The Camera, My Motivator

As Thanksgiving approached, my thoughts and actions were focused on preparing for that holiday; and Thursday was indeed a wonderful day of celebration (more on that in a separate blog post--eventually).  :)

Friday came, and I was happy and energetic, ready to conquer the world.  Or at least, my house.  It was a great day.

Then Friday night, a cold hit me out of nowhere; and although it wasn't anything serious, it was bothersome enough to make me wake up on Saturday morning and wish for a hole to crawl into so that I could just sleep away the day.  "Sluggish" is an appropriate word for my behavior that morning--although perhaps not quite a strong enough descriptor!

There wouldn't have been anything wrong with taking lots of extra naps that day, in between the tasks of caring for my family; but I knew that mentally, I would be so much more encouraged if I could work up the strength to actually accomplish something tangible.  But I needed a kick in the pants to make myself do it.  :)

My camera to the rescue!  :)

I looked around the kitchen right after lunch; and as I surveyed the mess--some of which was normal after-meal untidiness and some of which was clutter that had been around a lot longer than that--I realized that, if I took before & after pictures of different areas in the kitchen, it sure would motivate me to stay on the job and finish it!

My plan worked; and before I went to bed that night, my kitchen looked better than it had for a long time.  It was indeed time well spent.

Here are some before & after pictures (not always from the same angle or covering the same area, but close enough) which will hopefully remind and encourage me the next time I'm dragging.  :)

 Much better in all areas!  Not perfect, but definitely a huge improvement.  :)

There was one more thing I took a quick picture of before I headed for bed...

...the trusty crockpot on the counter I had cleared off earlier, filled with roast beef for Sunday's lunch.

To the person who invented the crockpot, my heartfelt thanks!  Putting food in the crockpot does a lot to elevate me closer to the top-of-the-world feeling that I so enjoy...even when I have a cold.

I started Saturday sluggish, but ended it victorious.  I'm not sure I would have accomplished so much without using my camera to push me along!  :)