Who Needs Christmas?

I actually love Christmas (who doesn't?), but as far as presents go, it doesn't really matter to me. Especially when every year we keep seeming to buy all "the big stuff" a month or two prior to Christmas, because we NEED it before then. At first I thought it was kind of a bummer that I wouldn't really get much to open on Christmas Eve (yes, Eve in our house), then I realized I really like it this way. It lets me focus more on the spirit of giving, on the birth of our Savior, and on friends and family. I think from now on I'll just ask to receive all gifts a month or two in advance ;)

So... Today I went and bought myself a few early Christmas gifts... they weren't really planned gifts, but we realized they were much needed, and had to squeeze them into our budget, (aka- our credit card). We had received basically everything we needed and then some for our wedding, over 4 years ago. Things we didn't receive, I already had acquired while in college. The only "big" item we didn't get were some nice pots and pans. We were so broke when we first got married, we went to Walmart and bought the cheapest/largest set they had. We paid a whopping $35 for 5 pieces.

This last month, as the weather started to cool (in my head anyway), and I started to cook more, I noticed a lot of gritty black stuff in my mashed potatoes. The fake-cheap-probably shouldn't be allowed in stores- Teflon started peeling off ALL my pots and pans! It was really gross, and I've heard of that stuff being toxic, and well, I couldn't possibly poison us or my guests, so we made a decision to buy some nice new ones! We went all out and bought the real deal! I was so excited I think I might have caressed them a few times while we pulled them out of the box!

Here they are in all their glory!

The website picture doesn't do them justice, so here's a little close up, which blogger wouldn't let me rotate.. grr..!

They're a hard anodized surface...whatever that means... this is what the website says "Hard-anodized surface is twice as hard as stainless steel and provides excellent heat conductivity for even cooking with no hot spots!"... so that sounds spiffy- and exactly what I need-want.

It's a 12 piece set, plus as a bonus, I got an additional roaster pan, some nicer-than-my-dollar-store utensils, and my favorite part- a santoku knife! Yay! And the best part is we got it for about 75% off- which was literally hundreds less than it originally cost! Dirk thinks it's weird I get so excited over these things...whatever.

So the same week I noticed our pans might be trying to kill us, I dropped Dirk's beloved, greasy sandwich maker on the floor and it shattered- like glass! Sheesh- how did that thing last so many years of crazy college roommates if it was so fragile?

I went and bought this nifty little sandwich maker-grill-waffle maker thing for the same price as a cheapy sandwich maker. The picture from the website is much prettier than I could have made it seem. I'm sure you all care.

The next day my blender started smoking and screaming at me, then almost made a ginormous mess, but I saved the day, while catching it mid air while the pitcher was literally flying off the stripped turny thing (that being the technical term). Thank goodness I saved all my yummy strawberry smoothie from covering my kitchen. I tried to find a nice blender at the store for not so much money, but I just couldn't bring myself to paying $40 for one! I'll just have to wait until later.

So basically, I destroyed a good majority of my cooking devises in record time. I think I deserve a medal. I think I also deserve an award for being the messiest cook/creater of anything person ever. We decided this week after I dropped something (I can't even remember what it was now, it happens so often) all over the floor, that I should start a business. I could make a lot of money by making messes, if anyone would hire me. I'm a pro at it. I don't think there is a single situation in store for me where I can't make a mess! Anway- that's another blog another time...