The Connection Runners

Hello, Summer Vacation!

Ahh, the first official day of summer vacation.

I laid out by the pool to work on my tan.


I went for an early morning run with the birds.


I binged on a big, sloppy bowl of ice cream.


I cleaned the film out of our house that had been building up for a few days since winter. Seriously.

So my summer vacay kicked off on a ginormous date with these guys:

A bucket of cleaning supplies and the old trusty, but very dirty, vacuum.

Back in the day, when I first graduated from Western, I had a job as a cleaning lady. Yep, I cleaned up other people's crap (figuratively and literally) for a few months until I found another, more permanent job.

Despite its obvious cons, the cleaning job proved to be a blessing. It taught me how to really clean stuff. Although now, I suppose, I'm a little OCD when it comes to cleaning (when I do actually get around to it) because I have this system that I follow:

1) Clean top to bottom. This is how I approach cleaning the whole house and each room. Today, I started in our upstairs bedroom and bath and scrubbed the grime and dust out of there. In our bathroom, I start with the mirror and all of the shelves (dusting and Windexing). Then I make my way down - sink, then tub/shower, toilet, floor. Fun.

2) Carry all of the products you'll need in a little basket/bucket. This makes the job a tad quicker. But never quick enough, let's be honest here.

3) Invest in a handheld or portable vacuum. It's not pictured above, but my sister hooked me up with a very nice portable mini-vacuum when I got married. It works great on my hardwood floors, which we have everywhere on the main floor), on the furniture, and on hard-to-reach spots, like the rug under the dining room table. It also makes pretty carpet patterns.

See how easily amused I am in the summer time?

I even cleaned my cleaning products today. Yep. I'm that nerdy. Both of my vacuums and their parts took a nice bath; I scrubbed out the tote for the cleaning sprays and such; I even ran the "cleaning" cycle on my clothes washer.

Me = dork.

One more cleaning confession: Remember this Kalamazoo Marathon outfit?

That race was on May 8. Today is June 20. I just now washed those clothes. Gross.

Another math equation: Pregnant Megan + Zero Motivation - Need for Running Clothes Because I'm Lazy = Months Worth of Unwashed Laundry

However, I did get a smashingly good workout in today - house cleaning! I was breaking a serious sweat at one point. The P90X guy should do a video where they all come over and clean my house. Hardcore.

Now that I'm over the hump of cleaning, it's on to real summer plans.

Get my read on. On the docket so far

Yet another confession: I throughly enjoyed Book 1 of the Harry Potter series after throwing down some mad hate on the kid and his lightning-strike scar for years. Damn you and your good writing skills, J.K. Rowling! Now I'm on the bandwagon.

Work on The Blog and make some changes and updates. You know, keepin' it real.

Organize and update my iTunes. I go through the tunes once in a while and clean house there, too.

Pick out nursery furniture and paint and bedding. Yep, it's early. Yep, I'm totally Type A. I want to have it all done before I head back to work in the fall.

Hit up the pool and really work on a tan. Zach, my 11-year-old nephew, comes over a few days a week in the summers, and we love to spend lots of lazy hours in the water.

Clear out closets and rearrange stuff. Gotta make room for the impending arrival of the Little One.

Scour blogs and websites for yummy, easy dinner recipes. I'm hoping to score points as a wife this summer and actually cook stuff more than once a week now that I have more time.

Tell Me About Your Summer Plans:
-Vacations?
-Races or running goals?
-Books to read? (I'd love some suggestions!)