I’ve blogged a bit about USAEyes on 3DayMom in the past. If you want to read my past blog entries about their lasik information, you can find those entries here and here. They’re a unique site because they’re so big on putting patients first, rather than promoting a doctor or a type of surgery. Apparently I’m not the only one with a high opinion of USAEyes, because recently, Glenn Hagele, the founder of USAEyes was featured in a cover story in US News & World Report. Glenn is also the Executive Director of the Council for Refractive Surgery Quality Assurance.

The article quoted Glenn Hagele on the importance of choosing the right surgery for Lasik, as well as any eye surgery. Glenn is very frank and open when he discusses lasik – he’s not afraid to put bad surgeons in their place, and actually said that “No amount of technology can make up for an inferior surgeon.” His site features “50 Tough Questions For Your Lasik Doctor”, and anyone considering Lasik should test their own doctor to see how he or she rates. Because USAEyes bases their ratings of Lasik surgeons on patient outcome, they’re an excellent resource for anyone considering the surgery.

Today has been an extremely busy, and stress filled day. The morning started off fine, even if I did have to get up early. I got to the doctor, I got some shopping in, I came home, got work done…and then the kids came home. Between one child and an issue with his teacher, and another child coming home with gum in her hair, it’s been a crazy evening. We didn’t even get to relax over dinner. I think a glass of vino is on my dessert menu for tonight. Wine always relaxes me.

Since Jim got back into jogging, he’s been talking about doing some local runs with his buddies. I’d join him, but I’m more of a short distance runner. Jim did cross country in high school, so he’s still interested in long distance. We’ve got a few marathons in Tampa, and half marathons too, but I just found out about a marathon in DC that sounds amazing – The Wirefly National Marathon will be held March 24 in Washington DC. Proceeds benefit local charities like the DC branch of the Special Olympics, the Five Star Foundation, and the Joy of Sports Foundation. I checked out the route map, and wow – the runners will have some of the best sights in the US to enjoy as they run! I’d love to be able to send Jim and watch from the sidelines! I think the hills in Washington would kill him though – it’s hard to train on flat ground and then transfer to a run with lots of varied terrains.

If you’re interested in joining the Wirefly National Marathon, be advised that they are limiting the full marathon and half marathon to 5000 participants each. If you know you will attend, sign up sooner rather than later. You must have a qualifying race in order to sign up. Additionally, if you can’t run, but still want to help, the Wirefly National Marathon is more than happy to speak to you about volunteering opportunities before, after, and during the race. Register walkers, or hand out cups of waters – lots of help will be needed to make the race a success!

It must be so neat to participate in an event for charity in such a historical town. I loved our 2nd day on the 3-Day in Philly when we went downtown and saw a lot of the old churches and buildings….I can imagine it’s just as fun doing it in Washington DC.

I wanted to share with you all what I learned about Accutane, and the changes made to how it is dispensed. It’s been 4 years since I was last on it, and at that time, it was pretty strictly regulated. You had to get blood work done monthly. No bloodwork? No refill. You had to be on 2 forms of birth control, because Accutane does cause birth defects. I had to sign a waiver saying I knew the risks and I wouldn’t hold my doctor or the drug maker liable if anything happened.

The US government thought that by doing all of that, they wouldn’t see any more birth defects due to Accutane. They were wrong. Unfortunately, women STILL got pregnant on the drug. I went to the March of Dimes website and learned that some of the birth defects are:

hydrocephaly (enlargement of the fluid-filled spaces in the brain)
microcephaly (small head and brain)
mental retardation; heart defects
ear and eye abnormalities
cleft lip and palate
and other facial abnormalities

The damage is done in the first few WEEKS of conception. I can’t even begin to say how serious this is….if you are on Accutane, you can’t just tell your doctor you’re using two forms of birth control…you MUST DO IT!

Due to the number of Accutane births, it is even harder to get the medication now, which is why my doctor wants me to try something else first this time around. If, after that, I choose to go on Accutane, I will be asked to register with iPledge before receiving treatment. I have to test negative to two pregnancy tests before going on the medication, and then I must have monthly tests while on the medication. I am willing to do all of it.

Are you once of those people who bounces from diet to diet, fad to fad, trying to find the best diet for yourself? You’ve tried Atkins, you’ve tried South Beach, you’ve tried eating nothing but cabbage soup. Bleah! Wouldn’t it be great if someone had a site that honestly reviewed all of the diet plans out there, and gave you the real scoop, and REAL results on how each diet worked?

Ask and ye shall receive…you can now find diet reviews for countless diet plans, all in one place! The site is new, so there’s only one review so far, but check back, because a new review will go up every week! The current review is on the Best Life Diet, developed by Bob Greene. You may recognize him from the Oprah show!

I went to the dermatologist this morning for an appointment. It’s been about 4 years since I’ve seen one, and I went to a new doctor this time since we’ve moved. The reason? Let’s see…I’m 30, I have grey hair, but my face still breaks out. And it annoys me to no end! I was on Accutane in 2003 and it worked beautifully, but for now, I’m going to try a new oral antibiotic to see if I can get things to shape up over the next 4 weeks. If I don’t see results, well, I’ll be taking the Accutane plunge once again.

As some of you may know, my husband is a golfer. He doesn’t have a lot of time to play with the family and work, but he does love the game. I worry that when we retire, he’s going to attempt to move me into a golfing community, and I’ll be a golf widow. I guess I can chat with the other ladies when that time comes…provided they aren’t golfing! He’d love to live in a golf course community when he’s not working…you pay a little bit of a premium to live in a community like that, but imagine walking out into your backyard and looking out across a beautifully manicured golf course…that’s some extended backyard!

If you’re looking for that kind of lifestyle, retired or not, be sure to check out these golf homes. Absolutely gorgeous! The site lists the best of the best in golf course communities across the USA, from links in Las Vegas to fairways in Florida. I checked out my state and there was a nice selection of homes and communities all around the state, with lots of community info on each to help you make informed choices. If I could live in a house like this one in on a Henderson, Nevada golf course…wow, I’d never want to leave home again! Holy moly! Not everything is a palace like that, but golf course living certainly is a nice lifestyle to enjoy…I think I could stand being a golf widow after all

My sister has done a few garage sales to help her with fundraising, and I’m debating doing the same. We’ve got a few items of furniture, dishes, clothes, videos, and toys we could stand to get rid of. What I’d really like to do is see if any of my neighbors are interested in having a garage sale at their own houses that same day. That way, it can be advertised as a community / neighborhood yard sale and we’ll attract a lot more traffic. If I do this, I’m also going to be a donation bucket out, maybe people will donate even if they don’t buy

I have, thankfully, never experience the pain of infertility. That’s not to say I haven’t cried right along with my friends when they got a negative test result on a pregnancy test. Something that my friends who have issues conceiving have all found to be a big help is the information found online at sites like Fertility Facts. I looked over the site tonight and found it to be a well balanced offering of almost any topic you could think of related to fertility. The articles are varied and well written, and I think it would be a great resource for anyone going through infertility or anyone who has a friend of family member dealing with it. The site debunks common fertility myths (how many times have you heard men should wear boxers to help make a baby? False!) as well as give you an idea of the type of tests you’ll be subjected to in your visitors to a fertility specialist. I really enjoyed this piece on when to seek help for fertility issues. I know a lot of women worry about this – when is too soon? Did you wait too long? You can use a lot of the info found at Fertility Facts to prompt conversation between you and your spouse or OB/GYN as well.

I got my special pink 3-Day lanyard in the mail today! If you raise $500 (within a certain time frame, I think?) you get a special pink lanyard to wear around your neck for the walk. There are other colors too – team captain, and training walk leader for example. I’ve signed up to be a training walk leader so I hope to be sporting a different colored lanyard during the 3-Day this week. The pink 2007 lanyard looks pretty much like the pink 2006 version from last year