» What I Did On My Summer Vacation. . . Yellow Jeep Blonde: What do you do AFTER the kids grow up? I COOK!

I CLEANED! While I don’t think that everyone should spend their summer vacation cleaning OR do I think that it is the most fun I could have had with my first ever week long vacation, I can honestly say that I’m very happy with the end result.

The weather certainly cooperated with my “timed vacation” – since it was over 100 degrees the first couple of days, then it rained its A$$ off the rest of the week – crazy thunderstorms. Had I planned a “real” vacation, I’d have been thoroughly disappointed in the weather. But since I had planned such a structured UN-FUN vacation, the rain was actually a welcomed nuisance. Otherwise, the sun would have distracted me and I would have had to have justified myself ignoring my “boring” plans by saying, “Well, you ARE on vacation.” And that would have been THAT, aka. nothing accomplished.

I DID finally make it to the pool Friday afternoon. The pool guy, who knew I was going to be on vacation all week, joked me about the weather I’d had for my glorious week off. But alas, I fooled even Mother Nature. We did indeed need the rain AND I did indeed need to clean the Hell out of my house.

With Chris finally moving out, there was a LOT to go through because apparently my son is the S. L. O. W. E. S. T. mover on the planet. Me – I prep for several weeks in advance and then move the whole house and set up in one exhausting day (or two). Not him. No – he took his sweet little baby time. Thought I suspect it was a diabolical scheme on his part as I ended up packing MOST of his crap just so he would come and get it the Hell out of my house.

But CAN I tell you. . . . how EXHAUSTED I was? How old I felt? In my head, I’m still 25 years old and can accomplish just about anything on my To-Do List. But in sad reality, I am really 47 years old and by golly, it apparently makes a difference. I was up and down ladders, squatting endlessly while I washed and SCRUBBED every door and every cabinet in my house, moved almost every stick of furniture, cleaned out, under and behind everything ________ and my body H.U.R.T.

As I was laying in bed unable to sleep for the pain I was feeling from head to toe, this is the conversation I had in my head. . .

Me – “Wow, this is what it’s like to get old?”

Head – “Yeah, sucks, huh?”

Me – “You betcha!”

Head – “So if you were never IN shape, how can you be OUT of shape now just because you’re older?”

Me – Shut up! (I was talking to my head) ____________ “As a standard, you’re typically strong when you’re young and you get weaker as you age, right?”

Head – “Right, so what’s your point?”

Me – wondering “But what happens when you were weak when you were younger? What happens when you get older? Do you just disintegrate?”

Head - ”When you’re weak when you’re younger and you get older, you feel like you do NOW.”

Me – “NIIIIIIICE. I blame it on menopause.”

While I’ve never been athletic or strong or physically fit, I’ve always held my own. But I tell you, the last few years have sucked A$$. What strength and stamina I had has GONE out the window. Ten years ago, I’d have had this house spotless in half the time. . . . . and with half the aches and pains.

But have I mentioned how great my house looks now?

Since I’m learning Photoshop, I don’t have many Before pictures to post because I feel that arrows and comments pointing out obvious stuff is essential, so I’ll work on the Before pictures. For now, I take pride in what my house looks like so far. Although there are still changes to be made, this is what it looks like so far.

These are my kitchen/dining room/living room now. They all run together in one combined space.

And hold your seats. . . . this is what my downstairs bathroom looked like for the last three years.

Yes, that’s a ferret cage hogging the whole room. I’m just happy you can’t smell these photos. Let’s just say that EVERYTHING in the room needed to be washed. EVERYTHING.

Now – THIS is my new bathroom.