On your mark, get set...

I've had false starts before.

I intended to start a blog once, twice... if not three times prior. 

I got screen fright.  I became way too self-conscious, felt way too egocentric to convert thought to key stroke, key stroke to posting. Many people do it. Heck, too many people do it. But what makes me capable of sustaining a diatribe in cyberspace with any level of poise and poignancy?

Beats me.

Here it is: I will be 40 years old on July 31. I have, thus far, lived a charmed life, filled with beautiful places, beloved people, and savored experiences. My one-ticket ride on this planet has afforded me some truly amazing opportunties and I am brimming with the desire to write about them.

Now living in Paris, France with my husband and two young daughters, I have committed myself to training for, and actually finishing, my very first marathon.  The Marathon du Medoc touts itself as the longest marathon in the world and I am officially registered with number 634.  It is run through the bucolic vineyards of Bordeaux and includes 8,500 costumed revelers running 42.195 kilometers, enjoying 25 stops at chateaux along the way to sample everything from foie gras to oysters on the halfshell-- complemented by fine Bordeaux wine, of course. This marriage of pure athletic stamina and pure unadulterated gastronomy compelled me to declare, "I'm doing it!" before I ever took the time to consider the hard work and soulful commitment involved in successfully preparing for such a task.

So, here I am, impulsively, unabashedly, starting my training and starting my blog.  Really starting it this time.

On your mark, get set, go.