No, I didn't put that as the title of my post just to whip out the Windows Character Map (which always makes me feel secretly exotic)...I put that as my title because I'm actually serious! I'm going to Quebec for Christmas!!!
I am super, super, super excited. Never mind that my French sucks. Never mind that I'm a fragile Texas girl who knows nothing about blizzards on Christmas. Never mind that I have no idea what hotel I'm staying in. Never mind that my passport photo is bloated and disgusting and looks nothing like me and is sure to get me arrested by Canadian immigration officials who suspect I stole the passport. Never mind all that...because I'm going to Canada for Christmas!!!
Before you get too jealous, it won't be for long -- only 3 days -- and it was a last-minute, impulse decision that I will probably regret once the bills roll in. I chose Quebec because I saw a pretty picture of a snowy Christmassy street in Quebec City. I was originally thinking I'd hop over to New Orleans (not a very long flight at all from Dallas) but then I got crazy and before I knew it my finger was clicking the "Confirm flight" button on Priceline when I saw a decently priced flight to Montreal.
Not that I feel too guilty. The last time I had a vacation, it wasn't really a vacation -- I was rushing to Holland to be with my boyfriend who was in intensive care and possibly wouldn't make it out of intensive care. (His organs had a bad reaction to a blood transfusion after one of his surgeries.) So, even though that trip turned out positive and he recovered well, I didn't really go on the idea that it would be a fun vacation. So I'm looking forward to this, big time. I fly in on the evening of the 25th and come back on the 29th.
Oh, I forgot this blog was supposed to be about running. I have done some light jogging the past couple of days -- nothing more than a half-mile -- and I am pleased to say that I have no pain in my Achilles tendons. They are really tight and I did have some discomfort, but no actual pain. That's great news considering I could barely walk after jogging a quarter-mile only a few weeks ago.
On other good news, my boyfriend's doctors have decided to start him on a double dose of chemotherapy. This means he will receive twice as much chemo every day than people normally receive. While this is going to be very difficult for him, the doctors are only doing it because he's been so strong so far, and not gotten as weak as they had expected. Plus, it could shave off as much as a month of two of chemotherapy later down the line. I think this is excellent news.
So, really, all exciting stuff in my little world. The only little bit of depressing news is that I've contracted an Evil Monster Death Virus known as the common cold, coupled with a nasty sinus infection.
Nevertheless, I'm so excited about my trip abroad!!! (Yes I know it's Canada, but it's still abroad right? I mean, they speak French and curse by saying Catholic words like "tabernacle!". It can't be America.)
I will surely post photos of my trip on here, if anyone is curious to see it :) Otherwise, happy holidays everyone!!!
Shocking, I know, but true.
Well, my birthday was on Wednesday and I can't say it was super great. I feel like my quarter-life crisis is just getting worse instead of better. I'm now 26, and I cringe to have to say it. It sounds like an age where you have to be so freaking responsible. Many people who are 26 are married and have kids and it weirds me out. NOT that I'm needing kids any time soon....but it still weirds me out.
Anyway, I had double-duty birthday cake -- at home and at the office -- and I'm feeling like bloat city. Plus there's all this holiday chocolate everywhere, and I have zero willpower.
Have you ever wondered why the things we love to eat so much are SO FREAKING FATTENING? (Well, if you're a woman, of course you have. That was a stupid question.) I mean seriously....why can't we all just LOVE broccoli? And artichokes? Why can't we be like..."Birthday cake? Heck no, I want me some birthday broccoli. Some nice birthday beets, with candles on top."
Why can't life be that way? Why do we celebrate important moments in our year (like birthday and Christmas) with so much fattening, unhealthy food? Why can't we magically change the taste of gross vegetables into birthday cake and chocolate....yet still keep all their healthy, unfattening, good-for-you veggie properties?
Sigh.
Also, the 5K was yesterday. I missed it. I was happily in bed, no doubt dreaming of eating more birthday cake. I considered going to walk it, but I had a vet appointment for my cat at 10, so there wouldn't be enough time. (Kitty-cat saves the day, I guess.)
I'm not happy. I'm not proud of myself. I thought by now I would be on my way to being healthier, more fit, and looking and feeling better. Instead, I'm a birthday-cake-eating fool with an injured tendon and a quarter-life crisis. I'm getting into my "I hate Dallas" phase again, and that's never good. That kind of mentality often leads to last-minute "escape this damn metroplex" weekend trips that I can't ever afford yet take anyway, to much chagrin later on when I check my credit card balance.
I'm thinking New Orleans, next weekend :) Who's in?
....or rather, to be infinitely more sophisticated, "cyclist lady."
Biked: 40 minutes.
Ran: 0 miles.
Walked: 0 miles.
I went for a bike ride tonight. It was a beautiful evening for a ride, honestly. Cold but not unbearably so, with clear skies. I just tooled around my neighborhood, basically, and looked at the Christmas lights. It appears that about 10% of my neighborhood has put up lights.
To me, Christmas lights are either hit or miss. You don't see a lot of "average" displays. It's either awesome or dismal. The homeowners either spent a chunk of money on their displays and hung the lights with care and positioned yard signs, snow-globes, etc. with care.......or they hung out a lighted wreath, threw some lights on a bush or two, and called it a day.
Honestly, I know we're supposed to love Christmas for a lot of reasons other than holiday lights, but it irritates me when I see half-assed Christmas lights. It's like, what's the point in such a puny display? The yard looks terrible compared to other yards. If you really want to celebrate the birth of Jesus, celebrate with style, pizzazz, and energy. Don't skimp on Jesus' birth, man!! Just leave the lights off next time if you can't handle it.
Is that overly harsh of me?
Anyway, it was a nice ride, even though the seat of my cheap-O bike is super uncomfortable and makes my muscles down there extremely sore. Tomorrow's gonna be fun. How long does it take bike-seat muscles to get used to being on a bike again? Is there anything I can do to expedite the process so I'm not sore every time I hop on my bike after not riding for a week? You know how they have those "Buns of Steel" and "Thighs of Steel" exercise videos -- how about "Groins of Steel"? With Lance Armstrong maybe? No? Sigh.
On the injury front, I'm definitely doing better. I can walk without pain and should probably be able to start light jogging again by next week. For now I'm doing some stretches and exercises for my Achilles tendons. The right one does hurt when I do certain stretches, but I'll take it easy this week and see if it loosens up enough for me to start running again next week.
The 5K is also next week. Guess that's gonna be a miss. I might show up to walk it (and claim my free T-shirt) but I'm not sure I'm that inspired to wake up early if I'm not gonna be running in the damn thing.
We shall see.