Tag Archives: Monday

Getting Through a Monday Run

Posted on April 11, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

The run you take after taking four days off is usually one that you just have to get through.  So I did.

It was an unseasonably warm day, warmer than I like to run in.  I reminded myself that it will be warmer yet in July and August, when I intend to keep running.  After all, I’m not ONLY going to run the Boilermaker 15K.   At least there was no debate over what to wear.  I further reflected that the temperature would warm my leg muscles up.

As I began to run, and as I continued to run, I felt as if I had no leg muscles.  No matter, as I usually say to myself in these situations.  The run had to be endured.  It would be endured.  I distracted myself with any little flowers I saw along the way.  There were a few, although yards are still brown.  A few people were out working on theirs.  I need to do that, too.  Others were out walking or sitting on their porches.  That’s what I wanted to do:  sit down.  I passed some kids on bikes.

“That’s what I need, a set of wheels,” I said.  They did not offer me a ride.

I saw a lot of dogs.  Most of them barked at me.  I like dogs.

By the time I finished my run I was exhausted.  I didn’t even stretch.  In keeping with my ambition to at last get my act together (under the heading “hope springs eternal”), I had put a load of laundry in the washer before I left on the run.  I could not face going down the basement stairs to put it in the drier.  Steven nicely did it for me.  I dragged myself upstairs, wishing I had one of those old lady shower seats.  The cool shower revived me somewhat.

Quite frankly, I feel less revived now.  However, my run is done, the laundry is in the drier, and my blog post is written.  I’ll call that a Monday win.

 

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, running and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

At Least I Used Pictures

Posted on March 7, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

So here I am on the last day of my fabulous four-day weekend, watching a movie I have seen many times before and thinking I had better make my blog post now, so I can get back to enjoying my day.  We did a few household chores, ran the necessary errands, and are on to the hanging out, movie watching portion of the day.

The first thing we watched was The Feud, Bette and Joan, which we DVR’d from… some cable channel.  I forget which (Steven is smoking in the basement, so I can’t ask him).  Susan Sarandon is Bette and Jessica Lange is Joan.  They are excellent!

Can you find “Nina”?

I love Hirschfeld, too.

I’ve been wanting to use this picture in a blog post.

Full disclosure:  I don’t know where this picture came from or who made these dolls.  My husband must have found it somewhere, because it was in our downloads.  He finds the best stuff of the internet!  I can never find a thing.

Guess which one looks like me before coffee.

After we saw The Feud, I wanted to see an old move, so we put in one of our all-time favorites The House on Haunted Hill, the original Vincent Price version from 1958, not the rather hideous remake, which we say but about which I do not much recall.

So here is my Monday post.  I don’t know that you could call it a Mental Meanderings, and I feel it is not a Middle-aged Musings, but I hope it is acceptable. And I hope to see you all tomorrow on Tired Tuesday (you think I won’t be tired after a four-day weekend?  I’m afraid you overestimate me).

 

2 Comments

Posted in blogging, humor, personal and tagged , , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

One Baby Step for Me, One Blog Post for my Readers

Posted on February 14, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, now I am happy I did not indulge in Wrist to Forehead Sunday, because this is surely going to be a foolish post.  I am typing frantically.  I have to leave for rehearsal for Steel Magnolias in less than one hour.  I have not showered. I have not changed.  I have not looked over my lines in the last three days.  I am quite mortified over that last one.  Showering and changing I may actually be able to do.

Oh, but I am tired!  On the brighter side, I did email two articles to Mohawk Valley Living magazine, ON the deadline.  I’m afraid they were not very good, but I am by no means the best judge of that.  I can only wait and see.

Oh dear, I am having a dreadful case of type it in, backspace over it (gritting teeth to not backspace over that last sentence).  I keep going back and forth between contemplating how truly I do NOT have my act together and feeling that perhaps I can do something positive to change that.  Small steps, they say.  Dare I say, baby steps?  Since most of the time I act like a big, fat baby, would that be a good or a bad thing?  I mean, since I am a big, fat baby, does that mean I am capable of taking baby steps and so should take them?  Or since I do not want to be a big, fat baby, that I should not take baby steps?  It is very difficult to know what to do.

Well, one baby step I will take is to hit publish on this piece of nonsense.  Then I will shower and strive to look over my lines before rehearsal.  Note to self:  tomorrow, drink more coffee.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Monday Mental Muck

Posted on January 10, 2017 by mohawkvalleygirl

Well, I would have a Monday Mental Meanderings post, but my brain is mired in the muck (just to alliterate a little further).  Seriously, my thought processes seem to have slowed down almost to a halt.  In fact, they may be moving backwards.  Oh dear.

There.  I just took a break and read a couple of blogs. I don’t know how I thought that was going to help, but I thought it couldn’t hurt and it is the only chance I will have to read any blogs before tomorrow night.  I have rehearsal tonight.  I know, I know, it is not yet time for this blog to become All Steel Magnolias All The Time.  That time will come much closer to production, I hope.

Here is my problem:  I can’t write.

I know, I know, one must be merciless in the matter of mood (I think that is a quote, but I do not remember who said it.  I hope I do not have it exactly right as it might constitute plagiarism) (which some say is the sincerest form of flattery).  Well, here I am, aren’t I?  I’m at the keyboard, typing away and, as you can see, nothing very good is coming out.   Could this be Wrist to Forehead Monday?

Earlier today I tried to write.  It did not work out very well at all.  Not one word made it from brain to paper.   And you can clearly see not much brain is at work in the words I’m typing here.  This may be my worst post about I Can’t Write a Post Today yet (I’ve labeled some “Why I Can’t Write a Post Today” and some “How I Can’t Write a Post Today,” but I feel that today the how and why eludes me).

 

2 Comments

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, writing and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Movies on Monday

Posted on November 8, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just took another dose of pain medication and said, “I’d better make my blog post, in case I fall asleep.”

“Write about the wonderful day you had with your husband,” suggested my husband.

“I was going to,” I told him.  “I was going to call it, ‘Movies on Monday.'” And so I will, unless I think of something better before it’s time to hit Publish.  I don’t really expect to, because, you know, pain medication.

We started with a rather obscure title we purchased at New York Connection in Utica recently, Rehearsal for Murder.  Two of our favorite things: theatre and murder.  It featured Robert Preston, Lynn Redgraves, Patrick Macnee, Jeff Goldblum and William Daniels.  However, what really sold us was that it was written by Richard Levinson and William Link, the geniuses behind Columbo.

It turns out it was Made For TV.  Nowhere on the package does it admit this, but one can tell, if noway else by how it fades to black at the end of certain scenes, the better to head off to a commercial break.  On the other hand, Columbo was a television show, and we love that.  Rehearsal for Murder is worth a watch.  I won’t tell you any of the plot, in case it ever comes your way.  I didn’t include a spoiler alert.

The next movie I put in was Isle of the Dead, on a Horror Double Feature DVD that was sent to me some time ago by my friend Rachel.  Boris Karloff, there could be no possible objection.  I may have written about it before (too lazy and/or doped up to check).  After it was over, I put the cable back on and looked at Snapped (what else?) while Steven took Spunky for a walk.

Now we are watching Malice, an old favorite of ours with plenty of twists and turns.  Steven had given me a choice between that one and A Perfect Murder with Gwyneth Paltrow, but I thought it had been longer since we had seen Malice.  It was partway into the movie that we remembered that Paltrow has a small part in it.  We both thought that was kind of cool.  And the night is young; we may get to another murder — uh, I mean movie — before we’re done.  Happy Monday, everyone.

 

1 Comment

Posted in humor, personal and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

I Made My Legs Do It

Posted on June 7, 2016 by mohawkvalleygirl

I said yesterday that today was going to be Monday Mental Meanderings. Then I came home and went running so I thought I might do a Monday Running Commentary.

It was quite warm at work today, and I was on my feet most of the day.  My legs were not the least bit happy about it.  I believe I have forgotten to mention that I did not go running Saturday or Sunday (don’t judge).  I knew it would be a good idea to run.  I rarely run on Monday, and there was that little devil on my shoulder saying, “Three days off isn’t so bad.  You can run on Tuesday, sure, you’ll run on Tuesday.”  The devil went on to list all the other things I really ought to do that I would no doubt be too tired to accomplish if I ran.  It got boring to listen to after a while so I started thinking about other things instead.

I had also thought it was going to rain this afternoon.  Um, no. It was beautiful when I left work.  Perhaps sunnier and warmer than I ideally like it, but these are not insurmountable difficulties.  My bunions promised rain tomorrow (they are usually a day ahead of the weather).  As I drove home, I said to myself, “But you love running!”  I did not expect to love this afternoon’s run, but I also knew that if I put off running I would hate the next run even more.  So I made up my mind to just go for a short run.  Twenty minutes, I told myself.  I would not ask myself for more than twenty minutes.

I added to my ambition by putting a load of laundry into the washer before I left for my run.  This was shaping up to be an unusual Monday.

The plodding run, however, felt depressingly familiar.  Shouldn’t I be able to rock this by now?  Oh, did my legs hurt!  They had been hurting all day.  Why was I being this glutton for punishment?  Just keep going, I told myself.  You have to build back up.

I followed a different route from any of my usual runs, although it was on the same sidewalks I usually run on. I just followed them in a different order.  As I ran, I considered my 20 minute plan.  I had been running 31 minutes for my longest run the weekend before last, then ran 20 minute runs during the week.  I thought I should probably run at least 22 minutes, to increase my weekday run by the recommended 10 percent.

It was, I think, 15 minutes into the run that I realized my legs had stopped hurting so.  They weren’t loving me, but they felt… I guess neutral about what I was making them do.  My breathing was labored but not too bad.  I still wasn’t rocking the run, but I figured I could last 22 minutes.

Just to make the post shorter than the run (the critic in my head is carping that it has gone on too long anyways), I ran for 24 minutes.  The breeze picked up as I walked my cool-down, for which I was extremely grateful.  Now my legs are hurting again, but they will just have to hurt.  I may run again tomorrow.

 

Leave a comment

Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

On Timing and Topping

Posted on May 4, 2015 by mohawkvalleygirl

I keep noticing that WordPress is 12 hours ahead of me.   I log on and hit My Site, then my statistics show up and it seems that I have had no activity yet that day.  This is usually about four in the afternoon, when I get home from work.  First I think nobody likes me, then I notice that it is already tomorrow and say, “Huh.”

 

Leaving my problems of low self-esteem aside (I know some people like me, don’t tell me nobody does or you will hurt my delicate feelings), let us consider the time warp.  While I am in the midst of my Wrist to Forehead Sunday, other bloggers are on to Monday, which may or may not be a Funday (or a Runday or a Punday, etc.)  (I can keep that up all day).

 

People who hate Monday (and there are many of them), probably scorn these whining Sunday posts (oh how I HATE to admit I am whining!).  “You think YOU have problems,” they sneer.  “I’m at work!  At the beginning of the week!”

 

If there is one thing I hate worse than admitting I am whining, it is a topper.  You know the sort.  If you have a headache, they have a migraine.  If you are broke, they are bankrupt, homeless and the sole support of their aged, ailing mother.  Conversely, if you just got a new car, they have traded in their Corvette for a Lambourgini (is that how you spell it? My computer doesn’t seem to think so).

 

Hey, I just realized something.  If my readers are toppers, I can’t win no matter what.   Even if I peel my wrist off my forehead and get positive, they will have something better going on.  In fact, I bet they write better blog posts than me.  What are they even reading my silliness for?  Possibly for the feelings of superiority.  If that is the case, you’re welcome.

 

As for the rest of you, thank you for reading.  Happy Sunday, even if for you it is already Monday.

 

3 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, Wrist to Forehead Sunday and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

No Longer a Blank Screen

Posted on September 9, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

I just now said to myself, “You know you’re going to write something. You always write something. So just sit down and write something.”

Although nothing much is coming out. It is a definite Monday Malaise (I wonder if I have used that as a title yet). My body is tired and my brain feels dead. In fact, I did use it today. Not much, but some. I came up with a couple rather killer ideas for my novel. No, I don’t mean ideas about who the killer is. I know who the killer is. Or do I? Hmmmmm….

I didn’t do much with the ideas except jot them down in the little notebook I keep in my BDU pants pocket when I’m at work. The notebook is really to jot down work things, but it’s good for all kinds of purposes. I wonder if I could manage to write a few actual paragraphs of novel before the evening is done.

The other thing I did was edit and email out two articles to Mohawk Valley Living, my new favorite magazine. That is rather nerve-wracking. I keep thinking my writing ought to be better. Oh well, I suppose one can work on these things.

And then I said to myself, “Oh yeah, I have to do my blog post!” What a thing to forget! I sat right down and stared at the blank screen. What a terrible sight.

Oh, but look, it isn’t blank any longer! It’s a blog post! Maybe not a good blog post, but why make judgement calls on a Monday? For yet another day I can call myself a blogger (although in general I do not; I say, rather, that I write a blog) (I live for these semantic subtleties). I look forward to seeing what I come up with for tomorrow.

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, personal, writing and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Early Morning Accomplishment

Posted on August 13, 2014 by mohawkvalleygirl

Steven had an early shift on Monday, so I seized the opportunity for an early run. I was, of course, less enamored of the idea when it was time to actually get out of bed at 3:30 in the morning, but one must put up with these things.

It was a lovely temperature for a run. I later found out Monday promised to be the hottest day of the week with a high of 85. I congratulated myself on getting my run out of the way before the heat of the day.

I bypassed the hill to Herkimer County Community College (HCCC). For anyone just tuning in, that is the killer hill featured on the DARE 5K this Saturday, for which I am registered (I believe I have mentioned it a few times, but you never know who missed it). I intend to run the hill one or two more times before Saturday, but I prefer to do it during daylight hours. Yes, I ran it before dawn last Saturday, but that day the sky was lightening even as I reached the top of the hill. Monday’s run was a full hour earlier, plus I had a whole day of work to get through.

I ran up the hill by Valley Health instead. I like to run by Valley Health on these early early runs. I find it comforting to think of the people on the night shift going about their business. At least there are lights on.

The hill turned out to require a bit of effort from me. In fact, the run started out to be not much fun at all. My legs were complaining. I had not run two days in a row in a few weeks and this was my third day in a row. I told myself that after feeling wonderful on Saturday’s and Sunday’s runs I was due to feel a little miserable. Miserable is an exaggeration anyways. In fact, I felt like I pretty much expect to feel on a Monday.

Things got better as I continued to run. My legs settled into it and stopped complaining. My breathing was fine. In short, I could rock this. If only I could see a few lights on so I would not feel so alone, I thought, my life would be perfect. I know, another exaggeration but since this one’s on the positive side, let’s let it slide.

I saw a few lights on, but I had to debate with myself: was it on because somebody was up or had it been left on all night for bathroom navigation purposes? Sometimes you just can’t tell. At one point I smelled skunk. Yikes! Well, a skunk was unlikely to bother me if I left him alone, right? I kept an eye out to avoid startling the stinker if I did encounter him.

As usual my legs were pretty happy with me on my cool-down walk. Tabby was happy with me too, because I let her stop and sniff plenty. I needed the pauses to drink water. I felt pretty happy with the run too. There’s nothing like accomplishing something first thing on a Monday.

2 Comments

Posted in humor, personal, running, running commentary and tagged , , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

Curse You, Vincent Price!

Posted on November 12, 2013 by mohawkvalleygirl

What is it about Vincent Price? I start to write a perfectly straightforward post about one of his movies and I get all bogged down and confused and it takes me days to get it right.

At least, the one I started today hasn’t taken me days yet, but I can see which way the wind is blowing. First it was The Tingler. Now it’s The Mad Magician. What’s a blogger to do but write about the problems she’s having writing. (I didn’t end that last sentence with a question mark, because it is rhetorical. I don’t need any smart answers from the peanut gallery.)

After all, I avoided Wrist to Forehead Sunday. I think I’m entitled to a Middle-aged Musings Monday. I shall muse about my trials and tribulations as a writer.

The problem I had with The Tingler and am having with The Mad Magician is neither Writer’s Block nor Writer’s Blank. It’s quite the opposite. I have too much to say (some people think I have too much to say at all times, but I daresay they don’t read my blog, so we need not consider them).

Usually, having too much to say is not a problem. I just write and write till it’s all said. I find that fun. In this case, however, my thoughts do not flow in a logical fashion. I start out talking about pre-movie commentary, jump to the plot, jump back and add in the spoiler alert, remember something I forgot from the commentary, go off on a whole other tangent.

Some may say that’s still no problem. Just write it all down they say, perhaps in a condescending, overly patient voice (you know who you are). Sort it out later. Well, that is what I’m doing. However, these things take time and effort and a good deal more oomph that I can generally muster on a Monday.

I repeat, what’s a blogger to do?

Leave a comment

Posted in blogging, humor, Middle-aged Musings, personal, writing and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.
← Older Posts
Newer Posts →