struggles are most evident in the duopoly of marriage. We are uncomfortable being alone, and even God recognizes that it's “not good” (Gen. 2:18). But he created the two to now become one and to mutually submit. It's a conundrum. We don't want to be ruled by another, but hate the thought of absolute isolation.

And nations are ripe for conflict. Our founding fathers understood the snares of a single ruler. The idea of a king or a dictator would have never worked in the new society. So they created three branches of government, a checks-and-balance system.

You're Not the Boss of Me
Our workplaces are full of mini-kingdoms. Accounting thinks they rule the roost, while sales thinks they are the most important function. The support group spends time in front of the mirror in self-admiration, while operations pats themselves on the back with hands that did the work.

And isn't it interesting that bosses are often the subject of ridicule and the tag “incompetent”? We all think we can do the job better, but we don't dare step into the role. “You're not the boss of me,” oozes out in a thousand different insubordinations.

It's easy to understand why people are reluctant to submit to rulers who are corrupt, incompetent, uninterested, or just plain evil. But why is it so hard to submit to rule that is just and compassionate and in one's own best interest?

A New Rule
The Kingdom of Heaven is entirely different. The Kingdom of Heaven is just. It is fair. It is run on an entirely different set of principles. And when Jesus declared “another Kingdom,” he established new rules for us to live.

Jesus said, "the time has come. The Kingdom is near. Repent and believe the good news." Mark 1:14-15.

There's a royal problem when we allow the Kingdom of Me to coexist in the Kingdom of Heaven. War breaks out. The two sets of principles are so at odds that something has to give. You cannot live for yourself and live for God.

It doesn't work.

The truth is that I'm a lousy king. I make selfish decisions. I don't think about the long-term consequences of my decisions. I don't consider others. I don't live for anyone else.

It's time to banish the Kingdom of Me and allow another King to rule.

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Matt. 6:33

Our goal seemed simple enough. Create a roadmap for promoting your company using social media. Well, nothing’s simple in the wild and wooly world of social media. However, I think we made a good start.

With nearly 100 entrepreneurs and executives gathered in the New York-New Jersey-Connecticut area on February 23 and 24, we identified some milestones for implementing a social media strategy for our business.

The guest experts were expert indeed:

Lena West, president of xynoMedia, a social media consulting firm that specializes in women-owned businesses, brought entrepreneurial savvy to our quest. Her work in the field has earned her accolades and top clients in commerce.

Adam Christensen, Social Media Communications Manager at IBM, manages a platform that enables tens of thousands of IBMers to share knowledge both internally and externally. IBM’s social media efforts are light years ahead of most large companies.

Here’s a summary of their advice and their rules for social media success:

FIRST, WHY BOTHER: Everyone's doing it. While that's not a bad reason, the scale of the opportunity became apparent when we shared examples of social media in action. For example, the misstep of a competitor that turned into a market share grab. In the old days ("PT" or “Pre-Twitter”), we might have turned a blind eye to a frustrated customer. After all, few others could hear them vent. Not so anymore. One angry customer, if left unanswered, can poison the waters with many others using social media as a megaphone. The new era of transparency is no longer just a virtue, it’s a business necessity.

LISTEN: Just as you’d do in a face-to-face conversation, listen before you talk. Who are the participants? What is the style of communication that works best? You wouldn’t walk into a party and start jabbering before you felt out the crowd and the mood. Social media is no different.

TRACK: Where should you be listening? Draw up a list of ten to twenty words, phrases or names and start tracking the conversation. Then use Google Reader and Google Blog Search (both free), to track keywords and phrases in one convenient place. Consider following company names, competitors and well-known executives names. When you want to take your tracking to the next level, use Radian6 (paid).

Pay attention to the blogs, sites and social media platforms that show up most often in your tracking efforts. That's where you need to be.

PRACTICE: Consider, as a warm-up, picking a different topic to begin conversing in social media. For example, start with a personal interest or hobby and see if you can get the feeling for how social media conversations flow before you do anything under your brand name.

LEARN THE ETIQUETTE: Whether it’s the symbols of the medium (remember when you first heard “LOL”?) or just practicing your spelling, one frequent giveaway of a social media newbie is the flubs and faux pas we make when we start talking. (See “Listen” to learn more). In addition, Adam's firm, IBM, has created a thoughtful document called IBM Social Computing Guidelines, which can help you advance your firm's social media presentation.

GO TO THE MOUNTAIN: If you can afford it, you may be tempted to bring the community to you by hosting your own blog or creating your own community space. However, your customers are likely already attached to Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or any of the other hundreds of social media platforms. Many of the largest brands in the world have built their communities inside of these platforms. This is one of those times where the big companies got it right: If you can’t bring the mountain to Mohammed, bring Mohammed to the mountain

MEASURING SUCCESS: This certainly was an area loaded with interest. Several participants seeking metrics were asked to re-think their position. While metrics must come to your social media strategy eventually, you’ll first need to define what you’re trying to get out of the strategy: new sales? Deeper customer relations? Customer service? Brand awareness?

Sure, using new sales as a metric was the first choice for many. But our experts felt that the medium was more suited to the other goals of better customer relationships and brand awareness. There simply isn’t the evidence that direct sales generation is the best use of social media. Perhaps, it was suggested, a sales-driving strategy was more suited to “cost-per-click”-style promotion while social media was more attuned to relationships.

WHAT’S NEXT? In the rapidly changing world of social media, anyone can be forgiven for being afraid of big changes yet to take place. There’s good reason to fear pulling the trigger after MySpace was overtaken by Facebook and Facebook begins being crowded out by Twitter. But our experts demonstrated their own thought leadership when they answered this question: What is the most important platform to pay attention to for businesses:

Adam Christensen responded: LinkedIn.com Lena West said: Twitter

There you have it folks. Listen, learn and latch on.

For more information about social media, go to Inc’s 30 Tips for Using Social Media in Your Business.

Today's gorgeous wedding was sent over from the talented Heather of One Love Photo. You may remember this rainy day wedding I posted from her a few weeks ago. Heather has such a great eye for composition and capturing sweet moments between the couple. You guys will love this wedding. Since Ginger was living abroad in China this past year, Adam actually did a fair amount of the planning! What a great fiancé. :)When Ginger finally came home a couple months before the wedding , she focused on all the little details and they turned out amazing. I love the modern palette of green, yellow and white they choose. The wedding took place in Boston at Mooo Restaurant. I think I'll let the photos tell their lovely story...





I love first looks...





How fun to get married around all the wine bottles! Such an intimate setting.











From their planner Francie Mathey for Tangorra Wedding Planning, You know, there were so many little touches that I adored at this wedding - the manzanita branches with hanging candles, the antique birdcages filled with flowers, the barn board cocktail tables, the DIY feather bouts, the etsy-supplied dessert station... but I have to say MY favorite detail was the guestbook table - Adam and Ginger bought and refinished a desk, which we set up with a louis ghost chair and a typewriter for the guests to leave them a sweet message on. Loved it!





I love the bird cake topper from one of my favorites, Lauren Alane.









Ginger + Adam put their wedding clothes back on the day after for some fun portraits around Boston. Such a great idea to get more portraits if there is not enough time on the wedding day - or especially in the winter months, when daylight is more limited.







Any advice for those planning now?
From Francie (their wedding planner), One piece of advice that I always give to my couples is to hire vendors that you really truly love. When you like your vendors as people, and trust that they will do their job well, it makes planning so, so much easier!

I particularly loved this wedding because it was not your "typical" Boston wedding, and it was fabulous! We are not blessed, here in Boston, with an abundance of interesting (non-hotel) venues or restaurants with private spaces large enough to host a wedding - don't get me wrong, they exist, but are fewer and further between than they seem to be in other cities. So I loved that Adam and Ginger planned an intimate wedding and party for their friends that was in a surrounding that really spoke to who they are, and the vibe they were going for. Everything turned out perfectly, and I really can't think of a better space for this wedding than Mooo! Thanks so much Francie for your input!

Dress: Priscilla of Boston
Florals: Ryan Zoller for Winston Flowers
Cake: Konditor Meister
Catering + Venue: Mooo Restaurant
Planner: Francie Mathey for Tangorra Wedding Planning
Photographer: One Love Photo

Thanks so much Heather for sharing your lovely photos with us. Be sure to check out her blog for even more photos from the day and the day after session. Always so inspiring. And congrats to Ginger + Adam - best wishes to you both!

[Vegan doughnuts = happy customers.]

Vegan, organic food truck The Cinnamon Snail opened Valentine's Sunday in Hoboken, N.J., to an eager crowd of two, my partner Jonathan and me. (Yes, we are that wacko couple who woke up at 7 on Valentine's Day to get from Queens to Jersey "on time," cause, hello, free opening day doughnuts!) Once we found the truck -- parked on Sinatra Drive, between 3rd and 4th streets -- co-owner and -operator Adam Sobel cracked open the serving window and handed each of us an apple cider doughnut covered in cinnamon-sugar. This is a day started right.

Placing the Snail's very first orders at 9 a.m., Jonathan requested the breakfast burrito and I ordered the grilled kale baguette. We split a heavenly cinnamon roll while waiting for our made-to-order morsels. The baguette was pretty fantastic for being basically bread with kale on it: sauteed kale on a soft, grilled baguette slathered in tofu cream cheese with capers. (I skipped the olives, but you don't have to.) The burrito justifies its $7-something price by being ridiculously enormous and delicious, crammed full of scrambled tofu, refried beans, and guacamole. The blue corn pancakes topped with fresh blueberries, a friend's order, blew out of the water similar dishes I've seen in veg restaurants around the city.

After shooting the breeze with other patrons and appreciating the view and downtown Hoboken neighborhood, we ordered from the Snail's more extensive lunch menu, served 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. We chose a mustard-marinated tempeh sandwich and a grilled creole tofu sandwich. Both turned out to be enormous and divine. I don't like tempeh, but I enjoyed the tempeh sandwich - go figure. The tofu sandwich had at least a third of a brick of tofu that was truly grilled, evidenced by those tasty little charred bits. Fresh greens and creole tomato sauce pulled it all together. The bread for both was appropriately soft, with just enough body and crust.

While waiting for our sandwiches we did a bit more sweets shopping from the truck's fully-stocked pastry case. First we each tried the spinach pie. Very tasty, to be sure, but at $2 per piece this is the only item I'd say fell into the overpriced category. We then each summarily devoured a two-bite peanut butter chocolate cheesecake -- who could resist? And to take home, we filled a small box with a chocolate ganache bundt cake, a Mississippi mud cupcake, and a maple raspberry cookie, which Adam affectionately referred to as a "really legit pop tart."

We have Joey, Adam's wife and business partner, to thank for the absolutely fabulous baked goods. Our take-home treats did not disappoint. Going forward both she and Adam will be doing the pastry baking, but Joey tells me there's no doubt that Adam is always the cook.

The truck did not draw hoards on Sunday, but there was an unwavering steady stream of customers. Many people came out specifically for opening day, while others simply happened by. Comments overheard from fellow patrons included such (paraphrased) sentiments as, "I'm so glad we finally have a real vegan option in Hoboken," and many versions of "OMG, this is the best ____ I've ever eaten!"

The truck has been about eight years in coming to fruition; Adam has wanted to bring extraordinary vegan food to the streets more or less since he became vegan when his first child was born. Nearing the end of the first day, he was optimistic about his new enterprise. "It's been so much fun. It's been a thousand times smoother than I could have ever hoped for. People have been very very sweet and accommodating."

For now the Snail is sticking to Hoboken, where Adam was quickly and easily able to obtain a license to vend vegan vittles from a vehicle. The truck's exact location is subject to where they can find parking each morning; as such, the best way to find them is through the miracle of the internet. They frequently update their Facebook and Twitter pages to let us know where they are and where they'll be next. Too bad for us weekend warriors, the truck's hours are Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Kings County permits have not been so easy to procure. Adam projects that it may be a year or more before his one-of-a-kind truck makes an appearance in Williamsburg or DUMBO. He didn't comment on how he'd split his time between the two locations, if and when he's able to wedge his way into the fine borough of Brooklyn. He simply described the Cinnamon Snail project as his "life's dream. I'm determined to make it work out."

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Sleep Talkin' Man is a blog that collects the night-time musings of an Englishman named Adam, as recorded by his wife. The quotes are absolutely priceless, and you can even listen to some of them on streaming audio—which is a very weird experience. A few delightful examples:

From the night of Feb. 14/15: "Don't move a muscle. Bushbabies are everywhere... everywhere... Shoot the f***ing big-eyed wanky s**** f***s! Kick 'em. Stamp them. Poke 'em in their big eyes! Take that for scaring the crap out of me."

From the night of Jan 31/Feb 1: "I made this picture using pasta... F*** you, it IS artistic!"

From the night of Jan 19/20: "No, not the cats. Don't trust them. Their eyes. Their eyes. They know too much."

The best part, none of this is related to dreaming. As the Sleep Talkin' Man FAQ explains, dreaming and sleep talking actually happen during completely different parts of the sleep cycle. So all that bush-baby paranoia is just a blip on Adam's subconscious. There really is no context to make it make sense.

Filed under: Beauty, Hair, Fashion Week

HAIR: Rudi Lewis for Redken
MAKEUP: Romy Soleimani for MAC Cosmetics
NAILS: Deborah Lippmann for the Lippmann Collection
SNAPSHOT: Pretty Nomad

THE SCOOP: Designer Adam Lippes' Fall 2010 fashion show was filled with aviator-inspired layers including shearling jackets and knit sweaters in rich earth tones, and the hair and makeup followed suit with an urban traveler appeal.

Influenced by the textures and fabrics in the collection, Rudi Lewis created a woven braid hairstyle with a touch of rock and roll. "I wanted the hair to have texture as well but tougher," said Lewis. "So, I pulled in the sides really tight and folded underneath the crown for a loose Mohawk."

Romey Soleimani carried out this warrior element bringing in earth tone shades to the face. "Adam's collection has all these beautiful grays and then there was this one section that had rust and natural leather colors, so we're playing with those but softer."

Celebrity manicurist Deborah Lippmann rounded out the look with Fashion Week favorite, Fashion, nail lacquer.


GET THE LOOK - HAIR: All products by Redken. Generously apply Spray Starch 15 to locks and blowdry to enhance natural texture. Smooth sides, leaving front slightly raised to mimic a Mohawk and gather into a loose fishtail braid. Finish with Workforce 09 and gently brush to allow a few strands to fly freely.


GET THE LOOK - MAKEUP: All products by MAC. Create a soft cat eye by layering Eye Shadow in Cork and working in Fluidline in Rich Ground. Heavily coat lashes in Studio Brown Studio Fix Lash Mascara. Fill in and brush brows outward for an edgy look. Brush cheeks with Mineralize Blush in Laguna. Highlight right below the lash line, upper tempo, chin and bridge of nose with Cream Colour Base in Pearl. Conceal lip and top with a nude cream base. And finish look by matting down the T-zone.

GET THE LOOK - NAILS: All products by the Lippmann Collection. Groom nails and file down for a rounded look. Paint with two coats of Fashion and top with Addicted to Speed for a sleek finish.


Read about the trends as they're made, behind the scenes at New York Fashion Week. Visit our Backstage Beauty section for the lowdown on hair and makeup, and browse our entire Fashion Week section for runway reviews, celebrity gossip, and more stylish scoops.

Adam Fall 2010 - Backstage Beauty originally appeared on StyleList on Sat, 13 Feb 2010 19:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Here's what happened today in the world of video games, popular culture and technology!

• VIDEO: We finally get a look at Fallout: New Vegas in a brand-new teaser trailer.
• Sega announced today that Sonic The Hedgehog 4 will hit PSN, Live and Nintendo this summer.
• Ubisoft announced today that Splinter Cell: Conviction will be released on April 13.

• Check out part 2 of the best of X-Play's comedy.
• Rockstar Games have announced the winner of its Red Dead Redemption Movember mustache-growing contest.
• It's looking more and more like Sony's motion controller will be called the "Arc."
• A photo showing a prototype version of Project Natal has reportedly surfaced.
• THQ revealed some new titles: A new Saint's Row, a UFC game and a Red Faction title.
• VIDEO: War Machine Debuts In Iron Man 2: The Video Game Trailer
• Nintendo says that Metroid: Other M will explore the more "emotional side" of Samus.
• Sony has acknowledged they're currently working out how to charge for PlayStation Network services.
• VIDEO: Metro 2033 Trailer Journeys Into The Unknown
• We recently got some hands-on time with Metro 2033, and you can hear all about it right here.
• Take a look back at the very first episode of X-Play, Adam's first appearance on TV, as well as see Adam and Morgan throughout time!
• Capcom is considering Monster Hunter Frontier on Xbox 360 for a release outside Japan.
• In Patrick Klepek's latest My Life In Home column, he expores an online magazine entirely dedicated to Home.
• Gamers have beaten World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King. See the proof.
• In this episode of Feedback, the crew discusses Mass Effect 2 and reacts to the iPad. Is it good for games?
• VIDEO: Halo Legends Clip Previews Animation Collection Coming Feb. 16
• Today is Tweet Like a Zombie Day!
• Casey tells you about the new Lord of the Rings Online expansion, shows off the WoW arena season 8 armor sets, and more.
• L.A. Noire will be in the next issue of Game Informer.
• The Who's Super Bowl performance will be available in Rock Band as a downloadable track.
• Next week, you'll be able to download Megadeth's Rust in Peace for Rock Band and Rock Band 2. That's the entire album, baby.
• VIDEO: Demo Discussion: Aliens vs. Predator
• The Sims franchise is ten years old today, and it made us think of just how awful we've treated them in the past.

Travis Evans & Michelle Ricketts

October 24, 2009

Location: Skylight Farm (family home in Stanardsville), dinner at The Lafayette Inn

Guests: 16

Engagement Length: 1 year

How we met: I bought my first (and second and third) road bike from him.

Budget: Less than $10,000

DIY: I took on the role of "wedding planner," which meant that Travis and I were intimately involved in every step of the process.

Splurged on: Our photographer, who was worth every penny.

Scrimped on: We made several lower-cost decisions based on the size and style of our wedding.

Something new: I was so excited about marrying Travis that I was focused more on him and the ceremony than on traditions.

Music: My mom surprised us with a harpist, Virginia Schweninger, for the ceremony.

First dance song: Since our group was small, we decided to have a dinner reception without the dancing.

"Wow" moment: The ceremony itself-- we had two amazing ministers, Reverends Elisheva and Wade Clegg, who prepared a beautiful and personal service that was extremely touching. Reverend Elisheva's ceremony message was kept as a surprise to us and was worth the wait.

"Bridezilla" moment: The wedding invitations arrived in the wrong color and virtually unreadable. I was out of town and under a deadline, which caused a complete over-reaction on my part. Luckily, Travis took care of everything and the correct invitations were delivered in time for mailing.

Unexpected: We experienced torrential downpours up until about two hours before the start of the service. Thankfully, the rain stopped, the clouds parted, and the sun came out for our ceremony.

Advice: Remember to keep everything in perspective and to not get caught up in the details-- don't lose sight of the true meaning of your wedding. Days, weeks, and years down the road, it will not matter what the favors, place settings, or appetizers were.

Lauren Elizabeth Pool & Ryan Karl Grammer

May 30, 2009

Location: Christ Episcopal Church, reception at Powell Family Farm

Guests: 175

Engagement Length: 10 months

How we met: Ryan and I met on a blind date during our first year at UVA, became friends our second and third years, and become best friends our fourth year-- six years of dating, engagement, and marriage followed!

Budget: $30,000-35,000

DIY: My mom and I planned the entire event; specifics included save-the-dates, welcome bags, menus, and programs-- but the biggest thing we did ourselves was my wedding gown! My mom and I worked with a wedding gown designer, Charla Bjostad of Pleiades Bridal in Richmond, to redesign a Monique Lhuillier gown to be exactly what I imagined. My mom handmade the gorgeous flower on my hip.

Splurged on: Band and tent

Scrimped on: We did a lot of things ourselves and worked with alternate vendors. Our invitations were gorgeous, but we ordered them through the mail, and I wanted cupcakes instead of an elaborate cake.

Something blue: The monogram inside my dress.

Music: Coconut Groove Band from North Carolina-- one of the favorite parts of our evening because it was something other than Motown; Shankar Srinvasan, an amazingly talented violinist and student at UVA for the cocktail hour; Paul Walker from Christ Episcopal during the ceremony.

First dance song: "I'm on Fire" by Bruce Springsteen

"Wow" moment: All of our guests moved from the cocktail hour on the porch around my uncle's house to the tent. My parents and Ryan and I held back a minute. My parents then walked down the path to the tent, and a couple of minutes later Ryan and I followed. We entered the tent and everyone was clapping and cheering, the band started our first dance right after we walked in, and we glided on to the black and white dance floor to do our first dance-- it was one of my absolute favorite memories.

"Bridezilla" moment: Yes, there were a few-- one was during one of my dress fittings three weeks prior to our wedding. Sometimes it is hard to step back and remember although your wedding is one of the most important days of your life, your guests are just there to have a good time.

Unexpected: How quickly the night went and how wonderful the memories have been after-- there were times when I wasn't sure all the planning would be worth it, but without a doubt, it was.

Advice: Take risks to do something a little different and make the details sing with the love you feel for each other.

Leslie Morgan & Josh Lowry

November 21, 2009

Location: McGuffey Art Center

Guests: 95

Engagement Length: 14 months

How we met: We met watching WWE wrestling at a friend's house.

Budget: Under $11,000

DIY: The invitations, which I had printed at The Copy Shop on Elliewood Ave-- we used color plates from an old book for the image on the front. I made necklaces for the bridesmaids, and my friend Kristen Bodensick made their earrings.

Splurged on: Flowers and cupcakes

Something borrowed: An old, blue handkerchief from my great-great aunt Jean.

Music: Friends played acoustic music for our processional and recessional. Our reception DJ was Steve Richmond.

First dance song: "True Love Ways" by Buddy Holly

"Wow" moment: A bagpiper escorted us from the photo session to the reception.

"Bridezilla" moment: I tried to avoid public bridezilla moments. Frustrations definitely mounted as the wedding drew closer, but Josh helped me remember to look at each obstacle separately and figure out what to do.

Unexpected: The bagpiper would also qualify as something unexpected.

Advice: Not to get overwhelmed, but take each thing as it comes. Also, if people offer to help, let them.

Ben Schnable & Vanessa Leech

April 25, 2009

Location: Farmington Country Club

Guests: 116

Engagement Length: 7 months

How we met: At a mutual friend's dinner party.

Budget: $40,000

DIY: Out-of-town guest bags, guest book

Splurged on: An outdoor cigar bar

Scrimped on: Favors

Something old: My earrings

First dance song: "Be Mine" by David Gray

"Wow" moment: The flowers were incredible-- I don't know anything about flowers, so I left it all up to Randy and Joey of Floral Images Design Studio, and the centerpieces were amazing-- not to mention our initials in rose petals!

"Bridezilla" moment: I'm pretty easy going, so I don't think I had one.

Unexpected: My veil kept flying into my face because of the wind, so after two minutes I yanked it off and threw it on the ground. That got a good chuckle from everyone-- guess I wasn't meant to wear a veil!

Advice: Really cherish every moment of being a bride! This is the most memorable day of your life, but it flies by-- it is worth all the hard work you put into it!

Jason Winall & Jessica White

September 18, 2009

Location: St. James Chapel at Michaux, reception at The Gazebo at Winall home (my father-in-law's house)

Guests: 100

Engagement Length: Almost 3 months

How we met: We met each other during a summer when I was home from college working as an intern at a local construction company in which he was one of their subcontractors-- we started dating and have been together since.

Budget: We kept it around $10,000

DIY: We did almost everything we could ourselves-- anything from planning, set-up, decorations, to serving and take-down. We even helped with some of the restoration work completed on the church in the months previous to the wedding.

Splurged on: Our photography was the single most expensive item, but it was definitely worth every penny.

Scrimped on: By not using a wedding planner, not having a full bar, buffet-style dinner in lieu of a sit-down meal, and by setting up and assembling a lot of the things ourselves we saved a lot of money in the long run.

Something blue: The sapphire stone I have in my wedding ring in lieu of a diamond.

Music: Typical wedding music but mostly country music was played-- really whatever the DJ felt like playing.

First dance song: "Treat Her Right" by Sawyer Brown

"Wow" moment: For our guests, it was seeing us on the horse-drawn carriage that we used to go between places or the quaintness of the church in which we got married-- it was built in 1882 and has a lot of history behind it involving the community in which my husband grew up in.

"Bridezilla" moment: None that I can think of-- it was a short planning period, and I was the one with the vision of what it was going to be-- but I am truly thankful to have such a great family and group of friends who helped me tremendously throughout the whole process.

Unexpected: How many little things are involved when planning your own wedding-- especially when you are having the reception at a family place and are not using anybody else to be the one in charge of the coordination between the vendors.

Advice: Make sure that your day is a reflection of you and, if at all possible, keep things small and simple.

Brandy Stone & Owen Walker

October 16, 2009

Location: King Family Vineyards

Guests: 92

Engagement Length: 10 months

How we met: We met in Washington, D.C.

Budget: We set a budget of $30,000, however I was able to stay well under the budget mainly because we had under 100 people. Owen and I made a list of which components were most important to us and spent accordingly.

DIY: I became best friends with the staff at my local Paper Source store and created the save the dates, programs, seating cards, and table numbers. I also sewed travel shoe bags as part of the bridesmaids' gifts. My mom took amazing pictures of King Family Vineyard which we made into a photo guest book.

Splurged on: Venue. We planned a private wine tasting in the barrel room prior to the rehearsal. We also hired Melissa Burr of Jennifer Carroll Events as the day-of wedding coordinator. In my opinion, it was the best decision we made-- she took everything off my hands.

Scrimped on: I fell in love with a Melissa Sweet wedding dress, but not the price tag. I was lucky enough to find a dress made by Paloma Blanca that was almost identical, but a fraction of the cost.

Something old: I wore an antique opal ring given to me by my grandmother, Virginia Stone. Sewn into my dress was an ivory lace applique from my mother's wedding dress.

Music: Montebello Quartet performed at our ceremony cocktail hour and Horizon played during our reception.

First Dance Song: "L-O-V-E" by Nat King Cole

"Wow" moment: We decided to take our pictures prior to the ceremony in order to take full advantage of the cocktail hour. Our "wow" moment was a private meeting in the vineyards before taking pictures.

"Bridezilla" moment: The closest I had was during my last dress fitting, the week prior to the scheduled pick-up date. They made the mistake of taking an inch in along both sides of the dress instead of taking the dress up an inch at the hem. Needless to say, the dress wouldn't zip up. Their solution was for me to lose weight in one week in order to fix it-- that was a completely unreasonable request, so for the next week I made sure that they accommodated my schedule so that the dress could be fixed.

Unexpected: We had hoped to have the ceremony outside with the mountains in the background-- we didn't expect the weather to be 40 degrees and rainy the day of our wedding. While the rain had stopped prior to the ceremony, the temperature was still very cold. So while our hearts were set on having the ceremony outside, we loved the indoor option even more. The large lit fireplace was our backdrop-- it was very intimate, romantic, and warm.

Advice: For the couple-- stay together the entire night. It's so easy to be pulled in different directions especially while trying to talk to guests. The night is about the two of you so enjoy every last minute together.

Kate Lynn Schirmer & Adam Nemett

June 20, 2009

Location: Veritas Vineyard

Guests: 175

Engagement Length: 1.5 years

How we met: In a poetry workshop at Princeton University, where we both received our undergraduate degrees.

Budget: Less than $50,000

DIY: I made and printed the programs myself, in addition to crafting table signs/instructions for the speciality cocktails, Polaroid photo station, and candy bar. My husband designed the escort cards to look like old card catalog files-- we're both writers and a literary theme pervaded our reception. I sourced a lot of materials from DIY-ers on Etsy.com.

Splurged on: The dress, a Melissa Sweet design; alcohol, including many different kinds of Veritas wines and port served throughout the night and a special champagne brought in by my father; providing every individual working behind the scenes the same meal as our guests.

Scrimped on: Not much! We used basic color laser printing for our invitations, but included some "wow" factor by adding a colored overlay of a watercolor painted by Adam's father of the ceremony site landscape.

Something old: A diamond necklace made out of one of my grandmother's earrings, which my sister Liza had made for me.

Music: The Adrian Duke Project, with a total of eight musicians including a horn section and an extra female vocalist.

First dance song: Two different versions of "Just Like Heaven:" an acoustic composition recorded by local singer/songwriter Helen Horal, which Adam had created for his proposal, that then segued into the original, fast-paced tune by The Cure.

"Wow" moment: The ceremony was spectacular all around: from the view of the Blue Ridge framing us to the family and friends participating as officiants and performers to the special rituals and text we created ourselves. We felt as though we were at the center of a beautiful, personal little world. Also, our first glance at the ballroom, which Shawn Cossette of Beehive Events arranged phenomenally, was pretty magical.

"Bridezilla" moment: From what everyone says, I was a fairly "zen" bride. However I did burst into tears when, after three unsuccessful days of dress shopping, a saleswoman at Macy's in New York forced me into this awful satin ballgown and called me a princess.

Unexpected: How much genuine fun it all was. And everyone tells you this, but it really does go by in a blur-- you will be processing for weeks.

Advice: Dance! I was really pleased to look back on all the photos and see both of us rocking out on the dance floor. That's really who we are as a couple, so I'm glad we got to just be ourselves in that way, even if it meant not saying hello to every single guest. Also, eat everything! Why miss out?

Jennifer Schulz & David Goodman

May 23, 2009

Location: Bristow Manor Golf Club, Bristow, Virginia

Guests: 85

Engagement Length: 12 months

How we met: Even though we went to high school together, it wasn't until we ended up in the same dorm at JMU that we realized how much we clicked.

Budget: David's parents gave us our reception as our wedding gift. Our contribution to everything else was about $10,000, which covered music, photos, attire, decor, favors, flowers, etc.

DIY: I'm a graphic designer so I loved that Bristow basically let me do whatever I wanted. We made lace luminaria for the walkways, wine bottle table numbers, hand stitched our programs, die cut favor bags... everything really reflected our aesthetic, and in the end it was really worth the energy.

Splurged on: Photos and rings-- they're the only things besides each other that you'll have after the big day.

Scrimped on: My dress-- I found a gorgeous designer silk gown for under $150. It was an amazing find, and the only thing I didn't change my mind on throughout the entire planning process.

Something blue: I found a blue topaz cocktail ring as my something blue.

Music: We love the energy of a live band, so we asked the Josh Walker Trio to play our reception. We used an iPod packed with our favorite songs for the cocktail hour.

First dance song: "Heartbeats" by Jose Gonzales, but we also made sure we were on the dance floor for "Sweet Thing" by Van Morrison.

"Wow" moment: Seeing our photos was so exciting. We really put a lot of details into each aspect of our day, and the photographer really caught that.

"Bridezilla" moments: Probably the ugliest moment happened the day I ended up screaming at my Maid of Honor over the phone because she refused to buy her shoes.

Unexpected: I didn't know I'd have to speak Hebrew during our ceremony.

Advice: Enjoy being engaged! It's stressful, but you'll miss the bridal magazines and craft parties once it's all over.

Mary Stubblefield & Daniel Bracey

August 1, 2009

Location: Sweely Estate Winery

Guests: 160

Engagement Length: 8 months

How we met: We met through my friend from high school, who was Daniel's fraternity brother at UVA.

Budget: $20,000-25,000

DIY: I used my mom's button collection and placed one on each guest's place card. I covered clear glass candle votives with a white eyelet fabric. We named each guest's table after an important dog in our lives, and we printed the dogs' picture in black and white, framed them in cardstock, and placed them in a stand made from wine corks. We made two clothesline of 8X10 black and white baby pictures of ourselves and pictures of us as a couple, attaching the pictures with wooden clothespins. We also printed our own programs and placed them in glassine bags, and printed our own labels for water bottles with a logo of our names and wedding date.

Splurged on: Food, venue, the band, the fun stuff for our guests.

Scrimped on: For flowers, we used a lot of palms and greenery which saved money in the floral department. Also saved on invitations, save the dates, and programs.

Something new: My dress and birdcage veil

Music: Jimi Smooth and the Hit Time Band-- these guys played at several date functions that Dan and I attended at the beginning of our relationship.

First dance song: "Stars Fell on Alabama," Jimmy Buffett

"Wow" moment: Lead singer from Parachute, Will Anderson, played the acoustic version of "She is Love" as my bridesmaids and I walked down the aisle-- the moment was perfect! (My brother is the drummer in Parachute.)

"Bridezilla" moments: I don't think so, although other people may beg to differ. I really made a conscious effort not to freak out over things that didn't exactly work out the way I pictured them.

Unexpected: The weather was perfect for the ceremony, then there was a huge downpour during the reception (which involved some minor flooding, but was beautiful), then it cleared up for our sparkler send-off.

Advice: Savour every moment during the planning process so that you don't have any regrets. Don't take each detail too seriously; no one really cares if the plate they eat off of has a gold or silver rim. Your main goals should be to get married and make sure everyone who comes has a great time.

Eric Flow & Meghan Tellone

September 25, 2009

Location: Christ Episcopal Church, reception at King Family Vineyards

Guests: 250

Engagement Length: 10 months

How we met: While we were friends at UVA, we went on a ski trip to Telluride, CO during our second year, and the rest is history!

Budget: Approximately $50,000

DIY: The save-the-dates-- designed them on Adobe Photoshop, put them together, turned out better than we could ever find in a book, online, etc. and so much cheaper!

Splurged on: The band (BS&M through Sam Hill) and the catering (20 South)-- did an open bar, the whole nine yards-- wanted people to have fun and be well fed!

Scrimped on: Not overdoing it with flowers, worked more with decor and lighting.

Something borrowed: Socks-- too funny!-- I forgot to pack them and I wore Cowboy boots under my dress (the best thing to dance in) and had to borrow a pair from my mom!

Music: BS&M-- it was a hopping party... dance floor packed all night!

First dance song: Our wonderful band learned "I Got You Babe" by Sonny & Cher

"Wow" moment: Our first dance blew everyone away. Everyone thought it was rehearsed and it wasn't at all! At the end, Eric dipped me and everyone could see my cowboy boots-- everyone talked about them, even today. I only wore them because they are comfortable and I didn't feel like spending money on a pair of shoes I would never wear again!

"Bridezilla" moment: Nothing too outrageous; it rained the morning of my wedding day and everyone thought I'd flip out. I actually stayed extremely calm-- I was just so happy for the special day and being surrounded by friends and family.

Unexpected: Just that the day/ceremony/reception were all better than I could have ever imagined!

Advice: Do not listen to anyone-- don't follow silly traditions if you don't want to. It is your day, and it will turn out beautifully if you had anything to do with it!

#

Previous / Next image (1 of 7) Click images to view slideshow Designer: Adam Johnson Publisher: Harper Perennial Images from: Getty, Corbis, Library of Congress Typeface: Knockout Adam's work (which you should check out on his website) is very refreshing and engaging. Not only does he have a handle on typography and a great sense of composition, but he's also one of those frustrating designers who can draw as well. Where are you people coming from? Thanks for sharing Adam. — Nate Salciccioli So, Adam…from where do you hail? I grew up in upstate New York in a rural town north of Syracuse. I received a BA in graphic design from Brigham Young University, in Provo Utah. I then interned at REDslc, a small design firm. How did you begin specializing in book covers? My wife and I moved to NYC the fall of 2007 and I worked briefly for The Moderns, a creative agency. It didn't really work out there, and a friend I met at the Moderns mentioned an opening at HarperCollins Publishers. Book cover design sort of fell into my lap, which is crazy because I never really planned on it, but it's a great fit for me. What’s a typical day at the office like? At work I balance my time between routing approved cover mechanicals and designing the new season's covers. What’s the background for the 'Classic Shorts' series? This Classic Shorts series has a bit of an interesting backstory. Because our publisher loves Project Runway, she thought we should do our own competition with a few covers each season. The art department would show their designs and the judges—our publisher, the head of marketing, and the head editor—would select the best cover. We had tried it once before with the paperback version of My Mistress's Sparrow is Dead and it was a success. They wanted us to make these books accessible to a new audience by giving them a fresh look. They envisioned a box set that would be sold together and separately. They initially said to steer away from using an image and to make it primarily typographic. Previous / Next image (1 of 7) Round 1 Comps. Click images to view slideshow. At the time I had been working at Harper Perennial a little under a year, and was still getting the hang of designing new covers. I began with a few type sketches. (see sketch 1) For my first round, I over-thought the design, and although I knew that color was going to be key and that the spines should somehow coordinate, I became overly obsessed with using a confusing series of icons to illustrate the titles. Needless to say, the first round I showed wasn't among the finalists. (see round 1) From the first round, a few covers stood out to our judges. One version had full-bleed images of the authors showing them as interesting characters with crazy beards, outfits, etc. Another was a slip case with a collage of the authors by my senior art director Robin Bilardello (see collage case). Later on, our publisher mentioned an idea to try showing the authors as little army men. Previous / Next image (1 of 7)Round 2 comps. Click images to see the process. I had an idea to interpret army men as small paper-doll-like cutouts. I printed, cut out, and quickly shot some rough photos of each author to mock up for the covers. (see cutouts) I used bold colors and the most interesting photos and poses I could find. I still clung to the icons though, until my art director wisely asked, "Do you really need them?" (see Round 2 v1-3) The publisher wanted some minor tweeks like switching the title and author's name, and adding their first name (which I tried to fight). I'm really pleased with how they turned out. All the authors together.

Yesterday in Los Angeles, two legends joined Casper on the commuter bus in Heaven. Both Jean Simmons (no relation to The Tongue) and James Mitchell passed away.

Hollywood star Jean Simmons died at her home in Santa Monica, CA from lung cancer at the age of 80. Jean was nominated for Oscars for her roles in Hamlet and The Happy Ending. Jean also starred in Desiree, Guys and Dolls, Dark Shadows and Spartacus. And in the magical time known as the 1980s, Jean played Patrick Swayze's mommy in the North and South mini-series.

Jean is survived by her two daughters and one grandkid.

James Mitchell, who played the legendary Palmer Cortlandt on All My Children for a million years, died in Los Angeles at the age of 89. ABC said James died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and complications from pneumonia.

James started his career by thrusting it on Broadway in such musicals as Carousel and Oklahoma. In 1979, James began his role as Palmer, Opal's true love and Adam's arch rival, on AMC. James' last appearance on the soap was on January 5, 2010.

James is survived by his partner Albert Wolsky.

Rest in peace, James and Jean. Hopefully, you joined hands and jazz walked up to heaven together.

For the longest time, Adam has wanted long hair.  Last year, we let it grow until I couldn't stand it any longer and chopped it off in time for spring soccer.  He has the thickest hair and is always the sweatiest boy out there.

I've cut Adam's hair since he was a baby, and it's transformed from thin baby hair, to thick curly hair, and now to thick, slightly wavy hair (miss the curls!).  His hair is so thick, it's like cutting a paintbrush.  I've had to buy new haircutting scissors because his hair dulled the first pair.  But every haircutting experience is an exercise in frustration as he is completely ticklish.  So the less haircutting I have to do, the better.

I actually enjoy his longer hair, as now I have an excuse to run my fingers through it to see his face.  Doug thinks it's too messy.  Grandma loves it because she thinks he looks like Harry Potter.  I'm not sure how long he'll continue to let his mom stroke his hair, but I'm getting my fill before some lucky girl takes over.  I also enjoy the soft skin on his cheeks and tell him to enjoy his beautiful skin before he becomes a teenager.  You know, rub your hands on them and feel how soft they are.  He thinks I'm crazy.

He can't wait for his bangs to grow over his eyes so he can truly be Emo boy . Doug and I always use this Skype emoticon when referring to him.





Hosted by Cecily and Michelle

Just-released clip paints 'American Idol' runner-up as an emotionally raw and exhausted man.
By Jim Cantiello

Adam Lambert in "Whataya Want From Me"
Photo: RCA/19

It's not easy being Adam Lambert.

That seems to be the message behind the music video for Lambert's "Whataya Want From Me," which premiered on VH1 on Friday morning (January 15).

The brand-new clip showcases the glam rocker in a sparse industrial apartment. But instead of the "glittery alien from Planet Fierce" persona we've come to expect from the showman, we're seeing an emotionally raw and exhausted man, uncomfortable in a cold, new-looking home and torn between the different roles he's forced to play in his very public life.

The various "Adams" are all represented in the video, and the one thing they share in common is that they're all miserable. There's slick-artist-in-a-tailored-suit Adam, happy in front of the paparazzi but depressed once the limo door shuts. We also meet plain-James Adam, clad in a simple black T-shirt and jeans, who spends his time lounging on a couch and crying. Of course, there's also rock-star Adam, who pops up with his band to sing the chorus of the song.

Which "Adam" persona is the real deal? The "Whataya Want From Me" video suggests that all of them are. Lambert's a lonely emo kid, a frustrated superstar, a glam-rock glitter addict and a guy who orders Chinese takeout when he's depressed, just like the rest of us. He can be all those things, so don't try to pinpoint him as just one thing.

At first glance, one could interpret this video as Adam's "fame isn't all it's cracked up to be" statement (see: Britney Spears' "Everytime" clip). Although most of the video takes place in a private apartment, Adam is always reacting to the ever-present camera that lingers, harasses and, at one point, slams the door on him. Adam's relationship with the intrusive camera runs the gamut from trying to ignore it to getting violent with it. Sometimes he wants it to be close; other times he's giving it death stares from across the room.

So what does the camera represent?

Is it the point of view of his lover, upset with Adam's newfound fame and the baggage that comes along with it? Maybe. Or perhaps the camera represents his fans. Adam's relationship with his obsessive fanbase is complicated, particularly after Adam recently tweeted begging his followers for a little privacy.

A case could be made that the camera represents everyone — his fans, his lovers, even his detractors. Early in the video, Adam cradles a television remote, which could either be a wink to his reality-show past or a nod to the controversy that surrounded his American Music Awards performance. The suit that "angry artist" Adam wears later in the video looks an awful lot like the outfit he wore on the red carpet of the AMAs, just hours before he became defensive and lashed out at ABC for censoring his awards-show debut.

Lambert performed "Whataya Want From Me" (co-written by Pink and Max Martin) during his post-AMA media blitz. The song's chorus — in which he's literally asking the listener what they want from him and begs them not to give up on him — seemed all the more poignant coming from a star in the midst of a public firestorm. One can't help but think that veteran music-video director Diane Martel (also responsible for videos from "Idol" alums Clay Aiken and Jennifer Hudson) was at least partially inspired by Lambert's complicated situation.

In the emotional video's final moments, the camera returns to find Adam Lambert sitting up in the bed he hasn't made. He's relieved that the camera/ his lover/ his fans/ the attention of the world took the song's meaning to heart. Despite all the drama, we haven't given up on him. In fact, we're happy to get back in bed with him.

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Have you spent the recent weeks fantasising about escaping the cold and the daily grind? Meet the modern-day nomads who have taken the plunge

Read more: the beginner's guide to travel blogging

The diving instructors

It's not unusual for disillusioned graduates to pack a bag and hit the road, but what distinguishes dive enthusiasts Ben Stokes, 30, and Sarah Kemsley, 31, is that they kept going. Since meeting in Malaysia in 2003, the couple have worked as diving instructors in Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Egypt, Honduras, Belize and Fiji, clocking up over 5,000 dives between them and leaving their respective studies – in advertising and fashion – far behind.

The couple, who learned to dive while travelling, now have their own bespoke travel company, Dive Safari Asia, which is based in the UK but can be run from wherever they are in the world. They put together unguided package trips (flights, accommodation, diving) for their clients or, for more remote destinations, step in and act as guides. "Being in Asia for so many months of the year allows us to discover new destinations and really connect with the places," says Ben.

Typically stationing themselves in a location for two to four months, their three essential requirements are internet access, phone signal and "very good-quality diving".

"Communication is generally good in Asia, but bad weather and poor connection can make things incredibly frustrating," admits Ben. "What might take half an hour online in the UK could take two hours in Indonesia."

One of their best experiences so far has been diving in Sumatra, Indonesia, where their boat was circled by a 4m manta ray. They are now in Bali, where they plan to base themselves for 12 months, making various trips around the area. "You couldn't cover this area fully in a lifetime," enthuses Ben.

Ben and Sarah, originally from Bristol and Leamington Spa respectively, can imagine continuing their nomadic lifestyle for another five years and then maybe setting up a more long-term base, perhaps in Asia. "We're not so against the 9-to-5 lifestyle or the UK that we'll never go back," says Ben. "In fact, we could only do this with complete confidence, and enjoyment, knowing that the door is always open to return."

Ben's tip "Start by getting rid of all the possessions that are holding you back from becoming location independent. Sell them, give them away or, if you really have to, put them into storage. You'll be surprised by how little you'll need or want on the road."

The online consultants

Lea and Jonathan Woodward left the UK in February 2007. Since then, the childhood sweethearts, originally from Nottingham, have lived in Panama, Argentina, Grenada, Canada, Hong Kong, Dubai, Italy and South Africa. Last year, they were joined by a new travel companion, their daughter Mali, now four months old. "We're not quite sure where we're headed next – possibly somewhere else in Asia," says Lea, 32. "And Costa Rica is definitely on our itinerary for some time in 2010."

The Woodwards' calling came when graphic designer Jonathan, 34, was made redundant for the second time in two years. "We decided to make a go of it on our own and set up our own business together," recalls Lea. "The only problem was we had trouble meeting the same living standard – loft apartment, nice car, regular meals out . . . That's when I hit upon the idea of moving somewhere else in the world, where we could enjoy the same standard of living but for far less."

The couple now run a branding and marketing consultancy, Kinetiva , which has clients across the world. They also run an online community, Location Independent, that offers guidance for people looking to adopt a nomadic lifestyle. The couple make money through the site by selling online courses, travel guides and ebooks. "The main aim for our business is not just to cover costs but to make a profit, and living in lower-cost countries enables us to do this even more so than if we were in the UK," says Lea.

The Woodwards live on a typical budget of between £1,000 and £2,000 per month, which gives them a very comfortable standard of living. Travelling with a baby has meant some readjustments, but they are adamant that family life can be compatible with a life on the road. "It's not like we'll go trekking in the wilds of Borneo with a young baby," says Lea, from their current base, a one-bedroom bungalow on the Thai island of Phuket, which costs them £70 per week. "We'll probably stay a bit longer in places now, so it's not too unsettling. We're really just going to see how it goes and adjust our approach as required."

Their advice to any parents considering this lifestyle is to focus on creating the income stream first, even if it takes a year or two. Lea admits that there can be unsettling periods when you feel "insecure, uncertain and out of sorts". But there have certainly been many more high points along the way. "One of my dreams had always been to experience Caribbean life, and the five months we spent in Grenada were fantastic," she recalls. "Being able to swim in the warm, turquoise sea every single day and realising that this was our life is something I will always remember."

Lea's tip "If you're totally new to the concept, read around to understand how it all works, and get a few insights into the realities of it. You can also connect with people who live the lifestyle through blogs, Facebook or Twitter. Many are happy to answer questions."

The DJ

In November 2006, Adam Schofield sold everything he owned – including an inherited house – and bought a flight to San Francisco. Three years on, the 31-year-old from Bolton has travelled down through the Americas, from Canada to Argentina, and enjoyed a stint in the Caribbean. Having made his funds stretch by DJing along the way and finding free accommodation through couchsurfing.com, he's now taking a "break" in Saigon, Vietnam.

"I totally fell in love with this country," he says of Vietnam, where he plans to stay for a year or two before travelling the rest of Asia. "A local Couchsurfer helped get me a job as a teacher and found me an incredible six-storey house to live in which I rent with three other people. I got myself a motorbike to drive around the city and I'm teaching English for 18 hours a week." In between, he still fits in the occasional DJ set and some freelance writing, as well as getting additional money through sponsors and affiliates on his blog, couchsurfingtheworld.com.

Adam estimates that he has spent £20,000 over the past three years. His current cost of living is around £200 a month, £125 of which is rent, and he earns £620 a month through teaching. He invested in stocks when he sold his house and this bumps up his funds. "I had to sit back and wait for the market to improve, but now I'm making money again," he says.

Adam cites his destination highlights as Colombia, Mexico, Guatemala, Cuba and Brazil, while the most memorable DJ gigs of his trip have been a full-moon party beside the sea in Oaxaca, Mexico and in a club on the 40th floor of a skyscraper in Bogotá, Colombia. "[In Bogotá] I told the boss I would DJ for free as long as Couchsurfers got free entry. He didn't think 260 people would show up!"

Now that he has a temporary base, Adam is hoping his family and friends – whom he hasn't seen for three years – will finally get a chance to visit. He also insists that his couch will be open to anyone. And although he'd love to make a return visit to the UK – making a special pilgrimage to the curry houses in Manchester's Rusholme – he's sure he'd soon be ready to move on again. "I love England," he admits, "but it will always be there, and until I've seen the world I still don't have a home as such."

Adam's tip "You have to be good at trusting people. Building and maintaining a new social circle of friends is pivotal to your overall experience of settling into a new place. Also remember that your intended destination may not be everything you imagined, so have a back-up plan."

The home-swappers

In summer 2008, Julie and Martin Gibbons (39 and 42) crossed the "last hurdle to freedom" and removed their 11-year-old son Ruaridh from school. Their line of work – a web business that builds psychometric personality applications – was already location independent, and now the entire family was, too.

The Gibbons travel by keeping a base, a four-bedroom home in West Lothian, Scotland, and swapping it with other homeowners on a short-term basis (between two weeks and four months) through home-exchange websites. So far, they have stayed in seven locations across France and one in Spain, including an apartment in the centre of French spa town, Aix-les-Bains, a renovated farmhouse in a tiny hamlet near La Rochelle on France's Atlantic coast, and a basic mountain house in Spanish Catalonia.

"Our expenses are the same as when we're at home because we continue to pay bills as normal, with only the travel expenses costing extra," says Julie. "Wherever we are the cost of living is generally less than it is in the UK, and because we are paid a fixed salary from our company, we know exactly where we stand from month to month."

Their company, People Maps , was set up with the goal of geographic independence, and employs up to 11 people at any time. ("Some of whom we haven't even met," explains Julie. "But they're hired on the basis of a psychometric test, a telephone call and a test exercise.") They have permanent staff in Calcutta, and have also hired people in France, Ukraine and the Philippines at various times. As Julie explains: "We all work from home – but that 'home' can be anywhere in the world." Meanwhile, Ruaridh appears to be thriving in his new way of life. "At first, he was slightly nervous about spending so much time away from home," says Julie. "But after a year and a half, he's by far and away the best traveller out of all of us. We do home-schooling – both of us teach him – and also count nearly all experiences as 'educational'. Learning a new language has proven one of the most valuable aspects for him."

The family is currently setting up their house-swap for next summer. "We're planning to move on to Spain, but beyond that, it's all a bit of a mystery. One of the things that's so great about home-swapping is that you can start off with one plan, and end up in places you've never heard of, or considered."

Julie's tip "Don't start out with grand plans to emigrate and leave the country forever. It makes it sound less scary, for you and the people around you if you treat it as a 'trip' – even if your 'trip' turns out to be never-ending."

The blogger

"Whenever someone asks about my profession, I simply say that I help people quit their day jobs," says 20-year-old Glen Allsopp, from Newcastle upon Tyne. Two years ago, his online work as a blogger and marketeer caught the eye of a South African company, which recruited him to work as a social media manager for some Fortune 100 clients. Having also spent time working in Hanoi and Bangkok, he became fully freelance in January 2009 and launched a guide to becoming a digital nomad. Although his online income fluctuates a lot, the monthly figure is now typically above £6,000. "For a college dropout, and given the current economic climate, I'm quite proud of my achievements," he says.

Glen is currently based in Amsterdam, where he has rented an apartment 10 minutes' walk from Leidseplein, one of the main squares, and is planning to spend two months in the city, soaking up local life. He says the so-called "passive income" he gains from having already built a portfolio of websites means he works only three to four hours per week.

Of course, such a lifestyle hasn't come without ample groundwork. Glen showed entrepreneurial flare through his teens and developed an expertise in search engine optimisation (getting websites to rank higher in search engines like Google). He now makes his money by setting up successful blogs, which he uses to promote various affiliate products, sells advertising and, in some cases, sells on the entire site. Much of his income also comes from a self-published ebook and series of tutorial videos for those who want to earn an income online.

For Glen, the main appeal of this type of travel is being able to combine leisurely sightseeing with fitting into everyday life and making local friends. He's particularly enjoyed seeing how the festive season is celebrated in Holland, including SinterKlaas, a traditional Dutch festival on 5 December, where good children are left presents in their shoes.

Glen's next step will be to continue his travels through Europe (Prague, Milan, Paris, Stockholm), before "probably moving back to Asia". Although it can be tough living out of a suitcase and constantly having to say goodbyes, the plus points of not having a boss and being able to travel on mean he wouldn't change his lifestyle for anything.

Glen's tip "A lot of people don't believe this kind of lifestyle is possible, so they'll unconsciously try and hold you back. Instead of judging them for it, just accept it and keep moving forward towards your goals."

I always get bummed after New Years as it usually is followed by the end of the NFL regular season. Only 12 of 32 teams will continue playing football after today. This means 20 teams begin the long process of wondering what 2010 will bring them. 20 teams will start focusing more on the NFL Draft by assessing Bowl games, scouting reports, and hopefully reading Mocking the Draft (cheap plug, I know). Some of those 20 teams will wonder if their head coaches will be fired, or if coordinators will be replaced. And while much of what I have written this past week has expressed my disappoint with Colts management, I'm not so upset that I don't appreciate the fact that my team is definitely in the post-season. They don't need to win today. They don't need help from other teams.

They are in because they earned it.

With severe weather conditions expected in Buffalo, with lake front winds and snow likely to blanket the stadium, look for Colts starters not to play much against the Bills. 30 Colts players were listed on the injury report this week, a report that (quite honestly) is laughable. Bill Polian is just thumbing his nose a people with that report, which claims 56% of his roster is hurt. The message from Polian is square at folks like us: "SEE! SEE! WE'RE HURT! THIS IS WHY WE RESTED AGAINST THE JETS!"

Whatever. It's pathetic, and Polian's continued arrogance only makes things worse. 30 people on an injury report is positively Belichickian.

The irony is that with the likely conditions today, if the Colts had rested starters and not tried for "perfection" because of those conditions, not one would have complained. Everyone would have understood that thinking, and those that didn't would have been dismissed.

I'm concerned that players like Adam Vinatieri did not make the trip to Buffalo. This pretty much tells me Adam's knee did not hold up after last week's game. If he makes the playoff roster, I'll be shocked. Also not making the trip is Clint Session. Just FYI: Session did not play last week. He will not play this week, and next week is the first round of the playoffs. The Colts have a bye in the first round. This means Clint Session will not play any real football for over almost a month. If Session is rusty in the playoffs, it pretty much destroys Polian's "practice is just as good as playing real games" excuse. Obviously, I don't want Session playing against the Bills. However, four weeks is an awful lot of time away from the game.

But, all I can do now is sigh at Bill Polian and give thanks that my team is in. I'm more interested in the drama that will unfold in the AFC than I am in the Colts v. Bills. Will the Jets and Ravens win and get in? Will the Steelers get some luck and get in, making them a VERY dangerous team? Hell, will the Texans make their very first playoff appearance? All these scenarios offer far more drama than Colts v. Bills, and that's a shame. But, can't control that now. Now, just sit back and watch the book close on another regular season. Seems like yesterday is was early September. I was getting married, and all of y'all were glued to the blog while shake n bake, mgrex03, Colt Homer, and King Richard covered the Week One action.

Amazing how fast the season goes.

The two pictures above tell a story...

One was taken on the day I graduated law school in 1992. I walked across the stage at Lincoln Center in NYC and as I approached to grab my diploma, the Dean leaned into the microphone and said, "man, I wish I had this kid's grades when I graduated law school." I was magna cum laude, top 5, Law Review, blah, blah, blah. I wasn't smarter than anyone else, I just worked insanely hard to get there.

The world lay at my feet. Money, power, prestige. Whatever I wanted. That's why I was smiling.

The second picture was taken in 2006, 14 years later. A few years earlier, I'd left my position as an associate at one of the top law firms in the world. Traded six-figures, Armani suits and hand shakes for bare feet, t-shirts and hugs hello. I was leading a yoga retreat in St. John, Virgin Islands at an eco-resort called Maho Bay. Every day, a small group that blended students from the yoga studio I owned in NYC with others from around the world would wake up, climb to an elevated platform, meditate and practice yoga under a thatched-roof, open-air pavilion.

I'd abandoned everything I thought I wanted, everything that lay at my feet in the first picture.

I'd realized what makes me happy isn't money, power and prestige, but rather the opportunity to:

• Engage in activities that make me come alive,
• Surround myself with people I can't get enough of and
• Earn enough to live well in the world.

That's why I was smiling...well, that and the fact that I was getting paid to hang out with great people, bare foot in paradise.

That second picture is the real me.

It doesn't mean life's always easy, always fun, always flowing along. I have challenges, frustrations, angst and anxiety, just like anyone else. But, because they tend to be in the name of the quest for a more authentic, empowered life, it's so much easier to reframe them as something positive. To move through the challenges with more grace. To understand that, as Kierkegaard said...

Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom.

I've also discovered that part of the process of coming alive involves taking responsibility for your actions and inactions, learning from your outcomes, then closing the book and integrating what you've learned to inform and enhance the next leg of your journey. So, now it's time to look back at 2009, look at what went right and what went wrong, integrate the lessons from these experience...then close the book and move forward.

Closing the book on 2009

For me, 2009 was a year of surprises. Some good, others not so good.

I'd just sold the yoga studio I'd built over the prior 7 years in NYC, left the community behind in the name of clearing my plate to launch a new leg of my journey. On January 13th, my book Career Renegade was released. I'd planned a massive launch campaign, but some things you can't plan for. January had turned into the darkest hour in this country's economy since the Great Depression.

At that moment, people were getting laid off at a rate that horrified even the staunchest optimists. People at all levels, eight-figure captains of industry and minimum wage line-workers. The rally cry of those still employed was, "lower your heard, work harder than ever before and hold onto your job for dear life, because you'll probably never find another if you're fired." Into that market, I was launching a book who's primary message was, "leave your job to do what you love."

You think THAT was a tough sell?

But, I don't do the blame thing. Because the moment you start blaming other people or circumstances for your failure is the moment you lose. Rather than executing the campaign I'd whiteboarded for months and pushing the meme's I thought would drive the book, I began to dance. I reframed what the book was about, positioned it more as a comeback manual, a toolbox to reclaim control for those who'd been laid off.

We sold this message to the media and landed some nice print, a mountain of major market radio and I scored a spot speaking about being a Career Renegade on the Day Stage at SXSW, which was one of my highlights of the year.

The good news was that it worked, at least to a certain extent.

It breathed new life into the book and drove sales. And, my online community of both readers and friends stepped up and supported it in a major way. And, I'm massively thankful to all who rallied to it's cause. To MY cause.

Still, I can't deny, I missed my ultimate goal. I was gunning to become a New York Times bestseller. I knew that would be a tipping point for the book that would likely push huge sales numbers and put the knowledge into the hands of vastly more people. That didn't happen. And, rather than continuing to push hard, get offline and mount a serious ground game, I walked away.

I blamed the market, pulled the majority of my efforts and killed my ground game. And, as I said before, the moment you blame, you lose. I expected the world to step up and embrace my rookie effort as an instant home run. And, for whatever reason, when it said, "we think it's a triple," instead of working my ass of to steal home with every pitch, I bailed on the effort.

Big mistake, one I have to own up to. One I'll learn from for the next book.

And, there WILL be another...and another...and another. That was my plan going in. To sell my seven year business and leverage the publication of Career Renegade to launch a new professional journey as an author, a speaker, a trainer and an entrepeneuer on a much bigger level.

And, it was all based on my assumption that I could hit the New York Times list.

When that didn't happen, I had to tap dance not only to sell books, but to figure out how to rapidly change my big picture plan. I was having trouble figuring out my message, my value proposition in this new, profoundly changed market. And, along with the economy, the speaking industry had also crashed. At least that's what I was hearing. Rather than kick the tires of those claims myself, though, I bought into what other top-of-the-market speakers were telling me. So, instead of doubling down on my desire to speak twice a month, I walked away.

Mistake number two. I know better. Conventional wisdom is almost always wrong.

I eventually discovered that the higher priced speakers in the $25-$50,000 keynote range (yes, some people ACTUALLY get paid that much money to talk for an hour) were indeed the ones taking the biggest hit. Because conference organizers couldn't pay their fees and they didn't want to lower them, knowing that once we came out of the current funk, they'd have to work back up to current price levels over a period of years. That left room for low/mid-priced speakers to swoop in and fill spots in the $5-$15,000 range. Still not bad money for an hour's time, lol!

It took way longer than it should have for me to circle back to this exploration and understand what was really happening.

Now, part of my quest for 2010 is to take action on this information.

And, toward the last quarter of 2009, I also awakened to the fact that, though I didn't hit the New York Times list with my rookie effort, I did still sell a lot more books than the average author. And, I'd spend a tremendous amount of time, energy and even money understanding how to market books in fast-changing online/offline wild west that is today's book world. And, that had value.

So, I created a free 29 page ebook called The Truth About Marketing to share what I'd discovered and released it online.

With minimal effort, that document caught fire in social media and was instantly downloaded thousands of times. The response blew me away. Time to tap dance again.

Within a week, I rebuilt the website that I'd slapped up to host the ebook, turned it into a real blog and announced a 2-day book marketing training in NYC called Tribal Author Camp. That event sold out, again, with minimal marketing, and the feedback was tremendous. Building on this, I'll likely roll out more live Tribal Author events and trainings in 2010. Also, we recorded the NYC event and over the next month, I'll be adding additional content, then launching it to the broader market of authors and aspiring authors as a virtual educational product.

And, this all came to be when I opened myself up to the fact that, just because things didn't unfold exactly the way I planned with Career Renegade, that didn't mean I had nothing of value to share.

Now, I'd be remiss if I didn't also look back and close the book on the experiences and lessons from my physical health.

In the middle of all this professional head-spinning, it's been a tumultuous year for my health.

Shortly after returning from SXSW in Austin, I began to mount an earnest attempt to reclaim my fitness. I'd been derailed the year before with a broken foot and a shoulder that never healed quite right after it's second reconstructive surgery. But, again, I was looking to move beyond blame and finally solve my fitness/health problems.

So, I began to try different ways to move my body, work with various healers and see what my body could handle. I was starting to enjoy running again, so I went back to the trail where I'd broken my left foot a year earlier...and promptly broke my right foot. But, this time was a lot worse. It was a clean break, which meant a month on crutches, followed by a month in an aircast, followed by nearly 4 months of pain and myofascial repatterning as I recovered not only from the injury, but from a month on crutches.

Then, about 3 weeks into my stint on crutches, my sister and wife noticed something I'd seen in some recent media footage of me. It seemed the area in my throat around my Adam's apple had become much bigger. So, I went to a doctor who felt around, went a bit white, then said, you have two large nodules, we have to see if they're hot or not.

WTF?!?!?!

That led to an ultrasound, a lot of confusion and the better part of a week not knowing if I had cancer or not. Thankfully, the test showed that doc had made a fairly major miscall and what I had was benign, but would require surgery. So, a week later, I crutched my way into pre-op and had throat surgery with my foot in an aircast.

Thankfully, everything worked out well, but I was now left even more of a physical wreck as the mass removed from my throat was rather large and left a lot of strain that would take months to finally repattern and release.

As I enter 2010, my foot and neck are now largely healed, though I am left with a certain amount of discomfort that I'm told may be there for life. I don't accept that. I will keep working with a variety of modalities to not only try to completely resolve the pain, but set my body up to be able to bring the activities I love back into my life.

Thankfully, during this year filled with surprises and challenges, I've also been blessed to have been able to spend even more time than usual with my wife and daughter.

That has been nothing short of mindblowing.

I love them both more than words could ever describe and, now that I find myself working full-time from my home office, they've been constant sources of inspiration, love and support.

So, now, filled with gratitude, humility and hope, I officially close the book on 2009.

Setting up the year ahead.

I am very much in the planning stages for the year to come. The next two weeks will solidify those plans and lock a number of ventures into my calendar. But, if there's one thing 2009 taught me, it's that you've got to open to dancing a new dance. Doors close and others you never imagined open. But, you need to be willing to see them.

As my friend Chris Brogan likes to do at the start of every year, I find it very helpful to create a set of core focus words and concepts that drive my efforts. Chris limits it to three, I like to go a bit broader at cap it at 10.

So, here are my 10 driving keywords for 2010:

• Align - make sure my efforts and actions are aligned with both who I am, what makes me come alive and what I am building
• Build - Focus in on a smaller number of meaningful projects and build something truly impactful
• Collaborate - work in a more deliberate way with people who are aligned with my vision, values and purpose
• Signal - Create and share content and solutions that rise about the noise and genuinely add insane value
• Impact - create experiences and solutions that impact peoples' lives in a deeply meaningful way
• Mindset - Focus on cultivating a more present, mindful, focused state of mind
• Eliminate - Remove distractions to create more space for focused building
• Give - Serve others, give more than I take.
• Teach - Share knowledge through speaking, my own events and educational experiences
• Gratitude - create a daily gratitude practice.

I'll fill you in on many of the specifics over the next few weeks. I'll share exactly how I'm bringing these to life in concrete ways. But, as we move into this next year, I just wanted to share how I've looked back and what fundamental principles will be guiding me as I look forward.

And, of course, I offer a huge thank you to you guys, my amazing community of friends, teachers, colleagues and supports.

You rock more than you know.!

As always, I'd love to know what your thoughts are on closing the book on 2009 and what your Driving Keywords are for 2010 in the comments below...

I could tell you why I think that Adam James is a spoiled, lazy and attention loving crybaby, but that would be just my opinion. Why not read the emails supporting Coach Mike Leach from people inside the Texas Tech Nation and decide for yourself.

These emails are courtesy of CBSSports.com, a BleacherReport partner. Misspellings in the emails were not corrected.

Two days prior to the incident in question, I disciplined Adam James along with several other recievers.  His attitude was poor the entire time; even with constant plees for improvement. 

By the end of the practice, a few of the other recievers accepted their lack of performance in the previous practice and worked harder.  Adam was not one of these individuals.  He was last on all the excercises asked to do and talked and "danced" during the discipline.  When told that this was unacceptable, he simply shrugged his shoulders.  I continued to encourge him with no success. 
 
Bennie Wylie
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach
Texas Tech University
 

To whom it may concern:

You can find out a lot about a person after playing three years of college football with them.  Adam James was a teammate of mine from 2006-2009.  Ever since the day he arrived on the Texas Tech campus you couldn’t help but to feel a negative energy from him.  He expected people to baby him and that he was going make it solely on the fact that his father was a very successful player. 

Coach Leach has never been a coach to just give something to someone because of who they are.  He believes that everyone is equal and you have to earn respect from your coaches and teammates.  Adam was never known as a hard worker.  I can honestly agree with this because we played the same position and I witnessed his laziness on a daily bases. 

Adam seemed to have a negative attitude towards the football program the majority of the time.  That negative energy is never good for a team and can cause some major problems on and off the field.  During practices, Adam always tried to get by with doing the least he possibly could. 

Never do I once remember Adam to be excited or enthusiastic to be out there.  It was almost like he was playing the game of football to please someone other than himself.

Sincerely,

Eric Morris

To Whom It May Concern:

Texas Tech University and the athletic department is filled with great people from the top down, starting with the chancellor all the way down to the student athletes involved in the programs.

In the football program, Gerald Myers and the rest of the administration have put together an unbelievable staff that believe success only comes from hard work and doing things right.  The staff expects the players and everyone involved to buy into their beliefs, but like anywhere not every player agrees with or buys into what the coaches and program stand for.

At Texas Tech the majority of the players do everything the coaches ask of them and anything possible to improve the team.  Adam James is one of the few players who has never bought into what Texas Tech football was built on and in my years there with him had a negative impact on the team because of his attitude and work ethic on and off the field. 

Coach Leach demands a lot out of every player in the program and pushed his players and coaches as hard as any coach I have ever been around, but he is fair to every player and would never make and decision or action that is not best for the Texas Tech football program.

Before Adam James ever entered the football locker room at Texas Tech I heard how spoiled and selfish he acted in a team atmosphere from many of my baseball friends.  Adam was on the baseball team his true freshman year at Tech, before he ever joined the football team, and did not make it through the baseball season because of his selfish attitude. 

After a baseball game in which he felt like he did not get enough playing time, but the team still won twenty to one, he came into the locker room after the game and “pouted and threw a big fit” according another player on the baseball team.  A few weeks later in the middle of the season, he just stopped showing up to practices or game and quit because he was not happy about how he was being treated. 

One of my roommates was a baseball player on the team and many of my friends were a part of the team that witnessed all of this.  These baseball players told me he was “spoiled and selfish” before he ever came to the football team. 

After quitting baseball he came out for football and his selfish attitude was very evident, as was his laziness.  During off-season workouts he often would be caught skipping lifts in the weight room or finding ways to cut corners/get out of conditioning exercises. 

When we had player organized seven on seven throwing in the summer, when he would show up he was much more interested in playing his own games on the side of the field or telling people that he wasn’t going to run any routes because the coaches do not get him a “fair opportunity” anyway.

During the season he was often “injured” (it usually seemed like a very minor injury that could keep him out of practice but never out of any other activity, including games) so he would not participate in some drills in practice.  None of these acts were productive for our team, but the most detrimental part of Adam was his off field attitude and actions. 

In the locker room and away from the facility, Adam used any opportunity he had to tell other players how he was being treated unfairly, how the coaches did not give him a fair chance and how we did not have to do everything the coaches told us because they had no option but to play some of us. 

When I heard these kinds of things I usually tried to put an end to them but Adam pretty consistently talked bad about the coaches or down played the importance of working hard, when he was off the field.  When he talked to young players or players that were usually on the scout he would explain how the coaches were not fair to certain players and only played favorites. 

When he talked to players that did get some playing time he would talk about how we didn’t really have to do what the coaches asked of us because the coaches had to play us anyway.  And it almost always tied back to how he was not getting a fair chance to play just because the coaches were unfair. 

The coaches were always more than fair to Adam I felt, because he came in the game during certain formations and situations last football season, but because of his work ethic and attitude, many of the players on last years team had a hard time trusting him or relying on him because he was not always practicing and we had seen his laziness during the off-season. 

Adam was a kid that seemed like he had been given everything he wanted his whole life and acted like if things did not go exactly how he wanted someone was treating him unfairly or someone needed to be blamed for his failures.  He was a selfish player on and off the field that was counter-productive for our team and would be for any other team.
          
Mike Leach was not only my head coach, but he was my position coach all five of my years at Texas Tech.  I spent more time with him than any other player during my five years and had meetings with him every day.  He was very hard on me and every other player in program and he held very high expectations for every player. 

He would push us all every day during the season and during the off-season.  He felt that hard work, dedication and doing things right was the only way we could be successful and compete in the Big XII conference.  He worked harder and longer than anyone else in program and was committed to winning at all cost. 

He would never have been unfair to a player or not played the best players he had because he wanted to win more than anything else. Coach Leach also expected us to be tough but smart at the same time.  He would not pressure a kid to play with a serious injury or play when he did not feel ready to play. 

Coach Leach is a man that cares about his player and puts his players, coaches and the well being of the Texas Tech football program above all else.
           
Coach Leach is a great coach at Texas Tech that emphasizes the importance of hard work and doing things the right way so that the football program has the best opportunity possible to be successful.  He, along with the administration and the rest of his staff, have built a great football program at Texas Tech that is built on the virtues and principles that give any program an opportunity to be successful.

Every single player may not buy into the program’s beliefs, but Mike Leach has almost everyone on board with him and the Texas Tech football program on a successful track.

Graham Harrell

To whom it may concern:

As a player under coach Leach, I have experienced some of the most memorable moments of my life in which I am very grateful for.  As I stated I am a former Red Raider that played for Mike Leach and got to know him well over my four years as a Red Raider. 

I admire the professionalism and dedication Mike had for the game, the university and his players.  He always demanded the best from each of us and we became better players and people for it.   Although he pushed his players and coaches to be the best, his decisions and actions were always consistent with maintaining the program’s integrity and were in the best interest of his players. 

As a player, my commitment to the team was based on the trust I had developed in Coach Leach as a leader who would always put his players and his team in the best possible position for success.  As a result of his guidance and coaching, in combination with my own hard work, I was able to overcome great adversity to become an All-American tackle.

A couple of bowl games ago in the Gator Bowl, I suffered a severe injury to my lower left leg in which took a lot of support from family, friends, fans, coach’s, teammates and most importantly coach Leach to get me back.  It was a long road to recovery that took careful attention from trainers during practices, and Leach was always checking to make sure that I was ok. 

During camp, oftentimes I had to practice one day and then take a day off because of soreness.  Coach Leach was very understanding, always had my best interest in mind at all times, and I will always be appreciative of that.

Another incident that occurred was after my pro day in which I hurt my knee and my dream of playing in the NFL quickly came to a halt so I went home to rehab with two semesters left from graduating.  

I was able to get a job and start working, but quickly realized that to get the dream job in the real world that I always wanted, it would take getting my degree from Texas Tech.  When I got home from work one day, I got a phone call from coach Leach asking, if they were able to get some paper work filled out, would I be willing to come back to school to finish my degree, and of course I said yes. 

I am proud to say that, as a result of coach Leach’s influence, I will finish my degree from Texas Tech in May 2010.  If that does not show how coach Leach cares for his players, then I do not know what does.

The allegations against coach Leach are not consistent with the standards and beliefs that he has for himself and the University of Texas Tech.  He has always been fair and respectful to my teammates and I.

I was very saddened to hear that someone could try to take away all that he has done for this university, players and fans.  I hope that you take this into consideration, and I also would be willing to further discuss anything in detail in person or by phone.

Sincerely,

Rylan Reed
 
 
To Who it May Concern:

During the last two years of being the inside receivers coach, I have had the chance to learn alot about Adam James.  He came to Tech because of one person: Coach Leach.   Although we adamently doubted his talent, we as coaches came to see that Adam actually had enough talent to help us out.  

The problem, though, is that Adam is  unusually lazy and entitled.  Many other players on this team, specifically receivers, have a much larger role on this team with less talent.  I have always been worried about Adam's effect on my other players because of his weak and conceited attitude. 

I recently found out that Adam deliberately undermined my authority on many occasions.  This is particularly disturbing because Coach Leach hired me to make  our receivers the best group in the country, and Adam has damaged this group far more than I even realized. 

He should be grateful forthe opportunity that was given to him here that was not offered at any other Division 1 football program.  He has an unvelievable sense of   entitlement because of who his father is; one that hurts himself and people around him.

Adam is the kind of person thatakes excuses or blames people for things that go wrong in his life. Furthermore, I don't have children yet, but when I do I hope they are 
coached by someone like Coach Leach.  I have learned so many great things from him and am incredibly lucky to have him in my life.

Lincoln Riley


I am writing this letter on behalf of Mike Leach in regards to the Adam James situation. I was the inside receiver coach at Texas Tech when we made the decision the sign Adam James in January of 2007. Adam had no offers to play NCAA D1 football during and after his Senior year.

After a conversation between Coach Leach and Adams father Craig, Coach Leach acquired a brief highlight tape of Adam and made the decision to take him as a scholarship student athlete.  I was opposed to doing so in belief he was not a D1 football player. Coach Leach overrode my opinion and Adam became a Red Raider.

During the rest of my time at Texas Tech I was Adams position coach where I always remained critical of Adams ability to play at this level due to being lazy in not only the classroom but also in the off season and during practice. Coach Leach was the one who kept saying he believed Adam would eventually contribute.

Adams teammates believed he was selfish and were constantly getting onto him for lack of effort as they sensed entitlement on his part due to his father being a very good football player.

Adam eventually ended up playing a little after I left due to his body type being able to do some TE sets which consists of around 5-10 plays a game.  Adam should be thankful for the opportunity to play at Texas Tech and for Mike Leach, who gave him the opportunity. In my opinion playing 5-10 plays a game in an outstanding offense is more than he would get at any other school in NCAA D1 football.

Dana Holgorsen
OC & QB's
University of Houston 
 
 
Two practices before Adam James claimed he had a concussion, Coach Leach and I were forced to discipline him for poor effort from the previous practice and poor effort during the early drills of that day.  This has been a common theme about Adam's work ethic and attitude during his entire career. 

Adam, along with two other receivers that were also unsatisfactory, was sent to run stadium steps with Bennie Wylie.  After the practice, Bennie made it very clear to Coach Leach and I that Adam was a complete "jerk" while he was being punished.

After talking with Adam after the practice, it was very clear to me that Adam did not agree with the punishment and believed that we were just mis-asessing his effort.  He complained to me that we were not doing our jobs as coaches and that his effort was just fine, all of which is very typical of him to say. 

By comparison, the other receiver that we punished agreed that his effort wasn't his best and had a good attitude with Bennie and also in meeting with me after practice.  It's just another example of Adam thinking that he knows more about coaching than people who have been coaching for their entire lives. 

I have no doubt that anger from this led to where we are today with this situation and is his way of trying to "get back" at us coaches
 
Lincoln Riley

Now, what reason would these current and former members of Texas Tech to lie about one of their own?

Adam James should be dismissed and his father, ESPN's Craig James, should simply apologise and shut up to keep from looking even more foolish for taking up for this worthless crybaby son of his.