a prison and three princesses.

Ahhh San Fran, you can have my heart! Thank you for the sun. Thank you for the waves. Thank you for the sand. Thank you for the crab right out of the sea.

We had an amazing time with Todd, Fati, and Ramon, and Fati's sisters too! They are gorgeous girls, and so very very nice. I loved getting to know them better. Fati had an agenda that would have schooled most any tour guide, complete with places to park and sights only the locals know about. Todd and Fati live on a little piece of paradise in Half Moon Bay. A two minute walk from some of the most gorgeous waves you will ever see. The sand is perfect, and all day Sunday we sat at the beach doing a whole lot of nothing.

Highlights:

1- Fati's driving!!
2- The fresh crab dinner the first night
3- Having my own room :)
4- The hike to the top of the enchanted staircase
5- Running with Todd along the coast trail
6- Alcatraz baby!! Spooky and also very cool. I loved it!
7-The boat ride out to Alcatraz, where I wondered if anyone really ever escaped
8-The china town people playing some sort of card games in the town square
9-The trolley ride, and the funny operator man who told me it was his first day, then left me to the controls
10-The ocean. It was 'paradisical'
11-Todd and Fati's backyard and tons of flowers.
12-Ramon speaking English to me
13-All of the great food!!
14-Fati's sisters for being able to come along in the borrowed mini van, so glad that we got to have them join us!
15-The chocolate of San Fran!
16-Watching Ramon drink a shake from in-and-out burger ...dead staring into space
17-Good talks with mom
18-The Golden Gate Bridge, massive and so intimidating
19-Pier 39
20-Spending time with Todd and Fati and family and having them plan out every last detail. It was such a fun trip!!!

i'm in love...

..with my new calves. Not baby cows. The muscles on the back of my legs. My gosh I had no idea running would actually give me such sweet trophies as Abbie calls them. I have found myself several times just today flexing, holding, and then turning so I can see how big they are. If only I had eyes in the back of my head, like Jack Johnson. For now, I have to bug Kory every few hours to tell me that yes, they do indeed look different than when I was a thin girl who never exercised. I can't wait for real Spring to start!! Bring on the sandals! Bring on the skirts!! Cause baby I got CALVES!!!

waffles and a dose of reality.

This morning I had waffles. Blueberry eggo smothered in butter and dripping in syrup. Just the way I like them. I poured a glass of milk, grabbed the morning paper and between bites read the top headlines. My good friends the Gibsons were the top headlines this morning, and sadly, as I sat gulping my milk I realized that there was very little I could do to help these friends of mine. Some of my favorite memories from high school were spent out on the Gibson farm in West Weber. My gosh I love the smell of wet manure. We would ride four wheelers, shoot clay pigeons, and just hang out. I take another drink of milk, and continue to read the article. This multi generation dairy farm is the pride and joy of West Weber. Their dairy cows are classy. MMMmmm classy cows. Unfortunately, nobody cares. It appears that a classy dairy cow is not very valuable right now. So I finish my breakfast, empty my glass of milk...and wonder....how much optimism can one farmer have? God bless the dairy farmer who in this crazy time still wakes up at the early touches of morning to get to work, and who has hope that the day will come when he will actually start making money again.

what happened to the 'hood?

I remember the neighborhood growing up. The kids running around. The moms banning together. It felt like that would always be the way of the things. Moms. Dads. Kids. Neighbors. Helping. Taking Time. It seems so much has changed. Now I wonder, if that neighbor waving to me really wants to wave, or if she just feels like she must be neighborly. Where are the block parties? The chats by the mailbox? The helping hand when someone new is moving in? I have a few very close friends that live in the neighborhood near me, the others...well...we have all shared this same plot of ground for 5 years, and yet, it still feels like we are all strangers.

I have a neighbor. He is a widower who is very serious about his horses. Others think he is ornery, and mean. Well, maybe I see it differently, because in all the years we have been in our home it is he who has brought his tractor over when the snow fell so tall that we could not get out of our driveway, it is he who brings us extra eggs from his chickens...he who CHEERS ME ON when I am training for my half marathon, he who treats my kids like mini adults, he who walks over to talk to us instead of calling or emailing, he who watched our house with the closeness of a watchdog while we were in the middle of building it. It is this neighbor, this neighbor who I hope I can be more like.

nine.

Today I ran nine miles. In the cold. With my tunes. I layer up first with my two favorite nike jackets, and then my nike pants that do not even let me feel the cold. I put my ipod on, strap my gps watch on, pull my beanie down tight, grab a water bottle, put on my gloves, tie my shoes, and hit the road. Some mornings, I have to be honest, I just really would rather not be a runner. However, I set a goal, and a goal is what I intend to reach. I have 6 more weeks of training until my half marathon, and then all of this hard work will pay off. I don't care about speed. I only want to cross the finish line without crying, peeing my pants, or throwing up.