Cleanliness is next to??

You've met my cousin Kim. Here we are, again, in a picture involving aprons...we are both excellent cooks...(although Kim is a professional).

When our children were small, we were neighbors and our husbands were working "second shift". We both looked forward to our daily-Five-O-Clock-Visits...

Hey -- I'm not telling you anything! Sisters, cousins, girlfriends...IT'S HOW WE GET THROUGH...

THIS is a picture of Kim's daughter, Carrie, now raising her own children...pictured here with Elizabeth. It seems like just yesterday, Kim was putting that bow in Carrie's hair, y'know??

When she was 14 years old, Carrie was my cleaning lady. She is energetic, hard working and extremely organized. She LOVES to polish and shine stuff -- and during my 'SPRING 2010 GIANT PURGE -- I begged her to come back to help me.

I'd hit the wall. Because Carrie has no emotional attachment to any of my junk -- in the last month, approximately one ton of "STUFF" has gone into the dumpster or to the local Goodwill store. She is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G...

Hey -- everybody needs a little help now and then! And I am a BIG FAN of hiring somebody to do the things you're not good at. Really. I can pay people to work on my car, right? We all pay people to do certain things -- whether it's taxes, roof repair or long arm quilting. But, for some reason, there is a load of GUILT involved if we pay somebody to clean our house. Like that particular skill should be part of our genetic female DNA...

AND -- if your house is messy, you are judged. It's just that simple. "Cleanliness is next to godliness".

GET OVER IT!!

I DON'T ENJOY CLEANING. SO WHAT?? NOBODY judges you if you're not good at math or don't like to do plumbing...but, if you're no good at keeping an orderly house -- you are somehow judged "less than worthy"...

Hey -- I am delighted to PAY SOMEBODY TO HELP ME CLEAN MY HOUSE. And it feels GREAT...!!

Last week, 2-year old Elizabeth came to help us. We gave her the job of throwing things down the laundry chute....She was so adorable -- inquisitive and curious -- it made the time fly...

Today, I'm traveling to Minneapolis for the Spring Quilt Market where I'll be working in the Schmetz Needles booth. And Carrie and Elizabeth are at my house in Princeton, Iowa -- spring cleaning my kitchen...

Life is good...