7 Quick Takes: Jan 2nd

Jen's got her weekly "7 Quick Takes" back up and running again. Go check it out!

One
Yesterday, I bought HUGE dutch oven. It is a 7 quart blue-enameled cast iron monster- and I love it. Ever since I purchased my Julia Child cook book and ran across a number of recipes calling for a dutch oven, I've been mulling over this acquisition.

Le Crueset is THE BRAND, of course, but I really can't justify the expense right now (about $260). I'd been considering going with a brand that got good reviews for being a quality inexpensive one (about $50 at WalMart), even though there were some things I didn't like about it (knob could only go to 350 while pot could go much higher...a little smaller size than I liked). But then...low and behold, I found a Cuisinart brand (with an enameled cast-iron lid knob, too!) at TJ Maxx for $70! It retails at $125. I had some Christmas money to spend, so that was a happy cash purchase.

Two
I used my new dutch oven to make a delicious pot of black-eyed peas and sausage last night. Gotta eat my black-eyed peas on New Year's Day! I'll post the recipe on my food blog: To Every Meal A Season. It was REALLY easy and got rave reviews from the whole family. And it doesn't require a dutch oven to cook - but it sure was a nice pot to use.

Three
Trying to order parts for a crib I'm borrowing from a friend. The voice mail says, "We are closed for the Holidays and will re-open on Jan 2nd." But they aren't answering their phones. Oh, well...guess they decided to extend their holiday break until Monday. I don't blame them. Can't believe it is time to get that set up!

Four
Spent New Year's Eve Day reorganizing my laundry room/craft/school supplies. Hubby and the boys hung some new wire shelving back in November and I finally had some time to really work on getting them all organized in an efficient manner. I've got mostly art supplies, school games, and "table time" activities ...and of course the laundry and cleaning supplies. Today, I'm working organzing my "desk" space (really just a corner of the kitchen counter). Maybe I'll post photos when I finish.

Five
Another project for today (and this weekend) is working on the rest of my lesson plans: Science, Ancients, Literature, etc. These plans might make good fodder for blog posts, too, no? I'll share documents via GoogleDocs as I finish them - and add books to my Amazon "aStore". Let me know if you find this helpful. (And any books you purchase through links on this blog or from my "aStore"earns me a tiny bit of credit at Amazon - not much, but enough to purchase a good book every now and again.)

Six
Our dishwasher is broken! It has been giving us problems intermittently for the past year, but not enough to cause us a real inconvenience. Just occassionally it won't start right up and it needs to be opened and closed a couple times before it "clicks" on...well, now it isn't starting at all. Luckily, I did find some info on the web to help us try to fix it before we call in a repairman. I'll let you know how that turns out...Oh, how my hubby LOVES plumbing work. Update: It was a 15 minute, FREE fix! Apparently, this model (GE Nautilus) has a fan that sometimes gets stuck and this shuts down the motor as a safety feature. The fan just needs to be cleaned off and loosened up. Yea!

Seven - The Best for Last
This upcoming week is our court date for our adoption (don't know which day, yet). We do not have to be there in person, but will be represented instead. Pray for everything to go well - and for a positive outcome! (The judge should give a "favorable opinion" followed by the final adoption decree about 2 weeks later.)

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