No Cape, Maybe Boston

Well, despite my last minute last week's rally to try and replace my half marathon with another one (preferably on a day when my face doesn't explode in an unexplained rash) it looks like it was not meant to be. This weekend's Cape Cod Marathon does not have a half distance. And otherwise, with the cold weather starting to creep into New England, another race will involve travel. So I'm hanging it up for the season and beginning post season training (today).

Goal to drop some weight and work on strength and speed.

And...I may have an opportunity to do Boston! A fund raising venture, of course, as I am too slow to qualify. Plus, 2011's race sold out in 6 hours! So even if I did qualify, there's a good chance I couldn't get in anyhow. Living so close to the nation's oldest marathon and having been there for the party atmosphere so many times in the past, I figured I should jump on any opportunity to actually run it if I could.

Now the waiting game begins....will I get a fund raiser number?

We shall see.

Something New

Things have been crazy around here! (Monday morning I left the house at 6:00 am and returned home at 10:30 pm. Not for social stuff. For work stuff.) The rest of the week was just as busy. So posting has really taken a back seat to, you know, real life.

But this weekend, I did get a chance to sit down for an hour or two and check out all my favorite bloggie buddies and I came across this new little jem, through Lacey in Love. (She's just the cutest thing!)

Anyway, I just fell in love with City Girl's thoughts on life and living in the city and all that jazz. So much so, that I decided to steal an idea from her blog. (It's not really stealing, is it? It's collaborating! I feel like we are doing this together, just that I'm 5 weeks behind. We're bonding, really.) And I invite anyone else out there to do the same!

Or maybe its because I'm just too tired and brain dead to even come up with an original idea on my own.

Whatever. Here goes:

50 Questions to Free Your Mind:

1) How Old Would You Be If You Didn't Know How Old You Are?

I think I'd be 26. Twenty six was the year I decided to jump in my jeep and start driving all over the country with just the most minute idea of what was next. 26 was the year I finally felt like I had enough courage to break out of the roles that had been placed on me by everyone else in life and decide for myself who I wanted to be. 26 was the first year I REALLY felt like I was in control.

I've been through alot since then, and I have to admit that when I started this blog 2 years ago, I was in a place where I had no idea who I was anymore. I felt a lot older than I was. And alot younger (and confused) at the same time.

I'm happy to say that I'm back in that good place. I feel 26 again. I have no idea where my life is going again. I'm pretty sure where I am right now is not it. But I don't feel stuck anymore. I don't feel scared anymore. And even though I've once again put myself into workaholic mode, I don't feel like its my inevitable fate.

I'm pretty happy with my 26 year old mentality.

I think I'll stay 26 for a while

the best laid plans of mice and men

Yesterday, I was all set to get up early and head down to Newport, RI for the Newport Half Marathon. Beautiful end of October weather, beautiful course along the ocean and along the cliff walk, right by the beautiful mansions.

Unfortunately, my face had erupted into a beautiful mess.

Last Thursday, I started getting a strange rash along both cheekbones. It was bubble-gum pink and bumpy. And hot. And itchy.

I figured I was having an allergic reaction to something, so I went home, washed my face and took a Benedryl. It did not help. At all. I woke up actually worse than before!

My friend, Isabella, told me that often after traveling overseas, she gets a rash when she returns home. Seems our water in the US has chlorine and fluoride in it, which can irritate skin that's not used to it. So I bought a gallon of spring water and washed my face with that.

It seemed to help a bit. It wasn't as itchy and had toned down from fluorescent pink to a dull red. Bingo! That's all I need to do.

Through Saturday, my mystery rash remained unchanged. I just hung low and kept washing with spring water.

Then Sunday hit. I woke up looking like "Woogie" from "There's Something About Mary". I actually had a small cyst-like bump on the rim of my left eye. (It killed!) Both my eyes were essentially swollen shut. The leprosy had spread from my cheekbones to my chin, jaw, neck, and chest. And I itched. My eyes itched. My nose itched. My ears itched. My throat itched. My hair itched.

There was no way I could run a half marathon in this condition!

I pried my eyes open as far as I could and hit the walk in clinic at CVS. There were 4 people in line ahead of me. All four looked at me and said "Why don't you go in front of me?" ( I probably would have done the same thing)

I think I can conclude, with a fair amount of certainty, that it was not the water that caused this. I still have no idea what it was, but now I'm on prednisone, so whatever it was is clearing up. (I'm still pretty itchy, though)

So now, I'm looking for another half marathon in the New England area. Or not. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something?

I dunno.

I'm still hitting Cool Runnings tonite.

Just a small request

Dear God:

Please help me to never ever be the kind of person who agonizes over what style of spoon rest to put on her bridal registry.

Thank you.

My Life List, Italian Style

Now that I'm back from my trip, I guess it's time to update my life list:

1) Saw the Sistine Chapel in person (check)

2) Fell down the stairs at the Vatican (check)

3) Stole the Pope's hat (Ok, no. Decided that would cut the trip real short!)

4) Saw the Spanish Steps in person (check)

5) Soaked the entire front of my pants so it looked like I peed myself at the Fontana dell Barcaccia at the base of the Spanish Steps (check)

6)Saw the Colosseum in person (check)

7) Fell down the stairs at the Colosseum (check)

8) Went on a gondola ride in Venice (check)

9) Got hit on by a gondolier named Leonardo (of course his name was Leondardo. What else could it be? And no, it was not the same gondolier from our ride) (check)

10) Fell in a canal in Venice (almost but I caught myself just in time)

11) Dropped my sweater in a canal in Venice (check)

12) Threw out a sweater in a foreign land (check)

13) Saw St. Mark's Basilica in person (check)

14) Saw somebody else fall off the elevated sidewalk into the water in a flooded St. Mark's Baslica (check)

15) Said a small prayer of thanks to St. Mark, my patron saint of not-falling (check)

16) Climbed to the top of the Duomo in Florence (check)

17) Fell down the stairs at the Duomo (NO! Keep up people! I already said my prayer to St. Mark)

18) Saw Botocelli's "Primavera" in person (check)

19) Had a complete identity crisis: "Why the heck did I go into health care when I could have majored in something REALLY good -- like art history?" (check)

20) Saw Galileo's telescope in person (check)

21) Had a complete identify crisis: "Ok, science and medicine are good, too. But compared to THOSE guys, I totally suck!" (check)

22) Had to be talked off a figurative ledge by J: "Maybe comparing yourself to Galileo and Leonardo da Vinci is setting the bar a little high." (check)

23) Saw the statue of David at the Galleria dell Accademia in person (check)

24) Fell down the stairs at the Galleria dell Accademia (check) (What the hell, St. Mark? You fair weather saint! Aren't I allowd an identity crisis or two? Jerk!)

25) Ate my body weight in proscuitto and gelato (check)

26) Saw two dear friends get married at a villa in Tuscany (check)

27) Accepted the fact that every other wedding I'll go to for the rest of my life will pale by comparison (check)

28) Had a complete identity crisis: including my own if I ever get married (check)

29) Lost my cynicism regarding love (check)

30) Decided I have to go back to Italy to complete the rest of the Italian based items on the life list (check)

LIFE is GOOD. I feel like the luckiest person alive.