Day... um... (looking for calendar)...

(...adjusting for flux in the Time-Space Continuum... subtracting the color Green...)

So you know how The Doctor has ideas of where he wants to take Rose or Donna or how he has every intention of getting right back to little Amy Pond but the Tardis has other ideas?

Yeah, so me not getting back to my blog is TOTALLY like that.

I last left off with day 3 - no running and at least one Shamrock shake enjoyed - and the promise of something hip and new forthcoming. Skip ahead a week. By the human measure of time, of course. (In Time Lord time I've just barely had a good night of sleep.) And here we are again! I've missed you... *sniff

A lot has happened in the last... few hours* since last we met:
      - Zumba arrived! Yay!!!
      - Several (4 to be precise) thoroughly enjoyable outings with a new friend
      - Several more Shamrock shakes found their way home (home=my belly)
      - Many new songs learned on my concertina! (Dad is quite happy with this, I think)
      - I finally started working out again. :-)

Aha! The intended purpose of this blog finally has a Muse! While I haven't actually started running, per se, today marks Day 2 of me working out. After a solid week+ of no such thing, I'm calling that a win.

Yesterday (Sunday) it was Zumba Activate for this ole girl. A heart-pounding, exhilirating latin romp in the comforts of my living room. Thank goodness, because I can't be out shakin' all this junk in public. It's just not fair to all the other women out there to flaunt what I got. I covered a lot of ground, too, in that 40 minute workout. I merengued my youngest son Caeden by the ear into my bedroom for a much needed time out. Then I salsa-slid my way over to my oldest son Brennan to give him a good reaming for some 14 year old insubordination he was partaking in. And I'm pretty sure that at one point when Caeden was on the floor in my 'dance space' I cumbia-d him in the side in a clever and successful attempt to roll him out of the way. A success any way you slice it.

Today (Monday) I got out of work early and, since I was conveniently dressed and ready for a workout, I headed over to my VERY FAVORITEST workout place, CFX - Chiro Fitness Xtreme in Rock Island (moot point for anyone not from the QC's, but to that I say hey - look it up!). Got my butt kicked severely by the Warrior Endurance class today, but it felt great. Left the gym 45 minutes later with visions of running in my head. Alas, back at the ranch, a comfy couch, a warm feline named Roxy and a long weekend on call combined like Wonder Twin powers and took the shape of a Nap.

To top off this wonderfully un-Monday Monday? A nice, but short, Blacklist practice. I will take that, thank you very much.

Let's tally NOW, shall we?

Running - goose egg
Working out - i | |
Life - | | |
Friends - | | | | |
Shamrock Shake - | | | | | |

Oooo... It looks like Shamrock Shake is winning so far. But not for long! Stay tuned, friends. It's about to get good.

~f.g.r.

Day 3

(technically the wee hours of the Day 4 morning, but I'm not nit-picking)

Had a not horrible day today. It started with bacon - as all good days should - and ended with great company and a rip-roaring game of Backgammom. I lost, but winning wasn't necessarily my objective. It was great fun relearning an old game with a new friend.

Friends - |

What... what's up? How was my run today? Ohhh... yeah, so about that.

Running - goose egg

Yep, didn't get that pesky training run in today, either.

BUT! I did (cue super excited high school cheerleader voice) I did order the Zumba dvd set online last night! Woohoo! I am WAY more excited about that than I should be. But I love Zumba! And I can't wait to get down with some Beto and get my latin groove on. I'm gonna go ahead and give myself a half tally in the brand new Workout category for that purchase.

Workout -i (<--for future reference, that's a half-tally)

Okay, since this post has now become terribly boring (and you've gone back to fully devoting you time to watching that informercial on bladder control problems) I'll cut if off here, with the promise of something hip and fresh for tomorrow's update.

That's right! Hip! Fresh! All that jazz!

Before you leave, don't forget our regularly featured feature (original!) - the Total Running Tally, heretofor referred to as TReaT:

Running - nottating, mon
Workout - i
Life - |||
Friends - |
Shamrock Shake - |

Remember, tomorrow it's hip!

~f.g.r.

Day 2 - Final Report

Well, of course I didn't get any running in today. I was on call at work, which meant my day didn't end till shortly (ha!) after 8:30 tonight. Way, way too late to run, nevermind the fact that I was in no mood or condition to even be persuaded to do so.

Life - |

I did, however, have one grand success today. My first Shamrock Shake of the season. Ahh, sweet, sweet nectar. I also got no cleaning, no practicing, and no writing done. But again, I did conquer at solid one third of a Shamrock Shake. I'm gonna go ahead and call that a win.

Shamrock Shake - |

Short one today, peeps, so here is the updated tally, Day 3:

Running - nada
Life - |||
Shamrock Shake - | (it's that time of year, this category will definitely be a contender)

Until next time...

~f.g.r.

Day 2 (pre-inevitable non-running)

Here I sit, staring at my unfinished, over-ketchuped scrambled eggs (my fault), regretting my half cup of diet pop, and thinking about writing.

I miss it. I miss my cheesy, I-swear-it's-not-a-ripoff-of-everything-else-going-around supernatural romance. I miss my characters. I think they miss me, too.

Revelation time, folks. While it's true that I am anxiously awaiting the time to get my registration in for the Marine Corps Marathon, and that I seriously will at some point start training for it, I really just want to start writing again.

So... I will. And you will like it.

~f.g.r.

Day 1 - (cue letdown music)

So much as I expected, today was a day filled with no running. There was work, a brief sitting down period after work, and then driving. Too much driving.

BUT! As promised, I did do other things today. Two things, in fact. 2 - count them! Ah ah ah!

1. Played the concertina with Dad tonight.

We have a little Irish band that is in its 5th (6th?) incarnation, in which I play the concertina. I also play the spoons, the bones, other random percussion and sing. Oh yeah, I got it like that. (nerd*cough) Anyway, so I've been in need of practice so that I can add more songs to my repertoire. Since I play by ear and not by sight, I just need to sit down with my dad and hammer out a few thousand wrong notes until the right ones find their way to my fingertips.

Didn't do too bad, either. I've got the beginnings of almost 3 new songs underway that, with a bit more practice, I'll have on the brain enough to work on perfecting. Yay for practice!

Life - |

2. Played improv with The Blacklist (you can visit us here - and please do!: http://www.facebook.com/#!/blacklistcomedy).

I love these guys! They are the most fun, laid back, incredibly talented fellas I've had the pleasure to play with. We, The Blacklist, are a group of improv artists who - in case you didn't know - get up on stage in front of an audience and play improvisational games based off of cues and suggestions from the crowd. Amazingly fun.

So we had practice tonight, which I always enjoy. But I found out that apparently I really suck at guessing games. At least sometimes. Like tonight.

Usually I'm a pretty good guesser. It doesn't hurt that the guys are pretty rockin' mimes, either. But tonight it was like my brain took a sick day to play hookey. I wasn't getting the big picture, I was guessing too quickly, and my mime & gibberish responses back to my team were lackluster and sickly. I felt so out of touch that I almost gave up. I was a bit disappointed with my weaksauce guessing, but the guys were nice about it. We all have our moments, after all. Can't let that get me down though. I love it too much and really, when it comes down to it, I'm not all that bad. (Ouch! Man that cramps, patting myself on the back like that.) At least now I know one for sure area that I need to hone.

Life - |

Okay, people, it's getting late. Time to cut the crap and do a tally:

Marathon training - zip
All-important Life - ||

Hey, I warned you this could happen. jjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjjrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr
(and apparently, so can all of those j's & f's. especially when you fall asleep at the keyboard with a heavy homerow pointer finger)

TTFN friends

~f.g.r.

Ooorah marathon!

Marine Corps Marathon, October, 2012.

That's my deadline.

Last year in September I ran my first ever half marathon. That's 13.1 miles, for those not in the know (don't feel bad, I'm just barely in the know, myself). After that, for some reason in the realm of insanity, I decided I wanted to run a full marathon. Being a former United States Marine - ooorah! - my only real choice is the Marine Corps Marathon.

But see, a person needs to do a bit more training for a full-on 26.2 mile trek. Especially when that someone is me. A gal with more than the average runner's share of... ahem... insulation? Yeah, that's it. So here I am. A full month into the new year and nary a run having run.

I am in trouble.

But lo, what inspiration through yonder calendar breaks? Ok, so maybe it's more that I got these really comfy super awesome (and pretty) running shoes (which I needed anyway). Or that it's Sunday, which means tomorrow is Monday - duh! - and a great time to start on the marathon training schedule I've already downloaded from the internet twice. Or... that I'm slowly losing the weight loss competition we've got going on at work and it's high time I get off my ass and start working it off.

So here it is. The latest and greatest in my attempts to blog. I have a plan! Sort of! I'll blog about my marathon training progress. Whether it actually progresses or not is kind of irrelevant. I'll find something to talk about either way.

Here's to new beginnings, old rants, and new pants. Maybe.

Signing off for now,

heather ~ f.g.r. (fat girl running)

Flash fiction - it's a first!

Here ya go. A flash fiction piece based on prompts from Regan Leigh's blog. Feel free to let me know what you think...



I used to stay away from the woods.

Silly, I know. But for a guy who grew up watching every slasher movie ever made – where all the best slashes happen after some helpless, clueless, shoeless girl wanders out of the cabin/house/tent and into the dark and menacing woods nearby wearing nothing but a nightgown and a look of horror – ‘the woods’ hold a special place of loathing in my heart. If I must venture forth into the wooded unknown, I’m smart about it – daytime, cell phone, well-hydrated, never too far from the tree line. Bowie knife. As a general rule, however, the woods and I don’t get along.

Then there was Katelyn. The new girl on campus, she moved into the dorms just after fall semester started. Every guy in Adams Hall wanted a piece of that action, but she was untouchable. Chicks that hot didn’t mix fluids with the peon first years in Adams. So naturally, when she spoke to me, I assumed she was talking to someone else. She had to tap me on the shoulder to get my attention. When I looked up I saw this goddess. She bobbed her head as she spoke, and her hair swished across her face. One time she had to pull a few strands from between her lips. Her glossy, plump, juicy – oh and then she laughed and touched my arm and whoa. It was like a mini dose of the electric chair. That perked me right up. She was asking me if I could give her a tour of the campus grounds, show her where the different halls were, the party houses, that sort of thing. I couldn’t form words but I could move, so I nodded yes. And then the giggle and the touch and a kiss on my cheek and she was gone. Thank God I remembered the time: 7:30pm. Tonight. Adams’ front steps.

After my last class I headed to my room and spent the rest of the afternoon bustin’ out what homework I could. It was 6:57pm when I looked at the clock. Just enough time to get my triple-S on – shit, shower and shave – and head out to the front of the building.

The sun was setting, so as she sauntered over to my perch on the steps she was bathed in this pinky gold haze. Her brown hair floated between her shoulders in loose curls and her eyes sparkled like the shimmer in her lip gloss. She was wearing a long, white dress that ruffled with the breeze and some sort of sweater thing over her shoulders. Before I could say a word, she glided up the steps, reached down and wound her arm around mine and we were walking.

Everything was hazy and surreal. Her words drifted through my head like a dream, and it was like she was leading me around campus, not the way other way around. But it was comfortable and nice and I went with it. When we finally decided we’d seen it all we headed back to Adams. But then Katelyn made a turn toward the back of the dorm. That’s when I started to get a grip on my senses again.
She was walking us straight toward the woods.

“Not really much to see back here, Katelyn.” My voice sounded strange.

“Just looking for a little privacy ‘s all.” Katelyn’s voice sounded different, too.

I knew I wouldn’t be able to hide my growing fear, but I didn’t care. The tree line was really close now. “There’s all the privacy you want back in my room, my roommate’s outtie for the weekend.”

“Nope. The woods are perfect. Come on, you’ll love it.” There was a grating edge to her voice and she tightened her grip on my arm as she sped me through the first few feet of the woods.

“No thanks, girl. Think I’ll just head back in.” I tried to slow my pace but she held on tighter and her head swiveled back to glare at me. “What the – ” Her shoulders were still facing forward as she continued to speed through the trees. My heart flipped and twisted in my chest as Katelyn’s swivel head turned back around and the last of the campus lights faded into the night.

There wasn’t the slightest hint of a wind, but I could hear the trees start to rustle. It sounded like they were rustling to each other. To the left. Over to the right. Left. Then right. In front of me, Katelyn’s head jerked right and left as the trees rustled back and forth, like watching a ping-pong game, and she sped faster through the trees. I don’t know how she wasn’t running into them in the dark like that. It was almost like they cleared the way for her.

Then she stopped.

The rustling stopped.

And we were standing in a clearing surrounded by trees.

Katelyn let go of me and stepped away and I tried to run, but something wound itself around my feet and I fell to my knees. I reached down, felt a jagged vine there and gave it a tug. With that tug, Katelyn came barreling into me feet first, screeching, the vine an extension of one of her legs. An instant later she shot straight up and let out a howl like a creaking tree. She looked down at me and thick, woody vines shot out of her mouth and through my body, pinning me to the ground there. The pain was hot, searing and everywhere. My scream only lasted a few seconds before roots grew down my throat and burst through the back of my neck. The last thing I felt was my body stretching, like something pulling me in a dozen different directions.

“Look at this, students. We’ve got two trees who’ve grown together. Notice how the trunks twist around one another. One tree was probably stronger than the other. Now look over here…”

I hate the woods.