Rainy Sunday

It has been raining pretty much all day today, so we've only been outside to go grocery shopping. Even the cats have spent the day inside and I think they are a little bored. Andrew finished up with the installation of our new surround sound speaker system. We purchased 3 shorter bookshelves to put in between the 2 taller ones, and that meant we needed to finally upgrade our speakers. The ones we had been using were Andrew's from when he was a teenager (amazing they still work after going to Texas and then South Carolina). So now we have a pretty good home theater system and lots and lots of storage space. There are 3 speakers in the bookcases, and 2 more that are by the fireplace, and a subwoofer by the tv. In the photo you can see Andrew doing his favorite thing - couch computing.
Yesterday the weather was pretty decent and Andrew chopped down some trees encroaching into our yard from the forest while I spread out some mulch to smother weeds. It is much easier to get Andrew to help with yard work if it involves purchasing a new power tool. In this case we got a chain saw which made short work of the tree trunks. The chain kept coming off which was a little frustrating but in the end the job was done and from now on I will not let the little trees grow so big before I chop them down.
January 18 marked 1 year of no smoking for me which I find hard to believe sometimes. I really didn't think I would ever quit smoking. Using that success as motivation, this year I really want to get in shape. So every workday morning I have been getting up at 6 and doing a home workout in the living room. I alternate between the Cindy Crawford 'Next Challenge' and a beginner step video. Even though it has only been a few weeks, I can notice a difference in my strength and endurance. Hopefully I can keep this fitness routine up and lose some weight too!