Warning…shameless begging ahead!

I started this blog last year before my first walk so that I could share my experience, and I even blogged DURING the event from a hotel room that night (our campsites were rained out) - how’s that for commitment?

The blog is up for the best charity blog award at the Blogger’s Choice Awards.

Now, normally, I wouldn’t care much, except that I’m going to be at the conference where the awards are given out, and how neat would it be to actually be there to win? Some blog about helping kids is nipping at my heels, and not for nothing, but I don’t see them walking 60 miles. The most I saw was mention of a 2.3 mile walk, which as you all know is a warm up for me. I’m walking 60 miles, for the 2nd time, for my cause. And isn’t that worth a vote? (All of the above is completely tongue in cheek - kids are a worthy cause of course, but I do want to win)

I hope that if this blog wins, we’ll get a little more attention from the blogosphere for the cause. More attention means more donations, and more donations means more women with healthy breasts. And really, do you want to be AGAINST healthy breasts?

You do need to register to vote, but please consider doing so to help me out. If you can’t afford to donate, or simply don’t want to part with $20, this is the next best thing you can do to help me out. When you register, just return to the ‘best charity’ blog category and vote for 3DayMom here:

http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/166

I have several blogs up there in different categories, but best charity is the one I REALLY want to win. However, if you’re so inclined to vote for more once you vote for 3 DayMom - here are the links for all of my blogs:

Best geek blog:
http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/130

Best shopping blog:
http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/168

Hottest mommy blogger:
http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/169

Best sports blog (my husband):
http://www.bloggerschoiceawards.com/blogs/show/101

It was almost a year ago that I had my very first mammogram. You know what that means - time for another one! Whoopee! I’m only 30, but my doctor suggested that I get one every year from now one because of my mom having breast cancer. (Which is apparently some big family secret, so if you run into her, don’t mention that you read this on the internet. HA!) Anyway, I plan on calling my gynocologist soon and scheduling my annual “feet in the stirrups and scooch down please” apppointment. After going to the same doctor for 12 years, and having going through 3 pregnancies with the office, they all know me, and it’s actually a pleasure walking in and seeing the doctor and all of the nurses in their cute pink nursing scrubs. I’m probably the only person I know who looks forward to visiting the gynocologist!

I don’t mind the mammogram so much either. I was a bit apprehensive about it last year….ok, a LOT apprehensive, but it wasn’t bad at all, and I won’t be worried a bit about doing it this year. The only thing I’m worried about is another fight with the insurance company about covering it. It took me a LONG time to get that claim covered last year, even thought they’re supposed to do if the doctor specifies a good reason for it. Stupidheads.

I’ve had dark circles under my eyes since I was a little girl. I’ve always heard different reasons for the dark circles, ranging from not getting enough sleep (trust me, SO not the issue) to allergies (that one actually makes sense!). I’ve learned to live with the look by now. So, what to do if you’ve got the same problem? It’s not exactly a trend setting look. This blog, called Dark Circle Under Eyes, gives tips and tricks for dealing with the dreaded dark circles, from home remedies to how to expertly use makeup to cover them up. Worth a look if your dark circles are causing you to lose sleep!

Cheryl had a great fundraising idea, and it paid off! She printed out some 3-Day business cards and put them on cars in the parking lot of her office. Today she received a donation from someone, for $150! She’s got no clue who it came from, so we can only assume that it was someone who saw one of the cards and decided to donate. She’s now almost halfway to her goal!

If I won a new 50 inch TV, what the heck would I do with it? We already have a brand new TV in our family room. I know what I’d do - I’d raffle it off and take the money from the raffle and put it towards my fundraising. I’m only $600 away from my goal now, and I’m sure a 50 inch TV raffle would raise that much money! But I know you’re wondering, how am I going to win a brand new TV? There’s a new site called bid4prizes where I can do just that - win a TV, a car, an Apple iPhone, and lots more. You “bid” on each prize, and you win if your bid is the LOWEST unique bid for that prize. Isn’t that a riot? I can just see people trying to come up with a unique bid that’s low enough to win! What a neat way for me to raise money - now all I have to do is WIN!

Are we gearing up for another recall? First was peanut butter, than dog food, and then blue Listertine. Now a new report on Yahoo says that there are hogs who have eaten the contaminated pet food, and some of the hogs have already gone to slaughter, and may be consumed by humans. Thankfully, the risk to human health posed by the chemical in the tainted pet food is considered very low.

I read in the news today that a new study shows that obese workers file twice as many workers comp claims as their skinnier co-workers. The study also said that those workers have higher medical costs (7 times higher) and 13 times more lost work due to injury. If that doesn’t make a good case for a company workout plan, I don’t know what does. I’d hate to think of my employer taking out secured loans to be able to cover the cost of those extra expenses.

How about discounts on Weight Watchers, or a free gym membership? How about a support group to help obese employees if they want to lose the weight? And most importantly, be supportive of ALL employees and understanding - don’t embarrass anyone on the job just because of their weight!

Now that stores like WalMart are offering cheaper prescription medications, will there still be a place for businesses that order drugs from Canadian pharmacies? At one time, we had several places like this in our area, and they mostly catered to seniors who couldn’t afford the rising prescription costs. People were able to order medications which were then filled by pharmacies in Canada, and the meds were shipped here.

I know in several border states up north, bus trips were organized so that senior citizens could cross the border, order their meds, and go back home. Needless to say, when we go to Canada this June, we have no plans to take any prescriptions with us to be filled!

We had to go back to the dentist today, unexpectedly. When the dentist took care of Gracie’s laser surgery, he had to put in one stick, which was supposed to dissolve on its own. That didn’t happen, so here we are, 3 weeks later, and she still had a stitch under her tongue. A few snips and it was out, but she was NOT pleased about that return trip!

I’m hoping with summer coming, and having a break from all of our normal activities, that I’ll find the time to take a class over at the YMCA. I’ve love to try something like yoga. Sometimes my days are so hectic that I need to force myself to slow down, and yoga seems like a good way to make myself have that one quiet time a week, where I can focus just on relaxing, and I’m not talking about the kind of relaxing I do in front of the television. Most of the YMCA classes ask that you bring your own supplies, like yoga mats, so I’m on the lookout for one that I can buy that’s relatively inexpensive, should I decide the whole yoga thing isn’t my cup of tea.

I’m not sure if I ever posted about this, but my sister and I tried tai-chi at the YMCA once. Soooo not for me. Reminds me too much of the ballet lessons that I took for years, except it wasn’t nearly as graceful or pretty to watch as ballet was.