December 18, 2012

Outside Temp: 22 F (with the wind, it's kind of chilly... without the wind, it was beautiful)

What I cooked today:
Beef Stew: I normally make my beef stew in a crock pot.  But, while I did get the beef defrosted, I didn't get started on dinner until about 5pm.  So, I just browned the meat, and put it with the veggies in a pot on the stove.  It turned out fine!  No complaints (except Katie, who apparently does not like potatoes in her beef stew... what?)

Update:
We got the Tablet back from the repair company today.  While I was not impressed with their communication skills (they sent me the UPS label, but never contacted me to let me know if they got it or were fixing it.  They sent it back ground, so it took about 3 weeks round trip... a week to get there, a week to fix it and a week to get back.), it came back in great shape!

Amazingly, the company had left it turned on (but in standby) when they shipped it a week ago.  It still had about 40% power when we got it!  They replaced the glass, but everything else was the same, so the kids still have all their games, etc.  They also replaced the keyboard (which lost some keys when it dropped) with a brand new keyboard!  I didn't even think the keyboard would have been covered, but apparently it is!  All this, including shipping (of course) was included for the price of the insurance policy.  Best decision I could have made!

This afternoon, I made it over to the community center for the blood drive.  I LOVE how the ladies around here who schedule these things intentionally schedule the blood drives at the school or the community center, with the required 8-9 weeks between them.  I can donate every time, and NEVER have to actually go into town to donate.  It also gave me a chance to chat with my awesome neighbors for a little bit.  Oh, and get good homemade treats!  Score!