The Chronicles of a VBG (Voluptuous Brown Gurl)

So after nearly 5 years of driving by and wondering what it's like?!  I decided to try out a new park a few miles from my house.  Turned out to be an awesome idea.  My half marathon is coming up in 17 days and so far my farthest distance on "the big browns" aka my legs has been 6.5 miles.  I was really starting to wonder if I truly am capable of finishing the race in the time-frame allotted - 5.5 hours.  Cape Horn Park has a loop that is a little over 1.1 miles and I managed to make it around 9 times which put me in striking distance of the 10.25 mile course preview I missed on Saturday. I managed to jog about 2 miles within the first 6 and despite what the Wii Fit Plus said - I can't possibly have jogged 5 miles previously.  I know the concrete path is a different surface than my living room floor but there was no freaking comparison. Brutal is the only word that comes to mind, I almost thought about giving up on the race completely.  I kept thin...

This year signaled the passage of more folks I was personally acquainted with than at any other time I can recall.  My pal Diana's groom of 27 years, Ted, died in Spring.  Then in Summer, the 18 year old newly graduated brother of one of my daughter's best friends, then my beloved Dad, the Mother of a good family friend, and today as we embarked on our evening walk, I had the unsettling task of being present when my exercise partner, Annie, learned that her Dad had passed away. Witnessing those tears and anguish with no way to assuage the sorrow is so mentally draining.  You know that their lives will never, ever be normal again not in the way they knew "normal" - with it's familiar scenery, voices, and rhythms. Only time will help memories become sweeter, sorrow less intense, and new patterns forge to suit a new reality - life without that someone so dearly loved. It has not quite been a month since my Dad died but time has moved so slowly it feels as if it ...

I couldn't have known how prophetic my last post was when I said  "... there must be a higher purpose for the delay" in starting school because the unthinkable occurred on what would have been the first day of class.  My Dad (not biologically but in every other manner imaginable for the last 29 years) was felled by a massive brain hemorrhage from which he never regained consciousness and led to his death a mere 3 days later. As I type this, I know I have not fully absorbed the loss that is as devastating for my Mom, daughter and myself as that chasm was to his brain. Even as I created a slide show in remembrance of him, shopped for his clothes - I insisted on a spiffy new tie - his flowers and coffin etc, I didn't cry but not because I held them back. I didn't cry because  I didn't feel the tears were there.  Now at half past 12 beginning day six, I feel a howl so deep it can't be heard.  For the first time in my life I truly understand what surreal ...

For the last 10 years, birthdays have always been about reflection and assessing future steps for me and this August 16th was no different.  In fact it was mostly about propelling myself forward as I scheduled a meeting with my UI case manager to finalize my decision about returning to school.  The unfortunate thing for me is that I will be unable to begin classes until January's spring semester. I was so looking forward to starting school right along with my high school freshman daughter. I am however becoming grounded and trusting enough to realize that having done all I could make sure the things under my control were taken care of in a timely manner, there must be a higher purpose for the delay. There are some immediate positives that come to mind with the delay; namely that I am the chairwoman for my daughter's Fall field hockey booster club so I can make it to all her home games - yeah - and also focus more on training for the Baltimore Half Marathon taking place ...

So a full 2 months into becoming a displaced worker, as the Commonwealth of PA refers to those of use who are in between careers, I'm doing fine. I did have a period of about 2 weeks where I totally thrown off by my lack of routine other than my a.m.walks. I never realized how much I identified myself thru my job even though it was so far from my life's calling. But I'm okay now, having returned from week-long vacation at Myrtle Beach, SC last Saturday with my extended family. My Lord did we have a wonderful time!!! We planned it in the Spring long before I knew about the impending career transition. Honestly that week was probably the best so far this year.  I love the idea of multiple generations being together.  Seven years ago my parents, my daughter and I were in Germany, Netherlands, and Luxembourg together.  This time there were 17 of us. My family is loud, opinionated, funny, gluttonous and slightly insane but I love them all.  And I am grateful for th...

This past February,  I began a blog intending to detail my conversion to veganism which has turned into a guilty reversion to omni-eating of late but I've not thrown the towel in yet on that. Anyway by April it was clear that i had much more to talk about than just what I was eating but I wasn't sure what direction to take.  Intuitively I knew 2011, would be a year of major transformation for me. One of the biggest took place a mere 2 weeks ago when I joined the ranks of the unemployed. Since I do believe that my words have power, I prefer to say that I am in-between careers because at age 44 my present lack of a steady 9 to 5 is indeed temporary barring my marriage to a very rich suitor or winning Powerball. Can't figure out which of the two is more unlikely, probably the former since to my knowledge I don't normally traverse the circles of the very rich but I pass an outlet selling lottery tickets everyday. I'd spent the last nine years, yes I said n...

I got up this morning expecting to go cheer my best friend Teri on in her first 5K race.  Instead I'm sitting here typing because my 17 month old Subaru Forester would not start. I'm also praying it's as simple as the battery and also that the mileage is something like 35985 so the roadside assistance call I made to Subaru is covered .   I called Subaru's roadside assistance instead of my insurance company figuring that Subaru's service to me was  about to run out and I'd save my insurance's roadside assistance for after warranty stuff if it ever arises - hope I wasn't wrong in that calculation.Yep in just 17 month I've managed to put the same mileage on my car as my Mom put on hers in 5.5 YEARS! I like this car but I've never allowed myself to LOVE it.  I've always kinda been afraid of it which should have been the clue to leave it at the dealer. For one thing, it came with a hefty $400 a month payment and of course increased insuran...