why oh why

why do i find dreadlocks attractive, even though i know they're incredibly filthy?

He is Risen

Heaven came down and glory filled my soul
When at the cross my Savior made me whole
My sins were washed away
And my night turned to day
When heaven came down and glory filled my soul
O, what a wonderful, wonderful day
Day I will never forget
When I was wandering in darkness away Jesus my Savior I met
O, what a tender compassionate Friend He met the need of my heart
Shadows dispelling with joy I am telling He made all the darkness depart
O, what a wonderful, wonderful day, yeah, today
And O, what a glorious, glorious day
The day You came, came to save me
O, what a wonderful, wonderful day
The day You came and You saved me

it's not as simple as we think

i'm angry, tired and upset, so i'm not going to even attempt to eloquently express my beliefs right now. i will simply say that i am saddened by the general lack of respect for life, the political pandering and the presumption of so many people in this country.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4371497.stm

not even close to my last spring break

it turned out that God didn't want us to go camping, so he made it snow for two days. thus, my spring break was spent wandering around the lbk. i was generally unproductive - hung out with old friends, made a couple new ones, met the brother's girlfriend and went hiking with the fam. two things i know for sure in my post-spring break mode: (1) i want a yellow lab badly. (2) i want a job soon. now, a quote, a joke and some pictures.

"you'll know him at school, meet him 3 years later, like him and give him scabies." ~she who shall remain anonymous out of kindness

did you hear about the guy who had three sons? one of them said he wanted a toy plane, so the dad bought him a 747 jet. the second wanted a toy boat, so the dad got him a fancy cruise ship. the third wanted a mickey mouse costume, so the dad bought him OU. ~courtesy of my father

bowling is fun.


biggest. snowflakes. ever.


she managed to bump her head twice, even with 5 women sitting around her.


st. patty's day - it doesn't get more irish than claire.


a mesa at caprock.



our baby maggie.


tess's new love, audrey.

memories

ever since i can remember, my family has spent two weeks in the mountains every july. my childhood vacations were centered around this momentous event: 14 days of clean air, open meadows, wildflowers, trout-filled streams, bonfires and bears. at first we always went to angel fire new mexico. close enough to taos and red river, it was an ideal relaxation spot for all ages of the mahan clan. we started out camping in the valley and eventually moved up to huge cabins, big enough to hold three generations of our rowdiness. now they've returned to camping, this time near jemez springs in the mountains outside santa fe.

some of my fondest memories are from those times... the first moment we could roll down the windows of our old, wagon-red land cruiser and smell the thick fragrance of pines in the air. gathering rocks to build tiny damns in the stream that ran by our campsite while talking about NKOTB (new kids on the block for all you young 'uns) with kids we met. picking wildflowers every night to present to my mother or grandma for the dinner table. driving up the mountain in my uncle's scout with the top off. building huge bonfires at the beaver pond and being scared out of my mind at the ghost stories. day trips with the men to go fly fishing in the cimmaron, impatiently waiting to gut a fish but then feeling guilty and hesitant because of its helplessness. and then when i got older, day trips with the women to taos for shopping and time at the natural spas. the hot dog cart on bent street in taos and the candy shop with ginormous chocolate covered strawberries. the late afternoon rains rolling in slowly but aggressively. strolling through the santa fe square, captivated by hand-crafted jewelry of the indians selling them on their intricate blankets. feeling the crisp mountain air against my face while mountain biking down a rocky trail. trying desperately summer after summer to build a chipmunk trap with my cousins and our feeling of triumph when it finally worked.

i could go on for hours. but since i'm supposed to be at work very soon, i won't. i'll just say that i couldn't be more excited about recapturing my old feelings and creating new mountain memories with my sister next week. nature kicks ass.

the little things are the best

i've never been a bath person. something about soaking in my own filth just doesn't appeal to me - no matter how much girly-smelly stuff you throw in the mix. however, my absolute favorite part of my day is just a little bit after my run. i turn on the shower and light all the candles in my bathroom. pulling back the curtain, i'm hit by a wall of steam so thick that the shampoo bottle looks blurry. through the pale yellow layer of protection, a soft glow of candlelight soothes me. each drop of water melts away any ounce of frustration, pain or aching left from the day. after 15 minutes, i feel refreshed and serene. it's an ideal end to any day.

a week from bliss

the sis and i are taking a camping trip for my last spring break of undergrad. we decided on southern new mexico , considering it'll be about 10 degrees warmer than santa fe.

since being in college i've been basically removed from my former life of camping. it's one of the hobbies i definitely plan on picking up again after i graduate and have a job and money. so, that brings us to the point: i ordered a few things tonight to assist in my camping/hiking ability. the confirmation email they sent was surprisingly clever -

We sure are happy that you registered at moosejaw.com. This is probably the best day of your life. Please go buy at least seven things right now. Love the Madness.

and another one-

If you are reading this email your order has been accepted and I imagine that this is the greatest moment of your life.

IWS

i suffer from a relatively common disease known as invincible woman's syndrome (IWS). basically, i think i can do anything, anytime, anywhere and remain out of harm's way. however, i think i found the cure for IWS tonight. it's called creepy guy on bike and creepy guy in truck (sitting right next to the track and circling the park, respectively). they may have convinced me to stop running alone at night, or maybe just to stop taking my ipod with me. either way, i'd like to thank the aforementioned men o' shadiness for their part in my breakthrough.

oh, and welcome to smaller type. i figure if my posts look shorter, some of you will actually read them in their entirety.

your love is extra ordinary

i live for live music. ok, so maybe that's not necessarily, or even remotely true, but it's a fun hyperbole. i definitely am not that shallow and don't see enough shows to make that statement true, but i will say that live music vastly improves my life. tonight i saw better than ezra at the northgate music festival, and because it's the night of exaggeration, i have to say it's the best show i've ever seen. it was completely worth standing in line in the rain for an hour and paying a $10 tab for 2 beers. their energy was f-ing amazing and i had a goofy grin plastered on my face the entire show. this is possibly explained by the incredible hotness of the lead singer, but i think it's mostly about the music. so, the festival was magnificent and i get to sleep knowing that my $25 was well spent. (go see better than ezra)