Yard work > Soccer (This weekend only)

That's right, I worked in my yard for 7 hours and played soccer for only 3. I have come to this conclusion: yard work weakens my knee far more than soccer. Up until this weekend, I haven't had to wear a knee brace while playing soccer.

Dislikes about my yard (which I fixed this weekend):

- There were giant plots of mulch around my trees. There used to be flowers in there, but it was a pain to weed, plus the flowers died in one or more of the frosts we had this winter.

- The beds in front of my house had a wavy edge. It's quite a pain to mow.

- The side of my house near my garage is ugly. Plus, the grass right up next to the house doesn't grow.

I used yarn to mark where I wanted the new edge. You can see that I took out grass in some areas, and added it to others. And Dewie hung out with me all morning since Mike ran 13 miles about 1.5 hours away.

Check out that tree! The only thing touching it is grass! As I worked through the yard, I put the mulch in buckets, moved some grass where the mulch used to be, dumped the mulch where the grass used to be, and started all over again. And again. And again. Along that empty side, I'm planning on getting some bushes, possibly holly. I have some Holly in the front - I just have to be careful where I plant it because I have 3 sprinkler heads in that newly mulched area.

I also hung my bike. I still have random unopened boxes of stuff in my garage. Next weekend, I think I'm going to work on cleaning that out.

Adventures with a NY Redhead

I'd just like to mention that I was a NY Redhead before Ali, but she has been using the title for a longer time than I did. Here are a few (random) pictures from her visit.

Picture #1: Dierks Bentley. We went to the Austin Rodeo while Ali visited - which turned into being Ali's Christmas gift since the cooking class we were going to take had to be cancelled. Both Ali and Mike liked it. And for a little bit, I was afraid Mike wanted to take up rodeo sports. If he does extreme running, why wouldn't he want to do extreme horseback riding? Luckily, he is not interested, as it is something he cannot do barefoot. (Yes, he sometimes runs barefoot.)

Picture #2: A Love Drink. We had a fancy dinner at the Melting Pot. Don't worry - we were able to make room in our tummies for the White/Dark Chocolate dessert. Mmmmm...

Picture #3: You can take the Kasiske out of New York, but you can't take the Kasiske out of the girl. Ali, is it just me or do you look like Mom in this picture?

Pi Day - belated

What better way to celebrate {Pi Day = 3.14 = 3/14 = also Einstein's birthday} than with mini apple pies in a Pi Pie dish?

As Mike told me on Monday, HapPi (belated) Pi Day! And Happy Birthday, Albert!

Happy Birthday, House!

Today marks the start of my second year in my home! Look how it has grown! (or at least how the plants have grown. Plus if you're sharp, you'll notice the rocks on the edge of the flower beds.)




To prep for my one year, I spent my St. Patrick's Day mowing. And mowing. And mowing. I think I'm going to spend this weekend landscaping. (Um, porch swing will be added soon - right, Nathan?)

Perhaps in my house's second year of existence, I should post pictures of the inside?