not too much

So my kidless weekend was almost fantastic. A nice dinner out friday night just me and Wifey, we stayed up way too late watching the Sex and the City movie. I might be the only guy out there who loves sex and the city like I was a girl, but damnit it's true. My wife thinks I'm gay.

Saturday we slept in and I jumped on the outside work. I love woodworking and carpentry, so I started my power-tool-fest with a shelving unit for the bathroom. I used dadoes on the side pieces for a really clean, finished look. It turned out beautiful. After a few coats of paint, it was time to get up on the roof. I had to add fire caulking to reseal the flashing around the chimney, and the concrete cap had worn off of the top so I had to mix up some concrete and the trowels and rebuild that sucker. I did a few other roof repairs while I was up there. I ripped down all of the gutters last weekend and had to fix some shingle problems. While I was on the deck mixing up the concrete before carrying it up onto the roof, my boss called wanting an update on the software project I was working on. oh, busted! He was on the floor of the trade show in San Antonio, and I told him I was mixing concrete for a chimney repair. Nothing like swinging a trowel 40 ft over the concrete patio when you don't really know what you're doing.

Then to the next extreme, I finally got down to pull some weeds in the garden. I cleared out what was my corn patch this year, and planted garlic there instead. I had a bush cherry arrive last week as well (ordered online in January) that was a surprise, and I still haven't figured out where to put it. The plan was to cut the grass and use the clippings to mulch in the garlic, but the dang lawmower wouldn't start! I've had that thing for 4 years and it's never not started. So it's off to the repair shop today. I took that as a sign, so I went in to work on the dental software and watch some football.

Made some good progress on the software, and the Appalachian State game was on TV. They beat Georgia Southern by 1 pt, that's a huge rivalry for those of you that don't keep up with southern conference or FCS football. Then I crashed hard after dinner. Fell asleep in the chair.

Sunday we were late picking up the girls. But I still got a few things done. And after we got them back I worked for another 4 hours on the dental software. So why almost fantastic? What was missing?

RUNNING. I didn't get in the 6 mile long run (Wifey did) on saturday. I didn't get in the 3 mile recovery run on sunday. I didn't get in the makeup crosstraining day on Friday. I did bill 7 hours over the weekend, when I'm not supposed to be working. So the nicotine levels are pretty high today.

So 6 things you didn't know about me before today:

1. I'm really handy around the house. I own rental property here in SC and flipped several houses a few years ago right when the real estate market started to fall apart. you know, just in time to lose a ton of money. But I can fix anything and making home repairs, building decks, that kind of stuff is something I learned many years ago and still enjoy.

2. I am a plant junkie. I spent summers in college working landscape construction, so building retaining walls, landscape design, all lead into the organic garden fetish I'm currently cultivating.

3. I love to build furniture. Fine woodworking is something I have to struggle to contain. Now that we have kids I can't just run the power tools anytime of day, even though I have a whole 'nother medium (kid's toys) to build on.

4. Outside is better than inside. Maybe I've been a software developer for too long now, but riding the desk staring out of a window is getting old. Anything that can be done outside should be.

5. I work from home. Wifey is a stay-at-home mom, so besides having Bigun in 3 yr old kindergarten nobody ever has anyplace to be. We never leave, but sometimes get visitors. So I stare out of the window at the backyard all day, wondering when I'm going to get the backyard in better shape. The company I work for is a small company in Atlanta, so I go down there periodically to meet with clients, etc. Otherwise, I sit in the basement and write code all day. That's why I love your comments so much, some days it's the only social interaction I get. And some days I miss going into an office with other people in it. Then I play with my kids over lunch and am glad I work from home again.

6. My wife thinks I'm gay. Just because I like broadway musicals, sex and the city, a preference for chick flicks, most of my friends are girls, and I like female-typical things like expressing emotion and shoes, that doesn't mean I'm gay. but it's not a far stretch, I'll admit. If it were socially acceptable to be gay without having sex with dudes, then maybe.

Congratulations to everyone who got in a run over the weekend, and really if you got in a race! See you soon.