1 am

It is now 1 am and I cannot sleep so I decided to blog and eat ice cream, What a great treat - I get it all to myself with no one wanting to take a bite. The house is so quiet and peaceful and the perfect time to eat ice cream - loaded with cookie dough, peanut butter and chocolate syrup. How can life get better? I am sure I will work off the calories painting my kitchen and hoping to finish it. I got tired of the color and am painting it a buttery yellow. Not too bright but golden and pretty. I have always wanted a yellow kitchen and Rich gave in and compromised on a color. I have it half done and it looks so homey and cheerful.

My next project after this is to refinish the counter tops. We have formica and cannot afford to replace it with granite or other expensive types of counter tops. They are a pinky color and I am sick of them. I ran into a lady at a garage sale a few months back who does painting and interior decorating for a living. She gave me the directions on how to repaint the countertops and make them look awesome. Has a few steps and lots of sanding but I have 3 boys to help me out. It is a cool technique where you sand, then paint, then put a wood stain in a swirling pattern over top and then about 3 coats of sealant. Hers looked great and cost about $40 dollars as opposed to thousands of dollars to have new ones put in. I am so excited! She then also taught me an easy method to redo our existing cupboards. After 20 years they are looking a little worn. There is a product at home depot that you paint on first so that you don't have to sand them down. This product makes the paint or stain stay on without sanding-yippee!

My last transformation is going to be making Roman Shades for the kitchen. I got the material clearance about 3 months ago. I have been making curtains for friends and neighbors. Nice side business and I love to sew. I got a cd that shows how to make Roman shades and it is actually quite simple. I will have to take before and after pictures. I love having things look new and refinished and doing it for a minimal cost. Plus the kids love to paint and have done a great job in the kitchen. I have just had to go back and touch up paint. Wish me luck on my projects. My dad has even offered to come down from Utah and help with the countertops but we are hoping to talk him into helping Rich make loft beds for the 3 boys. They have a buzz lightyear very bright blue room with yellow window sills and a lime green plant shelf. I love it but Rich wants to repaint. I told him to go for it as I think I will be pooped after the kitchen remodeling:) The boys love their buzz lightyear room so we shall we shall we who wins the battle of repainting that room. It has very high ceilings and takes a lot to repaint it. We shall see who wins the battle of repainting it (I think me:))

I have also been following the advice from the conference talk I wrote about last time and it is amazing how small mental changes can really help bring you out of a funk:) I also finally got released from teaching primary after 6 years. I will miss the kids and singing time but will enjoy going to Sunday School and Relief Society after all these years of not going. I do believe our Heavenly Father knew I needed this break to be able to attend these classes!