Saturday morning we went out to Coggshall to clean up some storm damage.  Coggshall is this very nice large park in Fitchburg (where Megan got married), but because of all the damage, the government Parks people said that we couldn’t open the park because of the damage.  Joel Kaddy organized a clean up on Saturday, and I went with my parents (at 8am!).

Trees were actually ripped out of the earth, and were laying across the street.  The DPW had been in earlier to chainsaw the large trees.

We were suppose to pick up these large branches, and carry them to the side of the road to be picked up.  Everything 30 feet back needed to be cleared.

I got a good slice in my arm that really hurt, and started bleeding.  I didn’t have crappy jeans to wear, so I wore yoga pants.  Bad idea, because the jeans would have protected my legs better.  I also have a big scrape and bruise on my upper thigh.

After cleaning, dad came home and changed to go to the movies with my mom.  Since I wasn’t going out with him, I told him he should add to his look by adding his bright red suspenders.  He thought it was a good idea.

Trevor came over on sunday to help chop firewood out of an old tree that we had taken down.  Trevor banged on the window, and said “If you want to live in a mini house by yourself, you better come outside and learn how to chop firewood!”

You can see this piece of wood nicely breaking in half.

I am currently down in Dartmouth visiting Rob again.  I’m coming every month, so this is my April trip.  In March, we ate a bunch of strawberries and watched a bunch of movies.  Last night we watched Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, which was awesome.  Later today we’re going to see Sunshine Cleaning.  He has a blog here.

Holy crap, look at this mini house I saw in FITCHBURG! We were driving to Coggshall park to do some ice storm debris clean up, and we randomly drove through a neighborhood. My dad was driving and my mom and I both saw it and made him back up. I got out and went down the driveway to take a picture. I love that it is so old fashioned looking and the door and the chimney! I want it!
Unforunately there isn’t much land, and there are two houses right next door. I just need to find a house like this somewhere with lots of land and no neighbors.

I’m at a friends house, and we are having a huge bonfire to get rid of downed trees from the ice storm. Eric had his old Christmas tree on the top, and the fire was huge and made awesome crackling!
It’s cool that we are doing summer activities in April!

Went running today after getting injured twice. I couldn’t even make it 3 miles! I’m not sure if this half marathon is going to happen. But I’m okay with that. I did 10 miles, and that’s quite the accomplishment. I don’t want to get hurt trying to do more.

The best thing about rearranging my room is that now my X-Files posters are all visable.

Saturday was a dreary and rainy day, so I didn’t want to do my 11 mile run.  I would wait and do that Sunday.  It would be sunny, but slightly chilly.  Instead on Saturday, I went for a quick 2 mile run, just to do something.  As I started running, my right ankle starting to hurt.  I hadn’t even gone half a mile when it started.  I almost decided to turn around, but I did not.

After I got home, it still hurt, which was unusual.  I had felt this same pain before, and had even pointed it out to Larry, who is an expert runner, back in February.  Usually the pain went away after I was running for a bit, or at the latest, once I was done running.   It is now Sunday, and it still hurts.  I’m not sure if it really hurts, or if I’m just thinking that it does, and psychologically making it hurt.  The pain could very well be psychosomatic.  I could just be worried about being in pain and not being able to run my marathon.  Especially with a $50 race fee that isn’t refundable (another reason why I hate  money - it makes me worry about things).  Nevertheless, I went out today and bought an ankle brace, which I will start wearing while I run for extra support.  I also bought Salonpas which a woman at church recommended.  They are Japanese and they “relieve aches and pains in the muscles and joints, particularly those associated with backache, arthritis, strains, bruises and sprains.”  In Japanese, the pain or stiffness in your neck or shoulders is called katakori. I currently have them on my neck and shoulders, and it feels GREAT!  I got 40 pads that stick on for only $4!

But anyway, I’ve been icing my ankle on and off for two days now, and elevating it when I can.  I took the day off today, and also plan on resting tomorrow, too.  I will go back to running on Tuesday, to allow myself with enough time to rest.  Shauna said that if I’m up to 10 miles already, I should be ok taking a week off on my long run.  I have four weeks left until my half marathon, and I think that’s plenty of time to get up to 12, and then work my way down again before the big day of 13.1.  They say if you can do 12 in training, you can do 13 in a race.  But I feel like if I can do 10 in training, then I can do 13 in a race.  After 10 miles, another 3 would be nothing!  Especially if the race is pretty flat, as I hear this one is.

So now, I’m using a heating pad to see if that makes it feel any better.  I’ve been trying to do some research on what to do, and even IF my ankle is sprained.  I can walk on it just fine, it just feels weird.  I’m not even sure if it hurts or not, it just doesn’t feel right.  I will elevate it tonight while I sleep, and I’ll wear my ankle brace all day tomorrow.

Here’s hoping that it will be in perfect condition when I wake up tomorrow.

That is my itinerary for my summer trip to England this summer.  Last August when I went, I blogged that I wasn’t there long enough.  Well, this trip is FOUR WEEKS long.  That’s plenty of time!  Megan and I are planning on going to Paris, and also to Belgium.  The only reason for Belgium is because I looked at a map of Europe and looked at what was physically close to England.  We could also go to the Netherlands, but I’ve already been there!

What else is awesome about this trip is my flight.  The other times I’ve been to England (three times now, I think), I always left at about 6pm, and got to England around 6am.  Everyone was just ready to start their day, and I was exhausted and wanted to go to bed.

This time, however, I leave at 9am, and get to England at 8:45.  I’ll probably arrive at Southampton (where Megan and Mac live) around 11:30 or so, which will be 6:30 my time.  Since I’ve been traveling all day, and probably had to wake up early, I’ll probably be ready for bed soon after I arrive.  Then, I will go to bed with everyone, and wake up refreshed with everyone.

Then, on the way home, I get to spend the afternoon not rushing to the airport, and perhaps can wander around London (or not, since I’ll have my luggage).  Then, I’ll arrive in Boston at 8:35, and home to Fitchburg by 10:30, where I will be exhausted, and again, going to bed with everyone else.  It is the perfect trip, time wise.

Before booking the flight, I asked my parents “Now, I don’t have anything to do this summer, right?  Nothing I’m going to miss?”  After all three of us decided that there was nothing we could think of this summer, I booked the flight!  $717, and my parents paid for it as my early graduation present!  Now, I just need to start saving up spending money so Megan and I can travel while I’m there.  I want to start doing more babysitting, and possibly more hours at Macy’s.  I also talked to Megan about babysitting for one of her friends in England while I’m there, to earn some pounds while I’m there.  I wish there was something I could do for part time work while I’m there, but I don’t think there is.

Now that I’ve booked my flight and I know when I’m going, Megan and I can start to book our trips very early.  That way we can save money!  I’m also going to get a young person’s rail card so that way I can save money on taking the rail.

I am soooo excited!  I also just found out that a family friend’s daughter (who is 15) is going to Europe and is going to be in London on July 15th.  On the 17th, they’re doing a Harry Potter tour.  I would LOVE to do that trip!  They’re going to look into seeing if I can do the trip too, and that way I can check up on the teen.  It’d be fun to see someone I know, PLUS, Harry Potter is my favorite.  If I don’t go with her, I will definitely do a tour some other time.

Their apartment is very small.  It has a living room, bedroom, bathroom and kitchen.  There are two smallish hallways…. but they’re very tiny.  Here is the living room, which includes the futon where I will be sleeping.  I slept there last summer while I stayed at their house for their wedding.

That is the wine from their wedding, but this summer Mac and I will have our own awesome drinking collection.  Megan doesn’t drink so it will just be the two of us!

Hopefully it will be sunny, so we can wear sunglasses every day!

I asked my dad for a bite of his egg sandwich this afternoon, and he grudgingly handed it over.  Just as I had it to my mouth he said, “It has meat in it.”  I pulled it back, looked at the sandwich and saw the ham slice.  I handed it back to him.

Nicely played.

Ok Peeps, we have a new challenge to do!  This one is called the Responsible Consumption Month, and it will start tomorrow, April 11, and run until May 9th.  May 9th is the magical day of my half marathon.  I am not eating meat until that day, so this seems like something good to add on. Plus, it is exactly four weeks.

Here are the guidelines from their site.  My comments are in pink.

1. Daily mindfulness meditation session of whatever length feels available and good to do.

You can end your practice with a few minutes of contemplative meditation practice, using the words “There is enough.” If you are not familiar with contemplative (ie directed thinking) meditation practice, there are good simple instructions in the book “Turning the Mind into an Ally” by Sakyong Mipham. Yeah, I’m not going to do this.  I will “meditate” while I run.

2. Limiting Waste in the following areas:

-plastic bags
-coffee cups I don’t drink coffee, but I won’t take any throw-away cups of any kind
-napkins
-energy, lights, air conditioning, cell phone charging, computers Uh, I’m still going to charge my cell phone. But I’ll be better at unplugging things while I’m not using them.  At Home Depot, do they sell those on/off switches like they have in England?
-Exploring Composting - resources available on the waste resources page We already compost, but I’ll be sure to try harder.

3. Travel

-utilizing public transportation, ride shares I can look into the  bus in Fitchburg, but I’ve heard it isn’t that reliable.
-walking, biking whenever possible I already do this.  If it’s in walking distance, and it’s not raining, I’m most definitely walking there.
-planning ahead to make less trips in the car (if you have one) I really want to get rid of my car.  I think my mom and I could share a car, because neither of us works full time.  Plus, I can walk to class.

4. Food

-buy local as much as possible  I’m not sure how reasonable this is, because it’s April and nothing is growing in Mass.  But I promise I will STOP buying things that aren’t from the USA.
-buy food with as little excess packaging as possible
-try to eat less meat This is already part of my plan.

5. General

-limiting general purchasing and consumption of new products Already doing this to save money.
-trying to use second hand stores, library, Craig’s list, freecycle.com, downloading music and movies… Libraries are awesome.  I also use Bit Torrents.

6. Personal

-find something personal that you would like to add to your month. This could be working with the mental states that arise around a particular vice or low-level addiction that you would like to practice freeing yourself from. For example, in NYC, one community member is giving up cigarettes, one is giving up coffee, and one is giving up sugar all together!!! I know that I said I would give up diet soda, but I haven’t yet.  Blah. I will.  I have one more Diet Pepsi Max left, and I will drink that, and be done with it.

7. Keeping a Journal and Sharing Your Experience

Share your experience with our community online! You can go to our 24-hour diary page and share everything you have consumed in a 24 hour period, Post photos to our Flickr group, and discuss general topics in our general discussion thread. This will create an amazing resource of shared experience that everyone can benefit from. I have a blog.

***

Need help with having less waste?  Look into these:

Drink bottle : mason jar, canteen, what have you, but try to avoid plastic since they are suspected of leaching chemicals and are generally less environmentally friendly
- Container for food/left-overs: tiffin box, tupperware, fabric wrappers
- Shopping bag: nylon, canvas, string bags I already use these.  My Chico Bags are awesome.
- Chopsticks, silverware: bamboo and eco-plastics I need to get good silverware to carry with me, and to have a cool carrying case for them.
- Cloth napkin I already bring these with me for lunch and in my purse.  Cloth napkins are awesome.  I would love to have a big awesome purse, and also carry around a hand towel.

***

Does anyone have any more tips that I can use?

Who’s in?

Everyone in my family loves when I make my Veggie Pot Pie.  Last time I made it, my mom complained that it wasn’t filling enough, and she was still hungry after dinner.  When I made it yesterday, I thought about what she said.  She thought it needed meat, but I disagreed.

While making it last night, I added 4 cups of frozen vegetables.  The original meat-filled version only called for 2-3 cups.  I made the regular sauce, and to the sauce, I cooked up 1/2 cup TVP (textured vegetable protein) with 1/2  cup water, and then added it to the sauce.  I thought it looked kinda weak, so I added more vegetables (getting up to 5 cups!).  I mixed in all the TVP, the vegetables and the sauce, and added it to the pie.

As we were eating (where I also had sweet potatoes, a salad, AND I set the table and cleaned the pots I had used), I asked my parents what they thought of the pie.  “It’s really good.  A lot better than last time.  Did you add more vegetables?  It seems more filling.”    I told her that yes, I did add more vegetables, but then I added “Do you know what eeeeeeeeeelse I added?”   My mom slowly looked over at me, and she said “Did you add that weird stuff?”

Yeeeeeeeees, I did!  The TVP was great, and everyone liked it.  It definitely made it more filling, and a lot less watery which was good.  I thought about the “rules” for TVP, “Add it to anything in which you would normally add meat.”  There’s meat in a chicken pot pie, so why not TVP in a veggie pot pie?

Why not, indeed!  It was fabulous!  I’ll be adding it to every pie I make in the future.

I want to know what they put on apples to make them turn my cloth napkins white. That freaks me out.

Did it stop me from eating it? Sadly, no.