Knowing when to admit you're too old for some things...

Back in 2000, shortly after having knee surgery, I had my belly button pierced. I have both ears pierced multiple times and liked the idea of the belly button ring. Unfortunately, it never seemed to heal quite right and required a degree of looking-after that grew tedious in recent years. But still, I liked my belly button ring.

Flash forward to last week, just before my birthday. I met Tom at Primal Instinct in Malden where his tattoo artist is working on the massive piece of art on his leg. I was chatting with the owner, who teaches piercing, and mentioned the ongoing battle with my belly button ring. He was surprised, saying it should have healed by now (eight years later!) and asked to take a look. A few seconds later, a full diagnosis: pierced too deep, the ring had settled to one side. And my skin was clearly allergic to the metal (I had replaced it a few years back with what we thought was a titanium ring, which we thought was least reactive). His recommendation: replaced the ring with a stainless barbell immediately, and potentially re-pierce the navel down the road if the barbell didn't straighten things out.

What ensued was a week of being VERY uncomfortable. It became quite clear that the piercing was just plain off, and instead of laying vertical, the barbell twisted on one side and pulled my skin. Finally tonight I couldn't take it anymore and decided enough was enough. Out it went. Within just a few hours, I had no pain and the skin no longer looked angry. But it's clear that I'm going to have scaring from the allergic reaction my skin had to the various metals over the years.

Moral of the story: at 35, looking "cute" doesn't cut it when I can barely sit still because of the discomfort. Mind you, I have no regrets and would do it all over again, given the opportunity. But I wish I had gone to a better piercer!

Other things that cease to become cute at 35:
1. Mini skirts (I don't mind short skirts, but have been picking skirts that fall just above the knee)
2. Baby doll dresses. At this age, you get mistaken for actually being pregnant.
3. Some tattoos. Most people know I have one tattoo on my bikini line, and I get razzed for how small it is. But at least it's not some trashy tat that I'll regret when I get older!
4. Denim shorts. I don't know why, but they just look better on teeny-boppers.

Oh, I'm sure there are more!

Another passing: the last lecturer

It was so sad to hear this morning that Randy Pausch, the CMU professor who was diagnosed more than a year ago with pancreatic cancer, finally succumbed to the disease this morning. I wrote about him several months ago, and have read his blog and watched his amazing "last lecture" to CMU students after his diagnosis time and time again since -- including tonight. So much of what he had to say was so simple, yet touched so many, including me.

The news media say it best: the man who was told he would die, taught us how we should live. I think back to my moments with my patient partner for Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, Brittany Lambert, and remember quite clearly her stating to me "well, it's not like I'm going to die tomorrow." She lived life well.

Live today like you have no tomorrow. For then, you will have lived a wonderful life.

Birthday musings.....

Birthdays really just aren't my thing -- I'm much more of an Easter or Christmas kind of gal. And today is off to a rip-roaring start with torrential rain, the worst traffic I've hit yet going to my still-relatively-new job, and a leak has appeared in my office ceiling. But I digress....

Top things I hate about turning 35......
1. I am now closer to 40 than I am to 30. Or, as Tom pointed out, today I'm exactly half-way in between, but once midnight strikes, I'm on my way to 40. I've always had issues with the birthdays ending in 5s and not the 0s. 25 - miserable. 30 - one of my favorites. We'll see where 35 lands...

2. I'm twenty pounds heavier than I was at 30 when I got married. There - I put it in writing. And I have nothing but beer and Tom's good cooking to blame. And my morning can of soda. And my sweet tooth. But seriously, the upward slide needs to stop.

3. Just don't bounce back like I used to. The dog kept me up last night because of thunderstorms, and I had the hardest time getting out of bed. Is this the same person who could stay up until 1, then get up at 5:30 and do it all over again? I'm just hoping I last long enough to enjoy drinks tonight with friends.

4. Aches and pains. I had a lot of hip pain after last year's marathon and spent a good deal of time in PT trying to work out the kinks. After this year's marathon, I noticed that my other hip now gets achy. At least my knees are still functioning....knock on wood.

5. I'm starting to get ma'am at the grocery store from pimple-faced teenagers. Don't need to expand upon that at all.

There are bright sides......
1. I'm told I barely look 30 and still occasionally get carded.
2. I'm still a size 8 (hmmm....so where the heck is that 20 pounds going?)
3. If I were really motivated to run faster, I just got another 5 minutes added to my qualifying time for the Boston Marathon.
4. I have an awesome husband of nearly five years and a ridiculously full calendar of things to do every week!
5. The things I used to sweat and worry about in my 20s are downright laughable in my 30s.

Things to ponder over drinks tonight!

Tom's annual fishing extravaganza

This weekend, Tom and the boys participated in their annual fishing tournament down in Orleans. From what we heard from where us girls were lazing on the beach, the fish weren't biting until nearly the end of the day. All in all, they didn't do too badly -- after all, a bad day fishing is far better than a good day in the office!

Their catch.........

More cooking!

I've been getting into trouble in the kitchen again! As Tom pointed out, I keep trying recipes that are way more difficult than I can handle. Thank goodness I have a supervisor!

On the 4th of July, we (emphasis on the we) made risotto with fresh mozzarella, grape tomatoes and basil. We got a basil plant from the CSA a few weeks ago, and I wanted to start using it, plus we love caprese salads, so I figured why not. Yeah, risotto is a bit more complicated than I realized -- thankfully Tom has made it several times and bailed me out about half-way through. It came out pretty well, with two exceptions. The mozzarella melts almost instantly and really thickens the risotto, so as Tom pointed out, this is a dish to make when you're going to eat it instantly. The recipe also had you boil down balsamic vinegar (there was some technical term Tom used that I forget - caramelize?). When everything was said and done, this sauce had thickened so much that we ended up pouring it over the entire risotto, rather than over each dish. Worked out fine. I felt like the salty chicken stock was a bit overpowering -- maybe more basil?

Tonight I tackled some of our leftovers from last week's CSA. Of course, after buying cucumbers and green onions at the store, what did we get? Cucumbers and green onions. We also got a totally wild looking root vegetable called kohlrabi. Looks like a beet, sort of tastes like jicama.

So first plan of attack was the kohlrabi. I found an interesting recipe online called kohlrabi and apple salad with creamy mustard dressing. The recipe called for heavy cream, but some of the posters who critiqued the salad recommended using sour cream. Tom picked up some fantastic ground mustard -- nice and spicy. I used dried parsley instead of fresh -- eh, should have used fresh. Definitely a 1:1 ratio apple to kohlrabi works just fine. Instead of julienning either one, I also went with the recommendation to use a box grater (use the widest slice) - far easier than using Tom's professional-grade knives!! Great tangy taste; unfortunately since Tom's semi-allergic to lemon, he'll just have to take my word for it.

My last dish tonight was dilled potato salad with feta -- another attempt to use up cucumbers, green onions and some more dill. Aside from the fact that I think I boiled the potatoes too long, this was pretty easy to make. It's chilling in the fridge -- I'll try it shortly -- but the colors are fantastic. A nice alternative to regular potato salad which has mayo -- both Tom and I hate mayo enough that we've been known to return sandwiches when sub shops make the mistake of adding it. Unfortunately Tom hates dill and cucumbers (I'm not sure what his opinion is on feta), so it would be cool if I could figure out some substitutions here. Anyone ever have a spicy potato salad?

So I still have one zucchini (what can one make with just one?), a few garlic scapes, some green onions and yet more cucumbers. Suggestions? Next veggie CSA pick-up is tomorrow. Please, please, please send us veggies that my husband likes!