A Never Ending Taste of Salt

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Leave it to me to come down with some medical oddity. This time it's salt. For the past week, I have had the undeniably strong taste of salt in my mouth. I have brushed, I have flossed, I have gurgled... it doesn't help. I have no clue what's happening. All I know is that everything I eat tastes like a salt shaker has been spilled on it. Bread, fruit, sorbet, cereal... all salt. 

You'd think I'd be eating less, but no. Desperate to rid myself of the taste, I am constantly putting food and drink in my mouth, trying to cover or wash away the taste of having just licked the rim of a margarita glass. 

....

Okay, so I just Googled "salty taste in my mouth that won't go away," and found a few leads. (What on earth did we do before the Internet was here??) Staying properly hydrated was one suggestion. I've really slacked on that since my race ended, so I'll give it a try. Other culprits are sinus problems or vitamin B-12 or Zinc deficiency. Someone else suggested eliminating coffee, tea, salt, and alcohol. I'm willing to try anything because right now, it's like I'm sucking on a salt lick every time I swallow. 

Why can't it ever be something like "the never ending taste of dark chocolate...?" Stay tuned...

New Moon, Team Jacob, and the Most Romantic Date Night EVER

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The other week I dragged Blair to see the teenage vampire romance New Moon, part of the Twilight series. I was introduced to the books by my niece when they first came out. "They are the most romantic books ever!" she exclaimed. The books aren't a bad read. My only real complaint is that each book in the saga is approximately 300 pages of Edward the vampire telling Bella, "I love you and must be near you!" to "But no, it's wrong. We must remain apart," and back to "But my soul yearns for you. If only I could kiss you! But no... I must not." On and on and on...

Coming from a teen's perspective, I totally get the yearning/romance angle. As an adult, however, I really want to tell the characters to just make a freaking decision and move on with their lives.

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Greensboro Gobbler 2009

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Posing and talking smack before the race...We mixed it up around here this Thanksgiving. Instead of popping out of bed at 6 AM to start cooking, we popped out of bed at 6 AM and hauled ourselves to Greensboro for the 8th annual Greensboro Gobbler 5K run. The race is two laps around Country Park, with cheerful little signs along the route reminding runners that "Turkey & Stuffing = 1000 calories" and "1 Slice Pecan Pie = 500 calories." Thank you for that. 

I won my age group (although I suspect all the sensible people my age were at home eating, as God intended) and Blair had a great race for his first 5K, coming in well ahead of his expected pace. 

The MadMayo Runners made a strong show - you can read the race report here. 

Will this be a new tradition? Hard to tell. I missed the smell of sweet potatoes wafting through the house by 8 AM. 

The smell of dried sweat just isn't the same...

Tacos For Thanksgiving

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Against my better judgement, I made a quick run to Food Lion today to pick up some dinner and breakfast items for visiting relatives. I'm standing in the checkout line, surrounded by people whose carts are filled with yams, pumpkin puree, turkeys, cranberries, and pie crusts. I feel all eyes turn toward me as I unload my cart - taco dinner kit, Cheez-its, frozen waffles, and an orange. 

I wanted to turn to everyone and explain this wasn't the actual food I'd be serving tomorrow, but I sensed that might make the situation worse. So I kept my mouth shut. 

Happy Thanksgiving, y'all!