I Hear You Singin' Through the Wire, I Can Hear You in the Whine

Here is Coadster on Halloween. She was one of the Jer*sey Sho*re girls. (so, so much bronzer) Oh, she makes her mama proud.

Tonight I had a great run. It was the first time since the guy's accident that I felt really strong and got such an amazing runner's high. It was exactly what I needed. At one point during my run, the song "Wichita Lineman" came on my iPod, and I was immediately transported back to my childhood. I was struck by an incredible ache to be a kid and have someone take care of things for me. I imagined how nice it would be to have someone else make my dinner and pay the bills and I could just whine about being forced to take a shower and go to bed early. Can you imagine how lovely it would feel if you had the luxury of going to bed early one night? Crazy.

Anyway, I got home and made some frijoles and pumpkin pie and picked up Stinky from work and it really was just fine...Now, I'll finish blogging and go to bed too late and I'll just have to whine about that then.

Scanning Life Through the Picture Windows

Here some guy joined is in owning up to being one of Iowa's largest brats. I still think I'm the brattiest.

Oh, weekend. How you do tire me so. I had another great weekend. I knew it was going to kick my ass a little, so I made sure to rest on Friday night. Stinky went to the in town rivalry game and I stayed home and watched a cheesy movie and then read my book for the rest of the night. I'm still checking book boxes for Confederacy of Dunces, but until I find it, I started reading a book that isn't quite such a piece of literature. It's called Shanghai Girls and it is pretty good escapism. It's a decent placeholder until I find the other book.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't have one drop of alcohol this weekend. I was on migraine alert. Too bad for everyone else, I don't need to drink to act like an ass...

Saturday started nice and early. I got up to take Stinky to her job. Then I headed over to the DMV to get my new license. It only took me an hour or so, which is pretty good for a Saturday morning.

The Magic Bus tailgate party.

A little before noon, I picked up some friends and headed over to tailgate. We spent most of our time at the Magic Bus. They were sponsored by Kraft and gave out free mac and cheese and they had a fun band called the Uniphonics playing on top of the bus. It was great spectacle.

Some tailgate carnage.

Once the game started, we headed to the main drag to check out a couple more sites. The one we wanted to go to, was pretty much a bust. We think our friend who runs it must have had tickets to the game, so when we got there, it was just a bunch of REALLY drunk college kids. Although that is where we met Captain Iowa State pictured below. It takes some cajones to walk around football fans wearing a cape all day.

Me cheesing it up with Captain Iowa State. He was a great sport.

We said hi to Stinky at the kiosk where she works during football games and stopped by a friend of ours who lives by the stadium. They had a nice tent set up in the backyard with some lounge chairs and a radio with the game on. Since we blew State out of the water, we didn't pay much attention to the game and relaxed and gave each other a hard time.

Instead of doing the outdoor movie night, myself and a couple of other girls decided to head to Kalona and eat at the Tuscan Moon. It was a perfect idea. We sat outside and talked and laughed and ate really good food. I had salmon with a creamy dill and lemon sauce over fettucini and it was heavenly. After dinner, I drove everyone back to Iowa City. E. and I both decided to go home, but I dropped H. and G. off at the Dublin where it sounds like they had a great evening.

E. and G. and I at the Tuscan Moon.

Today I did the Beat Cancer run at 3. It was the first year for it and there were definitely some issues with the planning, but it was a nice warm day for it...Which was kind of my problem. I was stupid and didn't drink enough water before the race. I was thinking I could drink some at the park when I got to the race, but I couldn't find a working drinking fountain and there were no bottles of water set up either. At about a half mile left, a guy handed me a bottle of water and that made a huge difference. My friend E. and I talked about it a couple of hours after the race and she said next time we run a race together, we'll both make sure we bring a cooler with drinks in it. Duh. Lesson learned, I guess.

Between the Noise You Hear and the Sound You Like

Here is an old pic. I'm at the jukebox, picking out songs, which is one of my favorite things to do.

Well, kids. This will be a short and boring post. I didn't do a lot today but ride my bike, run and drive Stinky around to her assorted events. It was a fine day, just boring. I like boring, but it doesn't make for a very good blog post.

One good thing...A while back a friend of mine gave me a DVD of like 700 songs of new music. At the time, my home computer couldn't play it, so I tried to listen to it at work, but I could never have it loud enough to really hear the songs very well. I was able to download it into my new computer and I can't tell you how nice it is to have so much new music. It makes cleaning and reading and putzing around the house a million times better.

Eyes In a Moon of Blindness

Here is an easel all splayed out on a table.

A friend of mine described what I'm going through this week as "rebooting", and I think it's perfect. Not sad or pining - just cleaning out the extra files that were slowing me down and keeping me from being at my best. It means I haven't done a lot of excitingly crazy things. I've just been running after work and then cleaning up my desktop, removing extra icons, unplugging and restarting. The good thing is that when I'm done sorting through the people and things in my life that are worth keeping and those that I have to let go, because even though there are great things about them, they aren't terribly healthy or positive for me, I'll emerge from my reboot so much stronger and leaner.

As you all know, it's hard for me to let go, but I know it's necessary sometimes. Since this crap is all connected, the mental and emotional workouts are just as important as the physical ones. So, here's to doing the real work... No matter how much of a pain in the ass it is. I'm continually striving to get into the best shape of my life. Wish me luck. I'm gonna need it.

Monday, Monday, It Was All I Hoped It Would Be

Hey, almost as gratuitous as my garden shots, are my dance party shots. Let's hear it for sweet, sweet gratuitousness!

My first day back at work was a-okay. Really. I had a lot of work to keep me busy and no one got in my face about anything...Which are my two favorite things to happen at work.

I ran a very muggy 6 mile route after work and then went to my friend K.'s house to hear all about her amazing weekend in Chicago with a special someone. I love it when my friends meet great guys. It gives me hope. Sadly, it seems the only nice guys we meet, live outside of my town, so even though I'm hopeful, I'm not stupid...Maybe I'll have to start taking road trips.

Anyway. Where were we? Oh yeah. I went to K.'s house and my friend T. and her baby were in town from St Louis. It was so wonderful to see them and drink a glass or two of wine. Another friend was there and then some neighbors and their kids stopped by. It was a nice mess of wine, women, and song, and cute kids and dogs. It turned out to be a great beginning to the week.

These Are the Days When Anything Goes

I stole this pic off of The Bix 7 Facebook page. It's of the very wet race I ran. If you look to the left side of the pic, you can see how crowded and boxed in we all were. The guy running by himself was an elite runner, who got to go out in front.

I can't tell you how glad I am that I get a whole week off after this weekend. I really need it. I had a great time, but I didn't get a lot done around the house, and I plan on fixing that in the next couple of days.

On Friday, I got home and made sure the girls were both set-up and then drove to the Quad Cities to pick up my packet. I'm glad I did. As you all know, I have no sense of direction, so it was good to orient myself with downtown Davenport, so the next morning, I wouldn't spend an hour figuring out where things were.

I woke up on Saturday morning at 5 and it was storming out. Great. I had expected it, but it makes it so hard to figure out what to take. I brought sunscreen and sun glasses in case the sun magically appeared before the race, but figured I'd mostly be wearing a sports bra, shorts and a hat. Any kind of t-shirt weighs you down and chafes (that's hot).

So, there I was, standing among 15,000 other runners, when I saw my new racing buddy. He's the guy I hung out with at my last race. He used to manage the Deadwood and then later tended bar at the Foxhead when I was in college. His wife is on the roller derby team here and he now manages the meat section at the Co-op. Anyway, it's so weird that I spotted him in that huge crowd. We hung out before the race and chatted about running and our kids and how much we love that rush you get right before the race and how annoying it was that really slow runners and walkers lie about their times in order to get up closer to the starting line, but then you can't get around them. Then, when the race started, we said goodbye, because he runs a little faster than I do.

Coadster in Godspell.

The race itself was good in so many ways and a little annoying in others. It would downpour sporadically and the streets were super wet and slippery because of that. The atmosphere, however was great. You have everything from world class runners, to people wearing costumes and then spectators line both sides of the street and some just watch, but others play bagpipes. and some blare cheesy running related music, (think: "The Final Countdown", "Every Day is a Winding Road", "Gonna Fly Now"-the theme from Rocky...) or strum banjos and kids hold their hands out waiting for you to slap them.

I felt really good for most of the race. The big problem for me was getting boxed in. It took me over 5 minutes to even get to the starting line. There was no way to get around people and so I was stuck going WAY slower than I wanted. Things finally opened up by the end, and I tried to make up for lost miles, but it was too late. Note to self: Next year, lie about your time, so you'll be with people who at least run close to your pace.

Coadster in a dance number.

I left The Quad Cities feeling great and happy and still high from my race. I didn't used to run races, because it's tough to do on my own and it takes me WAY out of my comfort zone, but last year a friend of mine told me to just give it a try, and I'm so glad I did. It's not always a bad thing stepping out of your comfort zone, and I've remembered how much I like having something to train for and then battling with myself physically and mentally during a race.

I napped when I got home and then spent some time with Stinky before she went out with her friends and I went out with mine. I went to a friend's house to celebrate his 50th birthday. All the usual suspects were there and we had a great time. I warned the people I drove out there, that I didn't know how long I'd make it, but I stayed longer than I thought. Finally, I dropped my friends off at the Dublin and I went home went to bed.

Today I finally got to see Coadster perform in Godspell. She was amazing. She sang the song "By My Side" which is pretty moving anyway, and I went to the play with Stinky and my friend C., who's husband just had the heart attack and her daughter and C. and Stinky were just bawling through the whole song. It was a really nice afternoon.

Soooo, now I get 7 more days before I have to be back at work. Let's see if can make the most of them.

Yeah, This Beat Goes On and On and On and On

Here is the little entrance to the fossil gorge place.

Well, now. Where were we? Oh yeah. We were on Sunday. I got up at whatever ungodly hour it was to take Stinky to work. Since it was a lot less humid out, I decided to run my 8 mile route, and that went well, except the very end where I was pretty parched.

I did some cleaning and got some sun tea ready. I picked Stinky up at work and we ran errands and eventually ended up at Menards -which can be dangerous for me. I really just wanted a trowel and a sprinkler and some little ties to help stake tomatoes and some of our taller and more unruly flowers...Of course, then I saw this awesome lounge chair that would be perfect for reading and snoozing on my back porch. Best of all, it was $20 off. So, I got it. I still haven't had a chance to use it yet, but believe me, I will.

These here wild flowers are the closest looking things we have to saguaro cactus here in Iowa. Sigh.

I decided it was high time I went on my bike ride, so I loaded up my water bottle, camera and phone and decided to go off and live in my own little world for a bit. I didn't really have a plan, I just wanted to ride around and see where I ended up. I stopped along the way to take a picture or two, but eventually ended up at the fossil gorge. It was warm, but windy and I hopped around on rocks and checked out fossils and it was all really very lovely.

Sadly, though, I wandered around longer than I had intended and realized I'd never make it to my friend's party and still get all the other stuff done I needed to do. So, I called Stinky and she and her boyfriend met me at the store and we got everything we needed for dinner. I made BBQ chicken in bone and twice baked potatoes among other things. Coadster had been loading in at the Englert Theater for her play next week, so we were lucky if we got to see her for a whole hour.

There were a couple of cool, very small fossils here, but my camera isn't good enough to show them.

I woke up today to rain. Coadster normally rides her bike to work, so I was glad I was home to drive her there in the bad weather. I slowed things down today - some of it was because of the weather, but I had overdone it a little the last couple of days, and I wanted to calm my shit down a bit.

I ran a nice, fast 4 mile route around lunchtime, in between downpours and it felt great to really run. I took care of some errands in the afternoon, and then went to donate plasma.


A cute little family, checking things out.

On the interstate, I finally realized that there wasn't a Harley anywhere near me, and that the obnoxious noise was coming from my car. Awesome. So, this month's expensive problem must be in the form of a new exhaust system for my car. I knew it would be something, I just had no idea which way I'd get hit. Seriously, if I ever go an entire month without an unexpected expense, I'll probably pass-out. Of course, it couldn't have happened on Sunday, so I could have taken care of it today. Now, I'll have to take some more vacation time and try to get it fixed tomorrow. Wah.

Okay. I don't want to be Debbie Downer, so I'm going to end this on a positive note. I promise....I finally baked banana bread tonight and I can't think of a better smell than when I first took it out of the oven...Oh, and my gladiolas and dahlia's are blooming, so I'll show you a pic of that tomorrow. Yippee!

Believe We're Gliding Down the Highway, When in Fact We're Slip Slidin' Away

Girls right before the dance party, when we weren't quite so sweaty.

Well, kids. My weekend took a turn pretty early on and never really righted itself. It started off pretty well. I decided to run a 10 mile route right after work and the weather cooperated by cooling off halfway through my run. It felt really good to go that far. Then, since both my daughters were busy doing their own things, I told some friends I'd meet them out for a drink.

While I was getting ready, I got a call from my friend J, telling me that our friend C's husband had a massive heart attack the night before, and they weren't sure if he was going to make it. C's husband P. is 45 years old. I've also always had a bond with P. because he's one of the few people I've ever met who's had the same kind of childhood as I have. He was orphaned at a young age, and was raised by his aunt and uncle, who were less than kind, just like mine. So, we've talked about our fears of dying young and leaving our kids for someone else to raise many times. The news really threw me for a loop. C was also the teacher who wrote Coadster's letter of recommendation that got her the full tuition scholarship. She said there wasn't much I could do that night, but to be sure to visit the next day.

I went to the Dublin pretty physically and emotionally drained. I told my friends that the only way I'd make it, was if I could blow off some steam with a dance party. They all thought that was a great idea and so we commenced to cut a rug...Or several of them for a few hours. It was fun and exactly what I needed.

I said I liked to dance, I never promised that I looked very good doing it. Um, EGAD!

I woke up in a little bit of a funk on Saturday, that got worse and worse as the day progressed. Luckily, I don't have that happen to me very often. Usually, I'm pretty amazed at how lucky I am and count my stars every night. Every once in a while, I do get all Irish and brood and It's just as annoying to feel that way as it is to hear about it. I figured, I must need to let myself work through the shit and when I was younger, and had a hard time admitting that I had negative emotions, they always came back to bite me in the ass later, a million times worse. So, I rode the wave.

Turns out, the wave wasn't too bad at first. I gave myself a get out of jail free card night on Saturday. Coadster and I had sushi for dinner, and then she went to a party and I stayed at home and drank a beer and watched that movie about Coco Chanel. It was actually really interesting. I just think I need to learn to speak and read French now. Everything she went through sounded so much more beautiful in French.

Fireworks over the Old Capital.

I woke up at 6 am on Sunday to take Stinky to her bus for camp in Northern Minnesota, then came home to my empty house. Coadster was going to the Quad Cities with her dad, so I had the whole day to myself. Normally, I would relish the alone time, but I was still in my funk and it probably wasn't a good time to be stewing by myself. Since I had run too much already that week, I decided to go for a bike ride instead. Of course, it started raining halfway through, and I had to turn back, because I couldn't see very well. The minute I got home, it stopped (of course). After I showered and cleaned my house a bit, I texted my friends to see what time they wanted to go to a party we had planned on going to together. I thought getting out of my house might help. They called me back to inform me that they were already almost there. Apparently, they had forgotten about me. Of course.

On Saturday Coadster and I had stopped by the hospital to see C. She said P was making an incredible recovery. He had "died" several times the night before, only to be revived again and again, and so originally, the doctors weren't very hopeful. But P was showing everyone. He was motioning for pens, since he couldn't speak and he wanted to communicate and he squeezed his wife's hand when she asked if he could hear her. So, I figured, I'd stop by the hospital again, to hang out with C. for a bit. Right before I was getting ready to leave, I got a call from J letting me know that P got his tube removed and that he could talk. C. was spending as much time as she could with him, because he kept waking up and not knowing where he was. She said it probably wasn't a good idea to go visit that day. Of course.

That was it. All my socialization plans were thwarted and I was forced to hang out with myself and the dark cloud I was wearing over my head...Well, at least for most of the day. The night was a different story. I was determined to leave my house. I didn't care whether it was raining or whether anyone else wanted to join me. I needed to get out of my scary brain for a while. It all turned out well. I met G, D and J for fireworks (the rain stopped just during the display) and sat at the Dublin for a beer or two. It was a pretty slow night there, so we did a lot of girl talk and that was just fine with me.

Soooo, now it is that I'll get ready to start my short week. Most of the funk has lifted from my brain and hopefully I've worked out some of the loneliness and self-indulgent wah, wah, wah for a while. I hope your weekend was funk free.

No Comprende, It's a Riddle

I'm not really sure how this pic of me in my OP shirt from my first college ID survived 5,000 moves, but it did...Kind of.

So, today I reserved our motel room in Ames for Coadster's orientation at the end of the month. I've tried really hard to make my girls' lives that much better than mine was growing up. Since high school was so horrible for me, that's been pretty easy to do. I hope that we can go to Coadster's orientation and support her while she makes some of her first adult decisions. I just want her to know that whatever she chooses to do, Stinky and I will love her and support her in any way we can.

I tired to remember my own freshman orientation, but it's all pretty blurry to me now. Of course, my aunt and uncle couldn't be bothered to take me and my sister so nicely took it upon herself to arrange it so I could actually attend. She had a friend who was home from college for the Summer, but had a boyfriend still up in Cedar Falls, and my sister got her to take me up with her when she went to visit him. As I recall, I was the only student there without other family members.

I don't remember meeting with an advisor and signing up for classes, but I do remember taking a CLEP test that seemed really easy and kicking myself for not taking more and getting out of other classes too. My strongest memory, though, is of the night I spent there. My sister's friend's boyfriend lived in a little studio apartment. So, I slept on the floor, pretending to be asleep and feeling very, very uncomfortable while my sister's friend and her boyfriend dry hum*ped each other on the couch about 5 feet away from me.

Runnin' Down the Avenue, See How the Sun Shines Brightly in the City

Discs.

So, my weekend has turned out differently than I thought it would. It's not bad...It just didn't really care about the plans I had for it.

Friday was a good day. I ran and drove Stinky and her babysittee to the pool. Then I went with some friends to play disc golf for the first time. I really liked it...And I got much better at it with every hole. Of course, I didn't even get halfway through before Stinky called me to pick her and her charge up at the pool. It was fine. At least I tried it, I know I like it, and I can play it again whenever I want.

Friday night was a very mellow affair, I had to run that race the next morning, so I hung out by myself, cleaned my kitchen and watched some more first season of Weeds episodes. I tried to go to bed at a decent hour, but couldn't fall asleep and then kept waking up to weird dreams. I finally woke up for good around 5:30 to a thunderstorm.

My friend H. smoking a ciggie before her first foray into disc golf.

Storms blew through on Saturday up until a half hour before my first 10K. I was prepared to run in the rain, but they held the race another 15 minutes and then I didn't have to. I started out pretty slowly, and had way too much kick at the end, but it was a really great experience. I started raining again, right as I saw the finish line, which probably helped my time. I just checked the results and I placed 2nd in my age group for women. That really isn't saying much, because its a smaller race, but I'll take it. My final time was 54.02. Which meant I ran about 8.42 minute miles. I didn't exactly tear up the streets, but I'm still happy with it.

The rest of the day, I spent trying to fall asleep with almost no success. I finally got up around 4'ish and got ready to go to a BBQ at a friend's house. It was very nice. I ate great food, had a couple glasses of wine, had a fun talk and got to play with Eggo's adorable baby boy. I went home around 8:30 and was suddenly hit by a blinding migraine. Who knew that no sleep and a couple of glasses of wine would cause that? Uh, I did. Duh. I took meds, but it took a while for them to kick in. G. called to see if I was going to meet them for the bachelor party, but I had to bow out. I fell asleep in my clothes with all the lights on, until almost 2 am, when I woke up and got ready to sleep for the night.

Look how green it is here. That's because it rains every damn day.

Today was pretty mellow too. It stormed most of the morning and early afternoon. I've tried to do something new every day of my vacation, and today's new thing was to sit on my screened-in-porch during a thunderstorm and read a book. It was very nice and I'm sure I could easily make a habit of that. The skies finally cleared and I was able to mow the lawn and get some things done in the yard. Then I made a turkey dinner and brownies for dessert. G. came over and ate and we went on the back porch to talk.

Stinky asked if her best friend could come over, which somehow turned into half the kids in her class. I started a fire for them in the backyard, and the kids devoured brownies, and split their time between the outside fire and the NBA game on in the living room. They're good kids and respectful, so if they want to deplete my house of lemonade and brownies, I'm okay with that. I think we all know, with teens, it could be soooo much worse.

Load It, Check It, Quick - Rewrite It

Here is a darker photo of my tomatoes, basil and thyme garden, with the obligatory marigolds planted around it all to keep out pests. (they don't like the smell of them)

So, tonight I am looking down the barrel of a 4 day weekend. I'm so happy. Stinky is spending tonight and tomorrow night at someone's house babysitting their kids while they're out of town. She won't be back until Saturday at noon. It's kind of weird.

I have a few plans, but I'm also trying to give myself some time to rest and relax and just enjoy being in my house and in my yard. Tomorrow, I think I'll run early and then take care of a few errands. In the afternoon I have a date with friends to play frisbee/disc golf. Believe it or not, I've never played before. I'm still on my kick to try and do as many things I've never done before that I can. I'm excited to see if I like it. Friday night will be pretty mellow for me, since I'm going to do a 10K on Saturday morning. I've never raced one of those before either. Maybe I should plan to do something for the first time every day on my extended weekend.

My neighbor introducing herself and her pet skunk to me. Really. Le mew, le mew.

Depending on the weather, I might go canoeing with some friends on Saturday afternoon. If it's all rainy, I think I'll allow myself the luxury of finally sitting on my back porch and reading to the soundtrack of a Summer storm. Saturday night I'm attending a friend's bachelor party at the Dublin.

Sunday is up for grabs. I'll work on the house and ride bikes and run and that's all I have planned. Coadster said she wouldn't mind having stuffed turkey for dinner again. It's kind of nice to have all those leftovers for sandwiches for the rest of the week too.

I have no idea what I'll do on Monday. I think I'll work really hard on cleaning the hell out of my place. I want to make sure I get some rest time and play time on my mini vacation, but I still want to get my place all cleaned up and purty for the rest of the week.

How about you all? Will you be extending your weekend or will you be containing it two days?

It's Just a Restless Feeling by My Side

The ceiling of my friend K.'s porch.

So, yeah. It's been a while. Tonight I had a little migraine. It's gone now, thanks to meds, but most of the evening, I had to lounge about. I always look at it as that my body must need to rest and so I let it.

Anyway, back to the weekend. Let's see...This weekend was so much more relaxing than the one before it. On Friday I ran and then washed some dishes, then headed over to a friend of mine's house to drink wine and eat Pagliai's pizza. We had a great conversation in the backyard and watched a storm roll in. It just might have been a perfect Friday night.

On Saturday, I mostly worked around my house and hung out with the girls as much as possible. I took Stinky to my friend Eggo's to babysit at 6:30 and got a text from K. that said, "Hey ho bag. Where r u? U should come to Libbys. It's fun." So, I headed over to my friend Libby's birthday party. K. was gone by the time I got there, but there were plenty of other people and tons of food and beer. I had my two beers and sat by the fire with a few friends. I went home by 11 and started watching the first season of Weeds. For some reason, I've seen every season but the first one. I fell asleep on the couch and Stinky woke me up to tell me to go to bed. Wow. Do I know how to party on a Saturday night, or what?

Sunday was a mellow day. The weather was amazing, so I ran and mowed my lawn. I had planned to go on a bike ride with friends, but everyone else lamed out. So, I went to one of Coadster's friends grad parties. Her friend made a big deal about making sure I showed, so Stinky and I did a drive-by after Stinky got off work. Since I missed K. at the party and our bike ride fell through, she asked me to come by her place to have some girl talk. We checked out her garden and gave her housemate J. a bunch of shit until he took off and met some friends at the Deadwood. Then I went home and grilled cheeseburgers and had corn on the cob for dinner. Again. Pretty damn exciting...Or not. Like I always say, in my world uneventful is kind of wonderful.

You Say Smile, I Say Cheese

A really skinny guy with leather pants, who we obsessed over last Friday. I don't think I could have fit my arm into the leg of them. It was kind of freakish.

So, I'll detail Monday quickly, since I need to start my post for this weekend already. What a quick week this was...Monday was one big exhale. FINALLY. I hung out with my girls and ran in the morning. In the afternoon, three of my guy friends and K. and G. and I went on a 25 mile bike ride to River Junction and back. I hadn't ridden for that long since last Summer. At one point, I asked my friends if the fact that I couldn't feel my ass, meant that it wasn't there anymore. They all assured me, that it was indeed still there in all its glory. Damn it! I felt pretty embarrassingly out of shape at the end of the ride. K. and G. and I vowed that we'd try to go on at least one long ride every week we could.

After the ride, I was craving ice cream (of course). K. said she wanted ice tea or lemonade. I told her I made sun tea the day before and had lemonade, plus tons of leftover grad party food, and most importantly, spice cake with cream cheese frosting. We decided to go to my place and eat and drink. G. went down to the Dublin, so I texted her to see if she wanted to meet us. She did eventually, and then we ended up hanging out on my back porch solving the world's problems (read: boys) and drinking iced tea for a couple of hours. It was heavenly.

Soooo, this weekend? I'm not sure. This is the first Friday in a month that I have to work a full day AND that I'm not expecting an ex to show up in town. My plan is to have a fire outside, if it's nice, or to watch a movie inside if it's not. It's also Arts Fest weekend here, which is always pretty fun too.

On Saturday, I want to run and get some work done around the house. Then I'll stop by my friend Libby's birthday party for a while.

On Sunday we're planning on riding our bikes out to the Coralville Resevoir, and if we have the inclination, possibly even to Lake McBride. We'll see how we feel...

What's your weekend looking like? Will you spend it on your back porch solving the world's problems or riding your bike down a country road somewhere?

The Time is Precious, I Know

Here is another pic of the old neighborhood kids.

One of these days, I'll actually get to hang out at my house after work....Maybe even tomorrow. Tonight, I rode my bike home, went running, heated up leftovers from Sunday dinner and went to Coadster's choir concert. It was very nice and it's the second to last one of her high school career. I have no idea how many I've been to since Coadster started in the Iowa City Girl's Choir in 4th grade, but I'd wager it's been at least a shit ton. It will be so weird next year not to go to any.

The concert ended just as Stinky was getting off work and we all finally got home at 9:30. It's also weird to think that after this month, I'll start having time to do things...Not just work around the house things either...Leisurely things. I plan to appreciate the hell out of every bike ride, canoeing expedition and extended run in the middle of the day. Stinky also mentioned that she'd like to go fishing again. When the girls were little, we used to go with a guy I dated and his father and Stinky really loved it. So, I told her we could get licenses and I'd ask around for decent fishing holes around town. When's the last time any of you have gone fishin'?

Words Like Conviction Can Turn Into a Sentence

This is what I see when I look out my living room window.

Tonight I'll just go ahead and continue with the old writing exercise. Ready for the rough read?:

The first time she moved to California, it was to chase a fantasy. Her college roommate told her about how her sister joined the California Conservation Corps. and got to live in the Redwoods and loved it until she met Dinah Shore's son in a laundromat in Eureka and left the Corps. to move in with him. She didn't have anything else going on and she was 19 and she wanted to make a difference somehow. Working at two different restaurants wasn't doing much to foster her need for adventure and community service. Since living by herself in a shabby motel room in Santa Rosa made her restless and lonely, she headed down to Arizona to stay with her sister and wait until she got her confirmation.

The second time she moved to California, she had an actual job and destination and chance for structured adventure. Her loose ends felt tied up and that provided her security, but still felt a little stifling. She would like to think of herself as a person who didn't need that security. She was quickly made to realize that she was again delusional.

This time her destination was Sacramento - some kind of processing station, where they took all of her information and would later use it to place her in a site after she finished her training. The woman looked over the table at her and seemed to struggle with her words, "I see you've been to college. I'm not sure how well you'll fit in here. Most of the other kids are lucky to finish high school. They're either from poor rural towns or inner urban areas. And you're from...Iowa? Hmmm. I just don't know how well you'll fit in..." She explained to the woman that she had also lived in Chicago and Phoenix and would be interested in helping tutor people to get their GED's. "Well, okay. I guess we'll just see how it goes. You're done with me then. Go over and stand with that group there. A bus will take you guys to the training academy. Good luck..."

She walked over to the group. Most of the girls were from the L.A. area. Apparently, the style there was to wear their jeans inside out. Two of the girls stood waiting for the bus with their pockets sticking out like tongues, lolling from each hip. She had never seen anything like that in Iowa and it made her wonder if the intake woman was right to worry.

This City Desert Makes You Feel So Cold

Here is a full moon photo from a few years ago. I doubt that the moon looks much different than that tonight.

Okay, kids. It's back to my writing exercise. I had a crazy busy afternoon/evening, but at least my new push mower is assembled and my front yard is mowed and I'm done giving plasma for the week. Hooray! Now, for the very rough continual writing exercise:

He told her there were a bunch of whores in San Francisco, but he drew out the O, so it sounded more like whooooores. She politely smiled and nodded and he didn't seem to notice her eyes had glazed over. When he picked her up, she had made a big point to assure him that her people were waiting for her in San Francisco. She thought that if he knew there were family who would notice if she disappeared, he would be less likely to chop her into pieces and bury her in his backyard. She was delusional.

After the last ride, she promised herself she wouldn't hitch anymore, but she was afraid she would miss her bus and she couldn't stand being in Santa Rosa another minute. The last ride, where the guy had seemed very normal and respectable, wearing a suit, with his hair parted on the side like a Lutheran minister. She sat next to him and felt him get more and more upset, every single one of his muscles tightened up and his hands were white on the wheel. She'd never felt anyone hate her so hard before. "Excuse, me," she said, but he ignored her and kept driving, even picking up speed. "Um. Hey, I think I'll just get out here, thanks," she said gesturing to the side of the road next to an open field. He didn't acknowledge her. She had one hand on the door handle and the other held her duffle bag. She was prepared to jump from the moving car if she had to. She yelled, "Let me out here. NOW!" He still didn't look at her, but he slowed the vehicle to a stop and she jumped out.

This guy was the opposite of the last one. He wore a gas station attendant shirt with the name "Roy" embroidered on the pocket. He was horribly chatty, but seemed friendly and harmless. "So, you know. If you don't got anyplace to go, you could always stay here in Santa Rosa. I got a little line of gold I'm working. I got a trailer for me and an extra one too where you could live. It wouldn't be sexual or nuthin'. I just need a woman to cook and clean for me." She had a hard time keeping a straight face when she thanked him anyway and reminded him that her family was waiting for her in San Francisco. If she wanted to be someone's maid and live in a trailer, she could have stayed in Iowa and saved herself the trouble of moving.

He dropped her off at the bus station downtown. She had a little time to kill before her bus left, so she walked around as much as she could without crossing the lines of the movie set. She was curious as to which famous actors might be across the street. She wondered if she ever saw the movie when it came out, would she remember just how alone and awkward and scared she felt right at that moment.

Wrap Around, Take a Hold of My Heart

Man, I am so out of pics. I'm not sure what I'm going to do if I can't get the USB port working...

So, I was talking with a friend of mine about how I ran too much a couple of weeks ago. My friend told me to be careful about running so much because there are any number of injuries you can get from it. Then he used some horrible, vile swear words like, plantar fasciitis, bone spurs and stress fractures as examples. Shudder, shudder. I did take heed, and didn't run for a couple of days, then it was the River Run and as we all know (so we don't need to belabor the point, thank you very much) I wussed-out and didn't run that day either. Yesterday it was raining after I got done giving plasma, so that added up to four whole days in a row without running. I can't remember when the last time it was that that I went that long.

Anyway, I finally ran my six mile route today, and holy shit! It's amazing what running does for my mood. I didn't really think I was even in a bad mood or anything the last few days, but halfway through my run, everything was suddenly wonderful and the birds were singing and the sun was shining and the world was full of rainbows and unicorns and puppies and kittens and anything was possible... Who the hell needs Prozac, anyway? I guess what I'm trying to say, is that I will be careful not to run 50 miles in a week, but it might a long, long time before I go four whole days without running again.

Just Want to Spend Eternity Right Where I am. On the Sunny Side of the Street

Here is a picture of Colm Toibin.

Hey, kids. I had a wonderful night tonight. I went running right after work and then went to hear Colm Toibin read. I know I've said this a million times before, but I love to go to readings and Toibin was very charming and self-deprecating and made fun of the Irish and everything he said was funny because it was pretty much true. The friend I went with, even talked me into getting my book signed. I've been to hundreds of readings, but never had the guts to do that. Toibin asked me what I wanted him to write in it, but I had no idea, so he just signed his name. While I'm gushing, I'm just going to again suggest that you read his book, Brooklyn...And not just because the writer is so personable either. The story is great and it's very well written.

...And now, onto the weekend. They say it's supposed to rain for most of it. That's okay with me. It will give me an excuse to stay in the house and sand and paint cupboards. Apparently, cupboards take a week to fully dry, so if I got them done this weekend, I'd be able to rehang them next weekend and put on the new, sleek hardware. I'm excited to see how it looks when it's all done.

Tomorrow night, I plan to be as mellow as possible. I'll clean things up when I first get home, but then I'd like to spend some quality time with my couch and a couple of beers and a movie.

I'm thinking I'll probably stay away from the bar this weekend too. Again, I never say never, but that's how it's looking right now. Stinky and I are going to see Coadster's play early on Saturday evening and then I'll probably just come home and relax.

Sunday morning is the River Run here. It might rain, but I'll probably do it anyway. It's just a 5K, so I'm hoping it's fun and I'll get a good feel for what kind of shape I'm in. the friend I went to the reading with told me I should do the Ronald McDonald House run at the beginning of May, so I might check that out and do that in the next week or two as well.

So, how's your weekend looking? Do you have a date with your couch, or will you be going out and checking out some drama?

Personality Crisis, You Got It While It Was Hot

Coadster's corsage. I'm pretty sure it was the only one like it at prom.

I'm still working on the calming and slowing down process. I gave plasma today after work. They just cut their payments down by $10/week, so there have been less and less people donating. The plasma place downtown pays $30/week more, so I have a feeling most people are going there instead. I would, even though it takes twice as long there, but they close at 6 and I'd have to take vacation time every time I donated and it's not really worth it to me. Anyway, I actually had a point here this time, and it was that since there are fewer people donating, I get in and out in about 30-40 minutes. Not bad.

I did decide to run today, but just my 4 mile route and even though I was a little tired and dehydrated, it still felt really good. My original plan this evening was to transfer my tomato seedlings into bigger pots and bring some over to my friend K.'s boyfriend's house and hang out at his BBQ for a bit. Just as I was ending my run, I realized that I knew the two women who were walking by my house. It was the wife of the guy who owns the Dublin and her sister. We chatted for a little while and another Dublin guy who lives around the corner from me, came by with his two dogs and as we were all talking, another neighbor/Dubliner drove by and honked. Good lord, but this is a small town.The women invited me over to drink wine with them, but I was suddenly feeling that I had overextended myself again, and I haven't had any alcohol in a couple of weeks and I probably would have passed-out after one sip with my fluids so depleted, so I had to say, thanks anyway.

I walked into my childless house, and quickly realized I wasn't going anywhere. I did that thing that people have been suggesting, and listened to my body. What a great idea. I read on the couch in total silence and it was ever so nice. I'll have to remember that next time I feel like I want to do too much.

I'm the Last Kid Standing Up Against the Wall

Hey, look what's starting to bloom now. Was it even 2 months ago that I said I couldn't wait until these bushes were full of lilacs?

The weather this week has been incredible for April. I'm sure that's why I've been running so much. I've lived in Iowa long enough to know that it could snow next week, so I might as well run as much as I can now. I wasn't able to give plasma this week either. The last girl who drew it, gave me a small hematoma, and it's still bruised, so I have to wait until that heals before I can give more.

And now it's the weekend again. Tomorrow I only have to work a half day. My fantasy is to run and then ride my bike to Kalona or somewhere and eat a late lunch and read my book on an outdoor patio with a glass of wine. Of course, I don't have the time for that, so my reality will be a run and then some yard work. Which I'm still really excited about.

I have no idea what I'm doing during the evenings this weekend. Right now, I'm planning on staying home, but I like to be open to opportunities, so who knows what will actually happen....

Saturday will hopefully be more running and more yard work. Then more prom preparation than I really want to think about right now. The girls are excited and it looks like their pre prom picture taking extravaganzas will be at different times, so I should be able to make it to both.

I don't there's anything I have to do with the girls on Sunday for once. Yea! I think I'll finally take a day off running and go for as long a bike ride as I can stand...And then of course, more yard work and house fixer uppering.

Once again, it's your turn. Will you get your fantasy weekend or a comparably nice weekend in reality?