This week’s topic: Dirt.  Note: The blog post for MyNeChimKi will be presented in a 2-part series, 1st – Adventures in Buying Dirt and 2nd – Mel’s Magic Mix Modified

Find out about Christina’s soil here.

1/3 Peat Moss, 1/3 Vermiculite, 1/3 Blended compost

That’s Mel Bartholomew’s recipe for success as reported in

1. Peat moss is essentially a “non-renewable” resource so it goes completely against my efforts towards sustainability.
2. Vermiculite is expensive stuff.
3. Blended compost = 5 different kinds of compost mixed together (read: expensive & time consuming).

Without knowing it initially, I found a solution to all of my problems by simply trying to solve the 2nd problem, inexpensive vermiculite.  Here’s the problem with vermiculite: you need the industrial grade stuff not the horticultural grade stuff.  Industrial grade isn’t easily obtained, it’s not at Home Depot, it’s not a Southern States.  You can get it from packaging companies like U-Line but you’ll pay an arm and a leg for shipping (almost as much as you pay for the vermiculite itself).  One option is to go in on an order with a bunch of other people; buying in bulk saves cash.  The other option is just to google the crap out of vermiculite until you find a decently priced purveyor.  The latter was my choice.

Enter Seven Springs Farm.  I can’t remember at the moment how I managed to stumble across them in my google search for cheap vermiculite, but my eyes lit up with excitement when I did.  Their website gives a great little summary of what they’re about:

[quote]Seven Springs Farm is a 125 acre organic farm….in Floyd County, Virginia, USA. Our philosophy is to be stewards of the land in the most ecological way possible. We use farming methods that build the fertility of the soil, such as organic fertilizers and biodynamically made compost. Pest management is achieved through cultural practices and biological and botanically-based materials. Ron carries a large variety of Organic Fertilizers, Growing Mixes, Animal Supplements, Pest Management, Grower’s Supplies, Deer Fencing, and Organic Cover Crop Seed. For more information about the National Organic Program go to the catalog and at the begining there is a section about the NOP.

The farm is also home to a Community Supported Agriculture Garden. Polly has about 5 acres in vegetables. She uses eco-ganic and biodynamic practices and she is committed to providing high quality food and preserving the rural economy.[/quote]

Scrolling around in their Organic Farming & Supplies catalog I found absolutely everything I needed.  I couldn’t believe it.  It was a soil-seeker’s dream come true!  Not only did they have the cheapest vermiculite around, but they also had Ko-Ko Pro, a sustainable alternative to peat moss, and McEnroe Premium Organic Compost, a complete compost – no need for mixing in additional stuff!  I was thrilled!  What was even better was that they are a local business; well almost local.  They’re a Virginia owned business, so we’ll count that for now!

DH and I planned a trip down south to go pick up everything since shipping would have been terrifically bad.  Check out the photos from our trip:

Related Posts

• May 24, 2011 -- Mel’s Magic Mix, Modified
• June 21, 2011 -- There’s Fish in My Garden!
• February 29, 2012 -- 2012 Plans for the Veggie Garden
• June 8, 2011 -- Installing the Garden Bounty
• May 31, 2011 -- An Anxious Gardener

My journey to the end of a 13.1 mile roller coaster of emotions started on Friday morning sitting in Dulles airport.  I had taken complete care to ensure that I had the most normal uneventful flights booked possible.  United Airlines offered a great rate for a direct flight.  And it was early enough in the day that if anything happened to my flight over, other arrangements could be made.  Because I tend on the paranoia side as far as checking baggage is concerned I actually packed all my clothes and gear that I would need for the actual race day in my purse.  High winds delayed my flight over two and a half hours.  I didn’t arrive in Jacksonville at my sorority sister’s house until well after 6:00pm.  Still, we had a nice home-cooked dinner (pomegranate chicken with veggies, quinoa, and salad – yum!) visited, and discussed our plans to go to Universal on Saturday.

Saturday we spent pretty much all day at Universal… I finally got to see Harry Potter land!  Despite Hogsmead and the Hogwarts castle being excellent distractions, my nerves about the big race the next day were really starting to act up.  13.1 mile was starting to sound a lot longer than I had imagined.  We met up with another sorority sister for lunch; she just happened to be in Orlando the same time we were.  After lunch we did more Universal and at nearly 5:00pm we realized that we’d better head to the ESPN Wide World of Sports to go pick up our race packets from the Expo.  By the time we left Universal, we realized that we might have over done it just a little.  We’d walked all day long.  My ankle that had started to bug me a bit the last week of my training was nagging me a little, but I was pushing it out of my mind as we walked up to the Disney Princess Expo.

The Expo was amazing!  I don’t know what I expected, but I think I was figuring that chaos would be in order somewhere.  There was nothing that even remotely resembled chaos!  First of all, it was quiet in the building.  Not that I was expecting screaming, but I think I probably expected loud music blaring and lots of motivational people hopping around hollering motivational things.  Not at all!  It was so calm and quiet I instantly started to relax.  Callie and Monica and I went and picked up our race packets, no problems.  We tested our D-Tags (which never occurred to me, but was totally a smart thing to have us do), picked up our T-shirts and goodie bags and then hung around a bit.  We wandered around and looked at the vendors, found Callie a last minute tiara, and generally killed some time.

And that’s when we saw them.  There was a display of the different Run Disney medals, all bright and shiny.  And in the middle was an absolutely gorgeous “fit for a princess” medal hanging off of the most perfect color green ribbon.  We were star struck.  And it was then that we realized it wasn’t just any Disney Princess Half Marathon medal… it was this year’s Disney Princess Half Marathon medal!  Failure was no longer an option… we had to have that medal!!  Who wouldn’t want it?  Just seeing it was motivation alone to drag yourself across the finish line.

Our plan for Saturday evening was to have an early dinner at Wolfgang Puck (our reservations were for 6:30pm), check into our hotel, and then go to bed early.  All of our final race instructions said that we needed to be on the shuttle buses no later than 4:30am on Sunday morning so that we could get to the race corrals in time.  4:30 is early by anyone’s definition so we definitely wanted to get some good beauty rest.  Dinner was a disaster.  My dad just happened to be in Orlando for a golf outing so he met up with us.  He arrived at Wolfgang’s before we did so he went ahead and checked in at the hostess stand for our reservations and got a pager; she assured him it would just be another 10 or 15 minutes while they got our table ready.  We arrived… 6:30 came and went.  So did 6:45, 7:00, 7:15, and 7:30pm.  We were all starving and starting to worry about the amount of sleep that we were watching pass us by!  Finally, after confronting the hostess my dad was able to secure us a table (under some serious duress and finding out that Disney does reservations and so does Wolfgang so it sounds like they end up double booking often) around 7:45pm.  Luckily the food came to the table relatively quickly and we were filled to the brim with pasta and some hearty breads.

3:00am came early the next morning, but we were all so excited about finally being on our way that we hardly noticed.  I’m not sure why I thought that we wouldn’t have to wait in line to get on a shuttle, but for some reason I assumed we either were late enough or early enough to catch a shuttle no problem.  When we got to the lobby there were TONS of people waiting to get on the shuttles.  A tiny part of me had a moment of freak out when I wondered if we were going to make it to the race corrals in time (our group’s start was a 6:00am, so I’m not sure what I was worried about).  But that passed quickly as I enjoyed watching all the other participants emerge with their costumes.  The best were, of course, the tutued guys.

The buses dropped us off 2 miles from the race corrals!!  I was shocked we had to walk so far before we even got to the start line!  Maybe they wanted to make sure we were well warmed up?  Callie, Monica & I got to see three sets of fireworks go off before we got up to the start line.  I have never seen so many people in one place ever before in my life.  And to think… they’re all going to be running with us!!  I was amazed at the sheer volume of people who were participating.  It was insane.  But before we knew it, it was our turn and we were heading towards the start line with Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother giving us a royal send off!  The fireworks exploded and we were off!!

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect.  It was a calm, clear morning with just enough chill to keep you comfortable while you were running.  While I never saw my dad at the start line, I certainly heard his whistle.  It was unmistakable and nice to know that he had seen me off for my first half marathon!  The first five miles or so up towards the Magic Kingdom were pretty uneventful.  Disney is certainly good about race day entertainment.  There were bands and DJs and stilt-walkers, and of course Disney characters flanking our path keeping us motivated and entertained.  I was not, however, prepared for the incredible welcome that was prepared for us entering the Magic Kingdom just after mile five.  The spectators were loud and cheering hard for everyone!  And of course, there’s no walking past spectators.  I will admit that I got pretty choked up running through the Magic Kingdom, and especially when we ran through the castle!  I couldn’t believe I was there and actually doing it!!  There was awesome fanfare… Mickey & Minnie… the works.  It was great!!  I was feeling really good, but it was only mile six.

After the Magic Kingdom things got a little harder.  As we were rounding the bend past Hundred Acre Wood I heard a guy saying that miles 7 through 10 were pretty boring, the only highlight being when they fed you at mile 8… and then the fun starts at mile 10… the hills.  Miles 7 through 10 are really a blur for me.  I started to get some really intense shoulder and neck pain (probably because I wasn’t doing a great job of relaxing), and my ankle was really starting to bother me.  And when I thought it couldn’t possibly get worse my hip flexors kicked in and decided that they’d start complaining as well.  When I got around to mile 8 I decided against the power gel.  I’d been using GU for some time on my training runs, but they were handing out Clif Shot Gel and I wasn’t feeling like I should test it out during the race.  Also, I’d been taking on only water at each hydration stop, afraid that the Powerade might be too sweet for me (never been a fan of sports drinks except for my Nuun).  Really starting to feel it I highly considered quitting at one point.  I think that I can say I hit the wall pretty hard at mile 10.  But knowing that there was just a 5K left, I powered through it.

The last mile and a half was really the most emotional for me.  Every time I volunteer who was screaming at us to keep going that we were almost there I’d burst into tears.  Me… the girl who never was able to run the mile in middle school and high school was running a half marathon.  I couldn’t believe it.  I was in agony with my ankle and my body really wanted to quit but I powered through and even found enough energy at the very end to jog across the finish line.  I crossed the finish line with my tiara still securely attached and my chip time reading out: 02:52:50. I’d missed my 11:00 pace mark by quite a bit, but I’d finished in under three hours.  A serious accomplishment!  I was sobbing as someone handed me my finisher medal and to be honest the silliest thing occurred to me… I didn’t want to wear it because I was so nasty and sweaty!!  I was afraid that if I put it around my neck I would ruin it!  All that hard work to get this gorgeous medal and I was so nasty that I couldn’t imagine putting it on!!  I carried it for a bit, dazed, and wondering how I was going to find my friends.  And suddenly I heard someone scream my name, “WHITNEY!!”  And there was Callie and Monica!!  We had all finished!!!  2 hours, 52 minutes, and 50 seconds later and 13.1 miles and I was officially part of the club.

Related Posts

• February 14, 2011 -- Princess for a Day – Disney Half Marathon Style
• January 20, 2012 -- 2011 – A Year in Review
• March 18, 2011 -- Posterior Tibial Tendinitis: or Death to Running
• January 7, 2011 -- Obligatory New Year’s Resolution Post
• May 23, 2011 -- Adventures in Buying Dirt

Before leaving Dulles, we fastidiously checked the tags on all our bags to ensure that our names and final destination appeared perfectly printed on each baggage label. Feeling sure that there was no chance for error, we dropped our bags off at TSA and went along on our merry little way. The flight from Dulles to Atlanta was uneventful (the last leg into Little Rock I can’t say the same for, but that the subject of a different story entirely).

We arrived in Little Rock, relieved to be on the ground and interested in retrieving our baggage and getting on our way further south.

One polka-dot bag came off the conveyor belt. A sigh of relief, and a slight apprehension that maybe Mom’s bag didn’t make it.

After not a terribly long pause, and being reassured as bags were steadily coming onto the conveyor belt, Mom’s bag appeared. Another sigh of relief. I momentarily forgot that my parents didn’t share a bag, and by the time Mom reminded me that we had one more bag Dad’s bag popped out all ready to be retrieved.

There was just one thing left to collect… The Golf Clubs (and yes, they require capitalization).

We made friends with a nice retiree who has three dogs (a lab/beagle mix, a rat terrier/whippet mix with a sensitive tummy, and a white lab) and the meanest cat you’ll ever meet who’s a private pilot for hobby (Cessna 182) while we waited for the golf clubs to arrive. We waited a little longer and heard how the cat, scared at the vet one time, bit nearly clean though his finger which subsequently got infected and to this day he’s never got feeling to return to that finger. The Golf Clubs still hadn’t arrived. The door to the oversized baggage slammed shut.

Story goes that “there were weight issues” and that “this kind of thing happens all the time” and then they said they would “try” to get the clubs (failing to use their proper name and use the respect they deserve) to us within the week, but citing that since it’s a two hour drive they weren’t sure if it was possible.

Thank you Delta Airlines for yet another über fail

Related Posts

• May 23, 2011 -- Adventures in Buying Dirt
• March 11, 2011 -- I’m now part of the 13.1 club!
• July 8, 2010 -- Report on the “successful” camping trip
• March 19, 2010 -- Can it GET Worse?
• January 6, 2010 -- Delta Airlines Uber-Fail

Albeit, it wasn’t a particularly rural camping trip since we were staying on the York Expo Fairgrounds in York, PA and there was a Hess gas station within stone-throwing distance from our campsite, but hey…. you gotta start somewhere, right?!  For the trip, DH and I raided REI during their Annual Sale and bought some awesome necessities.

• REI Kingdom 6 Tent: while this is certainly a larger tent than two people really need, most of the reviews said it was great for families with big dogs and we figure that we might grow into it eventually or invite friends along.
• REI Camp Folding Cot: DH was fond of this cot. It really looks like one of those army cots. I thought it was a little too wobbly for my tastes. It’s long enough for a fairly tall man to sleep on comfortably and still have room for a dog at the end.
• REI Camp Stowaway Cot XL: This is the cot I chose. It felt more stable to me, and I thought I would really like how it cradled my body when I slept; it was kind of like a camp chair converted to a bed. But I really didn’t take into consideration that I’m a side sleeper, so it was a bit weird as I moved around at night.
• REI Halo +40 Women’s sleeping bag (long): Yes, it was a bit overkill for June, but I get chilled pretty easily and I wanted a bag that would be good for November as well. I thought I would love it. But I actually kind of felt a little claustrophobic at first. The only time I’ve ever really slept in a sleeping bag was when I was a kid and I was sleeping in my parents’ bags… which I literally swam in. I didn’t realize how close they were supposed to fit. I’ll give it another whirl and see how it goes.
• Coleman Retro Rechargeable Full-sized lantern: We only used this piece of equipment briefly. Both DH and I were completely exhausted after flyball that we just used it for a minute to locate the cots and fall down on them. But we bought this one over others for the “green” rechargeable feature. And it just looked cool.

We brought along a Coleman InstaStart Grill stove but ended up not using it at all. It was a gift from my parents for our 5th anniversary and sadly I was so frantic to get on the road at the last minute that I never got around to packing any food.

As for the actual camping experience…. The first night the plan was to have the dogs sleep in their crates in the Navigator. It was cool enough outside that we could open up the hatchback window and roll the other windows down and they’d get a good breeze. I think the theory behind that was that we’d get more sleep if they were comfy in their own beds and not trying to share ours. Too bad that didn’t work out. Every tiny noise, every car door slamming (because there were other flyball-ers who were van-camping near us), every anything that I heard I sat straight up in bed paralyzed that either a serial killer or a Pennsylvania hyena was coming to eat me (and yes, the serial killer was really more like the Silence of the Lambs type who would not only kill me but also eat me). So I begged for DH to bring the dogs into the tent with us. After all, there is no better deterrent for serial killers, Anthony Hopkins, and Pennsylvania Hyenas than a Dalmatian and a Belgian Malinois. Granted, the Dalmatian looks cute but she can pack a punch if you’re trying to hurt her person. The Malinois…. that’s another story…. he not only is badass, he looks it too so he doesn’t even have to do anything to be a good deterrent other than sit there by the door. And sit by the door is exactly what he did! No sooner than both dogs settled down in the tent (because that took a little while), did I fall completely asleep feeling safe and sound. Needless to say, the dogs slept with us Sunday night too and will forever be fixtures in our tent when we camp.

Here are some shots from our first successful camping adventure:

Related Posts

• May 23, 2011 -- Adventures in Buying Dirt
• March 11, 2011 -- I’m now part of the 13.1 club!
• July 24, 2010 -- Flying into Little Rock is always an adventure
• July 2, 2010 -- Race to the ONYX!
• June 25, 2010 -- Potential for ONYX & no Hyenas

Yeah… It’s awesome all right. It’s awesome if your definition of awesome is a retro throw-back decoration style from 1973. And it’s awesome all right if your idea of a “fitness center” is two exercise bikes and a BowFlex. And it’s awesome all right if you only want WiFi to say that you could do work on the weekend… but don’t actually intend to do any. Cause after all, the WiFi doesn’t work (thank God for iPhones so that yours truly can still write a scathing review of the hotel that I’m staying in). And finally, it’s awesome if you don’t really like to eat or if your anorexic… Caude the food at Richard’s Restaurant is really only barely edible. We ate ours, but the couple next to us didn’t. And just walked out because they had no intention of paying for something so inedible as what they were served.

Oh yes… The Eisenhower Hotel & Conference Center is awesome, as long as by awesome you mean 2 stars at best!

The worst thing is that I came totally prepared to run – my shoes, my iPhone armband, my water bottle, a towel, my Nike+ sensor… everything. And I get thwarted by the sheer “awesomness” of the Eisenhower Hotel’s fitness center. It’s supposed to be nice outside this weekend, so maybe I can steal 30 minutes in the middle of the day to run outside. Keep your fingers crossed for me, otherwise, I’m going to be TWO weeks behind!!

Related Posts

• February 12, 2010 -- [C25K] Beginning of Week 2
• February 5, 2010 -- [Material Girl] Feet, the way God intended them
• May 23, 2011 -- Adventures in Buying Dirt
• March 11, 2011 -- I’m now part of the 13.1 club!
• July 24, 2010 -- Flying into Little Rock is always an adventure