Another outdoor project

It seems that hubby and I have a weakness for projects outdoors. We have spent hundreds of hours (and dollars) doing outdoor projects. When we moved into the house it was brand new and it came with blank dirt (or at least they told us it was dirt - if you saw it you would think otherwise). One of the rules of the development was that you must install 6 bushes in the front of your home within 1 year of moving in. Since I was pregnant when we moved in we didn't do anything the first spring. We did spread straw on the lawn(when I was 9 months pregnant and no it didn't induce labor) over the new grass seed after they finally put in down in the end of June in 100+ degree weather - needless to say it didn't do well. The following spring we rented a tiller and a post hole digger and went to work installing bushes. Over 30 of them. That's right we are crazy.

Since then we have done numerous other projects (deck, small edging walls, more bushes) and every year I say "NO MORE OUTSIDE PROJECTS". Once again that has failed me (and it was my idea to do this - I think all the digging is getting to me).

At the bottom of our driveway there is a corner that is very rocky - okay it's just worse then the rest of the yard which qualifies as slightly rocky - remember the so called dirt? Well I've been eyeing it up and since we just had a new tree planted right above this spot it seemed like a good time to get started. After waiting several weeks for the never ending rain to cease, I jumped at my chance this weekend.

Here is what I started with (ok I already started digging but you get the point). Notice the stones in the corner - no grass growing here.

and here is where we ended after 2 days of digging..

Now those flowers just need to get busy growing and fill in those bare spots. The best thing about this bed - it is right next to the driveway so I see it every day.

A colorful afternoon

Yesterday was one of those odd days when the sun is shining on one side of the road and pouring on the other side. It was prime rainbow weather and we were lucky enough to see 3 different rainbows. As we were driving to swim class I told Sweetcheeks to keep and eye out for a rainbow. As we walked into swim class, there it was a beautiful rainbow. She was so happy to see it we bounced into the pool. When we left that rainbow was gone and the sun was shining brightly but as we drove home another one appeared which was even better then the first because you could see all of the colors this time. We watched it fade as we drove towards home discussing just how lucky we were to see 2 rainbows. The ultimate surprise came when we arrived at our house. There was a double rainbow waiting for us. I ran inside and grabbed the camera as soon as I could, so here it is..

it was a beautiful day.

A case of spots?

Here is what happens when your child has strep throat and is quarantined inside for 48 hours so she doesn't expose any other children..

Craft kits become make-up. Needless to say she was feeling great as soon as the antibiotics kicked in. It was a long day 2 and finally at 5pm I kicked her outside because she was an uncontrollable ball of energy.

I am a runner.

I am a runner, or at least I keep telling myself that. For anyone who has ever seen me - I do not look like someone who runs. I never thought I would run either. I couldn't even run in highschool without falling on the ground and dying after completing that one mile for the Presidential fitness test we had to do each fall. Well last fall I decided that after spending 10 months in the gym, I was ready to try running. Of course this meant overcoming a deep seated fear of treadmills. I always envision myself flying off the back and landing in a horrible heap of twisted flesh wrapped around the arc trainer behind them. I started slowly, jogging a minute or two at the end and slowly built up over time. I had a goal in mind. Last Mother's day my DH and I walked in the Philadelphia Race for a Cure 5K. At the time I said that I was going to run it in 2008. My DH, knowing my running ability, said sure honey - but I don't think you can do it.
Well I am proud to say that I did it. Not only did I run it, I ran almost the entire thing. I walked twice during the 3.1 miles. I walked about 10 steps at the water station as I attempted to navigate the piles of paper cups laying on the ground while dumping water across my face (a few drops went in my mouth) and then I walked somewhere around 2.5 miles just to reach the crest of the hill we were running up (30 seconds tops?). The best part for me was the last hill. Someone cruel decided that the finish line should be right after an arched bridge. Therefore you have to run up the bridge before you can run down the other side to the finish. As I was running up the bridge I was in dire amounts of pain. I had side stitches on both of my sides that met in the middle and wrapped all the way around to my back. Others began to walk but I willed myself to run and run I did across the crest and then as fast as I could all of the way to the finish line. I finished in a blazing 36 minutes which is not very fast but I am so proud of myself. It was such an emotional moment as I crossed that line. The crowd is standing there cheering for everyone and I had reached my goal. I almost cried from the sheer emotion of it.
This wasn't the first 5K race I did. My friend J and I ran a race in the beginning of April where I finished in 38 minutes 30 secs with much more walking involved. I also am looking for a good race to do this fall so if anyone has any suggestions let me know. Who knows, this running thing just might stick.

Oh my, has it been that long?

Life as always has been hectic and while I am a great lurker on other people's blogs I have been neglecting my own for quite some time. Looking at it today I realized that I haven't posted anything since March. March - sheesh so much has happened in there it's hard to even imagine catching up. So here's the quick update and as the days go on and nothing else exciting happens I'll work on filling in the holes. I'll try to keep them under their own headers though so I can be somewhat organized versus rambling on and on...


Oh and in case you were wondering(burning at the top of your mind right?) that Project 365 was not so great. At first it was fun, then it became stressful, then I just dropped it all together(like I need any more stress in my life). While I do have about 2 more weeks of pictures then I actually posted, you will probably never see them. Instead I'll just post the fun ones. Maybe more like project 12 (one for each month?).