...hard wood floors. Which first? How do I get rid of the Popcorn ceiling? Or make it look fresher?

I totally agree with "knowitall". You always start at the top and work down. Start with popcorn ceiling; finish and paint. Then paint walls. I would use carpet as drop cloth during all this. Roll up carpet, remove mess. Then install your hardwood floor. !!!Be sure you get your hardwood flooring in your home, preferably the room it's going in at least 2 weeks before you install it!!! Hardwood flooring needs at least 14 days on average to acclimate to your room's temperature and humidity, otherwise you will most likely get gaps or buckles shortly thereafter. Good luck!

It would appear as if Marianne_not_Ginger eventually made it off Gilligan's Island and leaned alot. Do your floor first. The only exception would be if your hardwood floor is prefinished.

Definitely paint and do any work on the walls and ceiling before doing the floors. The old carpet will serve as your drop-cloth.
For the ceiling, you can try sanding down the old paint to make the texture less obvious.

remove carpet...

Hmmmm.......I'm not sure I agree with Des about painting before doing the hard woods. The thing is, the hardwoods generate sooooooo much dust. I literally had to wipe down my walls and baseboards for days after my floors were done. It leaves this "orange" tinge of dust everywhere. I would so hate to see this on your newly painted walls and baseboards. I say do the floors...........remove all the dust.......then paint. But again, just my opinion. *shrugs*

Popcorn ceilings can be removed with a good old fashioned 6 in drywall / spackling knife. Granted it is messy and time consuming, but I have found it to yield the most consistent and reliable results.

If you are putting down hardwood floors, definitely do it in this order

1. Remove Carpeting
2. Repair and Paint Walls
3. Install Hardwood Floors

Now, if you are doing work on the ceiling, I would do that either just before or just after step 1.

Sorry, I have to disagree. Paint the walls first, then install and finish the hardwood. Any paint drops on the wood will be extraordinarily difficult to remove.

As for the dust on the walls (yes, it will happen), but a Swiffer is just the thing to take it off without a mess.