A New Start on Tired Tuesday

Posted on September 28, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Here I sit, on Tired Tuesday, feeling, you know.  Additionally, I fear I am coming down with the same bug which has ailed my husband for two days.  Or my allergies are acting up again.  Or I am just a common or garden dizzy broad (I KNOW which one you think it is) (you know who you are).  Nevertheless, a blog post must be made.  Because I say it does, dammit!

One of my favorite things to do to procrastinate writing my blog post is to read other blogs, many of which handily pop up as soon as I log in to WordPress.  Today I read “Return of the Modern Philosopher” and was encouraged.  This fellow is doing a lot and still progressing on a screenplay!  Additionally, two of the things he does are write a blog and write for a TV show.  Two WRITING things.

What this means for me is, I have to stop coasting.  I can’t just say, “Well, at least I am making my blog post.  That’s writing”  or  “I worked on a letter to a friend”  or  “wrote in the TV Journal.”  I stand by my rule that All Writing Counts.  However, it is clear that no matter what, I can do MORE writing.

In fact, I did try to start a new novel yesterday.  I wrote a few more notes on it today, before my dizziness drove me away from the notebook.  Well, I won’t do that again.  I will just learn how to write when I don’t feel well.  I suppose a few of you are thinking that it is too bad I did not start by making this a better blog post.  Or is that just my inner critic?  No matter.  This is what I typed, this is what I’m posting.

But after I post this,  I shall seek out a pen and paper (my favored medium of composition) and see what I can do.

 

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Another Thunky Run

Posted on September 27, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I was less than half a block into tonight’s run when I thought of that title and by the end of the run, I had no reason to change it.  Regular readers may recall that I used the non(according to my computer)word “thunky” to describe my last run, which was on Saturday.  And how’s this for a Freudian typo:  I first put “less than half a blog”?  At least “blog” is recognized as a word.

Once again, I almost talked myself out of running and once again, I got into my running clothes and out the door.  For one reason, I have rehearsal for Splitting Issues (the play Steven and I are in) tomorrow so I may not have time to run.  For another reason, I need some help reaching my weight-loss goals.

Now, I know what is said by weight-loss experts:  eating less is the key to weight-loss.  Moving more has WAY less effect.  Well, if all you look at is the numbers, that is true.  However, I maintain that the number of calories burned while actually exercising are only part of the story.  To encourage myself to keep thunking along, I once again re-iterated what I think of as the exponential effects of exercise (hmmm, maybe that would have been a better title; for one reason, it has the charm of alliteration) .

Exercise kicks up your metabolism.  Depending on the length and intensity of your workout, for a certain amount of time afterwards, you burn more calories than you were burning before you worked out.  I like to make use of this effect by walking a cool-down turn around the block.  Nine or ten more minutes of extra burn!  Additionally, exercise can increase the amount of muscle in your body.  Muscle burns more calories at rest than does fat.  Moreover, muscle looks better.  Even if I have not lost much weight, I can present a more toned appearance.

Even more important are the psychological benefits of exercise.  After even a bad run, I feel good about myself for having done it.  I feel stronger, healthier, and perhaps more inclined to make healthy choices when I eat.  The anti-depressant effects of exercise are well documented.  Less depressed means less likely to self-medicate with fattening food.

Fortified by these encouraging thoughts, I thunked along for 25 minutes.  When I wasn’t giving myself a pep talk, I enjoyed looking at people’s fall and Halloween decorations.  Steven and I must get going on our own decorating.  I think we should go to, for example, Pumpkin Junction in Sauquoit to get some new decorations.  That would make a dandy blog post.

 

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Halloween Bonafides on Wrist to Forehead Sunday

Posted on September 26, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I let another movie run while I make my Wrist to Forehead Sunday post.  We usually watch True Crime television on Sunday, notably episode after episode of Snapped, but it is autumn, and that means it is time for Halloween movies!  Of course, I like horror movies all year long, particularly the cheesy variety, but there is an especial feeling of comfort in watching them as the weather begins to turn cool, as it did today.

We began our movie watching with Return of the Body Snatchers, which is not cheesy but something of a classic.  Mostly I like the classic cars.  It is a selling point to me in an old movie when the characters do a lot of driving.  I like to have a connection between the movies I watch, so we are now looking at House of Wax.  The connection is that both movies feature Carolyn Jones, most famous for portraying Morticia Adams.

Our other potential choice was The Birds, because of bit parts in both movies played by that guy that was on The Dick Van Dyke Show.  Steven had to look up his name for this blog post:  Richard Deacon.  I never would have remembered that, if I ever knew it to begin with (I am not at all sure I did).  I felt Wax was a better movie to go with, because an actor famous for Morticia clearly has better Halloween bonafides than one who played some random guy opposite Dick Van Dyke (YES, I love Dick Van Dyke, no he is not a Halloween guy, shut up).

I would really like to write some more posts about cheesy horror movies.  We have watched a couple, but I just can’t seem to put pen to paper about them.  I’ll have to work on that.  In the meantime, I sit here, poised with one wrist to my forehead, watching what we’re watching and lamenting my lack of a better blog post. You would think I would be used to it by now.  Never mind.  The largest room in the world is the room for improvement.  That gives me plenty of space to maneuver.

 

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One Hill, Three Dogs, Good Run

Posted on September 25, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, I meant to make my Saturday Running Commentary post shortly after my run, but, as I pointed out yesterday, the best lame plans…  So here I am, hoping I remember some of the stuff I thought as I plodded along.  I was pleased with myself for running in the morning.  I had thought I might do it later in the day, perhaps on the mini-tramp while watching a DVD of a silent horror movie.  Then after a cup of coffee, I thought, what the hell?

It was still cool out, yet warm enough for me to wear shorts and a t-shirt.  My hands got cold, but you’ll have that (that is my go-to comforting thought, “you’ll have that”).  I had gone four days without running (don’t judge, unless you absolutely must be that way) (really, why should I tell somebody not to judge?  Isn’t that judging somebody for being judgemental?).  So I thought I may or may not go for 30 minutes, my last longest time.  And certainly not run up the hill to HCCC, although I could see fog in the distance, which would have been cool to look down on.  I thought the hill by Valley Health was more my speed.

As I plodded toward it, I felt I was not running well.  I felt more thunky than I usually do (my computer seems to think “thunky” is not a word, but I’m sure many readers find it as descriptive as I do).  No matter.  I was running and I intended to continue, at least for a good 20 minutes.  I made it up the hill and said good morning to a lady going to work at Valley Health.  Then I saw a guy getting at the open back of his SUV, looking at several plastic bags full of stuff.  He went grocery shopping, I thought.  Early morning is a good time to shop.  I did not say hello, because he seemed preoccupied.

After I came down the hill, I saw another person and thought I might say hello.  Then he started to walk away and I saw he had a dog.  I caught up with him when he paused at the corner, and he let me pet the dog.  She was a nice dog.  I crossed the street and ran by the high school then across the little bridge over the brook.  I like that little bridge.  On the other side, I met another nice dog to pet.  The lady with him warned he might jump, but that doesn’t bother me.  I like dogs.

A little later I saw another cute dog, but he was pooping at the time, so I did not ask to pet him.  I didn’t want to interrupt his business.  I was looking at my watch and wondering which streets to go down and how long to run.  Eventually I headed towards Meyers Park.  I like to run in Meyers Park, and it is close to my house.  I was already over 20 minutes, so I was pleased enough with myself.

After running into and out of the park, I met a neighborhood dog with his person.

“Is that my friend, Rocky?” I asked.

“It is!”  the lady answered.  “He’s pretty dirty.”

That didn’t bother me any more than the jumping dog did. I was pretty sweaty and unclean myself.

My run ended up being 30 minutes.  I felt pretty terrific as I did my cool-down walk.  I will NOT wait another four days before I run again!

 

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The Best Lame Plans…

Posted on September 24, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

Have I used that headline before?  I’m too lazy to go back and check.  Also, I am feeling distressed because I have gotten no Likes on my last two posts.  I know, I shouldn’t be such an approval junky.  I’m sure there are many people who disapprove of my need for approval.  Then again, I write a blog that goes out over the Internet for people to read and, I hope, be entertained by. When people hit Like, I know I have succeeded.  I mean, why write a blog if nobody is going to read and enjoy it?  If I’m only writing it for me, why not scribble it in a notebook that I hide away forever?

By the way, today is definitely Lame Post Friday.

It has not been a bad week for me, but for some reason it has felt so long.  I could swear they snuck in an extra day or two somewhere.  At the very least, it’s been 72 minutes per hour some hours.  Yes, yes, here I am whining again, as I keep saying I’m not going to do any more.  Quick, Cindy, counterbalance it with something positive.  It’s Friday and I don’t work Saturday!  And my husband is home!  And it’s fall!

I have a million and one things to do tomorrow.  Oh, OK, not quite that many.  But at least 8,479 choices of things I MIGHT do.  Go running, write post cards, walk to the post office, go to the library, finish the murder mystery I’m writing, start a new novel OR find one of the many I have not finished and continue working on it, watch Halloween movies, crochet, knit… Oh, and pet my dog, cook something good for supper, make a salad with some tomatoes and cucumbers I bought two days ago, call my parents (oh dear, are they going to read this and feel bad that I didn’t mention them sooner?  Sorry, Mom and Dad, I love you!).

While typing all that in, I was slipping back and forth to Facebook and making plans to meet a friend and go to a wine tasting at a local liquor store tomorrow.  So that is one thing planned.  How many of the other things can I fit in and when?  A little uncertainty adds spice to my weekend.   Happy Friday, everybody.

 

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Upcoming Adventures?

Posted on September 23, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is SO past time I wrote about a Mohawk Valley adventure!  I can’t even pretend I haven’t had time to have any.  My last Scattered Saturday post shows I have been getting out and doing a few things.  Why am I not writing about them?  Well, the purpose of this post is not to explore my writerly angst (picture me with my wrist to my forehead moaning, “Why, oh why am I not writing about the things I do?  Boohoo!”) (yes, I would like a little cheese with that whine).  Rather, I thought I would mention a couple things I may be doing in the near future.

I just found out today that this Sunday, Sept. 25, is Mohawk Valley Center for the Arts (MVCA) Great Art Giveaway in Little Falls.  The event takes place at the Canal Side Inn at 3 p.m.  $5 donation covers hors d’oevres with cash bar available.  You can purchase tickets to win works of art at MVCA, which is next door.  I may go to the center and look over the art on Saturday.  I like to take my time with these things.

Next Saturday, Oct. 1,  Steven and I hope to participate in the Haunted Tour of the Historic Four Corners in Herkimer, hosted by Friends of Historic Herkimer County and the Herkimer County Historical Society.  Members of the “Ghost Seekers of Central New York” will tell about their paranormal investigations at the 1834 Herkimer County Jail and the 1884 Suiter Museum Building.  There will also be members stationed outside the 1875 Herkimer County Courthouse. Tickets are $12.00 in advance, available at the Historical Society, 406 Main St.,  and $15.00 at the entrance.

You can find out more about both of these events on Facebook.  I hope to write blog posts about them afterwards.  Or maybe another angsty post about how I just can’t seem to.

 

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Writing and Weather on Wuss-out Wednesday

Posted on September 22, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is the last day of Summer, and quite frankly it does not feel as if Summer is going anywhere.  I say this in a perfectly neutral manner, because I know that some people enjoy warm weather while others are anxious for Fall.  I say it at all, because, again quite frankly, I got nuthin’ else.  I would say, “Oh, that’s OK: it’s Wuss-out Wednesday,” but I have had so many foolish posts lately, I feel abashed.

I spent part of my day at work trying to think of what I could write a blog post about.  However, I spent more time thinking about the murder mystery I started to write.  I am in the midst of inventing characters and backstories. Murder mystery characters are especially fun to write, because everybody has many secrets.  I’m sure there are people who will pipe up with, “EVERYBODY has secrets!”  Well, I am not going to argue with imaginary people today.  I had fun writing my murder mystery characters, that is all.

As you may guess, I had more success with the characters than with ideas for the blog post.  Additionally, I spent another day with that coating of sweat that has been a permanent part of my wardrobe for months now.  I mention that not in a complaining spirit, but as a continuation of my earlier weather report.  So I have given you a brief report on my weather and my writing.  I find that, and my headline, properly alliterative.  I hope to see you all on the non-alliterative Non-Sequitur Thursday.  I wonder if I can fit in a Mohawk Valley adventure to write about between now and then.

 

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Bad AttiTiredTuesday?

Posted on September 21, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

It was partway through the afternoon when I realized it was Bad Attituesday.  What else could it be?  Oh, well, I suppose it could be a lot of things.  I was going to write a short essay on some ponderings I’ve had lately about bad moods (what, computer?  Isn’t “ponderings” a word?  I’ll be damned).  Now I feel too tired.  Oh, so I guess it’s Tired Tuesday.

I just ate part of a yummy sub Steven ordered from Carney’s Corners.  There is nothing like good food to take the edge off a bad mood.  And there is nothing like the realization that I have to keep my bra on and go someplace later to put the edge right back on. But there is no point in bitching about it; I said I would be in the play, and I will graciously accept any applause that comes my way.

Oh dear, this post is kind of going in all directions, isn’t it?  I did do some real writing earlier today.  I MIGHT have a murder mystery to write soon, so I started writing one.  I got almost two pages of notes written.  I think I have some pretty good ideas.  Writing these murder mysteries really plays to my strengths as a writer.  Or my weaknesses, depending on how you look at it.  I would go on about my strengths, but this isn’t Toot My Horn Tuesday, now, is it?

 

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Moody Monday Run

Posted on September 20, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

At work this afternoon, I realized I was in a foul mood.  I said to myself, “Mood swings are a symptom of menopause.  Just wait quietly and it will pass.”  I was still waiting when my shift ended and I came home.  I continued to ignore my irritation as  I put on running clothes and gathered a load of laundry.  Wrestling a sweaty body into spandex shorts and two sports bras did nothing to improve my mood, but I had to feel a little pleased with myself that I hadn’t talked myself out of the run.  For one reason, I needed a blog post and wanted to do a Running Commentary.

It was still warm out but less humid than my place of employment.  My workplace neither cools off nor dries out as quickly as the outside, which is just another reason to be happy when the workday ends.  I started towards German Street and turned right, since I had gone left when I ran on Saturday.  When I ran Saturday, it was after five days of not running, don’t judge.  Then I did not run Sunday, largely because I had also gone for a nice walk including some hills on Saturday.  I am really trying to get back into the habit of running more often.

I was running very slowly.  It was quite the plod.  No matter.  I was moving.  I remembered reading a long time ago that running slowly was a good way to train.  When you run fast, the theory goes, your body reaches toward high-octane fuel, such as the protein you recently ate.  When you run slowly, your body reaches for the low-octane fuel, your fat cells.  This was a nice, slow, fat-burning run, I told myself.  I think the theory has since been debunked, but I could hardly concern myself with that.

There was a lot of traffic, as there often is in the late afternoon.  I turned down Main Street rather than try to cross at the four-way stop.  I was thinking I would prefer not to run into any people, running so slowly and clunkily, but it was such a nice day, I thought there would be people almost any direction I took.  So why not go down Main Street?

Oh, my legs were not happy with me.  Shouldn’t they be warming up and getting into this, I asked myself.  Oh, just keep running, I answered.  One must have these difficult runs to get to the more enjoyable ones.

I did not start to feel really good until I was doing my cool-down walk.  It was then I realized, the irritable mood had passed.  Yes!  Maybe I sweated it out.  Maybe I ran away from it.  No matter.  I felt better, I had burned some calories, and I had something to write a blog post about. Not too bad for a Monday.

 

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Wrist to Virginia Woolf

Posted on September 19, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I knew it would be Wrist to Forehead Sunday; I just didn’t know how long I would put off making the post.  This weekend was going to be SO productive, writing-wise!  I guess next weekend I will plan on getting nothing done and see if the opposite thing happens with that.

I couldn’t even have one of my favorite Severed Head Sundays, because Steven wanted to watch Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? in respect for recently deceased playwright Edward Albee.  I could have no possible objection.  I love Edward Albee.  I had a great directing experience once directing The American Dream, which of course he wrote.  My greatest dream role has always been Martha in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?  I still think I could play the hell out of that part.  Perhaps I flatter myself, but who would disillusion me?  At least, I suppose somebody might try, but I will not believe them.

It is really a very good movie.  Some people have problems with places where it departs from the play script, but you’ll have that with a screen adaptation.  I have never seen the play on stage, although I have read it numerous times.  I think it is time for me to read it again.  It would be a good idea for me to read more plays, since I am currently working on writing a couple. If I keep reading plays, I can internalize the form, as they say.

In the meantime, I need to publish at least 200 words to feel I am still writing a blog.  When I realized I had not done so yet, I said, “Crap!  I haven’t make my blog post!”  Steven said, “Don’t make one today.  Everyone will be saying, ‘Where’s Cindy?’ ”  But I could not let today be the day I did such a thing.  So I pulled out the laptop and started typing.  And look, I am over 300 words.  I call that respectable.  Happy Sunday, everyone.

 

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