Yuck!

I finished painting both my kitchen and dining room, and last night I finished painting my bathroom. That's 3 rooms in 3 days, yay! Jason asked if I wanted to eventually paint the family room, and I looked at him and just said, "NO WAY." That was before I got into it. Now I'm rethinking my words, lol! I found that, at 2 a.m. when I was painting the bathroom, I was getting my groove on and really enjoying myself! I mean, I had my iPod cranked up with the new playlist I made (I'll list the songs at the bottom for your perusal), and I was jammin' out! Seriously! I was thinking about a lot of things, and one of the thoughts that crossed my mind was that I wouldn't actually mind painting for a living. Jason says it was just the fumes going to my brain, but I don't know. I really enjoyed it.

Tomorrow is Josie's birthday party for my friends and my side of the family. So far I think only two family members are coming (MAYBE 3) - I don't know for sure because apparently no one ever looks at the RSVP section of the invitations I send out. I have issues with some family members, can you tell? HA!

Anyway, after I finish my touch-up cleaning today, I'll try to take some photos of my beautiful newly painted rooms. I can't promise I'll post them if the pix turn out bad, but I'll try. Hurricane Josephine really limits what I can get done during the day, you know?

At any rate, I haven't shared a recipe in a while, so here's a yummy one, and my favorite cupcake recipe, like, EVER. (My own recipe) Some of the ingredients may not seem like conventional cupcake ingredients, but trust me and try it. You'll love it.

Michelle's Chocolate Cupcakes

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 2/3 c. granulated sugar
2/3 c. dutch process cocoa powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t salt
1/4 t baking powder
3/4 c shortening, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 c water, room temperature
1 t vanilla
1 t instant coffee granules
a pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners, or grease and flour the cupcake pan.
2. Cream the shortening and sugar together. Add eggs one at a time, blending completely after each one.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, coffee granules, cayenne pepper, and salt.
4. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, and blend well. Mix for 30 seconds on low speed, and then mix on high for 3 minutes, scraping the bowl down as you mix.
5. Add the vanilla and blend. Then add the water (batter will be fairly thick).
6. Pour batter into cupcake liners (or greased and floured pan) until they are 1/2 to 2/3 full.
7. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.
8. Cool for at least 10 minutes in the pan, and then move the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely.
9. Frost as desired. (I find that a drizzle of chocolate syrup works just as well as any icing.)

My current iPod playlist

1. The Way I Are - Timbaland
2. No One - Alicia Keys
3. Paralyzer - Finger Eleven
4. Come Around - Collie Buddz
5. Tattoo - Jordin Sparks
6. Mystified - Rocco DeLuca & the Burden
7. Song For You - Donny Hathaway
8. Love Is Free - Sheryl Crow
9. Dance Tonight - Paul McCartney
10. Does Anybody Hear Her? - Casting Crowns
11. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
12. Sailing - Christopher Cross
13. Love Like This - Natasha Bedingfield
14. Give It To Me - Timbaland f. Nelly Furtado & Justin Timberlake
15. Why Can't I Be You? - The Cure
16. The Space Between - Dave Matthews Band
17. The Trouble With Love Is - Kelly Clarkson
18. As The World Falls Down - David Bowie
19. Love Is A Losing Game - Amy Winehouse
20. LDN - Lily Allen