The Shred

Want a good sweaty workout?

Bryson bought me this DVD to help me jumpstart working out a few months ago. I love this workout because it's only 20 mins! It's short enough to trick you to workout and short enough for me to take a shower afterwards while V is still napping! (major plus!) There are 3 different levels of workouts and combines cardio, strength and abs. I use it maybe 2 or 3 times a week. I feel sore usually the next day, but when I do the workout the next time, it definitely feels easier! Living in Houston in the summer makes it hard to get outside to exercise because of the heat and humidity. But with a few workout DVDs, I guess I dont have any excuses...

Baby Food

There are many different sources that tell you when to start feeding your baby other foods in addition to breast milk or formula. Some sources say 6 months others say 12 weeks, some say whenever you think you should. So I took the latter choice and started introducing Violet to rice cereal at 4 months....and she loves it! After she was getting more familiar with eating rice cereal in addition to nursing, I started to research what other foods to introduce besides rice cereal. Bananas and Avocados were the next easiest and most convenient food to feed her. Since all you have to do is peel and then mush together and we always have bananas at home, it just worked. (when my brother in law saw Violet eating avocados he said "is Violet eating Guacamole!!?") I looked at more websites and read up on how to puree and store other foods for baby and got to work! It's super super easy to make your own baby food. If you have an extra hour in your day I would totally recommend it! To me it has been fun to "cook" for V and know that she is eating fresh food that goes in to her little belly. I'm not opposed to canned baby food, I'll probably buy some when we travel. I mean I dont know how long I will continue homemade baby food, but for now I enjoy it for now :)


Since Violet has been eating bananas and avocados/guacamole :) I realized baby girl needed some veggies!!! Sweet Potatoes it is! Still sweet like fruit, but packed with goodness! So I got to work, started to peel 4 large sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes, placed them in a pot with just enough water to slightly cover them and let them boil/steam. When they were nice and soft I just transfered them to a bowl and mashed them with a potato masher...and voila! Baby food!! Once they cooled, I transfered the potatoes into ice trays. (each cube in the ice tray = 1oz of baby food!) once they were frozen, pop them out of the tray and place in a labeled bag in your freezer. The night before you are to use just place in a bowl in the fridge. If it's too runny then add rice cereal to thicken. It's super easy!!! You have to introduce one food at a time and wait about 4 days before another kind. (To makes sure the baby is not allergic) I made pears last night, but pureed in a food processor this time and followed the same steps!! She made the funniest face tasting pears for the first time today! I love it! Violet is only 4.5 months, so she is only "allowed" do eat certain fruits and veggies, it limits what I make, which makes it a little easier for not having to make a lot of different purees.

Here's the website I've been using to help me cook! **these pictures I posted were waaay better than the ones I took***

btw

Seriously. This week has felt never-ending! I'm SO glad it is Friday! Bryson finally has a weekend off, I think he has worked the past 2 weekends, so we will get to just hangout allll weekend! My parents, sister and brother in law left this morning for a week vacation in Hawaii. Wish we could of gone too, but some things change when you have a baby. But B, V and I will be going to a Vietnamese wedding tomorrow evening and get to see the CYP girls (& husbands :)

June Book

This book has been around my parents house for sometime now. I remember picking it up to read many many years ago, but for some reason did not finish it. So when I saw it on a shelf I decided that I needed to read it! Rome Sweet Home is a book written by a married couple, Scott and Kimberly Hahn. They write the book in sort of like a diary fashion, with each having their "turns" in each chapter to see the different perspectives. They write about their personal stories of believing in God and studying in seminary, and slowly becoming Catholic along the way. I found it very interesting to read (especially since I was brought up Catholic, and then in late high school started going to other Protestant churches with friends and then throughout college and after) Scott and Kimberly are very clear in the book about what they believe and why. The focus on some key Catholic issues such as contraceptives,Mary, transubstaniantion, saints and infant baptism. This book really made me think about what I was taught growing up Catholic and also what I was not taught.

I felt like this book really challenged me to think about what I believe/was taught and want to discuss it. I think Bryson is going to start reading it soon so we can talk aobut it some more. One thing that I did appreciate while reading this was that Scott and Kimberly are Jesus-bible-believing Christian Catholics! I feel like a lot of Catholics just go through the motions of church and thier spiritual life. And so many non-Catholics dont really know about the Catholic faith. While reading this book had me defending both sides of Catholicism and Protestantism. I'd say read this book for a good place to start you thinking about what you believe, I stil have a lot of questions after reading this book and things that I dont agree with, but overall a good book.

Peli Peli

Two weeks ago we went to Peli Peli for our anniversary. O.M.G it was delicious!!! If you live in NW Houston area you MUST try it!!
Because it was soooooo gooood we decided to go on a double date with our friends Kimmy and Ryan. They love to try new restaurants and eat new food! So check out their food blog (www.kimmyryan.blogspot.com or follow the link on the side of this screen) where I was a guest blogger about Peli Peli!

2 years

Really? Two years already?! Its gone by so fast, yet it seems like we've been married longer than that! Two years is longer than we even dated! haha! It has been a really amazing 2 years together! We've experience so much already and we have so much more to experience together!



I love you B! So glad we get to spend the rest of our lives together!

Wanting Wednesday

I Want....

A House:


Zebra Finch.(acutally two) I love their chirps:


To go on a Cruise:


DQ Blizzard: