we have fire!

So after several phone calls, two weeks of waiting, and an accumulation of parts, we have working gas logs!  So the part that the company sent me was not going to help with our current problem, but it may be useful in the future if the thermocouple or pilot light piece goes bad (especially since the part costs about a hundred dollars).    The thermocouple, the pilot light, the oxygen sensor, nor the gas line was the problem.  The part that our installer had pointed to was the problem it is just he didn't have the name right, the thermocouple attaches to it, it is just a temperature sensor and it was malfunctioning or maybe loose.  Our installer tweaked it, showed me how to reset it, started the logs and they have been working great ever since.  Jeff tried calling the company again to get a new part, but they wouldn't help him out and so he has to wait and see if they malfunction again since they seem to be working fine now.  So I kept them on all afternoon and we were able to turn them off and back on again after dinner.   I am thankful we didn't try and fix it ourselves because we could have messed things up, I am also glad we didn't buy a replacement part, but most of all I am thankful they finally work. 
So today we just hung out in the house all day long, it was all good until about 5 o'clock, you know that time when I can't referee because I am trying to make dinner.  I made a new recipe I found on Pinterest for dinner tonight.  I am a little hesitant to try and make new things because I am afraid we won't like it and the food will go to waste, but I stepped out of my safe zone and tried a new recipe for macaroni and cheese.  I was a little afraid because it used evaporated milk and eggs and A LOT of cheese and did I mention it was a Martha Stewart recipe which can be scary in of itself since she is not known for safe and easy.  Lily my macaroni and cheese lover gave it a thumbs down, but Jeff and Lance really liked it.  It was like a quiche with macaroni noodles instead of a crust, it was good, not my favorite.  Next time I think I would only make half a recipe because we barely ate half of it.  One benefit to this recipe over my standard is that the whole wheat noodles weren't as noticeable. I usually use half whole wheat and half regular noodles and we can usually tell the difference, but in this recipe we couldn't. 
So it has been one week and we have kept with our meal planning, tomorrow will be the real test.  The Chicken Alfredo shells for tomorrow are good, but they are a pain to make and you can't really make them ahead of time so we will see if I can stick with my schedule or if I will wimp out.
I failed my walking outside everyday streak today, even though saying I walked Sunday was a stretch, today I only opened my door to get the mail, no walking outside, maybe tomorrow, it is suppose to be close to 30 (twice as warm as today).  Or maybe I will just wait until the weekend. . .
So tonight I am grateful for a working gas log fireplace, that we survived a inside all day, for friends who will come over for a playdate on a moments notice, for working at a community college that starts a week after my kids, and for Mars Hill podcasts, but that is a post for another day.