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Quotes from the evening

"Wanna see me milk the cow?"

"Ba dum bum"

"How far along are you?"

"Ladies, we're talkin' boobs here"

"What color are these?"

"Now who is this?" "Asia!"

"That guy just totally got an eye full"

"Are you guys as rowdy as we are?"

"Booga, booga, booga - ah, ah, ah!"

"How much of a tip do you want?"

And laughter all around. It was so good to have Moose home for the weekend. Can't wait for you to come back girl (let's go camping).

Rarely is the right thing to do also the easy thing to do.

Oh All right!

Those of you who know me are aware that I've been doing bootcamp at the gym for about 6 weeks now. We have four classes left with our test day on the 3rd. I really love it and have committed to the next class starting in the middle of July. The workouts, motivation and camaraderie from the class have been just too good to give up.

Today while gabbing with the instructors and K___ (who I work at the gym with) we got to talking about the running aspect of the class and I mentioned how much I was liking it.

Well....

K___ has now convinced me to join the Helena Running Club. The club meets three times a week for a combination of trail, street and track speed running. Usually running approximately 10 miles each time.

*sigh*

The first one is this Saturday.

I'm going to learn to love running again if it kills me!

Parked down by the river side

It wasn't a little red sports car, it was a blue Mustang.

Inner dialogue

"Go ahead and sleep in, you don't need to have perfect attendance at bootcamp, it's just a t-shirt"

"No, get up and go. You've done so well up to this point - GO!"



I went.

• 5:45 am: At the track with 10 pushups in between each lap followed by stairs and lunge walk, situps, hover and stretching (my own bootcamp)



• 7:30 am: Breakfast with the parentals



• 10:00 am: Work in the yard, getting some sunshine, enjoying the 80 degree weather



• 3:00 pm: Red Sox vs. Yankees (Clemens still out with a groin injury)



• 8:00 pm: Night out (did you bring the handcuffs?) ;)
  

Don't ya just love lazy, sunny, warm, summer Saturdays?

Old friend new again

I recognized him as soon as I walked into the house. Dressed in the standard blue uniform, night stick and handcuffs on one hip, 9mm on the other, he greeted me with a smile. "Rachel, how are you?"

I knew that D__ had been hired by the Helena Police about a year ago. I'd seen his mom and dad at the store but I hadn't actually seen him in about ten years. He opened his arms for a hug and I stuck out my hand to shake his. "What? no hug?" I wasn't sure what the protocal was for hugging an officer while in uniform but walked into his arms to receive the bear hug awaiting me.

"It's really good to see you" I said as I looked up at him. He motioned for me to follow him into the kitchen and explained what was going to happen.

Later....

He walked into the hospital room and the smile, the walk, the laugh were all the same. The uniform, handgun and mustache all that separated him from high school in my mind. After all that time it was still just as comfortable sitting there talking to him. The conversation flowing as if we'd seen each other only last week.

After taking care of business we started to reminisce. He told me about his move to Missoula, then transfering to the Sheriff's Department and then finally being hired in Helena. He told me how much he liked working for the police force. We talked about my marriage and my divorce. We talked about high school and California, filling in any gaps as we went along. We exchanged business cards and cell phone numbers. We made plans to go to dinner and talk about old times.

An old friend new again.

Bootcamp

My thighs and abs have never hurt so fucking good!

Sometimes a long conversation with a good friend makes everything right with the world.

Happy Camper

My Glacier backcountry camping application has been processed and I was able to secure my reservation at Gunsight Lake Campground.

A happy camper am I!

Have you ever noticed that sleep is kind of like sex? You take it for granted until you ain't getting any.

Well let me tell ya, I ain't gettin' any and my ass is dragging. My sleep pattern is completely off. Up between 4:00 and 5:00, unable to fall asleep when I crawl back into bed at night.

It's really sad for a non-morning person such as myself that sleeping in has become 6:00 am. I really thought last night that the cold medicine would knock me out for a good six hours of solid sleep but I wasn't so lucky.

I'm sure you know the drill: roll over, shift hips, move arms, make sure the hair is out of the way - you know, kind of like sex.

Bootcamp

"Come on, pick up those feet. Let's go, let's go!"

My lungs felt like they were going to explode as I ran up the stairs for the tenth time. "You want more?" I thought as the instructors yelled for us to keep going. Eleven and then an even twelve and we were done with the stairs. A few quick breaths, some water and we were back on the field doing pushups and situps and more strength training.

The first day of bootcamp at 6:00 this morning was rough. You don't realize how easy it is to get into a workout routine and how difficult it can feel to break out. Bootcamp is definitely going to break me out of any fitness rut I might be in. It's hard work but it's exciting. It was fun to have a cheering section and to be a cheerleader for others that finished behind me.

"Eight weeks of this, right?" C_ asked as we ran back to the gym.

"Yep, eight whole weeks."

He: I haven't heard from you in a while, I'm starting to get a complex.

Me: I know, I'm sorry. I've been working a lot lately and the early hours at the gym are still kicking my ass. Plus after work at TT, I either go back to the gym to work again or work out. By the time I get home I'm wiped out.

Plus I just signed up for Boot Camp so that's early morning, twice a week. I'm kind of robbing Peter to pay Paul right now, taking hours from here and there to get everything done.

He: You need to go have a beer.

Me: I wish I could. I don't have time to play right now.

I had just passed three and a quarter miles on the treadmill when he walked through the gym. Tall, very athletic and absolutely the biggest guy I had ever seen in person. His arms were huge, his chest absolutely enormous. His thighs had to be the size of my waist. What is that movie line, "his cones were bigger than mine?" (Okay, shut up! I know that doesn't take much).

He was talking with the gym manager at the time and all I could do was stare. I was completely in awe. I found myself not staring in admiration necessarily but more dumbfounded by the sheer size of the guy. It was then that he caught my gaze.

The smile crossed his face and he turned his attention back to Rhonda but then glanced my way again. I'm sure he thought I was admiring all of his efforts with the free weights. Rhonda caught me staring as well and waved me over.

I began to slow the treadmill and tried to think of how to be polite and unembarrassed when it happened.

Not the gaze across the crowded room, no electric spark. I didn't hear Puccini over the loudspeaker. In the process of trying to slow the treadmill, be nonchalant and graceful at the same time my betraying feet caught underneath me.

Those of you who know me are familiar with my moments of grace as well as those moments when I am a complete spaz. Trust me when I tell you this was a complete spaz moment.

My body twisted off the treadmill, my hands on the rails, my feet splayed out behind me and down I went off the back like a mouse spit out by it's wheel.

Ah, but fear not for our heroine's safety loyal readers. Just as quickly as I slid off the treadmill I jumped up, bowed ever so gracefully and proclaimed "now for my next trick!" to a hearty round of applause in the circuit room of my gym - thank you very much!

A sweep

Yeah baby!! The Red Sox swept the Yankees at Fenway Park. That hasn't happened since 1990. The Sox played some long ball with four straight homers in the third inning and Papelbon to close out the game by striking out Jeter and A-Rod.

That's what I'm talkin' about!

Got your pants on? Your grumpy ones?

Work is busy, personal life is busy. There is a lot on my plate right now. I've been putting in late hours at work and early hours at the gym and I'm feeling a little overwhelmed and raw. Little things have been getting to me and I need to rest for a while, to slip into some solitude. I need to not think about anyone else, just some time for myself.

I need some spring and some sunshine and to hit the gym and the hiking trail and spend some time just breathing. I need to go camping and be outdoors.

Got that not really knowing what I need but knowing I need to not think or feel or do for a while feeling. Know what I mean?

4/20

Conversations while drinking...

He: I want you to help me with a joke. Now we'll need to be out at night so dress in black and...

Me: Wait, why are you bringing me into this?

He: Because you have a little bit of criminal element in you.

Me: Excuse me?

He: I know you have a bad girl in you.

Me: So were you thinking the little black cocktail dress and satin heels or should I have more of an O.J. thing going on?

It's official

As of last Friday, the 6th, I have officially been divorced for as long as I was married. They should cancel each other out then, right? A fresh start. Like it never happened.

Except for the $5000.00 plus I just found out I have to pay in medical bills for HIS dumb ass. Oh yeah, that was a reminder.

Ah well, chalk it up to a lesson learned.

And people wonder why I shout "DON'T DO IT!" when I see couples getting ready to marry.