In November 2007, Mary decided to join Crabby in writing Cranky Fitness posts. The change to the spelling of her name to Merry was supposed to suggest a yin/yang night/day black/white distinction between herself and Crabby. Also, she couldn't think of a cooler name.

Why are you here?

Merry's health & fitness obsession is simple self-interest. She needs to shed about eighty sixty-five pounds. Or else grow several inches. Since the torture rack has gone out of fashion, the focus is on eating green leafy things and working out aerobically several times a week. Sounds exciting, no? No, it doesn't. Which fuels her quest to find a vegetable that she enjoys or an exercise that she loves. She uses the little blog Sheesh to track her progress.

Details, woman, we want details! Who are you?

Oh, that's like asking me (switching to first person here) what I did on my summer vacation. I never do well on the big picture questions. I'm a single, straight, GCG (good Catholic girl) who lives up in the Pacific Northwest and, unlike Crabby, rarely goes on long road trips. I am owned and shepherded by a German Shedder... er, that is, a German Shepherd Dog named Tangerine, CGC. (I got her from a rescue. She'd had so many changes already that I didn't want to change her name. So I've got a dog named after fruit.)

In my spare time, I get paid to write very dull technical manuals on very dry technical subjects. Which is why I enjoy writing for Cranky Fitness so much. The topics may get technical occasionally, but around here it's never dull!