Around the Neighborhood

So, I've been walking daily - except Sunday. Seems like it would be a good plan to take one day off; sleep late, and rest.

Saturday, Thomas and I went for a long walk - all the way down to the Marina and back. Why yes, we have a boat slip in our community... not that I have a boat, or even want a boat, but the point remains that I could have a boat. If, you know, I wanted one. Here's a lovely view of the Elizabeth River from the dock...

We walked a little over three and a half miles and admired all the McMansions that are in the back end of our community. The main road of our village is U shaped, and there are several smaller roads that go off of that U that are all considered part of the community. And all the way in the back, down the longest of the of the side roads, there's the Marina, and the Private Road. There's about seven houses off that private road, and we couldn't really see them very well; each of those has its own private boat slip, but not much yard. And honestly, they all looked the same from what we could see.

There are a lot of people who walk, run, bike or otherwise exercise around the community, so we nodded to a lot of people.

Because there are more people who are out on the sidewalks, there aren't as many wild animals - that we've found. Darcy has complained a bit that she misses the family of muskrats that live near our old place. Although we have found there are hundreds of turtles and large fish in this pond. We've gone over a few times with stale bread and frozen vegetables to feed the inhabitants.

And today, I discovered that there's a different sort of wild animal around here... the ferocious yap-dog.

Damn tea-cup sized dog wrapped its leash around my leg and bit the back of my calf. Twice.

And the owner decided to yell at ME about it?

Excuse me, lady, you're the one who can't control your rat on a string.

Yeeeesh.

Fortunately it didn't break skin, but honestly...

And we're back... in the car... again.

One of my favorite scenes in Jurassic Park (a movie that I love intensely) is when Tim is stuck in the electric car, and Dr. Grant climbs up to rescue him. The car takes on this inanimate - but all too mobile! - malevolence that's just as scary as the dinosaurs. Of course, the whole movie is about the evils of men playing God with the miracle of technology, but this is hardly an explication...

The two climb out of the car, which then begins chasing them down the tree (gravity, she is a harsh mistress) while they scramble toward the ground. In the end, the car hits the ground at the same time they do - fortunately, most of the roof is missing and they're merely encapsulated. (Easily topping the "yeah right" awards list for most incredible vehicular nonsense in a major action movie...)

"Well... we're back... in the car... again," says Timmy.

That's where I am. A lot of running around and screaming and climbing and ... here I am. Back in the car. Again.

I'm not making excuses for myself; believe you me, I've already castigated myself more than you possibly could (some of you won't - if anyone's even left who watches this blog - but some will. There are always the smug douche canoes out there... which is fine. If that makes you happy, that's good for you.) about my lack of sticking on the wagon.

I've been hyper-busy. In case you missed it, a little more than a year ago, I became a published writer. Yay me! And since that first story, I've had eight (8!!) stories picked up. Some of them are still forthcoming, but I have a nice little shelf in my office that has MY WORK on it. I've been mentioned in Publisher's Weekly AND one of my stories was selected for Hustler Magazine's book of the month. (Yes, I write that kind of story.... )

I also came into a large amount of money and bought a house. Which was a much more stressful and crazy-making process than I thought could even be possible, and given how prone I am to MAKING SHIT UP to worry about, that's really saying something. We started house hunting in October, made 4 different bids and finally got our house in May.

I also finally got to take a dream trip - I've always wanted to go to Disney, and we finally went in December. 10 days of vacation, 4 days driving, 6 days in the parks, and a freaking huge credit card bill... holy fuck, but things are expensive... ridiculously so. Eating two meals in the park, plus snacks, daily... Ug. I think I gained 20 pounds just over vacation.

(I also did the 3-Day for a second time, and while I skipped it this year - the fund raising makes me more nuts, and I just didn't need the stress - I plan to do it again in 2013.)

In any case, I've gained about 50 of the 87 pounds back. Ish. I don't know for sure, but the last time I weighed in at the doctor's office, I was rolling in at just around 185, up from 135. Which, you know, is still not 221, which is where I started. I'm wearing 16 jeans instead of 6s. (Still, they're not 24s, right?)

I keep falling prey to that terrible idea that I will have more time later. I will have less stress later. I will get it together after the holidays. After school ends. After we move. After after after.

On the plus side; my house is clean. And I mean freaking spotless. Everything is dusted. I vacuum regularly, my bed is always made. It's my house, and there's something different about it from being my apartment. (I'm also astoundingly good at getting unpacked. We were all settled in within four weeks; the boxes that are still full are the ones that are STORAGE boxes and are staying packed. - Some of it will come unboxed once we get some shelves built in the office closet.)

I thought about waiting; starting back on my healthy eating/healthy living thing (diet!) in January.

But, really, why wait?

So, here I am.