Funnel Salt Cake

Yep. Funnel. Salt. Cake.

Ingredients:

French Fries

Powdered Sugar

Dump powdered sugar all over french fries. Then dump some more because I know you didn't dump enough the first time. (Notice I didn't say "Sprinkle".)

Enjoy!

New House: THE BEFORE

My husband and I have been planning on building a house just up the street from where we live now. We made a long list of things that were really important to us. My list included, stainless steal appliances, a 6 burner range, double oven, nice hood, granite counter tops, lots of counter room, etc. You know, all the necessities! (ha!)

Andy's list had things on it like movie theatre room, audio/video wiring throughout the entire house, and a man cave. Also major necessities!

The other more realistic things on our list included, more bedrooms, a room of its own for the baby grand piano, a bigger kitchen open to a family room, linen closets, a bigger master bedroom/bathroom, the list went on and on.

Since I'm 8 months pregnant, most of these plans for building went on hold. And it was decided that in the Spring we would dig. That WAS the plan. Until Andy's aunt, our neighbor, my friend, showed up on Friday, July 9 and told us to go look at a house for sale on the other side of town right by the school. Her husband, Uncle Jerry, is the realtor and gave us a nice tour on Saturday, July 10th. We really liked it! It didn't have the dream kitchen or the dream movie theatre room but it had everything else on our list! We looked at it again on Sunday, July 11th. (My birthday!)

We decided with interest rates at historic lows and with a baby on the way, we should do it! (Besides, August was looking pretty lame anyway. I'd be done teaching, just resting up before the baby is born. Enjoying some naps and frequent trips to the bathroom. BORING! We needed more things to do! -not!-) We made an offer on Monday, July 12th and sold our house on the same day. Everything lined up into place and now here we are packing!

The plan is to close on Friday, July 23rd and start moving little things over. The painter comes on Monday, July 26th and we do the big move on July 30th! Our goal is to get settled into this house before this baby pops out to see it.

Here are some BEFORE pictures of the new house. I'll be posting the updates as they come!

It needs a little white picket fence... :-)

Here is the front entry way which leads up the stairs, to the formal living room, or through to the kitchen. White walls everywhere. Next is the formal living room. Can you see the decorator's feet? The formal living room leads to the dining room. The dining room leads to the kitchen!

Here's the kitchen! It's very spacious but I do look forward to bashing it in and putting in one or two fancy appliances and some granite! The kitchen also has an informal dining area. Then is quite open to the family room! The carpet in the family room is navy blue, and while it is so soft and plush, its got to go!

Here I am back at the front door. Just under the stairs is the powder room. The gold has got to go! Around the corner to the left is the family room, laundry room, and a 3 car garage.

Upstairs is the master bedroom and master bathroom. A LOT of white.

Across from mommie and daddie's room is Baby Adam's room! Soon to be blue (again)! Down the hall is the upstairs bathroom. The wall paper is coming down! And a shower curtain is going in! Then at the end of the hall is Andy's Man Cave. Andy's Man Cave even has a special back cave for Adam to keep all his toys. HA! The toys will invade every room, I'm sure!

The last room on the upper level is the spare bedroom which my mother has claimed as her own. (Remembering back to when I was 13 years old and desperately wanted black curtains in my room but mom thought that was a bit too dramatic... perhaps NOW is the time to put in some black curtains and perhaps THIS is the room to do it in! Just joshing MOM! kinda.....)

Back downstairs to the main level is the deck and the deck over looks a little waterfall. (Here fishy fishy fishy!)

The backyard is beautifully landscaped and I have A LOT to learn about plants and not killing them. But I am up to the challenge! The middle picture is back to the front of the house and the twirlly swirlly tree things that Andy will be maintaing! And along the north side of the house is a dozen or so fully grown spruce trees! They're just gorgeous!

Needless to say, we're feeling so blessed. We're lucky to have found this house and to have sold our house so quickly. We're lucky to have so many wonderful friends and loving family to help us get in the house quickly and out of the current house. We aren't taking a bit of this for granted and are overwhelmed with gratitude.

In other unrelated house news: Today was my party/shower with all my students. We had a blast and I'll post pictures soon!

Until next time,

Sheila

Sheila OUT of the Kitchen!

Can you believe my last post was November of 2009?

Well, I've been busy!

January 1st 2010 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! It was also this morning that my husband I woke up and found out "we" were pregnant! What a way to start the NEW YEAR! (It was this day that a huge craving for Grandma's sweet pickles started!)

Without going into too much detail - my husband and I had been waiting for this day for awhile. We had prayed for it, saved for it, dreamed about it... and now here it was! I spent the rest of the winter in hibernation mode. I got up out of bed only for the necessities and then went straight back. Most of January, February, and the first part of March are a blur. Food sounded awful. I was STARVING! But nothing sounded palatable! Except anything my mom cooked. My wonderful mother made us food often and brought it over. She made Andy his favorite meals too. Do you know how much life is easier when there is wonderful, yummy, and nutritious food already for you to heat up and enjoy in the fridge? My mom knew this and took very good care of us. (And still does!)

Soon, the grass started to poke through the frozen ground and we could see the beginnings of Spring. Hallelujah! It was a hard, cold, wet, frozen winter. I was starting to get rounder and rounder. I had found some long lost energy. Andy and I started shopping for baby furniture and making plans to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery. Now we just needed to know what color to paint. Pink or Blue?

There are two types of people in this world. Those who love surprises and those who don't. Guess which one I am? :-) I most definitely do not enjoy surprises. I'm a huge planner. I LOVE to plan. I LOVE to plan to plan. And I like to plan my back up plan! So needless to say, we opted to find out what we were having as soon as possible!

It's a BOY!!! So, let me tell you how I remember finding out: We were in the ultrasound room, and the doctor was scanning the baby and telling us how healthy and great he was doing. Then she said, "Do you want to know?" Up until this point, we were convinced we were having a girl! Everyone told us they were sure we were having a girl too. So we thought how could all these people be wrong? Clearly they SEE something in my growing belly that I can't see! So, about a week before the ultrasound, we started calling this baby a "she".

Well, the doctor pointed to the screen and pointed to this "thing." Clearly, this baby is all boy as there was no mistaking the "thing". Tears were welling up in my eyes as it was all becoming even more real. And I started immediately making plans and checklists. Blue paint, monkeys, brown curtains, tinkle teepees, the list went on and on. Andy and I got into the elevator on our way back to the car after finding out we were having a beautiful baby boy. The door closed and Andy started chanting, "IT'S A BOY! IT'S A BOY! TWO to ONE! TWO to ONE!" I smiled at him. How naive, I thought. Doesn't he realize the power of the mother? Then he wisely realized, "Your vote probably counts more than ours, huh..." Um, YEAH!

We decided to name him Adam Jones Dokulil.

It wasn't long after that Adam's flutters started turning into full fledged kicks and rolls and punches. He's an active little guy! I swear I felt my first flutter before the end of the 1st trimester. By week 15, he was getting bigger and stronger. And before I knew it, it was time for my first baby shower.

I have the most amazing church family. The women in my church are especially wonderful. They take care of everyone. And they took care of me. My pastor's wife and the church choir that I direct through me such a special shower. They had the entire room decorated with baby toys that they sent home with me. There was amazing cinnamon rolls, sticky pecan rolls, fruit, juice and we were serenaded as we ate. We played some games and then opened presents. I was so touched by the generosity of these women. I'll never forget it.

A second shower was held on June 26th at my sister in law's house. Aimee out did herself on everything from food to games to gifts and her amazing hospitality. It was a wonderful day!

Here we are now in July! I'm 8 months pregnant. We had our 32 week checkup and Baby Adam is doing great! We actually got to see his face today! For the last 15 weeks, he's had his arm, elbow, feet, legs, etc. in front of his face keeping us from getting a good look at him. Currently, he's still in breech position. Most babies have turned head down by 34 weeks. I'm not sure if Baby Adam read the manual on how to be born yet. But we're not worried!

(Can you see his eyes, and nose, and mouth and chin?)

The year is half over! Its been an amazing year full of surprises. I'm overwhelmed and humbled by God's blessings. We are so thankful and enjoying every single day.

(I MADE this! I MADE it! Go here to Andy's cousin's blog to find out how! She's got awesome tips and ideas! Plus her kids are adorable!)

This weekend is my shower/party for all my students. It's bittersweet as I will be "retiring" from teaching at the end of July to prepare for the baby and then be a stay at home mom. I'm so excited for the opportunity to spend so much time with my kiddo but I will sorely miss my students and their families.

Check back soon for more pictures and updates! I promise to do better! (Ok - I promise to TRY!)

Love,

Sheila

PS - Constant Craving: ANYTHING POTLUCK... Mmmmmm

PPS - How pregnant are we?!?! Me and my best bud - partners in crime!