Monday, Sept 19, 05

Day one of deep clean.

I am soooooo tired. I am surprised I have stayed up this late. Every muscle in my body is aching. My face feels peeled. My hands hurt. This cleaning stuff sucks.

Here's the deal. I got up bright and early, drank coffee, took the teens to school and sent the poor overworked hubby to his toils. I made it home, although it seemed to take forever because of the butt heads who decided to have a freeway shootout a mile up from my normal overpass. Finally, finally home.

I don the cleaning woman accoutrements. Rubber gloves to protect my delicate, petal flower skin and a huge apron to keep the cleaning solutions and ickies from my expensive wardrobe. Ok, so I put gloves on because bleach dries out my skin so that I can't play with yarn and the t-shirt and shorts were already toast, but leave me my delusions.

Retrieving my kitchen bucket from the last place I had put it, took about 10 minutes as I had to find the darned thing. Since I was in the garage, I tossed a load of clothes into the washer. Back inside, I filled the bucket with hot water and bleach, a cloth and scouring brush and I was ready to go. Already the kitchen is filling up with bleach fumes. I feel giddy and prepared. I begin my endeavors by Swiffering (trademark with an ending) my walls and cabinets. Love that thing.

I am so proud. No more cobwebs. Since that went so well, I pulled down the sticky fly trap that has been dry for over a year. Woohoo! I am on a roll. I grab the scrub brush and cloth and start in on the wall with the door to the garage.

Took twenty minutes, but I finished the 4x7 foot wall. I thought I would never get it clean. Oh, since the door was in the middle of it, I cleaned that too. Darned men and their greasy hands. Sheesh.

Whew! By this time, I had to go take a break away from the fumes. I played with my email for a while. Had a great time, but I was dilligently back to work when the timer went off. Did I mention I am using a timer to monitor my work and break times? Setting it for 15 minute incriments.

The timer goes off and sadly, I return to the kitchen. I am slightly diverted to take a load of clothes out of the washer, put more in, and hang the clean ones outside. Returning inside, I decide the counters have to be next. I move the coffeepot and take the breadmaker and several other things I am not exactly sure what they are, off the counter and look at it. It is a lovely shade of brown. I jump on it with the bleach water, and scrubbie. A very long while later, my stove top, and the counter surrounding it is clean. And WHITE! Whoda thunk it?

I admire it for a good few minutes then go on break and play with my email some more. I think at this point I actually added a few dozen stitches to my cross stitch picture.

The timer goes off and my body creaks as I get out of my chair to return to the room of doom. I have a whole other wall of counters to clean. I sigh and put my gloves back on.

Half an hour later of dilligent scrubbing, the counter is clean. The sink is a disaster area, but the counters are clean! I needed another break and a drink. That is hot, hard, sweaty work, and dang it, if you aren't having sex, what's the point in getting into that state?

I couldn't think of one.

I took a nice long break after rotating the laundry again by reading the latest daily offering from my critique partner. Yay! That was a nice break. I am pretty sure that on this break I received a new book to proof. Never did get to start it today... There is tomorrow.

Back to work. I am barely shuffling my feet to get back to the kitchen. I load the dishwasher, run it, and fill one side of the sink with hot water and bleach and leave it.

At this time, it has been over 4 hours since I got home from dropping the teens off. Still, I had to work on Midas' Treasure. Ok, I can do this... I open the manuscript and get half a chapter done. My eyes want to close. But no! I can do this. I work while checking my email every 5 minutes or so, because you never know what might happen if I'm not paying attention and get a little more done.

I quit! My sentencese aren't making sense anymore so I save and close the manuscript. It is getting close to time when I have to start picking up teens. Eventually, I go and pick up the older two from school and bring them home. I come into the bedroom and lay down. I can't take a nap because any minute now my youngest is going to call from school saying her after school activity is over and wants to come home.

Luckily, there was Animal Planet. It keeps me awake and fairly entertained until she calls and I trek over the freeway again to get her.

I had noticed that we were nearly out of whole milk this morning so I drug my aching, tired body to the grocery store. We had a whole gallon of my favorite, Fat Free milk, so only had to get a couple of gallons of Whole. We, as a 5 member family drink upwards to 10 gallons of milk a week. Yes, it does a body good. And goes good with chocolate.

After we get through the line with about a million cans of Chef Boyardee Ravioli (yes, another trademark) and oil for the cabinets that I plan on wiping down tomorrow, I finally get home. I come to the room, expecting to fall asleep halfway through my bed dive. It didn't work.

I inform the teens that they are responsible for opening their own cans an microwaving their dinner, and to bring in the laundry, NOW! Surprisingly, they did. I lay on the bed, sure I am giong to hit dreamland any second now.

And I wait. And wait, and wait.

Sigh. Well, that isn't working so I pick up my knitting and remote control. Funny videos is on. Oh good.

That is how I have spent the rest of my evening until I decided that I really am starting to get tired and better set up the coffee pot and do the post.

Tomorrow, the goal is cleaning the outside of the cabinets and decontaminating at least one of the insides of said cabinets. If I have time, and am not incapacitated by stiff muscles, I may try for two, but we will see.

You all have a wonderful night and wish me good luck and loose muscles.

I still have a lot to do. If there are mistakes in this blog, please excuse me. I have my eyes closed.

Brenda