My wife and I signed up for the Shamrock Half Marathon in Virginia Beach, VA. We will be running it on March 22nd.

Meanwhile, training starts in two weeks.

Time for us to get in shape.

This is the first time I have paid money to run outside.

Meredith ran the Marine Corps Marathon in 2007 (and beat Oprah’s time!).

I look forward to being active again….

In the wake of this economic crash/crisis, the price of a barrel of oil has gone down quite a bit. Back on July 11th, it hit an all-time hight at $147.27. Today, it traded below $75.

Meanwhile, the airline industry can quietly buy fuel at much lower rates. I’m sure it doesn’t translate one to one in savings, thanks to refining and other stuff, but a 50% price reduction must help.
Yet, they continue to charge for checking bags, in-flight soft drinks, and changing seats to an aisle/window. Not to mention their wonderful magazines may not be on the planes!

I’m sure the credit crunch has an affect on their operations. If it isn’t one thing, its another.

But, now that gas prices are coming down, consumers should have more money in their pockets, right? Their net worths may have gone down 30+% thanks to the stock/housing market, but Americans don’t save anyway! Why not stimulate that economy with your savings from paying less at the pump?

My logic seems so sound, yet so wrong….

I’ve had a problem with milk since I was a child. My system doesn’t process it smoothly. Don’t get me wrong, I love the taste of milk. I grew up on 2%, but finally realized it isn’t worth the nasal inconvenience.

Consequently, I’ve been drinking soy “milk” for years. Like most, I started out on vanilla, eventually moved on to regular, and now prefer unsweetened. I sometimes drink it straight and enjoy. But, I love breakfast, especially when it involves delicious cereal infused in generous amounts of soy beverage.

Depending on what you read (e.g. dairy industry propaganda), soy contains estrogen or something similar to it. Apparently, this in excess can be bad for people, but especially young males and women. One of the big claims is that it can increase cancer, specifically breast cancer. Obviously, if this is true, it is bad.

My wife’s mother is a breast cancer survivor, so I am clearly concerned.

After my wife bought some almond milk, I happened to notice the various milk alternatives in our local Whole Foods. I decided to buy a small carton of each type and have a taste test. I bought Pacific Natural Foods brand Almond, Oat, Rice, and Hazelnut beverages, and Living Harvest Hemp beverage (Pacific Natural didn’t have hemp).

In a very scientific process, my wife labeled cups with rubber bands and distributed the beverages. I tried each one, wrote a few things down, and then ranked them in order of preference.

In the end, my favorite was Oat Milk. My preferences:

1. Oat
2. Almond
3. Hazelnut
4. Hemp
5. Rice

But, after comparing calorites, carbs, and fat, almond is the clear winner. Breakdown:

• Oat – 130 calories
• Almond – 70 calories
• Hazelnut – 110 calories
• Hemp – 130 calories
• Rice – 90 calories

If you are a soy milk drinker, weigh the pros and cons and think about giving one of these other beverages a try.

Personally, I’m going to start my mornings off right with a bowl of cereal and almond beverage.