I just dont feel like it!!!!!!!!!

Yep another day gone by and it's been too long since I've blogged. Well I have news for you - I just don't feel like it!

But the problem is that it's not just blogging that I don't feel like doing. It's everything!
You know the kinda day where you end up just pottering around the house going "I should do this" and "I should do that" but you don't. Or you do it ....sort of.

My father recently explained to me that he was suffering from a case of "The Shoulds". I mentally giggled like
a child, thinking that it sounded like a case of "The Runs" with the inflection he put upon it. A little bit further into the conversation & I menally patted myself on the back - yep a case of  "The Shoulds" is about as fun and appealing as facing a case of "The Runs".

Shoulds are all the things you know you have to do. You know - the things that stop you from having fun.
You should: wash the dishes, vacuum the carpet, mop the tiles, do some laundry, weed the back lawn, do your filing, pay that bill, drop of the dry cleaning, make something healthy and/or new for dinner etc etc.
When what you really want to do is say "Bugger this!! I'm going to...." go see a friend, have a glass of wine with hubby, go out to dinner, go swimming at the beach, play that video game, take the kids to a fun park, buy a new handbag etc etc.

Getting a case of "The Shoulds" means that all those Should things that are normally just unappealing, banal or indifferent tasks become absolutely repugnant and offensive.

I sat there in amazement staring at my father as he carefully explained (in slightly different words) another part of his lifes learning for the hundredth time - and I finally just got it! It clicked!
When you have a case of "The Shoulds" - give yourself permission to do something on the "want to list"!
Of course, I'm not saying that we do it all the time - just when it becomes a severe case (and that it wont leave you in financial difficulty). I mean it's simple: Every now and then - ignore your chores and do something for you - & don't feel guilty about it!

You'll feel better for it and you'll tackle those "Shoulds" alot better afterward!

So there I was: sitting at my Dad's place feeling guilty about not being at home cleaning with Sam for the rent inspection. I'd already made it half way - I was doing something on my "want to" list, but I hadn't quite finished it. I decided then and there to not feel guilty anymore. I was gonna enjoy my little holiday at Dad's and go back renewed.

It' worked! I went home a few days later and made Sam feel a hero for his efforts and attatcked my shoulds with vigor!

Today: I'm playing on the computer and letting the kids run around almost nude and watch videos (sometimes kids get it too!). Tomorrow: Busy work!

Camping Goddess

Not everyone loves camping & anyone who has met my fiance would believe that Sam is one of  "those hotel only snobs". However, you would be wrong! Sam has shown an interest in going camping lately that has got my flagging country girl spirit all in an uproar. The moment he mentioned going I put a big tent on layby (he's pretty tall after all and the last thing we need is to have him throw his back out from stooping to get in the tent) and started salivating over the many camping grounds and exciting places we could visit.
A week ago we finished paying the layby off. I am stoked!

The tent is HUGE! A 12 person tent should be but I have some very vivid memories of being squashed with my then 10 year old sister into a 4 person tent. So I completely expected it to be alot smaller than it is. It easily has enough room for tall Sam and sprawling sleeper me in one "room" and the kids in another "room" with our gear at our feets and the communal gear in the "family room".

I fully expected Sam to have lost interest in it by this time - but I was determined to get the kids a chance to enjoy the bush (or atleast a caravan park). Surprise surprise - Sam is still keen on it and since I've still got most of my old gear I only have a few things left to pick up.
That is - to get it to a level that I would call comfy.
Since we're talking about the man who beleived that when I said I grew up in a country town, that I meant I grew up in a shack - hillbilly style - and was surprised when I took him to a town with a shop and *gasp* brick houses! I'm determined not to shock him with our first camping experience so I've been slowly introducing him to the process of setting up camp (and warned that we will probably be tired and a mite grumpy from the long drive to our camp spot with kids who aren't used to it when we put the tent up) and now we're in the process of getting those extra things that make camping more enjoyable.
Nothing like the old days - you know when you used to sit on a log around the fire in the 3 layers of clothing you wore yesterday and the day before, frantically trying to think up another card game you can play so you don't have to go to bed and be in all that quiet darkness imagining all sorts of creepy crawlies heading your way with the axe murderers and baby eating dingoes. Eeeek!
So we're kinda going luxury camping. Chairs (no dirty logs for us :P ), tables, air mattresses, mini shower, blankets (sleeping bags were the only thing I hated about camping), lots of lights, this kewl little air conditioning vent(for the kids day time naps only!) lots of enclosed mesh & space for everything - including a kitchen sink. Yep a kitchen sink.

We still need a decent esky (you know the ones rated for days not hours), another single blowup mattress, another portable gas bottle (incase our campsite/weather is not fire friendly), a radio (incase of Sam panic attack about the quiet/isolation) and a few more rechargable lights. After that we're out of here!

I imagine sitting out under the stars, a glass of vino in one hand and a marshmallow stick in the other while telling stories about how I used to go camping with my parents - the kids exhausted from a day of fresh air and lots of swimming and hiking are almost asleep and sitting quietly listening to us and the sound of the crikets. Armed with my new camping recipies - I'm proclaiming myself a camping goddess :D