On your marks.

If you tuned in on Thursday and Friday then you know today is the official kick-off to the House of Shine's Third Annual Triathlon.  Three fun events spread out over three days and with, at least, three great prizes.   First place gets $100.00, second place gets $50.00, and third place gets $25.00.

And, the first ten people who register for participation will receive a triathlon t-shirt, sporting the design pictured above.  We will know you want to participate when you do two things:  (1) email a photo of yourself to shine@houseofshine.com, to be used in the event you win, and (2) include your t-shirt size in the email.

Our triathlon is a little different than most.  Staff at the House of Shine leaves the promotion of physical fitness and athletic ability to sporty groups such as the United States Triathlon Association.  Our team is much more interested in testing your "Shine Quotient."  "Shining," is the act of making the world a brighter place and your "Shine Quotient" is a measure of those skills required to do it successfully.  They include things such as: passion; creativity; attention to detail; resourcefulness; communication; critical thinking; and, best of all, your ability to squeeze in a little fun.

Our commitments to this week's fierce competitors are as follows: The three days of competition will be Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday.  Triathletes must compete in all three events.  No activity should take you more than 30 or 40 minutes to complete and no activity will require supplies that most do not already have in their homes (in some form or another).  Winners will be announced on Friday's blog post.

Each day's challenge will be posted at 4:00 a.m. CST.  Submissions, when required, must be emailed to shine@houseofshine.com by 10:00 p.m. CST.

The theme for this year's triathlon is "Hands, Heart, Head."  Expect to use all three.

No leg of the race is too difficult, but none will be as easy as today's warm up.  Send your information to the email listed above (shine@houseofshine.com) and then visit us in the Community Forum labeled Today's Post to finish the poem, titled...