I’m not in training mode, but I sure did my share of carbo loading today. I ate 2 peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch (lots of protein) and had a huge helping of dumplings with my chicken for dinner. It reminded me of eating during the 3-Day - lots of pb&j and pasta! The dinner tonight was at Cracker Barrel, and my sister and I both got the same thing, a cheesy broccoli chicken. Talk about your easy recipes! It was just a boneless chicken breast, some soup (cream of something?), with a cracker crust on the chicken, broccoli on top, and then cheese. Delish!

By the time I had the chicken, carrots, the dumplings, a biscuit, and 2 glasses of tea, I was stuffed. I really SHOULD have done some training after that, perhaps laps in the parking lot of Cracker Barrel, to work off that big dinner.

Big props to Charles over at C.Whyte’s blog for donating to my sister. If you didn’t read my post here, I’ve met my $2200 goal, and I’m helping my sister now. If you donate $50, you get 10 links in return, on 10 different sites. 9 of those links are permanent! It’s a great deal for you, so click the linky above and read more!

I’m 30, and still get the occasional breakout. Gray hair and zits - quite the combo! For a long time, I went to a dermatologist and tried a lot of different things, from oral antibiotics to Retin A. Finally, I turned to Accutane, which did the trick for me. At the time I was seeing my doctor, Proactiv wasn’t on the market, but now you can’t walk through the mall without seeing a kiosk of the product. Turn on the TV and you’ll see Britney Spears, P. Diddy and Jessica Simpson talking about how Proactiv has changed their lives. And while acne.com is sponsored by the product, they don’t push it too much on the site. The site is designed to be a resource for anyone who deals with acne, whether you’re a teen or an adult sufferer. There’s information on prevention (yes, you can actually prevent it!), the various treatments available, and popular acne myths (for example, acne is NOT caused by chocolate, french fries, or makeup!)

If you DO want to give Proactiv a try, this is the site to buy it from. Right now you can save $20 on the Proactiv 3 step treatment/prevention system. Why pay full price? The set includes toner, cleanser, and lotion.

Please keep my sister (and fellow 3-Day walker) as well as my other siblings in your thoughts and prayers. Cheryl’s mom had a surgery today that was to remove a tumor. I just heard an update, and the news is not good. The tumor was much larger than expected and the doctor said it is pancreatic cancer, and there is no treatment that can be done to cure it. Their mom is a strong, healthy woman, and this end result was not what was expected.

Every time we visit a new doctor, we go through the same routine. Sitting and filling out pages of forms and medical history. Signing a privacy form. Handing over my ID and insurance card, so that they can be copied for my file. It amazes me when doctors offices operate “on paper” like this, when technology has come so far. I’d love to see a doctor with a kiosk in their office where I can type in all of my information. Or how about being able to scan in your insurance card, instead of having a copy made?

Medicscan allows doctors offices to do just that. Just like I can scan documents in my home office, a receptionist or nurse in a medical office can do the same. Once scanned, my insurance card can be stored to a file on the office computers, sent by email (very handy if they refer me elsewhere!) or exported to other applications. And here’s the best part - it’s easy. My home scanner requires turning it on, opening software, placing the image in my flat bed scanner, and then manipulating it through the software. Medicscan allows you to feed the insurance card into the scanner and the scan takes place immediately. It’s much cleaner than a Xerox copy, and a heck of a lot more professional!

When I was slathering on Ben Gay during, and in the days following the 3-Day walk last October, I never stopped to think that what I was doing was unsafe, or that too much Ben Gay could be harmful to me. But that’s exactly what caused 17 year old Arielle Newman’s death. The New York runner used the muscle cream obsessively, and wore pads containing it in addition to rubbing on the cream several times a day. The medical examiner said that Arielle died from Methyl salicylate poisoning. Methyl salicylate is the main ingredient in Ben Gay, and exercise and heat can increase the rate at which it is absorbed into the body.

A few months ago, after taking to the pediatrician about our son’s lack of a weight gain, my husband and I decided to get him on a higher protein diet. Some parts of this were easy - he loves peanut butter for example, and it’s got protein, so getting him to eat that wasn’t an issue. We introduced him to the drink known as Boost, and he loved it, and drinks one or two a day. But after that…well, we were a bit stumped. It’s not easy getting a picky 8 year old to eat more high protein foods, and the grocery store wasn’t a lot of help.

I could have used a site like StrongerNutrition.com to get an education about nutritional supplements, without the trip to the store or the high pressure sales tactics from a muscle bound jock. Instead of just aimlessly searching through pages and pages of products, you can select a specific goal right on the main page, like build muscle, sleep aids, joint health, lose fat, energy, skin care, and more. Once you select your goal, you’re shown products that will help you to specifically achieve that goal. Since “gain weight” wasn’t listed, I chose build muscle. From there, you can view all products used to build muscle, or narrow down your list further by the brand name, product type - even the flavor! (Very helpful when shopping for my picky son!)

For a newbie like me, the site is extremely easy to navigate, and I had no problems finding products my son could use. Oh, and when you’re viewing a whole page of search results, and mouse over a particular item, you can see an in depth description. That’s a huge time saver, because I didn’t need to click into each product page to learn more about it!

Once you’ve ordered from StrongerNutrition.com, you’ll find it easy to shop again too. You’ll have access to a list of favorite products, previously viewed items, previously ordered items, saved searches, and rewards programs! They say that the goal of their site is to be user friendly, and it definitely accomplishes that goal.

This is a sponsored post.

So I started using some new skin care products, and they’re made from seaweed. Yes, seaweed! After all my days at the beach in the youth, I never thought I’d be rubbing the wet goop I wouldn’t even WALK through on my face, but it’s good for you! There are a ton of natural skin care products out there just like the seaweed product I’m using. Another one I saw was made using rosemary, and another contained lavender. This natural skin care podcast, from Whole Foods, really explains how natural products can help you to heal, and why natural products are better for you, as well as the environment. You’ll learn to read labels to see what’s REALLY in that cream you’re slathering on your skin, and how to use natural products to look and feel great. (For example, with my oily combination skin, I could use witch hazel as a toner, instead of buying a pricy product from the beauty counter at the department store. And patchouli can accelerate the healing process when you break out! If you can stand the smell…LOL)

I personally think it’s neat that a grocery store is taking the time to educate consumers about why their products are superior, and how they can help people. Most companies are only interested in making money, and not educating people on how to care for themselves, naturally. This is just one of many podcasts coming from Whole Foods, and I look forward to seeing more! I’m definitely one who would eat better and do things to change how I buy products if I knew how they affected me in the long run.

The3Day.org has a new, bolder look! Gone are the pastel pinks and royal blues. The new look is a dark pink, almost a magenta, against a bold, black background. There’s a new logo too:

Why the new look and dark, bold colors? To symbolize that walking in the 3Day is the boldest step you can take to stop breast cancer. The 3 circles symbolize the 3 days on the walk. Me, I’m just happy to get rid of the pale pink. Pink pink pink! And personally, I think *I* was the inspiration for the color scheme, and here’s the proof:

Note dark pink jacket and black pants! Yes, I see exactly why the 3day site made the switch - because it looked so good on me!

Something that most of you online don’t know about me is that I took dance lessons for years. I started with ballet when I was 4, and continued taking ballet until I was 15 or 16. I also took several years of tab, jazz, and even acrobatics. But ballet was my thing. When I was in middle school, I got to go en pointe for the first time, and I loved it. Ballet, and other dance, although it looks easy, requires muscles most people don’t even know they have. It’s a fantastic workout.

Because of my interest in ballet, my mother started taking me to see the Nutcracker ballet each year. A local theater by the name of Ruth Eckerd Hall always had the Nutcracker every year at Christmas, and it was always a wonderful troupe, usually the Russian ballet, who would perform. Of course, if you’ve ever seen the Nutcracker, you know that there are quite a few parts for children, and children don’t usually travel with a professional ballet company. Because of this, each town that the Nutcracker traveled to would hold Nutcracker auditions a few months before the show for children who wished to join the show when it came to town. I was never one who tried out, I was quite content to keep performing on a much smaller stage. I did perform a solo though, when I was in high school, at the performance of my own dance troupe, to music from the Nutcracker. I loved it that much! (I love most of Tchaikovsky’s work). I used the piece known as the “Chinese Dance”, because the choreography in the real ballet was a favorite of mine. I did my own choreography of course, but the music inspired me.

I haven’t seen the show in years now, but my mother takes MY little girls to see it each year. I should join them sometime! When I hear the music, it always reminds me of Christmas and my solo.