one in eight

i'm not going to word this any better than sara, so take it from her:

One in eight.

That's an ugly statistic. That's a woman's chance of being diagnosed with breast cancer. My chance, your sister's chance, your mother's chance. Survival is more likely now than ever, but it's a miserable path - and an expensive one for many women.

Let's be real. Money makes the world go 'round - money for research, lobbyists, medicine, outreach. Where does that money come from? You and me.

So this year I'm doing a bit more than donating my own money. I'm running the Komen Race for the Cure here in Atlanta, and I'm asking for donations. I'm not a fan of "benevolent consumerism" - buying something pink is lovely and all, but I want my money to have the greatest impact. Susan G. Komen for the Cure is a four-star charity as rated by CharityNavigator.

So if you have a few bucks left from tax season and you're wondering what to do with it, think about giving to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, as a general donation or as a team or participant sponsor.

not the first, or the second, to the party

the blissful glutton is one of my favorite blogs, as you may imagine from the title. bliss, as she's known, did a year-end wrap up entitled the bliss list: 2008. the boy and i have worked our way through a good bit of this list (almost half!) already, and i thought it was funny when yet another dude tackled the task on a new blog called the blissful challenge. i love lists, and i love food, so after the huz's comment i figured i would make it official. so for my (and M's) amusement, here is our version. next up: honey pig, la pietra cucina and/or la churreria. we're actually going to be home this weekend, so i have a feeling at least two of those are gonna be checked off in a few days. yum. this is why i run!

1) The Korean gluttony at Honey Pig
2) The wings at Jamal's Buffalo Wings
3) Freshly-fried churros at La Churreria
4) Chef Liu's new menu at Tasty China
5) Pristine sushi and just plain awesome homestyle dishes at Sushi House Hayakawa
6) The burger, drinks, folks and everything else at Holeman and Finch Public House
7) Weekend tacos at Chicago Supermarket
8) New York-style pizza at Verra-Zanno Pizzeria
9) Korean BBQ and bibimbap at Hanil Kwan
10) The massive and delicious sandwiches at Muss and Turners
11) The fried green tomato BLT at Parish Market
12) The fruit cups, paletas and pressed sandwiches at Lottafrutta
13) A dirty martini and ground-to-order ribeye burger at Kevin Rathbun Steak
14) The fried pies at the Chick-fil-A Dwarf House
15) A hot dog and freshly made sweet onion rings at Barker's Red Hots
16) Kamal Grant's craveable doughnut creations at Sublime Doughnuts
17) Chef Bruce Logue's La Pietra Cucina
18) The meat pies at Australian Bakery & Cafe
19) Anything with barbecue at Ming's
20) The comforting cuisine of Cakes & Ale
21) A big greasy cheesesteak at Roys' Cheesesteaks
22) Shabu Shabu at Nakato (been there but didn't do the shabu shabu)
23) Bagels, breads and more at H&F Bread Company
24) The yakitori and ramen at Yakitori Jinbei
25) The dan-dan noodles and fish with tofu at Cafe 101
26) The consistently good Italian cuisine at Sotto Sotto
27) The classics at Canton Cooks
28) The gorgeous Indian vegetarian fare at Udipi Cafe
29) Afternoon tea at Park 75 Terrace and Lounge
30) Tlayudas, tacos and more at Taqueria Oaxaqueña

this does not bode well for side effects

i've become a lot more conscious of what i put into my body lately, which means i've actually started paying attention to ingredient lists and food labels for once in my life. this usually leads me to make better choices, but i think i committed a serious indiscretion recently.

we saw milk (as should you, btw) at the artsy theater down the street, and their concession stand was nothing short of awesome. i mean, they had booze AND pocky. if you have never had pocky before, you have no idea what you're missing. it is crispy, crackery, chocolatey goodness, and because it comes from japan you can stuff your face while congratulating yourself on how very cultured you are in your choice of snack. as i was sipping my adult beverage and waiting for the movie to begin, i decided to read the pocky label to see what exactly made it so yummy. while trying to justify the amount of saturated fat that was about to go into my face (dark chocolate is GOOD for you! and pocky is made with WHOLE WHEAT flour!), i scanned the ingredient list and discovered pocky's dirty little secret. what on earth are the side effects? and who knew there was a seed for that? and does this mean i have to give up my pocky habit for good? i am so torn.

what i do know is this: those japanese chocolate cream-covered biscuit stick makers are not right in the head. see for yourself (hint: read lines 5 & 8):

oprah is always right

i got my enell sportsbra (aka "the last resort bra") in the mail this week, and let me tell you that thing really is a beast. i opted for the pink version, as a portion of the astronomical price goes to breast cancer research. i am all for giving money to breast cancer research (more on that later), but can't we have another color option besides the ubiquitous pink? i'm with R's mom on this one: there is only so much pink a girl can take. but i digress. they were all the same price, and the pink one helped out a good cause, so pink it was.

pink and shiny.

holy moly, this thing shoulda come with matching pink satin boxing shorts and robe. it made me want to bust out my wimpy little kickboxing gloves (more like glovelets, if that is even a word (it is now)) to go running down the street, punching at the air all rocky balboa-style in my matchy-matchy shiny pink boxing ensemble. get me some pink chucks, and i'll be all set. i would be so awesome.

oh yeah, one more thing: it works. it looks ridiculous, but it works. breathing is overrated.