No Junk Mail for me, except if...

One of my favorite songs during my runs, is Teea Goan's song 'Letter from God'.

In this song she sings about going to the mailbox in her pyjamas, and finding a letter. She almost doesn't open it because she thinks it's junkmail: 'junkmail I guessed'. But she opens it anyway.

And then it turns out to be a letter from God, telling her he's been keeping an eye on her because he's seen her struggle lately. I'm kind of always struggling, especially during my runs, so this song really speaks to me.

Unfortunately letters from God are very rare, and usually when it looks like junk mail, smells like junk mail, it really ís junk mail. Luckily there's a great way to reduce your junkmail. Simply sign up at Catalog Choice, and let those pesky advertisers know: No Junk Mail!

Catalog Choice

You can search their list of catalogs, phone books, coupons and other junk mail, and tell them which ones you can do without. So you can still get the ones you dó like! A great side effect is you'll have less clutter and you'll save some trees.

So bye bye to unwanted junk mail!

Except when they're really letters from God!

This is no junk mail!

Letter from God

How do you feel about junk mail?

Run Interruptus

In an effort to bond with my eldest son Jan (14), I invited him along for a five miler to a nearby town. 'You can have a glass of coke, once we're there!' I bribed him.

I decided some careful dressing was in order, because I didn't want him to get too cold or too warm. So I handed him my Target tights, my Target thermoshirt, and not one, but twó of my coolmax tops. And as a final touch I added my old running jacket.
'That's a lot of clothes mom,' my son said, but obediently he put them all on.

After about seven minutes into our run he declared: 'My ankle hurts,' and after another ten minutes he said: 'I have to pee.'
'Just a little bit further, then there's some bushes you can pee behind.'
But his ankle couldn't make it, so I ordered him to rotate his ankle, to loosen it up.

'I can only do 'squares' mom!' he observed, as he very stiffly tried to make little circles with his ankle.
'Now the other ankle!' I ordered.
'Both at the same time?' he asked, and nearly fell, laughing so hard about his own joke.
After that we still had to find a tree so he could pee, and then finally, we could resume our run.

But after only two minutes, his ankle sabotaged him again, and after another three minutes he had to walk. So in the end we continued our run alternating running, with walking, with rotating, and lots of breaks in between.

When we were almost there I surrendered to the inevitable and decided to just enjoy my wálk with my eldest son. Even though I've never had such a 'run interruptus' I still loved it, because I had a great time with my son!

Motherhood makes you a better runner

Experts say that motherhood might make you a better, and faster runner. Several women ran significantly faster after giving birth, than before.

Verklaringen

A Dr. James Pivarnik declares: 'If there is a physical advantage, it's only during the first two months.' Pivarnik thinks a feeling of relief and satisfaction may be the course of the improvement.

Chris Lundgren, author of Running and Pregnancy, ran the marathon faster after giving birth. 'In the back of your head you think during a marathon: 'This is nothing compared to labor!'

Four kids máde me a runner

Giving bírth to four kids motivated me to becóme a runner. I needed something to ground myself, to find myself again.

And five kids are my reasons to stay a runner!

What turned you into a runner?

Runner's Bonbonbloc!

Wordless Wednesday

Giveaway: Exceed sport earphones!

Great news! The good people of Auria.com have kindly offered a free pair of Exceed sport earphones to the readers of Mom's Home Run!

There are six ways to enter: the more ways you use, the bigger your chances of winning.







All you gotta do is this:

1. Follow Mom's Home Run on Twitter 
2. Follow Mom's Home Run on Blogger
3. Put a link to Mom's Home Run on your bloglist
4. Blog about this great giveaway
5. Tweet this great giveaway
6. Leave me a comment for every of the above steps you took

Every comment you leave is another entry for the giveaway.

So grab this opportunity to win yourself some superb earphones, that don't fall out of your ears. Ever!

A winner will be chosen at June the 17th, by Random Generator, and will be announced the same day on Mom's Home Run!

Read my review of these great earphones!

Turboxtax: not taxing at all

Me and my taxes, we don't get along. Doing my taxes is right up there with cleaning the toilets after a very spicy Mexican meal. In fact, when I really don't feel like going for a run, I tell myself: 'If you don't go, you have to do your taxes,' and that gets me out the door real quick!

However, it's something everyone just has to face. And there is one thing you won't hear me complaining about, and that's getting a refund. I just love refunds. They give me this great rush of exhileration, just like the ones I get after a good run.

It's just that I don't quite know how to go about getting them. But then I read these words at TurboTax: 'Step-by-step guidance, like a GPS' and I thought to myself: 'Wait a minute! I know GPS! It's something runners use!'

Turbotax scores!

At tax comparison Turbotax gets 19 out of 20 points, and leaves the other tax programs eating its dust. If Turbotax was a runner, it would be a winner. It really takes the 'taxing' out of doing taxes.

Are you running out of time?

Doing your taxes can feel like preparing to run a marathon, and sometimes you just feel there just isn't enough time! If only your mommy would write you a sick note to show the IRS people!

Luckily Turbotax offers the next best thing to a sick note: an irs extension form 2009.

And I just love their slogan: 'Get a little extra time-and a lot of peace of mind'.

I wonder if they can get me an extension as a mom on doing the laundry too… I could really use one.

Exceed sport earphones: a review

When it comes to earphones I feel that, like children, it's alright if they're there, but they shouldn't bother you. They shouldn't, for example, keep falling out of your ears.

So when I got the offer to try out a pair of Exceed sport earphones I was very excited, because I'm always on the lookout for the next best thing! And the box promised: 'Your search for a confident fit is over,' which pleased me to no end, because I've certainly searched a lot!

RTIS: Read The Instructions Stupid!

They looked quite big on the outside, and the earbud is a bit larger than average too. So it was with some trepidation I put them into my ears, which I like to think are very dainty! However they fit just fine, and off I went.

But that's where the trouble started: before I could start up a good sweat, I was busy fiddling with my earphones. They kept falling out. I tried pushing them in further, but they just wouln't stay where I put them.

Luckily I'm a great proponant of chi-running and I figured my new earphones offered me a great opportunity to practise my technique. Bouncing up and down when you run is a big waste of energy, so I tried to glide along. However me, and my earphones kept fighting, until finally and miraculously they stayed put! I don't know what changed, but they didn't fall out anymore.

As it turned out: I should have read the instructions, because the answer to a great fit was quite easy. You just gotta slide and rotate!

The secret to a great fit: slide and rotate

You have to slide the earphones into your ears, and rotate them until they're snug. With all my fiddling, I apparently did just that. And I took something else from the experience: read the instructions!

Product information

Apart from not falling out, Auria Exceed Earphones can be personalized, telling other runners, you're special! Also, they come with an Inline Control, so you can adjust your volume.

They cost about 33.99 dollars, and can be bought at Auria.com

To sum up!

My search for a confident fit is indeed over! These earphones don't fall out during runs, and won't have you running and fiddling!

Another great thing I noticed is that they don't tie themselves into a big knot, which is something my other earphones always do. No matter how I put them away, when I want to use them I have to unravel them. They're a lot like Christmas lights that way!

And now if you'll excuse me: I'm going out for a run with my great new exceed sport earphones!