Friday Round-Up: Finance, Parenting and Mom Blogs

Today I’m finally feeling really fantastic again. I can descend a flight of stairs without screaming. I can get up from a seated position with one grunt of pain rather than 20. I can finally look back on my marathon and say, “I could do that again.”

Not that I’m considering running a marathon this weekend. This month. This year. Honestly? I don’t think I could will ever do that again. Ever.

For me, the feeling of completion really doesn’t return enough on my investment to balance the torturous pain. I’m glad that I ran my one and only marathon (and I truly admire hard-core marathoners!), but from now on, I will stick to those cake-walk 13.1 mile races.

Here’s the story of my race: I started off great. I ran at a nice, easy pace for 13 miles, but then I began to tire. I started to walk about a block out of every two miles. At mile 18, I hit the runner’s wall. Hard. Really hard. For the next 7 miles, I mostly walked with a few short spurts of running. When I crossed the 25 mile marker, I ran the last mile and sprinted the last 0.2 miles to the finish line!

I was proud and sore, beaming and crying. My husband was there with a big kiss and a space blanket, and sharing my finish with him was the greatest moment of my running life. Hmmm, maybe I could run another marathon…

Beyond the finish, the greatest thing about running a marathon is that you have permission from everyone in your life to take it easy for a few days, so while I spent the majority of my recovery on my rear end, I did a lot of net surfing. Here’s what I found in finance this week:

• Looking for a way to make extra cash by selling products you believe in? Check in with Mysti at Digging Out From Our Mess to check out NOVICA products and sales.
• This one’s right up my alley about now: Truly Lazy Ways to Save Money. Visit Niki at Debt Free by Thirty for some great ways to mimic a cat while saving cash.
• Why spend hundreds of dollars on the complete Proactiv system when you can DIY your way to mega-savings? Lindy at Minting Nickels shows us how to mix basic ingredients for a $10 Proactiv knockoff.
• Mortgages. Sigh. Can’t avoid them, huh? Well, if you wanted to get rid of it quicker, you may just need to make bi-weekly payments. Check out Sandy’s post at Yes I am Cheap to find out how!
• Need inspiration to live your best life possible? Follow along as Paula at Afford Anything discusses Steve Jobs’ life, vision and entrepreneurial spirit. His words are truly remarkable.
• Crystal at Budgeting in the Fun Stuff has one poopy issue: her dog eats feces to the tune of $90-vet-bills-for-out-of-control-skin-allergies. Not such fun stuff, but our canine children are worth it, right?
• Should You Pay Off Your Mortgage or Build an Emergency Fund? Derek at Life and My Finances takes a look at the pros and cons to each.
• Ashley at Money Talks has to paint her house and she needs our help. I’m not any help whatsoever since my house is brick, but everyone else feel free to chime in on her site with some tips!
• Parenthood is perfect when you send the kiddies out to work for their money. Follow Alex at Perfecting Parenthood as he shows us one way to instill excellence in work ethics.

Carousel Photo Source
Article Image Photo Source: Christa Palm's grainy cell phone image (yes, that's a tired and sweaty me!).