Quick Study in Contrast

Before we did our 180 on our health and activity levels, we would spend our weekends parked on the couches, watching TV or fiddling around on the laptop. Ben would usually get a trip to the park once, for maybe 20 minutes. Our only activity would be a trip to Walmart, and I'd usually stay home and nap and let the boys go on their own.

What is it like now? Go, go, go! I still get my naps, but there is no more parking on the couches. If I wasn't washing dishes or cooking in the kitchen, I was hanging laundry on the line outside, with Ben learning to joy of running through wet sheets and Anna tasting another bite of grass and bark. If we weren't marching around the home improvement store (garden section), we were digging up sod or potting plants. And if we weren't trotting to the playground 12 blocks away, we were strolling to the one 15 blocks away.

How is it? Intensely satisfying. Ben spent hours outside this weekend. Last year, outside time was kind of "eh" to him. This year, he runs out with us at every opportunity. I don't get winded unless I climb up the really tall hills in the neighborhood, but after a mile, my legs start to gently ache. I don't mind at all.

The plan for today? A two-mile (one-way) walk to the post office to mail something to my sister Jolene in Oshkosh, a rest stop at the mall where there's a play area for Ben to stretch his legs, a detour to the pottery place to pick up the pieces that we painted on my birthday, and a meet-and-greet at Daddy's work on the way back home. I'm so excited, and I wonder what it will feel like. Will I regret it halfway there? Will I regret it when I get to the far point and realize I have to walk back? Am I going to be a sweaty mess by the time we see Chris?

In other news, we spent a huge chunk of our stimulus check at the home improvement store. We bought subfloor and laminate for our basement remodeling project, two big bushes for the front of the house, dozens of annuals, two hanging planters with scroll-y arm brackets and garden tools. I shed a tear last night as Chris was digging up the front of the house to plant those bushes. We are real homeowners. This is not something that people who are just renting would bother with.

I'm going to post pictures of all of the outside projects later. I'm rather proud. I think our house is the cutest on the block now.