Pines, Pilates and Pumpkin Paint

I had the day off on Tuesday so I headed out to Bastrop State park for a nice run in the woods. There's something about running under the pines that sings to my soul, and it was an enchanting morning of silver streams and spotlight sunbeams. It is the kind of trail where you can really put the hammer down, but sometimes it's far better to take it slow and savor the experience - the smell of the pine, the swish of the trees, the majestic beauty of the forest. I really don't run out here often enough, and it's not that far of a drive.

I also discovered that my State Park pass expires at the end of the month, so I need to look into renewing it.

I spent the rest of the day prepping our living room and corridor for painting - taping baseboards, removing electrical outlets, ripping off corner protectors and re-mudding the damaged drywall (message to the former owners of our house - it's not a good idea to put plastic corner protectors on the walls, and really not a good idea to hammer screws into them). Painting the living room has been on my "honey do" list ever since I retiled the fireplace, so I decided to finally bite the bullet and get it done. Last night I got started painting. It's great to have a large living room with high ceilings - unless you're painting it, then it kinda sucks. But I burned the midnight oil to get it done, and all that's left to do are the edges and detail work. Hopefully I can finish that tonight, because our living room is a real mess at the moment.

But at least I can rest secure in the knowledge that I am now the proud owner of a pumpkin colored living room!!!*

And last but not least, I ordered a pilates dvd that arrived yesterday. It consists of five 10 minute pilates workouts on a stability ball which can be combined, mixed and matched to whatever duration workout you want. It looks good, and maybe I'll get a chance to do it once the living room gets back to normal.

And a big thank you to all my friends who recommended yoga dvds. I have my eye on two power yoga workouts - one by Bryan Kest and one by Rodney Yee. With these sultans of stretch to aspire to, I will doubtless be as limber as a soggy sausage before you can say "downward dog".


* I know what you're thinking - some kind of horrific 1970s orange. But it's not - more of a subdued off-yellow - looks nice and feels really warm and cozy.