Do It for Jason!

Running's been tough lately. Tougher than usual, even. Sometimes I wonder why I keep doing something that is fundamentally not enjoyable to me. I keep telling myself that the training is its own reward and that I've come too far to quit now. Thankfully, Friday Night Lights came on during my run last night, and it's so damn inspirational to me that it makes me feel like I could run forever. I tell myself, "Don't you think Jason Street would like to be running right now? Get over yourself!" and other such ridiculous statements of the pep talk variety.

I was home for the second half of the episode and was startled to find tears exploding from my eyes not once, but twice. Incidentally, Pajiba just named it the best new show of the season. I don't always agree with Pajiba -- they inexplicably liked Brick, for example -- but they got this one right. I love this show. You can still watch every episode online, but that will probably go away soon. (Note: I wrote recently that Bright Eyes' cover of "Devil Town" by Daniel Johnston appeared on this show. I thought it was Bright Eyes because that's what the closed captioning said. But it turns out that it was Tony Lucca doing a cover of Bright Eyes' cover.)

In other news, I like the song "How to Save a Life" by the Fray. (You can watch the video here. And the Grey's Anatomy version of the video here.) I'm a little sick of it at this point, but I still listen to it if it should come on the radio, which, let's face it, it does all day long. The only problem is that there is some kind of chimey sound in the song that is identical to my cell phone ring so I can't listen to the song without thinking my cell phone is ringing down in the bottom of my purse. Even if I remind myself emphatically as the song starts, "That is not going to be your phone ringing, it's the song," I always think it's my phone ringing. It is kind of maddening and makes me feel like I'm going crazy.

Also, I have been a lifetime lover of snack mix. I excitedly explained to Shelley each of the ingredients in this snack mix, which I just discovered at the grocery store. (Pretzel sticks, pretzel twists, melba rounds, cheese nips, Crispix, and Quaker Oat Squares.)

She sighed, satisfied, then said, "Someone knows who you are. And what you needed."

I'm not sure how we got on the topic, but recently we were reminiscing about our once-fervent love for Michael W. Smith. We went an Amy Grant concert with our moms and my sister in the eighth grade, and he was the opening act. We thought he was just dynamite back then. And ... here he is. In all of his vesty, denimy, mullety glory.