running buddies

caitlin is one of the people that is pretty much always willing to run (not a surprise, considering she just did her third marathon in may). mostly she is doing me a favor to keep me company since she is technically much better than i am, but we both really enjoy getting out.
i actually like running alone, but when i run for distance, i prefer a partner for motivation and company. this morning cait and i ran from my house to Mt. Ogden park and back. its 7 or 8 miles (not positive since we took back roads). i had to walk for like 100 ft at one point while trying to get up the hill behind Weber State, which if you know that hill, you know why i had to break for a moment. it was mile 5 ish and the shade was gone by then. killer. however, the rest of the run was pretty enjoyable. Utah is stunning, cait and i were able to chat when we were on level ground, and we found sprinklers at the end that we were able to run through.
stretching was a necessity


alfalfa (sarah's new puppy) loves eating plants. leaves are his particular favorite.


i was pretty relieved that i could still run distances, especially with the hills and elevation here.

"you are my biggest fan"

yesterday my roommates and i watched "That Thing You Do," which i have not seen in years. the characters have tons of one-liners that are hilarious.
movies, roommates, the beach, the pool, bbqs, reading and running have pretty much been the only things that have consumed my time during the last week and a half. it is so weird not having a job. i should not complain, as it has been really relaxing at times, but weird nonetheless. tomorrow im flying back to utah, and i am really excited to see the family, friends and mountains that i have missed for the last couple of months.
to say the least, my transition back from India was not hard or shocking, which i kind of thought it might be. the whole unemployment thing has made things pretty laid back though. i kind of feel like the trip was just a dream. i have been trying to figure out what i learned and felt about the whole experience, as well as how i am going to apply those lessons to my routine, comfortable, lovely life back in the states (analyzing all of that has been the hard part).
having said that, here are some pics of my life from the last couple of days. i actually feel slightly lame posting these immediately after posting pictures of under-privileged children and hundreds of people at a Muslim mosque. just dont judge :)

I went to the beach by myself to just read and relax. i hate sand, but i love the ocean. and tyler lives in costa mesa, so i also got to meet up with him to eat and chat for a while.












jeremy and i went to an Angels game on Wednesday. who knew there would be so many people at a game at 12:30 pm in 100 degree weather.





we went to a free art walk on Thursday night. downtown riverside is actually really fun (as opposed to many other parts of riverside)




















then for the 4th we went over to ryan's house and had a little bbq. jeremy's artichoke dip in a bread bowl was voted the "most tasty", but carly's fruit was voted "best presentation." everything was so good though.




we played apples to apples and then sat on the curb to watch fireworks. jeremy and ryan wore matching stripes and cut off shorts, which they also wore last year on the 4th. they are ridiculous... but hilarious. lauren and i decided that when you change the color on the picture, the boys kind of look like they are living in the 70's