In our continuing series on Netroots for the Troops, our effort to pack & send 101 care packeges to the troops, we come to my turn. This was originally going to be about fitness gifts for the troops, but y'all have gone & done something extraordinary. You not only met our goal, you busted right through it. Hurrah for all the Kossacks who made this happen! Y'all rock!!!

So you'd think I'd let you off the hook. I mean, the goal is met, all we need to do now is get the stuff & pack the boxes, right. You don't know me very well, do you? So I'm still going to talk about things we can send to help our troops stay healthy. Also - there is no such thing as too many letters for the troops, so we need way more of those. Please write one, have any kids you know write one - they're bored of summer vacation by now, right? Letter writing is interesting & fun for kids.

Please recommend this diary -- the more attention NFTT diaries get, the more contributions  and workers to put the packages together we'll have.

Give till it hurts - you know they do. And if you know anyone who is serving -- please nominate them! We want to send them a package!

No, this isn't about going from a couch-potato to a fitness model in the three weeks until NN. But, it is going to be a week of traveling, going out and eating out more than most of us do. I plan to spend the three weeks before y'all descend upon my fair city making up for all the damage I'll do then. (I kid, I kid) But seriously - if you have an exercise routine, it will probably be somewhat disrupted while you're here, so be sure to get in all your planned exercise between now & then.

Also - people have been talking about that dress Michelle Obama wore on the View. Some of us (me) need to do some arm exercises before we go around sleeveless.

Hello, I am guest hosting Frugal Friday today, and with the approach of Netroots Nation, I wanted to tell y'all about dining in Austin. Kath25 did a great diary about food, here:

http://www.dailykos.com/...

But I'm going to focus on veg dining. Only a couple of the restaurants I'm going to tell you about are exclusively veg, most are places where veg & non-veg can dine together in harmony.Also, since this is Frigal Friday, I am leaving a few places off the list. There are a lot of new restaurants in town, especially in the warehouse district, near the convention center.

Note - there is lots of good Tex-Mex food in town, where veg & nonveg can eat together -- but veg folk should always ask about the beans. Frequently, they are cooked the traditional way & that means with lard. So ask. Also ask if the rice was made with chicken stock.

Also, I have heard that Capitol Metro may be implementing some route changes, so even thought I am including a link to a bus route for the bus-able places, double-check at www.capmetro.org, there's a couple of boxes toward the bottom on the right, to plan a trip.

I accidentally posted this last week at Texas Kaos - I wanted to wait till after the Texas State convention madness. This is a cause we can all agree on - so, consider this a "unity" event & come on out for a good sci-fi time! Cross-posted today at Burnt Orange Report: http://www.burntorangereport.com/...

CSTS is a global series of screenings of the film Serenity, held to raise money and awareness for Equality Now, an international women's rights advocacy group. Can't Stop The Serenity events are held on (or around) June 23, which is writer / director Joss Whedon's birthday, through the Serenity Release Anniversary, September 30.

Texas events are: Dallas/Fort Worth June 22;  Houston, July 6; Austin July 13

There's a list of global events, and more info about Equality Now below the fold. But basically, it is an evening of fun & sci-fi with your fellow geeks, for a really great cause. Here's the website for CSTS:

http://www.cantstoptheserenity.com/...

(check out the sponsor page - there will be drawings for some really fabulous prizes!)

So, being a person of size, trying to lose weight, I read a lot on the topic of nutrition. But I'm no expert, just someone who reads a lot. At the moment, I'm working on not panicking about my triathlon, which is Saturday, the 8th.

I'm going to put links to some pages I use often, looking for information. Feel free to share your nutrition links, also.

Also want to add that my thought & prayers are with Sen. Kennedy while he undergoes surgery this morning, and with all who are having cancer treatments today. Sending out thoughts for good health.

I'm going to write about two great events this weekend, but I'm sure there are many more. Saturday at 1 PM, there's the kickoff for the Coordinated Campaign at Nuevo Leon Restaurant, 1501 East 6th Street. We have this great thing in Travis County - the Coordinated Campaign. You can go into one office, and help every Democrat in Travis County. You can pick up any- and everyone's literature, you can make calls from a central list - you can help everyone. Come to the kick off rally Saturday (wear sunscreen!) and hear all the great speeches, talk with your friends, and get fired up to win in November. (Meaning - figure out how much time you can spend and set up a schedule for volunteering)

So, I've talked to lots of folks here about the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, and I thought y'all would like to know how it turned out.

Friday night, we had the kickoff dinner, which was fun. We check in or register, catch with people, and celebrate the Ride. Congressman Lloyd Doggett usually speaks at this dinner, but was not able to attend, because he broke his leg last weekend, ironicaly, while out bicycling. He did send a message, but I was sorry not to see him. We had some rain Friday night, but not a ton, and Saturday dawned clear & bright.

So, here's my "before the ride" picture

Hi there - in case you have missed all my prattling on about the Hill Country Ride for AIDS, let me fill you in. Currently, the HCRA is a 1-day event that raises money for 10 local AIDS organizations. (In previous years, it was longer, starting out as a 2 day event) In nine years, our riders and volunteers have raised over 2.5 million dollars. Some ride to honor loved ones. Others ride to support friends and family living with AIDS. Some ride just to do something big to help our neighbors in need. All riders leave with an experience they will never forget. There us a route for everyone on the Hill Country Ride. The main route is ~ 50 miles, with the choice of the Olympic Extension, which adds an additional ~ 20 miles, and the choice of a shorter 10 mile route, that lets you choose how far you want to ride. The route is fully supported, with Pit Stops every 15 to 20 miles, and SAG support all along the route. All levels, from very beginners to serious cyclists, have fun on the Hill Country Ride for AIDS.

Hey - if you live in Texas & didn't vote in the Republican primary, you need to vote again tomorrow. Anyone who voted in the Democratic primary, or who didn't vote at all, is eligible.

Statewide, there is a runoff between Dale Henry, a man with many years of experience in the oil & gas business, and who struck me as a good Democratic candidate when I saw him speak. He has been endorsed by the Austin Chronicle, always a good sign. What they had to say, and the District Attorney's race, below the fold.

This is, more or less, an e-mail that I just sent out to most of my friends about the ride that I'm doing in - ulp - a little over 2 weeks. (Yikes! I need to train more!!) I talk about the Ride a lot here, and I wanted my DK friends to know what is up

Dear friends:  

So the Hill Country Ride is in a little over 2 weeks, on Apr. 26. I've raised $1601.01, which is quite good, and includes donations from folks who have donated more than once, and one really gigantic donation (thank you, Karen!!). But I really want to do better. If you have already donated - and many of you have - please pass this message on to any friends you think might be able to donate. The agencies benefiting from the Ride have had their budgets slashed to the bone.

Hi - I don't know what happened yesterday. I felt like I was sleepwalking all day, I knew something was missing but I just pushed it out of my mind.  Then, in the afternoon, I read an upsetting diary that I just should have stayed away from....... Anyway, I didn't want a whole week to go by without any Fitness talk, so here is my make-shift diary.

Ok, so you want to get out the vote for your candidate, of course you do - we all do. But if the people running the election don't have enough workers to run the election, then that literature you gave out with teh election day location will be wrong. They'll have to combine precincts, causing confusion, and some voters will be disenfranchised.

More below the fold.

So, it is that time of year again - time for me to be telling people about the best bike ride, with the best people in the world. This year will be the ninth year of the Ride. In nine years, our riders and volunteers have raised over 2.5 million dollars. Some ride to honor loved ones. Others ride to support friends and family living with AIDS. Some ride just to do something big to help our neighbors in need. All riders leave with an experience they will never forget -- and a bunch of new friends. More below the fold.

So, last week, I wrote a diary about health & fitness that got the most responses of any diary I have ever written. Obviously this is something people are interested in. And something people who support different candidates can agree on.

At first, glance, this might not seem like a topic for a political website. But food and health are definitely political subjects, and we are a community - we talk about all kinds of things in our lives, and several people have said that they are interested in this topic. So we'll see if this works. Also, the fitter we are, the more work we can do for our candidates, right?

WooHoo! When I checked the Walk's page while writing this, they were up to 61% of their goal raised. Earlier this week, I was getting worried, because they were only around 50%, but people are coming through. Thousands of our neighbors are counting on us to be heroes.  They are counting on us to make sure that ASA and the other beneficiary agencies  continue to be able to provide their clients the services and support they need and deserve. The money raised for the AIDS WALK allows AIDS Services of Austin (ASA) to provide vital services to this community- our community. ASA currently serves over 1,500 clients, providing vital prevention, education and other support services.

cross-posted at Burnt Orange Report and Texas Kaos

Today is the mid-point for Seven Straight Nights, a national event that is providing straight Americans with opportunities to do justice and motivate new allies to stand up and be counted for equal rights. This is an action of Atticus Circle and Soulforce. It consists of a coordinated campaign of overnight vigils led by straight allies, sweeping across capital cities throughout the nation during the week of October 7 - 13, 2007, gaining momentum in the national media as more states participate in the event.

More on Seven Straight Nights and an appeal for AIDS Walk Austin below the fold:

On Sunday, October 28, the  20th annual AIDS Walk Austin will take place. I have been to every one of them. Um, 20th..... that means I've been doing this since.... um, I must have been a child when this started. Yeah, that's the ticket. I was a small child. But really - I walked back in the bad old days, when we used to get heckled by religious zealouts. (I actually kinda enjoyed getting heckled by Mark Weaver & his merry little band of troglodytes, as I called them. I walked taller when going by them. If Mark Weaver is yelling at you, trust me, you are doing something right. Also, I could make them turn amusing shades of red & purple. They'd yell something horrible like "God hates fags" & I'd yell back "No, She doesn't!" and watch the color changes. Great fun. Yes, I am a mean, mean person.)