Labor Day, Intervals, Baby - Oh My!

Several goals have been met over the past few days. First of all, and very important to us, we finally got our front yard finished! The previous landscaping had never been maintained very well, was overgrown, and just not very logical, in our opinion. Take a look:

Dead roses, overgrown bushes, not laid out well. Ick. You couldn't even see the porch.

So last Sunday we ripped it ALL out. Yep - we were left with nothing. A blank canvas! Chasen did the digging and pulling, and I drug the stuff around to the back of the house (I had the easy part). This weekend and then on Labor Day we planted all of our new stuff (and by us I mean Chasen, as I sat in a chair and drank ice water and watched - ha!)

The new and much improved yard, complete with rock perimeter. Chasen's poor back...

Each side of the drive is a mirror image of the other. Each corner has a large bush/tree called Emerald Beauty Arborvitae. It will rarely require pruning and maintains its rich emerald green needles year round. The three small green bushes in front are called Dwarf Japanese Cedars. They look SO lush in person! Behind them, in the corner by where the porch meets the house, is one Pizazz Chinese Fringe Flower, which is a purple bush that produces red/fuchsia "fringe"each spring. It is also evergreen. The three tiny plants in front are Gumpo Azaleas, which will also bloom. Chasen's goal was to have an evergreen, low-maintenance arrangement. My goal was low-maintenance with some color -- so I think we compromised perfectly. We shall see!

We also mowed, weed-eated and edged. Not only did the yard need it, but we were trying to get it all done before the rains from Gustav head our way. I have been thinking a lot about Jodi from the Confessions of a Runner podcast, who lives down on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. After listening to her latest show, I know they are well prepared and have an "escape plan," if need be. I can not even fathom what it must have been like to go through Katrina.

Today I did three miles of intervals in my neighborhood (while listening to Jodi). Easy as pie! Afterwards I had to QUICKLY shower and get ready to go to my 15-week checkup at the obstetrician's office. All is well! The heartbeat was "easy to find" and "normal" at 155 beats per minute. Good news! In four more weeks, Chasen will accompany me there because at that time we'll find out, as my dad used to say, if our baby will have "a funnel or a spout." Ha! I am very, very excited to find out.

And, in closing, yesterday I got an unexpected, completely generous e-mail from Saint Petra, who asked if I'd like her to ship to me (from England!) her barely-used jogging stroller. Well OF COURSE! That just made my day! How cool is that!?!