A Good Exhaustion

I have officially made it through day one of the 30 Day Ironman Challenge. What was I thinking??? Okay, I am exaggerating a little, but I think this is going to be tough - mentally and physically. However, it is exactly what I need to push myself back on track.

I started the morning with a 2 mile walk. That was good. My pace was decent. Not my best, but I can get there again.  The scenery might have distracted my pace a little. The morning was still a little cool. After a week of crazy rain it was nice to start the day with some sunshine. I love how green the grass is this time of year. My husband has already mowed ours twice!

 Of course,all the flowering trees are a spring favorite. How about this fancy little yard retreat?

I am fascinated by the structure of all the branches accented by the fresh green baby leaves and flowers.

I even spied a cardinal enjoying the perfect spring morning...or maybe he was looking for a dull greenish girlfriend. Avert your eyes...I am about to hop on a sexist tangent. It is interesting to me that in the bird world the females are a bit blah colored and the males are flashy and colorful in order to attract a mate. However, in the human world the women are the ones putting themselves through all sorts of beauty regimens and dressing to attract the males. Some days I wouldn't mind being a bird.

The limited growth of the miscellaneous weeds along the roadside allowed me to admire and appreciate the shapes and colors.

All in all, it was a good walk. Afterwards, we headed out for one of our least favorite activities - shopping. We are getting ready to brave a huge home improvement project. We plan to replace our hideous carpet with new laminate wood floors.

I told you it is hideous. We are in the very beginning stages of the project and I am already starting to freak out. So many decisions! Of course, I am trying to stay mindful of a budget and we all know how those turn out during home improvement! We went to three different stores. We liked a laminate at the first store, but it was on clearance and there wasn't enough for our project - 750 square feet (living room and bedrooms). The next stores either didn't have anything we liked or it was way over budget. The more we research the process the more we realize how big the project will be. The prep itself may be the end of me! Our house is on a concrete slab which will need significant prep work done to it first.

A proud moment of the day was when we stopped for lunch at Subway. As stressful as the shopping was I could have totally chowed down on some emotional eating. We were in a town with a gazillion different restaurant options. Thankfully, my moment of weakness ("we can always start eating better on Monday" - yes, I said it aloud) was overcome by my husband's strength.

This afternoon we did some yard work. I planted a few more things in the garden - cucumbers, yellow squash, basil and sugar snap peas. Everything except the peas were from the seedling I grew inside. Hopefully, all will survive and flourish. If not, guess I am off to the store to buy new plants.

Loving my little redbud tree next to the shed we bought last fall. I am still a little sad that we had to remove the other redbud tree :(

After the yard work, we relaxed for awhile. It wasn't long though because I still had a 5 mile bike ride to squeeze in on this busy Saturday. Unfortunately, there are no pictures from the bike ride. I spent most of the time grumpy and trying to talk myself into finishing the 5 miles. The first bike ride of the year is always tough on the hiney. I am proud of myself for pushing through, but tonight I am exhausted!!

Tomorrow, I will try my first 1/4 mile swim. However, before that I am super excited to be meeting up with Tiina from One Crazy Penguin. We are going to take our pups for a walk at the park. She is going to have her hands full keeping me moving - I like to stop constantly to take pictures. I want to be able to count the mileage for challenge. I am focusing on each leg adding up to a respectable time.

Exhausted and heading off to bed. I hope this post is somewhat coherent :)