Today it has become apparent, from what I have been reading here and there, that some of us have started to take ourselves for granted! We are all still girlies after all, despite the work clothes, dirty nails and dishevelled hair that comes part and parcel with renovating a house.

I know what it’s like, waking up every morning and getting yesterday’s jeans back out of the laundry basket again. It just doesn’t seem worth wasting lovely clean clothes. All that effort… the gathering, taking to the utility room, sorting, stuffing in the machine, taking out of the machine, stuffing in the next machine, taking out again, shaking out, folding, sorting, taking upstairs, sorting again, putting into drawers… Don’t even mention ironing, or trekking out to hang each individual item up on a line, only for it to get crapped on by some thoughtless bird – I’m just not going there!). They are just too precious!! Why would you sacrifice all that effort, when you are going to be covered in cement dust, paint, or whatever?

Maybe, I am just lazy and you are all now recoiling at the thought and searching for the unsubscribe button in disgust. However, there is hope. And if you can relate to this, don’t worry,I have a plan.  So…STOP RIGHT THERE!

We do not need to give in to Sad Hermit Syndrome!

Here’s what I am thinking. I dont know if it’s just me, but I’m much more likely to do something if someone tells me to go and do it, than if I have to make the decision myself.

TAKE A BREAK CHALLENGE

So with this in mind, I am setting a challenge to all my lovely AperoGirl readers out there! If you are stuck in that rut of spending more time doing up your house than yourself (and to be honest, who isn’t?), now is the time to do something about it. Just for one evening, or even a whole day, if that is at all possible, I want you to put on something nice, dig out your mascara, a quick spritz of perfume, and pick one of the following:

⦁ A trip to the pub

⦁ Take a picnic to the woods

⦁ Cooking challenge with what’s in the fridge, wine and a film

⦁ Grab a takeaway pizza and a bottle and eat it somewhere in the countryside

⦁ Candlelit carpet picnic – if you have carpet!

⦁ Ask a friend if they are free and happy for you to turn up with wine or a cake

⦁ Do your own raclette or fondue. So easy and so cheesy!

⦁ Clear a space and invite some people for an impromptu get-together

⦁ Arrange to meet friends at a bar or restaurant

⦁ Go to the local market and stay for coffee and a croissant

⦁ Visit a place you’ve not been to before

⦁ Plan a mini road trip or mystery tour

⦁ Order a cocktail

⦁ Invite a girlfriend round for a chinwag

⦁ Wine, nibbles and music (what’s not to like!)

⦁ Go to the cinema. Even if you are abroad there are sometimes films in English (VO in France)

⦁ Book a massage, facial or some other treat

⦁ Have one proper Sunday – lie-in, cooked breakfast, walk in the country and a nice roast

⦁ Or even if you can’t face any of the above, a hot bubble bath, face mask and a good read in bed

GO AND DO IT!

I know it’s hard to make the effort sometimes and leave the building. I can tell it’s been a while when I go out and notice that a whole housing estate has been built since I last passed that field! There is more to life than working on-site and only going out to the bins, but we get stuck in our own little worlds and just keep battling on.

I am not going to lie, I am one of the world’s worst at socialising. The committment of going out makes me a bit stressed and uncomfortable, but I always love it when I do. We say how we “must do this more often”, and then months go by and we haven’t. Perhaps I should make this my little crusade? Write a date in the calendar for once a month.

IS IT REALLY SO IMPOSSIBLE?

I think not. It’s just isn’t in the forefront of our minds right now. And if you have an OH, then I am sure he (or she) will appreciate it too and you will earn extra brownie points for organising it into the bargain! Go on… take a break!

SO IF YOU DO IT, SO SHALL I…DEAL??

P.S.

Looking at what I have written, of the 19 suggestions, 13 of them would appear to be directly associated with food and/or drink, and 4 would most likely involve food and/or drink. The other two are perhaps very nice and relaxing on their own, but in my humble opinion, would be greatly enhanced by a glass of wine!!. Do you think I have a problem?

LEAVE ME A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU DID! DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER SUGGESTIONS? I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU X