change in personal religion

so i've been saying for years church dances are against my religion
my personal religion that is
i remember vetoing them years ago
only to be talked into going
if there was a cute boy i was digging
who talked me into it
or if i was the new kid in town
and thought... maybe it'll be different here

well the time came again...
now with my congregation in portland
the debate was do i go or not
the catch was... the dance was on a boat
cruising around p-town

so i went...
and actually had fun.
the lame music i have heard in my ears for years
at such dances were gone.

moving my bootie was great
were there awkward men,
sure as to be expected anywhere

i have a new open heart to hip hop music
i've been on a chill, easy, indie kick for while
well since my sister let me borrow her ipod
for the last few weeks of training
her get goin' mix
has given me beats that i've been missing

luckily i've been running in secluded places
or you may catch me dancing while running
picture that...
or singing along while running...
it's just like my friends, smash & jeff's,
version of karaoke
but only where you're the only one hearing the music
and everyone gets to laugh at you
but you can't hear them...

anyways, i'm turning a new page.
maybe not to church dances
but get me on a boat and i'll dance.

whole milk night

number one. don't judge me.

some people are alcoholics,

addicted to drugs,

do all sorts of thing to cope.

the world is full of vices

tonight i drink whole milk.

and just for the record,

going cheap and not going organic,

does taste different.

decent day at work...

i played the "significant other" role

at an end of the year party for a friend

then i saw my missed call from "michael mechanic"

the news was...

a. the same long list that the prior mechanic gave me

b. the reality that my car value is less than the amount it would take to fix my car

c. he mention that there's a slight chance it could start on fire.

my thoughts:

one. i'm grateful he's honest

two. i'm running her into the ground

three. it would be great if someone ran into me and she (civi) caught on fire

(likelihood...low. they're too conservative of drivers here)

four. i need to get a big bag in my car in case she does catch on fire

i could promptly remove my roof rack, which is of value,

and take of my license plates.

five. i should probably just start to take off my vin # now

six. maybe that vw bus should be in the plans 6 1/2 years earlier than expected

i raise my cup to you civi!

bitter n' sweet

the good news is...

i got entries into the marathon

the tragic news is...

danielle can't run with me

working hard for her money

here's some pics from the john day drive:

who wants them?

vehicle of choice currently: 2009 prius, not in this color though

i could have told the odot that this area of "sunken grade"

needed to be repaired before this ever happened on santiam pass

but who listens to me?

work has been busy! i mean busy...

in the past 2 weeks i have: flown to boise to then drive to ontario,

drove to bend and back for a meeting, went to madras and back for another meeting,

drove to john day and back in less than 24 hours.

but i have enjoyed being on the ground level with the counties and individuals i work with. they're wonderful.

18 miles

so after j&a rolled in last friday at 4:30 a.m.

i couldn't quite go back to sleep

so i decided that i should just go on my 18 mile run then

after slightly ripping through my house

looking for "gu" that i bought

(which i'm a true believer of)

and being unsuccessful

i finally hit the road for the grocery store(s)

i didn't find any after 3 stops

so on for the miles i went

i did buy a heafty granola/clif like bar

so after 10 miles i tried to gobble down a bit to have some substance in me

in the 4 blocks i walked

as i was walking, a man was pulled on the side of the road

with a trailer

he asked if i could help him tie down something that was loose

i said sure and started to help him

the conversation goes as follows:

man in camo- "are you going to school?"

me- assessing my outfit

skivy short purple running shorts,

white athletic shirt with a bright coral/orange sports bra,

new white running shoes

and small camelback on my back

me-hmmm..."no, i'm running."

camo man- "i just saw you, you weren't running"

me- "i just ran 10 miles and have 8 more to go,

i'm training for a marathon."

camo man- "oh"

this blew my mind!

number one. the only school nearby in this small town i was in, is a high school.

number two. thank you for thinking i'm 18 or less but really?

number three. thank you for letting me know you saw i wasn't running. i'm sorry i took a small break for some substance.

needless to say it made me laugh the rest of the time

it helped me keep something else in my head

since i run music-less

the adventures in running...

pacheco memorial day memory making...

it was like Christmas eve night on Thursday night

i stayed up late

but analee told me Santa wouldn't come if i didn't go to sleep so...

after driving 12 hours straight the pachecos arrived at 4:30 a.m.

after i returned from my 18 mile run

and worrying them because i took so long

(funny post to follow about an experience then)

we headed for the coast

fortunately it was sunny

unfortunately it was windy and made it chilly

but we made it to cannon beach

poor things drive 12 hours then 5-6 hours later i put them back in the car

to see rocks on the coast

and get tillamook cheese and ice cream

saturday it was to abiqua falls...

beautiful, stunning

and a short hike

the rest of the hike was done by their subaru.

thank you 'baru!

it was just nice to be with great friends

we checked out cute small towns

i bought a printer for $8 bucks at a yard sale

(i've never owned a printer)

and jose hooked it up for me
we saw the famous salem soapbox races

not to be confused with pinewood derby races

we went longboarding....

i longboarded cautiously

remember my "longboard accident"

a good year and a half-almost 2 years ago
when i looked like a garbage pail kid...

strange how i'm so careful even when i have insurance now...

we played some banana game which is really speed scrabble

church was most enjoyable with analee

i don't think i've giggled in church like that in a while

then they had to go monday morning to get back to the beehive state

it was fun to see their faces

i'm so happy when friends marry friends...

i'm grateful for the miles and gas $$$ and other $$$ spent

for my friends to see me

ahhh gee...

miss 'em already

the favorite is engaged!

for those of you who don't know yet

my lil' sister is getting married!

august 21st!

quick recap:

the favorite has been in school at byu-hawaii

(i know rough life

and to think she was thinking of staying in idaho)

so she's been dating a wonderful guy named wolfgang

(he's from austria)

they've been dating over a year

and quite honestly my whole family likes him

i met him last summer when he came to our hometown

we all have been a fan

but we tried to keep our opinions to ourselves

and let the favorite decide

and well she did

when she called me to tell me

she decided she wanted to be married

i don't think i've ever heard her feel so confident in her life

i made this big sister even more excited

then just a few weeks later

she got officially "ringed"

(this past thursday)

CONGRATS!!!

love you both