oakley - your Easter plans sound very relaxing. trail & natal - thanks so much for sharing the recipes! busy - I've been seeing many gluten free recipes lately. Also, the bakery and every restaurant is now offering gluten free. I hope you find something easily. bonnie - thanks for the Costco tip. I may see if there are any stores near us. There are so many house prep things to do this morning, going to see how far I get. Thanks again it is a smarter idea to buy the entire rack and cut it myself. No wonder my butcher always seems sooo happy. tina - love that you're going out to your DS, The menu sounds wonderful. lukki - Welcome spring. I love your meal plan. bethpen - Some of DD's friends didn't come home for this Easter weekend at all. Their Easter breaks fell too close to the actual holiday this year. They were home last or the week before. I like your idea. Have to make the best of the situation. sherman - lemon cake with berries - you're making me hungry. sounds yummy. gscience - I can relate to the busy week. If I were you I would go out for the holiday. Thanks again for your replies. Still making progress... Hoping the owner of the globe grape app stops by. Found the grapes, but not sure what to do with them, lol.

Golddust, Too fun-nay! I have my very 1st Mac - an SE30 (this is an all in one with a black and white, 9-inch display, for those who need to brush up on their Mac history ;-) - sitting right next to my Mac G5 (earlier version of the Mac Pro, the current mama of all Macs), that I'm typing this on. I have no doubt I could fire that 21 year old baby up tomorrow and it would run like a top - S-L-O-W - but it would run ;-) Got the original keyboard, mouse and cable, and I bet if I looked hard enough I could find the software somewhere around here, not sure about the manuals ;-) I'm terribly interested in your BIL's baby - do you know how old and what size his monitor is? Mine is the largest sold at the time (approx. 8 years ago - yep, I'm using an EIGHT YEAR OLD, albeit top-of-the-line, Macintosh and it runs better than any PC I've ever used, period, the end), a first generation 30" Cinema Display and I use it as a TV/DVD/DVR too - is he planning on using it this way or has he already got it set up? If already set, I would really enjoy hearing the specifics or, if not, I can make recommendations based on my experience (and would provide an email addy if you want to take this off-forum, JLMK, I don't work for any software or hardware company, just so you know). BTW, all of the software I use, even the ancient OS 9 apps mostly fill my 30-inch Cinema Display. I suspect there is a display settings change needed. I'm running (an older) OS10.4.11, aka "Tiger" (so I can keep my OS 9 apps, even though most are laughable crutches at this point), but I've been using this Mac since "Jaguar" and the software has always mostly filled the screen. The current Mac OS, for those trying to keep up, is Snow Leopard, LOL! If I could justify or luxuriously afford an iPad, I'd probably get one, but I've got an iPhone, and it's very efficient for how small it is, so I'd probably opt for the Macbook Pro instead, if I could afford/needed it, even! As I said above, my 8 yr. old G5 leaves nothing to be desired except an Intel chip to run newer apps and mobility. But it won't be long now... ;-) Oh, wait, my car will be 10 yrs old next year, LOL! natal, Glad you got what was best for you - it really depends on your usage and comfort when choosing a computer, even for PC users *roll eyes* *snicker* J/K

Wow, Thank you everyone for taking the time and responding. I appreciate all of the advice (even if it isn't exactly what I was hoping to hear). I'm going to try and respond to all that I read but if I miss something, I apologize now. ~The placement of the stove: I looked at slide-in stoves online last night. I do like the look of them and think its GREAT that the crumbs wont be able to fall on the side of my stove. I didn't even know they existed tbh. It would also eliminate the need to finish the inside edges of the counters (a question I had asked earlier). I think I will purchase one. Sadly, I do not think it will stretch over enough to eliminate the 2 inches of counter on either side. Those 2 inches add a lot of expense. It creates another 45* angle and that small piece to the left just seems wasteful but if I was to pull that part out it would look lopsided compared to the cabinet above it. I thought about doing a wider stove and microwave but even if they had the right size it would make that corner REALLY unsafe.The placement/safety of the stove...I wish I could move the stove now. I would like to have an island eventually with a stove and a proper vent above it. That would be my ultimate plan when we tear down the wall but for now it has to stay where it is. I didn't know it was "unsafe" but that does make sense. I am not sure what qualifies as a landing next to it but for now if I needed to use the side counter I do have space to the right of the stove. I use that area often when cooking. It's more useful than the pictures represent. Also, if there was a pan on fire that I needed to move I would probably just throw it in the sink which is so close and use the fire extinguisher that is nearby. I have 2 young kids and I am very cautious with pans. I remember commercials from my childhood that told parents to keep pan handles turned in. I usually only put long handled pans on the inside burners and they are always turned in. Thank you for informing me about the safety concerns. It is something to consider as we plan for future renovations. ~~Many of you are encouraging me to live with the counters and save the money for the bigger reno. I do understand that thought and I have tried to tolerate it. In the pictures they don't look that bad but the laminate goes up the walls and the seems are starting to look crappy. I want a backsplash (that isn't laminate) but I just cant see doing that with the current counters. The sink I hate. I want a large-1 bowl-undermount sink. My hubby never wipes the counters when the water splashes so the caulk frequently looks dirty/stained. I want the new sink so badly that I'm going to have my plumber lower my waste pipe so it can fit. I figure that the counter will be off and the cabinet can be moved so now would be the time to do it. I can't have an undermount sink with my current cabinets bc they aren't solid surface. I did decide to think about it a little more though and I am trying to vision my kitchen with the current counters and a new backsplash but (despite the money I would save) I don't think I will be able to change my own mind. ~~In the future, when we tear down that wall I would like to change my complete layout. We have a wide but narrow kitchen. I live in a typical 4 bedroom colonial with an addition off the back that is our family room. The back 2 rooms of the 4 rooms original to the 1st floor are the kitchen (with a small area for a kitchen table) and the dining room. Both room are long and narrow. The front 2 rooms are also long but wider. I want to open up the left front room to the left back room (kitchen). The stairs and front door are in the middle. BUT, even if $ doesn't allow a full remodel/layout change, I can tear down the wall, move the washer and dryer downstairs (into what will be my dream laundry room), add a few tall cabinets on the right of the fridge for my pantry and garbage/broom closet that is currently near the washer/dryer, and move the new cabinets, fridge and current cabinet that is to the left of the fridge down. The rest of the wall and the wall that is perpendicular to will be removed. Then when you walk through my front door (that is in the center of my colonial) the entire left side will be an open sitting room/kitchen. It might sound wrong but it is exactly what my next door neighbors just did. We have the same layout. Her contractor did it for a fantastic price. I could do that now but because my kids are young my husband and I want to keep a toy room on the first floor that has a door we can close. In about 5 years we will be ready. Our basement will be finished off and the kids could move down there. That was a long winded explanation but ultimately if I can afford all new cabinets when that reno happens (and I'm planning to) I like the suggestion that someone gave that I could reuse the new counters. It might work out perfect for the new laundry room with some adjustments. ~~Someone else suggested just doing a "spruce-up". That is exactly what I am doing :-) The photos show the 'before". I just replaced the fridge (the one in the photo is the new one) and you can see in the 1st photo that I started taking down the cabinet doors to touch them up and replace the hinges/pulls. The front of the peninsula area is missing the doors in the 1st photo. I finished those the other day and put them back on. They look brand new again. The hinges fit perfect and are now brushed nickel (instead of brass). The pulls looked good also but after putting them on I found pulls I like better last night and ordered all new ones. That mistake made me realize I need to plan better. As far as the rest of the "spruce up" goes...I'm doing appliances, backsplash, hardware, paint on walls and molding/trim/doors, new kitchen table/chairs, kitchen cart, light fixtures, fan, window treatments, and accessories. But in order to start picking out anything else I need to decide on a counter and backsplash. I'm thinking I will ask for help when it's time to make the other decisions because I am not ashamed to admit--I need the advice! ~~Someone asked about the brand of fridge...oh boy was what a pain in the a** that was-lol. Every fridge I wanted and that was rated good enough in Consumers Reports was also too big for that space. I wanted a bottom freezer w/french door which didn't help. My husband wanted to know that it wasn't a lemon. I also didn't want water in the door because we have Poland Spring delivery (which we LOVE). After weeks of measuring and searching we finally purchased an LG Model #LFC25765ST 33inch 24.9 cu. ft. from Home Depot for about 1800 although its on sale right now for 1596. I am very happy with it. The fridge is the biggest headache for for the future reno though bc I cant figure out a proper place to put it if I do change my layout completey (but that's a future thread though-lol) ~~Ok, Now that I've written a novel, I want to thank everyone for all the encouragement and advice. I am going to start calling places in my area to get an idea of what the process is locally. I didn't know it varies from place to place. I live in CT, in Fairfield County. I am also going to go look at different solid surface counters in person. I am not 100% sold on granite. I think I should see all of the available surfaces and then go from there. Once I make some decisions I will check back in and let anyone who is curious (Or reading this in the future) know how it turned out. I am also sure I will have a million more questions about the rest of this kitchen. Thank you gain, GHG

Lori, those look yummy! Artichoke Heart And Red Pepper Bites ==================================== From Perfect Entertaining website. These simple appetizers are something that we always have on hand for surprise guests. They freeze extremely well, are very easy to make, and are always popular. They go together very well with the rest of this festive menu and require no preparation time at all on a very busy day. Simply defrost and eat! Makes 60 bites 6 ounces marinated artichoke hearts in oil 6 ounces roasted bell peppers 1 small chopped onion 2 minced cloves garlic 4 eggs 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese 1/4 cup dry bread crumbs 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley Dash hot pepper sauce Freshly ground black pepper Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8 inch baking dish. Drain the artichoke hearts, reserving 2 tablespoons of the oil. Drain the roasted peppers and discard the liquid. Finely chop the artichoke hearts and peppers and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add the reserved oil, onion, and garlic. Cook for five minutes, or until soft and translucent. Remove from the heat and cool slightly. Beat the eggs in a large bowl until thick and lemon colored. Beat in the remaining ingredients along with the artichoke hearts, peppers, and onion mixture. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes, or until pale golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes, then cut into one inch squares. Tightly wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days, or freeze for up to a month. Serve cold, at room temperature, or gently reheated in a 300 degree oven for 5-10 minutes.