Now, I will admit...

that I used to be a better housekeeper (and more conscientious) - way back when I first had my own home.  Yikes - has it been that long?  Anyway, that place was an obsessive compulsive's dream - stuff, stuff everywhere and not a speck of dust.  There were lovely built-in bookshelves all along one living room wall and I took full advantage of the space - books, bears, plants - you name it.  And I dutifully tidied, dusted, vacuumed and mopped every week without fail.  Then my husband came along and it got harder to keep up.  And then there were the pets - well, you get the picture.  Living alone again was a novelty at first and I got back into the housekeeping mode of my distant youth.  Then I moved to the larger condo and it took me a while to get everything just the way I wanted it and while I was decorating and arranging, tax season came along and housework was at the bottom of my list.  Toward the tail end of tax season, Jonathan had two of his ladies come and clean - and I don't know if it was the language barrier or what, but it just wasn't as clean as I'd hoped.  I have since learned that the Spanish word for vacuum cleaner is aspiradora!  Where am I going with this? you ask.  Well, I was highly motivated to do housework yesterday after I did a load of laundry and finished organizing the pantry (for the tenth time!) and then I sat down for a minute to read my new Home Made Simple book, which I mentioned previously (no, this is not a paid advertisement).  When I finished, I was actually inspired to make a to-do list and this morning, after a few dried apricots for breakfast, I got busy.  I did more laundry, collected up the trash, did some essential paperwork and then I cleaned the bathroom - from top to bottom.  And you know what?  I had such a feeling of accomplishment when I was done; I'm still an OCD housework fanatic at heart.  Then I cleaned the louvered laundry closet doors and vacuumed the hallway and the living room.  Ariela stopped by with a big screwdriver to tighten the new toilet seat for me - isn't she a great friend?  Then she took my trash away and checked my mailbox.  I need to make that girl some banana bread - but I've run out of steam for one day.  Maybe I'll read a few chapters and I'll be ready to tackle the kitchen.

We'll see.