I disappeared

I disappeared  for a little bit. Maybe this disappearing has been a long time coming, but somehow it feels strange -- like I am existing just beneath the surface of something utterly new and different. So I am still staying at my parents place in my hometown in Eastern Oregon. My job doesn't start until the 11th of July, and my husband doesn't come home until the 3rd. So here I am in Eastern Oregon getting in touch with some old roots, and disappearing from everything else.

Life in the country is different than in the city. There definitely seems to be a slower rhythm and naivety in small towns. I have been working hard here. Every day I try and do something for my parents. I have been weedwacking, building a patio (which I finished yesterday), mowing, and filling in holes in the driveway. AND I have been running and hiking. Its been great to just relax, focus on the important things in life, because I don't worry anymore about work.

I don't really know where I am going with this, but I feel my body getting stronger, and I feel like a new chapter is just around the corner. It really is kind of exciting.

By the way today I ran 10 miles, and hiked 3....Life is good!!!!



Me hiking in Eastern Oregon



Pic from the top of my hike

Running, Hiking, Weedwacking, and Blogging

It's early in the evening, I have just gotten back from a run, and my mother and I are watching Julie and Julia. This movie about a blogger who cooks all of Julia Childs recipies makes me want to eat butter straight, put on 30lbs, and make love to my husband after a glass of red wine.What can I say I love movies about writers, and movies about food. Food....oh food.....rich decadent food.......... but the truth is food taste better when you are skinny. I mean it just does.

Where was I? Oh this movie talks about why it is important to blog:  it keeps you accountable, and gives you a sense of community. It sounds kind of  funny but my writing keeps me running, and gives me a community of people to run with. I don't know, it is a project, something for fun, that happens to keep me healthy, and happy.What can I say......I like the idea of writing as a way of building something substantial in ones own life.

Okay, so\ today, I got my new pair of running shoes, New Balance 860. I love these shoes. I have never, ever, ever loved new shoes. They make my feet numb, they take a week to really feel good, and like moving in with a boyfriend there is always an adjustment period. These shoes............These shoes fit perfecty, they don't hurt at all, they are light, and provide perfect support. Maybe I am jinxing it, but I really feel like I finally found the right man/ I mean shoe.

Anyways best shoes ever!!!! Heres to you!

I did a lot of hiking this week because I was sans my shoes......Here are some of the pics

Its been raining and is cold

I felt so alone out here

Seriously.......Uphill battle through the mountain

My parents dog....He is a good companion

And a little nerosis... New haircut!!!!

Turning back for Oregon



Me on the Road :)



Ok……………. So first let me say that I never made it to Colorado. I got halfway to my destination, and then got a call from an employment agency offering me a job I pretty much could not turn down. So I turned around and went back to my parents place. The job starts on July 11^th, and because I do not need to get a job right away now, there really is no reason for me to hurry up to Colorado. Of course I am going to be up there for when my husband gets home, but come July 11^th I will be back in Portland, Oregon.

I don’t consider myself a religious person, but the truth is that I feel some sort of gravity pulling me towards Portland. All around me people are saying “if it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be”. The truth is that I have been doing odd jobs in Portland, from working as a personal assistant, to temping at a rehab facility, but all the while looking for fulltime work…..It is just so incredibly bizarre that in the 11^th hour in an attempt to leave Portland, I get a call that drags me back. I guess only time will tell what the future holds.  

So Back to the running:

I broke my running shoes. I literally wore the padding in the back of the shoes out. I mean these shoes are done. Kaputz!!!!! (Is that how you spell that)….But I am camping with a friend of mine where there is no cell service, no running shoe stores, no internet connection…I mean I am camped in the boonies of Oregon. So I improvise and take out the duct tape and try to smooth out the spiny edge sticking out of the back of my shoe. …and truthfully it works….

Where I am camping the running is amazing. Actually, getting away from all of the trappings of social media, TV, cell phones, and internet is pretty damn cool. Sometimes I like to just disappear so I can focus on my writing, and I guess that is what I am doing right now.  But I digress.. Currently,  I am camped 30 miles west of Baker, Oregon down Whitney Road, in the Whitman National Forest.  It’s really too cold to sleep in a tent, so I have laid the seats down in my Jeep and made the back into a little makeshift bed. It actually is kind of comfortable. During the day I read and write, at night I sit by the fire and have long conversations with my camping buddy Nancy, who last year installed a bed into the back of her truck and now travels around the country living each day for what is worth

Yesterday I strapped on my running shoes and went for a run down an old logging road that runs past our camp. I don’t know how to tell you how beautiful it was without sounding trite. The forests smelled like rain, and fir trees. In the distance white capped mountains lined the horizon. A small little creek kept the logging road company, and I was satisfied with the deep pounding in my chest, and the quiet cold air around me.  It was beautiful, but the running was hard.  It just didn’t come easy to me. Maybe it was the increase of elevation, my shoes, or the steady diet of peanut butter sandwiches which have sustained me for the last four days, but it didn’t come easy.  Whatever…..it doesn’t always come easy does it, but at least it comes.