Love From Heaven

Starry singing her very first solo. 

We were told the children could sing a solo during the children's Christmas program at church on Sunday.  After some thought Starry decided she wanted to sing a song and picked out this number.  We got the backing track and words from www.Nubeat.org.  She originally heard it on the Christmas album we bought and downloaded onto her MP3 player.

Let us know what you think.

5K Derry NH Turkey Trot

Was the rear guard for several friends who participated in the 5K Turkey Trot in Derry, NH.  This is my second official 5K race and I knew that it would be easy to beat my first race time of 40+ minutes.  Tough part was actually trying to figure out what to wear since you have to stand and wait for the race to start.  Lucky for me Stephen Waldron pushed his son down to the race with us and I was able to store a jacket and hat in the stroller during the race.


Started off on the slow side, the air was cold and my lungs don't do well sucking in cold air when they have not warmed up.  At the 1 mile mark the time was about 12 minutes.  The next mile contained the category 5 hill, just a short thing, and not that bad.  I arrived at the 2 mile marker in about 10 minutes, my heart rate was over 160 and hitting 170.  I arrived at the finish line in a personal best  official time of 32.36, very pleased.

Reviewing my heart rate data it took me 1 mile to warm up.  After the 1 mile my heart rate was in zone 5 or around 160 or above for the remaining 2.1 miles.  My average heart rate was 160 with a max of 176.  I could feel my thighs after the race and not sure if I had warmed up for a mile if I could have run another mile in zone 5.  But I did feel that I pushed about as fast as I could the whole way, had enough to do a little sprint to the finish line.  I could still walk so perhaps I could have gone longer.  I guess I'll have to run a few more races to figure it all out.

It was an enjoyable experience and can't wait to run my next race, until then I'll have to do a little training.

726   645 Dana M   MANCHESTER        NH  64/86   401/608  M50-59  32:36 10:31

Why I am voting for

I do not believe that our Government can or should try to solve all our problems.  Our country is founded by strong independent people who have came up with many great solutions to the problems we faced.  I visited the former Soviet Union and their Government tried to solve their problems.  They did redistribute wealth and it did not work.  The people had no reason to work hard because they would not get ahead.  

When Obama talks about making others pay their fair share he is talking about redistributing wealth.  Why should someone pay more just because they have more.  Do we not all benefit equally from living in this free country.  Should the price of gas depend upon the price of your car?  Or the price of your groceries cost more based upon the size of your kitchen? That what you doing when you talk about someone else paying their fair share.  Romney paid over 1 billion dollar in taxes, why should he be required to pay even more just because he has the money.  What gives the president the right to tax someone just because they make more money.  This sounds a lot like Obama is trying to start a class war, we are all equal and should all equally contribute to the government.  But I do believe a flat tax would be too hard on the poor so what we have no is not perfect, but is about as fair as we can get.  With room for improvement of course.

On the subject of Choice.  I do believe that everyone should have a choice, but for most people that choice should come before conception and not a matter of convenience after conception.  Once conception has taken place I still believe in Choice, but all the parties involved should make the choice and one of them has not learned to talk. I believe that life starts at conception so killing that unborn would be murder.  I also believe that science has shown the viability of that life.

I want a smaller government.  I do not want a department of education.  The states can do a better job.  We spend more per student then any other nation in the world and the results do not show this.  Spending more is not always the answer.  We need to spend smarter and I think the charter schools are a good start.

Charter schools save me money, it costs about $2,000 less per student.

They help reduce class size in over crowded public schools without the cost of building more schools.

I also believe that the local community can make better decisions and can come up with better solutions if they are not burdened with requirements placed upon them by a federal government no matter how well meaning they are.  Let's use our Yankee ingenuity to solve out problems.

Obama care will become the mess they have in Canada where they have government healthcare.  Also, check out the tax rates of other countries.  France and Germany have personal tax rates over 50%.  The more the government does for the people the more money they need from the people who are working.  I do not like fact that I work hard for my money and then it is taken and given to someone who is not working.  I believe that I cans see the need and make the difference myself and do not want someone else tell me how to be charitable.  

I could go on, but that is enough for now.  

My vote is for Romney.

Also, vote for Hillsborough County Attorney Patricia M. LaFrance - she's a democrat, but worth voting for.

Running with Sandy

Sandy arrives and everyone is running and hiding.  I was at work in a high rise building and beginning to feel a little queasy  from the swaying of the building, (which I could not feel actually feel, but could hear the building moaning.)  The powers that be decided we could all leave work early and get paid for the remaining hour or so.

Now I always walk to work and had walked that morning in the little rain that was falling at the time.  I got at least 5 offers and even a call from my mom for a ride home.  When I turned them down they all insisted it was no problem and seemed very surprised that I would not want a ride home.  Don't they realize the it is okay to get wet outside and is great to feel the wind in your hair.

So I changed my clothes to something that would help keep me warmer in the rain and headed out.  The rain wasn't that bad and the wind would only occasionally be felt pushing me as I headed up the street.  There were loads of puddles which my five fingers handled nice and I actually started to enjoy running through them and splashing like a little kid.  I did a little hill work and then realized that in all the excitement of running in this great weather I had forgotten to turn on my Garmin.

One interesting thing did occur as I was running down the street.  A lady pulls up next to me with her window rolled down and asks me if I have a cigarette.  Here I am jogging and it is pouring out and I get stopped, not to ask if I need a ride but if I have a cigarette.  People these days are very interesting and I guess I'm one of them.

The Beatitudes = glow in the dark bowling

Some time ago Starry Memorized all of the beatitudes.  As a reward those of her class that memorized all the beatitudes were taken out for a morning of glow in the dark bowling.  I had to attend a district Royal Ranger staff meeting so was not able to go.  She had a great time.

The class paid for shoes and one string, not being sure how many more strings everyone else was coming prepared to bowl I sent her with $12 and got back $3, only due to Jen putting a stop to her frenzied spending at the gumball style toy dispensers.  Though I was very proud that she shared her money with her friend.  They ended up getting two cupcakes and another string of bowling in, so all in all I think the money ended up being well spent.

But this did remind me that I need to start teaching Starry how to spend her money more wisely.  She is not too bad with money, just needs more practice.  So beginning November she will receive $5 (we'll try that amount first), at the beginning of each month to bring to school to spend on hot lunch, ice cream and other items the school usually sells.  I may have to up the amount, but it will hopefully teach her to plan ahead and save her money for what she needs or is important (like ice cream each week).

Dentist Visit

I've always like to post a picture with my blog, but have decided that perhaps that is not working.  So I will attempt to just blog away and add pictures when available.

Starry had a half day of school today with a dentist visit in the afternoon.  I learned that when her teeth formed that a few teeth that came in at the same time did not have a complete coating of enamel.  This is probably caused by a high fever when the teeth were developing.  Now they need a little bit of work to keep them from decaying.  They need to last since they are molars that will not fall out until she is 11 or 12.

Last time she needed a little bit of scrapping she carried on so much the dentist was not able to do the work.  They suggested that we bring her to a specialist who could put her to sleep.  But they agreed to give it another short first.  So we went back and it was a bit of a struggle, but they managed to do what needed to be done.  This time she was a little apprehensive but they managed to do one of the teeth with no problem and was given the option to do another one now and she declined, so we'll just go back next month.

The Passing of a Brother

My brother passed away on Tuesday.  Below is the obituary that will appear in the newspapers tomorrow.

David A. Lemieux, 54, of Raymond, NH died unexpectedly on Tuesday, October 16, 2012 at Mass General Hospital, Boston, MA surrounded by his loving family.  He was born on February 9, 1958 in Manchester, NH a son of Arlene (Chase) Dorr and the late Frank L. Lemieux.  David proudly served his country with the US Air Force.  He was a hard worker and loved working with his hands.  Dave enjoyed being outdoors, skydiving, and spending time with his friends.  He was an avid Motorcyclist who held membership in both the NHMRO (New Hampshire Motorcyclists’ Rights Organization) and AMA (American Motorcycle Association).

            He is survived by his mother Arlene Dorr of Manchester, NH, his girlfriend and co-pilot of 12 years Alexandra Coda of Raymond, three brothers, Donald Fossett of Brookline, NH,  Dana Lemieux of Manchester, and Todd Lemieux of Tewksbury, MA, one sister Lisa Lemieux of Manchester, as well as several nieces and nephews.

            Calling hours will be held on Saturday October 20, 2012 from 2 – 4pm in the Peabody Funeral Homes and Crematorium, 15 Birch Street, Derry.  Following cremation, Memorial services will be held on Monday October 22^nd at 3:30pm in Trinity Assembly of God Church, 53 N Main Street, Derry.  Donations may be made in Dave’s memory to NHMRO. To send a condolence or for more information, please visit www.peabodyfuneralhome.com  

NE 100 Highest Complete

New England 100 Highest Mountains - my last one.

It started out nice, but I saw the white on Lafayette on the way in and had a feeling, though I was hoping it was only rime ice.  Not only was the white stuff really snow, but it started to rain/snow, making my glasses useless so I had a very difficult time finding a way through the woods and locating any herd paths.  By the time I got to the top I was very cold, my fingers and toes were numb and I constantly kept monitoring them to make sure I didn't have to turn back. I didn't even open up the canister to sign the register, figured I would just get everything all wet anyways and was not sure how long I afford not to be moving to stay warm.

On the way down I just wanted to get down to a lower, dryer and hopefully warmer elevation as quickly as possible.  Followed the herd path until it turned onto the illegal trail, which was a crazy steep decent that even in my desire to get down, did not seem like a wise way to go.  I found a smaller herd path that lasted a little longer and followed that till it vanished.

I kept trying to turn to the right but mini rock cliffs.  In good weather I would have easily found a way down, but  I had no desire to try and negotiate the steep rocks with limited sight with wet logs and slippery rocks all covered with wet leaves.  I was forced to steer my course a bit more to the left then I desired, but it was quick going.  Finally found a nice logging road that took me in the general direction I wanted to go and allowed me to actually eat a sandwich (first food in three hours) while I continued walking.

Finally came out to the road 1.5 miles from my car.  One the most I have been off in all the other trailless peaks I've done.  But it was the best thing to do the journey was a success so that all that really counts in the end.

On the way home I was really cold.  I cranked the heat and my legs started itching like crazy.  My stomach or abs area felt like I had been doing sit-ups, which I think was due to shivering.  Unfortunately my Garmin got shut off so I'm not sure of the actual mileage.  Total time was about 4.5 hours and that includes the 1.5 mile road walk back to my car.

Next I guess I'll start working on NH 100 highest or whatever else is on the list.  Maybe they will have more trails so Starry can come along with me.

Mount Lafayette

The next day a larger group started hiking up Mount Lafayette.  It was a great day.  We left around 8:35 am.

Here is the group on the summit.  Two arrived just as we were heading out, just in time to met the hard cut off time. 

View from along the ridge.  The last two made it out by 8:05 pm.

 

Trail Days

Royal Rangers held their annual Pow Wow - the theme this year was Trail Days.  Our group ended up taking two hikes.  The first was up to Lonesome Lake and then down to the Basin.  It was a good hike. The hike was just over 6 miles and I did the whole thing in my five finger shoes.  Still not ready to do any major hiking in them, but they are good for short hikes. 

Ceder Swamp

Today was the last day of our three day vacation.  After spending the night at Bear Brook State Park I picked some blueberries while waiting for the playground to open.  Starry played in the playground for a few hours and then we headed off to the the Ceder Swamp in Manchester, NH.  The total amount of trails is only less then 2 miles and goes through some nice areas, not what I expected from a swamp.

Tree Planting, Pirates and Fun

The day started with a lot of cartoons at Tim's house.  Then we planted a tree.  Starry has been wanting to plant a tree for some time. Tim had a tree growing too close to his house, so I pulled it up and we planted it in the woods. 

Then it was off to miniature golf where Starry got a hole in one.

Then we played some water in the center of Conway.

Then we visited Northwood Meadows State Park as part of the Great Park Pursuit.  We caught a green frog and Starry caught this dragon fly.  Afterwards we headed off to Bear Brook State Park to camp out for the night.

Story Land

It was about time that I took Starry to something a little larger and more fun then the local playground.  On Friday, we left at 7:30 am and arrived at the park at 10:00 am.  The forecast was for some showers, but we were lucky and we only had a few drops of water fall from the sky.

The first ride Starry wanted to ride was the roller coaster or as it is called at Story Land, the Polar Coaster.  Of course I had to ride with here on all the rides.  Her favorite rides was the Polar Coaster and the Bamboo Chutes.  She ended up riding on Antique Cars, Dr. Geyser's Remarkable Raft Ride, Eggs-Traordinary Farm Tractors, Crazy Barn, Loopy Lab (foam balls), Great Balloon Chase (Ferris wheel), Slipshod Safari Tour, Splash Battle, Dutch Shoes, Flying Fish, Los Bravos Mining Co, Buccaneer Pirate Ship, Carousel, Swan Boats, Cinderella's Pumpkin Coach, Ball Crawl and she had fun visiting Cinderella's Castle, Three Bear's House, Grandfather Tree, Woman in the Shoe, Storybook Animals and she spent a little time in jail, but managed to break out rather quickly. 

 We had a great day and ended up meeting my friend Tim for supper and then slept at his house.

Third Great Park Pursuit

Starry attended her third Great Park Pursuit put on by the State of New Hampshire State Parks.  They are all different and this one had Nature activities, Scavenger Hunt, Yoga (which she complained about trying but loved the airplane and tree pose).  Tennis was a struggle to get them (her friend joined her for the weekend) try, but they ended up having a great time.  The instructor was great and once they both were able to lob the ball across the small net a few times I decided to quit before they lost their new found zeal.

They also had a few old fashion games.  The traditional sack race, a three legged race, tug of war and a fun game called catch.  That was all the park service had organized, but they had tagged this event onto local events and ours had free hot dogs, bouncy house, the old plastic sheet and some water for a cheap, but fun water slide (we passed on this event), face painting and they were able to throw the ball and dunk a person in a tank of water. 

On the way home we stopped at another state park where they played in the water and collected a pile of rocks and made a small sand castle.  This is another feature of the Great Park Pursuit.  On the first day’s event, which you need to register for, you are given some wrist bands and these allow you to visit other state parks for free.  The whole purpose is to introduce your family to the fun and adventure they can find at the many state parks we have across the state.  To complete the whole program and be eligible for prizes you need to visit other state parks and do certain tasks (like build a sand castle and take your picture).  Each activity has points and the more points you get the better your prize will be.  We just hope to complete the basic list of activities.

Biking, Fishing, Exploring, Blueberry, Frogs, and Birds

We started out by biking to a spot where we might find some fish and blueberries, we found neither.  So we went exploring and Starry sure has a great imagination.  We found a dead body (an old jacket) and a lot of evidence along the way. 

We then found a frog.  Starry tried kissing the frog, but nothing happened, so she let him go back into the pond.  I did eventually find and pick 7 cups of blueberries and now just have to find time to time to go back and get some more. 

Then we spotted this blue heron on the way home.  It was a great day of adventure.

5K Ranger Run National Camporama 2012

Competed in my very first 5K road race at the 2012 Royal Ranger National Camporama to raise money for BGMC.  After driving three days with the district I went to bed late the next two nights before the race.  Then I was not able to sleep well, so I knew that I was going to do well.  From the campsite I took the long way to the starting point to warm up.  I attempted to jog and realized then I was in trouble.  I just didn't have it.   Since this was my very first 5K I knew that what ever I did it would be a Personal Best, so I didn't need to do too well.  The course also went along dirt roads with rocks strewn along the way.  Didn't wear my 5 fingers, though several other people were wearing theirs. 

I did have two goals.  One was to beat Sy (an 11 year old from out outpost).  I also did not want to end up dead last.  We checked in and then proceeded to the starting point.  I then realized I was in trouble.  There was a guy in a tri suit and many other very in shape looking people.  We waited and waited and waited and then I realized I should have brought some water. 

We finally took off and Sy was instantly ahead of me.  I had told him to take it easy and warned him about the dangers of getting caught up in the race and going too fast, especially in the start.  But Sy did not blast ahead, I'm just a slow runner so he was going at a nice steady pace.  A while later I saw him ahead walking and when he saw me he started a slow jog.  This continued for most of the race.

I usually can run a 5K without stopping, but this was not the case.  Not only did I get little sleep the previous two nights, but the humidity was around 85% and it seemed hot for a 7 am start.  So I plodded along as people as those who looked in shape surged ahead and eventually those who looked out of shape began to pass me as well.  I did pass a few walkers, so I knew I wasn't in the very back. 

Towards the end of the race, I caught back up to Sy and walked behind him for a bit and he finally turned around, but this time I was ready for him to run.  He didn't.  So I finally passed him with about a quarter of a mile left to the race.  I had really thought Sy would run super fast to start and burn himself out, but he really did a great job pacing himself.  He also had never run a 5K before, never mind in a race, so hats off to him for the great effort.

I finally finished in a time of 41:39 and ended up being second to last in my age group. I didn't place last in the whole group or my age division, I'll live with that, but this will definitely give me something to work on.  I know I can do better so bring on the next 5K.

Easter on the 4th of July

The 4th of July was filled with a little bit of activity.  We started off with home made waffles.  Then headed off to the lake to try our hand at fishing.  No luck at all this time.  We returned to discove that the Easter Bunny had finally arrived and there were over 200 chocolate egges and other various items hidden about in my and my sisters apartment.  We all had fun looking around for the treats.

Beach Star

A day at  the beach.  Starry is enjoying spending the summer away from all the day cares.  My mother has agreed to watch Starry all day everyday while I work.  So today she got to go to the beach with her Grandmother, Alana and Carol Earle (pastor's wife).  I think she had fun.  That night we watched the fire works from the parking lot across the street and got to bed very late.

Vacation Bible School

Today was the last day of VBS.  After my big adventure on Sunday I had to bring Starry to VBS for the next four nights.  Luckly my mother brought her one night and my sister dropped her off another.  The biggest issue was the late time everything ended, but we survived and she had a wonderful time.  I think the biggest dissapointment was when she woke up and the horses (one on each chech) were gone. 

Presidential Traverse

I left Starry at home in the care of her Grandmother (Great Grandmother and Great in more then one way), and took off on a hike with the guys/girls from work.  We took on the challenge of hiking the entire Presidential Range in one day.  We started at 4:00 am on Sunday morning and hiked up to the summit of Mt. Madison (5367 feet).  Winds were around 50 mph and the skies were clear.  Then we set out across the range hitting every single summit along the way until we hit Mt. Pierce.  We then headed down to route 302 in Crawford Notch, arriving after 8:00 pm.

It was a long day, but we accomplished our goal and hiked 21 miles, over eight 4,000 foot mountains and gaining about 9,000 feet of elevation.  We ended up with a little more mileage due to a long approach up to the summit of Mount Washington. 

Today I am a bit sore and tired, but it was an interesting little adventure.  Glad to be back home with my daughter.

Olympics

Starry had Olympics at school.  She entered all the competitions and received: 1st place in Hula Hoop, 2nd place in Kangaroo Jumping and 3rd place in Running.  She informed me that in running she beat some of the boys and was actually the first girl to cross the finish line.  She also said that when she was running her Olympic hat fell off, but she didn't stop to pick it up and kept right on running.  Not bad for the second shortest girl in the class. 

After coming home she challenged me to a race.  We made it two races one to just the end of the block and then back again.  I won to the end of the block, but was too tired and she beat me back.  She is one fast runner.  I wonder if she'll be on the cross country team later on in school.

Fishing Practice & One Million Words

Starry has asked me if she could go fishing, several times.  We signed up for the Great Park Pursuit in New Hampshire and the first activity is sponsored by the Fish and Game.  Free fishing will be offered for all adults.  To get ready for the event I bought a fishing pole for both of us.  Starry's fishing pole has a fish you can tie onto the end, so Starry had a lot of fun out in the yard practicing casting.  She got pretty good, once she calmed down.

Notice the shirt.  It says that Starry has read a met the 1 million word challenge.  She got a t-shirt and a special meal at school today for her accomplishment.  I ask, who actually read the million words and filled out all the forms.  I did, and what do I get Nada.

Never to Cold to Swim

On Sunday it stopped raining, though it was still very overcast.  Yogi Bear Campground now has an awesome water play area.  It has a water slide, Starry tells me is 37 feet high.  They are all blown up like a bouncy house.  Starry was excited that since the rain stopped they could open up that play area.  Starry played on the rainbow and castle.  The other two were still a bit too high for her tastes. 

It didn't take long though before she was so cold we had to try and warm her up by the fire.  Of course we made the fire so we could roast marshmallows and cook sweet potatoes.  Overall it was another great weekend.

Rain Rain and then more Rain

Our annual trip to Yogi Bear Campground was the rainiest one yet.  My mother, home from Africa, came with us and wanted a cabin. I got a rustic cabin, no bathroom'  She asked me to upgrade to one with a bathroom, and when I saw the weather report I upgraded to a deluxe cabin. I am so glad I did, plenty of room for everyone.   It rained all day, without even a pause with some really good periods of down pours in the afternoon.  A flood watch was in effect, so where we usually camp was evacuated.  We (Starry, Robbie and Dana) still tented out the first night, the rest of the ladies were not even interested.  Starry did get to play with her good friend Robbie and they had a deluxe cabin as well. 

Picture taken on Sunday just before we left.

Howling Bike Rack

We scheduled our annual camping trip to Yogi Bear Campground in Ashland, NH.  Since Starry loves riding her bike I invested in a bike rack for my little car.  A roof rack seemed like the best option, so I would still have access to the stuff in the trunk.  After installing the rack on the car I took it out on the highway to pick up my mom and it howled.  I called the shop that sold me the rack and they said that was a common problem but for another $64 they could solve it with a little piece of Plexiglas I could attach to the front of the rack.  What could I do, but shell out the money since we were leaving shortly for an hour ride up the highway.  Of course, it then rained out almost the entire time so the bikes got ridden for about 10 minutes.  Better luck next time.

Garden Time

Ended up being a pretty productive day.  Picked up the frost cover at the Post Office.  Got some chicken fertilizer and even managed to stop at the hardware store for some other items.  Then got the rear porch lights working with new motion sensors.  Repaired the handles of the third floor bathroom. 

Then on to the garden.  We may be a little behind starting some of the garden items, but we did plant two small rows of peas. Even got the fencing up to support the vines as the grow. Since my frost cover came in for my 3 x 3 driveway planter I decided to take a chance and plant some lettuce and peppers. A bit early for them, but I figure I can always cover them.  If things got bad enough, run a cord with a light bulb out to the container to keep it warm enough so I don't lose anything. Of course if it snows next week, I just won't worry about it. Starry as usual loves any reason to play in the dirt. 

And I did the digging with a spade wearing my new Five Fingers, was surprised how well the functioned digging up the soil.

Five Fingers

Went out shopping in downtown Manchester for a good pair of shoes to wear walking back and forth to work everyday.  Stopped by Runner's Alley on Hanover Street.  Mike at the store was very helpful.  He asked a lot of questions and will check out your running style and help you decide what type of shoes are good for you.  They do not appear to be set on selling you any one type of shoe over the other.  He made some suggestions and then let my feet tell me which pair was best.

Mike also gave me a lot of pointers about running so I really felt it was well worth the cost of going to a speciality store to purchase the new shoes. After trying on several different pairs of shoes I narrowed my choice down the Five Finger Shoes and another minimalist style running shoe.  They were both the same price, so no help there in picking out which one I wanted.  They did not have my size in the Five Fingers so they ordered me a pair in a different size to try on.  Once again a good reason to shop at a speciality store.  That pair was a tad too small, so I waited yet another week while they got the next size up.  As you can see I bought the Five Fingers.

They warn you it may take your feet and legs a bit to get use to the different style of shoe.  You should walk more on the forefoot verse heel striking first, so you'll use different muscles.  The day I bought them I walked about 4 miles before having to switch back to my old shoes.  Your results may vary, but I started to get a hot spot under the ball of my right foot.  You may also want to keep the miles low since the next day I could feel some muscle soreness in my legs. 

Overall I love the shoes.  The really do feel like your walking barefoot, except your not getting hurt by the sharp objects on the ground.  They are better then sandals since when I took them off the paved paths onto a real sandy trail I did not have to stop and shake stuff out from between my foot and the sandal.  I even ended up digging up my garden wearing them the next Saturday and they worked great.

What about the fabric between the toes.  Yes I do feel that, but it is not too bad.  I have never liked flip flops because the the cord between the toes, but this feels nothing like that.  It is noticeable but not annoying.  And the overall feeling overrides that one small perceived disadvantage.

Note;  I am not affiliated with Runner's Alley in any way.  I purchased the shoes at full price and receive nothing for the positive review and remarks about their store.

Yikes! Green Hair!!

Not sure what happened here, maybe it was the shampoo or just because it was Crazy Hair Day at school.  She didn't want me to do any thing with her hair until I remembered the can of green hair spray that I had.  She loved it.  She says it was super crazy.  Her friend Corey had hair blue and orange hair dye in his hair too.    The only thing was she didn't want to wash it out at the end of the day. Each day at school they have a different theme, she plans to wear her Wonder Women outfit for one of the days.  School sure has changed since I was a kid.

New Bicycle Helmet

 I haven't bought a new bicyle helmet in over 5 years and they are said to only be good for 5 years.  Of course when I come home with a new helmet Starry needs one as well.  As long as it keeps her interested in cycling I'll spend the few bucks to keep her interest.

We go to my favorite cycling shop in Manchester, NH.  Blue Steel Cyclery on Second Street near the Queen City Bridge.  The guys there are great helping her out and they start searching for a helmet.  I find a nice pink one which she tries on and then spends 5 minutes looking in the mirror and decides she wants to try on another.  After another 5 minutes of looking in the mirror she decides on this helmet. Best of all, the helmets were all on sale.  Got this one for around $26, with expert fitting free of charge.  Try to beat that Wal-mart.

Afterwards we took a 90 minute bike ride up the bicycle path to Pinardville and then over to Staples in Bedford for some printer toner and finally back home.  Can't believe this great weather we are having in April.

Tanita Scale

I bought a new bathroom scale.  Not your ordinary scale.  This scale gives you a complete body anaylsis. 

This shows all my scale data from my first weigh-in.  I have been working on losing a few pounds, dispite what people may think I knew that I was a little over weight, this shows how much the  'little' was, a bit more then I thought. 

The best part of the scale is that it will let me know how much of my weight lose is actually the fat that I intend to lose and not muscle or water.  For a really good review of this scale check out http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2010/02/tanita-bc-1000-scale-review-in-depth.html

Starry's Tooth

Story by Starry in her own words

I was doing my reports on cats and Mr. Dominic came in and I showed him my tooth.  He then went out of the room.  Then I showed my friend Brianna.  She said why don't you get a tissue.  I got a tissue and I started to pull out my tooth.  And my friend kept encouraging me too pull it out.  I was scarred and I went into the bathroom and started to pull.  After I went to the bathroom, I wiggled it and I saw that I could turn it all around so I could see the back.   And then I pulled and it came out.  And I got pale and dizzy too.  And I was coughing and it sounded like I was going to puke, so I went to the nurse.  The nurse said that I could stay in school all day. The nurse gave me a tooth necklace to put my tooth in so I would not lose it.  I hope the tooth fairy does not take the necklace.

A Girl and Her Shoes

Starry just loves her shoes.  We went out to buy her new dance shoes, her old pair were two sizes to small.  Then since Easter was coming up and she didn't have a nice pair of dress shoes to wear I figured I would get dress shoes while I was there.  That lead to summer dress shoes (sandals) and might as well get her a pair of summer shoes as well.  I thought she would pick cloggs, but she choose the pink water shoes instead.  She still wanted a few more pairs. 

Slime Night

The church had a Slime Night filled with games for the kids.  Many of the games were centered around slime like this one where they dug around in the slime to find little toys they could keep.  They also made slime, played tossing games and many other fun things.  One interesting activity had them stand in the middle of a pool of bubbles juice on a cinder block, then using a hola hoop the attempted to make a bubble around them.

Flowers Blooming in April

Not even April and the tulip and daffodils are up in our flower garden. 

This weekend we took a trip up north to check out some camp sites for the Royal Rangers summer Pow Wow.  We didn't find anything exciting, but we had a good trip.  Our first stop was in Waterville Valley.  The sky slope was still open and they had free lift available for those die hard skiers and snowboarders.  Starry commented that we should have brought our sled.  The site nearby was small and might not hold our entire district.  It did have a mountain stream flowing through the site.  We actually had to walk about a mile to check the site out since the road was still closed for winter.

Our next stop was McDonald's where Starry was excited to get a whole McFlurry to herself, instead of having to be satisfied with a few spoonfuls of mine.

We then continued on up north to check out a site in Bethlehem, NH.  The field there would be large enough to handle our whole group, no matter how large we grew and the owner seemed willing to be accommodating to our needs.  No water front or streams.

Decided to take some random roads back to our next stop and I discovered a place called Copper Cannon.  It is a very nice place, probably too small for our entire group, but an awesome place for any group to visit.  They have cabins, a full service kitchen, archery range and both a high and low ropes courses. 

I had wanted to stop at the old man, but the exit was closed. 

The last spot the campsites were not ideal, but the opportunities were endless and even exciting. 

We arrived home late and a bit tired from our long journey.

Cooking Pancakes

Some Saturdays I make whole wheat blueberry pancakes.  We pick the blueberries in the summer and then I freeze them to use throughout the year, mostly in my pancakes.  Of course Starry wants to help and I'm a little relucant to allow her to cook by herself.  So we start with her telling me when I can flip the pancake.  Then after a few pancakes she starts to take them out of the pan.  Finally the last one, she cooks all by herself.  Of course she doesn't eat blueberry pancakes, but I enjoyed the pancake she cooked.

Ranger Derby

We attended a Pinewood Derby this morning and my car came in dead last of all the cars.  Guess that what happens when your car is Swiss Cheese.

My daughters car didn't fair much better in the speed department, but she did win first place for the most unusual car. 

Seventh Birthday

Starry mentioned something about what she wanted for her birthday cake.  I asked if she wanted to help me pick out her cake and she said No.  I learned that she wanted me to make the cake.  I could not make a cake as nice as the store cakes, but she said that was alright it is the thought that counts.  It will be plan I countered, and she suggested I put a toy on top.  So I ended up making her a cake from scratch.  The cake was fine, but does anyone have a good recipe for frosting?