Friday the 26th

Nothing to entirely special about today's post. I was going to post 'Part D' of Human Again, but I decided to actually write something instead. I want to write about something. However, my mind is not too entirely vexed about one issue or the other. I'm glad spring has sprung and that I'm loosing the weight from three pregnancies in a slow and steady fashion. Although that does get frustrating sometimes. You see when you are exercising to loose weight and you are female you have this biological issue... you are a woman. Women's bodies are designed to hold onto fat storage in order to better protect our reproductive systems and if we are preggers than the unborn fetus as well. So in fact loosing weight for a woman is a major issue. Ok this is great! I found something to blog about today! Yes! I knew If I rambled on for a bit I'd find something.

Why is this frustrating? Well the biggest contributor is that everywhere we look all of our advertising are airbrushed models that are probably about 10 pounds underweight (men this also happens to you) So we want to look like broom poles with speed bumps and this is not a healthy thing to aspire to. The second contributing factor is that all this fluffy adipose that hugs our curvy frames weighs less than the muscles that define it. So when exercise is introduced the muscles plump and the adipose gets used up. HOWEVER, the process, if being preformed properly, takes time. I'm three months into doing zumba on a regular basis, even with interval training between cardio and toning, my weight has only dropped between 5 to 10 pounds on any given day. At least it's dropped and hanging steady. However, my legs and arms and shoulders and face, even my feet feel stronger and look better. My clothes are fitting loosely and much more comfortably and I feel better day after day. However, my belly fat, what I'm REALLY trying to get rid of, has a death grip on my mid section and won't let go.

This is the single most frustrating thing. But perseverance is the word of the day/week/month/year. Because of exercising all of the work I've done on my mental and emotional health through the grace of God is beginning to really show. I had a physical imbalance because of the lack of activity in my life, but now I'm more balanced and in fact if I don't Zumba during the day than I have all kinds of extra energy at night making it hard to go to sleep. Sleeping is a key component in loosing weight. If your body recovers and rests the way it needs than it will function properly in helping shed all that nasty belly fat that has embedded itself around my midsection. If only it was like a zit. I could pop it and loose all the icky white stuff let it heal and then finish the product by keeping up with my Zumba fun stuff. (Sorry for the mental image, remember I'm typing as things come to me)

In truth I have every motivation to keep going. My kids have an improved mommy who is more willing to go outside and play/teach how to ride bikes/ etc etc... and my husband is enjoying getting 'the woman he married' back. Not that my physical appearance was hindering anything, because it wasn't, but it's such a motivator when he comes home and the first thing he does is check me out. It's great! Not to mention that he actually verbalized how proud of me he was for me sticking with it. Sometimes... sometimes it's the little things in this life that make the biggest differences.

So death gripped belly fat be hanged! Zumba and soon to be integrated into my routine Pilates, we shall be victorious! Now everyone go and eat some cucumbers or apples or celery or chocolate. Maybe some wine. Why? Because I enjoy these things without feeling like I can eat this or I can't eat that. I just crave the better for my body things in life now. I never even set out to diet.... just exercise. Why only exercise and not the diet? Well, in my experience diets are full of 'I can't' and exercise is about saying 'I can' Plus once your body begins to function more along the way it was designed to then it's going to want what is best for it. Things like fresh veggies and fruits, leaner meats and whole grains, not to mention dark chocolate and red wine, which are good for your heart just don't over do it. These foods are what I want now. Don't get me wrong bacon cheeseburgers are still amazing. So are french fries, I just don't want them as often as I used to.

Please ignore all the grammatical and possible spelling errors. This was a 'just type what I want' post. Hate me all you want. This is how my mind was working and this is what you are getting today, my rough draft. I have apple pie to bake for my grandfather who is visiting this weekend so I'm going to go do that now since I make everything, including the crust, from scratch. Ta ta for now. Thanks for possibly reading this and paying a small amount of attention to my barely there blog.

Don't be Silent

Leigha

Human Again Part 'C'

“So you’ve lived with this intense thirst for 170 years!” Her eyes widened and she threw her head back and laughed.

I heard a rustling behind me, then footsteps as the girl bolted from the column and tried to run down the alley. “Stop!” I chased after her and caught her before the others could get to her. Just as I reached her three males jumped down from the rooftops, landing softly just a few feet away. One was brand new; I could smell it on him. The other two were about as old as I was.

“Riata!” the one with waist length, black hair growled. “I’m done with pleasantries, can we get this over with!”

“NO!” I shielded the girl from the others.

“Oh Phineas my love.” She came up behind me. I turned to keep myself between the girl and her hunters. “We don’t want to eat her; although she does smell tempting. Are you a chocolate lover my dear?” she paused as if waiting for an answer, “Oh well, that’s ok we’ll talk later.” She looked at me and smiled, “You see Phineas, you broke my heart when you left. I created Sway to take your place.”

“You don’t have a heart to break Riata. I know that. They’ve been trained like dogs, I know you.”
            “You said you loved me!” There was a hiss in her throat. “You chose a human woman over me! Even after I revealed my true self to you, something I had never done nor ever have since.”

“You were exotic and very tempting, but I realized I didn’t want exotic, I didn’t want a cold eternity. I wanted mortality and everything that goes with it. You took that from me.”

“That’s neither here nor there.” She stroked the blond male’s hair lovingly. “Beautiful isn’t he? Only a year old. Sway doesn’t want to share me anymore, so he chose someone for him.” She paused and turned the blond male’s face towards hers and kissed it gently. “Well, I hope you’re happy with you’re life. However, if you don’t hand the girl over I’ll just have to take her from you… well, Sway will along with Eleazer and Jonas here.”

The girl behind me began to cry softly. Her body shook against mine. I quickly scanned the area for some kind of weapon to use when they attacked. There was a pile of wood somewhere I could smell it

Sway growled. “Are you going to hand her over or are you going to make me kill you?”

Death! Oh how I longed for it, but I couldn’t die yet, I had to save her. “Then kill me.”

“Really, this is quite simple.” Riata’s tone was even and cool. “She has been marked by Sway, she is technically his. Just look.” I growled at her and brought the girl carefully in front of me. She had really been crying and rain dripped from her hair. I pushed the long wet locks away from her neck and found the spot behind her left ear near the hairline where there were indeed fang marks. I bent over and sniffed them. My heart sank; it was Sway’s scent.

I pushed her back and shook her gently. “Have you ever seen this man before?” I motioned toward Sway, my eyes shone on him so she could see his face. She shook her head and blinked as she looked at him.

“Only in a dream, a nightmare.” Her voice cracked. I held her out from me with one hand; Sway came forward and took her.

“Thanks.” He said dryly.

I eyed him. The other males relaxed as soon as she was out of my hands. Sway walked her casually down the alley and out of sight, his arm around her waist. There wasn’t much time before he found the perfect place to turn her. My mind worked on a plan as I turned slowly to the others behind me. Riata was right next to me.

“Now, let me finish what I had started so very long ago.” She reached for my neck with her hand. I moved and jumped, clinging to the wall on the side of the alley near the dumpster as she turned to face me. “How did you get so fast?”

I hissed at her.

“I’ve never seen a vampire move that fast! Not even a council member.” She gasped.

“Then watch this!” I jumped down behind the dumpster, broke off a piece of the wood and sprang onto Eleazer. I jammed the stake through his chest. He let out a shriek. Jonas jumped on me from behind. The idiot made it easier for me. I pulled the stake from the convulsing Eleazer and threw Jonas off of me, then threw the stake after him pinning him to the brick wall. 

Human Again 'Part B'

Due to the somewhat increased activity on my barely noticeable little blog I'm going to post Part 'B' of Human Again. Hopefully all these hits are people actually reading this. I just wish I knew you were. Please leave a comment. Even if you don't like it. I'll be excited. Honestly my response will be 'YOU READ MY STUFF!!!!!!' :D


Human Again 'Part B'

Their smell was getting stronger and I could hear their footsteps. My hand muffled her scream, but they still heard it. I decided to turn the lights on and look at her. I could see the reflection of my illuminated eyes on her face. “You’re being hunted. Stay here.” I shoved her behind a brick column making sure the wall was at her back.

I ventured out from under the eaves into plain sight looking up towards the windowsills I knew they were crouching on. “I can see you. You can’t have her!”

“Why Phineas, you just met her.” A sly voice cooed from in front of me.

“Riata?”

“I’ve looked all over for you. Yet here, hiding a human, a marked human, is where I find you. I never got to finish with you.” Her silvery voice didn’t fool me. She was pure evil, I knew my maker. She walked into view and stood there with a smirk on her face, her red ankle length coat dripping from the rain. “You smell dry. How long’s it been since you last ate my dear?”

“Never.” I made sure my voice was cold.

Shock crossed her face, “How are you still alive?”

“I’m not. Thanks to you.”

“No, really? How have you survived?”

“Like I said, I’m already dead.”

“Most reluctant vampires die within twenty four hours of transition if they don’t drink from their maker right away. How did you survive if you’ve never fed?”

“We don’t die; we slip into a coma and wake up later on.”

“How much later on?”

Her curiosity was really beginning to bug me. The others with her had stopped their advance; they seemed to be waiting for her. The poor girl’s breathing had slowed; she must have been listening. “Can we stop this inquiry? I’d really like it if you left.”

“Why? You have no claim on her.”

I knew I didn’t have a claim on the human, but I didn’t want her to die like that, it didn’t matter which way, whether they fed on her or if they changed her, it was no way to die. I knew. “Fine, it was thirty years after you changed me that I woke up.”

Human Again... Part A

I've decided to post my vampire short story. Why? Well.... I'm not going to try and publish it. I wrote it to see if I could write one. It was SUPER easy. It was a fun ride. However, since no one ever comments on my posts and I only have 4 followers I will use the number of page views I get for it as to whether or not I should continue with the story. I will be posting it in a 'series' type of way. So here is Part 'A' (why part 'a' and not part '1'. part '1' is a bit overdone. Don't you think so?)


Human Again Part 1

How can I even begin to explain these things? I’ve prayed so many times and asked God how to make my story believable, but there is no way that any sane modern human has the faith to accept all that I am about to tell. However, tell it I must.

The beginning is too painful… I have no desire to explain that yet. So I must start at my new beginning, my second chance at humanity. I’ll never forget that day.

# # #

People brushed up against me in the street, sending pinpricks up and down my spine; their scents fill my nostrils. I’m thirsty, but I can’t drink. I won’t. They tell me I’ll die. Who cares? I’m already dead. I’m more focused on blending in and disappearing while praying for finality to this death that has already been started in me. I wish it would end soon, but two hundred years later there are no signs of the end.

“Excuse me.”

Her voice was a choir of bells in my ears.

“Excuse me!”

I kept walking. I could smell her, hear the pulse in her neck; she was irritated, though her voice didn’t show it.

“Please, I need help. I’m lost!”

“Ask someone else.” I called over my shoulder. It was raining and I knew from her scent she didn’t have an umbrella. Humans smell better when they’re wet.

“Who? You’re the only other person here!”

I finally looked up. We were the only people on this street. The shadows indicated it was very dark. I didn’t need the light. My eyes were 100 times better than any human’s. She was squinting. “Please just tell me the general direction to go to get to Main Street and I’ll be out of your hair.”

I smelled them; she wouldn’t have even known that they were there. I sprang towards her and cupped my hand over her mouth, pulling her against the wall. Her breathing grew rapid and she struggled against my hold. “Be still!” I hushed. 

Ahhh Spring... it's about time.

The other day we welcomed sprummer which is what I'm calling the week we had here that was around 90 degrees F the entire week. I even had to buy my oldest daughter new shorts ahead of schedule because it was that warm. It was a fantastic week. Now that spring has officially returned with warmish days and cooler nights I look back on that week with gratitude.

Since we are creating a race of humans that are solely dependent on computers for almost everything I have started to drastically limit the time my children spend on electronic devices, with my husbands full cooperation and approval, love that man. They must play with their toys that have been sitting around collecting eye space in my already cramped apartment or go outside. However, that sole week now has all three of them begging me to open the patio doors so they can play in the little side yard just outside our apartment. Then when it is time to come in for meals or just a good ol' fashioned bath/bedtime they stomp their feet and shed fake tears while they beg to be allowed more time outside. I smile inside while I keep on my 'Mommy said so, now march' face.

A creeping fear of mine is that they would by pass all those wonderful memories that I made growing up as I played outside during the nicer weather, whether it was by myself or with friends. That fear has been squelched. During that week we even kept our oldest out of school one day just to buy her a new bicycle and take a day trip to my parents house. Granted mom and dad weren't home, but they have a beautiful house and plenty of room for the kids to play and even woods for them and their daddy to explore. It was a great day. Sunshine, fun, and playing hooky with the permission of mom and dad and even grandma and pap.

As a society, not just our own country but globally as well, we have sped up our lives and added too much too fast so that we don't have time to stop and enjoy this beautiful planet that we have to enjoy. We say this all the time, however, it's very true. I've come to enjoy the slower pace. I don't like going a million miles per hour. Shoot, my smart phone is probably upset with me because all it gets used for is the occasional text or phone call (really I don't use it a whole lot) and for when my son plays cut the rope on it. Other than that is spends most of it's time sitting on a counter with a mostly dead battery waiting to live to it's fullest potential. Good thing it's not really feeling useless it might have left me a long time ago. Smily face.

To sum up, I'm glad I have children that remind me of the important things in this short life we get. We shouldn't try live in the moment or for the moment because then we are too busy trying to enjoy it that it's over and forgotten before we even remembered why we were trying in the first place. I feel like we need to slow ourselves down. Take some stuff off our plate so that when the moment to be enjoyed comes we won't be trying to live in it we will be living in it because those slow recaptured moments will begin to mean more than the rat race we fell into when we tripped over our smart phones.


Don't be silent
Leigha

*Sigh* I'm gonna do some footwork

I was speaking with my newly acquired soon to be sister-in-law yesterday and she has suggested I be more diligent with my blogging. I'm not someone who feels affective in my blogging and I don't have a large audience, if any. However, I want to be a published author and have at least a cult like following. Just enough to supplement our income so my husband doesn't feel the money pressure all by himself. I will honestly try this time. Last year I was a bit more successful, but not really.

This I will say. Throughout last year I have been challenged and changed. I'm not who I was at the beginning of last year and even though we are a full 3 months in to this one I'm not the same woman I was on January 1st. So many good things are pulling together to the same purpose for me right now I need to allow myself to be pulled that direction. Finally I feel like I'm moving forward in my life. For the first time in 30 years (yes I'm 30) I know I'm better. I feel better, I act better, shoot I even look better. THANK YOU ZUMBA!

It isn't just doing zumba on a regular basis that has pushed me in the direction I'm going. Although it has helped. In January I was feeling particularly down and during a moment of prayer I cried out for God to change me and keep me from feeling depressed. I hated feeling that way and now after decades of feeling depressed periodically I've started becoming more diligent in what I put into my body and how active/productive I am. The conclusion I've come to is that I was too sedentary. I wasn't allowing myself to function and I sat around feeling sorry for myself, which is REALLY depressing. Then as I was reading 'Farmer Boy' from the 'Little House on the Prairie' books I've noticed things that they did on a daily basis and things his father said to him as he grew up line up with what I've learned lately and light bulbs are turing on all over the house that is my brain. His father is always pointing him the direction of most resistance in order for him to grow into a productive responsible adult. He offers both the harder and easier road and then let's his son choose for himself. The son almost always chooses to work for the greater result instead of the instant pleasure. SO here is the long and the short of it. I'm going to do the hard work in order to gain the greater result. I don't know how, but if it works with me doing zumba and slowly chipping away at the weight I never lost from my pregnancies then it will work with everything else too, right?

My parents taught me this growing up, but I forgot it somewhere along the line because I was too busy getting what I wanted all the time. I'm just happy I was reminded before it was too late to teach it to my children.

Don't Be Silent
Leigha

btw please check out my brother and sister-in-law Emy&Ethan. They are highly talented and fashionable to boot. :)