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.

Tonight is Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of Lent. We had a lively dinner table discussion with the kids, and they each announced what they’d be giving up for Lent. My oldest is giving up ice cream, my middle child said candy, and the boy is still deciding. My 11 year old suggested that I give up soda. Perish the thought. Without a Coke to wake up each morning, I’d need a nap by lunchtime, after swallowing a few Advil to get rid of the headache brought on by the lack of caffeine.

I try to follow health news so that I can share it here - there’s so much more information to be found online, as compared to my local newspaper, which tends to mush health news onto one page of the paper. I just came across a new health information site called Health Adel. While the site doesn’t have tons of information yet, I like that each article is written specifically for the site, and not pulled in via another source. That means that the content you’ll find there is unique. There aren’t too many ads (I find too many distracting from the content) but the ads that do appear are relevant to the content. The sidebars could be beefed up with deep links to other areas of the site. You can view the first paragraph of each article to see if the content fits your needs, without having to click to the whole article. The information is a bit too general if anything - here’s an example, in this article about acne. Every bit of info is general, and there are no specifics on the type of treatments. If I’m looking for info on acne treatments, I’d probably want a bit more detailed info on the wide variety of options, e.g. Accutane, prescription meds like Retin-A, and OTC drugs.

I blogged yesterday about my poor eating habits. Here it is, after 2pm, and what have I had to eat today? Nothing. I’m drinking a Coke right now. If I were in my office, I would be STARVING by now. Why is it that I don’t get hungry at home? Tomorrow when I’m in the office, I’ll need a mid-morning snack and lunch by 1pm or I’ll start eating the paperwork on my desk.

I didn’t get my first credit card until I was 18. As far as I know, in the USA, minors can’t get approved for credit. You can imagine my surprise when I read on this banking news website that 50% of teens in the UK are in debt by the age of 17. I know that even as an “adult”, at the age of 18, I wasn’t equipped to deal with credit, debt, making payments, etc. I had no clue what a late payment could do to my credit, or that one late payment or bad account would affect me years later. I’m betting these teens don’t understand what they’re getting into either. Why oh WHY are credit card companies allowed to solicit and sign up minors? The research quoted in the article stayed that 1 in 20 young people in the UK didn’t think that they had to pay back money borrowed on a credit card. That’s truly scary. Maybe people should be given a test before they get a credit card to make sure they understand how it works?

Feed a cold? Is that the saying?

I’ve had a cold for a few days now…since Friday night, and I am SO hungry! Bear in mind, I have horrible eating habits. I typically don’t eat breakfast, skip lunch, and then have my first meal at dinner. Ever since I got sick I’ve been so hungry, and not much in the house is appealing to me. I should go to the grocery store and stock up on munchies, but I’m sick and don’t feel like leaving the house.

I set out to the mall Friday night and decided to swing into a few shoe stores to see if I could find my Saucony’s that I wore in the 2006 walk. I’m guessing the style I liked (the Triumph) is not being sold in stores anymore, as no one had them. I can’t find them online in major stores either, but I DID find several pairs at a great price on eBay. I’ll be heading over there shortly to buy a pair or two. I’ve got to walk upstairs first and see what size I wore last year, as I’ll be going up a half size this year. (Extra room for thick Thorlo socks and swelling!)

I’ve talked about special rehab for kids here in the past…but there are plenty of adults with drug and alcohol issues as well. Case in point - the recent death of Anna Nicole Smith. I think she had to have been on something, if not MULTIPLE somethings…there’s no reason for a 39 year old woman to collapse. She led a sad, short life.

If you’re going to choose a drug rehab for yourself or another adult in your life, choose wisely. Look at all aspects of the program. At this particular website for a drug rehab center, they offer links to resources where you can learn more about treatment or other programs, like Al-Anon. You can visit pages for each of their 3 locations to learn more about each center. They make resemble high class resorts, but trust me - it’s all business inside - the business of healing people. The big I like the best is that in several places on their site, they make this statement:

Affordable quality care. Not insured? Cannot afford treatment? Call anyway. We can help you!

To me, that says they TRULY care about helping people - and not the dollars they make off each patient.

I’m going to need to buy my next pair of 3-Day sneakers soon. There’s no WAY I could wear the old pair again - not only are they gross and muddy after 2 days of rain in Philly, but…well, they have a lot of miles on them. Here’s what I learned from last year, and what I’m going to do differently:

• Do go to a professional “running store” and get fitted. They will watch you stand, walk, etc and help you choose the best shoe for your foot. I can’t even begin to tell you about the crazy shoes we saw people walking in last year. One woman had Keds on. KEDS!! They have no support at all. I saw another woman walking in sandals.
• Do NOT feel obligated to buy your shoes at that store, because they will be more expensive than you can find online using coupon codes. For instance, I found Foot Locker coupons that will get you 15% off an order over $75! If your shoes don’t cost that much, add in a few pairs of Thorlo socks to get you up to the $75 minimum. (I prefer level 2 Thorlos - padded socks are a MUST!)
• Do break in your shoes - do not bring a new pair to the 3-Day!
• Do get a half size, or a full size bigger than you normally wear. If you wear the Thorlo socks, you know they are thick. And your feet will swell on the walk. I normally wear an 8, but I walked in an 8 1/2. This year, I’m tempted to try a nine.
• Buy 2 pairs of shoes. With the Foot Locker coupons you’ll save some money, and you’ll have a backup pair for the 3-Day. Bring your backup pair in a sealed ziploc bag. If you meet rain, step in a puddle, mud, etc, you’ll be happy to have a warm, dry pair of shoes. Alternate which pair you wear when you train.

Don’t learn the hard way about having the right shoes! I honestly think that the steps I’ve outlined above are the reason why I only had a few blisters at the end of 60 miles.