tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-13423286835794194232024-02-20T13:14:29.197-05:00Jenna Takes OnMama on multitasking overdrive.Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.comBlogger49125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-31811873699155347532014-06-17T13:14:00.001-04:002014-06-17T13:14:20.763-04:00Ragnar Trail Appalachian '14<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjiFDgE39BCRcxWWsllVVxpw3y0eoKlGEotXiE1Zmi9PgpImP2iJRUnMEnkIWMA-pWKY9HQtA24DUauSn8FuTrB2kMJIB8f5wlh1Q_ZvCxpmsuAb7mnqqo5znx2dfQ64LeAXytx0VFK2w/s1600/20140614_152037.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="mud, Ragnar, trail running, running, race, medal, trails" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjiFDgE39BCRcxWWsllVVxpw3y0eoKlGEotXiE1Zmi9PgpImP2iJRUnMEnkIWMA-pWKY9HQtA24DUauSn8FuTrB2kMJIB8f5wlh1Q_ZvCxpmsuAb7mnqqo5znx2dfQ64LeAXytx0VFK2w/s1600/20140614_152037.jpg" height="180" title="Jenna Takes On" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Got Mud?</td></tr>
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<span style="text-align: justify;">What have I been up to, lately? Training, training, training. Marathon running. Trail running. Triathlon training. Starting some exciting new projects in my personal life that I will tell everyone about when they are becoming more definite. Last weekend, though, I experienced the insanity that was the </span><a href="http://www.ragnartrail.com/locations/appalachians-wv" style="text-align: justify;" target="_blank">Ragnar Trail Appalachians</a><span style="text-align: justify;">, in West Virginia. What an experience. Crazy storm, beautiful though muddy trails, awesome people.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoLmZ1DRgM5thn90SLOiXBfClQrLDamTiA58MYWGmrCdf0mmCecr7xIWP6iI3CFXQC7XCOaoxhdgeOFeV0CysgiGk-_LyZ3QCXOL2Ome6H7jJD9g286B1tKe-v239xvcHvo3RqPA4pVU/s1600/20140613_133039.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Confluence Running, Binghamton, Ragnar Trail, Ragnar, relay, race, running" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaoLmZ1DRgM5thn90SLOiXBfClQrLDamTiA58MYWGmrCdf0mmCecr7xIWP6iI3CFXQC7XCOaoxhdgeOFeV0CysgiGk-_LyZ3QCXOL2Ome6H7jJD9g286B1tKe-v239xvcHvo3RqPA4pVU/s1600/20140613_133039.jpg" height="180" title="Team Wetsuit Legal at Ragnar Trail Appalachain '14" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Team Wetsuit Legal for Confluence Running</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzY0_DRoXHedUjm6rGS41l5mtwCKnyUlER1HdQ-8Lf2CqfEouN0pKGWtUcxoYRGDuLCcGpetQrE_Gjs0gWjXLYTr8EB3XGphospBJTowJz5qfHnZOiD9BGQNtydGznKevFyNmd3BeUFWY/s1600/20140613_132344.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzY0_DRoXHedUjm6rGS41l5mtwCKnyUlER1HdQ-8Lf2CqfEouN0pKGWtUcxoYRGDuLCcGpetQrE_Gjs0gWjXLYTr8EB3XGphospBJTowJz5qfHnZOiD9BGQNtydGznKevFyNmd3BeUFWY/s1600/20140613_132344.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We wrote our team name on our arms</td></tr>
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Our team's start time was 2:30, and the day was gorgeous: sunny and full of promise. Two of us had arrived the night before the race so one of our tents was set up, but we spent the morning and early afternoon once the rest of the team arrived setting up our campsite, checking out the Ragnar village and applying temporary tattoos, etc.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMupUPwMP-rJD2FPErImEESO2XbxGv7Dl_xESHZrOvOZYWs76IYbhpjGFvTAtqqwHGts09hfBmFvw4ZCQbdSNLUbF2vq5S9CuRrgeaKKm2nsD3IbZo_nhKOnEcgd9Kr22KXwsqSSv4nKs/s1600/20140613_132315.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMupUPwMP-rJD2FPErImEESO2XbxGv7Dl_xESHZrOvOZYWs76IYbhpjGFvTAtqqwHGts09hfBmFvw4ZCQbdSNLUbF2vq5S9CuRrgeaKKm2nsD3IbZo_nhKOnEcgd9Kr22KXwsqSSv4nKs/s1600/20140613_132315.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Check out my sweet Ragnar tat</td></tr>
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Finally it was time for us to go listen to the safety talk and then the first runner could start! During the safety talk, he explained what would happen in the case of inclement weather. It seemed simple enough, they would postpone the race for an hour and skip the next runner. I just crossed my fingers and hoped it wouldn't happen. Finally, our first runner was ready to line up at the start. Very exciting. We all went to see our runner off and then headed back to the campsite to hang out for a while. Everything went as planned, and our first runner came in at the expected time and the exchange went exactly as planned. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfLmKXXGGCM6m5R2mLjD2hrkM6U6mcqe27KdNKAcJZUkCK5QvU8r6R_BW6Xev2UQwMj5SX5vw73gspeZOxl2-je3xh11wRBZE12woypCWZHSAzVwF2wq-sr-IkydFIR998Qv-1wcncFI/s1600/20140613_160055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Storm, Ragnar Trail, Race" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfLmKXXGGCM6m5R2mLjD2hrkM6U6mcqe27KdNKAcJZUkCK5QvU8r6R_BW6Xev2UQwMj5SX5vw73gspeZOxl2-je3xh11wRBZE12woypCWZHSAzVwF2wq-sr-IkydFIR998Qv-1wcncFI/s1600/20140613_160055.jpg" height="180" title="Ominous Clouds" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ominous clouds - that "oh crap" moment...</td></tr>
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During the second runner's first leg, we were hanging out by the campsite, trying to charge my phone in the car, when we noticed some ominous clouds coming up at us quickly. Suddenly lightning was flashing, thunder was rumbling, and the wind kicked into high gear while the rain came down in sheets. I watched in shock as some other teams' tents blew away, taking other tents out with them. This is when I decided to jump out of the car and take down our borrowed easy-up tent from our friends at the local running store, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ConfluenceRunning" target="_blank">Confluence Running</a>, which luckily was a pretty heavy tent and didn't blow away with the first gust. When I finally got a chance to look at our sleeping tent, I was horrified to see that the wind was blowing the side in and looking like it could potentially snap the tent poles. Let me tell you, you have not lived until you've stood in a field at the top of a mountain in a wild storm desperately grasping tent poles and trying to keep them from bowing too far while shaking from the cold. By the time the storm had let up to just a steady deluge of rain, the entire camping area was completely trashed. People were trying to put things back together in the rain or just staring, dumbfounded, at the carnage. Five of us climbed into my pontiac vibe to ride out the rain, while making ridiculous jokes about the devil coming straight out of the sky to blow away our tents and laughing hysterically at the situation. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjG68Ru1tGHsVewxsmNU1O5tkG9WtIiuveq-hV1D-YDtXvSTV6-QB72vuzpX22nYhKLdDbWYHu1H6Ux5qZZwifkhWe5qoP12m_bDgMJUkIkLdhTA2rOdTHqJ8DgSgCMBpszl1yLFQoroQ/s1600/20140613_164033.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjG68Ru1tGHsVewxsmNU1O5tkG9WtIiuveq-hV1D-YDtXvSTV6-QB72vuzpX22nYhKLdDbWYHu1H6Ux5qZZwifkhWe5qoP12m_bDgMJUkIkLdhTA2rOdTHqJ8DgSgCMBpszl1yLFQoroQ/s1600/20140613_164033.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting out the rain in my tiny car</td></tr>
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Thankfully, our runner wasn't in the woods in the storm for too terribly long, and made it back safe. Meantime, the Ragnar people handed her the obligatory postponement card when she returned, putting off the race for an hour and skipping our next runner. Ultimately, they ended up skipping the next hour and 4th runner, as well. At this point, we were all chilled to the bone from the rain and the drastic temperature drop brought by the storm, so we decided to make use of the hot food offered at the free dinner - spaghetti and rolls and salad. It's amazing how some mediocre-tasting but hot food can feel like such a blessing in these conditions. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOx6b40mp-0-4l99E659Db1OmU49JFhft2idC9Ty1lgEjbyCBmAO4v0UoeA2VcIsOT9t9fTQ0vi3sz8B19tOX_ic1FL340EbpgYUDTzO6lk6EVFbbHxv8Di9HBMzFhycKQsq8oa3kr50c/s1600/20140613_173056.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOx6b40mp-0-4l99E659Db1OmU49JFhft2idC9Ty1lgEjbyCBmAO4v0UoeA2VcIsOT9t9fTQ0vi3sz8B19tOX_ic1FL340EbpgYUDTzO6lk6EVFbbHxv8Di9HBMzFhycKQsq8oa3kr50c/s1600/20140613_173056.jpg" height="180" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stuffing our faces because: warm</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZe0_fH59FafWJpkTbmuiEwM4xnbLOs4uhWB5WRz1-DKPxwZILZ4MaP8b6JbkKoThoqREu0WHjWHrK-M5AOy03DIcce6VX-s8kzKSH7NnKIgbChMysVxlOMRTsE60Pvg_cFpWXjyhY3bs/s1600/20140613_174405.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZe0_fH59FafWJpkTbmuiEwM4xnbLOs4uhWB5WRz1-DKPxwZILZ4MaP8b6JbkKoThoqREu0WHjWHrK-M5AOy03DIcce6VX-s8kzKSH7NnKIgbChMysVxlOMRTsE60Pvg_cFpWXjyhY3bs/s1600/20140613_174405.jpg" height="320" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hanging out in the relative dryness of the merchandise tent. So.cold. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivfLmKXXGGCM6m5R2mLjD2hrkM6U6mcqe27KdNKAcJZUkCK5QvU8r6R_BW6Xev2UQwMj5SX5vw73gspeZOxl2-je3xh11wRBZE12woypCWZHSAzVwF2wq-sr-IkydFIR998Qv-1wcncFI/s1600/20140613_160055.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
After the storm passed, the race started back up again, having skipped two runners. The skipping of the runners actually worked in our favor in terms of time because Ragnar just uses the average team pace to calculate those skipped legs, and our skipped runners were slower than the average pace, generally. It didn't much matter, though, because after the torrential rains, the trails were basically composed of total muck. Think mud 6 inches deep, when it wasn't just standing water. Now realize, this race had 1000 teams of 8 runners. That's a LOT of feet going over trails that are a total disaster, churning them to the point of being about the texture of a thick milkshake. Needless to say, was pretty slow going. A total slog. We had two more runners to run before it would be dark and the going would be even slower. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln-WlYxQ6bfKpi2o2rojCscoVVJ7a15kLfRYxZHjHXPRWKnD43O0h5ItIx68HaVyZP-sfxydOIRhSR1H7mUp2BDSLV_UiQEaLJF2XAhO3K6HG5Rhx0fjwRWGfKkMMS3F5Wl9jSgd3k6s/s1600/20140613_143608.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Ragnar Trail, Ragnar, relay, race, trail running" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhln-WlYxQ6bfKpi2o2rojCscoVVJ7a15kLfRYxZHjHXPRWKnD43O0h5ItIx68HaVyZP-sfxydOIRhSR1H7mUp2BDSLV_UiQEaLJF2XAhO3K6HG5Rhx0fjwRWGfKkMMS3F5Wl9jSgd3k6s/s1600/20140613_143608.jpg" height="180" title="the trails" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The trails</td></tr>
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As runner #8 (the last runner), I was "lucky" enough to be the first one to run in the dark. In the slushy-mud trails. In mountain lion territory (I went in being nervous about the possibility for an encounter with wildlife). On friday the 13th... and a full moon. I was slated to run the yellow loop. I put on my headlamp, grabbed a hand-held flashlight and nervously waited in the exchange area for my teammate to come through. The light was still waning when I headed out but the moment I got into the woods, it was clear that I needed my lights on immediately. About a minute and a half into my run, the fog became so thick you could barely see anything and the headlamp just made the air into a wall of white. Every breath out just added to the fuzzy visibility. I was so glad I brought my hand-held flashlight as well, because using that to spotlight rocks is what made it possible to run at all through that fog. I'm a little disappointed that I didn't get to see much of that trail (fog too thick, trail too technical and required too much concentration). At one point I ran past ferns that came up to my shoulder. It really felt magical, at the time, despite my fears of encountering a bear or mountain lion. The mud and fog made the going pretty slow, but I was still hitting a pretty good pace (around 10 min/mile) and ended up finishing the loop ahead of my projected pace and blowing by a ton of people who were stuck just walking because of their lack of light or whatever. When I got back to the Ragnar village, I immediately told my teammates to take their time because I had no need to have another run in the dark, but later I started to feel like it was kind of awesome, though it would have been more fun (and less terrifying) if I had been running with my friends who have been doing the night trail run training with me.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaLLqVWP1HdxCEMoaw6OETbTu88mlVp6CRpAMjr1aKrrP1LQiEKLMokZGabQki57BigtVrRgTlKJDCseOgkje2qnaO3AcQAKDZrusyAZAVo7PZaLd9IfRjSKKItPVyhiXb7eepFUjVSo/s1600/20140617_112411.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="mud, vivobarefoot, trail running, Ragnar Trail, West Virginia, Racing" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfaLLqVWP1HdxCEMoaw6OETbTu88mlVp6CRpAMjr1aKrrP1LQiEKLMokZGabQki57BigtVrRgTlKJDCseOgkje2qnaO3AcQAKDZrusyAZAVo7PZaLd9IfRjSKKItPVyhiXb7eepFUjVSo/s1600/20140617_112411.jpg" height="320" title="Muddy Vivobarefoot Shoes" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My poor trail shoes</td></tr>
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Luckily (or not?), we were all slow enough through the muck at night that I didn't end up running again until about 9 the next morning. My second leg, luckily, was the shortest and had dried out fairly well over the course of the night. The running was only somewhat technical, but pretty fun, and overall uneventful. It was by far my fastest leg of the three. <br />
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After that, we had expected a lot of down time again, as we went through the cycle of runners one last time. Unfortunately, the Ragnar people decided that too many of the teams were too far behind schedule because of the lousy trail conditions and they were telling us that we needed to have our final runner out on the trails by 4pm or risk a DNF (did not finish). They told us that if we were not likely to have that happen, we would have to double up and since there was only one race bib, the doubled up runners would have to finish the leg together. So, for the last leg (the longest one) I ended up running with a teammate. It was a lot of fun! The trail was technical, but GORGEOUS and running it with a friend made the experience that much more enjoyable. By this time, the trails had dried up, for the most part, though there were still some fairly slushy areas, and it was just a lovely fun trot through the woods. We pushed hard at the end, through the very mucky last mile, and I think the elevation difference from home (about 2000 ft higher there) made the running more difficult, but my final experience with the Ragnar Trail was that it was an awesome though exhausting experience. <br />
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My overall takeaway from the Ragnar Trail Relay is that it was fun and physically challenging, but there was at least as much mental challenge (from lack of sleep, and grueling runs through the darkness and the mud). During the race I kept thinking "ugh, why do I do this to myself? I hate relays." but just like always, afterwards all I can think about is when I can do it again!<br />
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I'd like to give special thanks to our local running store, <a href="http://www.confluencerunning.com/" target="_blank">Confluence Running</a>, for loaning us the tent that kept us dry and shaded during the race. It really made our race experience that much better. If you're ever in Binghamton, NY, stop by and check them out! It's one of my favorite places to go.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_zYMYC6i89sxQRkwpw2BejYYp-WbSQH6hUIKjh1lP-PMgdIOFGX1ZWvw6rPdB5xViukSiSST639scCj3muHFNab7a7Z-at-rA8O8RsSl2F94KNeiPuvZSqTxf1exbzl1Zw6jP2rBfpk/s1600/IMG_20140121_172527.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn_zYMYC6i89sxQRkwpw2BejYYp-WbSQH6hUIKjh1lP-PMgdIOFGX1ZWvw6rPdB5xViukSiSST639scCj3muHFNab7a7Z-at-rA8O8RsSl2F94KNeiPuvZSqTxf1exbzl1Zw6jP2rBfpk/s1600/IMG_20140121_172527.jpg" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
This is the first winter I've really spent much time running when it was very cold. This is partially because we're having a colder winter than we had the past few years, and partially because in previous years I was a lot less serious about getting out there as often during cold weather. The biggest question I get from other runners regarding my minimalist shoes is "Don't your feet get cold?" The answer might surprise you. Nope! In fact, generally my feet are one of the warmest parts of my body despite the thinness of the soles of my (well worn) <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-shoe-review-merrell-barefoot.html" target="_blank">Merrells</a>, along with the thinness of the upper. My hands tend to be cold when I run in cold weather, but not my feet. I do wear wool socks to help keep in warmth in case my feet get wet, since the upper extends very close to the ground and there can be some water seeping in if the road is wet or slushy. So far I've run in 4 degree weather where my legs felt very cold, but my feet were perfectly warm. <br />
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The basic concept behind this is that your foot muscles are in use so much more than when they're being supported by arch support and all kinds of padding that you're pumping blood through there much faster. I don't really have anything to compare with, since I've never run in conventional shoes in wintertime, but I have been hiking in winter boots and had my feet feel extremely cold/numb. I know my feet are much more muscular than they were before I started running, so it seems to make sense that that's why they're not cold (muscles in use generate heat, right?), but I don't have any specific information on it. Anyway, just thought I'd share that experience, in case there's people out there wondering how that goes.<br />
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Meantime, my<a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-shoe-review-merrell-barefoot.html" target="_blank"> Merrell Dash Gloves</a> have over 1000 miles on them and I'm hoping to try out <a href="http://www.skorarunning.com/" target="_blank">Skoras</a> soon, since Merrell seems to have converted their entire "Barefoot" line to something less minimalist than I'd like to see. I'll post a review once I've used them for a while.Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-13403134983951091682013-09-21T12:44:00.001-04:002013-09-21T12:44:23.303-04:0012 Ways a Marathon is Like Natural Childbirth<a href="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/9857189423_72f9be8dcf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3689/9857189423_72f9be8dcf.jpg" width="320" /></a>I might be kind of freaking out over my marathon that's coming up so soon, now. The trepidation I have going on reminds me so much of preparing for labor. When I was pregnant, planning a natural childbirth, the midwives always told me "labor is like a marathon, you gotta be in it for the long haul and you've got to prepare." Coming up on my first marathon (omg, in just a couple weeks!!) has me thinking of all the ways that a marathon compares to childbirth. <br />
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1. You're preparing for months. Both for labor and marathon training, you've got to start getting yourself prepared (mentally and physically!) starting months ahead of time. <br />
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2. The time leading up to the event is not necessarily comfortable. There will be aches, there will be pains. You'll grin and bear it.<br />
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3. You can use it as an excuse to eat like a horse! Come on... we all do it. <br />
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4. You know it's going to hurt, but the a big question on how long it's going to hurt for and exactly how much.<br />
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5. Along the same lines, there's a big question as to how sore you'll be after. Could be only a little, could require a wheel chair.<br />
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6. You oscillate between being excited and being terrified. This is a huge life event and a huge accomplishment! It's going to be so amazing and awesome when it's over... but it's no small feat to get there!<br />
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7. Slight risk of death. Let's face it: People die, occasionally, while running marathons or giving birth. It happens... the chances aren't huge, but it happens.<br />
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8. You worry about needing to poop during it. Yep... during labor or during a marathon. Mostly you hope to not poop your pants.<br />
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9. You need to try to figure out what you can eat and drink to keep your energy up without making you nauseous. This is probably not something that people delivering at a hospital deal with, but I had two babies at home and we definitely needed to think about this.<br />
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10. You know you'll look awful in the pictures, but you still want to see them in all their sweat-soaked glory.<br />
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11. You hope you make it through without needing surgery. Injuries happen. C-sections happen. Neither are ideal (for those planning a natural childbirth, at least).<br />
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12. The only way out is through... just keep going. <br />
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Obviously having a baby is a bit bigger life event than running a marathon, and not everybody goes through childbirth the way I have, but I've been so amused at the parallels I've been drawing. Hope you enjoyed them. Please comment if you can think of more!<br />
<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-22853316638250238632013-08-01T15:02:00.000-04:002013-08-01T15:11:09.578-04:00Running Stuff I Like<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XTpmjCe1u-J8py4FFqBxIeO83ld_eBTpGgmkLX_Z1mb8n-B9Aw69rJdV6SQr-NGp1-lAIUiENRVUCAHHrYiNTfBjlufYsNFnNGX_dbJudUc3g_i7Rc7hKk3l2d4OwAeDjQRjluZx61E/s1600/crazy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7XTpmjCe1u-J8py4FFqBxIeO83ld_eBTpGgmkLX_Z1mb8n-B9Aw69rJdV6SQr-NGp1-lAIUiENRVUCAHHrYiNTfBjlufYsNFnNGX_dbJudUc3g_i7Rc7hKk3l2d4OwAeDjQRjluZx61E/s320/crazy.jpg" width="262" /></a>I've been pretty busy lately between marathon training and writer's block (aka, kids), so I thought I'd just drop in quickly and post about things I've been into lately in the running world.<br />
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<li><b>My new compression socks</b>. I love these things. My calves used to feel so, so tired at the end of long runs, but the compression socks keep my legs feeling fresh even at mile 19 (my longest run so far has been 20 miles). I'm pretty thrilled. And look how cool they are! Neon green with crazy pink stars? Yes, please. And I got them on sale from <a href="http://www.procompression.com/">www.procompression.com</a>. Check them out on facebook, seems they're consistently posting coupon codes, which I especially like because compression socks are pricey! They have less, er, flamboyant ones, too, if you're into that kind of thing.</li>
<li><b>NUUN in kona cola flavor</b>. Because I'm low carb, I don't need a ton of fuel, but I do need electrolytes, and for whatever reason at the end of a long run I'm consistently CRAVING COLA, so this is perfect. I was worried that it'd be kind of nasty-flat-soda-ish, but it's not. Just don't expect coca-cola because it's not really that either. Something about the gingery cola flavor really seems to settle my stomach, too.</li>
<li><b>The book "<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Train-Like-Mother-Across-Finish/dp/1449409865" target="_blank">Train Like a Mother</a>". </b> It's got funny anecdotes and interesting information and it's where my marathon training plan came from. I'm using the Marathon "Own it" plan and I really like it because they organize it by which runs are completely required and which you can skip if you need to. Perfect for busy moms. </li>
<li><b>My garmin watch</b>. I was so torn on buying this because I ran with my phone with the endomondo app and it seemed to fill that purpose for me, but I so strongly prefer running with my garmin. If you're on the fence, I'd say go for it.</li>
<li><b>Margarita flavored clif shot blocks</b>. As I said, I don't do a ton of fueling, but on the 20 milers I'll have a few shot blocks (like maybe 4 or 5 over the course of the 3 1/2 hr run). I far prefer the margarita ones... they're tasty and not overly gooey-sweet like all the other stuff seems to be. They have extra salt in them, too, which has been great for me in all this extreme heat and humidity.</li>
<li><b>My <a href="http://www.smithoptics.com/products/#/sunglasses/Womens/Parallel+D-Max/view/" target="_blank">Smiths</a> sunglasses</b>. I've had them for years and they're my best friend on a sunny day.</li>
<li><b>Running along the beach</b>. Because beach. Even despite the humidity.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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And with that, I'm out. </div>
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<b><i>What's your favorite running stuff?</i></b><br />
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<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-90266381007314435332013-06-04T10:42:00.003-04:002013-06-04T10:42:43.602-04:00Cleaning the House in 40 Minutes a Day? Or: How Running Made Me a Better Housekeeper.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Behold, the sparkling clean trash can of day 2!</td></tr>
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My history with housekeeping has been a long and messy one (ha!). I've never been the greatest housekeeper, though the months we were selling our house, I really kicked it up a notch and pulled through, but BOY was that a lot of work. I've typically been terrible at following schedules, so all the <a href="http://www.flylady.net/" target="_blank">fly lady stuff</a> never really worked for me. Especially since her #1 focus seems to be waking up each day and shining your sink. I just don't care if my sink sparkles, as long as it's not disgusting, I guess. <br />
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I recently stumbled on <a href="http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/how-to-clean-your-house-in-20-minutes-a-day-for-30-days-131142" target="_blank">this thirty day cleaning schedule from Apartment Therapy</a>. Well, to be honest, I ran across <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-keep-your-kitchen-clean-in-20-minutes-a-day-for-30-days-164563" target="_blank">the kitchen one</a>, first. Twenty minutes per day? That feels doable! I decided to start the kitchen cleaning schedule on June 1. I'm thinking I'm going to do both, though, I just need to catch up on the house cleaning schedule by spending a little extra time today. <br />
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This brings me to my first problem: I'm terrible at following schedules (at least, when no one else is specifically counting on me for it). Here's the thing, though. After following my half-marathon training plan, following a cleaning plan actually feels like it's no big deal. I think I can commit to 30 days, and I honestly think I'll be pleased enough with the results that I'll want *WANT* to continue. <br />
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Let's hear it for learning discipline! This gives me hope of managing to get myself on some kind of homeschooling schedule.<br />
<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-50878037718931495422013-05-28T15:17:00.003-04:002013-05-29T10:20:07.369-04:00Training NotesFirst, I've caught crazy and signed up for a (mini) triathlon. I don't think it should be too bad, it's only a 250yd swim, 5 mile bike, 2 mile run. I think I should be done in around 50 minutes. It's funny because I had put it off for so long because I thought I hated swimming laps. In the past, every time I swam laps I felt so BORED and just hated it. I don't know what happened, maybe the kids have really pushed me past my limits and I'm desperate for quiet, or maybe it's just via all the running without music I've gotten used to the silence. I'm actually enjoying the lap swims! It's started pretty slow, I couldn't swim more than 50 yds at a time without feeling like I couldn't breathe, but now I'm able to swim 500 and then take a short break and swim 500 more. I'm pretty pleased with my progress.<br />
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Interestingly, the cycling part of the tri training is not so appealing to me. though I had thought I'd enjoy it. I love riding our tandem bicycle with my husband, but I am not loving riding in town, by myself. Maybe I would like doing group rides, better. Hopefully when my kids' evening activities end in a couple weeks, I can start participating in group rides with the local triathlon club.<br />
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Second, I've caught double crazy and signed up for a MARATHON in October. I started marathon training this week. I'm planning on using this <a href="http://www.runnersworld.com/race-training/less-more-marathon-plan?page=single" target="_blank">"less is more" training plan</a> from runner's world, basically, except I added a few weeks in the middle because I really want to run a full 26 miles before the race so I know what I'm up against. I bought the book <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/159486649X" target="_blank">Run Less, Run Faster</a> </i>by
Bill Pierce<span class="byLinePipe"></span>,
<span class="contributorNameTrigger">Scott Murr</span>,
<span class="contributorNameTrigger">and Ray Moss<i>, </i>to try and make sure I am completely up on exactly how much cross training to be doing, and what pace I should be running at, etc.<span class="contributorChevron" style="margin-left: 5px;"></span> I'm planning to do some cycling, some swimming, and some HIIT-style work outs for cross training, at this point, but we'll see how it goes. This will be important, I think, because I've signed up for a Super <a href="http://www.spartanrace.com/" target="_blank">Spartan race</a>, which will be 8+ miles of obstacle course and mud in the beginning of September, and I'll need to have decent upper body strength for that.<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new pace gloves, in funky yellow!</td></tr>
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<span class="contributorNameTrigger">In preparation for this stuff, I've bought a few things. New shoes, of course, though I kept with the same shoe (<a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/08/another-shoe-review-merrell-barefoot.html" target="_blank">Merrell Dash Gloves)</a> I've been running in all year (though I got myself a new pair of the<a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/06/merrell-barefoot-run-pace-glove-review.html" target="_blank"> Pace Gloves</a>, too). Also, I bought a pair of compression calf sleeves since during <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2013/05/my-grand-experiment.html" target="_blank">my recent half marathon training</a> I was getting some calf soreness. Hopefully they'll help me side-step that during marathon training. ALSO, I'm super excited that my husband has bought me the <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Garmin-Forerunner-910XT-GPS-Enabled-Sport/dp/B005SPCJ74" target="_blank">Garmin Forerunner 910xt</a> watch! WOOT! Hoping it's as awesome as it seems like it will be... and now I won't have to worry about bringing my ginormous phone everywhere with me (previously, I've used the endomondo app), and I can use it to track my swims!</span><br />
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<span class="contributorNameTrigger">So, here we go! </span><span class="byLinePipe"></span>
Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-69421740467030615722013-05-25T12:29:00.000-04:002013-05-25T13:15:58.015-04:00My Grand Experiment<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just before the finish line of my most recent half marathon.</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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I've been basically conducting my own little experiment with running and diet since the beginning of the year. Let's just say my dietary choices were pretty out of control over the holiday season and I gained 10 lbs in the space of about two months. Something had to be done! I needed to get back to basics for paleo/primal. I started looking into options that were on the paleo spectrum but also helpful for endurance athletes. I looked into Loren Cordain's <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Paleo-Diet-Athletes-Nutritional-ebook/dp/B0093QBOZ2/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1369497100&sr=1-4" target="_blank"><i>Paleo Diet for Athletes</i></a> but it seemed like more carbs than I could reasonably function on. Every time my carb levels go up, I gain weight. I tried doing their program during my training for my first half marathon last fall and gained fat. It'd be nice to be able to say it was muscle, but my pants got tighter and I got more of a belly.<br />
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So, in my googling, I found a few discussions referring to <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Art-Science-Low-Carbohydrate-Performance/dp/0983490716" target="_blank"><i>The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance</i></a> by Jeff Volek and Steve Phinney. Their research on low carbohydrate diets actually enhancing performance for endurance athletes (after up to a 6 week transition period) was fascinating to me, so I figured I'd try it out for a while. I highly recommend reading it to see what they say before anyone starts criticizing it. Recently, for instance, a <a href="http://www.meandmydiabetes.com/2012/08/11/western-states-100-low-carber-wins-ultramarathon-steve-phinney-and-jeff-volek-study/" target="_blank">low carb athlete won the Western States 100 race! </a><br />
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Low and behold I started dropping pounds (like most people do on a low carb diet), despite not having yet picked up my mileage for my half marathon. Volek and Phinney do recommend use of non-caloric sweeteners, but I just cut out sweets aside from occasional berries. I ate nuts and lots of veggies and lots of fatty meat and dairy. Honestly, I think I should probably cut the dairy out, too, because I think it is related to some of my problems like acne, but I just haven't gotten there yet (or maybe ever).<br />
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The first couple weeks were tough, cutting back that much, but after that it felt normal and I didn't mind not having the sweets that I used to crave, though I did eat the occasional piece of dark chocolate. I kept track of my diet for the first few weeks on <a href="http://www.sparkpeople.com/" target="_blank">sparkpeople</a>. It was really enlightening how many incidental carbs I was getting without realizing it. A lot of people end up with "carb flu" starting any kind of low carb diet, but I didn't - presumably owing to my somewhat low carb diet in the past following paleo/primal.<br />
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I was training for the <a href="http://www.greaterbinghamtonbridgerun.org/" target="_blank">Greater Binghamton Bridge Run Half-marathon</a>, which was beginning of May. Once I acclimated to the diet, my running was just fine, though I did bring some "bonk-protection" (a bit of sugary something-or other) and drank coconut water on my longer runs, but even my 13 mile training run, which was over 2 hrs of running, I felt completely fine and did not have to break out the emergency sugar.<br />
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My results:<br />
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I'm pleased with this diet and how functional I am as an athlete on it, but recently I've read more about super low carb and cortisol, so now I'm not exactly sure what to do. I've struggled with adrenal fatigue (aka overtraining, except mine was just from stress in life, not stress from exercise) in the past and am not overly interested in hitting that again. It was fascinating that I didn't really get hungry ever, though, and found my "full" response. I would get through half of what I normally wanted to eat and just be... done. That never happened before with my regular old paleo/primal diet. <br />
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In terms of my running performance, I PR'd by 10 minutes (1:54:06), which was awesome, but I'll admit that I trained much better for this race than I had for my last. <br />
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Overall, I'd recommend people try this for a couple months and see how you feel. Maybe it'll be great! Maybe you won't notice much of a difference. Definitely read the book, though, because the research is FASCINATING! It really put a twist on my thinking about the need for carb loading, etc.Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-87328801312055665992012-11-30T21:19:00.004-05:002013-01-31T08:54:17.357-05:00Bumble Bee: A Free Knitting Pattern<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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For some reason, knitting for boys always feels difficult to me. My boys aren't into sports teams and little boys don't seem to care much about the craftsmanship in lovely cabled hats. They want pictures of their favorite things. They want snips and snails. If only I loved doing intarsia, so they could have all the things! </div>
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I set out on this hat pattern with the plan of making it reminiscent enough of a bumble bee for my son's approval, but also cozy and warm enough to satisfy my tastes. For toddlers I strongly prefer earflap hats with ties so that it stays put and keeps little ears warm. I also included instructions for just making a typical no-earflap style for both the toddler and kid sizes. Knitted in a super bulky weight yarn, this hat knits up quickly, just in time for holiday giving.</div>
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I have linked to the techniques I used for increases and decreases. </div>
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<b>Bumble Bee Hat</b></div>
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Yarn: Lamb's Pride Bulky 1 skein of "wild mustard" colorway and one skein of "onyx". Keep in mind that this is actually a super bulky weight yarn, if using a substitution.</div>
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Needles: 10 1/2 circular needles or size for appropriate gauge. I use 40 inch and <a href="http://www.knittingdaily.com/blogs/daily/archive/2009/09/16/the-magical-magic-loop.aspx" target="_blank">magic loop method</a>, but you could use 16 in and dpns for the top, if you prefer. TAKE TIME TO CHECK YOUR GAUGE.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe71pOha8AorfI2pJqKjCicbDHJhWEZWnx8k6DMuMVeS1MpCzoIHmEdI8OgyxqRty9gTkv0-Zqcvn5VjNe-yorerY9XaUsMETeqzoylLuYT6VvnFtYMytFOEU8u9KoKTdgKeeCbsgHb0/s1600/IMG_20121120_144429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVe71pOha8AorfI2pJqKjCicbDHJhWEZWnx8k6DMuMVeS1MpCzoIHmEdI8OgyxqRty9gTkv0-Zqcvn5VjNe-yorerY9XaUsMETeqzoylLuYT6VvnFtYMytFOEU8u9KoKTdgKeeCbsgHb0/s320/IMG_20121120_144429.jpg" width="240" /></a>Gauge: 15 stitches and 21 rows per 4 inches in circular stockinette</div>
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Sizes: Toddler (Child)</div>
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(for non-earflap style, skip the instructions for the earflap and start in appropriate section marked with ***)</div>
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Earflaps: Starting with black yarn, CO 5 (for both sizes)</div>
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row 1: K across</div>
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row 2 (and every even row): P across</div>
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row 3: K1, <a href="http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/make-1-left-english" target="_blank">M1L</a>, K to last stitch, <a href="http://www.knittinghelp.com/video/play/make-1-right-english" target="_blank">M1R</a>, K1 (7 stitches)</div>
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row 5: increase as row 3 (9 stitches)</div>
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row 7: FOR CHILD SIZE ONLY increase once more as row 3, you should now have 11 stitches. For toddler size, K across.</div>
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Continue in stockinette stitch until earflap measures 2 (2 1/2) inches, ending with an even (purl) row. Cut yarn and place all stitches on a stitch holder. Work second earflap as first, but DO NOT cut yarn. Knit back across. Using knitted cast on, cast on 24(26) stitches, knit across other earflap (from stitch holder), then cast on 14 (16) more. You should now have 56 (64) stitches. Join, being careful not to twist, and marking beginning of round. Knit 1 1/2 inches from front brim.</div>
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*** for non-earflap-style hat, start here, if doing earflap hat, ignore the portion between the *: Cast on 56 (64 stitches) using black yarn, then join, being careful not to twist. Work k2 p2 rib for until work is 1 1/2 in long.**</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b58fOYrka5WCRjryjEzr1jeQXrf3LZHXY7w08qug3rInDZMJXkAth0BIlv1J3ePqXA182C43kQ_f0ijNq4UZaC6-iXX1aEKumzFjLqVM1-AbwsyzpctG_-T_PCco-04TZrxDGziXnmo/s1600/IMG_20121120_144402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b58fOYrka5WCRjryjEzr1jeQXrf3LZHXY7w08qug3rInDZMJXkAth0BIlv1J3ePqXA182C43kQ_f0ijNq4UZaC6-iXX1aEKumzFjLqVM1-AbwsyzpctG_-T_PCco-04TZrxDGziXnmo/s320/IMG_20121120_144402.jpg" width="240" /></a>Switch to yellow yarn. You will be working three (four) yellow stripes (and consequently two (three) black stripes). Each needs to be 3 rounds wide. Please keep in mind color changes every three rounds while working the next steps. I should have used a jog-less jog but didn't. You can see where the change-over is on the hat. I'm pleased with it anyway (and so is my son... though ecstatic might be more accurate for how he feels about it) but you may prefer to use one. After last yellow stripe, remember to cut the yarn so you can weave it in.</div>
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Work until hat is 4 1/2 (4 3/4) inches from the front brim. Work one round.</div>
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Next rnd: *K5(6), K2tog. Repeat from * around (48(56) stitches remain)</div>
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K next two rounds.</div>
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Next rnd: *K4(5), K2tog. Repeat from * around (40(48) stitches)</div>
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K next two rounds.</div>
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Next round: *K3(4), K2tog. Repeat from * around (32(40) stitches)</div>
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K one round</div>
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Next round: *K2(3), K2tog. Repeat from * around (24(32) stitches)</div>
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K one round</div>
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Next round *K1(2), K2tog. Repeat from * around (16(24) stitches) </div>
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CHILD SIZE ONLY: knit one round then next round *K1, K2tog repeat from * around (16 stitches) t</div>
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Stinger: </div>
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Both sizes should now have 16 stitches. The rest of the instructions for the hat are the same for both sizes (except the finishing).</div>
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Knit two rounds. </div>
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Next round: *K2tog. Repeat from * around (8 stitches remain)</div>
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Knit two more rounds.</div>
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Next round: *K2tog. Repeat from * around (4 stitches remain)</div>
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Knit two more rounds, then cut yarn and pull through all stitches.</div>
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Finishing: (earflap style only) Pick up 68 (76) stitches spread evenly around entire brim and around earflaps. Cast off. Weave in ends.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EzBtdr43oRf8qvLsIVXkFZfz2bmjD-DMobbyvhHdqDYETpiXzflXqdqlyvnTaiXhX5ArjVNmyVp9oYjutPZlCqZmukCovwYm2awyBQd-vHLCHJkO5QBlbWpdThR8AXtkFDyewpvAd0Y/s1600/IMG_20121201_120154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2EzBtdr43oRf8qvLsIVXkFZfz2bmjD-DMobbyvhHdqDYETpiXzflXqdqlyvnTaiXhX5ArjVNmyVp9oYjutPZlCqZmukCovwYm2awyBQd-vHLCHJkO5QBlbWpdThR8AXtkFDyewpvAd0Y/s320/IMG_20121201_120154.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
For ties, I used the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mB_eWFLHLY" target="_blank"> twisted cord method</a>: I took a long length of yarn (I didn't cut it from the skein until I had made the cord), maybe 2 ft or so, and folded it back so it was 4 ft of yarn forming a loop that I would be twisted together. I didn't do multiple like in the linked video because I didn't want it too thick, especially since the yarn is so thick already. I twisted the "loop" end while holding tight to the end of the yarn and where it was folded back to until it was twisting up on itself. Instead of tying off at this point as in the linked video, I used a crochet hook to pull the loop end through the bottom of the earflap, and folded the twisted portion in half and held the loop end and the other end together. Then I just held it up and let the hat spin until it was well twisted then tied it off. Repeat on the other side trying to make them the same length.<br />
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As an alternative, you could just do a simple <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FonaB3JHHFM" target="_blank">braided tie</a> or an i-cord tie. </div>
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Happy knitting!</div>
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<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-62921867395831861142012-11-14T10:40:00.001-05:002012-11-14T10:44:53.413-05:00Reading (or Vocabulary) CharadesMy 5 year old is THIS close to reading.
He gets the basic gist, can sound things out well, but struggles with paying attention long enough to do so on words he doesn't already recognize or that are too long. He has a fair number of easy sight words under his belt. Things like "up" and "is" and "and" are pretty well integrated. Unfortunately, he is completely uninterested in books at his level.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDqJrJhjMBg6GDYr6Ft7dxMQUa9kKNMO39m_pfSfzDQNPe9N83ORpSd_DKcccEfZRLhCUljT15aEN7CdGyyn9aIWhGkAtnmVgffzQ-I9z6BvoBLiSU06SggBwaPAjrHkPsn1z-Q0etdo/s1600/IMG_20121114_094920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijDqJrJhjMBg6GDYr6Ft7dxMQUa9kKNMO39m_pfSfzDQNPe9N83ORpSd_DKcccEfZRLhCUljT15aEN7CdGyyn9aIWhGkAtnmVgffzQ-I9z6BvoBLiSU06SggBwaPAjrHkPsn1z-Q0etdo/s320/IMG_20121114_094920.jpg" width="320" /></a> The books he wants to read, of course, are his sister's <i>Goosebumps</i> series, which were popular with her during the "spooky halloween" stint. He wants spooky books, too! We didn't have any spooky books at an appropriate level. Or even mildly spooky books. Or even a book about vampires. So I looked around online and found these <a href="http://www.veronikacharles.com/spookytales.html" target="_blank">easy-to-read spooky tales</a> and ordered a few from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Touch-Easy---Read-Spooky-Tales/dp/088776858X/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1352907440&sr=1-3&keywords=don%27t+touch+that" target="_blank">amazon</a>, but they were still beyond him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0wdP9LWNIno8F5gk83N21E_ID7Sklepn53eXclm8nOReyA-1jBGEVcWFQgYknoo9GFqOfNhvylySE7IKm2_1ZyMSzQSHXdKJwQKeHB5Ilk6-Dg52sstwULs9tYG0yk09NMMp6MNJKyM/s1600/IMG_20121114_095019.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT0wdP9LWNIno8F5gk83N21E_ID7Sklepn53eXclm8nOReyA-1jBGEVcWFQgYknoo9GFqOfNhvylySE7IKm2_1ZyMSzQSHXdKJwQKeHB5Ilk6-Dg52sstwULs9tYG0yk09NMMp6MNJKyM/s320/IMG_20121114_095019.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Finally, after struggling all weekend on 3 pages of the level 2 <i>Star Wars</i> book that he was enthralled with (he loves those droids... and really all robots), he gave in and let me try easier books with him but <i>he</i> wants to pick them. Does he pick them in order? Noooooo, that would be too easy! Anyway, I got him to a point that I can work with him on it, at least. In order to give him some success with reading, I decided I'd start with reviewing the harder words on flash cards. Many of these he could say on the first guess, and others were harder for him to decipher. After adding each word, I had him go through all the previous words he had done, pointing to each word as he said it, until we had all the tricky words practiced multiple times. Next, I planned to have him read the book, but he kept getting caught on a few of the words. Instead of just pushing through, I thought maybe doing something with a bit of kinesthetic sense added in would help him to remember the words more easily. So, I came up with the idea to have him act out each word after saying it. I held all the cards myself and would show him one and he had to say the word and then act it out. Of course, this lead to giggling by both of us and I think he had a great time with his final practice for the words. Some of the words (like pond) were harder to act out than others, but that just really added to the creativity and fun. It also made sure he knew what words like "trot" meant, since it's not a word that comes up in our daily lives too much. I think this would also work great in a classroom, and could even be fun into the upper elementary grades for spelling or vocabulary words.<br />
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When we finally read the book, he flew right through it, only getting mildly stuck once. WOOT!<br />
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<!------><!------>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-44743598874786808492012-08-29T10:40:00.000-04:002012-08-29T10:41:55.370-04:00Chicken Mole "Tacos" with Cilantro Lime Sour Cream<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-a6NGJrKEfK19NmnwDfdePc1Kv8cRQlppPoPJnncYpeSGzSojTtqZqsS3XIoC1N1b4iV4oniUlRjqfNKPr3vCxoWfgZnnZBwGjwnP4zmj-YcT_9DNrNBuc3CqImd9d7To6uVpaZ31Xw/s1600/IMG_20120828_182824.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM-a6NGJrKEfK19NmnwDfdePc1Kv8cRQlppPoPJnncYpeSGzSojTtqZqsS3XIoC1N1b4iV4oniUlRjqfNKPr3vCxoWfgZnnZBwGjwnP4zmj-YcT_9DNrNBuc3CqImd9d7To6uVpaZ31Xw/s320/IMG_20120828_182824.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yesterday was my husband's birthday, so I made his favorite dish: Chicken Mole Tacos... or as my husband puts it "the most delicious thing on Earth." Mole (said mol-ay - like the end of the word "guacamole") is a kind of Mexican sauce involving chocolate. It is not sweet, but instead is rich and savory and delicious. My first exposure to it was once when I was visiting Ithaca, NY. My mom and I stopped for lunch at <a href="http://www.vivataqueria.com/Home.html" target="_blank">Viva Taqueria</a>, where they had it on the menu. I had heard of it, but never tried it before so I went for it, of course. I couldn't wait to see what this savory chocolate dish was all about. Well, it was fantastic, cravable. I was talking about it for weeks afterward.<br />
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Fast forward a few years and I was completely craving it, but we didn't want to drag the kids to Ithaca just for that, so instead I decided to try and make it. I did some basic research online and the recipes either seemed ridiculously complicated or I couldn't see how they could possibly end up tasting like what I wanted. Back then, we ate it on a flour tortilla as a taco, but now, as you can see, we just make a pile of it all on our plates. It's perfectly delicious either way. My husband and kids like to put it on a bed of refried beans, but I prefer it without.<br />
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I hesitate to call this paleo/primal because the few chocolate chips in it are not, but you could easily add a squeeze of honey instead to get that slight sweetness it seems to need. The sour cream also would not be paleo, but would count as primal, I believe. We serve it with guacamole and cilantro on top.<br />
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Anyway, here is the recipe I came up with. It makes enough mole sauce for the five of us for two nights, so I generally freeze half for a faster dinner on another night. We have made it with chicken and pork and both meats are excellent with the sauce.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkp2-__cyLaWqb85y2c84DptvPMvrlV8t4sPaEfPacGeZzwOg3WzrbCd6lVtiy5TduFUR8xsyXE8nBwjwDKSmkb9cNwzKEkMw3dlgL-6qPtyVWa13kl6hr1IkMQs_mYz0jH-ROAt5QTY/s1600/IMG_20120828_162320.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkp2-__cyLaWqb85y2c84DptvPMvrlV8t4sPaEfPacGeZzwOg3WzrbCd6lVtiy5TduFUR8xsyXE8nBwjwDKSmkb9cNwzKEkMw3dlgL-6qPtyVWa13kl6hr1IkMQs_mYz0jH-ROAt5QTY/s320/IMG_20120828_162320.jpg" width="320" /></a>Mole Sauce:<br />
2T olive oil<br />
1 onion, diced<br />
3-4 cloves of garlic<br />
3T chili powder<br />
3T cumin<br />
1 can green chilies<br />
2T cinnamon<br />
2c chicken broth<br />
1 can diced tomatoes<br />
2 large or 3-4 small chipotle chilies (dried, chopped)<br />
3T almond butter<br />
1/2c semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
3T cocoa powder<br />
salt to taste <br />
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In a medium saucepan, heat oil to medium. Add onion and saute until onion is beginning to be translucent. Add chili powder, garlic, and cumin. Keep stirring so garlic doesn't burn and let the spices meld - a minute or two. Add green chilies and cinnamon and saute until liquid from green chilies is fairly dry. Add chicken broth and diced tomatoes, and the rest of the ingredients. Stir well and heat thoroughly. You want to give it enough time for the dried spices and chilies to rehydrate and fully flavor it. If the sauce is very thin, cook down until it's a bit thicker. If sauce is too thick add water until it's thin enough that you can blend it without trouble. Think thick ketchup. Put sauce in blender (or use a stick blender) until pureed. Set aside.<br />
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Cilantro Lime Sour Cream<br />
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1 c cilantro, chopped<br />
1 c sour cream<br />
2 T lime juice<br />
sprinkle of salt<br />
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Put most of the cilantro in a bowl to be used as topping for your tacos. Put a couple tablespoons worth into sour cream. Add lime juice and salt. Mix up.<br />
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Shredded Chicken<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2g6YynDcpc-OpOwbM7QOZFccxpa_xRIqC9v4V1zlRHYjQLVAYjjGJztWXsM7lyuZs-pmlaVzBAMYGn9T1BO4LHXXPt1yeQpQDGdIS90Q82PwQjlF1yAJXiJhfZBAj06ZR928Y7SU34I/s1600/IMG_20120828_181823.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw2g6YynDcpc-OpOwbM7QOZFccxpa_xRIqC9v4V1zlRHYjQLVAYjjGJztWXsM7lyuZs-pmlaVzBAMYGn9T1BO4LHXXPt1yeQpQDGdIS90Q82PwQjlF1yAJXiJhfZBAj06ZR928Y7SU34I/s320/IMG_20120828_181823.jpg" width="320" /></a>For our family of 5 we use a couple pounds of chicken thighs for this and I cook them in the pressure cooker. I imagine you could do it in the crock pot, too. We get boneless, skinless chicken thighs to make shredding them easier. I put them in the pressure cooker, cover with water, add a bit of salt and then bring to pressure for 7 minutes and then let it sit for 7 minutes before releasing the pressure. The entire idea is that you need the chicken to be ready to fall apart on it's own. As a side note, in a pinch, the water from the chicken can be used in the mole sauce in place of chicken broth, but it doesn't give quite as full a flavor. Once the chicken is cooked, I put it in batches into my stand mixer and let 'er rip. I love this - it has saved me so much time over the year that I've known it. I found it out from <a href="https://pinterest.com/pin/143130094377008273/" target="_blank">this pin</a> on Pinterest. Takes all of five minutes or something instead of 30 minutes with a couple forks. After that, I mix in a bit of the mole sauce to give it a bit of flavor.<br />
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Beyond that, we just use the Wholey Guacamole brand guac because I'm lazy like that. And then my husband makes margaritas! YUM!<br />
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<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-19279579247143774352012-08-17T10:07:00.004-04:002012-11-14T17:21:48.822-05:00DIY Reusable Montessori Dot Game<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUQasCULMeLUWrJlq9iNFGrlHn-xxeJP2dqMDNE_1ViqYE3RFFaXc4CDlUlv9EYCaQpTeFF1vErkS8gk14KbSH7LdaLjwK2zG8JhQyk2H2XoTNj7rk1DSiqMei4qqkV18CAOxPM9gzCU/s1600/IMG_20120815_153811.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrUQasCULMeLUWrJlq9iNFGrlHn-xxeJP2dqMDNE_1ViqYE3RFFaXc4CDlUlv9EYCaQpTeFF1vErkS8gk14KbSH7LdaLjwK2zG8JhQyk2H2XoTNj7rk1DSiqMei4qqkV18CAOxPM9gzCU/s320/IMG_20120815_153811.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I think the dot game is yet another brilliant method of teaching high level math to kids. Maria Montessori seemed to have a special kind of brilliance for taking difficult concepts and making them concrete. The trouble is that it seems they're expected to use their dot game paper for one single math problem... and then what? Recycle it? This gets expensive (AND WASTEFUL!) very, very fast. Especially when your daughter thinks the dot game is about the coolest thing ever and wants to do it all.the.time. That's what you want, but not when it drains your pocket book! I had been just printing it off and letting her use it that way, but then we went through a phase where she was sort of uninterested in doing any school at all and since it's summer I just let it be for a while.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNimBwN3JAPEPM9QkDJZMnxX3OxP8ISUa9BBAFrzHq-QQsWZFaHAtYtsMhN9TQS_eHsPL7_3chFubWBcovABWJAtCwR0SrJQ95jaym6FZxDbaNzvCKwPf4Ktr2aEkQ7UhvPyJGS7ixdhU/s1600/IMG_20120815_140118.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNimBwN3JAPEPM9QkDJZMnxX3OxP8ISUa9BBAFrzHq-QQsWZFaHAtYtsMhN9TQS_eHsPL7_3chFubWBcovABWJAtCwR0SrJQ95jaym6FZxDbaNzvCKwPf4Ktr2aEkQ7UhvPyJGS7ixdhU/s320/IMG_20120815_140118.jpg" width="240" /></a>Starting up again, I wanted something fun and exciting and nice to look at. So I broke out my old scrapbooking stuff and found a pretty "dot" paper. I printed off a copy of the dot game paper from <a href="http://www.montessorialbum.com/montessori/index.php?title=Printable_Materials" target="_blank">this site</a> and cut it out. I stuck it on with tape because I didn't want to take the time, but if I had it to do again I'd use a glue stick or something to stick it on since it does seem to pop up a little funny in the middle of the paper. Then I stuck on the letter stickers to say "The Dot Game". Finally I used self adhesive laminating sheets to laminate it and then cut off the excess.<br />
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She's using embarrassingly large dry erase markers in the appropriate colors, but I'd like to get some that are a better thickness for the size of the dot game. These are just what I happened to have on hand.<br />
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I love that I don't have to print off a thousand copies of the dot game paper and my daughter can math to her little heart's delight!Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-33415513575540935482012-08-08T14:08:00.000-04:002012-08-08T14:12:07.799-04:00Another Shoe Review: Merrell Barefoot Run Dash Glove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8mNoVwnk1UsQj3qelu-Z1mYl8cykXAs7X6TAMVwd89iLBB016fyv4gENXUyO_b2JVsHuOqnzi4xs8a-6xDE1zGCnVLcp7flGnGSxiWYAgJeYoZh_rp67zVLp5SqKV4u5aGyBvfYyCLo/s1600/IMG_20120608_105726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8mNoVwnk1UsQj3qelu-Z1mYl8cykXAs7X6TAMVwd89iLBB016fyv4gENXUyO_b2JVsHuOqnzi4xs8a-6xDE1zGCnVLcp7flGnGSxiWYAgJeYoZh_rp67zVLp5SqKV4u5aGyBvfYyCLo/s320/IMG_20120608_105726.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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After having the <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/06/merrell-barefoot-run-pace-glove-review.html" target="_blank">Pace Glove</a> and overall appreciating it's flexibility and minimal nature, but noting the damage the road was doing to the sole, I decided that I really wanted to try a minimalist road shoe. I chose the <a href="http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/26417W/61046/Womens/Barefoot-Run-Dash-Glove-Ultra-Marine" target="_blank">Merrell Barefoot Run Dash Glove</a> because I already knew what to expect from Merrell, at least in terms of their barefoot line. I was not sure about it though, because I wasn't really thrilled with the look of it from the pictures on their website. When it arrived, it was much cuter than I expected. </div>
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The Dash Glove seems a bit stiffer in the sole than the pace glove, but there's still a fair amount of ground-feel. I can't really call it "stiff" though, because you can still roll the shoe right up in your hand. The grooves are not as deep as the pace glove, but I haven't had any trouble with traction on the road, even in wet conditions. I also kind of like the motif on the bottom - sorta looks like toes. I guess they're getting all in on emphasizing the bareFOOTness of the shoe. It seems to be holding up well to the road, so far, but I guess we'll see how it goes over time. I've been running in them a few times a week for a couple months.</div>
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The main differences between the Dash Glove and the Pace Glove seem to be (aside from grooves on the bottom) that the laces come up higher on the foot and that the top has more coverage with fabric that is a bit more waterproof. I will say that the fabric on the top seems to keep my feet fairly dry, especially compared to the pace glove where my feet get soaked with any rain or dew on grass or whatever. I've been pretty pleased with that. Who wants to run with wet feet?<br />
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The laces do come up much higher on the foot than in the dash glove - good inch or so further. When I first put the shoes on, I didn't really like this fact too much. It felt awkward and uncomfortable initially. After about 5 minutes of running, my feet settled in and the laces adjusted enough to be much more comfortable. I actually find I can get a better fit with these than with my Pace Gloves. They still open up fairly wide to get your foot in. I don't have super high arches, or anything, but they're very easy to get on, despite the higher lacing.</div>
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As with much of the women's line (but not the men's, so I'm not sure why this is the case) they have the elastic bits along the back. I'm really growing to appreciate that, though. I'd still like to know why they do that for the women's and not the men's. </div>
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The inside is sewn with no seams so it's very comfortable to wear sockless, though the reason I prefer a toeless shoe over <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/05/vibram-five-fingers-sprint-review.html" target="_blank">vibrams</a> is that it's easier to just get cheap (toe socks are expensive!), thin socks and keep from having to wash my shoes all the time. It's also, of course, warmer for winter or cooler weather running.</div>
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Basically, these are very similar to the pace glove in many ways. I encourage you to check out my <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/06/merrell-barefoot-run-pace-glove-review.html" target="_blank">pace glove review</a> to catch a more full description of what I like about them.</div>
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I'm trying to think of downsides and I'm not coming up with any other than not having a ton of color selections that I love. I did buy a half size up but it hasn't seemed to shrink like the dash gloves did. I haven't had to wash them as often (helps that I'm not running in mud), though, so the same deal may apply. </div>
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Overall, I love this shoe and it's my go-to for running.</div>
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<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-23410404662460310472012-07-30T12:42:00.000-04:002012-07-30T12:43:02.259-04:00Homemade Ketchup and Yogurt Cheese<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aR5sKYnFFmI/UBas2fvax9I/AAAAAAAAClw/VWvmi5MgHQQ/s1600/IMG_20120730_112550.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aR5sKYnFFmI/UBas2fvax9I/AAAAAAAAClw/VWvmi5MgHQQ/s320/IMG_20120730_112550.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
For the past couple years, I've been making ketchup at home instead of buying the store-bought version of ketchup. I started because I wanted to avoid the amount of sugar (and high fructose corn syrup) in regular ketchup (and the preservatives, etc.) and just basically to eat high-quality food. Since then, however, I've found that making a fermented recipe means my ketchup has probiotics in it! What an easy way to get probiotics into my kids daily, while cutting out the sugar they were getting in the store-bought ketchup! Beyond that, I've heard store-bought yogurt has hidden gluten in it. Basically, it keeps making more sense to make my own, as I learn more. As an added bonus, I get yogurt cheese out of the experience, too!<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n5prSjcaEK8/UBas9StQtwI/AAAAAAAACl4/2UXznGXyex8/s1600/IMG_20120730_111849.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-n5prSjcaEK8/UBas9StQtwI/AAAAAAAACl4/2UXznGXyex8/s320/IMG_20120730_111849.jpg" width="320" /></a>Originally, I had tried a recipe from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/D-I-Y-Delicious-Recipes-Simple-Scratch/dp/0811873463" target="_blank"><i>DIY Delicious</i></a> by Vanessa Barrington, but then I found the fermented ketchup recipe from <a href="http://nourishedkitchen.com/homemade-ketchup/" target="_blank">Nourished Kitchen</a>. I had been on a learn-to-ferment kick, anyway, so I dove right in.<br />
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Don't be surprised, if you taste it pre-fermentation, that it's NASTY. That was my experience, anyway. I tasted it thinking "hm, wonder what to expect" and it was not at all appealing. So, since I had made it already anyway, I figured there was no harm done in letting it sit in a cabinet for a few days and then seeing if it had gotten any better. And WOW! After fermenting it was fantastic! Now, I will admit, I am not generally a huge ketchup person, and neither is my husband. This was mostly for my kids. After making this fermented ketchup, though, we were both curious so we tried it out. My husband now uses it as his go-to condiment! Totally worth the time and effort.<br />
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I make a double batch each time, because we go through it pretty fast. Also, I use canned [organic] tomato paste (oh the shame!) for the convenience factor, and it generally needs a LOT of thinning out from the raw apple cider vinegar, so when I make it, it has a lot more vinegar than what the nourished kitchen recipe calls for... and it's still not really thin enough that I could reasonably put it in a squirt bottle. I tried that... it was a fail. I'd also like to highly recommend using wide mouthed mason jars for this because it can be a bit difficult to get into a narrower mouthed jar.<br />
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The bonus is that in the process of making ketchup, I get some yogurt cheese. Why? Well, I use yogurt to make the whey for the recipe. If you're sensitive to dairy, you can try using goat yogurt to make whey - that worked pretty well when my son was dairy sensitive. Alternatively, you can buy "vegetable starter culture" and avoid the milk all together.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKORqQPmaZTcTM_fsG4lNLgEkyg3Tw1Jzt57vWSpLD-zvDYwSprOK4uIwOq5X3Q6mf6QgX7dZrAp3DW_VXnSyCRd2h5AcaweGQv9t79TU4YwooU2T1o6O54KFpe8gw_u7ml5xjKHQ6ko4/s1600/IMG_20120730_112723.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKORqQPmaZTcTM_fsG4lNLgEkyg3Tw1Jzt57vWSpLD-zvDYwSprOK4uIwOq5X3Q6mf6QgX7dZrAp3DW_VXnSyCRd2h5AcaweGQv9t79TU4YwooU2T1o6O54KFpe8gw_u7ml5xjKHQ6ko4/s320/IMG_20120730_112723.jpg" width="320" /></a>Making whey is very, very easy. Simply line a colander with some cheese cloth, then dump in some yogurt. I used a store-bought grassfed yogurt that we really like, but you can certainly use homemade or whatever else. I wouldn't recommend greek yogurt because it's already been strained, which is why it's so thick and creamy. Then just cover it, put the colander into a bowl and stick it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, take it out and in the bowl you'll have whey (a yellowish looking liquid) and inside the cheesecloth, in the colander, you'll have yogurt cheese (also known as labneh). Depending on how long you strain it, it'll be thicker or thinner. Greek yogurt is obviously not strained too long because otherwise it'd be a lot thicker and more cream cheese-like. <br />
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Now, what do you do with yogurt cheese? You can add it to recipes to make it creamy. I like to make boursin with it in place of the cream cheese. You could simply spread it on a bagel or something as if it is cream cheese. You can make veggie dip with it. I basically use it in place of sour cream or cream cheese (depending on the recipe). Delicious!Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-58177558056536824762012-07-12T12:34:00.001-04:002012-08-23T14:06:35.683-04:00Review: Merrell Barefoot Life Wonder Glove<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Merrell now has a line of barefoot shoes that include a number of casual shoes (!!!), and because, who DOESN'T want to feel like they're barefoot all the time, I bought a pair. Now, looking on their website, I see they also have boots and fun looking shoes for fall!<br />
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I appreciated the look of the "<a href="http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/26425W/61080/Womens/Barefoot-Life-Serene-Glove?dimensions=0" target="_blank">Barefoot Life Serene Glove</a>", but wasn't sure I wanted the ribbon going around my ankle. Instead, I went for the "<a href="http://www.merrell.com/US/en-US/Product.mvc.aspx/26427W?green=2dddfa00-9d96-5ddb3e-b4a4-e8750f9a4e97" target="_blank">Barefoot Life Wonder Glove</a>"... in "mulberry"! Hooray for bright pink shoes! Actually they're not as bright as I expected them to be, but they're still plenty noticeable. I've decided shoes are now officially a netural (no matter what color), so I wear them with everthing. Haha!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbxaN0C8wtcR7-rPd4_U3C5OtOROpmd3ObZyXuTmW0zMKmRr6nLLsRzx5Zp1os4r78163pd5-nMs4b0CWbLDNMm2g3SUkrfgGdUWLxvKvb0NRDVe82LHm_5uk9CuCb_1gey3_HdnVDvg/s1600/IMG_20120608_110100.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisbxaN0C8wtcR7-rPd4_U3C5OtOROpmd3ObZyXuTmW0zMKmRr6nLLsRzx5Zp1os4r78163pd5-nMs4b0CWbLDNMm2g3SUkrfgGdUWLxvKvb0NRDVe82LHm_5uk9CuCb_1gey3_HdnVDvg/s320/IMG_20120608_110100.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9U336mK1_vKwQZFB9ssBwsUS0q0SCxCbC2mGo4RCmhGn1WCRaIYgxsrgoK6TQjkEblYQ1tLo5wLevuhCnLKQE3x7K-iolWIUoPVOTILq9fI1-ClAC_R4ppfjzmR3eYlGm2PYesHmo7I4/s1600/IMG_20120608_110049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9U336mK1_vKwQZFB9ssBwsUS0q0SCxCbC2mGo4RCmhGn1WCRaIYgxsrgoK6TQjkEblYQ1tLo5wLevuhCnLKQE3x7K-iolWIUoPVOTILq9fI1-ClAC_R4ppfjzmR3eYlGm2PYesHmo7I4/s320/IMG_20120608_110049.jpg" width="320" /></a>The wonder glove is extremely comfortable. It seems more flexible, to
me, than either of the <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/06/merrell-barefoot-run-pace-glove-review.html" target="_blank">Merrell barefoot running shoes I own</a>, which is a bonus.
The fabric on the sides is very thin, similar to the fabric for <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/05/vibram-five-fingers-sprint-review.html" target="_blank">vibrams</a> in thickness, but the toe and heel is leather. I'm not sure this would be a reasonable shoe to wear if there's water on the ground or if it's cold out, but it's been wonderful for summer. It's also cute enough that I can wear it with nicer things or with jeans or shorts. Looks especially cute with jeans. If I worked, I'd totally wear it to work.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5J2EVrY8Gl0iLbJ5Xr3OMa8eAM_4GCrhyphenhyphen31b7as-TMBeAsW33iFeYznxflGHtPTnJbpajgwtlpXxYRHFzfmbAfo6dGg5N0RngYiyB8Z55sA-6k8fxb8VHIGGPUc5Ns-Tu3kgBO1BkEY4/s1600/IMG_20120608_110114.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5J2EVrY8Gl0iLbJ5Xr3OMa8eAM_4GCrhyphenhyphen31b7as-TMBeAsW33iFeYznxflGHtPTnJbpajgwtlpXxYRHFzfmbAfo6dGg5N0RngYiyB8Z55sA-6k8fxb8VHIGGPUc5Ns-Tu3kgBO1BkEY4/s320/IMG_20120608_110114.jpg" width="320" /></a>It seems nearly all of their women's line has that elastic by the ankle. I'm not sure why that is, but it is reasonably comfortable and doesn't really bother me as I expected. The elastic is fairly stiff and not really pulling into your ankle, as it looks like it might be in the pictures. That's something I recall being worried about before I bought any of their barefoot shoes.<br />
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The sole is, as I said, thin and flexible (you can roll them right up in your hand), but with a decent amount of grip, so you don't have to worry about sliding around. It's also rubber, so not a problem in slippery polished indoor floors. As you can see, it's a vibram sole.<br />
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I've been wearing them daily, with no sock or anything, for a couple months, and have yet to detect a stench. They supposedly are treated to slow bacterial growth, but I do wonder how to clean them when they do start to smell. Of course, this would be a problem with any shoe you typically wear without socks.<br />
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Really, my only negative on this shoe is that the cross strap occasionally pulls the shoe over a little and I have to scoot it back. That is, it sorta feels like it's on sideways. It's not a huge deal, to me, though. Overall, I love them and am looking forward to getting other varieties of Merrell barefoot casual shoes!<br />
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**Edited to add**<br />
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My shoes started getting pretty stinky, so I asked merrell how we should clean these. They said they do not recommend sending them through the washer, but that I could use a typical sandal cleaner. What I did instead was dump a bunch of baking soda in them and then dampen it with some water and use that to gently scrub any crud off. Then I rinsed with apple cider vinegar. I followed this up with water rinse and then let them dry in the sun. It's not a perfect fix but it's cheap and made a big difference in the funk. :) <br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-18040890202363648342012-07-01T14:29:00.002-04:002012-07-12T13:54:49.352-04:00The Sneaky EThis past school year, I have been working in my kid's tiny school, helping out teaching various things. One day, a few months ago, I was working with the kids on labeling various classroom items and this required sounding out the words. Every time, the silent e on the end of a word caught them up, so I realized they needed a bit of an explanation on what the silent e does. After a moment of thought (and completely on the fly...) I realized that I could make this concept interesting by describing the silent e as being a little bit sneaky. Kids love when things are sneaky! So I explained that on the end of some words, there's a "sneaky e" and it pokes the vowel and makes it say it's name. So, it pokes an O and make's it say "OH!" or maybe it pokes an A and makes it say "AY!" The kids thought this was pretty funny and thus went about focusing on finding the "sneaky e's" and discovering what letter it could be poking!.<br />
<br />
The concept has really stuck with my almost-5-yr-old year old son. He LOVES those sneaky e's! It's been months and he still talks about the sneaky e and laughs about how they poke the other letters. Earlier this week, he was practicing some of his sight words and we realized that the sneaky e on the end of the word "have" was not doing it's job. This was hilariously funny to my son. He looked at me very seriously and said "I have an idea. We could write the words and then draw an arrow going from the sneaky e to where it pokes the other letter!" I got him some paper and this is what he did:<br />
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The most interesting thing to me, though, is that he is normally pretty averse to doing any fine motor development, but was willing to write this.<br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-52417131054349745392012-06-08T11:59:00.001-04:002012-06-08T12:02:36.410-04:00Merrell Barefoot Run Pace Glove Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0rtX4PrpSw/T9IZWxLs-LI/AAAAAAAACLc/Lr5A4ypmqb4/s1600/IMG_20120608_110242.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I0rtX4PrpSw/T9IZWxLs-LI/AAAAAAAACLc/Lr5A4ypmqb4/s320/IMG_20120608_110242.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I've been running in minimalist shoes since I started the <a href="http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml">couch-to-5k</a> last February (so almost a year and a half), and though I've run a fair bit in my <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/05/vibram-five-fingers-sprint-review.html">Vibram Five Fingers Sprints</a>, most of my running has been done in my Merrell Barefoot Run Pace Gloves. I'm actually on my second pair because the rubber vibram sole of the first pair was worn down. I expect this is because I was mostly running on asphalt and the shoe is designed to be a trail shoe. Though I love it for trails, I just tend to run more on asphalt. Obviously I like them, or I wouldn't have bought a second pair, I thought I'd put out my review for other people who might be considering them. I actually haven't been running in them as much lately because recently I bought Merrell's Barefoot Run Dash Glove, which is actually made as a road shoe. I plan to review them once I've put a few more miles on them.<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14sU3F9q4TE/T9IV4EzsYTI/AAAAAAAACKY/0E0zHlxE_10/s1600/IMG_20120608_110255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-14sU3F9q4TE/T9IV4EzsYTI/AAAAAAAACKY/0E0zHlxE_10/s320/IMG_20120608_110255.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Overall, these are very comfortable. I like wearing them with thin socks, because then I don't have to wash them so frequently, but it's not necessary. The inside is pretty much smooth and comfortable, but then, I haven't been in a long run with them without socks, so take that with a grain of salt.<br />
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I do recommend buying a half size up. I find they seem to shrink/form to my foot. It's nice in terms of getting a foot-hugging experience, but my first pair I had to trade out for a bigger pair because they were starting to become too tight. I should say, though, that it may be because I started out running in them when I started barefoot running and my feet have overall grown a bit from gaining muscle. My second pair started out feeling HUGE and seem to have become much more form fitting, though.<br />
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Pros:<br />
<ul><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hAamXL9ob2A/T9IZE-dbQ4I/AAAAAAAACLU/U9VpKF1xtNg/s1600/IMG_20120608_110303.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hAamXL9ob2A/T9IZE-dbQ4I/AAAAAAAACLU/U9VpKF1xtNg/s320/IMG_20120608_110303.jpg" width="240" /></a>
<li>compared to VFFs, you're looking at a much more conventional looking shoe - you can wear whatever cheapo socks you already have and don't have to spend money getting uber expensive thin toe socks</li>
<li>very comfy</li>
<li>good grip in mud</li>
<li>easier to fit than VFFs, and you can find it locally (my local Dick's Sporting Goods carries it), thus you can try it on and make sure it's the one you want. I do live in kind of a small area, though, so it's not so easy to find Vibrams around here.</li>
<li>If you have weird shaped toes (that wouldn't fit in a VFF toe shoe well) you can still wear them.</li>
<li>Easy to wash and because I can wear them with socks they don't get as stinky as my VFFs </li>
<li>There's not much fabric or padding to them so they dry really fast... great if you're doing, say, a mud run. </li>
</ul>
<br />
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9SKQAlMjhho/T9IYzRnTciI/AAAAAAAACLE/kzOMHjIOXKs/s1600/IMG_20120608_110323.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9SKQAlMjhho/T9IYzRnTciI/AAAAAAAACLE/kzOMHjIOXKs/s320/IMG_20120608_110323.jpg" width="240" /></a>Cons:<br />
<ul>
<li>I'm wearing out the sole running on asphalt. I guess this is normal, but it happened sooner than I expected.</li>
<li>the laces don't come up as far as other shoes might so if you have very small heels/ankles or you are running in thick/deep mud you may have some sliding-out problems </li>
<li>Weird elastic on the rear of the collar - seems like almost all of their women's barefoot shoes have them. I was skeptical of this at first, but it turns out it's not a big deal at all - the elastic is fairly stiff so it really just moves with you a little better. I'm not sure I feel this is a con anymore, but I thought I should address it. Maybe I should have labeled this section "quirks"</li>
<li>the toe is coming slightly unglued, but it's not bad, so far. </li>
<li>Another quirk is that when you first put them on, you kind of feel like your toes are hanging out over nothing. Almost like they're hanging over a ledge or something. It's a very weird feeling and I was a little worried about how that would be while running when I first tried them on, but it was not noticeable at all once running. Over time the little bit of padding they do have wears down (or possibly I just got used to the feeling) and I'm not sure this ledge is even there anymore.</li>
<li>These shoes have a lot more to them than vibrams. If you're new to barefoot/minimalist running, definitely try it completely SHOELESS a few times to make sure you have a reasonable stride before running in these shoes. It's a little bit shocking, the difference between completely bare and these shoes. Still very minimalist, zero drop, you can curl them right up in a spiral, but NOT barefoot.</li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bcnGgIUhHD8/T9IY8LcmhlI/AAAAAAAACLM/RfdN88B9Oeg/s1600/IMG_20120608_110309.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bcnGgIUhHD8/T9IY8LcmhlI/AAAAAAAACLM/RfdN88B9Oeg/s320/IMG_20120608_110309.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Overall, I obviously like them a lot. I definitely would buy them again, but I think I'm going to use them mostly for trails from now on. If you run mostly on asphalt, this shoe may not be for you.<br />
<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-78394392820215869312012-06-06T17:06:00.001-04:002012-07-12T13:55:30.867-04:00New recipe I'm working on...<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ6xnLfNWR6cXJjYJF5UPKzU_pLEEKDtfaUHF22bK_7nhyphenhypheng-7qVxJ4I0TUrgZZLTYP8_5VZmQSwD46GwyaPtzuKlbzZkR77McZE3GflLn_sk0SyLvIfxaTQg7hukLCKZA-XBdhk5jLOk/s1600/IMG_20120601_181159.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrJ6xnLfNWR6cXJjYJF5UPKzU_pLEEKDtfaUHF22bK_7nhyphenhypheng-7qVxJ4I0TUrgZZLTYP8_5VZmQSwD46GwyaPtzuKlbzZkR77McZE3GflLn_sk0SyLvIfxaTQg7hukLCKZA-XBdhk5jLOk/s320/IMG_20120601_181159.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DBc_lHxpHGZhyMGH9a4sUukVx1JS-1V7gwEMOqPQe_hSXr1jahkaD3nbQiOUoY1feeUH0Dai6gOadPTD4ZRpW9DmzqScvmUE8ckKPg_xqCWcVRyZGJZrcDERwe4rBbMkfauQA-Z5o3c/s1600/IMG_20120601_185334.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3DBc_lHxpHGZhyMGH9a4sUukVx1JS-1V7gwEMOqPQe_hSXr1jahkaD3nbQiOUoY1feeUH0Dai6gOadPTD4ZRpW9DmzqScvmUE8ckKPg_xqCWcVRyZGJZrcDERwe4rBbMkfauQA-Z5o3c/s320/IMG_20120601_185334.jpg" width="320" /></a>Grain-free pop-overs. The first go round was great on crust, but the inside was not perfect, so I have more baking to do, but here's a teaser. (ignore the awful backsplash, we just moved to a new place and it's kind of a fixer upper!)<br />
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**** EDITED TO ADD*****<br />
<br />
Well, since it's taking FOREVER for me to tinker more, and it seems like every time I think I'll have time it's 100 degrees in my house so I don't want the oven on, I figured I'd post the recipe so far. I'll adjust it more when I get time, and post again. So anyway, here it is!<br />
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Grain-free Popovers:<br />
3 eggs<br />
1 cup milk<br />
1/2 c mozzarella cheese<br />
2 c tapioca flour<br />
3T olive oil (I'm thinking this should be one or two tablespoons, but I haven't had a chance to try it yet)<br />
1/2 t salt<br />
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Put mozzarella in a food processor and process until it's fairly finely chopped. Add eggs, milk, olive oil and salt. Process again. Add tapioca flour in small portions and mix until thoroughly blended. I then baked them at 425 for 10 min and then dropped the temperature to 350 for 40 minutes, but I was thinking it might be better to drop it to 325 for a bit longer... but the lower amount of oil might take care of this problem on it's own. So there it is! Please let me know how that went, if you try it!<br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-76076020918925422982012-06-06T16:59:00.001-04:002012-07-12T13:55:44.481-04:00DIY Montessori GlobeLast week was my kids' last week of school at their tiny montessori school. We can't afford next year's tuition for my kids, so I am officially starting homeschooling now. I'd like to keep within the montessori style mostly because I LOVE the montessori math curriculum. It's just so brilliant! Also because my kids are just sort of used to that style now. I'm not married to the rest of the curriculum, though I do like it.<br />
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Anyway, I was scouting out Michaels' looking for ideas for things and came across this globe: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicO8leI1qn5QWuUVhooVzcwnho1ljtdcyN5Ccluz1i3umON_eU1LEFvs87kaawJ0Y9DKN6v2x19dktN4Dy6FwrQ8sFdNhk8J6v2s4hY41W6KZuk1MXnDOLtk_Hx6J7rSN16uDDqYxmhpc/s1600/IMG_20120605_124607.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicO8leI1qn5QWuUVhooVzcwnho1ljtdcyN5Ccluz1i3umON_eU1LEFvs87kaawJ0Y9DKN6v2x19dktN4Dy6FwrQ8sFdNhk8J6v2s4hY41W6KZuk1MXnDOLtk_Hx6J7rSN16uDDqYxmhpc/s320/IMG_20120605_124607.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
It's just a small (maybe 5 inch diameter or so?), presumably paper-on-cardboard globe that has just light brown for the land parts, though it has some darker and lighter areas to show the mountains and such, as well as the names of the various countries and borders drawn in black. The kids saw it immediately and were all excited to have their own globe at home, and my immediate thought was "hey, I could make this all sorts of montessori!"... and it cost me all of $1.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQTDpG6wLWHId3rP4yB0xffHbQO7vsxa7dGZykbn9pY_eTr6bbHYzYeta33YZSAcuvzDoC43e_decg94Nc27WQ2CYzB6Wp4n-0KRHOSDeTV6oWW2fGybGEijrWEGTwkSAG9YffgrH9p8/s1600/IMG_20120606_163021.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCQTDpG6wLWHId3rP4yB0xffHbQO7vsxa7dGZykbn9pY_eTr6bbHYzYeta33YZSAcuvzDoC43e_decg94Nc27WQ2CYzB6Wp4n-0KRHOSDeTV6oWW2fGybGEijrWEGTwkSAG9YffgrH9p8/s320/IMG_20120606_163021.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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This project was super easy. All you need is permanent markers in the appropriate colors and then carefully color in each continent. I think if you didn't want to see all the borders and country names, you could probably use paint pens, but they're much more expensive and I sort of like being able to see what's underneath. I already had the sharpie markers in the right colors, too, so that was lucky.<br />
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Colors you need: <br />
Europe - red<br />
Asia - yellow<br />
Africa - green<br />
N. America - orange<br />
S. America - pink<br />
Australia - brown<br />
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Antarctica did not need to be colored because it was pretty much white to begin with.<br />
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<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-29068174778381106522012-05-03T16:19:00.001-04:002012-07-12T13:55:57.171-04:00Vibram Five Fingers "Sprint" Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWEGvzzu43ZpzH-nyErL2hfK1V0ezr8mS_yLvWW7fjDsSUNiX8Lbnq9x6USpHDE0eeqVgCe7Fsd9vX-zpI7UbRQiJZICbMKCd7HtB9DRWeSrR-TdO42ucNswaC4M1l923gV4Is_bWmI8/s1600/vff2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpWEGvzzu43ZpzH-nyErL2hfK1V0ezr8mS_yLvWW7fjDsSUNiX8Lbnq9x6USpHDE0eeqVgCe7Fsd9vX-zpI7UbRQiJZICbMKCd7HtB9DRWeSrR-TdO42ucNswaC4M1l923gV4Is_bWmI8/s320/vff2.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
I know there must be thousands of reviews of VFFs out there, by now, but I just thought I'd throw my input out there. I've been running in my <a href="http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/products/Five-Fingers-Sprint-Womens.htm">sprints</a> (off and on, they're not my favorite at this point, but they were my first minimal footwear) for about 15 months. Here's my take on it:<br />
<br />
I will preface this by saying I've only tried two kinds of minimal shoes (at this point) for running - my VFF sprints and my <a href="http://jennatakeson.blogspot.com/2012/06/merrell-barefoot-run-pace-glove-review.html">Merrell Barefoot Pace Gloves</a>. Aside from that I've run completely without shoes, so that gives you an idea of my experience. Generally I run 3-4 miles per run, although I've just signed up for a half-marathon, so I'm excited to see how my barefooting holds up! I've worn my VFFs trail running, street running, and also for hiking/general walking, not to mention just casually.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsMBB8tR9xwepo9GJbNcFCawbMWoInwZEbKLnvcC97gQDij8x7PqJtmsrmwMINedQq65uk64ivQSeAdf0fMpMp-cReFgbKcXkg9padzvV-gUlSIjgzwXZpm8Y9fCH5Qz7mhYIzJN18KQ/s1600/vff1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMsMBB8tR9xwepo9GJbNcFCawbMWoInwZEbKLnvcC97gQDij8x7PqJtmsrmwMINedQq65uk64ivQSeAdf0fMpMp-cReFgbKcXkg9padzvV-gUlSIjgzwXZpm8Y9fCH5Qz7mhYIzJN18KQ/s320/vff1.jpg" width="320" /></a>Most people's first question is "what do they feel like??" Well, they feel basically like wearing gloves on your feet. They're not difficult to get on if you have any ability to move your toes, though there's a slight learning curve - the first couple times were a little weird and I needed to use my fingers to guide my smaller toes in, but now I'm pretty used to it and they slip on easily. The fabric is thin, about the thickness of the material in a woman's bathing suit, though not quite as stretchy. Before I ordered them, I thought the pictures always looked a bit puffy, as if they're made out of maybe neoprene or something, so I was a little shocked to find this out when I received them.<br />
<br />
I'll concede that probably some of the problems on here may, or even certainly do relate to the style (the "sprints" vs. other styles of VFF)<br />
<br />
<b>PRO:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>These shoes are very thin and flexible. You can literally roll them right up. Really easy to pack to take with you on vacation or whatever.</li>
<li>When wearing them you can feel little bumps and rocks in the road, though not enough for it to be uncomfortable. Still, a lot of ground feel, thus, very similar to barefoot - more similar to barefoot than my Merrell barefoot pace gloves.</li>
<li>It's easy to spread my toes.</li>
<li>They LOOK really cool and get asked about a lot. This can be a con if you like to hide, but I kind of like the opportunity to enlighten people. Sometimes their faces look horrified and they say "WHAT IS ON YOUR FEET?" though and I reply with sort of a meek "uh... shoes?" but that usually leads into a discussion of how they feel and why I would wear such a thing and whatnot. </li>
</ul>
<b>CON:</b><br />
<ul>
<li>Though the toes fit my toes well, occasionally they twist when I'm running and feel sort of funny (not a huge issue, but I do squirm my feet around while running once this happens and lose focus)<b> </b></li>
<li>I'm not a huge fan of the velcro. It sticks to things sometimes (like if it's in a bag with other stuff), and occasionally it cuts in/chafes my skin if I haven't worn them in a while. I'm considering trying one of the types of VFF that is a bit more like a sneaker.</li>
<li>The heel slides down, but when I pull it up, the sides cut into my ankles and are uncomfortable. I think it's possible that I should downsize, but here's a picture of what I mean: </li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">down</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa97CC4Kmtusj6cv02VkQ3enm4y-5e0VbE9m3L7g280prMy5jv1XghzckAFXVOlVfdoL1Io6sgnOLszhvjWeBLGqSrrj0uj_toQobsxtO_ROQUUqycPHKI0v0MUKfXSNHy3ebo86UeX0/s1600/vff5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPa97CC4Kmtusj6cv02VkQ3enm4y-5e0VbE9m3L7g280prMy5jv1XghzckAFXVOlVfdoL1Io6sgnOLszhvjWeBLGqSrrj0uj_toQobsxtO_ROQUUqycPHKI0v0MUKfXSNHy3ebo86UeX0/s320/vff5.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">up</td></tr>
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See how the blue velcro is touching the top of the sole in the first picture (and not in the second)? That is a bit annoying while running. I noticed that the newer style they've made some changes to this part of the shoe, so it's possible that that is no longer an issue. I do know that in other VFF styles, the heel cup is more like a sneaker, which would fix this issue entirely, I expect.<br />
<ul>
<li> <b> </b> The infamous VFF stench. Funny because the first couple months of using them I didn't really get much of the stench... but oh boy, yes, now I get it. And ew. It's possible that they've managed to fix this in the past year, too... </li>
<li>This is minor since these have so much ground feel, but running in them is still different from running barefoot. If you only ever run in minimal shoes, you should give completely barefoot a try if for no other reason than to see the difference. I mean, these are *really* minimal and I can feel rocks and stuff through them, and it's still somewhat different than running completely barefoot.</li>
<li>My last complaint is that these don't have enough grip on the bottom. They only have thin little razor slices in them. I'll admit that this is completely due to the style. Other ones have more grip... and honestly more grip, I assume, would result in less ground-feel, but these are not shoes I would recommend for a lot of trail running. They slide in mud... not exactly what you would want for a trail run. If you're set on VFFs for trail running (which I was), definitely check out some of the other styles with more grippy bottoms. Totally would be worth it, and again, I'm seriously contemplating getting those.</li>
</ul>
Anyway, so that's it! Would I buy sprints again? Hmm... I think they'd be great water shoes or for water sports, definitely. For me, however, I would prefer something with less velcro and with a better heel cup/collar.<br />
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</ul>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-51943365923292239632012-04-12T11:28:00.000-04:002012-07-12T13:56:14.034-04:00Family Harmony<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55lm3MOrSgktRHLpaKCziw0t4qJjca3KM9SjhmkAxtxwpW6Uc0oxhtkSMtez43wU22zIXwD0vQ0m3gOHlFjcuIdqqw4hU24kUm0EHkcMaNL2irTMLrIQK2Ep_kV-Bw3E6BGxV9hD1-8c/s1600/tv+zombies.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj55lm3MOrSgktRHLpaKCziw0t4qJjca3KM9SjhmkAxtxwpW6Uc0oxhtkSMtez43wU22zIXwD0vQ0m3gOHlFjcuIdqqw4hU24kUm0EHkcMaNL2irTMLrIQK2Ep_kV-Bw3E6BGxV9hD1-8c/s320/tv+zombies.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">fightless, whineless tv zombies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
So, this week was the kids' week-off for spring break. I have to admit, I was terrified. They wear me out just in the hours they are home from school. This is how I usually deal with their fighting and whining:<br />
<ol><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqc2MIx1P-UtWTYRX-3JcUPEMDcoWjzP4cN8t1v2i9L66ySRNCiACzn5eWt5XEZrHJu7wBwaamf0QSKh86Kyw8w7bVCbDi1rM5VUX2qYB-kUEFU49yk1z-2J2TmMdG-eb7QRiYTztx5hw/s1600/IMG_20120412_104821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqc2MIx1P-UtWTYRX-3JcUPEMDcoWjzP4cN8t1v2i9L66ySRNCiACzn5eWt5XEZrHJu7wBwaamf0QSKh86Kyw8w7bVCbDi1rM5VUX2qYB-kUEFU49yk1z-2J2TmMdG-eb7QRiYTztx5hw/s320/IMG_20120412_104821.jpg" width="240" /></a>
<li>Turn on TV. </li>
<li>Enjoy fightless, whineless tv zombies.</li>
<li>Berate self for not being a "better" mother.</li>
<li>Rinse, repeat. </li>
</ol>
Pretty sure I'm not the only one. However, this week I promised myself I was going to do better. Private school is expensive and I am hoping (perhaps to my own detriment) to homeschool them next year, since I'm not that thrilled with their private school, either. I decided we would have a no-tv week, to try and practice/prepare for homeschooling.<br />
<br />
My first plan, to compensate, was to start them on a bunch of chores, to give them a sense of ownership in our house, so a couple days ago we sat down and talked about what chores they'd like to do and came up with way too many for them to be expected to do daily, so I scheduled it out over the course of a week. My kids are 6, nearly 5, and 2, so we had to scale back a bit from the grand chore scheme they had come up with. I made sure that the chores they had were age appropriate things that I knew they could do (and had done in the past). I wrote the chores on a chalkboard, and change the chores daily (except make bed and help clean up, those stay). It seems to be going well so far, but I was still getting a lot of whining and fighting. That would be when I came up with something sort of strange and shockingly simple out of the blue. It could be something brilliant, but possibly it only works with my kids... or possibly only for a few days, we shall see, but so far it's worked beautifully.<br />
<br />
So, what is it?? WHAT???<br />
<br />
I realized what we needed wasn't my screaming at them to stop screaming at each other. This seems like a no-brainer, but this is what it had come to in our household. What we needed, I thought, was some way to impress upon them that when they're whining, or arguing for the sake or arguing, or whatever, it was ruining something that could be great. It was ruining our family harmony. So we sat down and I defined "family harmony" to them and talked about how great it would be if we all worked together and had some wonderful family harmony. They agreed that it would be awesome. So then I explained that family harmony is something we all have to work on. If we all just argue for the sake of arguing, or start screaming when someone does something we don't like instead of discussing it reasonably, we'd never have any family harmony. Beyond that, <i>sometimes</i> we have to actually compromise, that is, do something you don't WANT to do or not get everything YOUR way every time, just for the sake of family harmony. I pointed out times that I had done it in the past, and times that I recall that they had compromised and things went more smoothly than other times when they didn't. We have discussed compromise before, but only from an individual perspective... not from the family harmony angle. So after a nice long discussion about family harmony, I asked them if they thought we could all work toward this this week. They seemed sort of excited at the prospect! <br />
<br />
Since that discussion, whenever they start fighting or whining (with the older two, the 2 yr old still doesn't get it, of course), I go to them and say "but, is this worth fighting over or is family harmony more important?" or "do you think you can compromise on this one for family harmony's sake?" or something along those lines. The kids are responding astonishingly well. There's only been a couple times when we had to figure something else out, but *gasp* I actually had the energy to work with them on it because I wasn't so exhausted from dealing with all the fighting! I'm thrilled! I totally have my fingers crossed that this will work long-term.<br />
<br />
Hope that helps someone else.<br />
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<br />Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-68010988059392727592012-04-06T09:38:00.004-04:002015-05-08T15:38:32.902-04:00Elana's Cinnamon Bun Muffins (and transformation to paleo "mug" recipe)I have a new favorite go-to sweet: <a href="http://www.elanaspantry.com/cinnamon-bun-muffins/">the Cinnamon Bun Muffin</a> from Elana's Pantry! <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttlxewtX72_9MvHoJjzVGL5OAh3_fAujmK6hFdVN4gGnYS0CrdE8T-d7oG1IuCRkMwy5CRlG-8_euOwQnjXMOATN0de5swkOqzevJiQAIYJ-_K2xSRbfSjuq-yKL_aj5wBl1N3dFXzNo/s1600/muffin.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728282587431735618" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhttlxewtX72_9MvHoJjzVGL5OAh3_fAujmK6hFdVN4gGnYS0CrdE8T-d7oG1IuCRkMwy5CRlG-8_euOwQnjXMOATN0de5swkOqzevJiQAIYJ-_K2xSRbfSjuq-yKL_aj5wBl1N3dFXzNo/s320/muffin.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a> I made them this morning (without the frosting) and my kids gobbled them up. OMG, they're so good. I prefer to use honey in place of agave and melted butter in place of the oil she uses, though, but I'm sure they're wonderful the way the recipe is written, too. Look at the texture! It's so nice to get a nice fluffy muffin when using no xanthan gum or gluten. Gotta love that... and it's technically "primal" though if you use a different oil (probably would be fabulous with coconut oil) you could call it paleo, though I'd warn you against basing much of your paleo/primal diet on this because of how much honey is in it.<br />
<br />
I've even tweaked the recipe to be one of the wonderful "mug" recipes - instant microwave gratification! Here's my tweak of the recipe: <br />
<br />
Mug Muffin:<br />
<br />
2 Tbl butter, melted<br />
1 Tbl (or so) honey<br />
1 egg<br />
1 tsp of vanilla<br />
1/3 c almond flour<br />
2 tsp coconut flour<br />
a pinch of baking soda<br />
a pinch of salt<br />
<br />
Mix the wet ingredients together (make sure the melted butter is not hot before you put in the egg!), then add the dry ingredients. Mix well, and then microwave it for 1 1/2-3 minutes or until the top looks no longer squishy/wet. I'm sure it'll depend on the microwave.<br />
<br />
Topping: <br />
1 tbl butter cut into pieces<br />
a drizzle of honey<br />
a sprinling of cinnamon<br />
<br />
While the mug muffin is still hot, put the butter pieces on top and let them melt. If they're not melting very well, you can put it back in the microwave for 10 seconds or so. Drizzle on honey to taste, then sprinkle with cinnamon to taste. Enjoy with a spoon while warm!<br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-34445736148150207012012-04-01T10:24:00.010-04:002012-07-12T13:56:46.519-04:00Let's talk birthdays!Since the last post I made, we have discovered that the milk intolerence I discussed previously was actually caused by a gluten intolerance. How, you may ask, did we find this? Welllllll... my husband found out he had an autoimmune disease and it was recommended that we cut gluten for him. Turns out it made a huge difference in his pain levels, so we have kept it, ever since. SO, for a while we were dairy-free AND gluten (and most grains) free. Six months later, I decide to take the plunge and try out the paleo/primal diet, for health reasons. Within A WEEK, my anxiety went away and most of my depression symptoms. I was shocked, but obviously thrilled. Sure enough, if I have more than a bite or two of something containing gluten, I get anxiety and insomnia for the next few days. <br />
<br />
Of course, after that, we sort of automatically started cutting out most of the gluten for the kids. Then, after a couple months of being mostly gluten free, Oliver (my older son with the supposed dairy issue) is handed a couple pieces of cheese (uh, by me - total mommy fail), but NOTHING HAPPENED. We were shocked and assumed it was a fluke and continued with our dairy-free lifestyle for several more months before we decided to try him on the dairy again. It seems that being gluten-free can heal up the "leaky gut" enough so that the dairy no longer bothers him. The weird thing is that it takes more than one dose of gluten to get much of an effect, but used to only take a tiny bit of dairy. Anyway, so now we're mostly grain-free (I've found that most non-gluten grains bloat me terribly), and not dairy free, though I've become fairly adept at dairy-free cooking since we were dairy AND gluten-free for almost a year!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifua-PXk91YtMX6pj8RGOz5irKbrkHctJPygLzyaJ_SGFjuqwky5V05ivBHi_oStq6ziv4JEpVS-2H3e97pd1lFi-j1AYv9q_LYy1HQWbMXQpj65BgdMbt0xJdkAYDAqH56RIoT7o2X-g/s1600/Cake.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5728000518824931410" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifua-PXk91YtMX6pj8RGOz5irKbrkHctJPygLzyaJ_SGFjuqwky5V05ivBHi_oStq6ziv4JEpVS-2H3e97pd1lFi-j1AYv9q_LYy1HQWbMXQpj65BgdMbt0xJdkAYDAqH56RIoT7o2X-g/s320/Cake.jpg" style="float: right; height: 239px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
So, anyway, I'm sure you're all wondering where this is going. My second son (third child), Avery, had his second birthday last weekend! I made wonderful "triple chocolate cupcakes" from <a href="http://www.elanaspantry.com/">Elana Amsterdam's</a> "Gluten-Free Cupcakes" book. I love her site, too. TONS of grain-free recipes that *gasp* actually taste good! Who knew you could get complements from grain-eaters saying "Well, I could go gluten-free if it was all going to be like this!" Needless to say, it was well worth the purchase of that book. Highly recommend. <br />
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Last summer, for Oliver's birthday, however, I was in the midst of trying to be gluten AND dairy free. That's when a bit of magic happened! I received my copy of Martha Stewart Living and on the cover was a fun, spectacular, beautiful <a href="http://www.marthastewart.com/777271/frozen-rainbow-chiffon-cake">cake!</a> And it happened to be DAIRY AND GRAIN FREE!! I had to go for it, of course. Turns out it's also delicious and totally worth the time and effort. FYI, if you make this cake, don't use huge papayas. I used like 1/2 of one papaya's juice and it was too much and made that layer a bit too icy, but the other layers I made were wonderfully light and creamy. Delicious!<br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-75998929354737295082011-01-21T12:56:00.004-05:002012-07-12T13:57:12.420-04:00Montessori websitesOk, I realize this blog kind of jumps around a lot, and I really haven't had tons of time to update frequently, but with three kids under 6, it happens. Anyway, I'd like to do a montessori based homeschooling with my kids, so I've been looking up montessori information. Figured I'd post it here so that I don't lose it. :)<br />
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http://homemademontessori.blogspot.com/<br />
http://montessorird.com/index2.php?cPath=1<br />
http://www.montessoriforlearning.com/FreeDownloadIndex.html<br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-66770878916185813092010-08-31T11:15:00.003-04:002012-07-12T13:57:21.307-04:00Dairy free me?We've determined that our three year old seems to have problems with dairy. So now the question is, how do we go about living our lives (and liking our food) without any dairy? Just when I thought I knew something about cooking, the game has changed and now it's time to relearn everything. One problem, though. I tend towards a "traditional foods" or "real food" (Google Weston A. Price for more information) philosophy of food, and that means I'm not interested in soy based replacements or hydrogenated vegetable fats. I also love food, so I'm not just going to give up dairy and not replace that lovely mouth feel and flavor with nothing. <br />
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Luckily, I have several friends who are also dairy free for a variety of reasons and have a variety of philosophies on food (vegan, multiple food sensitivities, etc) but at least I'm getting some good help in this direction. Also, from what I understand, we should be able to keep milk in our diet from other animals, like goats and sheep, so I'm looking into options for keeping some cheese, etc, in our diet. I'm hoping to post about my journey on this blog, in the coming weeks.<br />
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</script>Jennahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01659721366401451307noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1342328683579419423.post-49552899460348659042009-12-21T16:46:00.004-05:002012-07-12T13:57:47.784-04:00Oliver's Christmas Spider Hat: a free patternI had decided to knit hats and mittens from the luscious Malabrigo Worsted I picked up for 20% off at my local yarn shop during their annual birthday sale. I had finished my daughter's and planned to embroider little flowers on her hat, but couldn't come up with a good (easy/beginner) embellishment for a boy's hat. Friends gave me ideas like stars and rocket ships, sailboats, etc... but I wasn't exactly sure how I'd do that, and I wasn't sure that Oliver would be into it.<br />
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Then the concept of bugs came up, and it reminded me that I had seen patterns for bobble spiders out there. I ran across this pattern for <a href="http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/spider-socks">Spider Socks</a> using that lovely spider. I realized that considering the hat I was making was on size 9 needles the gauge alone probably won't allow me to put the big spider pattern on a toddler hat, but her teeny spiders were perfect! Sadly, they were written for knitting from the top-down, but my hat was going from the bottom up. So I came up with a slightly different pattern for the spider and spread it over the course of the hat. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLuH3WvXI11FK81TJL-qg9qY6JkGL0s1sm_meX4yk74hKtmdTnccgV9Y8ZJiG9MFFgGbexUjY35iAZDYZo64lDM6oJ5gYjOU_Yn2Znk5wxydFhSZffL4djiHP6QIySooiKNez_CbOAgk/s1600-h/winter+knits+009.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418098114679337394" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheLuH3WvXI11FK81TJL-qg9qY6JkGL0s1sm_meX4yk74hKtmdTnccgV9Y8ZJiG9MFFgGbexUjY35iAZDYZo64lDM6oJ5gYjOU_Yn2Znk5wxydFhSZffL4djiHP6QIySooiKNez_CbOAgk/s320/winter+knits+009.jpg" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0 10px 10px 0; width: 320px;" /></a><br />
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Soooo... here's my version of the spider, worked on reverse stockinette:<br />
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Worked in multiples of 9 stitches, in the round.<br />
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Round 1 & 2: Purl<br />
Round 3, 5, 7, and 9: P1, slip 7 with yarn in front (be careful to leave it loose enough that you can attach it to your spider which will be on round 10, these will form the legs) P1.<br />
Round 4 & 6: Purl<br />
Round 8: P4, K1, P4<br />
Round 10: P4, work bobble [knit in front of loop, knit in back of loop, knit in front of loop, knit in back of loop, knit in front of loop so that there are now 5 stitches in the bobble. Turn project around and purl across the 5 bobble stitches. Turn work and knit the 5 bobble stitches together through back of loop.] take the 4 slipped sections from rounds 3, 5, 7, and 9 and put them BEHIND the bobble, so that the bobble looks like the spider's body and the legs appear to come from it. P across.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwR92hUOBLwIFKm0Bm2zqFDtgLwUkIsSDK9zexaWVumixL_mynHJfp5p4dBp6mPLJtwCE2zZBAOwq1XXCtsp4BWXZJHAIf1xNlX6tbb9odr1wtr1GB_l_Nj9H0l8pX6ughjytmfJ39CY/s1600-h/winter+knits+008.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5418099673711208866" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgIwR92hUOBLwIFKm0Bm2zqFDtgLwUkIsSDK9zexaWVumixL_mynHJfp5p4dBp6mPLJtwCE2zZBAOwq1XXCtsp4BWXZJHAIf1xNlX6tbb9odr1wtr1GB_l_Nj9H0l8pX6ughjytmfJ39CY/s320/winter+knits+008.jpg" style="float: left; height: 240px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; width: 320px;" /></a></div>
Round 11 and as far above as you like: P4, K1, P4<br />
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I decided to do my spiders at various heights, to make it more interesting.<br />
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