Can I Put My Hair Care Items In Your Suitcase?

/

I'm a bad packer. No news there. But what I realized this morning as I was standing in the shower, already berating myself for the overpacking I know is to come, is that the longer the duration of my trip, the better packer I appear to be. This is because the majority of my packing woes come from personal care items. I'm not a clothes horse and I can get by with one or two pairs of shoes so on long trips I do pretty well. But I fill three tote bags with hair and body care items whether I go on a 3-week trip or an overnight jaunt. Doesn't matter. I need the exact same amount of stuff. 

Here's just a little sample of what it takes to get me through a 24-hour period:

Read More

Allergy Testing

/

Given that I live in the pollen capital of the world AND I insist on living with cats, I receive a weekly allergy shot so that I'm able to...wait, what is it again? Oh yes. Breathe. 

Tuesday I went in for my annual evaluation. That's where they take a magic marker and number 1-50 on your back then inject you with small doses of allergens to see what you test positive for. Prick, prick, prick... it's like Chinese water torture. No one needle hurts but 50 tiny needles kind of sets your teeth on edge. 

Here are the results: I should never be around dogs or cats. Ever. They're my worst allergies. No surprise there. Also no surprise that my allergist has given up on me.

"Still ignoring my advice about pets in the house?" he asked. 

"Yup," I answered.

"Okay then. Moving on."

What was unexpected was that I tested strongly allergic to beef and pork. You don't usually test strongly for foods you don't eat but hey--now I have another reason to stay vegetarian. Beef makes me sneeze. 

I also had mild reactions to dairy and peanuts. I wish I had the willpower to give up dairy. I gave it up the summer I trained for the Chicago marathon and I've never felt better. Clear head, clear sinus', even pollen season didn't bother me as much. I'm toying with the idea of once again trying to go without, at least until my marathon is over. 

Add in the other standard allergies of trees, grasses, molds, and dust mites, and it's a wonder I'm able to get out of bed in the mornings. On the bright side, my allergist encouraged me to try going 2 weeks between shots to see how I do. I think I'll do just fine.

Until I hug a cat and eat some cheese, that is.

Cheers,

Dena 

Crooked Road 24-Hour Ultra

/

I blame Iris. 

She's the one who brought the Crooked Road 24-Hour Ultra run to my attention. 

This is not a race. The point of a 24-hour run is--quite simply--to see how far you can run in 24-hours. If you want to walk/run, you can. If you want to run for 2 hours then take a 4-hour break, you can. If you want to run for 20 minutes then bag it and go home, you can do that too. Or, you can give it your all and find out just what you're made of (cue inspiring music).  

Read More

A Sweet Ride

/

Check out my new (used) car! I survived the car-shopping process to walk away yesterday with a 2008 Infiniti G35. I love it. I drove it home from the dealership yesterday, clutching the steering wheel in a two-fisted death grip while mentally chanting "Don't wreck the new car, don't wreck the new car." 

We gave up the '93 Lexus on a trade-in and for all my complaining, I was sad to see it go. We'd had that car for over 10 years. It felt like we were handing over the family dog to strangers. I wanted to cry, "She likes to be taken out for daily walks and given a little treat before bed." Obviously, I have issues. 

My favorite part of any large-purchase process is watching Blair handle the finance person. Blair is a numbers whiz so not only does he not just accept what's been placed before him, he can do the math in his head and shoot out why what they're presenting is factually incorrect or makes no sense. 

Yesterday, for example, the finance guy at the dealership was whizzing through some numbers on-screen, explaining how the 2015/100,000 mileage extended warranty was such a better deal and only cost $20 more a month in payments. This guy actually used the words "high-faluting," as in, "You know, we've had CEO's and bank presidents in here this week and they all went for the extended warranty and they're some pretty, you know, high-falutin' people."

Blair didn't flinch. Instead he pointed out how the figure on the contract didn't match $20 a month, it was closer to $50 and why was that? You could see the guy squirm as he explained that was with interest tacked on. Blair went line by line through the contract and pointed out other inconsistencies and you could just see the guy shrinking in front of us. 

As we left the room and I turned to Blair and whispered, "That was so sexy." 

Blair will now be driving the Camry. I offered to scrape off the "26.2" and "Blue Ridge Relay 208.8" stickers I have on the back window but he said he doesn't mind leaving them on. "When people ask me if I've run a marathon I'll say no, but my woman has," he said. 

Sexy man, sexy car. Not a bad way to spend the weekend.

Cheers,

Dena