7 Quick Takes Friday (vol. 94)
You may notice things look different over here at Chez Conversion Diary; unfortunately this is not the new site. It’s still the Blogger 2.0 upgrade I had to do in order to transfer to WordPress. I hope to have the new look go live this weekend. Can’t wait to see what you think!
UPDATE: If you see this note, then you ARE seeing the new site. Welcome!
A few people have asked why I’m going through all the effort to switch from Blogger to WordPress. Two main reasons:
- Because I want improved interaction with readers: WordPress has threaded comment feeds to make discussions more clear (important to me since we have a lot of discussions around here), and it’ll allow me to ask for email addresses with comments so that I can respond to folks privately. Also, I can’t wait to install CommentLuv to facilitate commenters discovering one another’s blogs.
- Because I’m a nerd: I’d probably stick with Blogger if it weren’t for the fact that I’m a web developer by background. Writing code is what I do for fun. I once created my own rudimentary blogging platform using PHP and MySQL just for kicks. Blogger isn’t really set up for people whose idea of a good time is staring at lines of code, so I’m really anxious to get the developer control that comes with WordPress.
I’m back in love with breakfast casseroles. I had stopped making them for a while, in part because I developed this superstitious worry that they attracted scorpions. (Remember that day I made my pregnant friend jump on a book with a scorpion under it? That was like the third time I made a breakfast casserole and then saw a scorpion in the house.) Anyway, I’m back at it now, and I love it. I make one and eat the leftovers for a few days, then make another one. It really helps me stick with good eating habits to have something fresh and healthy already prepared.
UPDATED to include a couple of my favorite recipes:
- This mushroom feta breakfast casserole
- I also modify this “Christmas” breakfast casserole by adding more eggs and substituting a package of spinach for the bread
Here’s a cool tip for fellow scatter-brained people: Keep a write-on/wipe-off marker in your bathroom so that you can writer reminders and notes to yourself on the bathroom mirror. I’m amazed at how often I think of something I need to do the next day just as I’m about to go to bed, and being able to dash off a note on the mirror comes in very handy.
I recently installed JungleDisk for an online backup system, and I love it. I’d had really bad experiences with other companies’ products, and I’m so happy to find one that actually works — and I love the peace of mind of knowing that I’d have easy access to recently-updated files if anything happened to my computer. It took me a fair amount of research to decide on JungleDisk, so I thought I’d throw that out there in case anyone else is looking for good backup software. (This is not an ad, just a product I like.)
Yesterday I took a casserole dinner to some friends who just adopted three children. As I drove home, it occurred to me that I get a ton of use out of my casserole carrier now that I’m part of a church community. There’s always so much going on with births and adoptions and illnesses and other times of need, and people are so good about coming together and helping one another; it seems like there’s an opportunity to cook for other families at least once a month! Honestly, next time I’m invited to a convert’s first Communion, I think the gift I’ll get them is a casserole carrier and a bunch of disposable pans — they’ll definitely get a lot of use out of them!
It’s funny how much moving a blog is like moving a house: at first it’s exciting to have a brand new place, then the move itself ends up being far more epic than you could have ever imagined. You know that moment when all the big boxes have been moved out, and you feel like surely you must almost be done, but then you walk back into the house and see piles of stuff in every corner, and you wonder why you ever got yourself into this in the first place? That’s where I am right now with the blog transfer.
Anyway, I’m going to get back to cleaning up my new “house” so that I can have you all over for a little housewarming party in a few days. Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Below is a linky list if you’d like to add a link to your own 7 Quick Takes post. (1) Make sure the link you submit is to the URL of your post and not your main blog URL. (2) Include a link back here.
I look forward to reading your posts!
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Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
I LOVE this look! It’s beautiful. I will say this…thank God for blogger for those of us who have no clue what code is supposed to do or look like. 🙂 What a gift you have!
Thank you so much, Michelle!
Also, a note to others: the other comments from today have temporarily been lost as part of the transfer process, but I’ll work to get them back. Thanks!
-Jen
#3 – you know what I like on breakfast casserole? Hollandaise sauce!! I know, not so good for the diet…. 🙂
Your blog re-design looks great. Thanks for featuring my Mushroom Feta Breakfast Casserole too!
That tip about the dry erase marker/mirror is genius. I was just telling my daughter the other day I need to put a notepad in the bathroom… I have some of my best todo ideas in there first thing in the a.m. except I think a paper pad may get wet. I also had a small dry erase board in my bathroom before but didn’t like the way it looked so I removed it. Using the mirror/dry erase marker just the solution I was looking for. Yay
“I once created my own rudimentary blogging platform using PHP and MySQL just for kicks.”
. . .
Excuse me. I need to go lie down with a wet cloth on my forehead.
I love the analogy of moving the blog is like moving in a new house. I recently switched to WP as well, and while I love it, you’re exactly right –there’s still a lot of housekeeping going on behind the scenes, and it’s been a month since I moved.
The new site looks beautiful!
Great new look of your blog, Jennifer!
Oh – and thanks for the link to the ‘literal videos’. You’re right – easy way to suck up time! I especially liked the Tears For Fears “Head Over Heels”.
As you put the finishing touches on your new “home”, I hope I can get added to your blogroll.
I’ve been a lurker for quite some time. I’m very young and I found your blog by complete happenstance (act of God?) and started to read it from the very very beginning while I was in college. Your journey has been inspiring and was very uplifting at the end of a stressful school year. During my move home this summer, I lost what month and year I was on, so I started to read the up-to-date entries. Anyway, I was in Borders today, and I saw a cookbook that was titled something like “500 Casseroles.” I was wondering if you have seen it.