I'd be happy to start one. Got any ideas for a good name for it?

Yes, I'm not a big fan of these types of fundraisers either, and I don't give money for sports. Sports, in my experience, get quite enough in the way of funding, support, and general adoration as it is. I'd rather give to the less popular programs. Or the basic classroom necessities!

If so, could somebody kindly point me to it? (can't find it!) If not, would anyone else be interested in one? Or is there an online vegan/vegetarian forum elsewhere that you enjoy and would recommend? Thanks!

Personally I would much rather that someone I don't know/trust have my email address than my phone number or street address (and I'm assuming that fundraising means they'd need at least one of those three, but I suppose that depends on the type of fundraiser). Blocking an email sender that I don't want to receive further emails from takes like 5 seconds (I don't unsubscribe, that takes longer. I just block the sender). Reporting an email as spam takes three clicks. It's just not a big deal to me. When scouts come to my door selling cookies/popcorn, they already know where I live, but they ask me to fill out the form with my name, street address, and phone number. It doesn't strike me as particularly invasive, because I know they want to be able to find me again when the order arrives. But really, that information is a lot more personal/invasive/private/whatever than an email address. I certainly agree that people need to use BCC more often!

Awesome, sounds like a good plan! Now to come up with that million.....

Okay, apparently I'm alone here, but I'm going to admit that I really don't understand. Email is pretty much the least intrusive way I can think of to contact someone. Email is great because I can check it at my convenience, instead of having to drop what I'm doing to answer the phone or, worst of all, the doorbell. When I was a kid, we did our fundraisers in person, so that meant going to people's houses. Honestly, I would MUCH rather you shoot me an email than show up at my door. That way, as I said, I can read it when it's convenient for me. And, also, it's easier to say no by email (just hit delete and move on - no big deal!) than face to face, so there's less concern that you're pressuring people to do something they don't really want to do. Seems like a win-win to me.

Wow, could you really do all of that for a million?

Ha! :thumbup1:

What do you guys think is the ideal location to wear a fitness tracker? I currently have one on a wrist band, and since I usually forget to move it before I bike or use the stepmill (hands gripping the rail) it doesn't count all of that activity! Before this, I had one on a magnetic clip that could be worn anywhere, and I really liked that. But apparently the magnetic clip was not as secure as I assumed, because it fell off somewhere unknown to me and I lost it. I think the obvious short-term solution is that I have to start remembering to move it when I'm doing an activity that moves my legs but not my arms. OR, this particular model can also be used with a necklace or lariat instead of a wrist band, so maybe I should get one of those. But in the long-term, is there a better one to purchase?

Laurie, this is fantastic. Thank you so much for going to all that trouble for me (us)! I am looking forward to reading all of these.

Thank you, Laurie!

Yes, the claim surprised me, so I wondered if anyone had any more information about it (or information to the contrary). I think the overall point he was getting at is that formal exercise can only do so much to make up for being sedentary all day, and that we have to make a conscious effort to be active and moving throughout the day. And I think that's a great point! But I would still be surprised if someone who walks 10,000 steps but never gets their heart rate up into the aerobic zone is healthier than someone who sits more but does a few hours of cardio a week. But if you're talking about someone who walks *briskly* and does get their heart rate up, then maybe the dynamic changes? I don't know, but I would like to.

I appreciate all of the suggestions, ideas, and explanations of how you get it done. Thanks, everyone!

I appreciate all of your suggestions, but these two brought a smile to my face because they reminded me of my grandmother. She loved to sit on the floor, and one of my fondest memories of her is how she would bring a pile of coloring books and a box of crayons and sit on the floor with my daughter, who was just a toddler at the time, and color with her for as long as my daughter wanted to. She had other health problems, unfortunately, but she was quite limber for her age! I think (outside of yoga or meditation classes) she's the only person I've ever known over the age of 10 who would routinely sit on the floor! I'm going to try to emulate her more. We have hard floors, no carpeting, in our house, and we don't even keep rugs because if one of our dogs has an accident, they inevitably go for the rug! But I'm sure I can figure out something. Anyway, I wanted to thank you!

My personal favorite is to press some extra firm tofu (I like the texture better once it’s been pressed, but that’s just a personal preference, not a necessity), then cut it into chunks, sauté it, and add to a curry. Hornblower’s tofu scramble recipe is also delicious!

My whole family really loved this recipe (even though two out of three are omnivores): https://minimalistbaker.com/poblano-and-portobello-fajitas/

Here's a terrible confession that I need to make: we have three dogs, and I don't walk them regularly. Only sporadically. Two of the three have health conditions which limit their ability to walk, but they can still do short walks. So even a short walk for each dog (I have to walk them separately, they are far too crazy and excited when you try to walk them together) would still add up to quite a few steps! So I think I'll start with that. Maybe I can walk the healthy dog every day, and alternate days with the other two, or something like that. This time of year it would be easy to spread the walks out over the entire day. But the summers here are long and brutal, so for much of the year, I will be limited to the early morning or late evening. But maybe if I establish the habit now, it will be easier to keep it when it turns hot.

Yes, that's exactly what I'm contemplating. I tend to do my designated hour of exercise and then forget about it. I think I need to incorporate more activity into the rest of my day as well.

What a great suggestion!

Ah, so like the article that Kinsa posted, it's more about the intensity than the distance covered? Thank you!

Thank you, that was interesting. I definitely think there is a benefit to getting your heart rate up into that aerobic zone -- I've felt the benefits of that very clearly. So I'm definitely not looking to replace my more intense activities with walking. But wondering if more walking should be an additional goal.

If you walk 10,000 or more steps per day, could you tell me how you accomplish that? Do you set out on a deliberate walk just for the sake of walking? Do you incorporate more walking and less driving into your daily routine? Both? Other? About how many minutes of walking do you think it takes to get 10,000 steps? (By the way, if there has already been a thread about this topic, could you please point me to it? I didn't find one, but that doesn't mean it isn't here.) I was watching a doctor give a speech on YouTube yesterday and he said that people who are sedentary most of the day but do formal exercise, even intense exercise like CrossFit, are not as healthy as those who simply walk 10,000 or more steps per day. (He was not talking about strength or fitness or performance, just health and longevity). Unfortunately, if his power point cited his resources at the end, that didn't make it into the YouTube video, so I don't know what study (or studies) he was referencing. Are you familiar with any research that shows this? I have a MisFit already, and it shows that I get as much as 5500 steps on a good day, and as few as 3000 on a bad day. So I've got a lot of room for improvement!

I put sautéed veggies in my pasta marinara (or arrabbiata - yum): bell peppers, zucchini, mushrooms, carrots, anything you like. Somehow it makes it a lot more interesting and filling. Lentils are an interesting idea - I’ll have to try that next time!

Thank you all for your help! I appreciate the information. :) This is a great idea. We have most of our investments with Fidelity, so I will check into their card. Thanks!

Spinning off of the thread about using credit cards to pay bills in order to get the rewards: Which credit cards do you feel offer the best rewards programs? I would be particularly interested in travel-related ones. Are there any airline cards where you can use your points/miles towards a flight you would actually want to take? Because my impression of those is that they have so many “black out dates†that it’s basically worthless. Am I wrong? What about hotel cards, are those better? Or if there are no impressive travel-related ones, what good “general purpose†ones are there? We use an REI credit card, because my husband loves mountaineering and all of its related gear. But he owns everything he could possibly ever need and then some, and the rewards can’t be used towards the things he most wants to buy, so it seems like a waste to me. And while we don’t use the card to pay our bills, we do use it for most other expenses (groceries, etc.) so it does add up.