Just 15 Minutes!

Thank goodness for FlyLady's principle of "you can do anything for 15 minutes." This morning I was faced with the prospect of: a full (albeit clean) dishwasher, a sink and kitchen counters overflowing with dirty dishes, pans, glasses and cucumber peels, a necessary trip to Costco to pick up some food for tomorrow, and, because I decided to get all Martha Stewart-y for 4th of July, the need to take my lovely Kitchenaid Stand Mixer out of its box* and wash the contents so I could make my Gramie's Ladyfinger Cheesecake (for which I still need to pick up ingredients).

So, being the super-productive diva that I am (ha ... ha ... ha), I woke up, got dressed, fixed my face, put on my iPod and proceeded to tackle the kitchen at 7:48 AM, figuring that I could at least put away the clean dishes before I needed to leave for work, I'd do the dirty dishes this afternoon when I got home, would go to Costco, come home, make dinner and I could make the cake tonight. At 8:03 AM, exactly 15 minutes later, I hung up the dishtowel after having put everything away, put all the dishes in the dishwasher including the unpacked mixer bowl and accessories, started the cycle, and shined my sink. Yay me!!

I didn't even wake up John Dear by slamming cabinets and pots around (wasn't trying to, but I can be loud in the kitchen). Course, JD sleeps with a CPAP machine**, so the noise from the blower probably drowned out any noise I was making. The Boy probably heard me, but knew that food wasn't being prepared so there was no rush to get up and look pleadingly at me.

So, this afternoon JD and I will go to Costco and the grocery store, pick up The Boy from doggie daycare, and I'll make the cake tonight after cleaning up from dinner. Will now call JD at home to see if he can take a break from the job search to unload the clean dishes. Fingers crossed!!

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*Yes, I got the mixer from my lovely friends for my wedding -- almost 2 years ago -- and it has never been opened. Better late than never? (sheepish shoulder shrug).

**CPAP Machine: used by JD, MIL and many others to combat sleep apnea, where the person stops breathing for short periods of time while asleep. Sleep apnea is characterized by very loud snoring, gasps for air, and marital discord from overtired spouses. JD's CPAP looks like a small alarm clock connected with a vacuum hose to a fighter pilot's mask. When he first got it, we sang "Highway to the Danger Zone" before going to sleep. This did not make me believe that John Dear was Tom Cruise, but it was still pretty cool. :)