Amazed at my Brilliance

Earlier in the day, I saved us from the predatory effects of an unnamed satellite giant with a name like a bowl. (Yes, thank you kind installer for charging me an additional $17+$5 per month for the last year for NOTHING. He just creatively hooked stuff up & billed us incorrectly so we had to pay through our teeth.) Because success at crazy feats seems to come in waves, I decided tonight would be the best time to tackle the problem of the wireless internet outage. The internet has been getting slower & slower & then finally it failed a few days ago.

Tonight, I sat down at the computer & reconnected the phone to the modem, the modem to the router, and the router to the computer. I may have been distracted for a few moments before I glanced at the router & noticed that the pretty blue cord looked like it wasn’t plugged in all the way.

Now the wireless internet works. I’m a genius!!! Seriously, what if all problems were that simple to solve???

Antiquing

I had excess energy this morning & decided to go "antiquing" in our food storage room. I unearthed many treasures & made quite a junk pile for the boys to take to the trash & the recycling bin after school, piano, track, and baseball practice.

I have decided that I need to use powdered milk at a more significant rate than heretofore. I have at least 18 cans that are from y2k. We won't drink it or use it on cereal but I will look at everydayfoodstorage.net for some great ideas - baking, pies, yogurt, smoothies, & Magic Mix.

BTW Magic Mix is a magic concoction to keep in the refrigerator to substitute for cream of anything soup. As a bonus, it has no modified food starch so I won't get a headache!!!

I un-boxed many cans for storage & put them on the handy-dandy shelves that Scott built for us a few years ago. And after a rancid experience with
Stored mayonnaise last week, I have discarded a few old (>6 months) bottles of mayonnaise, Miracle Whip and salad dressing.

As for antiques I found a case of corn from SAfeway in Washington State, chili mix from long, long ago, and other buried treasures. (Who stashed pop tarts in the basement? Hm?)

Do you store food? Do you use an inventory? How do you use the cannery soup mix? Let me know what works for you!

The Dentist

I did not mind going to visit the dentist until seventh grade. In middle school I discovered the wonder of the vending machine and SPC (sugary salted processed crap) including candy and soda pop. I suddenly went from having perfect teeth to having cavities. Ugh.

And about the same time my dentist started using student hygienists to do the cleanings. Ouch!!! The System must have worked differently back in the day because they were learning on my mouth. I still get nervous every time I have to check in, don a bib, and open my mouth.

We had talked about my wisdom teeth & decided that there was space. I made a deal with my first adult dentist that if the wisdom teeth unwisely chose to get cavities, they would be pulled. The dreaded day came and the teeth had to come out. Our insurance would not pay for me to be put to sleep. And since I was so anxious about the whole thing, we decided to have my dentist pull the teeth. He warned me that morning that he was low on happy gas. Okay, just be fast!

The dentist numbed me and gassed me up. Headphones on & John Tesh started playing for the last time. The dentist put his foot on my chair ... And he pulled & he tugged & he pulled. (One tooth down, one to go!) First he pulled hard & then he pulled harder & ... The tooth shattered leaving the roots behind & the gas running low. I muttered through my grimace, "I don't like you anymore." He numbed my mouth as well as possible & had his secretary call the oral surgeon for an emergency extraction.

Scott drove me home & I miserably waited four hours before I went to the oral surgeon. I don't remember much beyond sitting in the chair & then waking up in the middle of a different song. As we were leaving the front desk lady recognized Scott & said something to the doctor Scott had done a merit badge clinic or something else Boy Scout related for their troop. The doctor kindly (very kindly!!) forgave our bill beyond what the insurance company would pay.

And so here I sit waiting for the dentist to come and give me final clearance. The hygienist is sweet and patient with me & I think I had a good calm appointment. If the wrong dentist walks in (they rotate based on who's available at whatever time), I freak out. My friend Dr Rouse is gentle! Here's hoping for many many years of happy smile and twice per year panic-free sessions. :)

Amazed at my Brilliance (cough)

My wireless internet has been down for a few days. Earlier in the day, I saved us from the predatory effects of an unnamed satellite giant with a name like a bowl. (Yes, thank you kind installer for charging me an additional $17+$5 per month for the last year for NOTHING. He just creatively hooked stuff up so we had to pay through our teeth.) Because success at crazy feats seems to come in waves, I decided tonight would be the best time to tackle the problem of the wireless internet outage.

I sat down at the computer & reconnected the phone to the modem, the modem to the router, and the router to the computer. I may have been distracted for a few moments before I glanced at the router & noticed that the pretty blue cord looked like it wasn’t plugged in all the way.

Now the wireless internet works. I’m a genius!!! Seriously, what if all problems were that simple to solve???

Guess what?!

Jared just finished the entire Harry Potter series. He read every single book. Wow!

And so it begins...

Last summer and fall I visited granite stores and warehouses in search of the perfect granite to go with our maple cabinets. We finally went on a Friday after running and saw our favorite - Delicatus White. I am certain that the fabricator did not believe me when I told him the good news. (It took almost a year to decide!)

I love the granite - lots of variation of color & pattern & texture. Our white appliances are now getting gently phased out - gently because of budget not because of any soul-connection or anything. I picked out tile shortly after the granite was installed. It's called Bottocino marble.

And it has done a beautiful job of waiting for me to muster up enough courage to start the process. Today is the day!! I have a bridal shower at my house next week & what better incentive is there than public humiliation? One tile up and several hundred to go! Any advice is welcome.