There were plenty of things that I did NOT do. I did not wake up before 6am. I did not do many of my workouts. And I did not shower or shave very often.
There were also plenty of things that I did do. I did some minor improvements to the kids play structure, which included installing a sandbox and removing enough sod to fill a New York City apartment. It was quite ridiculous how sore I was from the sod removal, but bending over and swinging a spade for a couple of hours, while only taking breaks to wheelbarrow the remains around the house, can be a pretty darn good workout!
I also tilled one of the flower beds in our backyard. I think that this is normally not too difficult of an endeavor, and considering the acres of leaf mulch I have added to this particular bed, I assumed it would go pretty smoothly. Boy was I wrong! The leaf mulch had done nothing to penetrate the clay that is our backyard. It hadn't rained in some time so the clay had nearly morphed into slate! I struggled to hold onto the handles as the tiller bounced and jumped as the tines attempted to breakthrough the impenetrable soil! After another couple of hours of this, I believe I had done a decent job of churning the dirt, but my arms were exhausted. It was the best arm workout I have ever had! My arms were so sore that I could hardly bring my hands to my mouth to eat. I considered requesting a pureed meal and straw, but that did not sound appetizing in the least.
Oh and I consumed a bunch of food while on vacation as well. I had pizza 2 or 3 times, probably half a dozen of Mom's buttery-rich, chocolate chip cookies, and a big old steak and potatoes. I consumed many liquid calories as well, having plenty of occasions for beer and wine drinking.
In an attempt to counteract these indiscretions, I walked 18 holes of golf, and when you play like me you spend a lot of time walking (read: "searching") after my ball. I also went for the first bike ride of the season. The wind had been pretty significant most of the week, so I avoided the idea of riding my bike in those conditions. But then one day, it was like 58 degrees out and the wind was very calm. The sun was shining and it was quite possibly the most perfect day for riding a bike. I went for a 20 mile ride around Allerton Park. I did not have any encounters with mother nature, which I often look forward to, but I did have a great early season ride and I look forward to getting a few more of those under my belt before June.
I also took my kids to school nearly every single day. I had lunch at school with my son, played in the sand with my daughter, and continued to prep our garden for the upcoming growing season. I also hosted a Footloose-themed prom for neighbors and friends! All in all, I had a great vacation. It was nice to get away from work and even better to spend time with family and friends. What has everyone else been up to?
Just loving you!
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