I’ve never known someone that actually celebrates Kwanza. Maybe in the cities, there are neat groups of people who get together with their kids and talk about Africa. While I was growing up though, Martin Luther King Jr. day was THE African-American holiday in my family. If we had school, my dad took us out of school. We would go to museums or just spend the day in our pajamas watching TV.

(Google Doodle)

This morning I got up and made biscuits from scratch, eggs, and fried ham for Jeremy and I to share. To me, that is food that tastes like home. While I was making the biscuits, I got Happy MLK day texts from my dad and brother.

I love that many people have embraced today as a day of service, but I think it’s fine to spend today with family. I don’t think I’d be a disappointment to Dr. King because I spent the day being thoughtful, thankful, and happy with my family.

However you choose to spend today, I hope that you are conscience of the bigotry still present in the world and ways we can diminish it.

While I might not have always known I was a Democrat, I really always have been. From a very young age, injustices in the world bothered me deeply. I like things to be equal. I like the underdog to get a fair chance.

In list format, here’s what I believe:

• I believe no one should have to go hungry.
• I believe that justice should be for everyone, not just the people who believe the same way you do.
• I believe in separation of church and state.
• I believe people should have the right to organize and collectively bargain.
• I believe that anyone who chooses to deserves the right to get married.
• I believe anyone who wants to fight for their country should be allowed to do so.
• I believe everyone should have the right to a free and appropriate education.
• I believe you shouldn’t have to go broke to get well.
• I believe it’s my body and my choice.

Over the last few weeks, I’ve seriously considered running a half marathon in February. I even made a training calendar.

I’ve thought and thought and decided that I’m just not ready. I’m so glad that I ran in October, but training is tough. I don’t think I’m hard core enough yet to run outside all winter in the cold and the wind. This is New Hampshire not North Carolina; when it gets cold it gets really cold. Also, my job this year is really challenging. I’m not sure I can commit hours each weekend to running. (I’m slow; training to run 13 miles takes me hours).

I’m not done running though. I think I will do this year’s Will Run for Beer. I love those races. I love the people that run those races. I need pressing goals or I slack off. Hopefully, I can still run a few races with Miriam. I PR’d the 5k I ran with her; I think she’s good luck.

Even though it was quick, our trip to Virginia was great. We were able to see my Nana, some of my cousins and even second cousins. My brother flew in too. On the way back, we even stopped to see Monticello.

I should say first that I’m kind of an Amazon junkie. I buy a lot of books and other things through them. With Amazon Prime ($79 a year), you often get two day shipping at no extra cost. However, I received no compensation from Amazon for this review; if they ever want to compensate me though, I’ll take it.

The Kindle Fire – There are two important things to take away from this review. Because I am so nice, I’ll give them to you first.

1. This is not a tablet; it is a sweet device you can use to consume media. Don’t waste time comparing it to the Ipad; besides you know how I feel about Apple anyway.
2. Amazon is basically at war with my beloved Google and other sites I use often like Facebook and Twitter. These companies are not represented on the device. You can navigate to their websites, but they do not have dedicated applications.

I’ve broken down the rest of the review into pros and cons.

Cons:

1. There are no Google applications. I find this frustrating – mostly because there’s no Google Reader.
2. There is no physical volume control on the device. Every time you want to change the volume you have to go into the application.
3. The battery life is OK, but not great. It’s better if you keep the WiFi off.
4. The power button is at the bottom where you thumb naturally goes to hold the device. This seems like such a stupid design flaw to me. I guess they should have asked me to be a tester before they made millions of these babies.
5. Magazine reading isn’t as enjoyable as I thought it would be.
6. There are only 7GB of space available. I understand how the cloud works, but because of how the WiFi can sometimes be a battery drain having more space would be nice.

Most of these cons would not bother the average user.  I am picky about technology. I’m guessing if Jeremy was using this device he wouldn’t even notice things like access to the volume.

Pros:

1. It’s extremely affordable. At $199, it’s a deal.
2. The Fire is really easy to use. Anyone could set this up in five minutes; you really just type in your email address.
3. Reading books is a pleasure. The text is clear. You can get the definition of a word with one touch. I’ve already read two full books on mine, and I’ve only had it a week.
4. There are non-Google applications to support your Gmail and Google Calendar.
5. Working with a cloud is really nice. You can always download and delete movies, books, and music. I’m really glad that even though Netflix is a competitor, Amazon made a deal with them.
6. There is a free app available everyday from Amazon.
7. Movies from Netflix and Amazon look great. YouTube looks great.Videos load quickly.
8. The internet is pretty speedy (it has improved already).  The Kindle Fire is so much faster than the Nook Color. I’m pretty sure the Nook Color was using dial-up.
9. I know it’s a bit heavier than some E-Readers, but I like how sturdy it feels.
10. The display is quite frankly beautiful. Lots of websites are optimized for the “tablet” like ESPN.

Having used the Nook Color and the Kindle Fire, I really like the Fire. Is it flawless? No. Do I think it’s one of the better devices out there right now to use for frequent media consumption? Yes.

I would recommend this device. I’d give it 3 out of 4 stars. Make your Black Friday shopping easier and pick up one of these a gift card for your favorite person.

If you have any questions about the device, leave a comment or send an email.

• These Boots:
  I’ve been looking for a pair of knee high brown boots for about three years. Finally, this year, I found them. Thanks to Timberland and Zappos, I’ve found boots that are comfortable for my wide, flat feet and my larger than average calves. (pic from Zappos)
  
• Sushi:
  Why didn’t anyone bother to tell me that sushi is delicious, and that even a really picky eater like me could like it. I have eaten sushi three times in the last month. I love the texture and flavors.
• My Kindle Fire:
  I’ll review this in full later, but the ability to carry multiple books and the internet it one place is enjoyable.
  
• An Impromptu Trip to Portland:
  Last weekend, Jeremy said, “It’s Maine Beer Week; do you want to go to Portland for the night?” I’m not sure why that was a question because I’m always up for a trip. We had lots of fun at Novare Res and got a great last minute deal at the Residence Inn on the waterfront.
• Books By and About Boys:
  In the last few weeks, I’ve read two YA books about boys. The first The Absolute True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie and the second Will Grayson, Will Grayson by David Leviathan and John Green. Both of these books were at times terribly sad and moments later hilariously funny. If you’d like a little window into the mind of an adolescent boy, you should give both of these a try.
• Rachel Maddow
  Seriously, if you don’t watch Rachel Maddow you are missing out on the best political news show. Her take on  Herman Cain – The Art Project is really all you need to know about what’s going on in politics right now.
  Rachel at Her Best

Interest – The state of wanting to know or learn about something or someone

Here it is; I am driven by my interests. I, maybe unlike most people my age, go through phases of passionate fury for something learning as much as I can and then that interests fades as fast it came. Like your average 13 year old, I’m in love with something, only stopping short of plastering my walls with posters, finding nothing about it appealing a few weeks later. The fact that I sustained a blog with a fairly consistent posting schedule on one or two topics for so long was quite frankly phenomenal.

Now, I’ve gone about three weeks without writing anything and the posts were sporadic at best a few weeks before, this absences revolves around the idea that yes I was busy, but also I grew bored with this space and its content. I’m guessing if I was bored, so were the few people who read this.

Supposedly, the most important piece of blogging advice is to find a niche; well important advice be damned. From now on, this blog will focus on my interests. Nor only will there be food, travel, and general life happenings, but there will also be more politics, more technology, and more books.

If you’re interested with any or all of those topics, then please stay. If you like reading the same type of post everyday, you might want to remove me from you Google Reader. There won’t be any hard feelings from me; I promise.

Upcoming Posts:

• Review of the Kindle Fire
• Things I’m Currently Loving
• Why I’m a Democrat
• To Train for Another Half or Not

It seems I cannot get get control of my schedule this fall. I’m still working about 2 or 3 more hours a day than I did last year, which  apparently were the hours last year when I blogged. I write a lot of posts in my head, but I can’t seem to get them typed. I need to start prewriting more things on the weekend.

Rewind with me to last weekend for my life in brief.

The 2011 NH Brew Fest: All in all it was a great event. Lots of new and favorite beers to sample. The event was well organized. My only suggestion would be better food options or at least more food options. Just like the first year I went, all the proceeds go to Prescott Park.

Making Strides: Last Sunday, I walked in Dover, NH for Making Strides. Everyone was decked out in pink. It was great to see so many survivors mixed in to the bunch. I was glad to be part of such a large event. Making Strides is accepting donations until the end of October.

Cooking and Reading: Per my goals for the month, I have been cooking real meals and still reading quite a bit. At least I’ve managed to stay on schedule with one thing.

Enjoying Fall: It’s at this point in the year that New Englanders start spending every spare second outside whether the sun is shining or not because all too soon it will be A)dark at 5:00 and B) freezing and snowing.  Jeremy and I have been making the best of fall by going apple picking, walking around at Wagon Hill farm, and walking in to town for dessert. We also saw 50/50 which did have some terribly sad parts, but was essentially an extremely funny movie.

The world seems to be in a flurry over the new iPhone 4S and the death of Steve Jobs.

First, let me say, I extend my sympathies to the Jobs’ family. Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest forms of cancer. I first learned about it when I read, The Last Lecture. Once diagnosed, the survival rate is extremely low. I hope that Jobs’ death will spur more people to donate money to the American Cancer Society (which you can do here) and not just to buy new iPhones.

Now, here’s why I’m not rushing out to buy a new iPhone or any other Apple product for that matter:

1. Operating Systems: My brain doesn’t work the way the Apple interface/OS does. I’m an outline thinker; I like lists. Apple seems to just clash with the way my mind works.
2. Purpose: Apple’s slogan has always been “creativity over productivity” that just seems silly to me. I want to be productive; I love efficiency.
3. Price: They are expensive; for many things, they are twice the price of the non-Apple alternative.
4. Google and Amazon: I love working with Google and Amazon which leads me directly to owning a Droid powered phone.
5. Freedom: I strongly dislike the idea that once you have one of Apple’s devices, you are roped in to buying everything from them. In addition, they control which apps are allowed to come to the customer. I’d rather judge which app is for me.

According to this article’s statistics, I’m an anomaly; however, here are the products I own and love:

• Sony Vaio – I’ve had this computer for four years, and it’s running great. That doesn’t mean I don’t want a new computer because I love new technology, but this one is still running really well.

• HTC Imagine 2 – With the exception of battery life, I really like this phone. I love how open the  market is, not that I’ve ever created an app – but I like that I could if I ever so wanted.
• Kindle Fire – Hopefully entering my greedy little paws soon.

Every year September kicks me in the face, and I think, how will I make it through this month? Every year, somehow, with the help of Jeremy and beer, I survive.  I’m always incredibly thankful for October to arrive.  October has already been good to me:

• I ran my first half marathon
• The weather is turning quite nice
• Work seems to be calming down

• I am once again able to breathe full deep breaths

Even though we’re 1.5 weeks in, here are my goals for October:

• Finish Interpreter of Maladies
• Read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake
• Run and walk 25 miles
• Establish some sort of weight lifting routine, even if it’s 10 minutes worth of weights (I hate weight lifting. I think it’s boring).
• Find Saranac Pumpkin Ale – this picture is from last year, sadly I haven’t found this beer yet this year

If you haven’t read Animal Farm by George Orwell, you should. It’s one of my favorite books of all time. In the book there is a character named Boxer. Boxer is a work-horse who gives his all to the cause. I’ve always identified with Boxer, who’s catch phrase is “I will work harder.” At the Smuttynose Rockfest Half Marathon, I felt more like Boxer than ever. I felt like a Budweiser Clydesdale as the hundreds of Kentucky Derby bound, racing horses thundered by me.  I did not let their relative speed and my relative slowness defeat me. I know some people disparage slow runners, but I’d rather be a slow runner than sit on the couch all day long.

With the exception of being really thirsty for the last three miles and the almost constant downpour, I felt good for the entire race. When I crossed the finish line though I thought my legs would give out. They felt so sore and tired. Keep in mind the longest distance I had ever run was nine miles, and let me tell you those four miles make a big difference.

Overall, I think it was a successful half marathon. Melinda and I stayed together for the entire race. Jeremy rode his bike out to see us at mile 8 and mile 10. It was really nice to see him on the course.  He generously stood around in the rain all day to be supportive while I, as he called it, participated in some self-torture.

Melinda had some serious shoe problems during the race that left her in a Curt Schilling, bloody sock scenario. The foot pain put her in a less than pleasant mood. Between her sock and the constant rain we were certainly slowed down some, which kept me from meeting my goal by five minutes.

As with any Loco race, the volunteers were superb. They were kind, cheerful, supportive and there even for the slow runners. With that said, I had imagined the Smuttynose Rockfest to be a bit different. I thought there would be a band at the end; there wasn’t – maybe the rain kept them away. I thought the beer tent would allow the people who stood in the rain for hours to support runners in to buy a drink; it didn’t. I thought I would be on a virtually traffic free course; I wasn’t.

Would I run another half? Maybe. I loved how flat this course was and how pretty the surrounding neighborhoods were. One thing I have absolutely no desire to do is to run a full marathon. That looked brutal.

I’d like to be faster. “I will work harder.”

Tomorrow is the day. Tomorrow I am running 13.1 miles.

Today I am a little bit scared, a little bit excited, and a little bit in disbelief.

My goals:

• to make it through alive
• to run at my own pace
• to enjoy a delicious Smuttynose at the end.

Right now rain is in the forecast. I’m not mentally prepared to run in the rain. For weeks, I have been imagining a warm, sunny fall day.  I’m trying to change my mental picture right now.

I’m infinitely glad that my friend Melinda is here to run with me, otherwise I might be curled in a ball somewhere crying.

Here’s a few snippets from my running history:

Maybe I Am A Runner

5 miles

I Am Not a Runner

Learning to Run

Tomorrow I’ll add a whole new dimension.

Every year September is a busy month. I know that it will be a busy month; I know that I will feel stressed and tired. However, this September has been particularly cruel to me. I thought I was starting a job I’d adore – false. I thought I’d be running double digits – false. I thought I’d not have an enduring back to school cold – false. There is a little less than a week left in this month, and I am quite happy to be rid of it.

My goals for this last week of this month:

• Regain some sense of calm
• No longer allow my job to dictate my life
• Get mentally prepared to run the half marathon
• Get totally well
• Get back to blogging because it makes me happy
• Cook real food again, not just toast and oatmeal

After taking yesterday off and sleeping basically all day, I think I’m finally on the road to getting well.

I finally decided to leave the house this afternoon with Jeremy to go to one of his favorite events of the year: the Newmarket Heritage Festival. Personally, I think festivals without beer tents are super weak, but the hubs doesn’t feel the same. So I took off my sweat pants to frequent this Stars Hollowesque event.

Even though I was reticent to leave my sweats, it was nice to get out in the fresh air and walk around a little bit.

The last two weeks have been crazy. Here’s a bulleted-update:

• First, I’m still raising money for Making Strides. If you can give even a little, please do.
• Teaching 7th grade is about 10 times more time consuming then the other teaching positions I’ve had including when I had four separate preps.

• Because I’ve been so busy, like working 10 or 11 hour days and weekends, I got a bit run down. After working for about five hours today, I felt horrible. So, I did not do my 10 mile run today,  it has been rescheduled for Tuesday.

• I’m still training for my half. It’s only two weeks away. Look soon for a post about my absolute dread of running 13.1 miles.
• Since I’ve been so busy, I’ve been coming home eating dinner and crashing. I have still been reading books, which I consider a major accomplishment. After finishing The Bluest Eye, which I did not love, I have started The Emperor of Maladies, which I really am loving.

Here’s to a week of getting back to some things I enjoy.

One of the teachers I work with is very passionate about charity. I’m thankful that I get to work with her this year. One of the charities she asked us to help her support is Making Strides. When she started talking about it, I knew I had to join her team and walk with them in October. All the money we raise will go directly to support breast cancer. My goal is to raise 200 dollars. When I raise $200, I’m going to add $50. You can use the link below or the link to the right to donate. No amount is too small.

The American Cancer Society’s slogan is “Creating a world with more birthdays.” Not everyone has made it to their next birthday. I have had two friends lose mothers to breast cancer. You all read about Rory. Jeremy’s mother also lost her best friend to cancer. So when I’m walking, I’ll be walking with a heavy heart and a purpose. Please help me raise money to help prevent other people from feeling more pain.

The first day of school is here. As this post goes up, little 6th – 8th grades are lining up and entering the building. Believe me they are little, some of my students will only be 12! I will be smiling and running totally on coffee and adrenaline.

Just like last year, I feel nervous and under prepared. Ahh. . . that’s just the way things are.

I’m starting something new again this year – teaching 7^th grade.

Every year I have mini-goals for the school year. After looking back at last year’s goals, it seems I failed miserably, so let’s try again.

1. No grading on the weekends – If this means I have to stay at school on Thursday until 6 that’s what I’m going to do.
2. Be consistent – Obviously this is always important for teaching, but I think it will be even more important for middle school.
3. Read – I’d still like to meet my year long goal of reading 25 books. I’m not quite half way to my goal which means I need to kick it into high gear.
4. Treat 7th graders like real people – Sometimes kids get treated like second class citizens. I want to treat them like I would want to be treated with respect, accountability, and a sense of humor.
5. Be calm, be patient, and breathe – I don’t know for a fact, but I’m guessing this year is going to be more trying than the last one. I’m going to work really hard to just roll with it and adjust.

Here’s to a productive and successful year.

Wow last week was busy and this week will be even busier. Here’s a little bulleted update on what’s been going on around here.

• I finished working at the restaurant I’ve been working at since May. Apparently, I’ll be missed.

• We didn’t loose power during Tropical Storm Irene, but tons of people around us did. Vermont and northern NH still need a ton of clean up. I’m planning to give blood this week.
• I had professional development days all last week at school. I think my room is set up, and I think I’m ready. It’s really hard to ever be 100% ready though.

• Every afternoon I came home completely and utterly exhausted. The first two weeks back to school are always a whirlwind.
• Thursday night we went to see The Weepies, so even though I was tired, I wasn’t too tired for good music. It was such an awesome show. They seemed to really enjoy themselves too.

• On Saturday, I ran NINE MILES!  I never thought I would be able to run so far. I ran most of the half course with Jeremy. I had some weird foot spasms at mile 8. I’m pretty sure I need to get new shoes ASAP.  After running nine miles and running on the course, I really feel like I can do the half now.

Hopefully I’ll post more regularly this week, but with the start of school my priority is mainly to live.

Happy Labor Day!

Yesterday, Jeremy and I ran this loop through three cities on the seacoast. It was cool to run out onto New Castle island and see glimpses of the water as we ran. I did not like the grate bridge coming back into Portsmouth.

7 miles is a long way, but not the longest distance I’ll be running this fall.

You see, I signed up for this:

My dear friend Melinda, decided it be a good idea to do another half marathon and for me to do it with her. To say I’m a little bit nervous would be a gross understatement. It should be no surprise that I chose half that ends with a craft beer  

Overall training has been going well, and I’m definitely sticking with the Galloway method.

I’m trying to decide if I should prepare for this hurricane or not?

My thoughts:

• We live 20 minutes from the coast.
• The news often catastrophizes any weather situation.
• If’ I’m anything, I’m a person who likes to be prepared. When I hike, I could safely stay in the woods for  a week.
• If I don’t prepare and the worst happens, we’ll be screwed.
• If I do prepare and nothing happens, everyone will make fun of me.

Based on this list, I guess I’m going to go to the store and buy the following:

• Food that doesn’t need to be heated
• Water
• Candles
• Wine
• Fruit
• Snacks

Seriously the town we live in is so small that even 50 mph winds could knock out the power. I’ll guess I’ll charge our lantern and flashlights.

While I was camping, I was completely engrossed in the book Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brasheres. This is the 5th book in the Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. The other traveling pants books are considered young adult fiction. I read them in college and loved them. When I saw this book while walking around Barnes and Noble, I bought it right away I came directly home and ordered it from Amazon.

Source

I loved this book for a couple of reasons:

1. Even if you haven’t read the other books, you could read it. With that said, if you haven’t read the other books you should.
2. The sisterhood is now full of girls close to my own age.
3. The book really captured what it is to be in your late 20’s. I saw something of myself in most of the characters. The girls are juggling jobs, romance, identity, growing apart, and searching for happiness.
4. It’s this weird cross over between YA and Adult literature that was fitting. While a high school junior or senior could definitely enjoy this book, I think it would be too much for a middle or early high schooler. And obviously, an adult could pick this book and really find some depth.

This was a perfect summer read. 3.5 out of 5 stars.

I’m only have one more book to read before I finish my summer reading. Good thing too because I’m running out of time.

Whew! I’m tired. Today was physically harder than last week, but not horrible. The course we ran was really hilly.

I did 2.15 to 1 minute running/walking intervals. I’m hoping to up my intervals on future long runs. After we got back, I enjoyed a cool Summer Shandy and ate some bbq nachos with Jeremy.

Time for bed.

I’ve spent the majority of my life on the east coast. As an east coaster, I often assume that we have the market cornered on culture. We’ve got Broadway, The Constitution and Bill of Rights, The Liberty Bell, tons of museums with art, history, and science. It’s for me to forget that the rest of the country isn’t doing so badly. Chicago opened my eyes to the idea of maybe living away from the best coast. One of the best things Chicago has to offer in my opinion is the Museum Campus. *TIP* If you’re going to go to all of these places, buy the City Pass; we were able to skip all the lines and save money.

1) The Art Institute: I loved this museum. This museum is spacious, had one of the best cafeterias I’ve ever been to, and had some works of art I’ve been waiting a long time to see. Even in the insanity of travel in August I was able to move around and see everything. Here is a pictorial of the Art Institute’s highlights.

2) The Field Museum: If you like natural history, this is the place for you. We didn’t spend as much time here as we did at the Art Institute, but it was still enjoyable. I spent quite a bit of time in the evolution exhibit. If you don’t know, I was homeschooled for part of my education and went to a Christian school at a few other points. Needless to say, I didn’t get the best science education. I’m trying to rectify that now.

3) The Shedd Aquarium: The last educational thing we did while in Chicago was the aquarium. When we got there it was really crowded with too many strollers, kids, loud people, etc., so we just sprinted through and saw everything we could in as little time as possible.

4) Art about town: There is art all over Chicago. I loved it. While you may think Cloud Gate is a touristy, waste of time, we both were rather mesmerized by it. In addition to the art installations, the architecture really is phenomenal. I want to take an architecture boat tour if we go to Chicago again.

I think I can cram everything else into one post, but I make no guarantees.

This is one of our favorite beers -  Great Lakes Dortmunder Gold.

The best word to describe this beer is balance. It’s a little sweet, with a little bitter. It has an excellent evenness with hops and malt. All of the flavors come together to yield a great after taste. This beer has won awards all over the world and is easy to drink all year round.

Unfortunately, this beer isn’t available anywhere around here. The closest place to buy it is NY. While we were in Chicago, it was available on draft which was great. Great Lakes Brewing please come to New Hampshire!

A German Toast for a German style beer:

Each of us sees a part of the world; together we see all of it.

source

While you’re reading about our trip to Chicago, we are in Acadia National Park trying our best to see a moose. 

I’m going to split our trip up into a few parts.

This was my first trip to Chicago. In the past, I’ve harbored some resentment toward Chicago. To be fair, my only concept of it, outside of the Bulls and Michael Jordan, was driving past the city on the highway on family trips from Wisconsin to Virginia. There were always traffic jams, and it was always hot in the car. Now that I’ve actually gotten to experience the city, I can tell you it’s better than the highway makes it seem.

Jeremy and I took a MegaBus from Detroit to Chicago. We have taken MegaBus in the past with better results. This trip involved really annoying co-passengers, a leaking bus, and seats that seemed less than secure.

We were kindly allowed to stay in a condo that Jeremy’s uncle’s friend owns. It was in an excellent location, free, and absolutely comfortable.

After our arrival on Sunday, we rented bikes and rode down the bike trail that follows Lake Michigan. It was beautiful, until a huge thunderstorm rolled over us. There was lightning, thunder, and pelting rain that seriously hurt.

While this was an ominous start to our time in Chicago, and while there was eventually more rain, we had a really good time.

Tune in later for museums, Wrigley Field, and some tips on traveling to Chicago. Below is my favorite picture from our trip and currently my background.

On Thursday, August 4, we got up at 3:30 AM and headed to Manchester to catch a flight to Detroit, MI. We spent three days hanging out with a bunch of my college friends, seeing a Tiger’s game at Comerica Park, and drinking way too much beer. If you go to Michigan, you should definitely see a Tigers game; Comerica is a great park, even though I somehow managed to loose my camera case there.

There was lots of relaxing, laughing, and reminiscing. Next, we headed off for a whirl wind tour of Chicago. Stay tuned for Chicago posts later in the week.

Today, I ran five miles for the first time ever.

For some people, five miles is not far and I get that, but I’m still pretty damn proud of myself. Sure it took me over an hour, and I used Galloway’s intervals; however, the alternative was staying on the couch. I think I made the right choice. 

I’ve come a long way since I first started running. There were no angry tears. I even felt good at a few points. I can run outside now with ease that I never even thought possible back then.

Here’s to more miles.

Wow! It has been a long time since I opened my Live Writer. I’m way behind. This summer, out of nowhere, got really busy. However, It is the best kind of busy.

Jeremy and I went camping for the first time this summer in the White Mountain National Forest. We managed to find a secluded spot and set up the tent.

Our spot was beautiful with tons of sunlight during the day and tons of stars at night.

We had lots of good food and tons of reading time; I finished Sisterhood Everlasting by Ann Brasheres.

On Sunday, we started off on what we thought would be an moderately challenging hike. Well, maybe for some people it was a moderate challenge, but it turned out to be an arduous five miles. The path was extremely rocky, and I’m pretty sure we covered the entire elevation gain in just one mile. We were both plum tuckered at the end, well really the middle. 

We had a good time, as always, relaxing, hiking, and camping.

I thought vacation would afford me ample time to write a new post, but I guess I was wrong. Currently, I’m on a Megabus enroute from Detroit to Chicago. I will write a more thorough post soon on Jeremy’s computer not my phone.

We are off enjoying summer, camping, and hiking. Back on Monday.

Here’s the truth: Jeremy kind of has  an obsession with berries. Raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, and strawberries.  Lucky for him, his birthday falls squarely in berry season here in New Hampshire. I did something I rarely do today; I really followed recipes because I didn’t want to screw up.

This morning I got up early and made Jeremy blueberry muffins and also a few chocolate chip muffins. Of course, I mixed all the dry ingredients and put the liners in the muffin tin before I went to bed because only so much of me can be expected before 7am.

After Jeremy left for work, I went to Warren Farm to pick raspberries. The bushes were full, the breeze was blowing, the sun was shinning, and I was contentedly listening to This American Life. I could have picked all day.

Once I got home, I made one pint of the raspberries into jam. If you don’t own How to Be a Domestic Goddess, buy it. It’s one of my favorite cookbooks, even though sometimes Nigella leaves a lot to intuition. Nigella’s recipe for “Hands Free Raspberry Jam” is the easiest jam I’ve ever made. It really only has two steps. Heat sugar and raspberries in the oven in separate bowls, mix together, and pour in jars. Now I just need to bake some bread to enjoy the jam. After making the jam, I got to work on Nigella’s “Summer Berry Tart.”

There were so many egg yolks involved in this recipe; between the crust and the custard there were 14. Yesterday, I made the pastry crust. Today I baked the crust, made the custard (there may have been frustration, tears, and British curse words), and assembled the tart. This is not a recipe to do on a whim or without an ample amount of time. This recipe is time consuming, but gives you a beautiful reward.

We’re trying a new restaurant for dinner tonight, but we’ll be home for dessert.

Happy Birthday Jeremy. I am even more thankful for you this year.

I had a different post planned for today, a happier post, but that post won’t happen.

A little over a month ago, I went to a beautiful wedding in Michigan. I danced with my friends, and hopefully offered support to my friend Kristen.

It was so important for me to go to that wedding.  Kristen’s husband had a rare type of cancer that he had been fighting for sometime. Last night, the cancer made it impossible for him to continue. I feel so terribly sad for her and this new world that she now has to enter.

It’s so frustrating that we have so many scientific advances, but we can’t stop cancer 100% of the time. It seems there is nothing appropriate to say when someone that’s 28 dies.

Thankfully, treatments can work for other people. If you haven’t given already, take a minute to donate some money for Susan. Even in Canada, health care isn’t perfect; her province does not cover all of the drugs she needs to go along with her chemo. Yesterday, Janetha, bloggers, and blog readers raised 26,432 dollars for Susan. There are still a few items left to bid on, or you can, give cash like me. Click the picture to donate.

I hope that these funds will help cancer suck a little less for Susan and her family.

Source

For the last few months, I’ve been serving at a local restaurant. Overall, I like serving. I like meeting new people. I like that I get a workout while I’m working. I like the other people who work at the restaurant. Most nights are good: people are friendly and generous. But then there are other nights.

If I could (and I can because this is my blog), I’d like to offer a few tips and information to the person who eats at a casual restaurant:

1. Servers make $3.12 an hour.

2. At casual restaurants, most servers bus their own tables.

3. At the end of the night, servers have to share their tips with the bartender.

4. The standard tip in the US is 18%.

When you go to a restaurant, please consider these four items. Here are a few other things to think about:

1. Servers don’t just have one table.

2. If you are needy (i.e. you have three kids under the age of six), think about that when you tip.

3. Tipping isn’t a gift you’re giving your server; it is their pay for serving you.

If you could, be nice – saying please and thank you while smiling goes a long way. Remember they are servers not slaves. Yelling at your server will not make your food come faster, and it just might make an already stressed individual break down and cry.

I hope you appreciated this little PSA.

Yesterday, Jeremy and I went on our first hike of the year. Instead of bagging a peak, we opted for something a bit easier and hiked to a waterfall. Bridal Veil Falls was beautiful and peaceful. The trail starts on Copper Mine Road right outside of Franconia, NH.  You could certainly do this hike in Chaco’s, but the rockiness made me thankful for my boots.

The pools of cold water felt so good. It was 90 in New Hampshire yesterday, which for here is hot. I was sweating buckets.

This summer, I took a bit of an unplanned hiatus from running. On Saturday, I ran for the first time in ages and then hiked five miles on Sunday. Today, I’m focusing on stretching because I am SORE.

In addition to reading Lamb (which is going really slowly, so I may be reading something else for awhile and try to come back to it later), I’m also reading Runner’s World Complete Guide to Running.

I’m considering upping my mileage, for which I feel I need guidance. Thankfully, my secret best friend Melinda, sent me this book.

Since I’ve had some down time, I’ve been working on freshening things up around here.

1. New Header – I liked my old header, but I really like how bright this one is.
   
2. New Buttons – RSS, Facebook, and Twitter all at a click
   
3. A Recipe Page – There’s a new recipe page. Enjoy.
   

4.  And the winner for The Help is Starlightmusic:

Since she lives locally, I’ll be driving the book over to her.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend. Jeremy and I are planning to hike tomorrow. See you on Monday.

During winter break of my freshmen year of college circa 2001, I read a book someone loaned me Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Before that, I hadn’t really heard of J. K. Rowling or muggles or doxies or house elves. I was a little resistant; I didn’t read much fantasy. Over the next few summers, Harry Potter both the movies and the books became a fixture in my breaks from school.

Last night, Jeremy and I went to see HP7. Wanting to contribute to the festive mood, I made us t-shirts.

While it wasn’t the best movie, 3 out of 5 stars , we did have fun. In my opinion, too many liberties were taken with the text and unnecessary changes were made that didn’t serve the film well.

People may enjoy the movies, and those directors do try really hard, but no one can match the world that Rowling creates. I asked Jeremy last night, if a movie can ever capture the depth of a book. Anyone who reads these books, knows that Rowling constructed an entire set of rules, objects, words, and creatures. It is obvious that she has a talent for setting. However, the other thing that Rowling was able to do best over the course of seven books was develop complex characters; characters that matured and evolved over the years.

I will miss reading and watching Harry Potter. Mostly though, I’ll miss the pure escapism.

Are you a Harry Potter fan? Do you like fantasy books?

First, let me say I can’t believe no one handed me a copy of this book, and said, “Stop whatever you are doing right now and read this book.” The Help by Kathryn Stockett was worth the time it took to read all 530 pages. If you’d like a synopsis, here you go.

My Review

On the Writing:

Stockett’s strongest writing trait is voice. As I was reading, it reminded of As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner, which is one of my favorite books of all time. She was able to move so seamlessly between the character’s personas, dialects, and desires. After a few sections, the headings are completely unnecessary because it is so obvious which character is speaking.

The next aspect of the writing that I loved was the sense of place that Stockett is able to create. I felt like I was zooming around from bridge club, to the cotton farm, to the club. Sometimes, I wanted to bust out of Jackson as much as Skeeter. I could feel the angst and fear of the 60’s in the South far more than was probably good for me.

If I was forced to choose a negative, it might be that the ending is a bit saccharin for my taste.

In General:

Stockett says in her notes, “I was scared, a lot of the time, that I was crossing a terrible line, writing in the voice of a black person” (528). I think, if anything, her ability to write this book shows how very far we’ve managed to get in 50 years. While reading, I kept thinking it’s only been 50 years; that number kept echoing around in my head, like kids playing Marco Polo. 50 years ago, like the white women in her book, she wouldn’t have known nearly enough about the life of a black maid to write this book.

While I know this book is a work of fiction, the way the maids were treated is true. I cringe at the thought that a black person would be punished for accidentally touching a white person while serving them. This book somehow manages to highlight all the wonderful changes that have occurred, while holding a laser point on the things that haven’t. As someone who is both black and white, I often felt like I was getting punched in the stomach while reading, and I say that in the most affectionate way possible. A good book should make you feel and this one does.

Giveaway
I’m going to give someone my copy of this book. Leave a comment with the title of a book that has affected you. I’ll randomly choose a winner on Saturday, 7/16. Considering how many people read this blog, your odds are particularly good to win.

While I was in NY, my mother-in-law gave me a doughnut pan. I managed to make it five days without using it.

I followed the recipe on box, and they turned out great. I replaced the nutmeg with cinnamon because I really do NOT like nutmeg. Eventually, I’ll try to mix the recipe up a little, but I wanted to make sure that the first batch was great.

Cinnamon sugar for me and chocolate glaze for Jeremy. Apparently, there is no corn syrup in this house, so the glaze isn’t as shiny as it should be.

We will be having these again. I want to try to make a honey glaze next time.

You may know Paula for her illustrious use of butter, but she has other talents too – Bacon!

Now that I’m home during the day, I may spend more time than necessary watching Food Network. Thursday Paula and Bobby made a salad that I knew I had to try today. A warm bacon dressing and spinach salad. Here’s the recipe; I mostly went from memory. I mixed spinach and broccoli instead of mushrooms.

You should make this salad. I loved how the warm dressing wilted the spinach just a little. I figured since I was using one Paula Deen recipe I might as well make a whole southern meal.

I may have run out of corn meal while I was making these corn muffins, so I substituted grits and it worked great.

My black eye peas were not as good as my Nana’s. I’m guessing I needed to A) not use a can, B) cook them about 5 hours longer and C)find a ham hock. I’ll have to work on those.

I sure do miss good Southern food sometimes.

This weekend we were in NY.

There was baseball, hanging out, a few  s’mores and lots of reading.

I love a good s’more.

Someone is quite willing to sit and pose for a treat.

The drive to and from NY was tedious, but it was nice to see the family.

I saw a sign for blueberries today, so cobbler is in my near future.

Here are a few good things that have happened or are happening this week:

• My first four days off were filled with things like working at the restaurant, cleaning the house, doing laundry, and mowing the lawn. It was so nice to have the time to accomplish all those tasks.
• The lilies that I though had been destroyed during last summer’s construction in our yard, surprisingly returned. They are oh so pretty.

  

• Jeremy’s sister Shannon asked me to be the matron of honor in her wedding. Even after seeing Bridesmaids, I’m pretty excited. I’ve known Shannon since she was in 8th grade when she was my camper. She’s definitely the sister I never had. I’m excited to help with/be in her wedding.

  

• We are off this weekend to the Empire State (Has anyone noticed that I love referring to states by their nicknames? I’m a nerd; I accept it). I’m excited to see the fam and meet my brother’s new gf.
• Finally, I’m totally digging my new Droid Incredible 2. I want to use it a few more day before I post a full review.

It’s time for me to pack and load the car. Happy Canada Day today; High five a Canadian if you get the chance!

***Edit***
I had this entire post written and then my blog crashed. Good thing I always back up everything. The wonderful fellows at Blue Host had me back up and running within the day.

Last years list was a bit ambitious.

Who knows if I will ever finish Lonesome Dove.

So we’ll see how I do. My goal this year was to read 25 books. In other words, I’m pretty behind. Chains and Sisterhood Everlasting will be quick YA reads, so maybe that will help.

Today is my last day of school for  eight weeks. I have a lot to do this summer, but there is fun to be had as well. I’ll still be serving but just to save up money for Chicago.

So here is a look at what’s coming up:

1. Trips – Jeremy and I are taking two short trips. One to NY to see his family and one to MI and Chicago. I’ve never been to Chicago, and I always love going to the Mitten to see my friends.
2. Reading – I haven’t quite finalized my summer reading list yet, but I need to pick up the pace this summer to meet my goal for this year.
3. Work – Conferences, work days, and planning a curriculum for next year, will definitely take up a good chunk of my time. Contrary to popular belief, not all teachers loaf about in the summer.  Don’t get me started on Bad Teacher, as if teachers don’t have a bad enough wrap in this country right now.
4. Projects – I have so many things around the house that need to be done. One project is buying a new hard drive to back up our computers and our other hard drive.
5. Back to Blogging – Now that things have slowed down some, I’m excited to get back to blogging regularly, cooking, baking, exercising regularly, taking pictures, and trying new things.

I’m excited for summer!

Our life has been up in the air this spring. We didn’t know if Jeremy would get interviews from all the applications he sent out or not. I didn’t know if I’d be able to teach in the fall because I wasn’t sure where we would be. It was such a frustrating waiting game. But finally everything is official for what we will be doing next year.

Credit

We’ll be staying in the Live Free or Die State.

At first, I thought I would be really disappointed about this, but everything has worked out really nicely. Jeremy will be lecturing at UNH, and I’ll be teaching 7^th grade Language Arts. I’m staying in the same district and really the same building that I was in this year. Jeremy will get to keep working with his advisor. For the first time ever, we’ll have two incomes. So all in all, it seems like the right decision for both of us.

I’m excited that I don’t have to pack or leave my little town. This will officially be the longest I’ve ever lived anywhere in life.

Every time I think life is slowing down a little bit, I realize I am really, quite wrong. Here are the highlights:

• After staying up all night on last Saturday after the wedding, flying home Sunday, and having an interview for a job on Monday, I not so surprisingly came down with a cold.
• Even though I’ve been a little sick, I still managed to get a few bike rides in this week which, as I imagined, is a nice break from running.
• My bike isn’t exactly in the mint condition I thought it was when I bought it, but I’ve still been riding it. I rode it out to dinner on Thursday and to the farmers market today. Yes, you can ride a bike in a dress.

• This is the last full week of school for the year. I have a small mountain of projects to grade and soon a mountain of finals. Soon I’ll be back to cooking and work outs galore.

I have some big news on Monday about what we’ll be doing next year, so stay tuned.

This weekend I went back to Michigan. Many of my good friends from college live there. I was only there from 10 AM Friday until 6 AM Sunday, and my time was chockablock full of laughing, reminiscing, partying, and playing.  I laughed so hard my dimples hurt.

I finally got to meet my BFF’s baby. She is adorable, and I’m kind of in love with her. See for yourself:

I think 95% of our pictures are with an extended arm. Oh well.

I also attended a beautiful wedding that was turned into a college reunion.

It was a whirlwind weekend, but absolutely wonderful. The only bad part was that Jeremy was here and not there.

I’m thinking there will be another wedding to go to in the next year, which I couldn’t be happier about; I love an excuse to head back to the mitten.

This is just a post to say, I’m really disappointed in Anthony Weiner.

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Before you hear my thoughts, you should listen to one of my girl crushes, Rachel Maddow.

Here are my thoughts:

• He’s a tool.
• He probably doesn’t actually need to resign. As Rachel said, thus far it doesn’t seem he broke any laws nor were people being coerced. Most politicians are dirty but just haven’t been caught.
• He should avoid something stupid like go to fake rehab.
• He should keep taking responsibility for his actions.
• I hope his successful, intelligent, pregnant wife, makes the best decision for her. 

Rachel, should you read this post, I’d love to have that grabby hand to use in my classroom.

I got my jacket!

Today’s race went well. I didn’t PR, but it was my fastest race this year.

The first mille was WAY too fast. I ran a ten minute mile. I do not run ten minute miles. Because of the first mile, my second mile was really slow. But overall everything evened out for a finish of 37:04.

Loco races are always the best. Not that they control the weather, but today was beautiful. The course was staffed well and free of traffic. Jeremy ran this race with me; his first race all year. The beginning was really congested, but overall it was a good race. Thanks to Loco, Smuttynose, Stoneyfield, and Newmarket for putting up with 1,500 runners and their families.

After the race, I had a quick Star Island Single (one of my favorites) and a slice of pizza, then I went and waited in line for my jacket. It was quite the line, but worth it.

It’s weird to not have a race scheduled, so I’m looking around for something to do. I also bought a bike.

It was a Craigslist deal. I’m pretty sure it’s only been ridden once or twice. It will be nice to have a non-running option on the really hot days.

Thanks for all the support whether from Facebook, Twitter, or comments on my last post. You guys are great.