Peter's Projects

We had such a beautiful weekend and spent a lot of time outside. We let the chickens out one at a time to roam the yard. They're getting more and more friendly--although this one seems rather uncomfortable in my hands.

We got a Teak Patio furniture set off of Craigslist a few weeks ago and have cleaned it and oiled it so it looks like new--Peter did most of the work. The middle leaf folds in so it won't always be this big.

Peter got some scion wood from our local nursery and has tried his hand at grafting; we'll be interested to see if any of his grafts take.

A Cold Day at the Zoo

We went to the Oakland Zoo today with our friends Lisa and Mia. We thought the fog would clear up and that it would be sunny like yesterday but it was cloudy and cold. That didn't slow down the kids. They had a great time even though their little hands were freezing.

So Sweet

While we had company, Lauryn slept in our bed to make room for everyone. We're happy to have our space back but apparently Lauryn's not too excited about it. We just found her up in Taylor's bed. Before they went to sleep I could hear Taylor singing to Lauryn. I wonder at what point Lauryn climbed up to the top bunk to join her sister.

Grumpy

Taylor pouts like her mom.

Crazy Hair

It's cold in our house in the morning. The girls like to sit in front of the vent in the dining room. Doug took some really cute pictures of Lauryn.

An Amazing Toy

Have you seen these? Doug and Heidi got this for Taylor for Christmas. We have no idea how it works, but it does. It's amazing!

Speed Belt

I'm training for an 18-mile trail run and ultimately I'd like to run a marathon in the spring. Yesterday I went on my longest run so far, 16 miles. See, this is why I had to get a fuel belt. When the lady at the running store found out that I had done a 14-miler without water or other food she was shocked. I admitted that I tend to run out of energy after an hour or so. My first run with the belt was two weeks ago, 14 miles. This was my experience:

About 25 minutes into the run I realized my leg was wet. I discovered that the cap on my water bottle was loose and I had lost about 4 oz of water to the back of my shorts. I hadn't noticed because it was freezing outside; I think my legs were numb.

Eating was very awkward. I had brought these chewy things made by powerbar. They sounded more appetizing than gu; however, I couldn't chew, swallow, run, and breath at the same time. That will take some practice and getting used to. My body felt weird after refueling but once the crampiness was gone (after I drank lots of water) I did have more energy and felt good.

Yesterday's run was better because I didn't lose any water. I brought a gu pack to try instead of the chewy things. The gu was much easier to ingest but my body felt terrible for about 5 minutes afterward, even with all the water I drank. I should have brought something else along because about 2 or 3 miles from home I was out of energy again. On both runs I put an unsweetened electrolyte drink in one of my bottles. Yuck. It tastes just like the paste we used to use in kindergarten. I need a high-energy inexpensive snack that's easy to eat and won't cause me to cramp. Any ideas?