30 Post Challenge Post 3

Part 1: A habit you wish you did not have

I am a little bit (ok maybe a lot) OCD about having a clean perfect house, and I tend to have the habit of making sure my house looks, well, perfect before anyone comes over. I have been known to stay up WAY too late making sure everything was perfect the night before I knew someone was coming over (needless to say, I don't do well with surprise visits or surprises of any kind for that matter). You may be thinking that there's nothing wrong with making sure your house is clean before guests come over, and you're right, there's not. But I frequently go past the point of just cleaning. I have scrubbed the kitchen stools, washed the doors, rearranged furniture and accessories, dusted blinds, etc. It's gotten so bad that I had a friend tell me that she was hesitant to invite me into her home for fear that I would judge her by it's messiness (though it wasn't messy, it was lived in, something my house never looked). This comment didn't hurt or make me mad, actually, I was glad she said it. It made me realize that what I was doing was unrealistic. Something that I couldn't/ shouldn't keep up. Sadly, though it wasn't this comment that made me try to break this habit, it was having twins that did it for me. I have found it hard, nay, impossible to keep a perfect house while giving my 3 kids the attention that they need. Frequently the chaos will get to me and I'll find myself slipping back into old patterns and the constant "baby mess" in the living room drives me nuts, but I try not to stress over it and have to constantly remind myself that my living room wont look like a daycare center forever (at one point we actually had more toys/baby entertainment items than the day care at our gym). As a side note to calm any fears, I don't hold my friends to these same levels of perfection. If your house looks like it belongs on an episode of "Clean House" I may be a little hesitant to come over (but none of your houses' do so don't worry), but in all honesty, I've never noticed the state of my friends houses. All I've noticed is that they were warm, inviting and that I felt welcome there, now, I just need to strive for those things in my own home and not worry about striving for perfection. Wish me luck!

Part 2: a picture of the cast from your favorite TV show.

To be honest, I don't watch much TV. We have a TV but it's not hooked up to cable or satellite. so I don't watch many TV shows. I watch HGTV while I'm working out at the gym. My favorite TV show from when I did watch TV was CSI Las Vegas (with the original cast; pictured below).