Home Alone! - Day One (...not that I'm counting or anything)

My children are all at camp this week. I do believe this is the first time in my life that I've been in my own home for more than a day without my children - And thus far....I'm liking it :)

I'm sure it would get old after a while. One can only stand just so much peace and quiet and uninterrupted time to think, read, pray, and clean. Yes, you read that right. I'm using a chunk of my Alone Time to clean. Today I cleaned under my kitchen sink. Very therapeutic (and very nasty). I also emptied the entire laundry room (sans washer and dryer) and cleaned the floor and the shelves. Ahhhh...You can almost smell the Pine Sol, can't you girls?

I have a Home Alone Plan (You Knew I Would!), and I'm only supposed to do one major cleaning job a day. I don't plan on using up all these Precious Moments Alone by investing in things that will just evaporate the second the kids hit the front door (like cleaning), but I just couldn't help myself today. It just felt right :)

(I know I promised ya'll a House Tour starting this week, but since some of you are Not Alone This Week, poor darlings - I thought you might enjoy living vicariously through ME.)

Plus, I could use the accountability so I don't waste a paranormal minute.

So, here's my plan. Each day I want to do something in each of these categories:

Relationships: This can be in person or on the phone. Last night I went to see the movie Mama Mia! with my HOH. It was hilarious. Definitely a chick flick. Or maybe a Hen Flick, since the theatre was filled with middle-aged women (except my HOH and two other brave roosters). I laughed so hard my sides hurt. It's a parody of sorts - and it's filled with songs from Abba, which the old lady next to me sang along with (Sorry Kanani, I'm in a hurry to get to bed so I'll have to leave that preposition dangling...)

My relationship 'project' for today was my son Shep. He took me out for lunch to an upscale restaurant downtown. And I had fried eggplant topped with crabmeat and drizzled with some kind of high-calorie spicy white sauce. It was amazing! And so is my son :)

House: One room per day, not necessarily cleaning the entire room, but devoting some special attention to some neglected area (neglected because the household help (aka children) conveniently omit certain things when they clean.) I'm going to get back at the household help for all those "omissions" by choosing this week, when they just happen to be gone, to "sort through" all those VBS crafts and fast-food toys and twaddle books and stained clothes of theirs. And I bet you a chocolate chip frappacino (with whipped cream and extra ice) that they never notice the missing items. And you won't tell, will you?

Magazines: One per day. If the kids stay away for about 2 1/2 months I should be able to get through them all before they get back. Throwing away magazines is painful for me. I could really use some Periodical Addiction Support here, girls (and by girls, of course I also mean Dan, my only unrelated male reader - although sadly I don't think Dan actually reads my blog anymore. He has left me for Lea - and all because of their shared interest in tugless Lands End swimsuits. I do own one, Dan. Will that do? Cause I don't ever, ever foresee a time when I would be so desperate as to actually have a Swimsuit Edition of my blog.)

Home Comfort: This is a book I own, that I want to read a section of each day. It's one of those books you don't read straight through - you just pick it up when the Spirit moves you and read a few excerpts of such riveting subjects as Electrical Safety in the Home, Caring for Books, and How to Launder Tricky Items. Today I read, "What Goes in the Pantry and What Doesn't". I could hardly put it down. (And tomorrow I plan on redoing my pantry!)

Food: My plan is to eat some each day while the children are away. That may sound weird, but honestly, when they are here I usually read to them during meals. So this week, I'm having leisurely meals - on a pretty plate. And I'm not sharing with anyone. I had a whole peach today. All to myself. I told you I was living it up!

Shopping: One new store a day. Today I went to the Vitamin Shoppe, which wasn't that special - nothing to try on, nothing really good to eat. I did buy some magnesium glycinate, which is supposed to help with insomnia. I bet not blogging at midnight would help, too. And cost less. (In order to comply with the Truth in Blogging Act, I should also divulge that I stopped by Marshalls on the way home from the Vitamin Shoppe. I bought two frames, a package of adorable note cards, and a soap dish. Whew! I feel better now. Confession really is good for the soul.)

At Marshall's I saw some cute black and white bulletin boards that would look perfect in the girl's room. I do so want their room to look good when I do the Blog Tour. I may have to go by Marshall's again tomorrow and get those. For the Blog Tour. And for the Girls. Not because I have no self-control, am semi-materialistic, and can't stop thinking about them.

Exercise and Quiet Time- both with no time limits. Hallelujah and Thank You, Jesus.
Both of those activities are usually rushed when I am Not Alone. Today I did the Leslie Sansone Two-Mile Walk for Abs. I usually have at least one child exercising with me. It was really nice today not to have someone pointing out my jiggly arms and telling me that my sit-ups are wimpy.


Misc. things to do:
Mending
List last year's school books for sale on my homeschool email loop
Clean the school room
Do the kid's annual school portfolios
Make a room-by-room list of any needed repairs, needs, or problems.
(I'll talk more about this later. I do this twice a year and it really helps us prioritize our to-do list, and allocate all those extra funds we're always looking for ways to spend.....If it wasn't 12:18am, I'd ROFLOL at that one.)

Off to get some rest so I can get up tomorrow and do whatever I please.

Don't hate me :) In about 4 days I'll be back to being too busy to even blog.