Keeping It Local, Part 2

July 17, 2015 by bec2point0

So, last week, we talked about different places you can go to get local produce; farms, farmer’s markets, community gardens. But, if those aren’t options in your area, there are some other options. Namely, CSAs/Produce Delivery and home gardening.

Now, none of are currently participating in a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share, but it’s an idea we fully support. CSAs have some risk, in that if the crops don’t do as well as expected, your return on investment might not be as high. But, a worthy risk in that it supports your local agricultural system. And fun bonus? You’ll get to know fruits and veggies you’ve never met before (some of which look like aliens. I’m looking at you, kohlrabi.)

The newest thing in local produce seems to be delivery. We’ve got chicks on both coasts getting boxes of fresh veg!

Cam

When we first started this quest toward healthy eating, we were looking into joining a CSA. During my investigation, I stumbled across Farm Fresh to You, a home delivery company that drops farm fresh veggies and fruits directly on your doorstep. You can pick how big of a box you need, when, where, and how often it’s delivered, and you can even look up online exactly which farm your food is coming from.

Box of awesomeness

I love, love, love being able to customize my box, especially because there are a bunch of picky eaters in this house.

It’s just what I wanted!

I also love that every Tuesday morning there’s a box on my doorstep, because, well, I’m busy (read lazy) and I really hate grocery shopping.

As an added bonus, there’s always a couple recipes included with the invoice that incorporates produce you picked for your box. How considerate is that?!?

Bec

Listen, I’d love to have a home garden, but my thumb is as black as tar. I am barely keeping the basil plant in the window alive at this point. So, what’s a busy (and gardening challenged) lady like myself to do when I want fresh produce?

Get it delivered!

It’s like a present!

Like Cam, I can customize my basket. I can substitute out things I don’t like, and I can add on things like fresh eggs and bread. And bacon, I’m just saying.

BREAD

The absolute best nectarines in the world

The bananas aren’t local, but they are organic. And bananas go like hotcakes, and sometimes go in hotcakes, around my house.

As much as I’d love to do a CSA, this is my preferred method of supporting my local growing community. Each week, they tell me where all my produce comes from, and give some recipes for the lesser know veggies. Like these…

Garlic scapes. If garlic grew in heaven, it would look, and taste, like this.

And there’s no risk. I can cancel for the week when I go on vacation, or take a break from delivery if I’m not going to be home to cook much for a while. If you can find a produce delivery company in your area, I highly recommend checking it out!

We do have a couple of green thumbs in our group, though!

Vic

Hubs and I love to garden. We have a full acre and typically plant a 25 foot-by-25-foot garden in the backyard each spring. Hubs grew up on a farm and harvesting a garden each year is among his favorite activities.

Zucchini, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, green beans and parsley are our favorites. Just ask the neighborhood rabbits…and squirrel…and deer.

Vic’s luscious garden midsummer in its prime. We snapped this one in 2011, before the critters became so brazen.

Until we add a substantial fence, we decided not to plant. It’s a lot of work for few results in recent years, so we decided to table it this year.

“What’s the definition of insanity?” my husband asked. “Doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

It was a tough call, but it’s where we are just now. To get our fresh veggie fix, we head regularly to Rochester’s Public Market or my beloved Wegmans for delicious, local produce. And our dear neighbor has been generous enough to share his CSA share with us. We loved what we’ve tried (SNAP PEAS!!!) and find it fabulous that each share was in the ground just hours before we cart it home.

Snap peas, (my favorite!), lettuce, Swiss chard and other greens in a shared CSA haul from Vic’s neighbor.

If we don’t have our fence installed by next spring, we’ll definitely be signing up for the CSA!

Jenn

Fresh food options in my local vicinity are much harder to find than one might assume. My area is very agricultural, and generally, pretty active and health conscious. My little town has a farmers market, but it seems to be one-half food and one-half handmade crafts, and I’m not talking about honey or jam.

Not much going on here, folks.

No one delivers out here in the not so boonies so a CSA or organic service are not options. I could get in my car and drive 10 miles east to buy the freshest seasonal fare, but that seems like it’s missing the point. I heard on NPR that eating local meant eating food that comes from within a 10 miles radius of your home. There’s a Whole Foods three miles from my office, but at my house we call it Whole Paycheck. If we wanted to eat organic and healthy and conveniently, there was one solution left.

Welcome to my home garden! I’ve never gardened before. I really have no idea what I’m doing and am relying on my husband because he has some experience in this realm of food growing. First, we built raised bed boxes.

I got to use a hammer and drill!

Next, we scored some fantastic compost from a local farm for TEN BUCKS. My husband and I were ridiculously excited about it and repeatedly called it beautiful.

Yep, we were happy as two pigs shoveling this…stuff.

Then, we ran to Home Depot to buy some plants and seeds. Since it’s late in the season, we focused on fall harvest plants. We also did some homework on companion planting and had a loose plan before going shopping. We decided on cucumber, zucchini, three kinds of peppers, carrots, broccoli, a blueberry bush, a slew of herbs, and bed dedicated to bee-attracting wildflowers.

The berries have grown SO MUCH already this season!

We’re planted! Not start growing, plants!

I’m SO excited to see how this works out and hope that in a few weeks, I can just go in the backyard to pick my salad greens and smoothie berries. I bet they will be the best greens and berries in the history of ever!

Do you garden? Get produce delivery? Have a CSA share? Tell us about it! And next week, we’ll give one last look into how we eat local. Enjoy!

What is Periscope?

July 15, 2015 by Jennifer

When I attended Fitbloggin15 in Denver a few weeks back, I heard about something new and fun and exciting. Something, it is rumored, that will soon be ALL the rage. Of course it was something I’d never heard of until that weekend. Likely because it’s really, really rare that I’m on the cutting edge of anything, much less technology and anything app-y. Let it be known that I have no teenage children from which to learn these vital things from. So, really and truly, thank goodness for the savvy bloggers at Fitbloggin, without whom I may never have found my new favorite social media app. It’s called Periscope, and it’s basically like having your own live T.V. station.

What: If you’ve heard of or used Meerkat, Periscope is the same concept but it’s owned by Twitter. Periscope is a live broadcasting app that allows you to broadcast whatever you’re doing (as long as it’s within their use agreement) to all of your followers, and interact with them in real time. It’s a powerful tool, and I imagine that it will revolutionize the way news is delivered. The possibilities are only limited by you and your feelings on voyeurism. You could “scope” the protest unfolding in the streets right in front of you, or you could scope your adorable cat getting its belly rubbed. Your choice. Just know that scopes are only active for 24 hours. After that the spell is broken, and not even the Fairy Godmother can bring them back.

Who: Periscope was purchased by Twitter and launched in March of this year. Since the two are connected, you can create a Periscope account using your Twitter login. Doing so will let you see all of the people you follow on Twitter who also have a Periscope account. When you follow them on Periscope, you get a notification every time they are live broadcasting. News organizations, business, celebrities, and industry are getting on board, too. Like it or not, this app is likely here to stay. The nice thing is since it’s so new, your preferred user name might still be available! HURRY! RUN NOW!

Why: The app has so much potential, I cannot even begin to touch on its power. Not only does it let you broadcast whatever, but your viewers can comment and interact with you in real time as you’re broadcasting. I watched a scope of Bill Nye the Science Guy being interviewed by USA Today after the Pluto fly-by yesterday and IT. WAS. AWESOME. Viewers commented and asked Bill questions as the scope filmed, and viewers showed their love by tapping the screen to give the broadcast hearts, the indisputable social media currency.

Bill Nye!

This is a fantastic tool for bloggers who want to do a social media chat, give a talk, and/or have a live Q&A. You could scope a live workout sesh. You could scope seeing a cute dog at the dog park. You could scope your trail run, or tips for foam rolling, or your favorite smoothie recipe. You can scope just about anything! Not to mention this is a fantastic medium to get to know people and to build real relationships.

Bill Nye actually answers this viewer’s question! HOW COOL.

When: Whenever! I told Meri it would have been fun to scope our finish at the BolderBOULDER as we ran into the stadium, and us Chicks intend to use the app quite a bit in the future. You can scope from the corral with friends as you wait for the race to start. You could scope the race expo, or the beer drinking afterward, or you hit a moment of doubt and you need some motivation/inspiration; your fellow Scopers will be there for you. Sharing unique live events (that aren’t copyrighted) is a perfect use for Periscope, and a sure fire way to get a lot of those adoring hearts from viewers. Just be sure to respond to people as they comment on your scope. It’s considered bad form to not respond to your viewers, and it’s the real-time interaction that sets Periscope apart from YouTube.

The map view shows you who’s scoping all around the globe.

Where: You can watch scopes happening all over the world on a huge variety of topics, and that variety is only going to expand. One night, my husband and I watched three guys scoping from their living room in Belgrade. One of them was oil painting a unicorn. It was randomly awesome. A common genre is the travel scope where people scope while on vacation and share the sights with their followers. The iOS version of the app has this nifty map feature which lets you see where people are scoping all over the world. This is my husband’s favorite feature of Periscope, and sadly it’s not available on the Droid version of the app yet. You can see a list of all the scopes happening everywhere, but without the map you can’t tell where they are broadcasting from.

Beware, be VERY Aware: Two big no-nos I’ve seen on Periscope so far is people broadcasting live events such as live concerts and the like, and X rated broadcasts. I watched an entire Rush concert and a U2 concert. I have not yet, nor do I plan to, watch anything with X in the title as I’m scared. Very scared, and that’s…just not my thing. No judging here, but I would be very careful with this aspect of the app, especially with kids. The folks in charge say they have staff keeping an eye out for inappropriate material, but I’ve seen a few titles that read XXX, and really, that only means one thing. Usually anyway.

Aside from that, it’s way neat and can be a lot of fun. I think it will get to be more fun when more people are broadcasting meaningful content. People like you. People like us. I’m hoping Meri will scope the ice cream at the Jog-n-Hog this weekend because I KNOW we all want to see that!

Do you scope? Do you have questions about scoping? Did you think (at first) that I was referring to mouthwash? We are on Periscope at @Scootadoot and hope to see you there! Share your handle in the comments!

A Month Without Moo

July 13, 2015 by bec2point0

If anyone had told me I’d go a full month without eating dairy, I would have laughed at them. Loudly. I mean, I’m the girl who turned Whole 30 into Whole 4, just because I couldn’t live without cream in my coffee. I am the girl who ~~considers~~…~~considere~~d….considers cheese and ice cream two four food groups (the other two being bacon and coffee). I mean, a life without Ben & Jerry’s? That’s no life at all.

But, I did it. Actually, to be exact, tomorrow it will be 40 days without dairy. And I’m still here to talk about it. So, I figured I’d talk about it!

First off, let me give a shoutout to everyone who chimed in with tips when I originally posted about going dairy-free. The Daiya cheesecake, man. Completely fab.

Cheesecake aside, I’ve eaten some truly delicious stuff in the last month (and a few things that I’d rather not remember), so since you guys were kind enough to share with me, I’m going to share some of the highlights with you.

Straight out of the gate, I knew ice cream was going to be one of the hardest things for me to stay away from. So I didn’t! It’s summerm after all. And, there are a ton of dairy-free ice cream alternatives out there. I tried a lot of them. Some, I threw out, because ewwww. The most popular dairy-replacement right now is coconut, which is awesome if you love coconut, which I do. BUT, not every flavor complements coconut. Chocolate Peanut Butter Coconut ice cream was a hard pass. It just wasn’t right. But, the FOMU (get it? haha!) Bourbon Maple Walnut? Divine. Seriously, see if you can get this near you, and if not, they’ll ship all over the U.S. (If you truly hate coconut, So Delicious Cashew Milk Salted Caramel Crunch does not such at all).

Game. Changer.

Directly behind ice cream, sits my BFF cheese. And I will say, this one seems a lot harder to replicate. I completely ruined a dairy free roasted veg pizza by smothering it in Faux Mozz (there may have been tears). But, here and there, I found some gems. Namely, the Aged Artisanal Nut Cheese from Treeline. FANTASTIC. It made cheese and crackers for dinner a reality again. A very tasty reality. (Side note, I emailed them to see where I could find other varieties, and they emailed me back in like 20 minutes. I love amazing Customer Service almost as much as I love cheese. Almost.)

I didn’t realize this going in, but the biggest challenge, by far, has been eating out. Considering that dairy is a significant allergen, I’m shocked at how many establishments don’t know what is in their food. I’m not going to go on a cross contamination rant, but the confused look I get when I ask ‘Does your bread contain dairy?’ is getting annoying. One woman said ‘why would there be dairy in bread?’ (Hint: A lot of bread contains dairy, namely butter, for browning).

And while my state, overall, has many vegetarian and vegan restaurants, the number of them in my part of the state is a whopping zero. Luckily, my hippie sister was more than willing to trek into the city with me to go check out Veggie Galaxy. Primarily vegan, with some cheese and egg dishes (there’s always a vegan alternative), and a full vegan bakery, this place knocked my socks off. I can’t wait to go back.

Eggs Benedict – Poached Eggs, Balsamic Roasted
Tomato, Grilled Red Onion & Chipotle Hollandaise
on a Grilled Housemade Black Pepper Biscuit. DAYUM.

Cooking isn’t as difficult as I expected, at least not most of them time. And as if not using dairy wasn’t change enough, my daughter recently decided to become a vegetarian. I’m glad that I’m a seasoned cook, though. Otherwise, this would be a lot tougher.

Sometimes, it’s a simple breakfast…

Vanilla Chia Pudding with Candied Walnuts and Fresh Berries

…and sometimes, it’s a more complex dinner.

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Tacos with Chipotle Cashew Cream Sauce

Either way, we’re eating just fine around here.

I’ve got a month left to before the next procedure, and then I’ll find out if I truly have a dairy allergy. When this started, I would have said, with complete conviction, that if it wasn’t a dairy allergy, I would be all up in a milkshake before you could say boo. Now, I’m not so sure.

As much as I don’t love being the person at the restaurant that ALWAYS has to have the manager come over, living without dairy is much more possible than I expected. So, I guess we’ll see. But, I did find out that I’m much more capable of restraint than I’d been giving myself credit for, which was awesome.

So, maybe someday, I’ll turn Whole 4 back into Whole 30. Maybe.

Keeping It Fresh

July 10, 2015 by bec2point0

Hey, did you know that we here at Scoot like food? And eating? We totally do!

Something else we like? Supporting local businesses. And a big part of that is eating local.

We’re spread out all over the country, so that first part isn’t so easy. But while we may not be local to each other, we’re all down with our local food scene, be it farmer’s markets, CSAs or locally sourced restaurants. Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to chat about the different ways we keep it local.

Bec

Two words. Farmer’s. Market. Or if you have access, going straight to a local farm is even better. New England is home to really decent gardening conditions, so in the summer, it’s easy to get local grub. I’m lucky enough to have a ton of local farmer’s markets nearby, so pretty much any day of the week, I could hit one up. And, as if that weren’t awesome enough, there’s a local farm about 10 minutes up the street from work, that has a farm stand three days a week.

This past weekend, I hit up the local farmer’s market. My husband is usually working on Saturdays, but he had just started his vacation, so we all went. This particular market is my personal favorite, as it sits right beside a small beach, and there’s a big grassy area to have a picnic, and the best lobster rolls in the world are sold right up the road. They have everything from fresh bread to nautical jewelry to local honey to TONS of fresh produce. I went with $40 in cash, and left with all this.

Eat the rainbow!

And these…

Honey, fire up the spiralizer, I’m making zoodles!

And THIS.

Peas for scale. The monster lettuce weighed almost 5 pounds and cost me $2.25!

The kids were right in there, making suggestions and asking for berries. (Parenting Pro-tip: If your kids ask for fruit, say yes, every time). And everyone got frozen lemonade, and I still left with a couple bucks. Total score.

Cam

Riverside, California has a huge agriculture industry. It is home to acres of citrus trees, hosts the Orange Blossom Festival, and even has a Citrus Heritage Run through the orange groves, which I participated in last year. It’s not uncommon for residents to have a few lime, lemon and orange trees in their yards. The University of California, Riverside, which is just around the corner from my place of residence, keeps groves of citrus trees and has a botanical garden that is open to the public. Yep, we here in Riverside love our gardens.

Riverside puts on three Farmer’s Markets a week, in different locations. There are also markets that are open daily where you can buy fresh produce that’s been picked that day. I used to live downtown (on Lime St., right between Orange and Lemon), so I’ve only frequented the Downtown Farmer’s Market. I used to walk there every Saturday to get produce, fresh flowers, eggs, honey, and bread… and sometimes dog treats. All organic, all grown locally.

Riverside is very close to other agriculture towns, like Redlands, mostly famous for Hangar 24 Orange Wheat beer, Yucaipa and Oak Glen, where you can pick apples in the acres of orchards, and Norco, which has a very distinctive smell, they have cows. Vendors from these nearby cities bring in their goods and set up shop on Main St. in Riverside every weekend. In addition to all the produce, there’s live music, food trucks, and local vendors, all displaying their goods and services, from dangly handmade jewelry and pottery to fancy scarves and hats. It’s a great way to support local business and I like the idea that I get to talk face to face with the people that grow the food I’m feeding to my family.

Mer

Summertime means my creativity in the kitchen (and in general) is at an all time high! I want to do and try all the things and I’m not afraid to go for the gusto in trying new recipes because hey, there’s time to spare.

When I’m able to, I always support local businesses. Growing up in the Garden State means we have the opportunity to head straight to the source when we prepare our meals.

Here’s a recent haul from a trip to our local farm, Duffield’s. Anyone want to guess how much this cost? The cucumbers and corn are homegrown.

$16!

Additionally, I am super luckily to have other sources for what ends up on our table. Joyce, at Pickie Pickie Farm (aka her yard) has chickens! We visit once a week to get extremely fresh eggs from her chickies.

Gandolf the rooster

The chicken roam freely around the yard during the day and return to the coup each evening.

Finally, there’s the Bullock Garden at our local elementary school. This is a brand new initiative headed by first grade teacher, Sonya Harris. I’ve been lucky enough to learn from the educators at my son’s school how to weed the things that don’t belong there and (the fun part) pick all different herbs, fruits, and vegetables.

We were fortunate to have Ahmed Hassan work on the garden this spring and it’s truly been a blessing to our community.

From garden…

…to plate!

So, whether you’re local to one of us or not, we highly encourage you to check out your local farm scene. And then you should totally send us pics of your food. Because in case it wasn’t obvious, we really like food.

Next Friday look for our post about homing gardening and CSAs (that’s Community Supported Agriculture). Are you a part of a local CSA? Shoot us an email at scootadoot at gmail.com – we’d love to feature YOU in our next post!

Summer Running in The Last Frontier

July 8, 2015 by kpjenn

Summer vacations. Typically, folks head to the beach or to water parks, or amusement parks, or someplace fancy…

Not me.

When I vacation, I go north. North to the future. North to The Last Frontier. That’s right. I vacationed Alaska-style this summer, and I got my run on while I was there. Because vacation doesn’t mean you can slack on training. Miles are miles, wherever you run them.

It was actually wonderful to be back in my homeland for a bit – my trip was full of family time and good food and beautiful scenery. But one of my favorite things about Alaska is just how comfortable it is to run there. I lucked out big time on the weather – nearly the entire time I was home, it was sunny and warm, without being oppressively hot. And humidity? Not a thing there.

My back yard. Seriously. This place. Amazing.

In my marathon training cycle, my long run for the week I was on vacation was only 6 miles, which was a nice improvement to the 20 I had to run when I was home last summer. Six miles is manageable in the morning and it’s possible to still have the entire day ahead of you. Twenty? Not so much.

My parents live just outside of Anchorage, and while we spent the majority of my time home at their house, we took a jaunt down to the seaside town of Homer for the Fourth of July. Homer is about a 5 hour drive from Anchorage and is located on the Kenai Peninsula. It’s known for great halibut and salmon fishing and the breathtaking views of Kachemak Bay. It also happens to be one of my favorite places ever.

See? I beached it on my vacation. Just the Alaska version…

Usually, Homer is socked in with clouds and drizzle and is often chilly. When we pulled into town on Thursday night, the clouds had scattered, the sun was bright and it was a balmy 70-ish degrees. After 5 hours in the car, we all needed to stretch our legs, so we parked the RV and strolled down the spit (a really, really narrow peninsula) to Boardwalk Fish and Chips, where I couldn’t say no to the halibut.

Nothing is better than fresh halibut. Nothing.

The next day wasn’t any different, weather-wise, except for the sky was blue-r and the sun was warmer. It was a perfect day to get some miles in, with the best running partner a girl could ask for!

Seriously. That face, though.

Ruby and I headed out on the spit and got a few good miles in, and by the time we got back to the RV, both of us were hot, sweaty, and in need of water. But there were no complaints, because that run was probably one of the most beautiful I’ve ever done.

Ruby, drinking ALL of the water. Ever.

Marathon training totally doesn’t suck when this is your view

Every time I get to go back to Alaska, I’m reminded of how lucky I was to grow up in such a beautiful, unique place. You live within nature, and are blessed with incredible views every single day. Growing up there without a doubt shaped who I am today and I’m grateful to have been exposed to so many activities as a child. Whether it was camping or hiking or skiing or biking, we were always outside and we were always learning something. My parents are wealths of knowledge about the natural world and have passed that appreciation on to me and my sisters. I can’t stress enough the value of getting your kids out in nature. It’s such an incredible place for them to be active, to learn and grow, and develop a respect for the natural world and all that it provides us with.

So, way to go, parents. Thanks for making Alaska a playground for us as kids and continuing to do so even though we’re much bigger kids now.

And thanks, Alaska, for always being the best running location ever. Also, for generally just being great.

Race Recap: Skirt Sports 13er

July 6, 2015 by Jennifer

Hi all! Today I’m recapping the Skirt Sports 13er that took place on June 14^th at Davidson Mesa in Louisville, Colorado. I know it’s a little late, but trust me when I say the lateness of this post doesn’t mean the race wasn’t fantastic, because it totally was. And not because there was cake at the finish, but that didn’t hurt, either.

Photo Credit: Skirt Sports Website

I ran the 10k, mostly because I know the area very well, and let’s just say that there was no way I was running the last hill in the half marathon course. No way. It’s classified as a cat 5 climb, but, yeah, my eyes say it’s more like a cat 2. It’s a brutal hill, man, and I knew my butt was not ready for that action. So I skipped the half in favor of the 10k. I swung by the Sport Skirts headquarters to pick up my packet the Friday before the race. One of my favorite things about this race was the bib! I loved how they incorporated the elevation map in the design!

See the “get over bad relationship” hill? Yeah…I’m OUT.

The 10k course suited me just fine, nice and flat after the first long hill, and the views can’t be beat. I’ve run/written about this trail before, and it is one of my favorites along the Front Range. As usual, I ran the race without a partner. No matter! The weather was GORGEOUS, and I was looking forward to getting some sunshine and fresh air.

So much inspiration!

I know it says finish, but it’s really the start.

The only real hill on the 10k course is still no joke; it’s long and slow, and most of the 338 feet of elevation on the course is gained on that hill. It was less than fun, but I pushed myself to jog as much of it as I could. I didn’t even put my earbuds in. Instead I focused the birds chirping and the beautiful day.

I ran alone for the first two miles until I stopped to take a photo and a nice lady named Rachel Taylor stopped too, and offered to take a photo of me if I’d return the favor. Runner code, right!? Of course I was down, and she snapped this shot of me with Boulder in the valley behind me.

Rachel and I ran intervals the rest of the race and I told her the names of the mountains in our view as we ran. She was from Texas, and had driven up for the race. We talked about running, races, and how the running culture is so different between Texas and Colorado. The rest of the gravel trail was flat as we ran along the top of the mesa. Then, we ran through a paved business district to the finish at a local Home Depot. The course was easy and breezy, and Rachel made the race a lot of fun. Before I knew it, we were crossing the finish line! I even PR’d by 6 minutes!

I had completely forgotten about the cake! Luckily Rachel reminded me, and we made our way over to the cake tent. The cakes were all gluten free and there were so many to choose from! Rachel grabbed a slice red velvet, and after hemming and hawing between the carrot cake and the chocolate, the chocolate won out. IT WAS SO GOOD! I never knew gluten free cake could be so divine!

SO delish!

Unfortunately I didn’t get any photos of Rachel, mainly because I suck at remembering to do that kind of stuff, but she is awesome. And so was this race. I am in love, and if they do it again, I’m all over it. There was such a great supportive vibe throughout the entire experience. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll do the half. Let’s face it, there’s CAKE at the end, and half finishers get a cute running skirt! Done and DONE! I highly recommend this one, folks!

Happy 4th of July, ‘Merica!

July 3, 2015 by Jennifer

Enjoy your 4th of July holiday, everyone! Race well, train hard, eat all the burgers, and live, laugh, and love! xoxo from all the Scootadoot Chicks!

Video May Have Killed the Radio Star…

July 1, 2015 by Meridith

But it sure did help the bloggers. (That’s how the song goes, right?)

On a rainy June day I was lucky enough to attend the Disney Social Media Moms Conference in NYC. Remember? You saw me geek out and fangirl over the New Amsterdam theater tour.

Along with the incredible experience of the conference location, there was a lot of information shared at the conference. The speakers were experts, fonts of knowledge; I was able to not only glean valuable nuggets of blogging goodness but now I can share them with you. Win/win!

Let’s talk about pictures and videos. Meet multimedia goddess, Victoria Lim.

This was the second time I’ve had the opportunity to hear Victoria speak and each time has been a pleasure. She’s quite dynamic and knows her stuff when it comes to presenting on social media platforms.

We are very visually driven creatures, gravitating toward pictures rather than text alone. Here, check out these stats on the graphic (wink, wink).

Personally I feel like I’ve got my finger on the pulse when it comes to pictures, or, at the very least I can handle pictures!

Meanwhile, I’ve been working hard on learning the ropes with different video applications. Victoria had some great suggestions of apps to check out and each offers a unique set of qualities.

For example, for a quick little snippet of fun, Instagram video is a great way to record in real time and then automatically share. Check out this one of Jenn dancing during the 2015 Bolder Boulder.

Jenn has enough pizzazz to make that video up there entertaining on its very own.

However, sometimes we want a little bit more like the ability to incorporate pics, jamming music, and storytelling. And in that case, Magisto might be the editor for you.

Plug in your favorites, pick a theme and lickety split, you’ve got a video! The app does all the work for you.

The only thing that I’m not loving about Magisto is that picture placement is random so they might be a bit out of order. Depending on the story you want to tell, this can potentially work against you. (Although I think this one from the 2014 Disneyland 10k is super cute!)

Also a bit of Magisto fabulousness? Give them access to your photos and videos and they’ll randomly make videos for you. Just as a little treat! How cool is that?

Videolicious is perfect if you’re looking to do a voice-over with video. Put pictures where you want to and then warm up those vocal chords (and uh, make sure you know what you want to say. I was rambling a bit). This was my very first attempt and I don’t think it turned out half bad!

We weathered the storm AND survived a 36 hour power outage.

Videolicious allows you to pick a song to enhance your video; I think the one I picked sounds very Harry Potter-ish.

I’m just learning more about Periscope. As in, I was getting texts from Jenn who was learning about it at FitBloggin’. Anyone have any advice for us there?

One of the things I like so much about video is that it’s a way to really connect with others and show your personality! I know it can be a bit daunting to talk to seemingly no one at the moment or not get immediate response but don’t let that scare you away from video blogging.

As a blog reader I can say that I really enjoy when there are video elements within a blog. I gravitate toward them and find that they can really enhance content.

Generally speaking, there are some good habits to have when you’re shooting either pics or video. Fancy cameras aren’t mandatory but clear shots and shooting with intention should be!

So go forth and get clicky with it! And if you try one of these video apps, I want to see your creation! Tweet me at @scootadoot or find me on Facebook and share, share, share.

The Disney Social Media Moms Celebration was a free event that I was fortunate enough to be invited to. Other than a magical day, no other compensation was given and all opinions are my very own unless stated otherwise. Thanks to Victoria Lim for the invaluable advice!

A Doozy for Dimity – Question Contest #scootdimity

June 29, 2015 by Jennifer

In a few weeks, SkirtSports is kicking off their new Speaker Series with none other than Dimity McDowell. I was excited immediately because, well…who wouldn’t want to meet Dimity if given the chance? AND maybe, just maybe, I could get Dimity’s thoughts on your most burning running and mothering questions. Such as does she have any toenails left? Or when is it appropriate to to use your BOB to mow down the walkers in the way? According to retired Chick Brooke, Dimity is very funny and gracious, so I’m sure she would be more than willing to give us some insight into these, and your, burning questions.

Retired Chick Brooke (center) with Sarah Bowen Shea & Dimity McDowell 3/2014

The Contest Scoop:

1. Tweet us your questions for Dimity using the hashtag #scootdimity. Tweet as many questions as you like, but tweet them by 7/10/15. After that, the contest ends!

2. We will select the top three questions and announce winners on 7/13/15. I will ask as many of those three as I can at the event.

3. If your question is selected, you’ll win a prize! A fun and awesome prize, no less! Even if I don’t get to ask your question, you’ll still win a prize!

So start thinking and tweeting! The crazier and the funnier, the better. The more genuine and authentic, the better, too.

Let’s show Dimity who the Scoot community is and come up with some doozies for her!

This post and contest are not sponsored by SkirtSports or Dimity McDowell. All prizes are provided by Scootadoot.

Shoe Review: Skora Tempo

June 26, 2015 by scootadoot

Last month, Kyle and Cam were called upon to serve the running community. Their mission? To test run the new Skora Tempo – a beautiful, bright, natural-running shoe that touts “connection + cushioning.” Kyle began marathon training in her pair. Cam ran Ragnar Wasatch Back. These are their stories.

Kyle

Upon receiving my Tempos in the mail, I immediately tore into the package and stuck the suckers on my feet. I’ve had a love affair with minimalist shoes since I started distance running three years ago and though I’ve moved away from them during my last two marathon cycles, I was excited to welcome them back on to my feet. I’d never run in a pair of Skora shoes before, but I’ve only read good things about them, so I was really looking forward to putting some miles on them.

The first thing I noticed about these shoes was how wide the toe box is – in my excitement to try them on, I didn’t put on socks and they felt really too big in the toe box. But, after putting on a pair of socks, they felt a lot more snug. I loved the lacing – it’s anatomically designed to fit the natural curve of your feet and it allows for a “second skin” like feel.

I took them out for a short test run that day and I was in love. That zero-drop is my jam, tho. Knowing my feet and how they handle long distances, though, I know that these shoes will probably be designated as middle distance kicks – no longer than 13.1 in these babies, because otherwise my feet and knees will be a bit unhappy.

As I tested the Tempos out, I wore them to the gym for my other workouts. The great thing about zero-drop shoes? They make GREAT lifting shoes. These are no exception. You’ve got plenty of cush to make your joints happy, but you’re also totally connected to the ground, which gives you a strong base to lift from. Usually I lift in my New Balance Minimus, the soles of which are made of the same material as the Vibram Five Fingers. I love those shoes, but I’ve been looking for something different and Skora, you’ve come through!

I’ve got a 9-miler on the docket for this weekend and I’m looking forward to another run in the Tempos. I’m still getting used to minimalist running again, but I love how light and unencumbered my feet feel in these shoes. I’m excited to see what my splits look like – even if it’s just in my head, I feel faster when I run in these, and that’s always a good thing!

Cam

So you guys know how I feel about Skora, right? I’m pretty much their biggest fan. I’ve had nothing but shoe problems since I began running around 5 years ago. I’ve tried them all and Skora is where my heart is. It’s a very committed relationship. Given the opportunity to try out their new model, I was like a kid in a candy store…or a runner in a shoe store? I don’t know, I was thrilled.

My first wear…with socks.

Skora generally are made to be worn without socks. They have this “no sew” construction so you don’t feel all the seams and junk on the top of your foot. The Core is what I’ve worn in the past and just before trying these, I invested in a pair of the Forms. I like that they’re made from genuine leather. They’re soft and mold to your foot. These are a zero drop shoe, meaning they have a 0mm differential between the heel and toe. The Forms I’ve been running in weigh a whopping 6.8 oz and have a 13 mm sole. The Tempo are a little lighter at 6 oz but they have considerably more padding at 22 mm. Socks not needed!!! These shoes are super light, super airy, and super comfy. Plus, they look awesome and reflective, which is must for us night runners.

The first thing I noticed is that they have a bit of an arch, probably undetectable for normal feet but my flat feet noticed immediately. The gave me a bit of soreness in the heel and arch initially, which I haven’t experienced with the Form. Once I’d given them a solid 10 miles, though, they entire shoe was undetectable. And because of the mesh upper, I could feel the breeze on my toes.

I’ve been wearing them for cross training, also. Like Kyle mentioned, they have a huge toe box. Mine were a bit big in the length, even though I ordered my normal size 10. I felt like the material buckled around my toe a bit with lateral movement. If I were to order these again, I’d probably size down a half size. The box is big enough, you don’t have to worry about your toes rubbing against the shoe so sizing up is unnecessary.

At this point, I was already very please with my these new shoes, but I wanted to put them to the real test: Ragnar. Would I still love these shoes after three runs over two days and 15+ miles?

On our way to Utah!

I’ve had terrible issues with my ankles, so I wrapped and wore compression socks for my first run. These shoes did fabulous. I had no foot pain, which is my main issue when I run. Granted, I have to apply a lot of topical pain relief to my ankle before I run, but my arches felt great. My second run, I ditched the socks and felt the wind between my toes.

Go Ragnar! Gearing up for my last run…sockless.

My last run was 4.1 miles downhill. And when I say downhill, I mean like 2000 ft elevation loss. I ended up getting huge blisters on the inside arches of both feet and a pretty sore achilles. The extra space in the toe from the shoe being a little big may have had something to do with this. However, I didn’t have knee pain, which I anticipated given this downhill and I didn’t lose a toenail, which happens every Ragnar. I can’t be sure if the blisters were because of the shoe or just a casualty of Ragnar. Historically, by my third leg, I can barely walk, my knee caps feel like they’re about to pop, and ankles are the size of grapefruits. I’d definitely rather just have a couple blisters!

Sometimes when I run, I also dance.

Overall, I really like these shoes. I think they’d be fantastic for someone with more of an arch and the cushion is just unbeatable. I don’t know what they’re using in the soles, but seriously, it’s like marshmallows. I still like my Form the best, but I’ll be adding these to my list of reasons why Skora holds my heart.