Have you heard this story yet? The one about a woman in Arizona who went jogging and was bitten by a fox? She is fine, which makes the story a happy one but what's truly amazing is that the girl continued running -- yes, she kept running -- for another mile, with the fox dangling from her arm. I don't know about you, but a fox attached to my arm by fierce and sharp teeth would serve as a pretty good excuse to give up on a workout. Heck, a cramp in my side is enough for me to stop. This gal is clearly one fit cookie.

Why'd she keep running? It wasn't exactly because she wanted to finish her workout. It was because she wanted to make it back to her car, where she could pry the fox off her arm, toss it in her trunk, and get the thing tested for rabies. Which is exactly what she did, after she was treated at the hospital first, of course. Incidentally, an animal control officer was also struck by the fox when he tried to remove it from the trunk. Both he and the jogger have received post-exposure rabies vaccinations.

Makes that quiet jog through my neighborhood seem like not such a grueling task. A cramp in my side -- yeah, I'm thinking it's not really worthy of much whining now. And what implications does this story have for you? Well, perhaps you need to add one more item to your outdoor workout safety list: Beware of rabid animals.

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Several of my nieces and nephews are in college now. This summer, while getting things ready for their kids' apartments, my sisters went out and purchased new mattresses and furniture. I thought they were a little nuts for spending that money. When I think back to my first college apartment, my roommate and I had a couch we bought for $10, an entertainment center we found on the side of the road, and a chair we found abandoned at the apartment complex. After reading this article about bedbugs, however, I think my sisters did the right thing by not letting their kids go garbage picking for furniture.

College campuses and dormitories are like a luxury resort for these blood-sucking little critters. Students frequently visit each other's rooms (possibly transporting little friends as they do so). Universities like Texas A&M, Ohio State, Stanford, and the University of Florida have had to deal with outbreaks of bedbugs.

Bedbugs are hard to spot. Waking up with small, red welts is one tell-tale sign. You may also spot tiny black or reddish-brown spots on your sheets.

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I'm a magnet for mosquitos. They always find me, always bite me, always leave swollen mounds of skin that itch like crazy. I swear, my whole family can be gathered in the back yard on a beautiful evening -- we're having beautiful evenings here in Florida right now -- and no one will even know the mosquitos are out. Except me. I'll know because it will take only moments for them to seek, target, and strike me.

I have several bites on my legs right now, most of them on my lower legs and ankles -- not ideal for my morning runs. My socks rub the ankle bites and in addition to trying to simply power myself forward for three miles, I've now got to manage a fair amount of itching.

Here's one opinion on what I should do to alleviate my mosquito madness.

• Numb the area with a topical anti-itch remedy containing ammonium solution or menthol (brand names: After Bite, Sarna) or a topical analgesic.
  
  

• Apply a cool compress to calm itching and reduce swelling.
  
  

• Use a topical hydrocortisone cream for allergic reactions with a lot of swelling.
  
  

• Try oral Benadryl (if safe for you) to reduce the histamine reaction that causes itching and swelling. Avoid topical Benadryl, which can cause an allergic reaction.

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I heard an interesting statistic while watching The View the other day: Every bite of food averages 25 calories. That means if you have eight mindless bites of food throughout the day, you're adding at least an extra 200 calories to your daily intake. Have 20 mindless bites over the course of the day? You're looking at an extra 500 calories. We keep track of how many calories we eat at meals, but we don't think of all the bites here and there, and it could be costing us our waistlines.

So here's an idea: In your daytimer, on your desk or on the whiteboard in the kitchen, keep a small tally of the non-meal bites you take during the day. A few crackers here, a handful of almonds there -- it can really add up, especially if you're going to a social event with finger food.

The point of all this? To keep track of all the extra calories you're consuming. You might be surprised by the final count!