Happy Halloween

Just Chilling Out While Grandma Holds Me!

Today has been a great day thus far. It has warmed up and stopped raining for a bit, we had a faculty breakfast get together this morning, and Seth and I took Rocky for a walk around the block. This is something we have not been able to do in weeks because it won't stop raining!
Roland also finished priming the kitchen last night so we are 95% ready for the drywallers on Monday. The only thing left is to disconnect the electrical on Sunday and we will be ready to go!

As promised yesterday I dug out some new recipes to share with you today. The 1st is a perfect fall soup for a cool night.

Hamburger Soup

1 lb. ground beef

1 onion cut up

carrots

potatoes

16oz. can diced tomatoes

4 cans beef broth

24 oz. tomato sauce

barley

salt, pepper, and garlic to taste

Throw all ingredients in a crock pot and let simmer all day. Top with cheese! ENJOY!

_____________________________________

Carrot Cake

2 cups four

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups oil

2 cups grated carrots

1 small can crushed pineapple

Mix all dry ingredients together, then add eggs, carrots, pineapple, and oil. Mix thoroughly. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes in a 13x9 pan!

Our Backyard After the Big Storms Over the Weekend!

Catching Up!

I feel like I've got a million things to do today, a million emails to catch up on, and my heading is spinning! Unfortunately I forgot to bring a recipe with me today so I'll have to post 2 tomorrow instead!

Update Alert!!!

Our SIL is home from the hospital and doing well. She is home from work this week and has been put on bed rest, but if all goes as planned she will be back to work next week. We are all very thankful that she and the baby are doing fine! So thank you to all of you who said a little prayer for us!

We had a great weekend despite the crappy crappy weather. We've never seen anything like it, the wind was blowing about 50 mph, it couldn't make up it's mind if it wanted to rain, sleet, hail, or snow so it just switched up every 10 minutes. Needless to say it was dark and gloomy all weekend long! We made the most of it though! Sheryl and Eric came up for a visit after not being home since Seth's baptism and we spent most of the weekend with them. Seth got so much play time with everyone this weekend and he was a happy baby.

Seth and Auntie Sheryl

Seth and Uncle Eric goofing around!

As posted on Friday, it was a food filled weekend. We started out Friday night going to Panera Bread and getting the most delicious take out ever. Saturday night I went out to dinner with my friend Ginger and Roland ordered Bernardos for he and his family. Sunday, I made a huge roast with all the fixings and we had a feast with more family! Today I'm reminiscing about all the yummy food I ate and preparing myself for more this weekend as we take a mini get-a-way to Lake Placid. We always go to the Adirondack Steak and Seafood Company and I can't wait to order a juicy lobster tail!!! This week isn't too hectic, tomorrow is Halloween and Seth will hate wearing his duck costume, but we will have fun anyhow. Next week though is going to be a little bit busy. Since we will not have a kitchen starting next week we have enlisted the help from all of our family to feed us for the week. I have asked each parent to have us over one night next week, but as much as I will hate the mess at home I'll enjoy not having to cook for a week too!

Packed With Food Friday!

Ro is harrassing me today because he is coming to take me out to lunch during my break, we are going to our brand new Panera Bread for dinner, and I'm going out with Ginger for dinner tomorrow night. He says that we should be eating leftovers because we are remodeling our kitchen. My motto is "Live it Up!" You only live once and I'm going to eat out as much as I want to!

So with that said here is another fall favorite in our house. I love meals that you can throw in the crock pot and come home to a wonderful smelling house and here is a great one!

Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (Ro calls is strokin' off)

2 lbs. beef stew meat, I used beef chunks all cut up for me!
1 large onion chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can onion soup
1 package of extra wide egg noddles
1 package of cream cheese, cubed up
8oz. sour cream

1. In your crock pot mix beef, onion, and soups.
2. Cover and cook on low heat all day, stirring occasionally.
3. About 15 minutes before serving, cook and drain the noodles. Meanwhile, stir cream cheese into beef mixture until melted and then sour cream. Stir until all melted and blended into a creamy sauce.
4. Serve beef mixture over noodles.

PS= It looks gross, but tastes delicious!!

So we have no major plans for the weekend. We need to prime the cupboards and that's about it. Next weekend is our overnight alone to Lake Placid, that will make for a more interesting post!

Something Sweet

I was looking through my recipes for something different to post and I came across something that I haven't made in a long time because I think the last time I made it, I oded on it and got sick. It is so delicious that you keep eating and eating and eating!

Fruit Dip

1 7oz. jar of Fluff
1 8oz. cream cheese softened
1/3 cup Kahlua

Beat ingredients together with an electric mixer and dip any fruit you wish in it! It is amazing!

________________

In other news, our SIL was doing better. Right now the leaking has stopped, but the fluid continues to decrease and this has the doctor baffled. So at this point her shower is cancelled and we don't know if they are going to deliver the baby early or what. I feel so badly and I am scared for them!

________________

In other news, the drywallers will be coming to start our kitchen on Monday, November 9th! Hip Hip HORRAY! It doesn't look like we will be finished with the entire kitchen by Thanksgiving, but most of it will be complete!

I'd also like to wish my good friend Amanda Keeler a very Happy 30th Birthday today! Have a great day girl!

Update!

It's 1:30pm and I just spoke with Brad. He said that the baby is doing fine as well as Krista and that she has stopped leaking. They will keep her another 24 hours and go from there!!! Thanks for all of your thoughts and prayers!

Please Help Me to Say a Prayer!

Last night we got some startling and a bit scary news. Ro's sister-in-law is due to have her baby on December 8th and has started leaking amniotic fluid, enough to put her in the hospital for observation and tests. They say you learn something new everyday and we indeed did. They have given her a shot of steroids to pump up the babies lungs in the event that they will need to deliver him early. The doc hopes that the tear will mend itself, but he is unsure at this time. This is a very scary time for Ro's brother and his wife and for us all. So if you are reading this please say a little prayer for them!

While we were at the hospital we were able to also visit baby Addyson and if you can believe it I FORGOT my camera AND she has MORE hair then Seth did. I thought he had a record amount of hair, but I was wrong, she has more!!! Rich and Lori are doing great and hoping to be able to come home today!

So we went from tears and crying to smiles and laughter on the very same floor of the hospital!

I also have a good fall recipe to share, it will fill you up and warm you up on a cool blustery night!

_____________________________________________________________________

Homemade Stuffed Peppers

2-21/2 cuped cooked rice

2 lbs. ground beef or gound turkey cooked and drained

1 1/2-2 jar of spag sauce

6-8 peppers

Mix all together, add some salt pepper, and garlic to taste. This mixture should be enough to fill 8 good sized peppers. Cut tops off of the peppers and take out the insides. Drop in boiling water for 4 minutes, remove and drain. Fill in with mixture and bake for 25 minutes at 350. You can put more sauce on them after they are done and top with shredded cheese too!

Kitchen Update: There is no update, I am going to call the drywallers this evening to see where we are at. They said 3-4 weeks and it is 3 weeks today! Hopefully I'll have more to share tomorrow!

Taco Bowls Tuesday!

This is a fun dinner to serve for company, it looks all fancy and hard to make, but it isn't and it's delicious too!

Taco Bowls

20-6 inch flour tortillas
1 lb. ground turkey or beef
taco seasoning mix
shredded taco cheese
__________________
Plus all of your normal taco sides: lettuce, tomato, black olives, sour cream, salsa...

1. Preheat oven to 350. Trim about 1/2 inch from the edge of each tortilla. Put each tortilla in the micro for about 10-15 seconds to soften. Spray each muffin tin with some Pam and push each tortilla into tins. Bake for 15 minutes.

2. Cook meat and add seasoning. Fill each tortilla cup with meat and top with cheese. Bake for an additional 10-12 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the cups start to brown.

3. I put all the sides that I like on my plate, add 2-3 cups, and eat everything like a taco salad.

____________________________________________________________________
Bonus Recipe!!!

Sweet Garlic Dressing

1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 tsp. salt and pepper
1 cup olive oil
fresh clove of garlic

Blend in the blender until smooth! ENJOY!

We went to my Dads for dinner last night for fresh venison from the 2nd deer my Dad has gotten this year. He's having a great hunting year and we are reaping the benefits. We had a delicious dinner and my Dad even made my all time favorite, cole slaw. It was awesome as always and I even for a doggy bag to bring home for lunch today!!!

Our friends Rich and Lori also had their baby last night at 10:30pm. Addyson Grace Starr graced us with her presence and we can't wait to meet her this evening after dinner! We told Seth this morning that his new girlfriend was born last night. He now has about three little girls to choose from. The rest of our friends/family have had boys this year. Needless to say he will not be lonely for friends in the future! I'll be sure to take pics and post them tomorow of Miss Addyson!

Congrats Rich, Lori, and Sydney Anne!

Chicken and Broccoli Braid

This is the best appetizer/light dinner if need be!

2 cups cooked/chopped chicken

1 cup chopped broccoli

1 clove of garlic (pressed)

4 oz. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/2 cup mayo

2 tsp dill

1/4 tsp salt

2 packages crescent rolls

1 egg white

1. Preheat oven to 375. Chop chicken and broccoli up fine and put into a medium sized bowl. Add pressed garlic and mix.

2. Add shredded cheese, mayo, dill, and salt.

3. Unroll 1 package of crescent rolls and arrange the longest sides all the way down the baking sheet, repeat along the opposite side with the second package of rolls.

4. Spread the filling evenly over the middle of the dough. Braid by lifting the strips of dough across the mixture to meet in the center, twisting as you pull it over. Alternate just like when you braid hair and tuck the ends under at each end.

5. Brush egg white over the top using a pastry brush. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until deep golden brown.

So so so good!

Updates All Around

I'm so hoping that this blog will let me upload pics today, because I've got a ton! Despite having the mommy sickies this weekend we kept on going. Saturday we took a trip to Hamilton to visit my brother, AKA Uncle J at Colgate. It was a beautifully sunny yet cold and windy day. We made the most of it though. Seth loved Justin's dorm room and Ro and I were very mellow despite the fact that he was probably crawling around on all sorts of infectious germs. What won't kill him will make him stronger right!!! We took a long walk around campus and then ate some very delicious chinese food downtown. Seth was amazing, he slept all the way there (2 hours) and half the way home. Colgate is such a beautiful campus with such great views, but boy is it hilly. I don't see how any student could gain that freshman 15 while attending, what a work out!

My brother goes to quite a prestigious, intelligent, and wealthy school. As we walked around we saw money basically everywhere. By that I mean expensive cars, clothes, and such. The dorm that he lives in this year is primarily an African American dorm. While the school feels the need to put all of one race together is beyond me, but my brother happens to live in a dorm that has always been an AA dorm, 3 of the 4 floors are AA. Justin lives on the 4th floor and apparently there is some tension between floors. He wanted to make sure to show us the new painting that was hung on his floor. I couldn't get over the school allowing it to be hung and on an all white floor. It just goes to show that times have not changed and the world is a very scary place.

My brother does not agree with it and is quite mad at the whole situation.

On a happier note, Justin loved Seth's hat enough to want to wear it!

When we got home Roland was in full swing to start more demo on the kitchen. For all that remember, we previously had some shelves that hung from the ceiling, but they also sort of divided the kitchen from the breakfast nook, so we decided that as long as we were making a mess of the kitchen we might as well make an even bigger one and we tore them out. Now it looks so much brighter and bigger and I actually feel like I could be cooking and also chatting with whom ever is there if they were to sit in the breakfast nook now. Seth was so amazing watching Ro tear down all the old shelves.

This is what Seth looked like while trying to eat and watching Ro work on the kitchen!

A special Happy 9 month Birthday goes out to my little man today. 9 months ago on a Monday just like today you were born! My how time is flying now!

I'm going to post my recipe of the day a little later today, I actually have to go and teach! Opps!

Thank God for New Recipes...

As promised here is my second day of recipe swapping! I dug through my recipe box and picked out 2 more recipes, they arent' my very best, but I was on limited time so I'll do better next week!

Haddock in the Oven

1 can French Fried Onion Rings
3/4 Cup of parmesan cheese
1 Cup of plain bread crumbs
Haddock
Milk
butter

Crush onion rings and blend with pam cheese and bread crumbs.
Roll haddock in milk and then roll in dry mixture.
Place fish on baking sheet and pour 1/2 stick of butter over the fish
Bake at 500 for ten minutes!

Hash Brown and Cheese Casserole

(32oz.) package of has browns thawed
3/4 Cup of butter
1/2 Cup chopped onion
1 Can of cream of chicken soup
(8oz.) sour cream
1 Cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Combine potatoes, butter, onion, soup, sour cream, and cheese. Stir well! Spoon into a greased casserole dish. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes. Delicious!

I have to include a picture of my student Zac, who brought in his accordian to play for our class yesterday. It was amazing and somewhat a lost art! He was pretty proud of himself and the kids thought he was amazing! The Charlton family will be traveling to see Uncle Justin tomorrow at college. It is supposed to be a nice fall day so here's hoping and here's hoping that Seth is a quiet and good boy on the 2 hour car trip to and from Hamilton! Pics to come!

Recipe Swap

As promised here is the first edition of my recipe swap! I have chosen one appetizer, good for Sunday football games, a night in watching a movie, or having friends over to hang out. The second is a dessert that fits the season with all its apple goodness!

Chicken Wing Dip

2 packages of cream cheese
1/2 Cup sour cream
Cut up chicken strips (cooked)
Buffalo Wing Sauce
Shredded Taco Cheese

**Soften cream cheese and mix in sour cream. Spread on the bottom of a cake pan. Add chicken and then Buffalo Wing Sauce onto the top of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with shredded cheese and heat at 350 until warm 10-15 minutes depending on your oven. ENJOY!

Apple Bread

2 Cups sugar
3 Cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3-4 peeled and cut up apples
1 1/2 Cups oil
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 Cup chopped nuts (optional)

** Mix all ingredients together and put into loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 60 minutes or until brown on top. **** Be careful though last time I used one of those new silicone pans and it took half the time. Just watch it along the way to judge the time!

I have made it in mini loaf pans, muffin tins, and large loaf pans!

I hope that you enjoy these and I'll dig out a main course and side dish for tomorrows edition! Have a great Thursday!

Work in Progress!

We continue to work on our kitchen. Over the weekend Ro tore out the drop ceiling in the breakfast nook and last night he and his dad framed up the ceiling in preparation for the drywall to be installed, hopefully soon. The pocket door has also been installed and it is anxiously awaiting drywall as well. Our next step will be to take all the hardware off the cupboards and then prime them. It is basically a big old mess right now, but we are making progress in the least!

New Pocket Door

Since carving Seth's pumpkin is out of the question this year I went to Michael's and bought some puffy paint and wrote his name in his pumkpin. Next year we may be in carving mode. We will carve and Seth can scoop out the guts!

Starting tomorrow I am going to start posting my favorite recipes to share with you all. Nina has her swap page so I think swapping some recipes might be fun. Stay tuned for a surprise recipe tomorrow!

Seth all Bundled for our Night Walk!

That hat melts my heart every time I put it on him, he looks so sweet in it!

Bam Bam

So Roland's new nickname for Seth is Bam Bam because he has a Yankees bat and it is basically his favorite toy and he loves to suck on it and of course hit the floor or anything in his range with it while yelling out "Mama" as loud as he can. It is so funny!

I've been a little out of touch lately, but I just haven't had much to write about. We had a great weekend and now we are back to the grind. Friday night was date night and we had an amazing meal and then we stopped at Walmart on a mission to find a DVD of kids songs recommended by a friend. We didn't find it, but we did get Seth a new toy that he loves.

Saturday night we went to Ro's parents for the first family dinner in months. The meal was delicious and Seth and Lexy had a great time together.

Sunday Sue and I went to the Folk Art Show in SYR and we had such a great day. The exhibits were different from the norm and then we stopped and ate at Zebb's and of course got a 6pack of cookies to go. The weekend flew by and I found myself extremely tired on Sunday night. I think I was in bed asleep by 8:45pm! Now we are full blown tearing up the kitchen. Ro has pulled down the drop ceiling and he is framing up a new one to get ready for the sheet rock to be hung. The floor is half torn up and we will start priming the cupboards ASAP! We are also slowly starting to clear the rooms out in anticipation of the incoming dust from the sheetrock! I try to forget about it and move to another room less messy. I know it will be beautiful in time!

Date Night!

I've been a little out of touch this week. Between having Monday off, Tuesday was Superintendent's Day, Wednesday was back to work and I can't believe that it is Friday already. I unfortunately have no new pics to post, it's been a pretty bland week for photo opps.

We had a wonderful homemade meal of fresh venison stew at my Dad's on Wednesday night, that was an unexpected treat. If I had brought my camera you could have seen the larget pot/kettle in the world full of this stew. It was HUGE! plus it was a very windy cool evening so it was a perfect meal. Last night was girls dinner night at Sherri's so tons of food and wine were served and all sorts of girl talk. We had a great time. When I got home Ro was all upset though. Apparently Seth had taken a nose dive into a wicker chair moving it and causing a nose bleed, his first nose bleed. Ro felt like a bad dad, but hey, it could happen to anyone. When Seth wants to do something there is little you can do to stop him these days! When I got home I was on a mission to watch my favorite show, Grey's Anatomy. Ro didn't want to watch it so I sat downstairs and laughed all by myself, while Ro laughed at my from upstairs! It was a great episode and now I can't wait until next Thursday. Thursday is my new favorite day! On the way to school today we were having a debate on which doctor is the cutest. It is a close call, but I think that McDreamy is cuter, but I wouldn't say no to either of them, they definately keep you tuning in!

Tonight is Date Night and we are going to our favorite restaurant Ryan's Lookout in Henderson. They close for the season next weekend so we are psyched! We haven't been out for date night since August so we are looking forward to it.

Belated Wrap Up

It has been a crazy couple of days and I have been unable to post all of the great pics from the weekend. We had a great Columbus Day weekend. Saturday we went apple picking with the whole family. We did it up: hay rides, pumpkins, good eats, and of course apples. It was such a warm and sunny fall day you felt so great being outside and enjoying it.

I had to take a pic of what my brother ate just for lunch. This must be what I will be looking forward to in the future having a boy.

My grandmother was so funny. She has been insisting on buying Seth many of his first items lately. She wanted to buy his hat/mittens for the winter, his first pair of boots, first pair of shoes, and on Saturday she followed us around the pumpkin patch so that she could buy Seth his first pumpkin that literally cost $1.23. It made her day so if she's happy we are happy! We totally appreciate her thoughtfulness!

Bags and bags of apples we picked in order to make all sorts of goodies: apple bread, apple crisp, and apple pie just to name a few!

The sunglass twins: Both my mom and my gram have very sensitive eyes and thus wear their shades all the time. I pick on my mom because she'll be wearing them on a cloudy day!

My Gramp AKA Abe Lincoln's twin

Sunday was another amazingly beautiful day and Ro went golfing with my stepdad and then we went over to my mom's for dinner. I knew that the weekend was too good to be true and then came MONDAY! I had Monday off due to Columbus Day so it was going to be just Seth and I hanging out. Well, Monday started off teething hell week! I felt so bad for the little guy and I did everything to make him feel better, but nothing worked and it felt like the longest day in a year. Luckily, both of his top teeth have broken through and we are crossing our fingers for some smiley days now!

Before I forget, I'd like to wish my stepdad Tom a Happy Belated Birthday as well as Bob Keeler. Both men had birthdays earlier this week!

Well, it is a rainy and gloomy day and I had to break out not only the socks, but the turtleneck sweater as well. Signs of things to come. Good-bye flip flops until next year! I'll miss you!

Welcome Storm

I drove down to SYR yesterday and visited my friends Erin and Jason and Seth's new best friend Storm. It was so funny holding him and looking at him. I had such a hard time remembering when Seth was that age and he is only 8 months old. My how time is flying and how much Seth has changed in the past few months. It is crazy to think that he couldn't hold his head up, sit up, crawl, or smile once upon a time. Now he is all over the place and keeping us very busy!

Storm Minor McCullouch

After I left the hospital I drove to Ginger's house to visit with she, Haley, and Nathan. We had such a great chat. It felt like ages and ages since we have been together and able to gab. Then we took the kids to Target (dangerous). I was looking for something Seth could wear under his duck costume in either yellow, white, or orange. I was successful. I also found a complete Yankees track suit for the winter and I was going to buy it when Ginger grabbed it from me and bought it as a belated Christianing gift. I was super excited and of course Seth loved it!

I had a pleasant surprise when I got home and Seth was dead tired from the sitters. He napped from the minute we got home until 6pm. So Mommy had some down time, much needed. In the evening the drywall people came and measured. They can't start for a while, but I'm sending out positive thoughts that MAYBE they will be able to come earlier then planned. Tonight we have not plans, but tomorrow we are going apple picking with the whole family. Even my brother is coming home from college for the weekend.

Seth's new favorite thing to do in the bath is SPLASH!

Step 1

We started, I should say Ro started Step 1 of our renavation process last night. We stripped down part of the flooring, moldings, and old door in preparation of the pocket door installation today! As you can see Seth was doing his darndest to help out, basically cheering Daddy on!

I can help Dad!

The kid will chew on ANYTHING!

When I grow up I want to be like my Daddy!

In other news, my friend Erin finally had a baby boy named Storm Minor this morning at 5:56am. He weighed a wopping 9lbs, and I thought that Seth was big! I will be taking tomorrow off to drive down to Syracuse to see Erin, Jason, and Storm. Pics to come.

My friend Ginger also called and her daughter's hearing surgery also went well. I will visit she and Haley also on my trip to Syracuse Thursday.

My friend Erin Mayne's daughter's collar bone surgery also went well. So basically my stress filled Tuesday turned out to be successful in the end. Thank you for all of your well wishes and prayers!

Night Walks

First and foremost I'd like to send out positive thoughts to all of the people in my life that are undergoing surgery today. First, my close close friend Ginger's daughter Haley (4) is having Coliclear (I know that I spelled it wrong) Implant surgery today to update the computer that allows her the ability to hear. Loving thoughts go out to her. Second, my close friend Erin Mayne's daughter, Taylor (13) is having surgery on her collar bone to put a new fiberoptic bone in place of one that has shattered. Third, my close friend Erin McCullouch is going back to Syacuse in the hopes that she gets induced today. She a over a week overdue for her first and more then ready to have this baby! With that said, I'm feeling a little stress today in the hopes that all parties surgeries go well.

My Festive Fall display on my front porch

Last night we took the most wonderful evening walk. We decided to push dinner back and get outside before it was dark. We bundled Seth up in his warm clothes and we were off. It was so great. Walking in the fall is great because you don't sweat and feel gross.

Seth is not too crazy about wearing a hat, thus the look, but he looks so stinkin' cute in it!

Papa Charlton also stopped over last night for some play time with Seth and tired him out before bed. We loved it and we love visitors! No invite necessary!

A friendly game of peek-a-boo!

I just talked to my sister who is coming over to cut my hair tonight, HOORAY!!!! This mom hasn't gotten her hair cut since last February! I'm in dire need!

Calm Weekend

We had a very laid back and calm weekend. Friday night we basically did nothing. Saturday Roland was on call and Seth was catching up on sleep he missed out on during the week at the sitters. So he slept for 2 hours in the am and an hour and a half in the pm. Al, Ro's cousin, who owns a construction company came over to look at step 1 of our kitchen remodel. We are putting in a pocket door in the kitchen because our current door opens into the stove and it always in the way. We thought a pocket door would be more sensible. So that will be installed on Wednesday!!! Saturday night we went to our friends the Voss' for dinner and it was yummy!

Seth with our friends Jamie and Andy

Seth enjoying someone else's excersaucer

One of Seth's girlfriends, Maya Voss

Sunday started out rainy and yucky so Seth napped most of the day once again. We did manage to make it to Super Walmart to get groceries and stock up. We also went for a wonderful fall walk before dinner. It was the perfect fall night.

Back to the kitchen remodel. You are probably thinking, "What kitchen remodel?" We have decided after going back and forth back and forth that we can not find a new house right now so why not spruce ours up in the mean time. We have decided to get a new kitchen floor, counter tops, walls, a pocket door, stove, and fridge. Our current oven/stove is literally from the 50s and totally uncleanable. Then, in the spring hopefully we can replace the carpet in the livingroom and put down a wood floor in the diningroom. The door gets installed this week, the drywall people are coming to measure later in the week and hopefully start ASAP, then everything else will fall into shape. I'm so excited. I have always wanted a burnt red kitchen (walls) and I'm finally getting it! I'll be taking pics as the reavation progresses!