Martha Stewart doesn't live here.

Ok, so I have to admit that I had big plans for this week.  Plans to really get the house in great shape before our Progressive Dinner with our neighbors this coming Saturday.  I did in fact get the house in great shape, but not in the way I had planned.  I had these Martha Stewart plans also for getting everything all decorated and for the desserts I planned since we are hosting the dessert part of the dinner at our house.  I started out with a to do list.  I had things for each day of the week to get done with the idea of a few fun things each day and then the real work that needed to be done.  In my procrastination, I saved all the work and harder things for, you guessed it, yes, today.  I got myself in gear today because I didn't want to spend the whole day on Friday doing all of this either.  I still have a few things to get done tomorrow, but most of the hard work is done.

Plans to make cake pops aren't happening.  I have already spent enough time in the kitchen and let's just say my cake pop trial run was just a hilarious outcome.

  I baked Christmas sugar cookies last Saturday and also made cookies Tuesday for the cookie exchange I participated in.  I made cookies that I remember making with my grandma.  Lot's of good memories making them and I remember them being very tasty.  They were anything but delicious.  Sure they look good, but they just do not taste good.  So I am thinking that the recipe I found online that was pretty close to grandma's was maybe not even the same recipe?  Who knows.

I ended up making a whole new batch of 4 dozen cookies Wed morning, the morning of the cookie exchange.  These are Apple Jumbles with Brown Sugar Frosting.

 What a busy, crazy, chaotic morning trying to get the cookies baked, cooled, frosted and packed up and ready by 10 AM and also have myself ready.  I pulled it off though.  I arrived at 10 AM and I was the first one there.  It was a good chance for me unwind and visit with Liz while the others trickled in over the hour.  My second batch of cookies were delicious and they were from a recipe I found online while I was finishing up some things in the kitchen and getting ready to take Corey out to the bus before 8 AM.  Of course, somehow I missed the whole ornament exchange announcement somehow in the invite.  I don't recall hearing about it.  Thankfully, Liz graciously took care of it. She had extra ornaments in case anyone forgot.  That is a well planned hostess.

I got home Wed afternoon after a visiting at the cookie exchange and I realize how many amazing and delicious cookies I had.  I decided that instead of cake pops, these cookies and the other dessert I had planned would work fine for the desserts at our progressive dinner.  This now was a plan about simplifying things and not spending so much time on doing things that would impress people.

This week started out hectic and I dreaded the cleaning.  I clean all week long, but we make messes all week long and I don't clean in detail every week.  It feels like everything gets messy as soon as it is cleaned.  Heading in to Friday and in to the weekend, I feel refreshed and glad I dropped some of the unrealistic expectations and plans I had made.  I am after all Michelle Wentz and not Martha Stewart.  There is a bit of anxiety and craziness that comes with trying to take on big projects that really would only make me happy in the long run and most likely no one else would notice.

Just a little reminder to myself.  I don't really need to impress others.  I am looking forward to our neighborhood Progressive Dinner now that I have become more realistic and practical and focused on just making our house nice and clean and keeping it simple :)