Do you ever have days when you start chipping away at the various chores that await you, and feel that you'll never make an impact? That's how I'm feeling right now (as I glance at the clock and wonder if pouring a wine at 3.40pm would make me an alcoholic...) Although at least the mowed yard will look mown a tad longer than anything I manage to clean up inside the house.

Even though I've had some time at home this week (the first of two week's school holidays) this is the first day I feel up to getting stuck in to The Mess with any semblance of gusto.

To be fair on myself, I've had a few days where my services were required elsewhere. [Please to include a day to recover from the cycle madness in that; even if Marc had to go to work, I was going to sloth for a day, thank you very much.]

There was a day where I took Ms 13 plus two friends into the hospital to do a birthday surprise for the friend whose Mum is in hospital on a permanent basis. [And while they went off MacDonalds-ing and bowling, I stayed at the hospital.] Scratch that day for housework.

And then another day doing some 'shopping' with the girls, which, in my book, vies with 20 hour marathon bike rides for the way it leaves you tired and lethargic and incapable of caring about the state the house is in when you get home.

(Are we detecting a theme here? If I do anything else in a day, then I can't seem to find the energy for dealing with the house!)

All week I've had a sore right shoulder/upper arm - probably fallout from the bike ride. I got to the chiro this morning and he concurred .. neck jam leads to shoulder retaliation, and ouchies time. It is much improved after clicks and crunches, and so I've turned my attention to the house.

The much neglected house.

Poor house. Poor unvacuumed, undusted, dishevelled, and unkempt house. It needs TLC. More than that. It needs a makeover - I struggle with the TLC when it's so.. pathetic... It needs Renovation Rescue, Backyard Blitz, and any other domestic/home improvement reality show you can think of.. all rolled into one.

Unfortunately it ain't gonna happen till we deal with it ourselves.. and I need some kind of mental makeover myself to make any headway. It's something I am working on, I suppose. The course I'm doing hasn't yet led me to an epiphany in terms of career choice or direction, but it's teaching me how to be mentally tougher and more self confident. I think.

(More organised? The jury is still out on that one too...)

So I've mowed OK! And tried not to think about all the 'shrubbery' gone mad (no, you couldn't call any of it 'garden') and the fact that we need a few solid days of full-on pruning to make a dent in it.

I am putting off the 'schoolwork' reallocated to the holiday zone. There is all of next week for that.

I can now see the kitchen benches. And everything is finally unpacked from the weekend! (I even found a missing knife!)

Progress, folks, Tracey style.

And, we're back on bikes tomorrow (not sure my crotch is ready for it, but what can I do...) While Marc and I aren't short of cycle mileage, the girls are, and the NEXT weekend we are off on another family/tandem bike ride - the Brisbane to Gold Coast ride.... a mere 100km! Training time! Time on bikes! Meaning 'I don't know the hell when we'll get stuff done around the house' time.. but.. whatever...

Poor house. But it's not as if it's going anywhere...


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