Confession time: I have not been cleaning my house. There, I said it.  Cleaning is bloody hard work, and I have not had the energy to do it nearly often enough. I try to get Molly Maids in once a month to get the floors cleaned, most things dusted, kitchen cleaned and bathroom cleaned. But it’s been Christmastime and the money just hasn’t been there. So in an effort to be more active, yesterday I cleaned my toilet, tub and bathroom sink. And today I vacuumed through the house. I have heard that one should clean from the top down. We have a comfy Cape Cod house, so I started upstairs: two bedrooms, the bathroom, the landing.

Next, I vacuumed the stairs. I just hate that job! But with my relatively new and lightly used Shark vacuum it is so much easier.  I bought myself the Shark a year ago for Christmas, and I’ve probably used it less than a dozen times since then. I LOVE my Shark! (Thanks for telling Mike how much you liked using one, sister-in-love Julie!)

Finally, I vacuumed the downstairs: kitchen, entryway and living room.We took Christmas down yesterday, so it was a good day to clean up the living room. (I’m a little sad about not having the pretty colored lights in the living room for eleven months. Can’t help it…December birthday…I like sparkly, colorful things.)

I am a sweaty, tired mess. My back is sore, my knees are aching, but I’m still smiling from ear to ear. It feels good to have aches and pains from activity instead of from inactivity. It just feels so satisfying.

I hope this “dirty” post doesn’t gross you out, Dear Readers. My year of slug-like living, post-retirement is over. It feels good to be getting engaged in life again. 🙂

Thank you for reading, and God bless you!

BTW: I worked on my book for three hours on Thursday. It was so fun and frustrating at the same time. More to come next week. And next week I hope to contact Disney Vacation Club (DVC) and ask some questions about using our points to go to Disneyland Paris next year. I get so excited thinking about it that my stomach gets queasy.  🙂