I have WAY too many projects going on!!!

I made up this little notebook to try and stay on top of just one area of my life and projects.   Hopefully, it will help me remember which material is for what project!?!?  It may take me a while to figure it all out and some material I may always wonder about.

OH....so pretty!!!!  New material!!!!  Now that's gotta make a girl feel good!  I have a class to teach (long story) on a sewing project I've never done (a little misunderstanding somewhere along the line) so I found the pattern and got some material and need to get going on it so I have a "finished  item" to show and can demonstrate my knowledge and mastery of the topic (choke).  How DO I get myself into these things?

Trying to organize bills and budget.....I didn't pay them but they're organized!  There was a money program  on Oprah one day that stated that no more than 35% of your income should go to housing and the cost of living there, 15% to transportation, and 25% to the rest of your life.  You should be saving 10% of your income and only have 15% monthly debt.  You can check her website at www.oprah.com for details.   Easy for Oprah!  I'll check MY numbers tomorrow...enough for today.

Here he is again...evidently wanting me to focus on my Brocante Home Housekeeper's Planner which is actually not a bad idea!

The Roaming Gnome is bossier than he is helpful!  He just stands around with his hands in his pockets and stares at me reminding me subliminally of all my unfinished projects...pick up a paintbrush bro!

Okay....where are those people that complain about being "bored"?  I would be more than willing to SHARE with them because I have never been bored in my life!  I could live 9 lives, like a cat, and STILL never get it all done!  I have too many interests is the problem on top of the fact that there are things that HAVE to be done if I want to keep the neighbors, the government and the IRS away from my door.  I do love my life but servants would be nice.

My sweet tooth was calling.......

All my BEST recipes are in here!  Mary Englebreit...no less!  I think this was my first ME item I ever got.....LOVE!!!!!

Ingredients at the ready!

My trusty Kitchen Aide mixer creaming the butter and sugar.

Fresh out of the oven....need to cut into squares while still warm.

Ta Dah!  All ready to eat!

These are my Jan Hagen cookies that I have made for over 30 years I think....one of my fav's.  If anyone out there knows who the heck Jan Hagen is I would be interested....I have no idea who she is or where I got this recipe!   But if anyone wants to make them, here follows the recipe:

Jan Hagen Cookies

1 C butter
1 C sugar
1 egg yolk
1 egg white
2 C flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I always use pecans...another fav)

Cream butter and sugar together.  Add egg yolk and mix. Sift flour and cinnamon together and gradually add to mixture.  Spread dough on a cookie sheet ( my cookie sheets are HUGE so it only covers about half but any port in a storm you know....if you have a regular sized cookie sheet like any normal person would it will work just fine).  Brush on a film of egg white.  Sprinkle on the nuts and bake at 300 degrees for 30 minutes.  Cut into squares while hot and let cool.  (If you don't cut them while hot you will never get them out of there without a big mess on your hands....guess I how I know that.)

Do you love "before and afters" like I do?

This is the "before " picture and I know it doesn't look that bad but it was....in fact it took 2 coats of white because I realized after I got going that they had never sealed the ceiling!  AHHH!!!!  What were they thinking!  Of course I washed it first but I kept wondering why the paint was coming off....it wasn't paint it was drywall skim coat or whatever they call it. 

See how much better it looks!  It really does...trust me on this one!  And I washed the light and even was able to fit a CFL bulb in there.

Okay....here is a better before and after/side-by-side picture....that wall is really mint green,,,,BOY!  Do I ever need a new camera or is it my pc?  I think it's the pc although it's fairly new too!

This is my new YELLOW wall.....I thought it would be more a cream yellow and actually it looks that way in the picture but it is more a lemon soufle color and now I am thinking maybe I should have gone more golden.....hmmmm?  And the whitish glow is evidently from the sunshine coming in across the room....it really looks better in person....really.  AND...it feels clean, looks clean and just knowing it is clean is a motivation in itself!

     I ran out of batteries on my camera so was delayed in posting but it is just as well since I did not have the "after" until this morning! LOL!  I am painting my hallway ceiling and walls but can only manage to do a little at a time since I have 50 BILLION other projects going at the same time but I was determined to get something slapped on those walls!  I always us TSP (trisodium phosphate) to wash the walls and ceiling first.  It cuts through grease and grime and literally dulls up the surface a bit so new paint adheres really well and since these walls and ceilings have not been done since the house was built some 30 or more years ago you can imagine how badly they needed it.  I painted 2 coats of ceiling white on the ceiling after washing and  "cutting in" and I used this new ceiling paint that goes on pinkish/purplish so you can tell where you've painted and also when it is dry it turns white so you can tell when you can recoat....not worth it.  It's actually sort of a pain.  The only thing that was nice was the new lids they come with.  This was Dutch Boy paint I got at Walmart and the lids are screw on and off and a pour lip and no drip spout!  That was worth the price of admission right there!  I had to put 2 coats on the ceiling because I don't think they ever sealed it!!!!  What were they thinking???  I will keep you up to date on this project as it keeps me motivated if I know I have to answer to my blog friends! LOL!