:selfportraitsunday:

Not now, but apparently some time in the past, I just quit. I got so overwhelmed that I just said to heck with it and stopped. Stopped cleaning, stopped cooking, stopped encouraging, stopped caring, just stopped. And I know that this is so, because I live in here, and I know what my house is like and I know what my heart is like, and I am just sitting here asking myself when did I quit?

I know it was awhile ago, because I am writing this post from a todo list that I started in Vegas, and that means that in Vegas I was considering “coming back”. So really, I wonder….what caused it? Because I’m dealing with frustrations, and I hate to be frustrated. This little box does not frustrate me, see. It does what I tell it, when I tell it and exactly how I tell it, for the most part. It doesn’t need the van when I do, it never passes gas until I cough and cry. And it’s not noisy, and it’s neat and orderly, and solid and dependable. Also, I never have to change it’s diaper. Or make allowances for it’s hormones.

So, anyway, here I am back again. Not on the blog, but in my life. And it’s very messy, and I am very overwhelmed, and sometimes it just STINKS, but I can take it for 15 minutes, and so that’s what I am doing–living life 45 and 15 minutes at a time. And it’s paying off, because it’s getting cleaner and it’s getting quieter, and it’s even getting huggier. Now if I could just figure out what to do about that gas!

/end first item from 6 page to do list!

Guess who has nothing to report on as far as books go this week? That would be me! Sorry! Cleaning! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy and Cass a dull blogger. I however, have a plan to thwart Jack and boring blogging. At least on Thursdays. I took that schedule of mine, and I wrote READ FOR 15 MINUTES on it in big red letters. Figuratively speaking of course

One of the myriad tasks I did Monday was to put up a new clothesline. My old one sorta kinda died last year (maybe the year before??), and I had been without one for some time. And then I had to snap a picture! I forgot about it yesterday, but I hung this loads of whites out today. I love to see clothes on a clothesline. The way they flap in the breeze, there is just something so right about it.

Do you have things that you see or do that …. seem to connect you to a shared past? Actions so familiar that they are timeless and universal?? Tasks so much a part of life that you look down at your hands and they could be any hands??? For me it is hanging out clothes, sewing, and making biscuits. These are tasks that I have seen done so often that when I do them it is like looking into the tunnel of the past. My hands become my mother’s hands become my grandmother’s hands become her mother’s hands become her mother’s hands and so on, forever into the past.

And today, my daughter’s hands were beside mine as she helped me do this work of the ages. I did a lot of chores today. I am well spent to say the least. And not one of them was more satisfying than this one.

I have done a good bit of cleaning today, but the thing I am most pleased with is my weekly schedule. Here’s my basic plan:

Monday: Master Bath-mirrors, sinks and counters, tub, shower, toilet, floor, wipe cabinet fronts
Tuesday: Master Bedroom-mirrors, dust, sheets, changing table, vacuum, pull extra hangers from dh’s closet
Wednesday: Living Room and Work Area-entertainment center, desk, craft hutch, bookshelves, toys, dust, vacuum
Thursday: Kid Zone-girls (sheets, closet, dust, vac), boys (sheets, closet, vac), bathroom (mirror, sink, tub, toilet, floor)
Friday: Kitchen and Laundry Area-frig, microwave, stove, counters, wipe cabinet fronts, hutch, washer and dryer tops, floor
Saturday: Shopping, Errands, Me Time

I’m not even going to list all my daily stuff, because it’s just scary. Trust, me, there is a lot of it. But this weekly plan, I think is going to be a big boost for me, because I won’t be wasting time spinning my wheels wondering what to do. And all that wheel spinning really cuts into my posting time. As does crisis cleaning, which is why I don’t want to do those things any more. I want to play and write, instead!

If you’ve tackled something today, click the banner and find out how to share!

So, I was reading my issue of InStyle this past week, and ripping out pages of stuff I want to try out. Yeah, I know, I am probably the last person you’d expect to read that mag, but I like it.

Anyway, item number one, and also recommended by my friend Deb, is the new croc shoes. They have new and different, not quite so hideously ugly, styles. Including these. Only, I want them in brown and pink instead of black on black. And then, there’s Aveeno Skin Brightening Daily Scrub. It was rated as one of the best beauty buys, and it is supposed to cleanse and exfoliate without being harsh and drying. We’ll see about that. And finally, the Neutrogena nourishing eye duos. I love an eye shadow, and these colors look yummy. If they are good for my skin, too, then I am sold. Dreaming by Tommy Hilfiger smells heavenly, but I don’t think I will be trying it anytime soon. I just got Poison in January, and I don’t think I can justify another spendy fragrance splurge just yet.

Here’s what I didn’t like so much: huge bags and ultra high heels. First huge bags look ridiculous on me, because I am little. And second, how can I juggle a suitcase, and chase kids while wearing 5 inch platforms? Now, I know I just bought some over the top high heels, but I plan to carry a very small bag when I wear them

If you read this blog by feed, I apologize. You probably know exactly what I mean, and I just need to let you know I didn’t do that. If you haven’t already unsubbed. But it wasn’t me. But I am still sorry.

Unless I only have the one subscriber, who let me know what had happened. Hmm, that’s an unpleasant thought.

:selfportraitsunday:

We went camping. I got wet. Very, very wet. And it was fun! So fun, I went out and bought more camping supplies, and we are camping out in the backyard tonight.