The Frugal Sisters’ Half Marathon

I got this sister (one of many) who is very smart, busy, fun to hang out with, and active.  Both of us want to be fit, strong and runners.  We are too cheap to be motivated by an organized race such as a marathon or half marathon.  Our goal for early summer was to run a half marathon, on our own schedule, in our own chosen location, without a ton of people,  and no race fees!

We picked a date – June 4th.  The forecast was calling for high humidity, 80+ degrees and 80%  chance of scattered thunderstorms, so we changed the date to June 5th.  The date was beautiful with a light breeze, with temps in the mid-70s, sunny, and 0% chance of rain.

I was the host for our half marathon.  I picked the location – The Green Circle Trail in Stevens Point, WI.

 

Our last-minute plans included inviting our mom to bike along with us and a picnic lunch at the finish, we each brought food and snacks to share.

Inviting our mom to the day worked out fabulous, she carried our water and snacks and took photos.  I wouldn’t have these awesome photos to share if it wasn’t for her!

The route we ran:

We started at Roger’s Park on the Plover River Trail -3.6 miles, crushed granite trail.
Follows the meandering Plover River through woods near the airport.

 

Moses Creek Trail – 2.3 miles, crushed granite trail and boardwalks.
Travels through wet woodlands, sedge meadows, and forested areas for great wildlife viewing.

University Trail – 2.6 miles, crushed granite trail and boardwalks in Reserve, paved road.
Trail through Schmeeckle Reserve, a 280-acre nature reserve on the UW-Stevens Point campus.  Woods, prairie, wetlands, and oak savanna.

Brickyard Trail – 1.1 miles, crushed granite trail and sidewalks.
Adjacent to a historic brickyard, this wooded trail winds past frog ponds and a creek.

Stagecoach Trail – 2.2 miles, paved roads with shoulders.
Follows Old Wausau Road, a historic stagecoach line. Stunning vistas of the Wisconsin River.

Riverfront Trail – 1.3 miles, asphalt paved trail.
Popular trail near historic downtown Stevens Point. Views of the Wisconsin River and waterfowl. Travels through Bukolt and Pfiffner Pioneer Parks.

 

I love race bling.  I have been know to do a race for a cool medal, so I thought we needed a cool medal for this one.   Jack and I made the medals for our race.

 

 

Kombucha Lover

I love Kombucha. I know a couple kids that love kombucha. I know a couple of kids that should drink kombucha, but don’t. They don’t know what they are missing!

I am too cheap to buy this stuff in the store.  I had heard about it and did some research.  So when a friend that I respect encouraged me and offered me starter tea and a SCOBY, I jumped on it.

I know a certain sweet girl who loves this stuff and could drink it all day long! The deal is that we have a small glass  after lunch. Today, I realized I am on my last bottle.  I have a sweet boy who likes to sneak some, the reason for my low supply.  I needed to work on the next step and needed a helper.

First we tasted the tea before adding the fruit. This is when I take a small teaspoon and taste a tiny bit to know if it is ready for the flavoring step. It is usually yucky tasting to me. (That is why I add fruit.)

My little helper tasted it and loved it. She is one tough cookie!

She added raspberries.

 

She smashed blueberries and then added them. (If the skin of the blueberry isn’t broken before adding to the tea they don’t give any flavor to the tea)

Nola Mae was more interested in eating frozen blueberries.

Then we let it sit. Taste testing in two days.

 

We like fizz, so we bottle ours in swing top bottles.

 

Drinking…

 

The recipe I follow:

http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-kombucha-tea-at-home-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-173858

An article with the history of Kombucha, benefits and recipe:

http://healthandbeautylifestyle.com/kombucha-tea-of-immortality-recipe/