Reunion Tour!

It doesn’t happen as often as we’d like but occasionally I get to catch up with one of my very best friends, Sam. She and I were inseparable for several years, especially during the formidable early-Navy days. In fact, it was a running joke how if you saw one you would see the other; even around people we’d never met before, our easy banter and knowledge of the other’s life led them to believe we’d been friends since childhood. The military has a way of helping you get to know someone really quickly. Because if you’re going to trust your life with someone, you best know a few things first. Anyway, Sam and I were thick as thieves. No word yet on any actual thievery but admittedly we did a lot of shady stuff. Don’t ask about the 4am inspection. We learned together how to navigate some really tough situations and live to tell about it. Sam was always my go-to for great advice. Even now, our conversations pick back up right where we left them. Those are the friendships I value the most. Can’t forget the Joker. We have countless inside jokes, memories of late nights and even later coffee dates, too many tears, and laughter that can be heard miles away. No matter our distance, a best friend like her is hard to come by. She hails from the great state of Illinois now; however…

Further good news is Sam may be visiting Texas in the upcoming months for some military required training and you know what that means! Batman and Robin Reunited!

Reminiscing about the Navy is like taking a manic car ride down a crowded street in Mexico. Let me improve your image. A clown car overfilled with good idea fairies on a dirt road between overgrown buildings surrounded by pedal carts. A hell bus, if you will. Different story for a different day. Being in the military is like living another life, like having a separate personality, like being one person in a skewed reality. At times, it’s lonely while simultaneously so loud you can’t hear yourself think. There’s no outlet. A constant circus meets board room. So if debilitating anxiety is for you, I’ve found the place!

Unrelated but on an equally uplifting note – Jamaica has a bobsled team for the 1st time in over 20 years!! Check out the full story here.

Everyone knows one of my all-time favorite movies is “Cool Runnings”; which, by the way, is more than 30 years old. Geez, I’m old. You can guarantee I’ll be tuning in to watch Jamaica hurl themselves and their light-as-a-feather bobsled down a sharp concrete chute in February. “It’s bobsled time!!”

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I ask you –

What’s your oldest friendship?

Will you be watching the winter Olympics?

Tell me a nickname your friends called you! Clearly, I’m Batman.

Drinking from a Broken Cup

I got this idea from Bossy Babe in her post The Lonely Block to check out the following website: London Writer’s Salon. I love following other bloggers who come across other avenues or groups to write in besides the standard local library group (not that there’s anything wrong with those).

Essentially, there’s a writer’s group via London Writer’s Salon that meets virtually throughout the week. It would be so nice to connect with other writers and just be. Wholeheartedly, I want to complete my book this year. And I know an amazing woman who is publishing her first book soon so she’s been a valuable source of information on what to do/not do. I shall pick her brain like any good friend would do.

mood improvement techniques

Since I’m not running, I guess now is the best time to get started on cover art, contents, and publication challenges. Really, though, this walking thing is garbage. My mood sucks, my digestive health is blah, and I’m still fighting to get into PT sooner than March. I’m going nowhere at the speed of my government-approved desktop computer. Good thing my building has no windows. I need to run!! My first question will be this: can I at least cycle? Give me anything more than walking! In related news, the constant pain is mostly gone. There’s only twinges and an occasional achiness now. Yay progress!

available at Amazon

Somehow I’m still maintaining a book a month. Don’t get excited, Kel. It’s just February. Recently I finished Matthew Mcconaughey’s book, which I originally purchased for my dad but he loved it so much he gave it back to me to read. The writing style was unexpected; however, it was a great book and I could hear his voice with every line. I remembered a time when I had “the drive” each day…I would listen to books on Audible. My favorite was listening to Anna Kendrick narrate her own story. Some say we bear a resemblance. Her sense of humor has me snorting laughing. Perhaps that’s our only resemblance.

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I ask you –

Have you ever published a book or some other publication?

What’s the last book you read (or listened to)?

Share some reading suggestions!

How God is Better than a Cup of Coffee

Like the coffee pot that beckons me from the comfy confines of bed, He speaks to my soul, enticing me to return to Him. To share a cup of coffee and a chat early in the morning before the world awakens.

Don’t check email until you check your heart.
Don’t turn on the news until later in the day. I guarantee it will still be there when you’re ready.
Protect your mornings like you protect your coffee cup, just as He protects you.

early morning magic

His reservoir never needs refilling – He refills mine. His endless love is like a direct tap to the machine. It never runs out. Like the routine, the ritual even, of making my coffee exactly the way I like it, He requires no standard except to worship Him with my whole heart.

Appreciate the smell and body of a well-seasoned coffee cup, listen as it pours into your favorite mug, moving your hand slightly to stir in the creamer and sugar source, then raise it to your lips for a brief sip of your creation. He appreciates who we are because He created us, in is image, perfectly imperfect, wonderfully made. He listens as we pour out our praise and petition, our goals and dreams, according to His perfect will. He moves His hand within our life, making all things new, even us, making the trees and flowers grow. We raise His name on our lips, the name of the Most High, of Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior.

As the day goes on and I find myself drawn to a caffeine fix to make it through the final push of the day, His word reminds me to pray first. He listens intently and watches all knowingly. My path is His will.

afternoon details

Before I came to Texas, someone amazing told me not to drink the kool-aid of the Bible belt. This person tops my daily prayer list. If only you knew how freeing it is to put your hope in a higher power, the highest power. There’s a spiritual element in everything we do and touch. I pray for God to touch each and every life, but even more for those to willingly come to Him, with an empty cup and a willingness to be refilled. He has an endless supply of love to give. It never runs out. You were bought at a price. Inflation could never touch the debt that has been paid for our life.

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I ask you –

How many cups of coffee do you drink daily?

How do you take your coffee? Sugar-free vanilla creamer and SF cinnamon roll syrup.

Choose one: making coffee at home or patronizing a coffee shop.

Failed It!

I think I intended for this title to be about something serious. But I’m a child. And I lost my train of thought. Instead, the following is my spin on the common phrase “nailed it”.

speaking of trains

It doesn’t really bother me too much when I’m stuck at the train tracks. Unfortunately, I forgot to take a photo when I saw two trains passing each other at this same intersection. Also, I laughed a lot when a car behind me backed up to the prior intersection and went the other direction, presumably because they didn’t want to wait. But I don’t think they paid enough attention to notice they went the direction the train was going instead of waiting with me, i.e. the intersection I was at would open sooner than the direction he/she went. Patience is a virtue.

Credit: hardcorecomedy2.0 via Instagram

Have I ever mentioned my mug shot philosophy? Surely? Just in case, here goes nothing. If arrested and in the position of having a mug shot taken, I firmly believe you should give it your best face forward! Now, I understand when you’re arrested, you’re probably not in full makeup and a ball gown; however, if given the choice, you should attempt to fix your hair. At the least. Bald male? Just smile very big. Problem solved. To sum it up, in the court of popular opinion, always smile in your mug shot. You never know what potential juror may see it. Just my two cents. The guy above? He looks happy and probably didn’t realize they were magic mushrooms. Maybe he was trying to make chicken marsala.

one thing is not like the other

In a genuine, please-help-me-get-it-together effort to basically get it together, my goal is to do some sort of strength training for 10 mins daily. Forevermore! And instead of waiting for the usual start day (hello, Monday!) I got started as soon as the thought hit my mind. On a Saturday! As those usually not too difficult shoulder presses began being very difficult at rep 2 of set 1 – I chalked it up to weakness. But as I laid… hurled…the weights to the floor, the culprit became quite apparent. Me. I am the culprit. The one who can’t read. No wonder these measly weights felt so heavy on one side. Then, the perfectionist inside me made wrongs right and completed the next set with opposite unequal weights. Because balance is so very important.

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I ask you –

Which of the examples above is your favorite fail?

How many times have you smiled in a mugshot? Do tell!!!

Tell me your own failed it story!

Reach for the Stars

I recently caught myself using the phrase “I may never run again”. The weight of that short statement was not so obviously downtrodden until it was the time of year where my favorite shoe company releases a new iteration of my go-to shoe style.

If you’ll recall (new readers may not know this), I won a contest in 2020 titled the 20 Year Drop. Essentially, Brooks Running supplies with me a free pair of shoes each year for 20 years. Wow, right?! This is my only claim to fame, but I’m claiming it forever! My favorite shoe is the Adrenaline GTS. Each year, I receive a new pair as the contest winner. However, pandemic and supply chain issues have caused a slight problem with my ability to locate the newly released Adrenaline GTS 22’s. They were advertised online, but out of stock at my local Academy and even on the Brooks Running website, as well as Amazon. Figures. I had resigned myself to not needing any new shoes because I’m doing a whole lot of no running right now.

And then this happened.

L: 22 R: 21

I was wandering around an Academy in a different part of the world (not exactly) and stumbled upon these. Two pairs of shoes flew into my cart. The rest is history. Ok, not exactly. But kind of. I successfully located my size in the new 22’s; then, I found my size in a pair of 21’s. Stars: aligned. Thank goodness for shoe money. The fun part of this whole expedition is, unbeknownst to me, the 21’s were nearly half price at checkout. I don’t question these things! Stars, remember?!

So allow me to land this plane. As I slipped my feet into the Adrenaline GTS 22’s, I felt the SPARK. You know…the one where you dream big and see yourself in front of millions of people singing on a stage! No? Really? Too far? Oh right, the plane. I felt that tingle of remembrance on what it feels like to run just to be running. Just because I can.

Adrenaline GTS 22

Adrenaline GTS 21

Again: (L) Adrenaline GTS 22; (R) GTS 21

And I thought…Kel, you may never race again, but you will definitely run. And it can’t come soon enough!

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I ask you –

Have you ever won a contest? Or lottery?

Where do you typically purchase shoes?

Name something you thought you’d never do but have been able to!

Producing Vision

“A vision clarifies purpose, helps establish priorities, motivates commitment, maximizes productivity, and fuels passion. A vision is a specific desire that God has for our future. It gives us a direction to head in. A vision grows out of a need that we see around us, something so strong we can’t get it out of our minds.” – Anonymous

He had a dream. I need a vision statement. As part of my (ongoing, yearly, monthly) goal to grow my blog not only into a widely read source but also into a business, a clear vision statement is necessary.

My friend Morgan from Oregon shared with me a booklet called Unravel Your Year. It’s free and available on the website. Basically, you sit for a few minutes or hours, drinking your favorite tea or whiskey whilst reminiscing on years gone by and how you can incorporate lessons learned into not being a complete idiot the next time. That’s the gist. By the way, it’s 59 pages. But who’s counting. Short story long, I’m doing it! Because what better things do I have to do with my limited time. Truthfully, I jest, but I really do want to use some self-discovery in determining where and how Running on Fumes can grow. There’s also that book still needing to be published. But I can only fry one fish at a time – the blog is the fish in the pan at the moment. No one says that, Kel. Stop it. I have been more intentional about using my planner(s) – one for home, one for work – to set tangible, mini goals. Granted it’s only mid-January.

I write with pens, too!

Focusing on the vision part. I believe there are big opportunities for me in 2022. There will probably be big setbacks, as well; that’s ok. Nothing comes easy. A vision is a lot like expectations. You can’t tell someone you have no expectations when asked, then, all of a sudden, have expectations needing to be met that weren’t clearly communicated when originally asked. Bitter much? Perhaps revisiting vision should be a regular occurrence.

I think this is why I’m enjoying the pages in the Unravel Your Year workbook – because each month of 2022 there is room for monthly reflections. It’s extremely easy for me to say I should revisit the vision portion, but let’s be honest…will you? Not without some reminders!

And, frankly, I love to write in whatever medium I can obtain; be it paper, computer, phone, napkins; I’m not picky. I just want to write.

Oh how that book publishing goal is staring me right in the face.

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I ask you –

Do you have a vision (statement or otherwise) for your blog, life, etc?

Any suggestions on writing a vision statement?

Tell me what you consistently find yourself writing on! Maybe yourself.

Stranger Things

…have happened.

My workplace is offering a class on how to deal with stress. Upon discussing possible attendance at said class, my co-worker stated she was offered the same class at a different job, but the class was cancelled. Cue the stress jokes. How does a class on being stress-free get cancelled?! The whole incident just speaks of stress!

I was approached at my desk by a kind woman who was having some computer issues. She explained she is accustomed to using Navy-supported technology resources. Upon further discussion, she explained she’s from Charleston and works with SPAWAR, now known as something else I continue to mispronounce. It was so nice to chat with someone who understands Navy lingo. Toward the end of our conversation, I secretly hoped she would have to use me as a verification source for her account just so we would another opportunity to speak about Navy stuff. I don’t miss it. Just sometimes.

From another source: “I’m sure most of you saw that former member of the Monkees singing group, Michael Nesmith, passed away a few weeks ago. Maybe their heyday was long before many of you were born. The Monkees were the TV answer to the Beatles in the mid-1960’s (I can recall watching each new episode each week); whereas the Beatles were known as the ‘Fab-Four’; the Monkees were the opposite as the ‘Pre-Fab Four’, a made for TV group, and though the Monkess could play instruments, all the songs were written and played by studio wizards like Neil Diamond and Glen Campbell and the Wrecking Crew. When the Monkees got their way to play their instruments on later albums, they fell off the rock-world. Mike Nesmith enlisted in the USAF and took his tech training as a B-52 mechanic here at Sheppard in the 1960 timeframe and was assigned to Clinton-Sherman AFB, OK. As a side note, his mother invented Liquid Paper, the correction fluid used extensively in the typewriter days.”

Never have I ever… considered I would be starting a new year without running. It feels lonely, like watching everyone get on the bus to do something fun and I can’t go. If you’re sick of hearing me talk about how I can’t run for awhile, then keep scrolling. But seriously. I feel genuinely left out. Strava has no problem reminding me of upcoming or current run challenges. The Facebook event tracker rubs it in even more with their stupid ‘your friend is attending race whatever’. Oh, shut up!

And I’m over here with my yoga and walking. Be so jealous. Did that stress-free class ever get rescheduled?

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I ask you –

Would you attend a workshop on stress management?

What are you doing for fitness goals in January?

Note: I only posted about the Monkees for the final sentence on liquid paper because it was so random to me.

Final Christmas Thoughts

We finally (like it’s not only January) got snow, then the following day I had to take down Christmas decorations. But I was rewarded with nature at its finest – tiny ladybugs everywhere! It certainly wasn’t enough snow to play in; I still have plenty of hope we’ll have another February blizzard like last year.

bare feet

Belated Christmas with mini was a rousing success. We had her requested snack supper and she opened gifts until I couldn’t see the floor for all the wrapping paper, boxes, and tissue. How does one small child have all this stuff? Maybe next year we can do a one gift limit. Somebody tell Santa. I’m still sorting the gigantic plastic tub of gifts she returned with from Tennessee and her dad’s family. It never ends.

Now that I’m thinking about it…the title of this post seems a little dark. I didn’t mean it’s the final Christmas. I meant it’s my final thoughts on Christmas. Since Christmas was held at my house in January. Whatever. You’ll figure it out.

Ladybug friends

As school has gone back into session, the familiar feeling of gotta-do-it-all’s returned. From homework to reading folders to checking out her first library book, the sleepiness of holidays faded into the background. Just where I like it. Even after all these years, I still struggle getting into the holiday spirit and end up sounding like a Scrooge with my final comments…

school routine

I’m really glad it’s over. Now, where’s the spring flowers that bring May showers? Or whatever they say.

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I ask you –

Any final Christmas thoughts?

Did you get snow on Christmas Day?

A report I read stated thousands of people or more will go into debt during the holidays. I just don’t get it.

Hey, Tigger!

“Regret looks back. Fear looks around. Worry looks in. Faith looks up. The will to persevere is often the difference between success and failure.”

January!

“Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision is a nightmare! But vision combined with action can change the world.”

Joyce Meyer writes, ‘I used to be a full-time sinner, and once in a while I “accidentally” did something right. But now that I have spent many years developing a deep, personal relationship with God… I still make mistakes, but not nearly as many as I once did, I am not where I need to be, but thank God, I am not where I used to be. I do not do everything right, but I do know that the attitude of my heart is right.’

What’s interesting about the three paragraphs above is this post pertains to…drumroll, please…social media. During the holidays, people (many of whom I consider actual friends) would post things ranging from the incredibly sad (missing a loved one) to the truly joyful (a family dinner with family not seen in a few years) to the downright dramatic (poor, pitiful me, my name is Eyore). Sometimes I find myself scrolling aimlessly, but I take heart in this: I was anti-social media for many years. I’ve learned I can live without it. For many, though, being connected or plugged in is a way of life they may not know a time without. I’m old. The end.

Kidding. I’m not finished here yet.

A few times a year (notably: New Years) I clean out my ‘following’ list to reflect what is important to me. For example, if I’m training or wish I was training, then I follow more running motivation sites. If I’m focusing on what I put into my body, I have more keto lifestyle sites on the home page. Make sense? But it’s easy to get stuck in the rut of wash, rinse, repeat for days, weeks, even months at a time. I’m trying to be more present and focused in what I view on social media in order to be less complacent. More books, less scrolling.

a book a day keeps boredom at bay

In trying to grow a blog and establish a brand, cutting out social media just doesn’t seem possible. And that’s a-okay. But it doesn’t mean I can’t disconnect at times when necessary. With a new year comes new opportunities to reflect inward what really matters to me (and you). Remembering – or being reminded – faith looks up is my cue; lest I become the Eyore.

Run away!

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I ask you –

Do you have a go-to quote?

What is the attitude of your heart?

Tell me how many times you’ve had an Eyore moment! Only a few I can remember – I’m dramatic, but not in the ‘my life is so hard’ way.

Gas Station Guilty Pleasures

Have I ever mentioned my fear of convenience stores? Dumpsters, yes; convenience stores, maybe not. Perhaps I watched too many nightly news broadcasts as a child where so-and-so was killed during an armed robbery at a corner convenience store, blah blah blah. My overworked imagination is a bit much at times. Even for me. Maybe it’s the fact there’s typically so many posters, flyers, window paraphanelia covering every square inch of glass where one would/could see out. Or maybe it’s the one way in, one way out design. It may even be the fact many people pay cash instead of using their debit cards. That makes no sense, Kel. Which is exactly my point. My fear makes zero sense. Nothing bad has ever happened to me inside a convenience store. And I won’t be patronizing any to test my luck.

I have seriously digressed. IF I was to frequent convenience store establishments, my guilty pleasure would be peach rings. Affectionately called “peachies”, I would most likely purchase them each time. Soft yet chewy and reminiscent of a sweet, summery peach, these sugar-laden treats beg me to sample twenty. On a related note, a whole group of kids played a game at Halloween which consisted of inserting a large popsicle stick (or tongue depressor, if you want to be specific) inside their mouth and seeing how many gummy orange slices each could stack on their stick. Since I did not play, but am a huge kid at heart, I sneakily ate 4 gummy orange slices when the game had commenced. I had forgotten how much I love those things!! Pretty sure my blood sugar went into outer space. But what a way to go!!

Yummy!

You know what else they sell at convenience stores? Lottery tickets. Or as mini calls them – scratcher offers. My parents love receiving lotto tickets. To my knowledge, they’ve never won anything big (unless they kept it to themselves which is exactly what I would do haha) so I guess it’s the possibility of winning a huge payout that keeps people addicted. On the radio show I most often listen to, one of the co-hosts spends upwards of $200 each paycheck buying lottery tickets. I don’t recall if he said he buys the scratch-off kind or plays the actual lottery, but $400/month is still $400/month on gambling. Perhaps since I’ve never been a gambler do I not understand this fascination. To each his own.

this is the only lotto I’m winning

And, on that note, my mother’s birthday is coming soon. Let me find someone to stop at that store on the corner to get her lottery tickets. Because it’s not gonna be me!

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I ask you –

What is your gas station guilty pleasure?

What do you call lottery tickets? I’ve heard the term “scratchers” before.

Name something you are unjustly terrified of.