It's Smelling a Little Bit Productive

Back in town I was ready to focus on the important things in life. Correcting the remainder of my storage unit (from here & here), setting up plans to check another item off my bucket list, & this, this, & this...especially this & this! After spending nearly a solid month creating dirty laundry, these are the things which make me smile.

Being able to function as an independent, decisive, adult member of society has its rewards. I'd just taken control & polished off a few goals during the previous month. Now I was setting myself up to conquer one more. With my birthday around the corner logic prevailed & I began the "homework" process to know what was most important for me to do in order to properly prepare in order to keep on placing checkmarks within the metaphorical boxes lining the left-hand side of my ever-growing bucket list. 😏

With clean garments sprawled across the carpeted floor after lining the dowel rods of this to maximum capacity, I began searching online for all the pertinent information on what I needed to know for a successful trip & finally hike the Grand Canyon.

Knowing exactly what day I planned to hike made setting up my flight & rental vehicle easiest. Thanks to mapping apps I could confirm the logistics of where I'd need to be & the reality of whether it'd be possible. Based on needing to board a flight about twelve hours sooner than I thought would be practical, I soon learned that the additional hours would be just the right amount that I'd need in order to finish setting myself up for the main event.

First, though, I had roughly a month to gather the best information & make the necessary connections in order to make the most of the long-awaited experience.

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Planes, Trains, & Automobiles...

Actually, hiking, biking, & running... 😂

My earliest memories of hiking are when Dad would take us kids out on a trek while we'd be camping. Mom came along a time or two; it was mainly just Dad with us & not Mom for the most part. I think it just wasn't her "thing".

I really loved hiking. It had all the "right stuff" included. Nature, moving around, stretching, oftentimes a campground nearby; it was bliss.

The treks where Dad would take us, if we did need walking sticks, we'd usually just go "hardcore" & grab the nearest applicable fallen tree branches. Even then I think that Dad made sure that where we'd go & what we'd do would be a bit more tame than needing those sticks. If we'd return to camp with our shoes too muddy or dirty Mom would likely be making sure that we'd keep that part of nature out of our small pop-up camper. She'd be bringing us another set of clean socks & shoes, & if we needed them, long pants too. We'd definitely have been sent out on the hike with long sleeves & long pants. We weren't going to risk anyone rubbing up against anything that might leave any lasting (even if only lasting as long as our camping trip) memories.

Fast forward to super recent. I'm finding myself as of late becoming more & more addicted to being outside & being active while outside (aside from when I'm crocheting). If it's daylight & it's not raining (well, even if it is raining! 😂) then being outside seems to be the bestest place I can consider myself to be.

That's my story & I'm sticking to it! 😂


I even discovered, with my lack of coordination & equal lack of desire [read: avoidance] for all things organized team sports, the majority of what's tucked inside my tiny little compact hatchback of a vehicle is a bicycle, a bicycle helmet, an old pair of running shoes to wear while riding on said bicycle, a pair of these (hiking sstiks), a pair of these (hking boots), & two pairs of running shoes. Typically I also have a bag of clothes that will cover the gamete of whatever I might need, should I be somewhere & well, need them. A few tank tops, a few pairs of socks (for running, though I should add one pair for hiking too 😏), sports bras, a running skirt, bike shorts, long stretchy pants (that I'd most likely wear while hiking, though could also double for wear if someone offered me their backseat aboard their bike, as in their motorcycle).

In an effort to adequately fit the bicycle in my tiny backseat I found myself finally parting ways from stowing the jacket/hoodie I earned from running the Hot Chocolate 15K roughly five years ago. There'd been a group of runners, of which since has dispersed, who noticed this 5K/15K opportunity. At first I was cautious, what with the much-higher-than-is-typically-the-case entrance fee. It is nice that an event here & there provides a goodie bag of something other than a short-sleeved t-shirt, even if the t-shirt is moisture-wicking and/or fitted specifically to a man or woman & not just an "adult-sized shirt".

So there I'd received said sweatshirt, which came with a deep pocket in the back, adequate for all things smartphone, key(s), &, yes, I've even stuffed a pair of dollar store gloves in that pocket when the occasion called for it. The garment is fitted; however, it's fitted to me quite well, which makes it all the better & something I came to rely on...solely rely on...while I trained in the early, inclement weather months of this calendar year. Basically, if the temperature wouldn't be over forty degrees, I knew that, by wearing it, I'd be as comfortable as I needed to be. With the hood, one that closes in near my face & neck, & the zipper that tucks underneath the fabric to remain comfortable next to my chin & neck, & a quality zipper - one that glides smoothly & doesn't get caught up - which seems silly to note, though is of great practicality when a runner is trying to quickly shift themselves for comfort from the weather while in motion.

It's this sweatshirt/hoodie which still hadn't been removed from the backseat of my tiny compact vehicle. The temperatures round these parts had snuck into the 80s, most often the mid-to-upper 80s, essentially on that weekend while I was out-of-state running back-to-back marathons. So I was busy not really noticing that Springtime had finally sprung - other than loving all of the extended daylight minutes & hours. Apparently it was time to take that sweatshirt out.

Another, that I'd initially planned to also take out, has somewhat become what I consider to be my "fifty degrees" sweatshirt. It came to me by way of a gift. At that time I'd been 😕 about now having this sweatshirt as well...After all, I have so many! Well, lo & behold, I began wearing it, & it became just what I'd need (along with two long-sleeved shirts underneath it 😊). I decided to leave this one in my vehicle, especially considering that if I might find myself on the back of someone's motorcycle, it could be something good to wear for that ride. So it stayed. It's in there alongside my new bicycle, helmet, these, & these. 😂

I've not been on a bicycle in at least five years. And I'd been noticing some opportunities to join others & get out & ride. I know it can be a great cross-training exercise; it's just something different. More terrain is often covered sooner (as in, more quickly) & air [read: wind] moves around a rider differently than it does a runner. It's a similar activity with separate perks. It seemed time to add a bicycle back into my stash of belongings.

My newly attained hiking apparatus is a direct result of getting on a trail, which, in most ways, brought me back nearly 100% to those memories of hiking while camping with Dad as our guide. The hiking boots I'd already owned weren't the right size. I tried them on this new-to-me trail & realized I'd be best off getting these. They're a larger size (comparable to my running shoe size, not my dress shoe size) & possess the perks necessary in a solid hiking boot; they are treating me well. Appropriate hiking socks are a great idea & equal partners to the hiking boot.  These are a good match, especially for height (mid-calf versus higher) to the pair of hiking socks I own & are a good set for back-ups for me.  I've one pair from when I purchased my smaller sized hiking boots, realizing back then that wearing running socks with hiking boots is a little bit like trying to fit that square peg in that round hole; better could be accomplished. In this case these new hiking memories are made better in many ways by a few accidental friendships. I've picked up along the way, thus further making the activity of hiking an even better thing.

So, in my best efforts to have just what I'd need in my vehicle in order to fold away the backseat & wedge my new bicycle in that same tiny space, I removed most everything else. The few fabric shopping bags & other ordinary necessities found themselves stowed nearby the passenger seat. Thus it is now why the backseat of my vehicle visually describes these three sporting activities.

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Into The Light

She wrote this song after taking a year to heal from the crash her family had been in where she was left with a broken vertebra. Check this link for more on that. She then titled her album "Into the Light" to reflect the positive, rather than the negative, of the overall situation. Today, most of the nation is also reflecting on the positive by gaining more daylight & adjusting our clocks (those which don't automatically adjust themselves).

We might've just lost one hour of sleep, though this time change is the easy one; at least for those of us who did have a clock or two to manually adjust. I keep one of these next to my bed, which is how I listen to the radio & jam a little whenever the DJ puts on a few good tunes.

Don't scrunch your nose or eyebrows, roll your eyes, or crinkle your forehead. 😂 I keep one of these battery-operated babies in the bathroom behind the sink's faucet, & leaning against the mirror. It's a simple one that helps keep me on-par whenever I'm in there cleaning, or combing [my hair], or brushing [my teeth], etc.

And then there's also my vehicle's clock. Which is sorta simple to adjust since it's just a push of the "set" button, a slight scroll to the "clock", & then the down/up arrow to the current/corrected hour before tapping the "set" button again to resume normal functioning. So, technically, as long as I know which buttons to tap & where to scroll, my vehicle's clock is a no-brainer no matter if it's the first Sunday of March or the first Sunday of November.

If you're in a similar situation to me & you're training for a few upcoming marathons, then you didn't lose any hours of sleep. Rather, you realized you were completely wiped out long before the average person your same age, despite it being that early in the evening AND on a Saturday. Whatever. 😏

I headed back to my bed because I needed oodles of rest & recuperation. (Though not before putting this movie on my laptop to watch/listen to [yes, again 😜] while I slept until I could convince myself my muscles & bones were ready to be upright again.

I'm running a double in less than two months &, to prepare, I ran 15 miles on Friday morning, then 10 miles on Saturday morning. This I did just before I began my brick & mortar store hunt for a replacement inverter because the awesome one I'd snagged from Amazon two years ago, well, I'd used the darn thing so dang much that it up & stopped being useable (& it's no longer available on their site). I've, what I call a throw-away phone, a generic flip phone like one of these, for those times when it's no one's beeswax what my number is, but I need to give them a way to contact me anyway, or to just be logged into their company's system. It beeps a special pattern whenever it's low on charge. I plugged it in to the inverter on which I've been charging my laptop, smartphone, the flip phone, & once or twice used my super-basic shredder (similar to this model). Not only did the inverter not light up to signify success, the flip phone continued the "give me juice" beeping. Dang it.

I'd been lucky because I drive a compact hatchback vehicle. The SUV I used to drive had ports which charged without the vehicle's battery being on; it was an SUV after all. This tiny compact hatchback is, well, tiny. It came with a USB charging port aside from the adapter slot for separately purchased inverters. I've not really used it because the inverter I got myself two years ago had space for two outlets. I used one for my laptop & the other for my phone. Both of the phones I have use an Android charger (because, well, one is an Android! 😂😍) Also, the inverter had space for two USB ports on it - which I never needed to use. I just really needed a way to charge my laptop while in my vehicle.

And I didn't want to always have the engine running - cause that's expensive & not great for my vehicle either. Well, for these two years now, I've been winning at that one. After my exhausting visit to several brick & mortar stores, & canvasing Amazon's options (as well as their Q&A sections & reviews), I learned that I'm most likely going to need to accept that my engine will need to be turned on to activate the inverter - & well, this might be a very good thing. After all, it's sorta protecting my vehicle & its battery & the overall life of all of them. I've picked out this one. It's wording ["Not recommended to use for a long time when vehicle is not running."] suggests to not use it too much without the engine being turned on - which does give me a notch of hope that it's similar to one I currently have, which no longer works, yet could work with the engine turned off.

All of this just in time for all of this upcoming daylight. Yes, I'm certainly glad...No, I'm ecstatic that we're back in "DST" & shifting our days' hours in so that we're making the most of our daylight. It's more opportunity to be "out there" making the most of the weather (even if there's a little precipitation from time to time 😊) & the fresh air whether it be to run, to hike, to bike, or even just going for a simple stroll, a.k.a. a walk. 😏 Bring on the Vitamin D! ☀

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Filling in the Blocks of Space & Time

Each year these seem to be more obsolete. At the same time they seem necessary, needed, purchased & well used just as much year after year. Many people enjoy gifting those they know at Christmastime with these that have themes.

Today seems an appropriate date to consider the usage, non-usage, defiance, & well, the continued printing of these...See, today's date represents the first day of each year when a full twelfth of it causes them to be a practical clearance, though in reality, most every consumer would think that by the end of the first week of the new year, it's most sensible for these to be at a significant percentage discount.

As a child, having one to hang in my bedroom was a "thing". I had a particular spot, that no matter how my room was rearranged, for whichever season, I could hang up mine of current interest. One of these would hang from a simple frame hook like this.

We had a "family" one hanging in the kitchen. Mom had magnets just for it, with the refrigerator standing next to an open counter space, leaving that side of the fridge as open & obvious for its display. Mom would write our rotating work schedules on it once we began our "young" employment years; i.e. the ones where we'd speed off after school & work until shortly before we'd desperately need sleep for the following school day, & the ones that took away our weekends; they made us stronger, better, wiser, & "more talented". 😂

The same style seem to all be modernized for dry erase & magnetic purposes like these. Mom, in her imperfect, yet very legible & super distinguishable handwriting, would diligently keep the squares updated with a nearby pencil. Though not a dry erase style, they're still manufactured; Mom still buys one annually. 😂 Knowing my parents, who keep everything, there's a chance those pages are stashed somewhere under their roof, true keepsake-style.

I never took to one sitting on my desk at work (one like this). If one happened to be there, fine; I'd sort of use it. Sort of, because many-a-time I'd realize months afterward that I'd never torn off a month or so of sheets. It could be mid-May & I'd have February or March (sometimes just April 😎) beaming its bold lettering back up at every passerby.

I did, however, realize early on, the many benefits of knowing what the months just before & just after the current one looked like. Really, it was just the dates & the weekly outlook; not actual activity on those dates which was important & assistive to me while at work. Oftentimes I'd need to count out one month, or twelve & fourteen day periods of time; having this version suited me well. Fortunately, one of these fit on the peg behind my computer monitor & I was all set. I felt that I could see time being accomplished merely by having this available in my peripheral vision.

Or maybe it's this day - this week surrounding - when many people realize annually that they've not yet gotten a new one to represent this new year. Maybe this is the "rush week" to purchase these, otherwise obsolete options.

One thing's for sure: A month ago, yes, definitely now, these are not suitable as gifts any longer - at least not in this new year. Unless, of course, you're preparing a "gag" gift, or trying to shake off the remains of a relationship that should no longer be. 😏😂

MS Outlook & various phone apps have taken the way of all things modern, electronic, & efficient. Essentially even making some of these as obsolete as pencil & paper.

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Not Greed, Nor Entitlement, Definitely A "Wonder"

And a very unintentional motto I’ve taken to now for the past several years would be one that’s been said by many for a very long time, “Never say never.”

The number of things which I’ve done, & in most cases, very proudly so (i.e., I also intend to do again) which I’ve done in these last several years is many more than worth accurate tracking.

One of these things many might think is natural, quite fine, & a very decent thing to do; it’s likely something that they’ve also done. That is, I became a movie theater patron on Christmas Day.

It went a little something like this. I needed some time for me; I needed to treat myself. The nearby theater happens to offer their weekly discount day on Mondays, which happened to be Christmas Day. And the theater was showing the third & final of the three-part series for this movie. (Which, when I heard that it was, couldn’t figure out how there’d be a plot, so I became intrigued to see it, in part, just to learn what the writers would make of the plot in order to continue the storyline.)

So my movie theater viewing for Monday, December 25 became an apparent, win-win-win (-win?) 😂

I saw the movie. I enjoyed it. The timing during the day worked out well too. I got back in my vehicle & got to see some of the traffic (both people & their vehicles) that becomes of the business that is Christmas Day at a movie theater. I learned a lot. And in a very good way.

Then I began “planning”. This is when I tend to trip up & go “overboard”. “Planning” means that I’m likely on the verge of making a task out of life. 😎 Things went so well on December 25 that I decided to aim just as high for January 1, another Monday, another movie theater discount day.

I began to turn the way of negative when I realized, after taking the time to watch the trailers of each of the remaining movies at that nearby theater, that none of the others were of great enough interest to me to either spend the time/money at the theater, nor to make something of the “free time” I had because I didn’t need to be anywhere else right then.

Wishing to remain as positive & forward thinking as possible, I researched current movies & watched another trailer or two. I learned that another, not-quite-as-“nearby” theater (really it’s just in the next locality, so no ‘big deal’) happened to be showing one of these other movies. I had a point to drive to that area, & so I did. It was mid-day on New Year’s Day & a jam-packed parking lot as well as a jam-packed theater lobby. The clerks efficiently managed the line & I quickly became next up. I asked the clerk the movie’s cost & ultimately decided to see it. It was sold out. Seeing a movie in a theater on New Year’s Day instantly became something I wasn’t meant to be accomplishing.

My New Year’s had been off to a rocky start for another reason or two & I became determined to not let my intentions for this new year become parched, waivered, or diminished.

I continued on with my week. Sunday came & I realized I’d be nearby that “other” theater again. I walked in & asked if my selection had already sold out; it hadn’t. The cost had an apt matinee price affixed to it. Bingo! Score! 😊

Seeing it solo, I got into the theater & began scanning the back row (which, in these modern theaters is up in the back from where patrons enter on the side). Plenty were seated in that far back row. I spoke up & inquired if all of the seats were spoken for; they weren’t. The teens & tweens (as well as their families) with which I sat next to said there were two seats left. It appeared I claimed the final seat of the row. Another bonus to solo movie theater viewing. 😎😊😏.

This movie is one for which I cannot wait to own the DVD. I called Mom as soon as I let the theater since she & Dad are always looking for good ideas for me for gifts & told her about watching the movie & my eagerness for the DVD; she giggled.

I cannot wait to watch it again (although, unless someone else paid my way, I wouldn’t view it again in the theater – for one reason, time, for another, needing to save my hard-earned money). It’s beyond simply a “great message”. It’s well written & nearly the same writing as this book from which it’s based (I’ve not yet read it, though I’ve solid word from a few teens who have 😎).

Bringing tissues is a must. (Go ahead, click here for the kind that travel well in your pocket or purse. If you'll be staying in & watching it on your own big screen, click here for the kind that sits nicely on your coffee table or end table - or even your nightstand. 😁) Fortunately I carry something in the way of tissues in the tiny cross-body strap bag I typically have with me. 

It touches the heart & soul of so much. As much as this movie's underlying theme is “Greed”, this movie touches a bit on “Entitlement”. One student’s mother mentions during her quip in the principal’s office words which [hopefully] no one wishes to hear & [hopefully}] causes most everyone to gasp. I wished to pity the character only in that the example for which she [unintentionally & unknowingly?] sat there setting for her teen son was of embarrassment & entitlement.

I’d like to think that anyone working in customer service understands the “backlash” of such thoughts & actions. And, yes, many other occupations as well. 😎

We are all “us”. We are all beautiful as we are. We are all a “wonder” of existence & a marvel upon the world & society. It is about what we make of it to make something great out of what we become.

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Breaking The Fast

There were also times during these early mornings, when I’d rise early to shovel the snow for Dad before he left for his workday, where I’d also be that ambitious to also make him breakfast. I’m talking about a hot breakfast. One where I used mixing bowls (like these & especially this).

Typically, I’d do something with this & maybe also make up some eggs. At the time I really only had familiarity with making scrambled eggs, except for these. Dad was flexible with his eggs &, while he’s always had his preferences, he’s also always been fine with eating whatever variety he’s served. Actually, that’s about how that goes for most any food with him; he’s generally flexible & grateful for whatever’s available.

I remember one particular morning where I decided to make Dad breakfast. It went just fine like all the others normally did. Sometime afterward, probably just after Mom finished seeing Dad off to work, I happened to hear my brother saying to Mom about how he’d really been hoping for this hot breakfast to be the next morning.

I suppose he’d planned to probably suggest in the awkward, you’re-my-kid-sister-&-you’ll-probably-be-fine-with-it,-but-I’ve-still-got-to-ask,-&-maybe-you’ve-got-some-sort-of-current-adolescent-resentment-upset-right-now-where-you’d-rather-stick-it-to-me,-but-maybe-not,-I-don’t-know sort of way he normally would talk to me when the family sat around the dinner table together, that I might be willing to do this.

I also think that, as he realized I’d just done it that morning, there’d be such little likelihood that I’d do it again the following morning. Thus his quick discussion with Mom.

Mom quietly & calmly suggested that he ask me if I’d do it. He must’ve shrugged his shoulders & realized there still was that option.

Not too long later, I think before we even left for the school bus, he did ask me. He might’ve figured I’d not want to get up & get going quite so early again. He would’ve been thinking from a single-minded angle as he was the one that was difficult to get up & out of bed each morning, while I was the one oftentimes quite literally sitting around waiting for whichever late in the morning bus stop time I'd been assigned. In those days I'd not been good at ingenuity of these sorts & multi-tasking; I'd be too anxious. I'd not even think to be crocheting.

I remember same as I feel now about his request: Why not? No big deal to me. Might as well.

And so I did.

Two days in a row.

I got up much sooner than I needed to & mixed up everything for a nice hot breakfast.

I don’t think that these mornings amounted to more than a dozen of our childhood. With Dad typically being an in-the-moment casual, laid-back kinda guy, these random hot breakfast mornings were treated like just about any other.

Mom would do her best most mornings to sit with him. On her best days she’d get up before Dad headed downstairs to the kitchen & she’d begin preparing their respective hot beverages. This brand or this brand for Dad; this brand or this brand for Mom as manufacturer's coupons ran rampant for each of these. 😁 She’d get two microwavable mugs set-up with their contents & microwave them for a minute & a half; a 1, a 3, & a 0.

It wasn’t until years later, sometime during the college years, when, back in their kitchen, that she “proudly” showed how she’d begun pressing the 1, then the 3 – twice, for one minute & thirty-three seconds. She had true excitement (at least, generally speaking, it was a “chilled out” excitement) that she’d realized for a mere three more seconds, she’d not need to move her hand that far for the zero anymore; it was perfunctory. Yes, these were the days before the minute automatic button options were added as well as the “add thirty seconds” button option. 😍😂

Other mornings she struggled & didn’t share any of Dad’s “table time” with him. On at least one of these mornings when I bothered to pull this out from underneath the counter, or this out from the oven's drawer & get our hot breakfast going - probably that time my brother had asked for a hot breakfast the following school morning, that time, I do remember, despite Mom not being a morning person, she came downstairs to join us too.

Dad gave her a gentle razing exclaiming something like, “Well! Look who decided to come down & join us!” Which, with his “local” accent, sounded more like, “come dahn & join us!”

At some other point during that breakfast, as a compliment & thanks to me, while also still sort of razing Mom, Dad said to her, “Been trying to get these breakfasts for years. I didn’t think it would be our daughter beating her mother to the punch.” 😂

I don’t remember exactly who managed each of these days’ clean-up. I’m guessing Mom; she managed breakfast clean-up on ordinary school days. 😊

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