The Inaugural Broughton Brew!

After years of being avid beer fans, visiting breweries and chatting with other geeks, Chris and I finally bit the bullet and brewed up our first batch. It's not done - we only started on 18 March, so it has a few more weeks to go - but what brilliant way to spend an afternoon!

We commenced with a kit for Cooper's IPA, The Complete Joy of Home Brewing by Charlie Papazian and How to Brew by John J. Palmer. While we had the kit, we ending up following the advice of Papazian. We subbed in in 1 pound of dried malt extract for the sugar provided. (We just happened to have malt extract to hand from visiting Planet Natural - a genius shop for gardeners, home brewers and hot sauce aficionados. Seriously, go there if you're in Bozeman)

Boiling the malt extract with the Cooper's Syrup and water filled our kitchen with the most delicious malty steam. After 45 minutes (the recommended minimum by Papazian), the malty goodness was mixed with more water and left to cool.

As a side note, this is precisely where my Christmas present to Chris of an immersion wort chiller would come in handy. But no, he has yet to cash in on that, so instead we waited...and waited.

This did give us time to proof the yeast, as recommended by Palmer, so the time was not wasted. Once down to the necessary 75 degrees, the yeast was added and now we have a plastic bucket full of very young beer underneath our kitchen table.

Who knows if it will be good? But on the other hand, who cares? It's our first foray into brewing and we had a spectacularly good time. Moreover, this is our beer. We didn't follow the kit instructions, we used ingredients from across the globe and followed in the footsteps of two esteemed forefathers. Whatever the result, this beer is uniquely ours and that is exciting.

Only a few more weeks until we try Indy's IPA...

The Great Running Adventure, Part 1

I am not, nor have I ever been, a runner. A generous description of my figure would be 'curvy.' A more accurate one would be 'chubby.' I suspect this is due to the delish food and beer previously mentioned on the blog. Chris and I sporadically discussed losing weight, but I am adamant about my butter and olive oil, Chris likes big portions and meat-tastic meals and we were both too lazy to get off the couch after long work days.

This all changed on 17 July 2011. But let me go back. In May, a good friend back in Portland signed up for an MS walk, to raise money and awareness about her condition. Inspired by this, and my mom's ongoing battle with cancer, I spontaneously signed up for the Race for Life 5k in Hyde Park. Yes, I wanted to get back into shape, but I also wanted to do something - anything - to help Mom. Living in London, I am 3500 miles away from Bozeman. I see my family at best 4 times year. I am not there to help with the day to day work of cleaning the house, walking Audrey or cooking meals, let alone taking Mom to chemo. My dad and brother are heroes and on hand for that. It was, and frankly still is, a hard decision to stay in London. With the Race for Life, I wanted to give back and help raise money for this amazing charity, at the forefront of Cancer research, because they are the best hope Mom has.

I started with the modest goal of £500, but after announcing the race at work, the generosity of colleagues quickly topped that. So I set a new goal of £1000 (have raised £1100 to date) and I started to train. Lunchtime sessions with Curtis Brown's brilliant personal trainer, doing cross-training and boxing. Some light runs with Chris. And Zumba. Seriously, it's like playtime for adults. Hilarious good fun. The most inspiring part was that an awesome friend, Nicola, joined the run with me. Having a partner in crime is key to success and I blame her entirely for what happened next.

After a pre-race dinner with Eric and Nicola of delish pasta, we showed up to Hyde Park which was now a sea of women wearing pink. Nicola donned her fairy wings and I shimmied into my hula skirt. The atmosphere was electric! Everywhere I turned the ladies had a different story pinned to their backs. 'I am running for...' mothers, daughters, fathers, grandfathers, partners and even pets. The most amazing thing is that what could have been sad and emotional became a marvellous and magic mix of people coming together for a great day and a great cause.

Nicola and I avoided the 'runners' start and made our way to the 'joggers,' with the shared understanding that, if we needed to walk, it would be fine. But that didn't happen. First 1k went by, then 2k and before you knew it we were on the home stretch! We jogged the entire way, completing the 5k in 33 minutes. Quite a good time for a couple of girls who aren't runners, if I do say so myself. 'Running geniuses' as another pair of girls put it during the race.

It was the most amazing feeling, running with 11,000 other women with a common goal and having at least as many friends and family cheering you on. Random people gave hi-fives along the course and there was an awesome block of North Americans toward the end shouting at us that we can do it! The finish line is just around the bend! Best of all were Chris, Eric, Liz and Chris' parents. Caroline is the best cheerleader you could ever hope to have on your side. Just as we were slowing down, we'd see a flash of pink and hear 'Go Molly! Go Molly! Go Nicola! Go Nicola!'

Now, in the midst of this glorious feeling I did the unthinkable. I committed to run a half marathon with Nicola in October. 5k you can fake your way through. I trained, but not seriously. 13 miles? Not so much, this is going to take serious training. And so my new life as a runner began. Now I run 4 times a week, doing interval training and tempo runs. This weekend, I even did 6 miles! My dad eagerly relates running tips everytime I call home, telling me not to go out too fast and to make sure I build my pace. And the best part? Chris is right by my side. My very own personal trainer, with me step for step. It means the world.

I am running for Cancer Research again, hoping to raise more money to fight this terrifying disease. But this time I'm also running for myself. I like it, it clears the mind like nothing else and gives an awesome sense of accomplishment. Furthermore, by getting in shape, hopefully I can mitigate any risks of cancer that I might have. And finally? Yeah, I'd like to look damn good in that little black dress.