How Spider Ants and Coffee Addiction Saved my Life (Probably)

I’ve decided its past time that I start preparing for the zombie apocalypse.  I’ve always been big on horror movies and especially love the monster movies, who doesn’t?  But some things have come to light lately that make me realize it’s about time to take this stuff seriously.   For instance, have you noticed the huge uptick in zombie movies? I used to be the only one, now everyone is talking about them. I figure it’s the government’s way of preparing us. Also, bath salts? Enough said.

What finally pushed me to get prepared was the little spider ants in my coffee pot.

Really, they were gross.  They moved right in to the actual coffee machine and then after a while they layed eggs or something and twice when I poured water into the top of the coffee maker spider ants came running out by the millions.  I didn’t count them, but it looked like millions. I didn’t get a picture of this unbelievable occurrence because I was much too busy waving my hands and jumping around like a two year old.

Obviously, I threw out 2 coffee pots.  I decided not to waste my money buying a new one because it seems Florida is just too weird to allow me to own one.  So now I blow 2 bucks picking up coffee on the way to work everyday and on weekends I go down to my dads’ and drink coffee with him and his friend.  His very-into-preparing-for-a-disaster friend.  Maybe you know someone like him. He’s the one who talks about how guns will be outlawed within the week (so you better go buy some), social unrest is causing a civil war next month (better buy lots), and a nuclear bomb may or may not be coming at us right now (not gonna help a bit).  But it’s all good, because unlike ME, he’s prepared. When I shamefully admitted that I run at night by myself without a gun he looked at me like I said I ran with nothing on but maybe a glow light strapped to my wrist. Where exactly am I supposed to carry a gun when I’m running?  I don’t even bring a key.

Well I HATE when someone one ups me (not really, but in this case) so I proudly announced how I’ll be just fine; I’ve been reading zombie preparedness sites. Another one of those looks.  And then he announced that when I have nothing and come knocking on his door I won’t be allowed in because I won’t have anything good to bring to the party. Well, that wasn’t the exact wording but there was mention of food.

FINE.  I will just have to prepare for my own party.  But since preparing for civil wars, social unrest and hurricanes is boring I’m preparing for the zombie apocalypse instead.  Some people better be stocking up on rum and coke if they plan on knocking on MY door!

As displayed by the fact that I’m still back down to running a mile after my last illness I like to take little steps in all things.  So my first step is to find a place to hoard water, canned goods, and other stuff to be determined.  I have a walk in closet that I haven’t cleaned since I bought the house 7 years ago and I’m working on getting it cleaned out to use a portion for storage.  It’s a bit more paranoid than my usual self but the idea of storing food and water in the sweltering garage sounds like food poisoning to me, so the closet will do.

I managed to get it almost half way cleaned out.  The goal is to finish clearing it out by next weekend and then start stocking it with very necessary stuff. Since preparing for the zombie apocalypse is almost as important as running I've decided to post updates about how the preparedness is coming. Sorry in advance.

Dog Smiles Rock

I really need to start taking my dogs for walks more often. I wish I could take them on runs with me but the fact is they seem to make a conscious effort to trip me so that’s out. The last time I took Lelo for a run with me I literally ended up on the ground. It seems adults are not supposed to do such things, there were 2 neighbors outside who saw me fly over my dog and they both instantly, casually walked inside. Wow. I must have the friendliest neighbors ever. But it did leave me laughing so hard I could barely get back up, really it's for the best that they went in.

I have a decent sized back yard for the dogs to run around in, so it’s not like they are put out by having to stay home or anything. But when the dogs see me open the closet where their leashes are kept they are instantly SO happy and excited, I really like taking them.

Usually such insanely-happy-dog-events are saved for the weekend so we can go over to the park across the road for our walks.

I think we can learn a lot from dogs, if we're willing. Take joy from the little things!  They are so excited when we go out to the car and as we get out of the car and start walking.  Everything is awesome.  Did you see that, did you smell that, did you hear that? 

I have an older dog too, who I can't take for walks anymore because her arthritis will act up and she'll have an even harder than usual time walking the next day if I take her out walking.  She has a horrible time just getting into the car some days.  But nevertheless, she gets upset when I take the other two out without her.

I finally found the answer to what to do with Lucky so she isn't always the one left home but she doesn't over exert her poor legs.  If I fold down one of the seats in the car she can get in by going from the floor on the opposite side to the regular car seat to the folded down seat and lay down there.  Since she is lying on the back of the folded down car seat she's up high enough to look out the window, but she can still lie down and not worry about her legs being unstable as I drive. She loves it!  We can go to the drive-thru at the McDonalds up the street, get me a coffee and her a cup of water (ya, she's that cool) and head home and Lucky is in dog-heaven.  She better appreciate that since I won't even take my kids to McDonalds!

Honestly it can really be a pain having dogs to take care of.  I can't pick up and take the kids somewhere for the weekend, even staying out the entire day requires calling someone to go by the house because the dogs need to go out and they need to eat and they simply need someone around. It's kind of like having 3 more kids, except they aren't welcome to go with me most places.

But at the end of the day I really can't imagine not having dogs around.  They have a simple joy for living that people just don't have, and it's happily contagious (or obnoxious as hell, depends on the moment).  If you don't believe that just show a dog a box of treats or walk towards their leash and ta-da, happiness and joy abound.

It's probably for the best that we people don't show that joy for the little things.  I'm pretty sure if I did someone would commit me anyways.

Kayaking and King

As much fun as it is to kayak on the bay I have to admit it can be kind of creepy. The water is hypnotic. You know that the little fact that you don’t see any life out there other than the fish jumping doesn’t mean there is nothing out there. There could be anything in the water, just beneath as far down as you can see. The bay water is pretty dingy so that isn’t very far down at all.

I like to paddle out and then relax in the kayak, letting the water take me where it will. There’s always a point when I’m just staring down into the water watching the patterns of the sun and the chop. I feel like I can almost see something in the water, it’s just not quite close enough to the surface to see what it is. The brownish patch sliding under the kayak could be a manatee, it could be a shark, it could be anything.

I know that what I’m seeing is (probably) the light refracted through the water, a bit of plant or sometimes maybe a school of fish but my mind always has to bring up Steven King’s short story The Raft. Seriously, every single time.

The funny thing is my friend and I where kayaking last weekend and after we passed a large patch of (creepy, oily looking) seaweed he admitted he had been thinking about The Raft too.

It’s amazing what a reach books have on how we see things. I’ve always been a huge reader and the stories I like the best have always been either scary stories or spy books. Or anything with a super-hero in it. There’s more but I’ll leave it at that.

Point being it is amazing how often in day to day life I am reminded of a book I read, a story I heard, or a movie I saw. Without all of these stories I’m pretty sure my outlook on life would be completely different.

It’s probably thanks to Outbreak that if someone coughs in a movie theater I have an instant urge to cover my nose and mouth and leave. If an old man dressed in rags at a gas station tells me I should turn left a bit down the road you can bet I’m turning right. Or, more likely, turning around and going home. I’ll sleep in my car before I’ll sleep in that creepy looking house that I just happened to get a flat in front of.

I did stay in a cabin in the woods up in Flagstaff more than once, but I did NOT open any boxes or look in any closets and if someone would have knocked on the door I wouldn’t have answered, let alone walk out into the woods to see if I could find them.

Jaws anyone?

Barefoot Ramblings (with my shoes on)

So I've been at my new job about a month now.  I get off work at 5 EVERY DAY and I'm home by 5:40 if I  drive slow.  Um, ya I'm still thrilled.  I never used to be home before 6:30 and that was the one week a month I didn't have to work a later shift. 

What difference does it make?  Well, I can do laundry and other fun stuff during the week and leave more of my weekends to feel like weekends.  That alone is pretty nice.  Today I actually took the dogs to the woods across the way for a walk, came home and ate dinner, and it's still light out.  Craziness!

I used to run the trails over there barefoot when I first started the barefoot running thing, but since I've seen signs over there for wild hog hunts and someone on Facebook posted a picture of a very, very large cat in that park.  Now I get freaked out when I hear a lizard crawling through the leaves over there. One bad thing about running barefoot (besides the occasional stepping in yuck) is I feel a bit more vulnerable. What am I going to do, kick something attacking me with my bare foot?  Great, I'll break a toe but at least it won't matter because some rabid beast will be eating my leg anyway.

I've recently realized that since I started running barefoot in January I've worn shoes a lot less in general.  I've always been one to wear shoes to work that I can kick off under my desk but these days I rarely even wear them when I go visiting the family.  I tend to take them off when walking in the rain because water makes my sandals slippery. And honestly, that makes perfect sense to do, but I never used to, I'd slip around on my shoes all night instead.

It makes me kind of wonder.  Why do people not do the sensible?  It's sometimes a bit embarrassing to walk around barefoot in public (bar hopping lets you get away with it though) just because no one else is.  I have no desire to make any kind of statement but if it's more comfortable and easier, why not?

The biggest thing I wonder is if other people who run barefoot find themselves wearing their shoes less and less?

Short Run and a Little Yoga.

I haven't been running too much lately, I've just been too tired.  I decided I'd try a mile again tonight, and I did it but I had to stop in the middle for a few minutes.  Between the heat, the humidity, and being sick the last few weeks I don't even know if I should try and run or not, but that sounds like a bit of a cop out so I figured I better!

So I did my slow mile and then looked on line for a short yoga video.  I didn't feel like doing the after run yoga I usually do so I decided to try one specifically aimed at feet instead.  After all, if you're going to run barefoot you should watch out for your feet, right? This one felt kind of silly while I was doing it, but my neck and feet where both undeniably relaxed afterwards so I can't complain!  However, it's not going on my after a run list since it is very focused on just the two areas.

Yoga Therapy for the Feet and Neck with Erica Fritch

It's been much too long since I did yoga regularly, it is soooo good for everything!  I'm going to start looking a bit harder for a good yoga video on line specifically aimed at barefoot runners, maybe I'll find something awesome.

One Barefoot Mile to Motivation

So, I haven't run since I wrote No More Excuses.  On the plus side I DID say it would be a couple of weeks before I got into my new schedule.  On the bad side, really? An entire month without running? 

I do have good excuses though. I was out of town for a week and that gave me a reason not to bother running until I got back (2 weeks down). By the time I got back my ulcerative colitis started acting up. Still is actually - you'll have to trust me - that'll keep you from wanting to go running by itself. But to be honest I'm not that sick, it's nothing but an excuse at this point.  

Today is National Running Day.  I don't know why or even what that means.  However, it sounds impressive!  So I decide that the least I could do was go run 1 slow mile.  So I did. Hmmm, amazing what happens when you try.

My mile wasn't fast and it wasn't amazing. Garmin says my pace was a 13:07 mile which is slow enough that I should probably be embarrassed to even say it in public. But I'm not. Because somewhere on the way I found my motivation.  I remembered that I actually like running and that it makes me feel great.

And if that wasn't enough?

I finished my mile and started walking home thinking I may have to do a mile again tomorrow instead of waiting a day and running further.  I was feeling very good but a still little upset with myself that I hadn't run in so long and that I wasn't running 10 miles by now. After all, if I'd been running steady since the first day I ever started running I'd be running ultras by now.

As I was walking home I passed 2 guys who asked me if I was really running barefoot.  Um, yes.  They were tough looking guys but they told me I must be made of steel to be running barefoot.  Um, me?  There isn't a steel or tough bone in my body.  But it certainly felt good to have some one mistakenly think so! As if I wasn't motivated enough after running that reminded me that running can be all about perception.  I was embarrassed to only run a mile and these guys thought I was somehow tough for running at all barefoot.

All in all it was a funny, motivating night and I think it was more than enough to get me back on the running wagon.  Too bad I can't run with a six pack of beer or I'd run it over to that house and celebrate my next mile with them!

Lessons in Traveling

I think that if I did not have kids and dogs I would love to have a job that involved a lot of travel.  I had to go out of town last week for the whole week; it was the first time I've gone anywhere out of state by myself at all let alone for a week. I was a wee bit nervous.  I loaded my Kindle with books, packed a backpack with clothes and my all important GPS and was off. 

First important lesson- if you can get away with just a backpack when you are flying it is IDEAL.  No luggage to check in and pick up and nothing to shove in the overhead compartments on the plane.  Just pushed it under the seat and was on and off the planes ( 4 of them!) easily.  Of course not even most guys are as lazy and light a packer as I am.

Second lesson - pack light but bring an extra t-shirt.  I had to wear but the tank tops I had for under my work blouses when I went out in the evenings, good thing the weather was perfect!

Third lesson I actually learned last time I went out of town - always try the local beer!  I don't really drink much beer, but I made the rule and I must stand by it.  Oh, the trials and tribulations.

My first night there I drove through down town then went back to the hotel for pizza and merlot, the second night I went to to park then stopped at an Italian restaurant for pizza and merlot, and my third night I went to The Lazy Goat for pizza and a beer. and merlot.  Is there a theme there?  The Lazy Goat is very nice, but I have to admit I wasn't thrilled with the pizza, just because it had a pesto sauce and I don't really care for pesto.  For some reason I still try it about once a year.  Seems 2013 is not the year I suddenly realize I love pesto.  Oh well.

The company was good, the service was great, and the view was awesome.

After dinner we walked around downtown a bit, I even saw one of the mice on Main.  I hadn't heard of them before or I would have gone mouse hunting!

Oh, and by the way, my last night there I had hummus and pinot noir.  Branching out!