Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

So I had planned to post the blog about painting over my large canvas today but I have been delayed from that by a big adventure that started with a little bug.

Beware of typos - I'm blogging with a wrist brace on

Two weeks ago I went for a run around the lake in my neighborhood. I am training for a half marathon my hubby and I will be running in Las Vegas in November (he's running the full marathon) and I had been doing pretty well with my training until this stupid little bug entered my life. Well, actually it was two bugs.

I had already run about a mile and a half around the lake and was on my second lap when I ran through a cloud of gnats and one of the little suckers actually flew into my eye! It stung like a mother but I didn't want to stop running so I was kind of half-running, half cursing and involuntarily crying and trying to get this damn insect out of my eye. It finally came out and I kept running kind of proud of myself for not letting something like a little gnat stop me. I AM IRON WOMAN! So I keep running even though my eye is stinging, and about another mile further on I'm feeling pretty good and thinking to myself I will try to run three miles. It was right then that ANOTHER damn gnat decided to commit suicide IN THE SAME EYE! So this time I stopped and it hurt so bad I wondered if it was a wasp gnat, if such things even exist. So I'm doubled up in pain on the trail, cursing like I'm channeling the spirit of Howard Stern and one of my neighbors runs past and stops.

These bugs can't even handle me right now

"Are you okay?" she asks, still kind of jogging a bit, probably hoping I'll say oh yes I just have Tourettes, no biggie, but instead I kind of wailed at her, "NOOOO! IS THERE A BUG IN MY EYE? AAAAAHHHH IT HUUUURTS!!!!" She's understandably backing away from the crazed, sweaty lady who she is unwittingly now obliged to help and squeaks out, "Yes, I see a bug," I immediately scream "GET IT OUT GET IT OUT GET IT OUT!!!" and she says, "I don't think my hands are clean," "I DON'T CARE JUST GET IT OUT!" so she gingerly picks this bug out of my eyeball and I'm crying tears of pain and thankfullness and stumbling after her saying "Thank you, thank you oh thank you!" and she kind of hesitates for a second and yells out "Are you okay now?" and, seeing my nod, runs off before I can ask her to help me get some spinach out of my teeth or something else equally gross.

I hate bugs.

So I curse my luck and drag myself home before another insect can assault my only remaining good eye. The next day I had undeniable goop eye (Liz to English translation = conjunctivitis). I was worried I had a cut in my eye because it had hurt so bad so I did some Googling and found this little gem - read the last entry. So at this point I'm just about ready to dunk my head in bleach and resolve to wear safety goggles on all my future runs even if it makes me look like a mad scientist running from a bad experiment that will imminently explode. I had some antibiotic eye drops left over from my last bout of goop eye so I just started using them and within a week my eye (and my life) was back to normal.

Then, last week, I woke up feeling like my right hand was broken (I am right-handed). I hadn't done anything particularly strenuous in my sleep, I do sleep with my hand under my pillow and I'm thinking ugh seriously if anyone could break a bone in her sleep it would be me. But I figured I had just slept on it wrong and it would stop hurting soon so I go about my business. Then, on Wednesday night I was cooking dinner, and I picked up our cast-iron skillet with my hurt hand and it felt like something stabbed me. I had to drop it back down on the burner and go sit down. For the rest of that evening the pain was excruciating and radiating up my arm to my shoulder so I decided it was time to go see the doctor. I guess most people would have done that sooner, but I don't like spending $30 to be told something I can usually surmise by myself, and if there's ever anything really wrong I always have to go somewhere else and get some expensive test or other.

I come out diagnosed with a case of De Quervain's syndrome, which is essentially tendonitis. My instructions are to wear a wrist brace, rest, and take Advil. I come home and I'm discussing this with one of my best and oldest friends who tells me that she got tendonitis from taking an antibiotic. I was like say whaaat? So I ask her what kind and she says it was Ciprofloxacin. It sounds familiar so I went to my bathroom and mother @#$%^&* son of a !)*$% its the same antibiotic in my antibiotic eye drops.

THAT. DAMN. BUG. BROKE. MY. FREAKING. HAND. So essentially my life has been a bit derailed. Rest assured I have learned my lessons 1.) Run with goggles/glasses on and 2.) Never ever take Ciprofloxacin again.