Here We Go....

And so it has come down to this. Soon I'll be getting out of bed and going from 0 to 60 miles in 3 days. I've had fifteen weeks of training and countless miles (okay, I could probably count, or at least estimate them, but I'm afraid to do so because it will just make me think I haven't trained enough) walking around 8 cities in 4 countries. I've had blisters and sunburn and headache and heel pain and swollen knees and drawers dropped on my foot and just plain Boy Am I Tired. I feel like I've already been on a journey, but as Karen Carpenter sang, We've only just begun!

If' you're doing the event this weekend as well, stop by the Energizer tent -- they'll be providing charging stations and sponsoring massage stations along with the American Massage Therapy Association, so you'll get to recharge your cellphones, your aching muscles and your spirits. And as San Francisco's Keep Going® Blogger, I'll also be there with my plush Energizer Bunny, busy blogging and tweeting about everything that's going on. I'd love it if you drop by and say hi! We can compare stories and blisters, share hugs and band-aids.

If you're not walking but happen to be in the area, check out the San Francisco event page for a list of cheering stations along our route. For everyone else, keep reading my blog throughout the weekend for photos, videos and updates on my Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure adventure! As always, any words of support you leave are welcome and cherished. Finally, I wanted to give a huge, loving, pink THANK YOU to everyone who donated to the Susan G. Komen foundation (wow, this is sounding more and more like an Oscar acceptance speech).

I'll see you at the finish line....


Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Packing for the Cure, Part 2

Last week I mocked myself for packing so early for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, which starts tomorrow. Now I'm actually glad I started preparing so early, because there are so many little details which I completely forgot about, and with everything else going on -- relatives visiting, getting our car fixed, dentist visits and our regular, hectic life -- I needed a whole week to get everything together. I've been doing laundry every single day (which is like a world record for me) and consulting my checklist time and time again, because I'm terrified of forgetting something that will make the difference between a good experience and a painful/wet/sunburned/altogether wretched 3 days. But now I think I'm done, down to the pink Energizer Bunny cutouts that I plan to decorate my pink tent with.



Check out my waistpack, which I'll have with me on every step of those 60 miles. I've been walking with it almost fully-loaded for the past couple of weeks to make sure that I'd be comfortable. Here's what's in it (clockwise, from bottom center):

* Medication (ibuprofen, antacids, antihistamines) and band-aids.
* Hat -- check out the shiny princess crown on the front! I'm also taking pink fluffy bunny ears; hey, what else would the Energizer Keep Going blogger wear?
* Energizing jelly beans, to make sure my energy stays high all day. They've also got elecrolytes so I don't sweat all the salt in my body away.
* Sunscreen stick, blister stick, lip gloss stick.
* Extra pair of socks (with pink designs, naturally)
* Water bottle (again, pink).
* Wallet -- Mine is too thick and heavy so I borrowed Jammy's Spiderman wallet. I would have borrowed The Pea's pink Hello Kitty one, but it doesn't have a zippered coin section.
* Pink rubber bracelet -- because every gal needs to accessorize, even on a grueling 60-mile walk.

Have I forgotten anything??


Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Recreating the White Peach & Berkeley Burrata from Marlowe SF

Two weeks ago I attended a party hosted by Sony Dash, featuring an amazing lunch by chef Jennifer Puccio, executive chef of Marlowe restaurant in San Francisco's SoMa neighborhood. Everything was delicious, but the standout in my mind was her White Peach & Berkeley Burrata, a simple delicate dish featuring ingredients I know and love, as well as some exciting new finds. It was so easy to make, I knew I had to try it out. All I had to do was gather the ingredients!

Packing for the Cure

I can hardly believe that this time next week, I'll have begun the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure in San Francisco. After all these weeks of walking and waiting, I'm going on a 60-mile walk! Don't mistake that exclamation point for pure excitement, though; I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing. In fact, I'm beginning to feel the stirrings of panic.

To quell my impending Freak Out, I've decided to focus on the relatively mundane aspects of the event like printing out my event credentials, writing out contact information for Alfie and starting to pack. Yes, it's a week away and I'm almost fully packed. I make fun of my dad for packing his suitcase a week before he travels, and here I am, doing the same thing.

But truth be told, I'm actually glad I've started so early. I usually pack for a trip one or two nights before. This trip, however, requires a little more forethought because participants are limited to a single bag that weighs 35 pounds (because event crew members and volunteers will be hauling our bags to and from campsites and we don't want anyone wrenching out their backs). Thirty-five pounds doesn't sound like much until you consider what we need to take with us:

Sleeping bag
Air mattress or pad
Pillow
Plastic sheets or tarp (to keep tent and gear dry in case of rain)
Clothespins (to secure the plastic)
Flashlight and batteries
Towel and washcloth (although you can purchase towel service so you don't have to deal with damp, stinky towels)
Two pairs of shoes
Two pairs of socks per day (that's a total of 6)
Sweat pants / long pants
Warm fleece or sweater
Sleepwear
Hat / visor
Shower shoes / flip-flops
Waterproof jacket
Underwear and sports bras, one pair per day
T-shirts and shorts for walking, one outfit per day
Something to change into after we're done with the day's walk
Toiletries (toothbrush, toothpaste, sunscreen, moisturizer, soap, shampoo, etc..)


Are you kidding me? I consider myself a light packer, but this is going to be a challenge. BigFoot that I am, my 2 pairs of walking shoes will probably take up half of that 35-pound weight limit. And I definitely need space for the giant jar of painkillers I'm going to be taking at the end of each day.

And how am I going cram in that giant plush Energizer bunny?

I guess I'll probably leave those National Enquirer magazines behind. I'll probably fall asleep as soon as my head hits my pillow (or maybe I'll leave the pillow behind too -- I'll just prop my head on a plastic bag filled with my dirty clothes). And I'm going to have to ditch the after-dinner outfit and the two separate coats I was hoping to take. My color scheme for the weekend will be pink and black, and I might just sleep in grey sweatpants instead of my pink-and-white hot-lips pajama outfit, so I can change into my sleep clothes for dinner.

(See, I've successfully distracted myself from how woefully unprepared and inadequate I feel about walking the 60 miles! Nothing like a little outfit planning to cheer oneself up).

Check back soon to see which items made it into my 35-lb. bag!



Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Audrey's Giveaways

My review blog, Bonggamom Finds, is today's Featured Blog on Audrey's Giveaways, a popular review and giveaway blog. Audrey was kind enough to include my blog button and links to a couple of my ongoing giveaways. Thanks, Audrey, for the linky love! I hope you get lots of good karma for doing this!

Back to the Couch

With all the traveling we did, this summer was relatively tv-free . But the fall tv season is upon us, so I'm setting my timers and dusting off my spot on the couch. There are a ton of new shows -- NBC's Paul Reiser Show, CBS's Hawaii Five-0 remake, ABC's No Ordinary Family (and speaking of which, check out my BlogHer Superhero post!) -- and I might watch an episode or two to see if they're any good, but these 5 are on my Must See TV List:

1) Alfie might disown me for admitting this, but I'm a certified Gleek, and I can't wait for the new season to start tonight! I've always been a fan of Broadway musicals, and I love the way Glee has brought this genre back to mainstream culture (although I'm glad the choir aspect gives characters the excuse to sing, so they don't just break out into song the way they did in Oklahoma or My Fair Lady). Glee is witty and campy and fun. Sue Sylvester, you can paint a big fat L on my forehead anytime!

2) I've always had a soft spot for House, because Hugh Laurie, as you know, is actually Alfie in disguise (yes, he does show tapings on those evenings when he gets home late). After all the romantic tension between House and Cuddy last season, I'm hoping things don't get all lovey-dovey boring now that they're together -- or worse, turn into a romantic soap opera.

3) Okay, I'll admit, I watch Grey's Anatomy for outrageous plot twists. And the eye candy (McSteamy, not McDreamy. Every time I see Patrick Dempsey on screen I think of him in Can't Buy Me Love, so he's more of a McDorky than a McDreamy to me). At least this candy is sugar-free and fat-free.

4) I love watching Real Time with Bill Maher, really I do, but for some reason I always fall asleep about 30 minutes of the way through. It's not that I'm bored; on the contrary, I think it's one of the most interesting programs out there. I love his humor, his cut-to-the-chase honesty, his willingness to criticize both Republicans and Democrats, his appeals to intellect and reason, not rabid emotion (yes, Glenn and Rush, I'm looking at you!), his insightful guests. But I always end up snoozing. Maybe my brain is overtaxed (notice my other preferred tv shows aren't exactly hard on the intellect), but I'm going to try extra-hard to stay awake for the full hour of Real Time this season!

5) Curb Your Enthusiasm Season 8 doesn't come out till 2011, so technically it's not part of the Fall Season, but I have to reserve a spot for it on my Must See TV list because this show is so f-----g brilliant. No other show makes me laugh, gasp and cringe so much as Curb Your Enthusiasm, and it's truly one of the the best shows on TV. Larry and the gang are heading to New York in Season 8, so it's going to be fresh and new and fun, and I can't wait!

Getting Back on Track

You know what they say: The higher you fly, the farther you fall. And boy, did we fly high this summer. We spread our wings and soared to far-off places like Chicago, New York, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Dover, Birmingham and more. After five weeks of driving on the "wrong" side of the road, living out of a suitcase, doting in-laws who did all the laundry in between trips, going to bed late because the sun was shining until nine-thirty in the evening, and trying a new English chocolate bar every day, it's not surprising that coming back home felt like more of a crash-landing than usual (Literally -- the day before we left the UK, Jammy did a spectacular face-plant into the sidewalk after skateboarding without a helmet, which was only further evidence of how far removed we had become from our normal rules and habits).


Going home meant going from walking in places like this:



To this:


Getting back to our schooltime routine this year involves quite a bit more than getting used to waking up early -- Click here to find out what we're doing to get back to our regularly scheduled program (and enter to win a $150 Visa gift card!)

A Bump in the Road

All of last week, I had been planning to write my weekly Keep Going Blogger post on Sunday night. We spent the weekend at the Disneyland Resort, so my intention was to write a "Walking Around Disneyland" along the same lines as my Walking Around Manhattan, England, Paris and Amsterdam posts. It would have made a great addition to the series, because we did walk a lot during our 3-day stay, and the scenery around the resort during the fall is actually quite picturesque:



But this isn't a post about walking around Disneyland anymore. Because on Saturday morning I noticed a pain in my right foot, and by Saturday night the pain was so intense that I was hobbling around like Quasimodo in my attempt to keep up with 3 kids intent on riding as many attractions -- always on opposite sides of the park, naturally -- as they could. I don't recall any particular event in the park that could have caused it, but I do remember that on Thursday night, as we were packing, 3Po dropped a plastic bin full of clothes on my right foot. Could this be some kind of delayed reaction? By the time our return flight landed on Sunday afternoon, my poor foot was swollen and bruised, and all I could think was, Ten days to go until the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, and I might have a fracture in my foot.

Oh, just swell. And yes, pun intended.

My mind was racing: No way I can walk 60 miles with a broken foot. Could I walk a few miles in a foot cast? Is there a wheelchair division? Can I still be the Energizer Keep Going Blogger if I can't keep going?

So I went to see a doctor earlier today, who ordered an x-ray. You can all breathe a sigh of relief: it isn't broken.

Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, here we come!

The doctor did have a couple of caveats. She suggested I wait about a week to decide whether my foot was well enough to walk the 60 miles. She suggested keeping it elevated and iced throughout the week. And she said No Training This Week.

Uh-Oh.

This is the home stretch. I'm supposed to be doing 10 mile walks without breaking a sweat, and going for 15 miles, back to back! How am I supposed to do anything when my foot is letting me down?

Oops. Sorry, foot, I know I promised to be nicer to you, so I'll cut my lecture short and give you some extra love this week to help you get better for October 1. At least you're not broken. It's just a little bump. So what if we end up taking a little bit longer each day? It's not about the walk, it's about the journey.

I'm keeping my fingers (and toes) crossed....


Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.

Can I brag about my kids now?

My latest program with BlogHer was so much fun -- we're promoting ABC's new show, No Ordinary Family, and we were asked to write about what makes our family extraordinary. I could have gone the conventional route and taken the opportunity to brag about my kids. For instance, I could have said things like:

* The Pea is the most gorgeous creature on earth. I think she must have been Helen of Troy in a previous life, and it amazes me that those model talent scouts haven't discovered her yet.

* 3Po is destined to become a soccer superstar. He's running rings around the other kids and I think he should be playing with 10 year olds.

* Jammy is going to win the Nobel Prize in Mathematics -- well, he would, if they had one, and I have a feeling they're going to create one especially for him. Both his kindergarten and first grade teacher have told me how good he is with numbers so obviously we have a genius in our hands.

But I didn't, because you might think I'm an insufferable, delusional stage mom. So I took a different approach, and assigned each member of our family a superpower that's every bit as impressive as the powers of the characters on ABC's new show. Click here to read more about our superpowers ....

All About Feet

I hate my feet.


My feet are large (Divulging my shoe size is like divulging my weight -- you'll need to torture me to get the information. Oh, hang on, I may have revealed it during a weak moment in one of my blog posts. But please don't Google my blog to find it). They're wide. They look funny. They hurt in the mornings (plantar fascitis in the heels, the doctor says). Some people wish for whiter teeth, more hair, bigger boobs, flatter tummies, muscled calves. I want prettier feet.

But in a very short time, I will be taking the journey of a lifetime, and I won't be able to do it without my feet. So I need to start showing some serious love towards these tootsies of mine, and start treating them like pampered princesses. I make sure I rotate my ankles and stretch my heels every morning, and before /after exercise. I like to ice my heel down on nights following a particularly long walk.

Next up -- dress my feet up in some pretty pink socks! No, I'm kidding -- what makes these socks great aren't their color, but the fact that they're thin and lightweight and made of some magic material that pulls moisture away. Moisture, feet and long walks don't go together because that combination results in some nasty blisters. Oh, and you end up with stinky feet. So for the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure event on Oct. 1-3, I'm taking along 6 pairs, 2 per day so I can change socks halfway through the day (along with some thick socks for nighttime, of course!). In fact, I'll be taking along more pairs of socks than underwear.


Finally, to walk all those miles, I need the Right Shoes. These Nike Air Zoom Vomeros make my feet feel like they're running on clouds. Okay, maybe not clouds, but definitely extra-soft cushions. They are the best running shoes I've ever owned, but I've had them for over 2 years now. They still feel great, but they have seen a lot of use, so I decided to get a new pair.


When you're buying new running shoes, why mess with success? I got exactly the same kind as my old one (just a newer version). You don't realize that your old shoes are old until you get a pair of new shoes. All that cushioning must have gotten compressed over the years, because you can really tell how much more cushion-y the new shoes are! In fact, the only thing wrong with these new shoes is that my old ones have pink trim and my new ones have yellow trim (when you have feet as large as mine, you can't afford to be too choosy). And they're a bit too shiny-white for my taste. I need to break them in so that by the time October 1 rolls around, walking with them will be like walking with an old friend. I'm also in the market for a second pair of shoes, maybe walking shoes this time, so I can alternate and see whether walking or running shoes are better, or whether they don't make a difference to me.

They may not be Cinderella's feet, but (with apologies to Nancy Sinatra) these feet are made for walkin', and that's just what they'll do. One of these days these feet are gonna walk a mile or two (or sixty), and if they get me through the Susan G. Komen 3-Day for the Cure, they're going to look like the prettiest feet in the world.

Energizer is sponsoring my participation fee and fundraising requirement for this event, but I would love to be able to raise more for breast cancer. Please help me reach my goal of $1000! Any amount helps and is greatly appreciated. You can click on the widget below to donate to the Susan G. Komen foundation.