Last week, it was a real struggle to remember that I am the Positive Thinking Blog Goddess.  My spirit was more Gorgon than goddess, for sure!  Friday evening finally arrived – a day or so late, but it got here. At home, I relaxed awhile, then dissected my nasty attitude to see what could be done about it.  Even two years after I initiated my lifestyle changes, I still struggle with some of the same bad habits – stress eating among them; so, I run self-diagnostics all the time.  I have to really keep an eye on my stress levels or, before I know it, I’ll be on the evening news as the source of disorderly conduct in the frozen food section. In my Friday evening diagnostics, I identified a few stressors that were contributing to my general curmudgeoniness and devised a plan to eradicate them.  The first stressor was the state of my home.  (Sorry, Hoarders, I’ve already been busy with the front end loader; you’re too late to start shooting.)

Yes, Fall cleaning has begun at the Doty Hjem!  And, the house is in worse shape than ever.

But, I’m okay with it since it’s all part of the process.  Since Cinderella’s mice didn’t show up while I was sleeping, I started with my son’s room, removed all the furniture, washed it, cleaned the carpets and am (at this minute) waiting on the carpets to dry so that I can restore the furniture.  I’ve washed ten loads of clothes, towels and bed linens, I’ve vacuumed, dusted, washed, sorted and scrubbed.  I’m exhausted and feel SO much better!

There are myriad stressors I can do absolutely nothing about, making it even more important that I affect the ones that I can.  My job is stressful. My schedule is stressful. My son’s departure is stressful. Those are largely out of my control; however, cat hair dust bunnies are totally within my dominion.  In wrangling them, I am able to manage some portion of my world, decreasing my stress levels.  AND decreasing the likelihood that I will stress eat.

If you know me, you know that I’m not a fastidious housekeeper.  (If you know me well, the word fastidious likely has you shrieking with laughter.  Just know that I’m sticking my tongue out at you.) I do not get my jollies dusting, vacuuming or polishing.  And I would almost rather take a beating than iron clothes. Still, I knew that I had to clean the Hjem thoroughly for the betterment of all mankind; so, I rounded up some friends to help – Tatu, Shakira, Disturbed and, yes, Ricky Martin.  I shimmied, boogied and jammed my way through all manner of vile and tedious housework.  The time went quickly and I got a lot done.

So, as I wait for the carpet to dry, allowing me to finish that room, I salute Mary Poppins – you got it, chica! A spoonful of sugar does help the medicine go down – drinking out of The Cup of Life makes it just that much better.