Hotter Than a Pepper Sprout

Once again, I've been suffering from a bit of Writer's Block (perhaps more accurately described as "Writer's Chip.") As a fallback, I was considering doing a list of things that make me happy. And then today I discovered (through doing research while trying to come up with trivia questions for my kids online book club) that August is Happiness Happens Month. So the Blogging Deities are clearly directing me to share with you, dear readers, the small pleasure of life that I am currently grateful for: Halo Top ice cream: Ironically, I tried this after listening to my friend Carissa detail how much she hated it. Perhaps since I’m not an ice cream connoisseur, I enjoy it. It may not hold up to “real” ice cream but it tastes real to me and it’s high in protein (which is potentially good for marathon training) and low in calorie which leaves more room for booze calories. (Only food/consumption item on the list, I promise, as this post could so easily be all about foo...

Today I happily stumbled across the knowledge (a perk of being a librarian) that it's National French Fries Day. To celebrate, I feel morally obligated to share this unflattering selfie of me rocking a sweatshirt that's completely preposterous for someone my age to be wearing. It's age-inappropriate because until I Googled it today, I didn't know what the saying "Fries Before Guys" really means. Thank you, Urban Dictionary! Luckily it just refers to the unwritten law that your fries (female friends) should always come before guys you are "romantically" interested in. In retrospect, it's an obvious play on the slogan "Bros before hoes." Having to choose friends over "dating" interests isn't something that comes up too frequently in my world, but it's a sentiment I can get behind...girl/lady power and all that. I obtained this awesome sweatshirt from a much-younger than me theater friend, Emily. She must have see...

I'm training for my first (and only?) marathon, and it's Week 5 of the 16 week plan that I'm following. So do I say I'm " in training Week 5" (sounds a little like being "in rehab") or " on Week 5"? Preposition confusion aside, the point is that my first marathon is on the horizon and I'm trying to prepare to successfully finish it. (Defining "success" could be a whole separate post, but for now let's go with "crossing the finish line under my own power and not in an emergency vehicle"). I feel Week 5 is significant and worthy of a blog post because a) I have a little free time to indulge in writing and reflecting and drinking at the same time and b) this is the first week of training that has really felt like " Training " (yes, in bold with a capital "T") and not my normal life. Up until now, my training plan has been all about building a basic ability to be able to run slowly for a mode...

This is the 100th post of my blog! If my blog was a television show, it could be syndicated. Actually, while "researching" (googling) that I discovered the syndication threshold has been lowered to 88. This shirt is so old it's survived a couple of blogs Either way, 100 posts is a milestone and I can start officially having reruns of my posts (which I've already been doing and just calling it "repurposing," a term I learned through work). And I won't hide behind humble bragging, I am honestly impressed by many of my posts and pleasantly surprised when I re-read them. I have no illusions about making a living as a writer, but I think many of posts are pretty well-written and entertaining. More importantly than a quest for quality, blogging helps me sort through what I'm thinking and feeling and capture moments that are otherwise all too ephemeral. Blogging helps calm me down a bit, at least temporarily, and helps me feel a little more grounded...