Accomplishments thus far

Since Paul has been delayed in Australia for ANOTHER week I had to suck it up and do some things on my own. The biggest challenge for me was to cut the grass. I knew that I couldn't leave it for another week (and then find out that he may not be around) and get in trouble with the HOA... so I took it upon myself to do it.

Here was my challenge:
Mower (never started one before in my life!)
-not self propelled
-apparently Paul claimed it was the EASIEST mower he's ever used
Yard
-0.22 acres of yard
-grass was going to seed... about ankle height
-several hills and uneven patches
-manuver around walkways, planting beds, trees, drainiage pipes and fences

At 4pm I decided it was time. The ground/grass was fairly dry and I had gotten up the nerve. After 3 little pumps to prime the engine, 2 pulls of the cord, I was ready to go. I hesitated for a moment as I looked at the front yard, "where do I start??!" Fearing that I didn't have a lot of time to ponder as I burned precious fuel and wavering nerves, I started heading down the side of the driveway. "This seems easy," I thought as I walked DOWN the hill. I did find my first challenge in turning the mower and heading back up the hill. The slope never fazed me before, but it became quite the challenge in the front. I nearly had to get a running start to make it back up. Then came the backyard which I had to go through to reach the far side of the driveway. It has a lot of hilly, uneven places. I pushed whilly-nilly through the backyard and finally after 35 minutes I was done. I then pulled out the weed-whacker, edger thingie and started to clean up the spots I missed in the front... my mowing lines were those of a complete novice, but at least it was trimmed. After I put the edger and the blower back to rest my poor arm muscles just couldn't stop moving. Even as I type my right arm is still shaken, almost 24 hours later!

I rewarded myself with a chicken pesto pizza and greek salad from PTA Pizza. It was delicious! The rest of my evening was spent lounging on the couch and being lazy. I headed off to bed at 10pm and was sound asleep by 11.

Fast forward to this morning... I set my alarm for 8am thinking that was plenty of time to sleep. My alarm did go off and I snoozed until a little after 10. I did wake up with a start when I realized that our 'long distance neighbors' had asked about staying at our house while they were in town for something today. I FREAKED! My fridge is near empty, my house was a bit of a mess and I had to do something, FAST! I called their house in a panic and left a message as I was sweeping the kitchen. In record time I had vacuumed, swept, dusted, straightened up and washed dishes. Just as I was putting the finishing touches on the living room, Jenn calls me to let me know that there had been a change in plans and only she was coming to town and then headed to her parents house for Mother's Day. Whew! I could stop and catch my breath. I now have a clean house! And I am meeting her for dinner and possibly taking a little trip down to Asheboro. YAY!

So tonight I will most likely be in A-boro, Paul in Melbourne [Australia] and my parents and brother are in Kyoto [Japan]. I am just happy to be getting out of the house.