Well, obviously I have not been really big into blogging in the last few years.  But here it is:  a couple of topics that should keep my interest in displaying my experiences on the web for at least a little while!
(BTW, wrote this on Saturday evening, but in Xanga world it was already Sunday morning :)

#1:  Somewhere back in the 2005 posts, I wrote about being inspired by some of those around me to train to run a marathon.  Oh, the grandioseness of it all!  Such plan was unfortunately quite quickly derailed by issues with knees, backs, and other areas I have had since I was a kid.  Later in 2005, I essentially stopped running altogether, because every time I went even for a short jog, I would later (in the day or the week) end up with pain everywhere from minor annoyance to majorly debilitating.
A chiropractor, two doctors, and a physical therapist later, I've decided that what I need is just to grin and bear it.  Though I don't have in mind the goal of a marathon, this time, I'll start slow and get a lot of help, and hopefully do it right.
This weekend was an especially good weekend to start doing some jogging for two reasons:
First, the weather.  Last week it was still cold, cloudy and rainy.  Friday and today, on the other hand, were more than you would ask for even most summer days:  it got up to 75 and 80 degrees, sunny all day, absolutely gorgeous.  Starting in the spring is so easy!
Second, it was a weekend all to myself.  Hubby is out with the guys for the weekend, so I have two whole days to do whatever I want!
So Friday evening I set out on my first jog of the Spring.  I walked most of the way, wanting to allow my body to adjust to this new idea, and jogged for a few blocks just before returning to the house.  It felt great, I had to really concentrate on my core muscles, because right now they are about as far from muscular as you can get.  I never knew just how in shape I was until I got out of shape...I suppose it could be worse than this too...
I made sure to stretch really well before and after, because of the whole problem of my body responding violently to any form of exercise.  I really felt fine afterward.  The one problem I had was a bit of a cough for the rest of the night.  I'm not sure why this happens, but whenever I have tried to start up jogging, I get this weird tight and sore feeling in my throat and occasionally it has seemed to make me sick for a couple of days, some kind of cough.  Last night it was mild, and was gone by this morning.  My throat felt the same after this evening's run, but went away much more quickly.  From past experience, if I ignore it, it will eventually go away, the more I stick with the routine!
After reading up on running shoes and the like (I am definitely in need of new ones!) I discovered that it's better for your body (especially when what you have to run on is concrete) to land on the middle of your foot or even the ball, instead of the heel.  I concentrated on doing that this evening, and let me just say, it was fabulous!  As soon as I started making my feet land that way, my posture automatically corrected itself, my core muscles were engaged with little effort, and it felt like (can't say for sure) I was able to take bigger strides.  Most importantly, I didn't feel the pounding through my whole body like I did last night.  That is definitely on my list of keepers for running advice!
The website talking about that was actually trying to sell a special shoe they had developed for running this way, called the Healus (a play on heel-less, I suppose).  It looks like a ridiculous shoe, probably not worth the money, but the principle (despite what the website says) isn't difficult to apply with my old joggers.
So here's to running again tomorrow, when my hubby gets back home, and next week, when I go back to the routine of the workday!

As for topic #2, I think I will cover that in a later post.  Besides, I have to upload the pictures anyhow.  Here's to getting back to that before the year is up!

P.S. After a color change or two, may hair is now (as of this week) even redder than in the pictures of my last post.  I guess I didn't learn my lesson!  Actually, it's more of a plum.  It's a good color but it's not so much an everyday thing...

So I think I'm a writer, eh?

You're saying, she hasn't written a Xanga in months.  And she calls herself a writer? 

(12 points for the Yiddish accent)

Well I've been doing some other writing.  Silly and inane, perhaps, but hopefully it will lead to bigger and better things. 

Go ahead, check it out.  It won't hurt.  Might be fun, too.

P.S.  Being married is GREAT!  And starting next week, I get to see my hubbie more than two days out of the week!  Woohoo!