My 100th Post

I started this blog 5.5 weeks ago and this is my 100th post! w00t!

I had a very productive day! After dropping Jake off at school I went to Aldi and grabbed groceries. I was very excited to find a set of 3 stacking cookie racks for $6 there. I tested them out this evening with a quick batch of cookies and they worked well! Then I went to the indoor walking track and walked for 30 mins. After getting home and unloading groceries I started to clean up the dining room so that Dori and I could do a craft. Then I remembered that I wanted to move my Mac upstairs. I got a laptop about 4 months ago and my Mac has been mostly ignored since then. A few years ago when I moved my sewing room up to the dining room so that each child could have their own bedroom, I bought some mission style cabinets that I have been storing all my sewing/craft supplies in. The middle cabinet is actually a computer cabinet. So the cleaning of the dining room became a huge project. I took out several boxes of sewing supplies that I rarely use and moved them downstairs, shifted things in cabinets, and brought my Mac, printer, and EHD up. I managed to move the cabinet myself, strung a power strip through, and got everything all hooked up. So now I have my Mac in the cabinet and my laptop on the dining room table just behind that. With my awesome computer chair, I can just swivel around and go between both computers.See that beautiful dining room table? It belonged to my grandma and I would estimate it is over 75 years old. I paid quite a bit to have it shipped here around 6 years ago. It came with 6 chairs and great table pads. The 5 leaves to the table have a custom made crate that holds them. Anyway, I really love the table and how big it gets. I love the leather top pads that came with it.
Well....today Dori was playing with one of the pads and setting it up on it's side to make a little fort. Then she pulled a sticker tag off the felt bottom of the pad. I decided to look at the sticker to see if there was a date on it. What did I find? Genuine Heat-Proof Asbestos Table Cover with the name Asbestos, Asphalt and Insulations Mfg. Co, Chicago on it. ASBESTOS???? YIKES! A quick google turned up instructions for making an asbestos table pad to prevent your table from getting burned by something hot. WHAT? I emailed a good buddy at public health and she explained the possible risks. I do not believe we've been exposed at all because the pads are in excellent shape, but it's still scary! I LOVE those pads! As you can see from the condition of the table, they've done a great job of keeping the wood in excellent shape. We have removed the pads and will be following up with the IDPH or EPA to find out how to dispose of them.

Dori and I finally got to the promised craft activity this afternoon~ making necklaces. She had a hard time falling asleep last night and I promised her a fun activity today and told her she needed to get some sleep. She patiently waited and then I got the beads and string out. She did not want ANY help at all. Parker came home and wanted to make one and she said NO! LOL! She is very proud of her necklace and couldn't wait to show Daddy! I am going to try to do more special projects with her.Tonight we had a really yummy dinner. Eric had to force himself to stop eating so that he would have something to take for lunch tomorrow. It's a crock pot recipe that we will have again. I think it would be FAB with turkey leftovers substituted for chicken after Thanksgiving!

Cheesy Broc Chicken & Rice

1 cup long grain rice
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion salt (I used onion flakes instead)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I put in a little more)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 cups cooked & shredded chicken
3 cups water
16 oz frozen broccoli flourets

Put all ingredients into crock pot except for the broccoli. I threw in some leftover rotisserie chicken that I had frozen a few weeks ago, including a few legs. I just pulled out the bones before I added the broccoli. Cook on love 6-7 hours or high 3-4 hours. Since my chicken was frozen, I put it on high for about 1.5 hrs and then low for the rest of the day. Add the broccoli about 1 hr before serving. Mine did not come out watery at all, but if yours does just remove the crock pot lid for the last 15 mins of cooking.

Have a great Thursday!