My sister completed her last fund raising event this weekend. She had already met her goal, but had this event scheduled prior to meeting goal, so she did it anyway and will share the proceeds with team members who still need help. It’s amazing to me to think about raising all of this money, and other walkers doing the same thing in their hometowns, and how that will affect breast cancer in the years to come. Not only can we provide early detection methods to all, regardless of ability to pay, but maybe, someday, we can find a way to cure cancer for good.

Perhaps you don’t know how the Susan G. Koman Foundation came to be – the foundation was created by a woman named Nancy Brinker. Her sister, Susan G. Koman had died from breast cancer at the age of 36. Obviously, Susan’s life was not a life lived in vain. Her memory lives on for others, in the hearts of more than 75,000 volunteers (like me!) who believe cancer can be stopped someday. It’s an amazing feeling to be part of something so big, and yet so personal. I have friends and family members who have been affected by breast cancer, and walking 60 miles is just one small thing I can do. I can’t wait for October! It will be hot, and there will be aches and pains and blisters, but it’s all worth it.

This post was made possible by Navtej Kohli:

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Zumba will be the death of me.

I thought I was in good shape, but last night there were little old ladies that put me to shame. An hour of bouncing and jumping and prancing and dancing kicked my ass! Our instructor was…interesting. If you’ve ever seen The Family Guy, you’ve probably seen the character of Mort Goldman. If you haven’t, he’s a sterotypical Jewish guy. Picture a gay Mort Goldman, approximately 60 years old, wearing a Nike headband, and shaking his booty to Shakira, and you’ve got the Zumba instructor I had last night.

Ok, so after a few weeks of using the CPAP machine and it working wonders, it started to rub the bridge of Jim’s nose raw. Literally, raw. He mentioned it to his doctor and he had him switch to a new style of mask. ::shakes first at doctor:::

The new mask looked like this:

The big difference between the 1st mask, and the 2nd mask is that the 1st mask completely covered his mouth. The 2nd mask obviously was a little more comfortable for him to wear, but he had to train himself to sleep with his mouth closed, or else he couldn’t breathe. Despite wearing it for a few weeks, I constantly heard his mouth open at night, and then he’d gasp for air. He was also able to snore again, since his mouth wasn’t covered. Obviously, that wasn’t working too well for either of us, and when he saw his doctor last week, he decided to switch back to the old mask.

Last night was his first night of using the original mask again, and all is right in my world, once more.

I recently received sample packets of a product called Freeze It in the mail. Freeze It is a pain relief gel, and with the 3-Day walk just a few months away, I’m always looking for new products that will help me walk those 60 miles relatively free from aches and pains. I have limited space for my supplies, so I tested Freeze It tonight to see if it would make the cut and be included in my waist pack.

Now, last year during the walk (and for about a week afterwards) I used a combination of Icy Hot and a product called Bio-Freeze. I hadn’t ever heard of Bio-Freeze before, but the 3-Day people were passing it out for free on the walk, so I tried it. Honestly, it didn’t make a favorable impression on me. It felt like rubbing colored jelly on my calves. I used Icy Hot in our hotel room at night, but I can’t STAND the way it smells, and the opaque lotion tends to go on my skin feeling a little thick and greasy.

I rubbed Freeze It onto my right calf and waited. The first thing I noticed is that it resembled Bio-Freeze in that it was a colored gel, but it wasn’t as clear as Bio-Freeze. I’m not sure if that means anything, I just thought I’d point it out. Freeze It also has a very strong menthol smell to it, which reminds me of the Vick’s Vapo Rub my mom used to rub on my chest when I was little. I had to wash my hands twice to get the smell of, but as long as it doesn’t get near my nose, I’m fine with it.

I felt my leg warming up about 10 minutes after I rubbed on the Freeze It. Unlike Icy Hot, which feels, well, hot, this was a nice warming sensation, almost like a little heating pad for my sore calf muscles. And considering I never felt any type of sensation with Bio-Freeze, warm or cold, I was happy to see that Freeze It actually did something for me! 30 minutes after applying it, and my leg still feels warm. I like it!

Here’s another reason why Freeze It is better than Icy Hot or Bio-Freeze. Once I rubbed the Freeze It into my leg, it dried completely and left my skin feeling soft and smooth. I was surprised, because I had to wash my hands after applying – I just assumed it would feel greasy or sticky. I’m quite pleased that it didn’t!

This product is available in a tube, or as a roll on stick, which is a great option for the 3-Day walk. I’m going to be telling my team about Freeze It and purchasing my own package to carry with me on the walk. I’d love to see Freeze It approach the Komen people about sponsoring the walk and knocking Bio-Freeze out of that spot, since I think Freeze It is definitely the superior product!

Until then, Lola is guarding my extra sample packets for me. Don’t get any ideas about stealing them from me, or I’ll have her nip your ankles!

I mentioned some time ago that Jim had a sleep study done. The end result was that he got a CPAP machine, and what a difference it’s made in our lives! I was worried at first about sleeping with the machine going in the room, because I had heard they were noisy. HA! I shouldn’t have been worried, because as loud as Jim snored, nothing could be worse. In fact, the CPAP is kind of a relaxing white noise, and it’s rhythmic, too. It actually reminds me a bit of waves crashing on a beach. I have no problems falling asleep with it on, and I actually noticed that I can’t fall asleep as quickly if he’s not in bed with me – I guess I’m used to the sound!

Jim wore the mask for a few weeks and noticed a big difference in how he felt during the day. No more falling asleep at red lights for him! His only complaint was that the mask was rubbing the bridge of his nose raw. He mentioned this to the doctor and a new mask was prescribed…and things didn’t go so well from there.

This was what his original mask looked like:

I was invited to participate in another training walk this Saturday, but had to decline. It was hot last time, but that’s not why I’m skipping this one. Saturday is my birthday, and getting up early to walk isn’t my idea of a celebration

I consider myself to be all about the healthy boobies. And I just realized that I didn’t have my mammogram yet this year. Whoops!

It all started when LaDonna reminded me about Blogathon this week. She’s blogging on behalf of Livestrong and will be giving a Livestrong bracelet to anyone who donates $10 to her campaign. She’s using the theme of healthy living to keep her inspired during Blogathon, and it started me thinking…my last mammogram was in May of 2006.

You see, even though I’m *only* 30 (til Friday, anyway) because there’s a history of breast cancer in my family, I started getting mammograms last year. I need to have them every 12 months – not any sooner than that, or my insurance company won’t pay for it, and that was a HUGE hassle last year because of my age. I don’t want to push my luck! Anyway, I remembered in May I was due but decided to put it off for a month because of the insurance rules, and I just…forgot! I’m going to call and schedule it this week. I’ll get my boobs squeezed in a vice as my birthday present to myself.

Be sure to check out Blogathon and throw LaDonna a donation to get one of those cool bracelets!

I think my aches and pains after the 10 mile training walk are FINALLY gone. It must have been doing the walk in the heat, and then going out of town and being smushed into a seat on a plane and sleeping in a strange bed that took me so long to finally feel “right”. Nothing like a sore back and bones that creak and crack to make you feel like an old lady!

While my pet cause is breast cancer, I think all cancer sucks. Early detection is a big hot button for me, and not only where breast cancer is concerned. I was saddened to learn about Tammy Faye Messner passed away yesterday after a long battle with colon cancer. I was crushed to hear that she put off going to the doctor for a YEAR because she was scared.

People – I can’t say it enough. If you are bleeding, if you feel a lump, if you don’t feel right – PLEASE see a doctor! Cancer can be cured, and you have a fighting chance if cancer is found early enough.

I’m in Pittsburgh right now for a business trip, and last night I took a quick walk around the downtown area to see the sights. Walking is one of the best ways to see a city, I think! It certainly wasn’t enough to count for a training walk, and the amount of food and beer I’ve ingested over the past few days hasn’t helped, so I need to kick it into full gear when I get back home to Florida.