My body hurts all over. I have been working out at the gym so I didn’t think I was out of shape. I guess I just over did it yesterday.

Monday was my first official day in my new position. The staff wasted no time in sticking me into the duty rotation. Since I will be working this weekend I had off Monday. I met up with a friend for and early breakfast at IHOP. I haven’t been there in YEARS. Then I came home and cleaned a bit before heading out to meet up with Co-workers and the Colonel for lunch. Our Colonel is leaving in July so I wanted to make sure I would have a chance to say goodbye.

After lunch I dropped Potter off at the groomers and headed over to Lowes to pick up supplies for my flower garden. I was going to put down landscaping timber but the guy said I would need to drill holes and pound in some rebar and I was going to have to cut some of the pieces to fit. I just decided it wasn’t worth it. So the guy showed me a product that he said was really easy to install (yeah right I have heard that before). It was a bunch of recycled plastic pieces, about 6 inches in length, with a scalloped top and sharp pointy bottom. He said the pieces connected and all you had to do was hammer then into the ground with a soft mallet. I got a few packs and headed over to get some compost. Not wanting my yard to smell like cow poo I opted for the mushroom compost which just happened to be up on a high shelf. I didn’t want to bother anyone so I decided to just get it down myself. I started pulling on one bag and as soon as I had it to the edge the bag ripped sending compost cascading down all over me. Why can’t my trips to Lowes ever be without incident? A young store associate came over to help me get the dirt off of me (he was of course trying not to laugh) and asked me why I didn’t’ ask for help and I told him it was because I was too independent for my own good. He laughed and ran over to get the fork lift. On my way up to pay I spotted a tool I was sure I was going to need…a hand aerator. It has a T-post handle with these sharp claws on the end and it said it was easy to use and cut through tough soil with ease (it obviously wasn’t tested on my soil). I decided to give it a try. At the very least I could use it to the compost in with the soil.

When I got home I dug up all the flower that had survived the drought. It was only my Easter Lily, some Verbena, and a few patches of Monkey Grass. I set them to the side and went to work on all the weeds that had taken over. Three hours later I had finished weeding. I had so much crabgrass that it had completely taken over and their roots ran on for miles. I decided to expand my garden a little which meant I was going to have to tear up the soil outside where the old bed had been. This is where the aerator came in. for the most part it was pretty easy to use. You just stuck it on the ground and turned clockwise. I was also lucky that the ground was still wet from the rain. I was going along at a good pace until the aerator hit a root. I went to twist with all my might and stopped suddenly which threw out my back. GREAT! I laid down on the ground in pain waiting for the throbbing in my back to stop. Most people would have called it a night at that point but I had pulled up all my flowers and really needed to get them back in the ground so I popped a few Advil and went back to work.

Once the ground had been aerated I started to install the plastic border I had gotten. It was just as the guy described…very easy to install. At about 9:30 PM I had finished the garden complete with adding the compost and it was time to finish up with putting in the flowers. After I had replanted the first plant the sky opened up and it started to pour. Put I was determined to finish so I sat out in the rain until all my little plants were secure.

As I stood up to walk inside I realized I was going to be sore in the morning. I just didn’t realize how sore. My alarm went off and I attempted to roll out of bed.  My body felt like it had been hit by a truck. Every inch of me hurt. I hobbled into the shower thinking the hot water might help…it didn’t. I even had trouble drying my hair because I could barely lift my arms. So here I sit completely loaded up in Advil and muscle relaxers. I am hoping no one asks me to do anything strenuous today.

I had called my friend Maria on Sunday and left a message to see if she wanted to go to The Melting Pot for Dinner tonight (we have been dying to go). I hadn’t heard back from her so I figured she was busy and I could go home and nurse my wounds. She sent me a text message this morning telling me she would love to go. Although I really should go home and relax, the thought of the fact that I will be eating fondue tonight has me all giddy and will surely help me get through the day. This will also give me a chance to celebrate my promotion.