The Tampa Bay 2007 3-Day Walk for Breast Cancer:

1,900 walkers (up 200 from 2006)
340 volunteers who made our meals, helped us cross streets, and tended to our wounds
$5.4 million dollars raised by the walkers in Tampa (up from $4.7 million in 2006)
$15,000 raised by the top fundraiser, a woman named Dee
3 days
60 miles
1 is the number of nights I slept in a tent
1 old friend, Kim, and one new friend, Tara with me for most of those miles!
1 San Diego dentist? No, but plenty of walkers from all over the world!

Here’s a picture of us at the end - Kim, me, another Kim, and Tara in front:

This time tomorrow, I’ll be several miles into my 2nd 3-Day walk. I’m nervous! I packed up all of my things last night, and went down my checklist to make sure I didn’t miss anything. I’ve got all of the cheering stations printed out for the family, complete with maps. I’ll be seeing them a lot this weekend, I hope.

I’ll see you all on the flip side!

I am a huge fan of a waxing technique called a Brazilian wax. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s a process, similar to a bikini wax, except ALL of the hair from your nether regions will be removed. And I mean ALL. Your waxing professional will have you in positions that no one has ever had you in before in order to get every last bit of hair from your girly parts. The benefit of this is that you can go for about a month of bikini season without any shaving. The first time I had a Brazilian, I didn’t know what to expect. I had only read about it, and had never seen one done. It’s not for the faint of heart. It does hurt, and you will be getting up close and personal with a stranger holding hot wax.

I came across this Brazilian bikini wax video that shows the actual wax process. It’s for adults only, and it does contain a bare hiney shot. Videos like this are created for us in the spa and beauty industry so that people can learn how to perform the techniques, but I think it’s great for someone who is interested in getting a Brazilian!

The 3-Day is stressing me out.

Anytime you take on an event like this, it’s a big deal. Walking 60 miles, camping, the fundraising…who wouldn’t get stressed? I’ve been taking it all in stride though, because I’ve done this before. I didn’t think I was worried…until I had a crazy nightmare this weekend about showing up at the 3-Day without any money, and without bringing any clothes to wear.

I guess that proves that my biggest fear is being unprepared for the walk. I definitely haven’t trained as much (read: not at all) this year, and I won’t have the people I walked with last year with me, so it’s a whole new group to break in, so to speak. I need to hit the ground running, literally, and figure out if Kim (my tent mate) and I walk at the same pace, and if not, who does walk at the same speed?

Showing up without money and clothing may be the least of my worries.

There are all kinds of ways to do good for the world around us, and walking 60 miles is just one way. The BP Solar Decathlon is quite different, but it’s a great project that can benefit the world. How can solar energy benefit us, and what’s a solar decathlon?

The Solar Decathlon is a joint project sponsored by BP and the U.S. Department of Energy. Clean, renewable energy is important - oil won’t always be a viable energy source, and BP is looking into ways to provide the US with energy efficient homes and business. Just 200 square miles of land covered in solar panels could produce ALL the electricity the world needs, so why aren’t we doing it?

Simply put, most people don’t know what solar energy can do for us, which is the reason for the Solar Decathlon. This event puts together 20 teams from universities around the world for design & build completely solar powered houses. I think it would be amazing to stay in something like that, just to experience that solar power can be exactly the same as what we’re used to know. Wouldn’t it be neat if you could travel to a hotel or bed and breakfast for a solar powered weekend?

The competition starts on October 11, 2007, and there’s a Solar Decathlon blog where you can get competition updates. I’d love to see pictures and video of the structures created.

I met my sister, Cheryl, today for lunch, and got to see her 3-Day feet in person. Ewwww! She no longer has 10 toes, she’s got 10 pigs in a blanket attached to 2 very swollen feet. One toe was completely wrapped in gauze, and the others were…well, ickly. Blisters and redness and just a little taste of what’s to come for ME in less than 2 weeks.

Umm…I can’t wait?

When I was 14 or 15, I started getting really bad headaches. A few weeks after the headaches started, I noticed a clicking feeling in my jaw when I chewed gum. It got to be quite painful, so a trip to the dentist was in order…and he told me that I had TMJ. When your Temporomandibular joints of the jaw don’t work properly, it can cause painful chewing, headaches (even migraines), an aching jaw, and even ear aches! My Temporomandibular joint disorder was very mild though, so once I stopped chewing gum, and did a few gentle stretches for my jaw (recommended by my dentist) I stopped having any pain.

For some though, that’s not enough to solve the problem. TMJ can be treated with the Night Guard, a new mouth guard that will users from grinding their teeth at night. Bruxism is the term for grinding the teeth, and it can also cause TMJ. People who grind their teeth at night sometimes clench their jaw as well, and the use of a night guard will protect your teeth and keep you from experiencing TMJ due to what you’re doing when you sleep.

My sister is at her 3-Day walk in Philadelphia RIGHT NOW. She’s probably trying to fall asleep in her tent as we speak. Err, as I write. It’s actually going to work out well for me that she’s doing the walk a full 2 weeks before I’m doing my walk in Tampa. Since we didn’t camp last year, this will be our first experience doing so. I fully expect for her to fill me in on everything once she returns. I did talk to her today, and she said it was very noisy at camp when she was trying to sleep, and she recommended ear plugs. I bought some today, plus I’m planning on bringing my iPod to use at night to drown out people (talking, snoring, etc.)

It’s amazing what you can do online these days. You can find information on a disease, find a doctor, find a 12 step sponsor, and even buy a life insurance policy. While most life insurance policies require a lot of paperwork and a medical exam, the new eLifePolicy, provided by HSBC Insurance subsidiaries, has an easy three step process that can easily be completed in your home. You won’t need to waste time sitting in an insurance agent’s office, or sitting in a doctor’s offer waiting for a medical exam. Once you complete the online application and you’re approved, you can print out your policy at home as well. With more and more seniors and baby boomers being computer literate, this is a great way for those folks to save time and shopping around.