Anticipation.

In five weeks my family will be out to visit Montana. My mom drove out here with us to help with the move, but this will be the first visit for my dad and brother. I look forward to spending time with them. My family rocks. It's also nice after people have been out here, because it somehow makes the 1400 miles between us not seem so far.

In fourteen days my best friend will be visiting Missoula! We've been friends since we were fourteen years old, so as of next year we'll have known one another for half our lives. Our friendship is really special to me. I like to imagine us one day as little old gray haired ladies, teetering around the shopping mall together in our grandma shoes and laughing about the pranks we pulled as kids. (She probably doesn't like to imagine that, because she's feverishly avoiding the whole aging thing. She says she has no intention of "growing old gracefully", that she'll go kicking and screaming the whole way...)

In seven days my summer classes will be over. Huzzah! I haven't been a very good student this session, although I still feel like I learned a lot. My ethics class was amazing - I've never had a class that made me think as much as that one. But, I am really ready for a break so I can dive into my clinicals this fall refreshed and ready to stay on top of things.

In four days Luis will be home from Maine! I'm glad - I've really missed him. His mom goes around the sun.

In ten hours I have to be at work, so I should go finish the laundry and then drag my sorry butt to bed.

Goodnight!

Remember when...

Does anyone else remember when Michael Jackson was amazing? He may be a nutter now, but he was an incredible performer the 80's. (You should check out some of his old videos... especially Liberian Girl - not his best tune, but the cameos are funny.)



I remember being inexplicably facinated by this video. (I was nine when it premiered.) I knew it was sexy, even if I didn't quite know what that meant yet. I sure did like it when he tore his shirt, though.

To this day a good looking man walking by in a loose white button-down shirt still catches my attention...

something to think about

My aunt Neena included a neat quote in her blog tonight:

Only the mediocre are always at their best. ~ Jean Giraudoux

I like that.

Shake it.

This has been my running playlist for the past week or so. The only time I listen to this type of music is when I'm dancing, running, or cleaning (which usually turns into dancing in my kitchen). Usually I'm a rock kind of girl, but this is good for getting moving...

Glimpse into the psyche of a woman.

Today I was out running errands. I stopped by a shop to look again at a pair of shorts I tried on last week but hadn't been really sold on. I headed in, figuring I wouldn't actually buy anything. I went to the rack where I'd seen them before but the shorts were nowhere to be found, so I asked a sales girl if they had been moved. She said they had sold nearly out, but went in search of any remaining pairs. Suddenly I wished I'd bought them last week. (1) She found them, but the pair left was a size smaller than I usually take at that store. I took them from her, figuring it was worth trying them on. They were a perfect fit. I bought them. (2, 3)

Footnotes:
1. More interested in something if you tell her she can't have it.
2. She will almost always purchase something if she can fit into the next size down.
3. Women are crazy like that.

On smiling: an elucidation.

Twice recently I've had comments about made about my smile. Last week a friend pointed out that I never show teeth when I smile for photos, and a couple of days ago I got an email from an old friend who thought I looked "nonchalant" in some recent pictures he'd seen. I certainly wasn't feeling nonchalant on the occasion at which the photos were taken; rather, I think probably it was at least in part related to my sealed-up smile. I got curious and started flipping through my photos, and sure enough, I almost never show any pearlies! Here's the best I can figure as to why...

• I don't like my teeth. Never have. They aren't awful, but they are a little crooked, and I have a couple of little chips in the front. I used to be very self conscious about it, and I guess I just trained myself not to show them.
• I have a slightly bigger pout than some (not of Angelina proportions or anything, but still a decent sized pucker). Perhaps my teeth just can't get out from behind the curtain.
• I generally feel like an idiot when I grin.

I will make an effort to smile with a little white showing, because it probably wouldn't kill me. But rest assured, I'm just as excited as you are, even if you can't see my teeth.

Briefly

We floated the Blackfoot river today for the first time this summer. Water levels and spirits were high, icy cold beverages were consumed, and good times were had. Photos to follow soon.

More rhapsodizing about the virtues of Montana summers to follow, but for now it's past my bedtime.

Oh, before I go, though...

Happy Birthday to the most amazing woman I know. I love you Mom!

A lovely summer day

Woke this morning to a beautiful summer day.
Talked on the phone with my mom while enjoying my flowers out on the balcony.
Took a long run, then went to hang out with some friends.
Played folf in the afternoon, and then I came home and went out for a bike ride.
Went to the park to enjoy the evening sun.
Came home and took a long bubble bath with a good book.
Finished off the day with some late night jazz and merlot at The Loft.

*Big contented sigh*

Shoes, this is asphalt. Asphalt, meet my new shoes...

I've been in serious need of new running shoes for some time, and I finally got out to to The Runner's Edge yesterday to pick up a pair. The shoes I've been running in most recently were New Balance, but I really wanted to get back to Saucony. They make shoes that really fit my feet: narrower in the heel but wide in the toe box to accomadate a big, wide duck foot like mine. I warned the salesman that I had a wide forefoot, and as I jogged around the store in a pair of Brooks (nice, but not enough cushion for me), he was watching my feet curiously with his head cocked to one side. He said, "Wow, you do have wide feet."

Yep.

So far these shoes seem great - we spent about five miles getting to know one another this morning, and I think it will be a long and happy union.

Dave Matthews Band at the Gorge 2006

Two months, fourteen days, seventeen hours and forty-three minutes until DMB.
I'm going both Saturday and Sunday night this year.
(Suckas.)

I can't think how many times I've seen them. Six, seven? Somewhere in that area. Good music, good friends, and one of the most beautiful natural venues in the country. Yay!

(If you don't like Dave, it's okay. I forgive you. Nobody's perfect.)