Felicia Day wants to know (and I do too): WHERE ARE ALL THE WOMEN IN THE FUTURE??

Kameron Hurley talks about why it's important to realize that cannibalistic llamas are the story.

And finally good ol' Chuck Wendig weighs in on vomits up a lot of really thought-provoking stuff on the same topic as Kameron.

Thank you my friends and family. You are the most wonderful, amazing, colorful, intelligent, caring, funny, loving, helpful bunch of folks I have ever had the privilege of knowing. Thank you for making my life so damn amazing. Thank you for sharing this wild ride with me. Thank you for being so damn AWESOME. I don't know what I would do without all of you.

Today...

...I am thankful for my feet.
...I am thankful for the feeling of the dirt beneath them.
...I am thankful for my legs.
...I am thankful for the way they hold me up.
...I am thankful for my arms.
...I am thankful for the way they lift me up.
...I am thankful for my hands.
...I am thankful for the words they type.
...I am thankful for my eyes.
...I am thankful for the sunrises they see.
...I am thankful for my brain.
...I am thankful for the worlds it creates.

Wearing my TM shirt this morning in solidarity. We're getting some snow, but after work I'll put on my cold weather gear and go for a memorial one mile run before I head off to weight lifting. It's symbolic and in the grand scheme of things doesn't do much to help, but it's what little I can do from all the way over here.

It's strange ... three years ago this would have been a horrible human tragedy to me. But now it's so much more personal.

My FB feed was filled with conversations about people I knew, or knew of, who were at the marathon. I have become - somehow - a runner. A part of a community. And yesterday's devastation struck far too close to home even 2,040 miles away.

I haven't processed this yet. I remember thinking in the early hours ... "this is what our lives have become, that the likelihood of experiencing a bombing is so very real." I remember tearing up over the video of people rushing in to help and Don telling me that's why bombers set secondary charges. I remember replying "I hope we always keep rushing in, no matter the cost."

When we succumb to cruelty and fear is when "they" win.

I want to hate. The design of this was clearly not to kill so much as it was to maim. To exact as much pain and suffering as possible. It's awful to have to face up to the fact that we humans are capable of such awful designs.

I don't want to hate. I want to be stronger than that. I want to remember what Patton Oswald said: "The good outnumber". I've got it sharpied on my wrist right now.

I want to remember this world has more people like AFP (who's arm is in the photo below) and Mr. Rogers. I want to remember that the people in my life are good and kind and decent.



I never had any plans to run a marathon. But now I will. Now I will run and I will never stop. Now I will run for those who were lost, for those who can't. Now I will run because to do otherwise is to bow my head and acknowledge that the perpetrators of Monday's atrocity have some power over me. They don't. They can't stop me.

1. Confidence

2. My husband

3. Good friends

4. Babies!

5. A really good local diner

6. Playing in the mud

7. Black nailpolish

January - off
February - 2/22 Tough Mudder, Phoenix (app 10-13 miles) 3:30 PR!
March - training
April - 4/6 Spartan Super, Las Vegas (app 8-10 miles)
4/27 The Glow Run, Colorado Springs (5k)
May - 5/4 Spartan Military Sprint, Colorado Springs
June 1st - Insanity Mud Run, Larkspur, CO (10miles)

That's everything I've signed up for/paid for so far.
Here's what I'd like to do the rest of the year:

Run For Your Life - June 29th, Fairplay (5k)
Thunder Challenge - August 10th, Nederland (10k)
Devils Dash - September 14th, Lyons (5k)
Zombie Dash Urban Race - TBA, Denver
Spartan Beast - Texas *gulps* December 14 (13+ miles)
Cripple Creek Mine-to-Mine - TBA, Cripple Creek (9k)

Thankfuls...

...for coffee, always. :P
...for family and friends who understand me.
...for the 'Net.
...for as much of a delay to this furlough bullshit as possible.
...for the light at the end of this book edit tunnel.
...for other people being able to see the changes in my body even if I can't.
...for my sore left arm (because it means it's finally starting to pull its own weight)
...for Thursdays that are Fridays.

There are a ton of good movies coming out this year. I'm especially excited about this one.

‎"Fear is not real. It is a product of thoughts you create. Do not misunderstand me - Danger is very real, but fear is a choice."

For obvious reasons I love that quote so hard. :P

~ for cheesy movies
~ for silly cats
~ for writing
~ for Fridays
~ for chocolate
~ for really good workouts

** My tribe

** Recovery workouts

** Bruises

** Regrowing fingernails

** My ability to roll around in the mud one day and wear glitter eyeliner the next.

** Love

** Knowing when NOT to engage with someone.

** Stories and the ability to tell them.

I must not fear.
Fear is the mind-killer.
Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.
I will face my fear.
I will permit it to pass over me and through me.
And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path.
Where the fear has gone there will be nothing.
Only I will remain.

Tough Mudder Phoenix.

( Hell Starts HereCollapse )

For my husband:
* who spontaneously invites me out to dinner
* who listens to me when I babble on about stories, or mud runs, or anything really
* who has stepped up to the plate more times than I can count
* who isn't your typical guy and is okay with that. :D
* who loves me
* who keeps me warm at night
* who has always supported my dreams
* who head bonks kittehs
* who sometimes says adorable things
* who is my whole world

I love you, Baby. Forever and always.

For Buddhist beliefs, teachings, and my limited understanding of compassion.
For coffee
For workouts that prove me wrong
For December plans
For people who try
For writing

There are a thousand ways to kneel and kiss the earth." (Rumi)

Today I am thankful for...

...coffee
...kids who try
...direction
...rest days
...pretty shirts
...my kind and loving husband
...books
...security
...Rumi
...deep breathing
...meditation
...good friends

...for being at 80-90% of health
...for not coughing up my lungs anymore.
...for sleep

1. Hardcore Zen, by Brad Warner*
2. Zoo City, by Lauren Beukes
3. Smoke and Mirrors, by Neil Gaiman
4. The Friday Society, by Adrienne Kress
5. The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, by NK Jemisin
____________
* Re-read

‎"Life was never meant to be safe. It was meant to be lived right to the end." -- Caroline Myss

I am thankful for my life. All the blessings and all the tears. There is breath in my lungs that comes with ease, a body that only hurts when I push it to the limit, and a brain that is smart enough to keep me out of trouble. (most of the time :P)

Yikes! I almost missed the last TT of the year.

* Friends who text you gorgeous photos
* Good workouts
* Motivation
* Two long weekends in a row
* A good job
* Books
* TMNT jammies

2012 Books

15. Defiance, by CJ Redwine

I read this book so many times. *laughs* But it's even better now that it's "real." If you somehow missed me squeeing about my critique partner's debut novel, you should go pick it up.