Tag Archives: blogging

I’m to Blame for the Blah

Posted on July 17, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

My rather blah weekend continues with a Wrist to Forehead Sunday Post.  To anybody who is playing that miniature violin (So snarky! And you know who you are), I point out that I am well aware I have only myself to blame for the blah (ooh, that might make a good headline! So alliterative).  Really, if blah is the worst thing that happens to me, I am ahead of the game.

I ran again this morning.  That is two days in a row of 20-minute runs. Exercise is very important.  I must get more of it.  Later I went to breakfast at Farm House Restaurant in Ilion NY.  It was either do the dishes, cook eggs in a big frying pan, or go out to eat.  I feel I made the right decision.

A good place to eat.

Later in the day I fixed myself hot dogs and beans.  I had gotten them for the Fourth of July but then decided to avoid fatty foods so close to the Boilermaker 15K.  For the past week every night after work, I had nothing in the house to eat yet felt it was entirely too much trouble to heat up hot dogs and beans.

“It doesn’t take much,” my mother pointed out to me.  I call my parents almost every day.

“These days,”  I replied, “it doesn’t take much for me to say, ‘Oh that’s too much trouble!’ ”

Today I discovered that it was in fact very little trouble.  I was inordinately pleased with myself.  I think I made the right choice there.  I could have been disgusted with myself for not cooking the hot dogs and beans sooner.  Instead I felt pleased.

So this is my blog post of blah weekend with hot dogs and beans.  Maybe I should have mentioned the hot dogs and beans in the headline.  Any thoughts?

 

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Also, I Made My Blog Post On Time

Posted on July 16, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had a Slacker Saturday today.  In fact, I almost put off making my Saturday blog post till Sunday.  I may yet.  We shall see.

“Well, you see, sir…”

As I type (peck in one letter at a time with the stylus on my Tablet) this, I am looking at an episode of Columbo.  I have been watching other DVDs than Columbo, but I keep going back to my beloved Peter Falk. I have not been watching DVDs all day.  I read an Agatha Christie book and looked at Facebook.  Mostly I had a headache.  It went away eventually but by then it was too hot and humid for me to feel like doing much of anything.

One positive step I took (so to speak).  I went for my first run since the Boilermaker 15K last Sunday.  It was a mere 20 minutes, but it felt pretty good, even with a headache.  I decided I would not worry how short and slow my runs are (OK, they are ALWAYS pretty slow).  I am not currently training for anything.  I may never train for anything again, but it is best not to make these decisions all at once.

I confess that I have had a bit of a bad week.  I think this is normal.  Grief is not a straight course.  You don’t necessarily feel a little bit better each day with no backsliding.  Some days are going to be harder than others.  I merely mention the phenomenon; I do not mean to complain.

He loved to dance!

I close with a picture of Steve busting a move, just to remember him when he was happiest.  I know I was blessed to have him.

 

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Lame Conquers All

Posted on July 15, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

It doesn’t,  of course.  Neither love nor lame conquers all; I just like putting “lame” into a popular saying for the headlines of my Lame Post Friday posts.  In this case, my lameness conquered me last night and I am once again making my Lame Post Friday post on Saturday morning, but one could scarcely consider that conquering all, even if one was given to hyperbole.

Last night I auditioned for a play the for the first time in over a year.  I will write more about that later, especially if I return to the second or third night of auditions (preview of coming attractions).  After auditions my friend Kim and I went to Lombardo’s Pizza for food and wine.  That may be why I became too tired to blog last night.

The slippers have since worn out.

I drew a blank on what to say next so resorted to my Media Library  and found this shot from a play I was in at Ilion Little Theatre in 2015 (yikes! That was a while ago).  I was Lily Piper in The Busybody. 

I still have these sneakers.

I purposely looked for another picture of my feet.  I was wearing these socks yesterday, but different sneakers and no leggings.  I meant to take a picture but forgot to.  Too lame?  You decide.

 

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Tempest, Jail, and Late Blog Post, Doodah! Doodah!

Posted on July 14, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

Yesterday I finished making my Wednesday blog post Thursday morning (I had at least started it Wednesday night) and wondered if anyone would notice if I did not mention it.  Today (Friday) I thought I would mention that I am making Thursday’s blog post late (I did not even start it on the day) and try to pass it off as a Non-Sequitur Thursday Post.  So far so good.

“I don’t always make my blog posts late, but when I do I like to be Shakespearean.”

As I often do, I throw in a picture to pep things up.  This is my friend, Tucker, looking like The Most Interesting Man in the World (are they still running those ads?).  This was before a performance of The Tempest by LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  Now I have a Throwback Thursday Post.  Cool.

Is that mistletoe he’s standing under?

Rather than make it a pure theatre throw back, I add a picture of my late, dearly missed husband Steve posing at Herkimer’s Historic 1834 Jail.  We often walked by Herkimer’s Historic Four Corners.  They say it is haunted, but we never saw a ghost.  That would have been cool.

Who me? Be silly?

I thought I would end with a picture of me.  Here I am about to participate in the Ilion Days Doodah Parade with Ilion Little Theatre.  This year’s Ilion Days begin this weekend, but ILT is not participating in the Doodah Parade.

So this nonsense has me approaching 250 words.  Score!  If only I could think of a catchy headline.

 

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At Fratello’s Once Again!

Posted on July 13, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

It is Wednesday,  and we all know my usual destination on a Wednesday is Fratello’s Pizzeria in Frankfort. My friend Kim and I originally started for the Food Truck Frenzy in Ilion to hear The Posers,  but unfortunately the heat and lack of parking drove us to Frankfort where we knew we could sit in air conditioned comfort.  Well, technically, I guess Kim drove us, if you want to be that way about it (and I know some of you do) (you know who you are).

He is fine, yes!

We sat at the bar and ordered wine (Moscato for Kim, Chardonnay for me).  We did not have to wait long for the music.  Justin Smithson plays a nice mix.  Kim especially enjoyed “Tequila Sunrise.”  I confessed to liking boozy songs myself.

I could not make up my mind what food I wanted but finally ordered a basket of calamari and fries, which we shared.  I asked for ranch dressing to dip the fries in.  Yum!  Gino, the bartender, took good care of us.

Kim and Gino.

I did not have my Tablet with me so took pictures with my phone.  It is a new phone, not very expensive, and as you can see, does not take the best pictures.  However, one makes do with what one has.

I kept the best few.

We had a lovely time.  I was only sorry I missed The Posers at the Food Truck thing.

 

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Still Tired on Tuesday

Posted on July 12, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said yesterday that I would try for a better blog post tomorrow, but that would be today, and I am having a Tired Tuesday.  In my defense, I am not a young woman and I had rather a hard time running the Boilermaker 15K two days ago.  Perhaps you read my blog posts about it.  I just glanced over yesterday’s post and noticed a few typos.  I left them there, as testimony to what bad shape I was in.

Oh, just listen to me whine!  I am embarrassing!  For heaven’s sake, I went for two walks yesterday, a short one before work today, and I worked on my feet for eight hours.  I am hardly on, you should pardon the expression, my last legs.  I should be grateful for the body I have and for the things it lets me do.  Of course I am, so you can stop playing that miniature violin (you know who you are).

Where was I?  Ah yes, trying to make some blog post, any blog post.  Perhaps a picture would pep things up.

I knew it wasn’t Friday.

A little Bela and Boris to brighten our day (that is Lugosi and Karloff, in case you needed to be reminded).  It was a rather Mondayish Tuesday for me, since I took Monday off.  I expect to remain confused about what day it is for the rest of the week.  These things happen.

In the meantime, I see I am over 200 words.  Score!  We’ll see how I do tomorrow, on Wuss-out Wednesday.  If I remember that it is Wednesday.

 

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Post Boilermaker II

Posted on July 11, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

When we last left our heroine (that is me; I suppose I could have said blogger, to be clear), she was huffing and puffing towards the finish line of the Boilermaker 15K.  As I  got closer, I pushed myself to go faster and faster.  At least it felt faster to me.  I daresay to the outside observer it was not so impressive.

I crossed the finish line making terrible noises as I tried to breathe.  The Boilermaker volunteers were right there.  Two women were on either side of me, guiding me to a wheelchair. I was grateful to sit down.

“Lift your feet,” they told me, and I was surprised to find that I could.  They wheeled me into the first aid tent to a cot.  How embarrassing!  I leaned on the nice man that  helped me from the wheelchair onto the cot.

Then I was surrounded by people, taking my vitals, bringing me water, preparing me for IV fluids. I felt them take my sneakers and socks off an putting cool cloths on my feet.  They too my headband off.  I asked for a cloth for my eyes since the sweat was irritating them.

They found my blood pressure high, asked me about dizziness and chest pain, and tried to put in an IV.  My veins are usually pretty prominent, but I was a bit dehydrated at the time and it took them a couple of tries.  I laid back and let them do what they wanted, although I was a bit embarrassed.

I started to feel better soon.  After the contents of the IV were in my veins, they took my vitals and found them better.  They let me sit up and sip some water before allowing me to put my socks and shoes back on and proceed to the after party.  They were a little concerned that I had safe transport home.  I tlod them tjat if I got to my car and felt iffy that I would call someone.  I did not foresee such an eventuality and indeed it was not necessary.

I’m thinking this post is not as interesting as yesterday’s, but these things happen.  I am still recovering from my Boilermaker experience, so I will use that as an excuse.  As always, I will try for a better blog post tomorrow.

 

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Post-Boilermaker Post

Posted on July 10, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

So I ran the Boilermaker 15K in Utica, NY this morning.  Very slowly.  In fact,  I got slower every mile, except for the last little bit, which I inadvisedly tried to sprint.  I had to do it, although it was kind of the nail in the coffin (I do enjoy macabre imagery).

Anybody who is hoping for a cheery overview of a premiere event, this is not it.  The Boilermaker is a great, a wonderful, a unique event (and I do not use the term unique lightly).  I had fun, chatted with some nice people, and was glad to be a part of it.  But I had a little trouble. Since this is my blog about me, and I am going to tell it as I experienced it.

Things went pretty well for the first four miles.  Breathing was a little difficult due to humidity.  However, the temperature was not too hot; the overcast skies helped.  We felt a few sprinkles of rain before the race started, but that went away, and no thunder rumbled.

A couple of times I got a little stitch in my right side.  I lifted that arm over my head in a stretch and tried to breathe more deeply.  So far so good.  Then my left knee and my left hip started in on me.  The hip was more of a problem.  It hurt!  I kept saying, “Oh crap!”  Nobody paid me any mind to which I took no offense.  We all have our problems.

The last three miles were bad.  I had been saying to myself, “Just run your own pace, run your own race”  almost since we started.  Eventually I started saying to myself, “Just keep going.”  The spectators cheering us on helped.  My fellow runners, too encouraged me.

For a while I ran next to an older gentleman.  His walk was the pace of my run.  He told me how he had broken his foot one year but did not go to the doctor till after the Boilermaker, because the doctor would have told him not to run.  Wow!  At least all my bones were intact!

The last 1.3 miles took forever!  “You’re almost there!” they kept telling me, to which I replied, “Promises, promises!”  Then I figured if I had enough breath to be a wise-ass, I must be doing better than I thought.

In these races, be they 5K or 15, I try to keep myself from starting my final sprint too soon.  I have done that at the Reindeer Run 5K in Little Falls more than once, and it is not pretty (not that I am especially pretty by that point in a race anyways).  Today I questioned my ability to sprint or even speed up at all, but I firmly told myself not to worry about it.  Just finish!  That was my goal.

As I said in the first paragraph, I somehow found it in myself to sprint at the end.  Go faster, go faster, I urged myself, and my poor old body responded as best it could.  For one reason, I was so close to end I wanted to get there as soon as possible!

And it was not pretty.  However, I see I am over 500 words.  That is a long post for me.  I will stop blogging now.  I may tell the rest of my tale tomorrow.  But no promises.

 

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Pre-Boilermaker Slacking

Posted on July 9, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I had my last pre-Boilermaker run this morning.  A little over a mile and a half, 22 minutes (incidentally, my favorite number).  Then I pretty much slacked for the rest of the day.  Eventually I wrote a few post cards and walked them to the post office, taking the long way back for a 22 minute walk, a little over one mile.  I did a load of laundry, surprisingly not during either the run or the walk (as regular readers know, my favorite multi-task).  I did the dishes.

Now I sit, lounged on my couch, drinking more water (hydrate, hydrate, hydrate, they say) and wondering if it really is essential to eat pasta the night before a big race.  I know it is traditional to “carb up” at such times, but is it science?  Or is it merely psychological?  You see, it is very warm for me to think about cooking something to eat.  Additionally, I do not want to dirty more dishes.

Me, pondering the worth of effort in the heat.

I thought a picture would pep things up. This is me in Love’s Labour’s Lost last summer with LiFT, Little Falls Theatre Company.  It was pretty hot then, too.  My costume was supposed to have another layer, but there was no way I could stand it.  It was impractical anyways, since I played two roles and had to change.  But I digress.

Getting back to the Boilermaker 15K in Utica tomorrow, I am looking forward to it, despite my usual trepidations of parking, timing, and should I really be eating spaghetti tonight.  I hope to have fun and write a blog post about it.  In the meantime I am going to bill this as a Slacker Saturday (although my digression into theatre may make a Non-Sequitur Saturday eligible) and drive on.  Happy Saturday,  everyone!

 

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(B)Lame it on the Boilermaker

Posted on July 8, 2023 by mohawkvalleygirl

I am inordinately late making my Lame Post Friday post.  I made the conscious decision not to post last night.  I looked at the blank space on the Add New Post screen and said, “I don’t want to.” Perhaps it was reprensible of me as a self-proclaimed daily blogger, but these things happen.

I had suffered from a headache all day at my not heinous but also not air-conditioned job.  A cool shower felt good, but I could not just lounge around.  I had to go to the MVHS Health and Wellness Expo at Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) to pick up my packet for the Boilermaker 15K in Utica tomorrow (tomorrow?  Yikes!).

The Expo is a big deal and very well attended.  I had to contend with a goodly amount of traffic, which can be intimidating when you are not sure where you are going.  Yes, I have been to MVCC before but not since the mid-teens (that is the 20teens, not my teens).  I have never been much for crowd scenes,  especially when I am by myself.  However, one does what one must.

I might as well just admit that the Boilermaker has always intimidated me to a certain degree.  It’s not running 9.3 miles I fear; I can rely on my own stubbornness to get me through that.  It is just such a large event.  Will I find a place to park?  Will I make it through the long lines at the porta-potties before the race?  Will I be able to navigate the really large crowd at the after-party? These are the questions that haunt me.

The actual running is less of a problem.  I lament the crowds, but I cannot deny that all those people cheering us on can be a big help.  I like to read the signs, high five kids, dance to the bands… It is a fun run.

So now I have talked myself back into looking forward to it.  I expect to go back and forth as the day wears on.  No matter.  It will give me something to do while I hydrate.

 

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