Perfect Weekend / Perfect Evening

It's the quintessential get to know you question: Describe your idea of the perfect.... date/evening/weekend/getaway. Well, I am a simple person. I just had the perfect weekend followed by the perfect evening.

My idea of the perfect weekend includes minimal, if any, social obligations with lots of free uninterrupted time to relax, read/watch movies, and clean my house. That's right, I said it...my idea of the perfect weekend includes cleaning my house. That may seem strange to some people, but it is not the actual cleaning that I enjoy, it is the after effect of the house being clean. It gives me a calm soothing energy and replaces feelings of chaos with a sense of control. I think if I had a neurosis it would definitely be obsessive compulsive disorder but lucky for me, I am relatively sane. Anyway, not only do I love the feeling of being in a clean organized attractive looking home, but I also love the time it saves me during the week. When I live in an orderly environment, I feel more efficient, more productive, and more inspired all the way around. I am likely to exercise more often, cook more often, save more money, enjoy the company of my husband and other guests, and sleep sounder at night.

So, as I said earlier, while I love the clean house, I don't love the actual cleaning part. So I have devised a cleaning process that makes it more enjoyable. It's my work/reward system of watching movies and cleaning in intervals. I actually set a timer and start by watching my movie for 15 minutes, then pause the movie and clean for 15 minutes. That way I get to play as much as I have to work and it can keep me going for longer periods of time. Don hates it when I do this. But he is smart enough to stay out of the way and entertain himself so as not to get charged with too many chores. He did, however, brave Costco for me on a Sunday to bring back Toilet Paper, Paper Towels, and a couple of months supply of Coke. My hero!

So this weekend was perfect. I had relatively two full days of cleaning my house with the perfect break on Saturday night when we went over to Camille's and she cooked us an amazing dinner and dessert as we watched movies, visited, and then I even fell asleep on her couch. Of course this worked perfectly with my weekend of cleaning as it saved me from not only not having to cook dinner myself, but I also didn't have to clean up the dishes afterwards - thanks Matt! Plus, it was awesome company. And I got to see Matt and Camille's new apartment now that they are all moved in (which is looking quite adorable and orderly itself, what now with the upgrade to a two bedroom, everything is so spacious and clean and nicely decorated). I also got to meet their adorable new kitten Ali.

I finished the weekend with a scrubbed, vacuumed, dusted, and windexed house; a spotless kitchen, dining room, living room, both bathrooms, and master bedroom; and every last bit of clothing, sheets, and towels we owned, cleaned, folded, and put away where they belonged. And it felt great! I even took before and after pictures of the house and will have to post them when I get some time. The only rooms I didn't get to were the gaming room, the spare bedroom, and the office (big surprise) so I am hoping to tackle those this coming weekend.

So, if that is my idea of the perfect weekend, you must be wondering what my idea of the perfect evening is. Well, my idea of the perfect evening was exactly what we did last night. First, you have to start with a nice clean house. Check. Second, as soon as you get home, you get the exercise portion of the evening out of the way. Last night I ran 45 minutes on the treadmill while I watched the first episode of Season 4 of Buffy. Check. Third, you get the dogs some exercise so that they will be calm and peaceful for the rest of the evening and not annoy you while you are trying to relax. So Cordy and Seumas got their own 45 minute tour of the neighborhood last night. Check. Fourth, you make an awesome healthy but very tasty dinner and clean the dishes as you dirty them so that there is not a huge pile in the sink to work on after you finish eating and are ready to relax. This is a good time to involve your partner as it's much more fun to cook and clean together than it is by yourself. Check. Fifth, you eat your awesome dinner together at the table that is normally covered in papers and junk but isn't today because you cleaned it off over the weekend. You maybe even light a nice smelling candle. Check. Sixth, it is time for the couch portion of the evening where you and your partner relax together with your pets on the couch and watch your favorite t.v. shows for an hour or so. Last night we watched two episodes of The 4400. We just started the second season on Netflix. Check. Seventh, go to bed happy and tired but read a chapter in your book before you fall asleep. Last night, it was Harry Potter IV. Check. I give you...the perfect evening.