I have an elliptical trainer and like it for days I donÂt feel like walking outdoors or doing a cardio DVD. The one thing you have to watch for though is your form when exercising. For example if your normal posture tends to show signs of rounded shoulders or signs of a forward bending neck you really must pay attention to how you are standing and where you are grabbing the handles and pulling back. If you take a sloppy posture you can encourage your shoulders to come forward even more. Pull your shoulders back and down (in a comfortable position, donÂt push it) & then grab handles without taking your shoulders and concentrate on keeping your navel to spine. When used right the elliptical can help correct these posture problems especially for those that sit at computers a lot. I wrap wide exercise bands around the handles of mine to keep proper form. Because you are using upper and lower muscle groups your heart rate may increase in a shorter amount of time, some people do not like this because it is a fast reminder that they are out of shape but if you start with a few minutes and add one minute a day you will progress fast. Also, if you are thinking of purchasing a home elliptical machine, do your research as there is a weight variance that they except. Another thing, make sure you do a full stretch, upper & lower when done or you will be mighty sore the next day.

Thanks to all of you for the tips. I'll try the vinegar tomorrow. Pbrisjar--does it matter if it is white vinegar vs. the brownish cider vinegar? I sprayed the floor and all the walls with a peroxide and baking soda solution yesterday (recommended in a thread that I found on the flooring forum). That seemed to help at first, but I think the smell is coming back. It sounds like I will probably have to buy a lot of primer and seal the odor into the walls and/or the floor. I went to petsmart today and bought a blacklight; hopefully that will help me find the worst areas so that I know where to concentrate my efforts. I have a feeling the walls are worse than the floor; when applying the peroxide solution I noticed some discoloration and residue about 2 feet up from the floor on a few walls, so those may have been major spraying locations. I bought a large bottle of an enzymatic cleaner that sounded like it might help with older stains, but it was $35 and I know it won't be enough for the whole area, so if it's not much different from vinegar I may as well return it for a refund. Yes, I'm sure the prior owners knew about it. I have no idea how they managed to hide it every time that I came to the house (I have a sensitive nose), and it irks me that they did. If I'd known, I could have had a painter seal everything before I moved in, while it was still empty. At the closing, the owner mentioned that the cats had been "stressed" because of the move; I guess she knew that I would soon discover the smell. Thanks again!!

This sounds like a fun project. As for a tufted ottoman, why not make your own? I bet you could find a simple square legged desk and have mirrors cut for it. I know there's a contact like paper out there that really looks like mirror too. A friend covered an ugly file cabinet with it. It looked amazing! You can see the transformation if you click the link below and then scroll down.... Here is a link that might be useful: Lisa's Girlie Office

As a teacher, I've been standing on a tile floor for 24 years. In the last two years I've begun having rather serious foot problems, and I've been experimenting with a variety of footwear and insoles. The single most important thing for me is that I must have a shoe with a strong arch support. Seriously, my arch support makes more difference to me than all the therapy exercises from my podiatrist. As long as I have that, I come home at the end of the day FINE -- I don't even remember that I have foot problems. Let me wear the same pair of shoes without my $15 insoles, and the pain begins by the end of first period -- and by the end of the school day I want nothing but to sit on the sofa for the rest of the day. No, no, make that I can do nothing but sit on the sofa for the rest of the day, and it seems that once I reach a certain point of no return, I'm "done for the day"; I'm just not going to get better that day. So, yes, that little 3/4 -1" of arch support makes all the difference in my day. It's not about cushioning, and it doesn't even cover the entirety of my foot bed. But I'm talking about work days when I'm standing on tile all day. When I'm home during the summer or on a weekend, I am usually barefoot (or occasionally in socks). On those days, my foot pain ranges from 0 - 1. Practically nothing. On days when I'm home but on my feet all day -- say, a day when I have a couple bushels of apples, and I'm making /canning applesauce -- my pain might reach a 2. After a long day of shopping and walking on tile/concrete floors, I am usually a 1-2 on the pain scale by the end of the day, which I deem acceptable. On the other hand, I can hike outside all day without any pain. Key point: Except for my bathrooms, I have no tile floors in my house. Though I would prefer tile floors in my kitchen, I currently have linoleum ... and in my future house I will have either linoleum or LVT. So, yes, I really do believe that that thin bit of vinyl makes a difference. As for flip-flops, details matter. The single BEST pair of shoes I have -- best in terms of my going through the day pain-free -- are a pair of Sketchers flip-flops. Obviously, this will vary depending from person to person, but that pair of sandals works well for me because the footbed "cradles" my foot, they have wide substantial straps, and they have a great arch support. (I only wish they weren't so very ugly.) You can find several brands of shoes specifically made for people with foot problems (I love my new red leather Jambu slip-ons), and you can find plenty of flip-flops or sandals -- though they're $90-120 a pair, and they're not as cute as the ones at the mall.