Archive for May 7th, 2008

7 May

First bites

Posted by Rebecca in In the kitchen, Olivia.

Since starting cereal a few weeks ago, Olivia has tried avocados, sweet potatoes and now, green beans. She was pretty skeptical after the first bite, but warmed to them quickly.

As I did with Ava, I’m making Olivia’s baby food. The first time around, I reasoned that it was easy to do, not to mention less expensive than jarred foods. Now, I’m not so sure about either of those things, but I’m committing to it anyway. For now.

It is a relatively simple process. Steam:

Process:

Freeze:

Eventually, we’ll just run whatever we’re eating through the food mill for Olivia. For now, though, we’re introducing new foods one at a time about a week apart, so it’s nice to have a few frozen options on hand.

7 May

Appreciating the scenery

Posted by Rebecca in Outdoor life.

My trainer has really been pushing me to run lately. I am opposed to this because, as I told him, no one is actively chasing me, and I do not like the way my butt shakes at speeds faster than a brisk walk. He responded, “Do you know what will help with that? RUNNING.”

He suggested focusing on–and I am not kidding here–the beauty of the nature around me, rather than the act of running itself. Seriously? Has this man ever tried to run? It’s hard.

I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. Here are a few shots from my run this morning.

It’s 6 a.m. The light is actually quite pretty. The lawn has never looked better. (Thanks, Bry.)

I can smell these lilacs from a block away.

This view is also quite pretty, but really it just reminded me that sun wasn’t actually up yet.

I found a snowball tree along the path–there’s one of these behind my grandpa’s house. I remember being totally awestruck by it as a child.

So, okay, maybe he has a point. This has been rather–and I can’t believe I’m going to say this–enjoyable.

Maybe it was that I focused on my surroundings, rather than the obvious and somewhat blinding pain of my screaming lungs. Probably, though, it more manageable because I stopped every five minutes to take a photo. Yeah, that definitely helped.

Know what else made it enjoyable? My running parter.