Out with the Old, In with the New...

Ok, so I wasn't exactly referring to the New Year specifically, but while we're on the topic, Happy New Year!!!  2010 was a year full of changes, some good, some not so good, but what year isn't like that?  I am looking forward to a fresh new year.  I'm not a big goal setter for the New Year.  I love goal setting, just not the whole hoopla of goal setting on a particular date.  Anyway, a few of my (ongoing) goals:  continuing to become more secure in who I am and who I want to be.  Focusing time and energy on friendships that are worthwhile, friendships that give and take, not just take.  Letting the 'little stuff' roll off my back.  Becoming more accepting of others, less judgemental.  Walking closer to my Heavenly Father who will make all these goals worthwhile and fruitful if I seek Him first in all of them.

So, what WAS I referring to in terms of out with the old, in with the new?  Are you ready?  Drumroll please...POTS & PANS!!!  Yes, I know, it's so exciting!!!  For me. 

The truth is that it was time.  My faithful pots and pans that we used wedding money to buy, over 15 years ago, needed to be laid to rest.  It's been bugging me in the back of my mind for a couple of years now.  I took an informal cooking seminar thingy a few years back and our lovely instructor, Mrs. Marilyn, taught me a few things about my kitchen.  I'm such a keener when it comes to domestic stuff..I LOVE it!  Anyway, one of the first things she said in her class was this:  "please tell me none of you are using T-Fal, or nonstick, cookware!  Right???  NONE of you...because if you are you're slowly poisoning your family!"  My keener, nerdy smile quickly disappeared and I was thinking everyone must be cringing inside because we ALL use it right?  RIGHT?  crap, nope, we don't all use it, just me.  In my defense, I follow the instructions (as any good keener shoud) and only ever turned my pots up to medium heat, never max, and I always hand wash them.  But the reality is, my finishes were starting to come off, and I couldn't fool myself into thinking that the finish was only coming off when I was washing them.  Anyway, long story longer, I took Marilyn's advice and decided to slowly start replacing my cookware with something good quality and safe.  Marilyn recommended Paderno cookware.  It's a high end cookware, but it goes on sale every now and then.  I watched for the sales and over the past 2 years had slowly started buying one piece at a time.  Ouch, hate spending that kind of money on pots and pans.  I had 3 pieces of this beautiful cookware, and I was too scared to use it.  I only pulled it out when I ran out of pots while I was cooking a large meal.   Pathetic, I know.  But, BUT, I'm happy to announce that thanks to my parents' generosity this Christmas I am the new owner of a beautiful set of Paderno cookware!  (Applause here, ok, nevermind, I'll do it for both of us)  My parents are incredibly generous people, and I was totally fooled when I opened this heavy wrapped box.  Even after I tore the paper off I still thought it was something else in the box because I was thinking my mom had taken my advice and bought herself a great set of pots and pans earlier this year.  Sneaky woman, she is.  Anyway, when the lightbulb finally came on, I realized that I was the lucky owner of this stellar cookware.  I took it home, put it on the floor and just stared at it for the first few days.  What would the implications be of opening these up and putting them in my drawer?  Well, caution to the wind, I did it.  I DID IT!  I carefully took my old faithful, pathetic, poisoning pots and pans out of the drawer, cleaned the drawer (new pots and pans deserve a clean drawer) and replaced with my new ones.  I had a moment with the old ones, thanked them for our years together.  Kidding, I didn't, that would be lame.  The only thought I gave the to the old ones was, 'what do I do with these, can they be recylced?...ah, I'll let hubby decide'.  So yes, my friends, not only are those pots and pans sitting pretty in my drawer, but I've used them.  Multiple times.  And, I LOVE them. 
Ok, insanely long post for a new set of pots and pans, but I pride myself in the fact that the little things in life still excite me.  Thanks Dad and Mom, for the pots and pans, and for my love of exciting 'little' things.
So, goodbye to these guys:

And Hello to these babies...

 
Editor's Note:  I thought it would humorous to add that I met Mrs.Marilyn for lunch yesterday, after I'd already pre-scheduled this blog post, and she handed me a Christmas  present.  It was heavy, and shiny.  Guess what it was?  A kick butt frying pan.  Marilyn says she can still recall the look on my face when she gave her talk about using non stick cookware.  And as fate would have it, she gave me the one size pan that I didn't have.  Yeah...my life is complete.  That is, the pots and pans portion of my life.  Thanks Mrs. Marilyn.  You rock.