EAT THAT FROG?!

I'm just a taddy bit overloaded these days! Lots of unfinished projects... and little time to tie up loose ends!

Do you ever feel like that?

When I get like this my motivation wains! Being overwhelmed = doing nothing!  Here's what I do to help put me back on track...

I MAKE LISTS!

AND

Re-read an old reliable book called

EAT THAT FROG

The premise of the book is... if you knew that you had to eat a frog every day... and some days that frog was very big, very juicy and very ugly... you should eat the frog first and get it out of the way! Now pretend the frog was the worst and hardest task you had that day... eat it first! Many of us get stuck (me, especially) thinking about all the hard things we have to do. It's better to use that energy and just do it. And do it purposefully! 

In three weeks and one day we are hosting a COUNTRY CELEBRATION here at StoneGable for Christopher and his new bride, Abigail.  So exciting!

Of course, I have lists as long as my arm for the Country Celebration... but I am eating them at a pretty good pace! Because of the celebration, the long list of other  "to-do's" have come to a halt!  I'm only nibbling on a couple of them until after the wedding.

Here is a list of the other "frogs" on my plate right now...

*Clean the garage~ this is a big, big, ugly frog that will wait...for now!

Here are a few things Bobby and I are working ...

*Finish the dining room chairs...

Two chairs done and two in progress. Four more to start...   BIG FROG! I told you it would take years!

*Make curtains for the living room and dining room...

Another monster frog!

fabric

*Find a bombay chest or another piece for the wall between the window and the door in living room and paint it...

I'm still on the hunt for that piece!

*Frame the beautiful sea fans from ETSY that go above the bombay chest I have yet to find!

*Strip the foyer, the stairs and the upstairs hall walls of the wallpaper and repaint them...

*Repaint the white buffet in the foyer Country Grey.

Here are just a few things we are working on with help...

*Paint the Family Room and Breakfast Area and Kitchen ...

Bobby has always done all the painting and wallpapering in our homes. But I finally convinced him to let someone else help us!

I love the Benjamin Moore Springfield Tan in these rooms... but my family room is too dark! I just can't go through another season with a dark room.

May 13th our painter will be here to transform those rooms... so I will have to pick out the right color by then. This is not easy for me. I'm not good at seeing a small patch of color and deciding if it is perfect for the entire room!

* Knock out the wall in the family room and add big big windows and transoms!  This is on the two year plan. Bobby is not quite ready to take a bite out of this project. I may need to sugar coat that frog!

*And because the family room connects with the breakfast room and the kitchen... it all must be painted.

* New garage doors..,.

One of our garage door finally bit the dust. I ran into it years ago and we keep getting it fixed... but those days are over! So it needs to be replaced. 

It seems like everything at StoneGable is beginning to wear out. We have lived large here for 18 years and now we are in replacement and redo mode!

 I'm thinking carriage house garage doors will look nice on our garage. 

* Front porch stairs repaired... for some reason, this winter was really hard on or stone and slate stairs.

The mortar has begun to crumble. They need to totally be redone! I am still negotiating a price.

*Outside beds mulched and weeded. We have done this ourselves for years and years. Last year we had someone else do it... and it was so freeing!!! This year we will be able to use that time to get our veggie garden planted.

Lots and lots of BIG FROGS here at StoneGable! 

Because each project is so big, we are choosing one and eating it one bite at a time until it is done! 

The first frog will be the curtains... and the ongoing project of the dining room chairs.

In the book, EAT THAT FROG, the author tells how to break down big jobs so they can be handled or "eaten" in little bites. I have followed this formula for years! This is a great reminder for me. When I am overwhelmed, it's good to have the steps to get moving and motivated again!

Click HERE to see the book.

Do you ever get overwhelmed? What productive things do you do to get moving in the right direction? Please share!!!