Music Helps Everything Go A Little Faster

Sunday has been a long day so far, and it’s not even noon. Only had about 5 hours of sleep, thought the husband was working this morning, and was up at 5:30. Turns out, no work (woohoo!), but there was no going back to bed either. Today, I’m dealing with laundry, going through old clothes, and doing a general clean-up of stuff. I’m not exercising today, due to all the other stuff I’m doing. I also have been dealing with muscle knots in my lower right leg (the knee twitch is still there too, heh). So a day off might ease up the knots.

What helps me do all this housework? Music! You all know I have to listen to music when I’m on the elliptical, but I’ve begun listening to it as I clean too. I use Pandora.com to listen to streaming music. I have a variety of play lists to choose from. On the elliptical I use my “cardio list”, which includes (in no particular order) Kelly Clarkson, Lady Gaga (although I think I might delete her), Nickelback, Bon Jovi, Pink, Katy Perry, and Matchbox Twenty. I need to add Googoo Dolls to that list.

If you remember a long time ago, I said I could only listen to Bon Jovi when I exercised. No more. As a matter of fact...get ready for it...they’re no longer my favorite band. I know, shocker right? Who is my favorite band now? Matchbox Twenty. They came on the music scene back in the mid to late 1990s. Their first album “Yourself or Someone Like You” came out in late 1996, and a few of the more popular songs on that album were “Long Day”, “3 A.M.”, and “Push”. Then came their album “Mad Season” in 2000, and there are too many great songs to list on that one. The album “More Than You Think You Are” came in 2002. Then they vanished for a while. A few members did their solo gigs, and in 2007, they came out with a greatest hits album that had a few new songs.

I was really excited for their new album that came out just a few weeks ago. It’s called “North”, and I absolutely love it. I don’t listen to “real” radio anymore, but their first single that’s on the radio is called “She’s So Mean”. I bought the album on iTunes, and that purchase came with the “She’s So Mean” video. I’ve also subscribed to their YouTube channel.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8WLa6umgdw&w=560&h=315]

So, 10 years between albums, and they’re still fantastic. I was tempted to switch my favorite band 10 years ago, but they vanished. Now that they’re back, I’ve switched.

I still like Bon Jovi, don’t get me wrong, but they’re nowhere near the same as they used to be. Time for a change.

All right, time to switch the laundry, and get more stuff done. And drink my iced caramel macchiato from Starbucks. Caffeine is a must today.

That book post that I mentioned a few days ago is coming this week, so be on the look out. In the meantime, keep moving!

Who’s your favorite music group?

House Cleaning Workout

Today I did not do my usual workout routine. But I did get a workout. Between squatting to get laundry out of the dryer, pushing and pulling the vacuum cleaner and scrubbing the dog in the bath tub I managed to work out several parts of my body.

I was in a major cleaning mood this morning and I took advantage of it. I first managed to get the dog corralled in the bathroom, a major feat all on its own. George is a Chinese Crested, the kind with fur thank you, and is around ten to twelve pounds I'd guess. The first couple of times that I bathed him it was no problem getting him in the bathroom. Now, he's wise to my motives. I call him in and he starts cowering and shaking, the poor thing. So, I get him in, telling him it will only take five to ten minutes to get him all sudsy and clean again, but he gives me the pitiful puppy dog look. I lift him in and turn the water on. He behaves this time and doesn't manage to jump out like he did last time. Midway though, my lower back is aching from bending over the tub. My arms though are getting a good workout by the rub-a-dub-dubbing of the pup.

Now comes the fun part. Getting George out of the tub and trying to contain his spray of water. He has a lot of fur, a lot, and it holds a lot more water than you'd think. He recently got a trim in April I believe but he still has a lot a fur. I went through three bath towels getting him somewhat dry before letting him unleash his pent up energy through the rest of the house. I then use another two bath towels to mop up the water on the floor, toilet and walls...yes, walls. The little dog can shake I tell you. And come to think of it, I somehow managed not to get soaked.

Think that's the end of the dog washing? Nope. I don't want him to track water all over the tile in the hall and kitchen area, so I bring him into the bedroom. He loves the bedroom. Why? Because our three cats hide out there. So I let him in, and warn the cats with a "look out kitties, here he comes!" and he zooms right in. I get him over to my hair dryer and start on the long drying process. It takes me longer to dry his fur than it does to dry my hair. Trying to keep him still and in one place while drying him works the muscles too. So I hooked a finger in his collar (probably not too safe to do, for fear of attaining a broken finger) and went to business. Not sure how much time has past, but between kneeling on the tile bathroom floor and then kneeling on the bedroom floor, my legs were tired. I do a sort of "genie sit"



while drying him off so that works the fronts of my thighs.

So, with the dog mostly dry I send him out of the room, give him a treat for behaving fairly well and move on to the next task. Laundry. With most of my bath towels were used up having quite a few already in the hamper, I haul the load into the laundry room and dump them in. After I of course put the blanket that was in the washer into the dryer. Now I can relax right? Nope. Out to the kitchen I go to empty the dish washer and reload the sucker. I got balance practice in by putting away glasses and dishes on the upper shelves. Side bends were done loading dishes into the washer, and a major test in balance was achieved when putting pans on the tippy tippy top shelf of the pantry. Success.Thank goodness for the chair behind me in case I fell over.

I had a bit of a break by having lunch and watching some news. Then came time to do some squats with the dryer. Got the blanket out and it was still not quite dry so I hung it up on my elliptical (sad to see it used for a drying rack at the moment), and put the huge load of towels into the dryer. Next I hauled Ashley's (our second cat, about 10 years old) makeshift bed (my old comforter from college) and loaded it in.

Since her bed was now in the washer, I decided to give our bedroom a thorough vacuuming. I love my vacuum.



It gets dirt and fur and sand that others just don't get. I was going to sprinkle the floor with carpet freshener powder and vacuum the room a second time, but my husband got back from work. So that will have to wait until tomorrow or whenever. The carpet is starting to get that "cat" odor to it again. So after pushing and pulling the vacuum around, I was finally done. I went from about 9 AM to 1 PM non stop, other than lunch which was all of ten minutes.

And as I was writing this post, our youngest cat Abby, about 8 years old, decided to get sick on one the covers that covers the couch. So I hauled that sucker into the washer and it is now being cleaned. So with a slight headache, I am tired, but I feel very accomplished. I may not have gotten my traditional workout in, but it sure feels like it. And to all you moms out there that do this, or similar activities every day, my hat is off to you!

House Cleaning Workout

Today I did not do my usual workout routine. But I did get a workout. Between squatting to get laundry out of the dryer, pushing and pulling the vacuum cleaner and scrubbing the dog in the bath tub I managed to work out several parts of my body.

I was in a major cleaning mood this morning and I took advantage of it. I first managed to get the dog corralled in the bathroom, a major feat all on its own. George is a Chinese Crested, the kind with fur thank you, and is around ten to twelve pounds I'd guess. The first couple of times that I bathed him it was no problem getting him in the bathroom. Now, he's wise to my motives. I call him in and he starts cowering and shaking, the poor thing. So, I get him in, telling him it will only take five to ten minutes to get him all sudsy and clean again, but he gives me the pitiful puppy dog look. I lift him in and turn the water on. He behaves this time and doesn't manage to jump out like he did last time. Midway though, my lower back is aching from bending over the tub. My arms though are getting a good workout by the rub-a-dub-dubbing of the pup.

Now comes the fun part. Getting George out of the tub and trying to contain his spray of water. He has a lot of fur, a lot, and it holds a lot more water than you'd think. He recently got a trim in April I believe but he still has a lot a fur. I went through three bath towels getting him somewhat dry before letting him unleash his pent up energy through the rest of the house. I then use another two bath towels to mop up the water on the floor, toilet and walls...yes, walls. The little dog can shake I tell you. And come to think of it, I somehow managed not to get soaked.

Think that's the end of the dog washing? Nope. I don't want him to track water all over the tile in the hall and kitchen area, so I bring him into the bedroom. He loves the bedroom. Why? Because our three cats hide out there. So I let him in, and warn the cats with a "look out kitties, here he comes!" and he zooms right in. I get him over to my hair dryer and start on the long drying process. It takes me longer to dry his fur than it does to dry my hair. Trying to keep him still and in one place while drying him works the muscles too. So I hooked a finger in his collar (probably not too safe to do, for fear of attaining a broken finger) and went to business. Not sure how much time has past, but between kneeling on the tile bathroom floor and then kneeling on the bedroom floor, my legs were tired. I do a sort of "genie sit"



while drying him off so that works the fronts of my thighs.

So, with the dog mostly dry I send him out of the room, give him a treat for behaving fairly well and move on to the next task. Laundry. With most of my bath towels were used up having quite a few already in the hamper, I haul the load into the laundry room and dump them in. After I of course put the blanket that was in the washer into the dryer. Now I can relax right? Nope. Out to the kitchen I go to empty the dish washer and reload the sucker. I got balance practice in by putting away glasses and dishes on the upper shelves. Side bends were done loading dishes into the washer, and a major test in balance was achieved when putting pans on the tippy tippy top shelf of the pantry. Success.Thank goodness for the chair behind me in case I fell over.

I had a bit of a break by having lunch and watching some news. Then came time to do some squats with the dryer. Got the blanket out and it was still not quite dry so I hung it up on my elliptical (sad to see it used for a drying rack at the moment), and put the huge load of towels into the dryer. Next I hauled Ashley's (our second cat, about 10 years old) makeshift bed (my old comforter from college) and loaded it in.

Since her bed was now in the washer, I decided to give our bedroom a thorough vacuuming. I love my vacuum.



It gets dirt and fur and sand that others just don't get. I was going to sprinkle the floor with carpet freshener powder and vacuum the room a second time, but my husband got back from work. So that will have to wait until tomorrow or whenever. The carpet is starting to get that "cat" odor to it again. So after pushing and pulling the vacuum around, I was finally done. I went from about 9 AM to 1 PM non stop, other than lunch which was all of ten minutes.

And as I was writing this post, our youngest cat Abby, about 8 years old, decided to get sick on one the covers that covers the couch. So I hauled that sucker into the washer and it is now being cleaned. So with a slight headache, I am tired, but I feel very accomplished. I may not have gotten my traditional workout in, but it sure feels like it. And to all you moms out there that do this, or similar activities every day, my hat is off to you!