Oh, the sun!

My goal to become outdoorsy is working so well that I'm having a hard time being indoors for longer than 30 minute increments. It's not so bad right now, but as soon as I sit down in my cubicle tomorrow, I'll be antsy and itching to get back outside. Sun, wind, rain, hail, snow... I'll bare it all if it means breathing fresh air.

Speaking of fresh air, I got plenty of it the last two days. Went to my cousins wedding last evening in Grants Pass. It was beautiful and so awesome to see how faithful God is to bring people together. When I was younger, I didn't like weddings, but now I LOVE them. Granted, they do make me yearn for the day when I exchange vows with the man I will spend the rest of my life with. Until then, I will be faithful serving the Lord and getting to know Him more - and I will be having a blast being single and hanging out with all my single friends (since there are SO MANY of us).

On that note, when I got back from GP this afternoon (after a delicious brunch with my awesome fam), I played my guitar out in the backyard, and then decided to pull weeds in the front yard. It was quite the endeavor, as there were a lot of weeds. I find pulling weeds therapeutic. Brook soon joined me out front grading papers. Then we went to Mucho Gusto for dinner which was SO good! Then I helped her grade more papers and we listened to some old school Mariah Carey, sang at the top of our lungs and laughed until we almost cried.

All in all, it was a delightful sunday. Now on to other things like sleep.

"And I finally found that life goes on without you...

and my world still turns when you're not around."

I've decided that I should just start posting Anberlin songs as my blog. The only downfall is that sometimes lyrics aren't as captivating if not intertwined with music. Maybe it's not such a great idea.

Talk about a relaxing evening. I came home from work, took a power nap, played my guitar, ate a few chocolate chips, soft-scrubbed the bathtub, lit some candles, drank some make-shift wine (courtesy of the water faucet) out of a real wine glass, turned on some music, and took a much-deserved bubble bath. Ahhh. Afterwards, I talked to my long-lost friend Chelsey who's not really lost, but does live three hours away. Sometimes those three hours seem a lot farther than they really are. Chelsey is the amazing girl who used to sleep in the bedroom next to mine, who used to make me ice cream sundaes with smiley faces when I was sad, who would put up with me complaining about the sappy, romantic movies she would watch. While I'm so glad Chels has a great roomie, I'm a little jealous when I hear about her making chicken cordon bleu for someone other than me. :( Chels, if you're reading this: I miss you!!!

I'm going to my cousin's wedding on saturday. The last time I went to a family wedding, I CAUGHT THE COVETED BOUQUET. A lot of good that did me, huh? Thankfully, God is bigger than a bundle of flowers. I just have to keep reminding myself that. :)

May 19th

SO excited for Mat Kearney's new CD. I'd be WAY more excited if he would personally show up at my house to deliver it. Preferably when I'm home.

The night speaks words I'm afraid to admit

It’s moments like these when I miss you. When night is still and parts of the world are tucked in, sleeping peacefully, surrendering to long-awaited slumber. I like to imagine that you’re walking beside me, holding my hand, reminding me that I’m not alone, that there is nothing to fear under this canopy stars, that you are here to keep me safe.

It’s moments like these when I miss your embrace. At the end of the day, when silence and cold are settling in, I long for strong arms to wrap themselves around me, forsaking the distance that so begrudgingly ensnared its way into our lives.

Squats and lunges and treadmills - oh my!

Bri and I went to the Women with Weights class at the Y tonight. Not sure why, but we were both thinking it would be a nice little easy class to take before Salsa Aerobics. We were right - it was nice. But we were also very wrong - it kicked our butts (and knees and calves and shoulders). I will definitely go back. I loved the challenge plus we got to use fit balls for part of the time. Talk about a killer ab work out. I should have abs of steel in no time. I also did 30 minutes on the treadmill last night and for 5 of those minutes, I jogged at a fairly decent pace. I realize this is no monumental feat, but for me, jogging for any amount of time is quite the achievement. At this rate, I'll be running a half marathon by the year 2012, if I'm lucky. :) Working out consistently is giving me so much more energy than I usually have. Surprisingly, giving up coffee isn't taking quite the toll I thought it would.

I might go to Eureka with Bri and Leah this weekend to support them as the run a half marathon. Eureka is my least favorite place that I've been to, but Bri and Leah are some of my most favorite friends so it should average out to a fun-filled weekend. Go team!

Monday, monday

I think I've died on gone to cubicle hell. If there is such a place. Row upon row of pathetic excuses for office space. What good are brand new cubicles if they don't allow you any sort of privacy? How useful are the partitions if tape doesn't stick to them and thumb tacks have to be hammered in simply to hang up a post-it note with phone numbers for other doctors offices? User friendly? I think not. A waste of company money? Very much so.

Where is the job that will let me work from my laptop as I bum around coffee shops, libraries and city parks all day? Where is the employer who will offer me freedom from doing the same thing day after day after day? Who will rescue me from this job that is slowly evaporating my personality and creativity?

Another beautiful day, another great hike

Julie, Sera and I trekked up Park St (part of it, not the whole thing, or we might have eventually rolled backwards and ended up pancakes on Siskiyou Blvd due to the incredible incline) and then explored the Oredson-Todd Trail. It's hard to believe I've lived here 4 years and I'm just starting to experience outdoor life in Ashland. Here's to challenges! Here's to friends who like to hike! Here's to the nice lady who gave us directions when we almost got lost. Almost, but not quite.

Something about being outdoors makes me SO tired afterward. Julie and Leah came over after our adventure and we made fajitas and after we ate, all I wanted to was sleep. Instead I decided to blog, but it's taking all I have to type this out. Forgive me for the lack of anything exciting to say.

Last night I had a dream that I was running in a race. It got me really excited because lately I've been wanting to start jogging/running. I just need a bit more motivation and energy... soon, though, I believe it will happen. Besides, everyone else is doing it.

Brook and I went to the Goodwill (more affectionally known as the G-Dub). I was really excited to find the book "Politically Correct Fairy Tales" and a music record with some really freaky looking guy's face on the front. He's got enviable curly chest hair with a coy smile that could melt even the coldest of hearts. I'm guessing that when the record was produced, the goal wasn't to make people laugh, but 20-30 years later, mullets are SO not in, but the smile they put on mine and my roommates are.