• So, did you hear the one about how running adds 16 years to one’s life? …

    A conversation between siblings last week: Kevin: I’ve decided to take up running. I can run about 20 minutes now without stopping. Me: That’s awesome! We’re doing a 4.1 mile race in Athens in April. It’s hosted by the local brewery and it’s at 4 in the afternoon, which means I don’t have to get…

  • Axe murderes and ice storms and bears, oh my!

    Previously I brought you Day 1 and Day 2 of our hiking trip to Mount Mitchell. Today I bring you Day 3, sadly, the final day this round. Day 3, Sunday: Do we have to go back to reality? After leaving the warm campfire Saturday night, I finally fall asleep, warm in my sleeping bag,…

  • Red light doesn’t always mean video camera

    I wrote about Day One of hiking Mount Mitchell yesterday. Today, I bring you: Day 2, Saturday: We actually hike. I wake up sometime in the middle of the night, finally warm in my sleeping bag with my puppy. And, drat: I have to pee. Peeing in the woods always sucks for girls, but especially…

  • What happens in the middle of the woods at 1 a.m.?

    Kevin and I hiked the Black Mountain Trail at Mount Mitchell last year. His goal was to hike the trail during winter. However, we ended up going the first day of spring – a fact that Jeff has never let us forget (although he and Ronnie bailed at the last minute last year; so what if Jeff…

  • No sex. No chasing the dog. No future talk.

    So today is the big day: Today is the day I bundle up in the warmest, lightest-weight clothes I have and go sleep in the woods. In the winter. Like a crazy person or a hobo although I am neither (the crazy person part is arguable.) My fellow crazy persons in crime turned out to…

  • Cold hands, cold hiking, and I miss my mom

    Apologies if this doesn’t make much sense. I’m on deadline and I’m sleep deprived. I asked Chris what I should blog about and he said “cold hands make it hard to type.” Which is true – I make a lot more typos when I’m cold. So apologies to those of you who Instant Message with me, because…

  • It doesn’t get any better than this

    In case that last blog post wasn’t enough poetry for you: I present a couple of my favorite poems, because today is Valentine’s Day and it’s all about love and I love poetry and poetry loves love. Or something like that. (and not all of these love poems are happy love poems, but as you’ve…

  • What better way to celebrate love …

    than with poetry? I bring you love poems written by the very talented writers on poetryassignment.com. Some poems are romantic, some are sad, some know just how to drive that knife in a little deeper – but they are all from the heart, and worth checking out this Valentine’s Day! Here’s an idea – write…

  • Climb Every Mountain

    No, this blog post isn’t as awesome as this one that mentions the song by that same name, but here goes …  I am going to Mount Mitchell in a week, and I cannot wait! A trip to REI yesterday resulted in a lot of fun. $360 later, I have a new pair of hiking pants,…

  • Casual sex the morning after

    I wrote a blog post yesterday about casual sex, asking why people do it. I knew I was walking a fine line when I broached the subject. I truly didn’t understand the logic behind it. Thank you to everyone who joined the discussion – because I actually did get some answers! Here’s what I picked up…