I’ve added a “Poems (Older)” page to this site/blog. You can find it under “Pages” on the right. Or just click this link here: Mary’s Older Poems Page.

Leave some comments if you like. Or you can contact me through my MySpace page (Or, if you want to see the URL: http://www.myspace.com/maryrdrews).

–Mary

I’ve mostly been blogging over on my MySpace account. But I think the people there are getting tired of my two to three posts a day about pretty much nothing. So I’ve decided to come here and post about nothing another two or three times a day.

Let’s see …

Lately, I’ve been writing quite a lot of poetry. Some of it’s all right and some of it’s terrible. But I’m writing. That’s the important thing. I’ve been able to go back and mine some of my old journals, too. I had thought that I’d written nothing at all for a few years, but it turns out that I did write a few things. Some of them are even salvageable, now that I’m in tune with the universe again.

I suspect that most of the people who come across this blog are people who know me from my ferret writing, so they (you) might not know that I was a poet long before I even knew what a ferret is. I’ve never managed to write a poem about a ferret. It’s like writing a really good love poem: nearly impossible. It always ends up too schmaltzy or saccharine (or do those mean the same thing?). I’ve had to stick to prose when it comes to writing about ferrets.

Speaking of ferrets … I’ve been looking at pictures of all my babies. I miss them. They were such warm (in every sense of the word) friends. Maybe when I stop crossing the Atlantic several times a year, I’ll get some more.

That’s about all for right now. But don’t be surprised if there’s another post before this night is through. I’ve been writing all sorts of things, which is good. Very good, indeed.

–Mary

Is anyone still out there?

I have too many blogs. I’ve been blogging away on MySpace for the past few months. Nothing terribly fascinating, but I have been chattering quite a bit. Feel free to go look:

Mary’s MySpace Page

At some point I’ll write about all my new year’s resolutions. Not that I have any, but I’ll make it up as I go along. Why not?

As of July, I’m living with my cousin Amanda and her bf James, Milo the cat and Rufus the puppy (the puppy’s only been here since October). Amanda bought my Grandma Drews’ house, so that’s where we live.

–Mary

It’s the middle of April 2007. In the last two years I’ve had my thumb broken, my heart broken, my marriage broken, and my bank broken (that was today’s pleasant surprise, if you think of the most terrific antonym of “pleasant”).

So I’m just going to sit here in lala land (a place you can get to by way of the Ativan train). It’s a lovely place to visit.

I didn’t and don’t want to make a huge deal about what has happened between Eric and me. It’s a private matter. The short version is that we both decided things were not working the way we’d hoped they would and neither of us was happy.

We are now divorced. Still talking to each other. Still care about each other. But not married to each other.

That’s it, really. The big news I’ve been holding onto for the past few months, wondering whether I should let it seep out slowly or just blurt it out. I opted for blurting. It feels good. Everyone’s stunned just the same as if I’d said it slowly.

The truth is, I don’t want to get into details. I don’t want to gossip. I refuse to speak badly of Eric. I still care about him very much. That’s never going to change. Both of us have had some rough times in the past few years. I hope anyone who knows us will extend their concern and prayers (if you do that sort of thing) to both of us.

Here I am living in my parents’ house, biding my time until they’ve had enough of my company (I believe that’s scheduled for July 1). In the meantime, I’ve started taking a course to become a Certified Fitness Trainer. I’ve tried to keep my head financially above water (and I would have done it much better if it wasn’t for those meddling taxmen!).

That’s the news. That’s everything. Well, not everything, but the main parts. I’m hoping to become more active in something soon. Probably fitness stuff. I’m become amazed at how much difference you can make in your health, your mind, your appearance, and your self-esteem simply by sticking to a decent exercise and diet routine. I’m like a new person.

Oh — and I discovered last weekend that I’m actually 5′ 2″ tall, not 5′ 1″ as I’d thought for the last 20 or so years.

Mary

I’m about to plunk down a few bucks to take a course which will transform me into a certified personal trainer. No kidding. Thus, I figured now is as good a time as any to start reviewing my eating habits.

One bad habit I’ve had since high school (and I’m not saying how long that’s been) is that I use Sweet-N-Low in my coffee in the morning. I never considered it a problem. And it probably isn’t, but I thought I’d give a healthier alternative a try. So I bought some Stevia packets at Trader Joe’s. It’s a bit like sugar, flavor-wise. Not bad. I don’t love it, but I can get used to it. I think if you use sugar, it’s probably easy to make the switch to Stevia, because the taste is really that similar.

One minor change, but it’s a step in a healthier direction. Anyone can start with something that simple and be successful. Then success breeds success. That’s the theory, anyway.

Another diet thing I did was to try egg protein powder. Now, I don’t know if it’s the brand or that flavor (chocolate) or just egg protein powders in general, but … yuck! I’m glad I spent only $11.00 on it. But I’m frugal to a fault sometimes, so I’m going to keep trying to stomach the stuff. This morning I tried mixing it with vanilla yogurt. Not a good idea. I managed to choke it down, but it was unpleasant.

This afternoon I tried a different tack. I mixed half a scoop of the egg protein powder with a half a scoop of Designer Whey (chocolate), some water, a couple of splashes of half and half, and some natural peanut butter (Trader Joe’s brand is yummy and cheap!). Then, for good measure, I tossed in another little bit of the Designer Whey. I put all of this in the blender. The result? Not very thick, but extremely palatable. Peanut butter can cover up almost any bad taste.

I really like the idea of egg protein. It’s a good protein. Since I’m tiny, I need to make sure whatever calories I take in have the nutrients I need. When I’m lifting heavy, I need to get some amount of protein from “easy” sources, instead of whole foods or I end up overeating. Having learned my lesson, however, I plan on doing some research before I try a different brand or flavor of egg protein. In the meantime, I’ve found a new post-workout shake.

The point is that you don’t have to make sweeping changes all at once to start on the road to better health. In fact, you’re much more likely to stay healthy and continue your good habits if you add them into your life gradually. Because we are talking about changing your life — not just limiting your calories and jumping around like a nutcase for a few weeks.

Eventually I’ll post about some of the supplements I’ve added to my diet. Vitamins, minerals, herbs — stuff like that.

Mary

I’ve just registered a few domain names so I can start up a women’s health- and fitness-related website. I’ll post the domain names once there’s something up on them. In the meantime, I’ll recommend that you get a copy of this book from Amazon:

Jeremy tells an amazing story and provides excellent information about adopting a healthy lifestyle. Just take a look at the cover!

While I’m on the topic of transformations … Here’s another book you’ll want to get your hands on:

Another great story and helpful guide to getting the most out of life.

–Mary

I’m in a book club. Yesterday we got onto the topic of personality tests. One of the ladies brought up the Myers-Briggs test. Today I got a link from another one of the ladies and took one of the tests.

This is from the web site:

Jung Test Results

Extroverted (E) 52.63% Introverted (I) 47.37%
Intuitive (N) 55.26% Sensing (S) 44.74%
Feeling (F) 58.33% Thinking (T) 41.67%
Perceiving (P) 58.62% Judging (J) 41.38%

Your type is: ENFP

ENFP - “Journalist”. Uncanny sense of the motivations of others. Life is an exciting drama. 8.1% of total population.

ENFP

outgoing, social, disorganized, easily talked into doing silly things, spontaneous, wild and crazy, acts without thinking, good at getting people to have fun, pleasure seeking, irresponsible, physically affectionate, risk taker, thrill seeker, likely to have or want a tattoo, adventurous, unprepared, attention seeking, hyperactive, irrational, loves crowds, rule breaker, prone to losing things, seductive, easily distracted, open, revealing, comfortable in unfamiliar situations, attracted to strange things, non punctual, likes to stand out, likes to try new things, fun seeker, unconventional, energetic, impulsive, empathetic, dangerous, loving, attachment prone, prone to fantasy

favored careers:

performer, actor, entertainer, songwriter, musician, filmmaker, comedian, radio broadcaster/dj, some job related to theater/drama, poet, music journalist, work in fashion industry, singer, movie producer, playwright, bartender, comic book author, work in television, dancer, artist, record store owner, model, freelance artist, teacher (art, drama, music), writer, painter, massage therapist, costume designer, choreographer, make up artist

disfavored careers:

data analyst, scientist, researcher, financial advisor, business analyst, govt employee, office manager, mathematician, investment banker, office worker, computer tech, it professional, network engineer, strategist

Interesting stuff, I think. Here’s a link if you want to take one of these tests:

BTW - The book we just read is this:

I enjoyed it. Very enlightening.

–Mary

Sometimes you can’t prove what you know, but that doesn’t mean what you know isn’t true. Sometimes it isn’t paranoia: someone really is out to get you; there really is a conspiracy.

Fortunately for those involved, I don’t make statements I can’t prove are true.

So I’ll just say this: You know who you are and you know you’re petty and ridiculous. Now you know that I know it, too.

Enjoy your karma.

–Mary

I finally broke down and bought a new humidifier today. It’s nothing spectacular. Actually, it was the cheapest one at Wal-Mart. Now it’s running, humidifying.

What happened was that I had been having a scratchy throat. At first I thought it was a cold. But it got better and worse on various days. That was when I realized the heat had been on in the house and that the air was probably dry. The other thing I noticed was that I was having some difficulty breathing from time to time. Dry air can exacerbate asthma, among other things. It can also make the inside of your nose dry (ouch!) and your skin itchy. Your hair can get brittle (oh, yes!) and your scalp can get dry and itchy.

The other thing with the heat being on is that, at the start of the heating season, it seems to kick up a lot of dust. Maybe a better way to describe it is burning off dust. That’s what was really bothering my asthma a couple of weeks ago. The dry air itself isn’t good for people with asthma either. If you find that your asthma seems to act up a bit at this time of year, you might consider getting a humidifier to see if it helps to have moisture in the air.

So now I have a humidifier and it’s whirring away, putting moisture into the air. I’d say it was worth the $20.

Unfortunately, my throat is scratchier than ever. Now I think I really do have a cold, thanks to a couple of sniffling nieces and nephews who were visiting for Thanksgiving.

It figures.

–Mary

… though sometimes both are in order.

Soon I’ll be updating everything. I have a lot of news. Many things have changed, and there are more changes to come.

Mary