May 2nd

"Today is the first day of the rest of my life."

When I fail at my resolutions, this is what I say to myself and I just start again.

So, it's Sunday and I don't do my normal workouts on the weekend BUT I worked my a$% off in the backyard today so it counts in the active category. 4 1/2 hours and I'm exhausted. My body is so tired that I can't relax. It was worth it, though. Every time I look out the kitchen window, I feel a sense of accomplishment. We have a lot more to do but it looks SOOOOO much better. The mint has been reigned in, rosemary cut into cute little rounded bushes, sage cut back and my fig and grapefruit trees are no longer being engulfed by weeds. Also, my strawberries are out of control. I planted 2 little plants last year in my strawberry pot and they didn't do much of anything. They died off and I thought that was the end of them. Then we had all that rain this year. Now both plants have come back and one of them has produced about 30 strawberries. This is a plant that was in one of those tiny little "balconies" that jut out of a strawberry pot. I couldn't believe it. I wish I had planted more strawberries last year. So, I bought more this year and I can only hope that I'll have a good crop next year.

I guess all of that also counts as something constructive. Oh, Matt got the base of the roof on our patio cover last weekend so I've been dying to decorate the patio. I never thought it would be so hard to find a grey outdoor rug. I saw one in the Crate and Barrel catalog which is the problem. Now that I know it exists, I want it. Nothing else will do. I searched and searched for cheaper alternatives and haven't had any luck. I know I'm going to end up buying the one at Crate and Barrel. It's $400. Ugh.

I also wanted 2 big pots and some palms to go on either side of the patio. I had an idea in my head and I almost got what I wanted. The problem is that big ceramic pots are REALLY expensive. We chose smaller pots and I like the ones we got but they were still $75 each on sale. That's actually a good price and they have a more modern shape so it's hard to find that style. I did find some palms but they are a little smaller than I had envisioned. Now that they are planted and in place, however, I like them. Of course, I want flowers now and more pots. I fear this will become a new obsession.

I'm about to go do something enjoyable. I'm reading "The Talented Mr. Ripley" right now. I've seen the movie so I picture Matt Damon, etc. while I'm reading. It's not a big deal but I wish I didn't know what was going to happen. At least, the next novel in the series will be surprising.

Oh, I read "The Big Sleep" before this. I started it as an audiobook on my drive to LA last month and I totally loved it. I have to read more Raymond Chandler because he is a genius at description. I didn't pay much attention to the story itself because I was so focused on the words and phrases. Fantastic! Apparently, I need to read Dashiell Hammett as well.