My neighbor who is walking with me in this year’s walk (October, in New York City) emailed me earlier this week and asked when we’d start training. I think I already did! Jim and I were in Amsterdam, The Netherlands last week, and we walked ALL over the city for 5 days straight. We took a cab once, from the airport to our hotel, and we took a streetcar tram once, when it was raining. Aside from that, we walked EVERYWHERE, easily 5 miles a day.

My daughter was the recipient of a great sleeping bag and a camp pillow for her birthday. The sleeping bag was a gift from her father and me, and the pillow was from her Aunt. Catherine will be breaking in both items with trips to camp in May and June, but come October, I’ll be giving the sleeping bag and pillow a REAL test. You see, Catherine is camping in warm climates, inside buildings with bunks. I’m going to be sleeping in New York City, in a tent, in October. And Jim wondered why I wanted a super insulated sleeping bag?

With the Christmas season came the need to do a bit of rearranging in our garage. Decorations needed to be pulled down, and we needed to make space for the presents we needed to hide as well. As we did all of this, the thought occurred to me that once again, we have a lot of junk to get rid of. I was in this position lat year and ended up having a yard sale to benefit my 3-day walk. I know that at least ONE of my team members is in the same position, having seen her garage with my own two eyes. I think I’m going to look into planning a garage sale, maybe in March, to once again kick start my walk fundraising.

A week or so ago, I mentioned on my main blog that my sister was an eco chick - in fact, she’s going “green” for Christmas by only sending out recycled cards, which are harder to find than you might think. She’s into recycling and she takes canvas bags to the grocery store, and she’s also always blogging about other ideas on how to conserve energy and resources.

For once, I get to show HER something about going green that I found, and it’s an online carbon and green lifestyle calculator that gives you a GreenIQ- How Green Are You? I took the short test and answered questions about my driving habits, how much gas I bought, and what kind of other traveling I did. (I’m sure it helps me that I only drive to the office once or twice a week, so even though I have an SUV, it’s not used much. Aside from the drive to work, I only drive too and from school for the kids, and that’s 2 miles way.)

I also answered questions about my utility bill, and that’s another area we’re probably conserving some energy in. When we built our home in 2006, we added some extra measures to insure that our home would be well insulated and protected from the sun’s heat, and our electricity bills have reflected that. After that, it was on to questions about using organic and eco-friendly products, and we’re definitely deficient on that!

The end result was a GreenIQ of 27 - which isn’t terribly good, but it’s not terribly bad either:

You are aware of the environment and how your lifestyle affects it. If you don’t, you sure hide it well, as you are naturally making decisions and choices that promote the longevity of this planet. But there is still a lot more that you can do, and we think you know that. Our product suggestions and tips can help increase your GreenIQ and reduce your carbon and environmental footprint.

We’ve got some work to do in this house. What’s your GreenIQ?

Still not sure what to get me for Christmas? Feel free to donate to my walk for 2008 - it’ll be a tax deductible 2007 donation for you! My fundraising goal for the 2008 walk is $1800, and while I know I can make it, it’s always a daunting figure looming over you, especially when I look at my “total raised so far” and see it stuck on $0.

For that matter, donate to ANY charity right now - tis the season, and all that! Don’t have money? The gift of time is always welcome

My daughter is going on a camping trip in May, so we’ve been shopping for a new sleeping bag for her. If we can find one we like, it’ll end up being a birthday gift for her. I’ve been looking around and I don’t just want to get her a cheap sleeping bag - I want it to be something that will hold up and keep you cool or warm in all kinds of weather. My reasoning is a little bit selfish - I know that I’ll be borrowing any sleeping bag I purchase for her when I go to New York for the walk next October!

I’ve not been real excited by the selection I’ve seen in local sporting goods stores, so of course, I turned to the internet to help me out. And there’s no point in shopping online without looking for a great coupon code to help you save money. Don’t blame me for getting distracted by the Blue Nile coupon I found for $100 off on a diamond order over $500. Would it be wrong to forward my husband Blue Nile coupons along with a recommended Christmas list?

Ok, back to the sleeping bag search!

I stopped over at my friend (and neighbor) Gigi’s house last night for dinner while the kids were at choir practice, and she told me she joined my Avon Walk team! I’m so excited! Now there are SIX of us walking together in New York City next October. We’ve got my friends from the 3-Day, Tara and Kim, and my friend Deb in New Jersey, and Kim’s friend (also named Kim!) who is also in New Jersey!

During both of the breast cancer walks I’ve participated in, I’ve ended up with various injuries. In addition to the expected blisters and aches and pains, I experienced shin splints and the hyper extension of a ligament in my left knee. I was in such pain after the walk last year that I sent Jim to the store to buy me a brace for my knee, so that I could walk without constantly hyper extending the ligament again.

Given that any walk over a distance of 10 miles seems to bring on the pain, so to speak, I’ll need a better brace for the Avon walk in 2008. I found a site offering knee braces and ankle braces online and they look quite a bit better than the generic version I picked up at the drug store.

The site features brands like DonJoy and Aircast orthopedic braces and other sports medicine products. The most helpful part of that site is that in addition to selling products, they educate consumers on the right kind of product. For example, in the knee brace section, I’ve got a choice of compression and a variety of different braces for ligament issues. I selected one of the mild to moderate ligament support braces (the Donjoy economy hinged knee support). The product information page detailed the features of the brace, offered multiple pictures of the brace in use, information on how the brace could help me, and instructions on measuring your knee to ensure you purchase the correct size.

It’s a pleasure to find a site that not only offers a wide selection of products AND an education on how to correctly use those products!

My friend Deb joined my Avon team last month. This morning, I received an email from her that I wanted to share here. I hope my advice helps Deb, and anyone else who is thinking about participating in a charity walk.

I open my book (Avon Walk) last night and start reading it. I read about the sleeping bag, the tent, and packing a backpack for it, and collecting money, and about the night before, and I start to go…Overwhelmed much? Then I realize, it’s my fear of failure, I think. I mean, crap, if other people can do this, I can too.

Deb

Deb, the easiest thing to do is the donate money to walkers. Walking is the hard part. We walk because cancer isn’t easy. Imagine being a new mom, who just found out she’s got breast cancer. Or a grandmother to 7, who found out her cancer can’t be cured, and this will be her last Christmas. Cancer is hard. Chemo is hard. Dying isn’t fun. This may sound melodramatic, but it’s true. Compared to all of that, raising money, camping, and walking is the easy part.

Take it step by step, and you won’t fail. You can raise the money. You have plenty of friends and family members who will donate to your cause. If you still need help, have a fundraiser! Stand out in front of a grocery store and beg for loose change. Stalk the people you work out with at the gym.

Make a list, and gather your supplies. If you forget something, they will be 2,000 other campers willing to help you out. Walkers are among the most helpful and friendly bunch of people I know, and they won’t hesitate to lend you a hand.

Camping? My idea of roughing it is staying at a 2 star hotel, but I camped. I slept in a tent, I showered in the back of a truck, I went without air conditioning. If I can do it, anyone can do it.

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you look at this event and it seems like you’re staring up at the side of a mountain. Once you start raising money, and working towards your goal, you’ll realize that you’re now halfway up the mountain, and it wasn’t even that hard.

Take it one step at a time. You CAN do this. You can do anything you set your mind to!

I received a sample of Biotene toothpaste in the mail a few weeks ago, and with all of the traveling we’ve done recently, I only just got to try it! I buy whatever toothpaste is on sale. I’m not very picky, or brand loyal, so I was more than willing to try a sample of free toothpaste. Biotene protects against tooth sensitivity and can also treat dry mouth - not something I have an issue with, but I don’t recall seeing another toothpaste that can say the same thing. I do experience tooth sensitivity though, and it seems to be worsening, the older I get. Cold water, ice cream, ice - they all bother me now. Biotene fights bad breath, helps to fight cavities, and offers potassium nitrate to protect sensitive teeth.

I gave Biotene a try and was surprised by the flavor. It’s not minty like regular tooth paste, and in fact, it reminded me a bit of the fruit flavored toothpaste my kids have used. It’s not overly sweet though, and it was a nice change from my regular toothpaste experience. I’m sure I’d need to use this new sensitive toothpaste a lot more often to reap the real rewards, but I was happy with it, and if I can help me enjoy ice cream again, it’ll be a regular in my medicine cabinet!