sweat equity

As part of our training and getting ready for this summer, we are required to volunteer at least 8 hours of our time at an affordable housing build site. This way we will have some experience under our (tool)belts when we get to our first build day on the road. For some reason Denverites (Denveridians?) seem to be quite the philanthropic population of people so when I was searching the Habitat website for volunteer days, they were booked almost full until mid-June! I was able to squeeze into a slot yesterday by taking a day off work, and thus my volunteer hours are completed! I wasn't sure what to expect really, I had no idea what stage the houses were in or how many people would be volunteering, but I packed myself a bag lunch, some sunscreen and a big old water bottle. As it turned out, most of the townhomes were in the needing-to-be-primed stage and my eight hours were spent doing exactly that. As much fun as it is to prime walls, it really isn't that fun. It was great learning about the families who would be moving in once the houses were complete, and it was really uplifting to be surrounded by such a large group of people who were willing to give up an entire weekday to such a great cause, so prime I did with no complaint. No verbal complaints I should say, although my muscles are sure complaining today! Paint is a heavy, heavy substance! I was also feeling guilty about missing a few workouts lately, and couldn't reasonably convince myself that painting could count as my excercise for the day, so I ended the day at the gym on the seat of a bike like I end so many days lately. I've got less then two months until the start of this whole crazy adventure, but I feel like I will be ready by then. In fundraising news I am at $3,700 (!!) which leaves me just $300 short. Huge thanks to everyone who has donated, I'm almost done asking you for money!