Sleep. People. Run. Cook. Bar. MY LIFE

Sleep. Sleep would feel so nice right now. Why am I so tired? Oh yeah. I didn't sleep last night.

As I drove out to the back country to meet the group, my eyes got heavy. Blackness filled the day and I would jerk myself awake before running off the road. Goodnight nurse! If I was in Santa Barbara where people actually live, I would have hit something! I pulled off of the road to nap before trying to find the group again. I didn't want to run off the road due to lack of sleep. "Hmmm... my phone is almost dead," I thought to myself. "Maybe I'll just take a quick nap, run around the lake then find the group. I'll leave my car on so the battery in my phone can charge." Folks, when one battery is charging, don't let the other one die. Two hours later I woke up to a dead battery. Oh eff. So I had to decide what to do. No cell reception. Mosquitoes running into my car windows. No idea where I was. Fortunately, I was prepared with bear spray and my day pack. I left a note on my car saying I was running into town (just in case one of the staff from camp saw my car) and down the road I hobbled.

People. Must find someone to jump my dead car. 

The lake I got stuck at

This is not the best place to get lost. But I had a general idea of which direction to go. A house! Maybe someone there can help me! I began jogging down the gravel driveway when a white truck sputtered down the main dirt road. I turned and ran back toward him, my hand held high. He waved and drove past. Oh... that's probably normal to be waved at in these parts. I continued to wave and run after him. That did it. He stopped and reversed. Atta truck... Come to Momma.

"Hi," I panted. "My car battery died! Can you jump it for me? I'm back up the road about ten miles."

"No problem; hop on in," the friendly old man said. He told me all about the tour he just took some high schoolers on. We talked about his ten years living in Dubois. He was adorable and sweet. Together, we fixed Sweet Baby Sam and he was ready and rearin' to go. I figured I would continue to drive and find the group, but my new friend Steve insisted he follow me back into town... just to be certain my battery didn't stall. I was in town and still had an hour left until I had to be back to base, so I figured I would make the most of it. A 45-minute tempo run would do the trick.

Run. Must run faster. What is this? A 9:00 pace or something?

No motivation. But it was national run day! I just feel so tired and whimpy lately. And I'm getting a belly. I know, it's sad. Richard... now would be the time to start that six-pack challenge. Remember those pretty abdominals I had a month ago? Yeah, my stomach doesn't. They have long parted ways. Camp food? Recovery from training? This is really taking a toll on the old Ash-mobile. So I forced myself to finish the run before driving back to camp, eating chocolate on the way, just to make sure that hard work I put in was really all for nothing. 

Cook. Gotta get dinner ready on time for when everyone gets back. 

Chicken breast. That's what was on the menu. An entire chicken breast for each camper. Tucker walked into the kitchen and his eyes were tired. When I opened the oven door, his eyebrows raised and his posture became erect. "Does each person get an entire breast," he asked anxiously. "Yes, sir!" His arms wrapped around me and squeezed tight. "You're awesome," he said.

The chicken turned out really well. So did the salad. I'm actually not bad at this whole cooking thing. Josh always did the cooking when we ate together and I eat a lot of burritos and oatmeal, so I never had to worry about cooking. My apartment doesn't even have a stove or oven. I think I might be getting the hang of this. Hey now!

Bar. Backstreet Boys all the way.

After cleaning the kitchen, I put on my favorite red dress and my brown cowboy boots and climbed into Nicole's front seat. It was really cold out. "Want a blanket to cover your legs, Ash," Nicole asked. "Aww thanks, Mom." I love my camp mother. Kristy, Zito and Rachel climbed in the back seat and we drove toward town, making a pit stop at the overlook on the way to watch the sunset. You really can't complain about that view. Nicole was playing some R&B and my little brother (oh, I adopted Zito awhile back) knew 15 out of 18 of the songs on the mix.

Why is Zito my brother now? Because he's freaking amazing! He's a certified EMT, he listens to the most random music, he wants to go to school in California and he can hike like nobody's business! That's why he's my brother, yo!

In honor of Scott's 21st birthday, we all went into town to the Outlaw Saloon (Go Outlaws!). Okay, all of my friends at home are reading this thinking, "Ashlee doesn't go out! Ashlee doesn't even drink! Why did Ashlee go out with them but not with us?!" Well, all y'all... things are different here. So different. Beer of choice in Dubois? Moose Drool. And you know the girls who wear skanky dresses that we laugh at but secretly wish we were them because all the boys are paying attention to them and not us? I haven't seen any of those here! Clothing of choice? Jeans and a flannel. I've worn my Lulus to the bar... it's no big deal. Nani and I played Caitlin and Jackson in pool. We all made some pretty stellar shots. The juke box had a playlist that was created by each individual in our group, so every song that night was perfect. Especially one song.

When Shape of My Heart by Backstreet Boys came on, Tucker and Brock's eyes met across the bar. Tucker pointed at Brock. Brock grabbed for his heart. They sang to each other longingly as they slow-motion danced their way toward one another. Every single word they knew by heart. Once the distance in between them had disappeared, they turned to Scott and the melody of their voices colliding focused on the birthday boy. Man alive! It was fantastic. They didn't stop until every note was hit, every word was sung, every eye in the bar had a single tear... okay, there were no tears, but it was epic.

The deer got into my kitchen this afternoon. Darn deer.