Up until recently I have really hated running for more then about 400 meters or unless I was chasing something like a soccer ball or frisbee.  I always remember having severe left arch pain even since the days before High School track and field.

Upon moving to New Hampshire in fall 2004, I was thrilled to find out that Stonyfield Farm Yogurt was in my backyard in Londonderry, NH (and took a factory tour…when they still did factory tours).

This past winter I was given a recommendation to look into midfoot/forefoot running to have a better chance of eliminating my arches from the heel/toe impact.  I purchased some Saucony Kinvara IIs and read a bit about Running Chi.  I initially practiced the form, went for 2.5-3.5 mile runs at least 2 days per week (thanks Sarah!) and it all felt pretty good…then frisbee season started…and stopped the extra running.  I haven’t perfected the running style, but the lower heel block (4mm vs. the 22mm of a typical running shoe) helped reduce my pain quite a bit.

I saw on The Facedbook that Stonyfield Farm was holding an Earth Day 5K on the 21st.   I thought, well why not!?  I like Stonyfield and I like running (more now), it’s close, let’s do it!

Becca and Sarah Pre-5K, getting water near the Stonyfield Farm sign!

Pre-5K with Gert the Becca, Stonyfield Cow, Sarah and Manchester Food Co-op!

The course was relatively flat in an industrial park with some rolling hills just outside the Stonyfield Yogurt factory.  There were a lot of folks who decided to walk the course and insisted in being at the front of the pack at the start, so it was interesting weaving in and out of walking traffic.

Excited for the Conaway cheering section! Who needs good running form anyway?

Having fun...hi guys! Not midfoot running...obviously...

It was a beautiful day, had a chance to represent the Manchester Food Co-op Initiative, run a 5K with 2 good friends Sarah and Kiersten and have a wonderful Conaway cheering section (thanks for the pictures guys!)  There was a great Earth Day Festival afterwards with yummy (free) food and drink!

The guy behind me is laughing..at me or Dave (taking the picture)?

In the end, I ran about a 9:33 mile and was never sucking wind…so I was happy with that.  And, due to the excitement of the race I totally didn’t focus on my running form and got some arch pain on mile 2, but it worked itself out by the end of the race.  I would love to get my time down a bit for when (and if) I choose to run another 5k in the near future.

SMILE!! Still not midfoot running, better practice!!

The Stonyfield Earth Day 5k was a cute little festival, it was packed with folks probably due to the gorgeous weather.  We hung around for a bit, consumed many dairy products and got a massage by a local massage school…fun fun!  I would definitely consider doing this race again!!

Coming down Deerfield Road I was surprised how much snow is on the ground…we don’t have much in the big city of Manch-vegas.

We started out on the snowmobile trails (One Mile Trail) just behind the toll booth and went on from there.

Then we turned onto Sentinel Pine Trail which was narrower and a bit steeper.

When we crossed over the Catamount Trail (one of the more popular trails), we got to have fresh tracks on the snow!!  It was neat looking out for wildlife and their tracks as well.

Fresh Snow

First Tracks

As we went on, we caught a sight of a hawk looking for prey

There was also a small group of Chickadees who didn’t want to hang out too long for a photo-op, but just long enough!

Camera Shy Chickadee

Then we meandered down to Hayes Marsh to take some time to enjoy the open water and the sounds of the woods…and the sunshine!!

Hayes Marsh

Hayes Marsh

Alexa enjoying Hayes Marsh and the sunshine!

Then we carefully made our way the Carr Ridge Trail to head on back. The snow had started melting and lost traction which revealed some nasty, solid ice underneath.  It was super slippery.

Alexa on the snowy trail

Then cautiously transitioned to Bear Brook Trail, along the Bear Brook that was still covered in snow.  The sound of the rushing brook was beautiful!

Bear Brook

Bear Brook

Leaves in a puddle

We meandered back to the parking lot. It was amazing by 2:00pm how much snow had melted to reveal water on ice, not the best hiking terrain, but it was beautiful!!

It was nice to take in the small details of our walk and leave everything else behind (at least for these 3 hours). Ahhhh, nature.

Fungus

Trail

We paid our preregistration fee of  $12.50 and waited…

Yesterday was the day!!  Mike, Matt Hanson and I left Manchester around 9:00 am to make the trek down to the Hilton in Woburn, MA for a day of the unknown.  We had heard about this event before, but hadn’t been…

Upon arrival we found a great parking spot right out front and made our way to the 3rd floor ballroom.  There were so many games being played, it was great!  The room was made up of rows and rows of tables for gaming with one isle down the middle to get from one end of the room to the other with a Meeting Place smack dab in the middle of the room to start a game…to find people to play with…and just meet up!  Along the edges of the room were tables where individuals could place their piles of games with their names to let the other Unity Gamers borrow games to play through out the day.

Walking in we were a bit overwhelmed but found some friendly faces to play a low key mobster game: Family Business.  This was a fun game to warm up for the day.

I had a great time breaking from group of folks that I knew…finding complete strangers to game with.  I would periodically return to our group and play a game.  Over the course of the 13 hours I played 9 games (4 of which were new to me, 3 I taught to others and 2 everyone at the table knew how to play!)

These included (in play order): Family Business, Pastiche,  7 Wonders, Bohnanza, Kingdom Builder, Flash Point, Citadels, String Railway (Japan), and Can’t Stop.

Here are a few other pictures from the day:

Overall, it was a wonderful day of gaming and catching up with friends.  I look forward to attending the 19th annual Unity Games in 2013!!

SUPER SCRATCHER!!

It is a really neat lens because it doesn’t zoom (what a concept!)  You have to position yourself (gasp!)

We are really looking forward to the New Year.  I have a head cold since Christmas Day and a moderate ear ache since (yes, I went to the doctor today, I never go to the doctor. I will be ok.) And am really looking to feeling better and normal.

I have been thinking a lot about my mom and continue to miss her everyday.  I still can’t believe it has been 3 years this coming January 2nd since she passed.  She helped me so much to be the woman I am today…I see so much of her in me.

My thoughts and energy go out to many of my family and friends going through challenging times with health, money, loss, distance and change…and would be interested in helping any way we can.

Hope that good things will come in 2012!  Best wishes to our family and friends in the New Year! See you all soon!

Ok, this might sound strange to most folks…but how cool is that?

We went back to Chicagoland for Thanksgiving to visit Mike’s family and made a stop up to Schaumburg to visit Matt and Steph.  And again the snails were there!!

Steph decided to give me some snails to migrate back to NH with me…now was the dilemma of how to transport them on a plane.

She put them in two small ziplock bags alternating…in a plastic teeth mold case.  But, it began to leak…plan B.  Mike’s mom had a 1/2 cup tupperware container.  Then I got scared! 1/2 cup = 4 oz!  One oz above the approved volume for the TSA!!  I had to make a snail life and death decision…do I carry them on and risk the possibility my snails may be taken OR do I risk the journey to checked luggage?  I decided upon the latter. Mike’s mom found a small cooler back to assist in insulating the snail tupperware.

The snails have lived with us for about 3 weeks and are doing well.  There were initially 1 large snail and at least 2 small snails…they have multiplied!!  I was going to make them my bathroom snails too…but I don’t have an outlet near the place I would like them to live so right now they are living room snails.

Here are a few pictures from this past weekend (don’t worry I recently gave them more water):

Becca's living room snails

Baby snails!

Big snail and baby snail together...aww

This week, I decided to do it anyway on the living room floor.  For some reason we have been collecting wine corks for the past few years.  There was really no purpose to this…except they were stored in the kitchen basket hanging from the ceiling.  Until it fell down…ok about 3 months ago.

I stopped by Kohl’s and picked up a discounted square Halloween frame to create a trivet.

Wine, corks, glue and frame

I decided to pick out a few corks that had meaning or just looked really cool.  I had to trim a few down to fit the area of the frame.  There were only a couple that had be be a bit shorter to squeeze everything in.

Laying out the cork pattern...hey, who drank my wine?

Looking good!  I liked using Ommegang beer corks for the corners.  Then using Oliver and Sharpe Hill (a couple local wineries to places I have lived). The MB cork was cool too.  There were also a couple with quotes, adventure tools, neat designs (and some that just physically fit well).

Almost there...now time to glue!

The gluing process was, well, interesting.  I thought I would be really smart and use Gorilla Glue because it is strong!  This made it a little difficult to work with.  In order to use it the surfaces must be wet to create the super strong chemical reaction to hold the pieces in place.  During this phase some of the corks decided to fit very tightly and pop out of the frame and get Gorilla glue on the frame edges, the table and my fingers (remember water creates the chemical reaction, so it is very hard to wash off!)  It also bubbles a bit when it dries so now it can been seen in between the corks.

In retrospect I think hot glue would have been easier to work with…but potentially would need more maintenance down the road.

Trivet done!

Before I glued, I switched a couple corks around…and added some I found at the bottom of the cork bowl.  All and all, I really enjoy it!!

Sara, Artemis, Christine, Becca, Sarah, Laura

This past weekend we were able to meet up at Sara’s in Providence. We had a great time catching up, eating cheese and crackers and drinking wine! Thanks again girls for a good night! See you again soon!

Hello Sweetie!

River Song, Day of the Moon

The color is a bit off…I added the zipper (a bit long), shortened original dress and put in the  cinching on the sides.  For the (lack of) experience and resources I had without spending lots of money, I am pretty happy with it!

I would have loved to find a holster that was made out of something other than cardboard and duct tape!!

Becca as River Song

River Song's Diary

Spoilers!

Snow prediction 10.29.11

With that we are predicted to get 5-10+ inches of SNOW!  In October!  We are planning on staying over for an extended experience due to the weather!  Looking forward to it!