Holiday Birthday party

I am determined to write more posts in December than I did in November! I did make more of an effort in Nov, but I really need to work on it. I have ideas in my head and then I am too lazy or tired. Excuses.

Wow, so I posted around Thanksgiving that I was sick. Well, the cold or whatever I had took a little over 2 weeks to completely go away. I cannot recall a cold that has ever lasted that long. Going running during this stretch of time probably didn't help matters, but I felt ok to run. Now I finally feel healthy again. I am still blowing my nose occasionally but it is very minor. And at least it's clear in its color.

Nathan's Red Velvet Brownies

My 35th birthday is coming up on Dec 20. I really don't like these 30-something birthdays. I used to think 30 is old. Now 35?? I decided to throw myself a holiday/bday party. I have 28 RSVPs so far. I have no clue how I will fit everyone into my 800 sq ft condo. I hope people come and go. Then it will be manageable. My friend Nathan Noland is a pastry chef from NYC, and upon my request, he is mailing me red velvet brownies for my party. Since there is such a red velvet cake and cup cake craze right now, I wanted to have something different. Although I am actually going to make green velvet cupcakes (I just bought the food coloring today!), this will be a nice addition to all the other sweets. I am asking people to bring cupcakes to exchange with one another. It's a Cupcake Exchange. So far I only have 4 people who signed up on that for the Evite.

Due to my severe cold, I didn't run as much as I had planned to. I have decided NOT to run the Carlsbad Marathon on January 23. It's too soon to me to be ready to run that kind of distance. I have only done a few 8-milers in the past month. I really should be up to 16, 17 miles by now. Anyway, the marathon has sold out so I couldn't do it even if I wanted to. Then I could do the Los Angeles Marathon on March 20. Still, it presents a logistical issue in that I would have to find a place to stay in LA or deal with getting a hotel, parking, etc, etc. So... it looks like I will aim for the San Diego Rock n Roll Marathon on June 5 next year. It will give me time to get my ass in gear. Why rush it?

I still debate the logic of running another marathon. I have done 10 so far and have achieved my marathon running goals. At my advanced age, it seems very difficult to get my body in the kind of shape I need to be in order to beat by fastest time of 2:57 (set in 2007). I am at peace with this. I will try to run that fast, but my hamstrings still ache on every run. At least my lower back is not an issue any longer, thanks to a better seat at work. I will see how the next few months go. I am not committing to anything. I will base train, do a few 10, 12 milers until early Feb. That is when I need to decide if I will start a more formalized training program.

This past weekend I worked 2 catering events. I really didn't want to since I had 2 parties of my own I wanted to attend on Saturday night. Still, the logical, money-conscious (CHEAP) Anthony decided he wanted to have some extra money for household purchases. One event was a surprise birthday at the club house of a very expensive housing community in Rancho Santa Fe, a suburban area of San Diego County. I had never really been to that area before. I will never have that much money. The homes were simply amazing, on tops of steep hills. I actually heard coyote howl during the night. The other event was this afternoon at this huge mansion located on the La Jolla Shores cliffs. I only worked about 4 hours. It was a holiday party for the La Jolla Democratic Club.