Where in the world are Karen’s nails?
Introducing a new series of posts where I highlight a few of the places my travels take me. Instead of that gnome, it’s my nails popping up in all sorts of fun places :)
In this edition, me and my nails learn that vacations where your itinerary is to rest (and then rest some more) can be wonderful.
What type of vacation would you choose if you could only go on one this year?
A beach vacation where you could get some downtime? If so, then you agree with many Canadians. Expedia.ca’s annual Flip Flop survey reveals that 45 percent of Canadians prefer beach vacays (much higher than the global average of 33 percent).
Me? I tend towards go-go-go-go-go vacations. I had 45 minutes in Chicago before having to go catch my flight, and I zipped on down to the Willis (aka Sears) Tower for a quick looky-look. 7AM or so whenever I’m in NYC? You’ll find me rifling through the racks at Century 21.
But a few weeks ago, what I truly needed was a vacay to do absolutely nada. So unlike me. But feeling utterly burnt out, I just needed sun and sand and lo and behold (thank you press trip gods for hearing my pleas!), work brought me to Fort Myers, Florida, just a short cab ride to Fort Myers Beach, where I decided to spend the weekend without even knowing much about the destination other than it had a beach.
Luckily, I was blessed with lovely powdery sand, and warm, shallow water. The most activity I did? One long walk on the beach, where I encountered some pretty shells and a blue crab (OK, so it was permanently sleeping…), along with venturing across the street to grab some food (nothing gourmet — we’re talking cheap diner-y breakfasts at The Munch Box and seafood dinner at The Fish House). My temporary pad at the Carousel Inn, which was roomy and equipped with a kitchen (always a plus, although I only used the fridge), was quiet, clean and affordable — I’d stay there again.
I didn’t head to Times Square (the Beach’s collection of touristy shops way down the road); I didn’t go hunting for shells; I didn’t visit any museums; I didn’t even run (and this was during marathon training!); I did absolutely nada.
And it was just perfect.
The risks of marathon running
Some interesting numbers in this article about the risks of marathon running:
- based on data from 300 marathons per year, the number of finishers increased dramatically between 2000 and 2009, from 299,018 to 473,354
- the risk of dying during or soon after running a marathon is low: .75 per 100,000
- yearly incidence of injury in people marathon training is as high as 90 percent
- average finishing time of those 300 marathons per year from 2000 to 2009 hasn’t changed too much: 4 hours and 35 minutes
(Average time is 4 hours and 35 minutes? That makes my finish time in my very first marathon two weeks ago waaaay above average — yep, totes tooting my own horn! Toot, toot!)
(And the Build-a-Head video above — should I get some glam shots of myself taken for oversize cutouts from Build-a-Head of my face for my cheer squad to have so I can be sure to find them along the route? …or maybe I should just get the Chace Crawford ones the dude in the video is holding — I know those signs would get my attention! :)
Neon, neon, neon
I’ve got a thing for neon nails, neon jewelry and neon fitness gear — check out three workout pieces I’m coveting over at the Schick Quattro for Women Facebook page!
(Bracelets, Love of Mine (top) and Lia Sophia (bottom))
Eating healthy isn’t more expensive
With $1 items on fast-food menus, it might seem that eating junk food high in sugar and fat is cheaper than eating healthy foods.
But a new study conducted by the Agriculture Department in the U.S. has found that when you look at it from a portion or weight (food weight, that is) perspective, eating veggies, fruit, grains and dairy products is less costly than eating foods high in sugar, saturated fats and salt.
So you can save your health and some money by eating well.
Which’ll give you more money to spend on sweet buys, such as this Banjo and Matilda cashmere heart sweater. It’s incentive enough (other than, of course, the incentive of good health and all!), dontcha think?
