To celebrate the new Tea Collection clothes for women, Tea is offering a special coupon code.

From now through Friday morning, the discount is 40% off any women's products.

On Friday morning the discount drops to 25% off, and it expires 11:59 p.m. PDT on Sunday, October 17.

Just enter code TEA4UFF at checkout to see your discount off any women's wear!

Tea Collection is the same store that has globally inspired baby, boys, and girls clothing as well.

For no very good reason, I would like to review the The Couch-to-5K® Running Plan at Cool Running. It's something I'm doing (I'm about halfway through), and it's free, and they don't know I exist, so I'm receiving no compensation or product in exchange for blogging about it. I just think it's the bomb.

Because, see, I am not a runner. I was the person in gym class who befuddled the gym teacher by scoring lower than the chart offered on the speed tests. We were in sixth grade, and the chart started at what the producers thought the slowest fourth-grader could run. I was off the charts, but not in the good way. And I had been trying my hardest. I was also the person in gym class who would wheeze my way through any laps we were forced to run, and classmates would come up to me in concern, offering asthma inhalers and noting my red face, apparently worried I might stroke out then and there.

True story: When Sam and I were just beginning to get to know and like each other, we attended a baseball game together. It was chilly, so Sam proposed running around the stadium to get warm. I agreed without thinking very hard, because I was trying to impress him. Yeah, I didn't make it very far. Later on, he told me he'd had no idea why he'd suggested running since he, too, hates to run. Silly boy.

Other true story: I seriously considered joining the Army for the scholarships. Running was the thing that stopped me in my tracks. (Literally.) Good thing, I guess, since now I'm a pacifist…

Anyway! So, I think I've established: I am not a runner. I suck big time at running.

I saw some of my bloggy friends tweeting about Couch-to-5K and thought, My, how ambitious. Not for me. And went about my merry way.

But then I was seized by a fitness bug (those and cleaning bugs are ones I try always to give into, since they last only so long) and I started looking for local classes I could take to inspire me to continue working out. One was 5 Weeks to a 5K, and it ended with an actual 5K race that you had to raise money for. Well, I was nervous about signing up, because I figured I'd be doing it as only a challenge: Ha ha, Teacher, I dare you to get me running a 5K in 5 weeks!

But the class didn't start for a few weeks, and in the meantime I kept second guessing the wisdom of a 5-week running regimen, in the company of others around whom I might look foolish. And running an actual 5K? Well, I just kind of wanted to learn to run (and anytime I say "run" in this post, you can substitute "jog in a shuffling manner"). I didn't actually want to race.

So I looked at that Couch-to-5K plan I'd heard tell about, and I realized, Hey, it was nine weeks long. That was four extra weeks! Surely I could at least begin with the Couch-to-5K plan to get a head start and then switch over to the class if I needed the extra accountability.

So I'm halfway through Week 5 of the 9-week plan, and I love it! I seriously feel great. Dare I say it? I feel like … no, seriously, little old me … a runner.

A 5K distance is about 3 miles, or about 30 minutes. I'm assuming this is if you run faster than a waddling tortoise. I am measuring my runs by time, not distance (it's your choice), so I imagine I will be running far less than a 5K by the end, but that's OK by me.

Says the program:

"In fact, the beginners' program we outline here is less of a running regimen than a walking and jogging program. The idea is to transform you from couch potato to runner, getting you running three miles (or 5K) on a regular basis in just two months."

Each run takes about half an hour total. It begins with a warm-up walk, and then does a mix of walking and jogging (at first), gradually increasing the length of the jogs and decreasing the length of the walks, until by the end you're jogging straight for longer distances (or times).

As an example, here's the first day's plan:

"Brisk five-minute warmup walk. Then alternate 60 seconds of jogging and 90 seconds of walking for a total of 20 minutes."

Note that it requires math to figure out how many repetitions to do (I know now it's 8), and laugh with me that I did the math wrong and did only half the time I was supposed to!

Now laugh at me that I almost had a coronary completing half the first day's run. I was simultaneously annoyed and justified. See, I wasn't a runner after all! I nearly heaved out a lung running a measly 60 seconds four times, with walking in between!

I almost gave up right there, especially when my math mistake occurred to me on the cool-down walk. (I wasn't doing another half right then, no way!)

But I went online and Googled "Couch to 5K too hard" (no, seriously), and I got my blessed answer, which I will pass on to you as wisdom from on high:
GO SLOWLY.

No, really. Very, very slowly. Go as slowly as you have to to be able to carry on a conversation during the run (= shuffling jog) portions of the training. Make it look like a running step, but go even more slowly than your walking, if you want.

Just do it where no one can see, because you'll feel like a doofus. Trust me. There are a lot of runners along the beach path near my house, as I discovered when trying to avoid them all. I'd never noticed them before! I started running after dark or on back roads after that — once, I took Mikko in the stroller (not a jogging stroller; what need had I of such pretension?) and he kept asking me the whole time, "Where we going, Mama?" very concerned and a little put out that I had obviously lost my way to be cycling aimlessly through quiet residential streets where no one could point and laugh at the woman moving at the speed of a slug with gout.

But here's the thing. As I've continued along the training regimen, I've gotten faster, and I can breathe more easily even so. When I looked ahead at the weeks to come (hint: Don't do this), I kept getting scared, e.g., "Oh, noes! In two weeks they expect me to run EIGHT minutes at a time! I can't!!! Aaaa!!!" But by that stage — I was ready.

So, as I said, I'm only halfway through at this point, but I'm feeling good. I think (hope) I can keep it up till the end, and then we'll see where that leads me. I had some qualms when I discovered I was pregnant after only a couple weeks on the plan, but I don't think an every-other-day, half-hour, moderate (ok, slow) jog is against the rules for pregnancy fitness. And I really do want to go into the next trimesters as fit as possible, considering how much back and hip pain I had last time — I anticipate having to slow way down on my jogging, walking, and ballet, and probably do just swimming toward the end. So it's nice to take advantage of the fresh air and beach views for now.

Running turns out to be very Zen. I can focus on anything but the running itself and just enjoy myself. My favorite place to run is a concrete stretch right by the waves, where I can hear and see their joyful, peaceful, constant crashing. If not too many people are around, I just run in (long) circles right there.

My one product recommendation, but it's a freebie, is, if you have a smart phone, to download the free C25K Lite app. It times your runs for you, chiming a little bell when it's time to switch from warm-up to jog to walk to cool-down. No messing up the math! I really like that I don't have to be glued to a timer or stopwatch or keep a mental tally of how many repetitions I've done. There's a Pro version for only $1.99 that can run in the background if you want to play music while you run. The Lite version must be in the foreground, or it pauses, so no checking email while you walk. (Ask me how I figured this out…) I really like the software, and for just a 9-week program didn't see the need to upgrade to Pro; then again, I don't listen to music when I run. I don't know if this is dorky, but I also get a thrill from seeing the green bar activate next to that day's plan when I've finished a run. I was considering printing out the training plan just to mark some old-school black Xes on each completed day, but this is just as good, and eco-friendly to boot!

So, here are my tips, in conclusion:

1. If you are not a runner, jog slowly. Then even more slowly.
2. Get some decent running shoes.
3. Stretch during and/or after. (My calves in particular get really tight, a ballet-related complaint as well.)
4. Feel free to take a day off or repeat a week if you need to, and leave at least one day of rest in between each running day. There's no prize for finishing early.
5. Get the C25K app for your phone so it will track your running for you.

So there you are! Couch-to-5K, from a non-runner's perspective who's catching on to the runner's high (which I used to make so much fun of for being the result of hyperventilation!).

If you're interested, go check out our new site connecting natural parents, the Natural Parents Network, for my post relating my running experience to letting birth play out without a lot of checking on progress. And feel free to submit your own posts to NPN or consider volunteering!

You know I love me some wool! It's the perfect material to use for cloth diapering and ECing.

The Cheap and Choosy is holding a wool cloth diapering giveaway event from October 15-31 (slight change from the button dates). Check at this post and in her sidebar for confirmed sponsors. I can't wait!

The Cheap and Choosy is doing a series of fitted diaper giveaways right now, and will be concentrating on pocket diapers in November, so enter the current ones right away and stay tuned for all the fabulous diaper giveaways to come!

I'm thinking about washing this new baby's cloth diapers all by myself (gasp!) instead of relying on our beloved diaper service, so I'm going to try to build a stash. And what better way than by winning it?

Are these cute diapers, or what?

The new bumGenius Artist Series was just released. Pre-order yours today at Kelly's Closet while supplies last. Receive FREE shipping on your entire order TODAY only (October 5) when you purchase $15 worth of bumGenius, Flip, or Econobum with code BGLAUNCH.

Only a dozen coupons left for this offer:

Receive a FREE one-size cloth diaper with a $29 purchase. Use discount code FREEOSNOW at check-out. Available to the first 150 users. If the coupon comes up as invalid, it is sold out, so hurry!

Other active coupons:

Take $5 off an order of $25 or more with discount code OCTFIVE. Exp. 10/15/2010.

Take $10 off an order of $90 or more with discount code OCTTEN.

FREE one-size cloth diaper (guaranteed value of $23.50 or more!) when you spend $99. Use discount code FREE23DIAPER . Limited to first 50 users.

FuzziBunz Perfect Size Diapers (small & medium) are on sale for a limited time for $14.95 each!

Take 15% off any item in our Diaper Covers category. Use discount code DCOVER at checkout. Exp 10/8/2010. (Excludes Flip & Econobum)

FREE Kissaluvs Knit Terry Wipes 3-pack with $15 purchase with discount code FREEKWIPES.

Rules for coupons:
Sorry, NO previous or pending orders discounted. No exceptions. Limit 1 code per order. You can use all the above coupons, but you need to place a separate order for each. For free one-size diaper coupons, Kelly's Closet chooses the diaper you receive unless otherwise stated. If a coupon shows as invalid, that offer is sold out. Some exclusions apply.

Today and tomorrow, you can get $1.99 shipping at AmyAdele.com with no minimum purchase amount. Offer ends tomorrow, Wednesday, October 6, so shop now!



You can also receive 25% off select holiday designs for a limited time only, so start planning ahead for your holiday invitations, Christmas cards (including photo cards), and thank-yous.

Until October 21, you can also receive 15% off any regular-priced order with the code hobomama — hooray!

Besides holiday cards, you can buy personalized t-shirts and onesies, flat cards, notecards, invitations, calling cards, labels, and more! I think getting custom stationery would make a lovely personalized Christmas present for a child, so I plan to buy some for my niece. Remember, too, that all stationery products are printed in high quality on 100% post-consumer recycled paper, so it's a green choice for your family.

This giveaway is now closed. View the winner here! Thank you all so much for entering!

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Photo Card Creations is offering my readers a giveaway of 25 custom photo cards!

The value of this giveaway is approximately $62 of chic designer cards, so it's a fabulous prize!

Photo Card Creations is an upscale choice for your birth announcements, birthday or baby shower invitations, family holiday cards, and thank-you notes. They also specialize in wedding invitations, save-the-date cards, and thank-yous, if wedding bells are in your future!

I was so pleased to be offered 15 free custom cards of my own so I could try out the site's functionality, test the turnaround time, and see the quality of the cards.

(I would like to apologize for the poor quality of my two photos of our cards. Our camera broke, and it has seriously been such an imposition on our usual trigger-happy lifestyle. I took the photos of our cards with my camera phone, but I hope to replace them soon with better versions, when our lens gets back from the shop.)

The hard part, of course, as you'll be able see from the samples I'm scattering throughout this post, was choosing which sophisticated design!

At the time I ordered them, we didn't yet have a new little one on the way (squee), so we thought some sort of holiday card would be a good choice. Anticipating some fabulous Christmas gifts for Mikko (so our family'd better step it up, huh?), we settled on a full-bleed folded design that we could use as a thank-you card.

We thought a colored photo would showcase the printing capabilities more clearly than a black-and-white, and I chose a linen finish to see how texture affected the printing. We put text on the front, inside, and back of the card, for good measure!

Now, when I said the hard part was choosing which card … um, actually the hardest part was getting Mikko to pose for us! Sam had this great idea to have him popping up out of wrapping paper with a big smile — a sort of goofily festive image that suggests Christmas and gratitude. As you can see from the top photo, we did eventually get the shot. What you are not seeing is the hundred photos that led up to that moment. Including some of Sam demonstrating how it should be done!

Well, here, you can have a mini-collage:








It was like shooting Calvin. Astonishing that we finally got this shot, no?





And, yes, I know his hair was hilariously messy. But after all that, I wasn't going to redo the shoot!

All right, sorry for that little detour. Back to the review!

My experience with the website of PhotoCardCreations.com was overall very positive. I thought finding the category I wanted and selecting the type of card I was interested in was … well, I was going to say "easy," and of course it was hard to choose, but the navigation itself was easy! I appreciated the function along the sidebar that lets you narrow your search by style, such as flat cards, folded, no photos, multiple photos, etc. They have a "quick view" popup feature for each design so you don't have to click through to see it larger. And I really appreciated the feature at the bottom of each individual card's page title "you might also like …" that suggests similarly designed cards.

You often have even more choice than the sample shows, because, as with my card, many designs can be turned either horizontally or vertically, depending on the picture you want to use.

Once you decide on a design, it's time to personalize it, first with the text you want. There are several font choices. For us, we thought they were geared more toward weddings or formal announcements, because a lot of them were fancy. I actually did like a lot of the more script-y fonts, but they didn't work for a thank-you card from a child, so we chose one of the plainer options.

Taking a cue from our previous thank-you card experience, we chose to pre-inscribe a basic thank-you message on the interior so we could fill in the blanks after the presents were opened, and then have Mikko sign and decorate. Ok, mostly decorate.

After you choose your text, layout, envelope, and shipping options, it's time to submit your order, and only then do you email your photographs to be added in to the proof, which is emailed to you separately within several days. It took approximately four business days for my emailed proofs to arrive in my inbox, and the stated turnaround time is 1-3 business days.

I'm much more used to being able to see an immediate onscreen proof, where I upload my photos manually and can adjust text and layout and cropping as I see fit before submitting the order. Then again, Sam and I have a graphic design background and are comfortable with that. The advantage to Photo Card Creation's hands-on system is that a graphic designer literally designs the card for you, so if you're not handy with uploading photos and arranging text, that can be a big benefit. For instance, the graphic designer will ensure your photos are at a high enough resolution to actually print properly, not just look good on a screen. They can also work with you to customize pretty much everything about the card, and keep mailing you proofs until you're satisfied. Even though it was a little nerve-wracking for me not to be able to lay it out my way, I can see how this system actually has a higher value for the one-on-one care you're receiving.

When I received the proofs, everything looked basically fine. They'd fit my photo to the card size perfectly, cropping it to my specifications. The only thing I wasn't happy with was that the words "Thank you!" on the front were in black and being lost against the busy wrapping paper in the photograph. I wrote and asked if it could be changed to white, and they went one better by changing it to white outlined in black, so that the words popped a lot better. Getting the revised proofs was immediate, and I was able to approve my order.

Our order shipped six business days from my approval by USPS Priority Mail, so I received it two days after that. All in all, it was a reasonable turnaround time for custom cards. Just be careful to start your holiday, invitation, or announcement planning with enough wiggle room for the custom printing, including revising the proofs if necessary.

When the cards arrived, I was very happy with them. As I mentioned, the pictures I have of my cards are from my cell phone, but let me assure you the colors are bright and saturated and crisp. We chose the white linen finish, which gives it a lovely textured feel that, I think, makes it feel more custom and special than a card you could print yourself at home. The quality of the folding and edges is top-notch. The envelopes are included and work great.

Now I just have to wait till Christmas! My family is going to love seeing Mikko's happy face popping out at them.

BUY IT!

You can order the same sort of cards we did, or choose from among the many, many designs at Photo Card Creations. I don't know how to say this without sounding snooty, but I really think their designs are a step above many of the other photo card sites, in that they're all undeniably stylish. I don't think you could go wrong with any of them.

Prices start at $1.75 a card, so it is an investment, but it can be worth it for those special occasions. You can save more if you order in quantities over 100. You can fully customize any of the pre-made designs with your own photos and text and, for some cards, color scheme, or you can design your own card from scratch or work one-on-one with a graphic designer to create the perfect card for you!

Photo Card Creations carries Birth Announcements, Wedding Invitations and Announcements, Graduation Cards, Birthday Party Invitations, Bar & Bat Mitzvah Invitations, Thank You Cards, and Holiday Cards.

Before you order, feel free to request sample cards to get a feel for the quality, printing, and style.

WIN IT!

For your own chance to win 25 photo cards (an approximate $62 value) from Photo Card Creations, enter in the comments below! Contest is open to U.S. only.

MAIN ENTRY: Visit Photo Card Creations and tell me what design you love!

Leave an email address in at least one of your comments if it's not clearly visible on your profile or linked web page so I can contact you if you win. (You can write it like this to foil spambots: mail (at) hobomama (dot) com or similar.)


BONUS ENTRIES, to increase your chance of winning (leave a separate comment for each so I can count them all):

• Subscribe to the Photo Card Creations blog.
• Leave a relevant comment on a Photo Card Creations blog post, and tell me what post you commented on.
• Tell me what you would use your cards for: holiday cards, birth announcements, save-the-date cards? Spill!
• Have a look around PhotoCardCreations.com, and tell me something you learned.
• Follow www.HoboMamaReviews.com publicly through Google Friend Connect, or subscribe to the Hobo Mama Reviews RSS feed in a reader or by email.

• Follow www.HoboMama.com through Google Friend Connect, or subscribe to the Hobo Mama RSS feed in a reader or by email.
• Follow Photo Card Creations at @PCC21 on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
• Follow @Hobo_Mama on Twitter and leave your Twitter name in the comment.
• Tweet about this giveaway (up to 5 times total, at least 24 hours apart). You can use the retweet button at the top of the post or copy and paste this text: Enter to win 25 custom and designer photo cards from Photo Card Creations @PCC21 and @Hobo_Mama! http://bit.ly/cQ8H5D {10.26, US}
• Like Photo Card Creations on Facebook.
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• Follow Hobo Mama on Networked Blogs on Facebook.
• Enter another of my current giveaways (1 extra entry per giveaway — check back for more).
• Put my Hobo Mama button on your website or add www.HoboMama.com to your text blogroll for 2 extra entries each. The HTML code is in the sidebar. Leave your site URL in the comment.

RULES:

• Contest open to United States mailing addresses only.
• Leave each entry as a separate comment so I can count them all.
• For actions like following and subscribing, if you already follow or subscribe, just let me know in your comment.
• For tasks that garner you multiple entries, you can copy and paste the comment with a #1, #2, etc.
• You don't have to do any of the bonus entries, but you do have to complete the first mandatory one.
• I will pick the winner through Random.org after the contest closes and send an email notification. Leave an email address in your comment if it's not clearly visible on your profile or linked web page so I can contact you if you win. If I can't reach a winner or don't hear back within a couple days, I'll draw a new name.
• Any questions, let me know: mail {at} HoboMama.com