My "vacation" is off to an awesome start! But not really.

I woke up at 4:00 AM with runny eyes, a cough, and a raw nose. Those have to be signs of allergies, right?

I didn't want to wake my husband up and I really wasn't that tired, so I got up and started my day. I opened my email and the first thing I saw was a reminder notice for one of my loans. What a downer. My first day of vacation and it starts with paying my loans. I'm never in a good mood on loan payment day.

At 6:00 AM, I ran to the grocery store to pick up ingredients for a poor man's soup (ham and black bean). When I got home I cut into a jalapeno, removed the seeds, and diced it. At some point shortly after cutting the pepper, I rubbed my nose. My raw nose.

After adding the pepper to the soup, I went about gathering all of our financial statements we've collected in a number of hiding places over the last THREE YEARS. During this process, I realized my nose was really hot. Burning hot. Because my brain apparently doesn't function properly after waking up at 4:00 AM, it took me a good ten minutes to realize my nose wasn't burning from my allergies. Instead, during that time I rubbed my nose and the surrounding area with a thick salve thinking it would help to reduce the burning sensation. When the pain started spreading from my nose to my upper lip and inner cheeks, I realized what had happened. That was 30 minutes ago. My upper lip is still tingling.

This day is off to an awesome start.