COFFEE!!

From Fake Science.

7 Quick Takes Friday - XII

1.  I have been informed that my little 5-year-old boy is very popular with the 4th grade girls.  They apparently think he's a sweet little boy (which I think he is as well, but then, I'm a bit biased).  Dunno when they're around him to form this opinion - recess, I suppose.  But it was cute to hear.

2.  Garage sale scores - a $30 Madeline doll for $1 (tag still on it), and a book entitled "Ninja Secrets of Invisibility".  Hey, it was 50 cents, I HAD to.  A cursory flip through the book reveals that it is about stealth.  It'll be a nifty read. :D  There was more that I bought, but those were the two most interesting, to my mind, at least.

3.  Finally got a replacement wheel for our lawnmower.  The hubby had NO luck trying to get one last fall, and barely managed the final mow of the season with an epoxied-and-taped wheel, which held together juuuuust long enough.  When he tried finding a replacement, the dealer finder on the Toro website was NOT working, thus a bunch of fruitless trips.  Yes, I suppose he could have ordered one, but he had been hoping to find one in stock to finish that last mow done with an intact wheel.  I decided I would try to track one down yesterday, and behold, the dealer finder WORKS now - so it took us less than 5 minutes to get the location of a nearby dealer, another few minutes for me to call and find out they had a wheel in stock, and that afternoon, I picked it up.  Much easier, LOL.

4.  While doing that, I passed by a few places in the nearby city that I typically don't drive by often - one was Arby's, which is where I grabbed lunch (I probably have Arby's about once a year - not b/c I don't like it, but b/c I'm just never going that way, so it has to come to mind and/or I need to specifically want *that*).  The other was a Mexican grocery store, which I had been meaning to stop in and check out, but hadn't really had the opportunity yet.  So I did - and I WILL be going back.

Meat prices were fantastic, they had some different produce at decent prices, and a whole lot of Mexican-bottled Sprite!  WOOHOO!  If you have never tried it, DO.  It has real sugar (as does Mexican bottled Coke, etc.), and it has more lime to the flavor than the US bottled/canned Sprite does.  The local grocery store does have a spot for it, but never has it in stock.  Now I know where to get it. :)  The hubby is pleased. 

At any rate, I did pick up some Sprite, bananas and some cookies -  wafer cookies, like the vanilla/strawberry/chocolate ones - but unlike those, the ones we've tried so far (dulce de leche) didn't leave that kind of filmy feeling after.  And of course, no HFCS - sugar sugar sugar.  Now, I'm not one to call cookies health food, heh.  I know they aren't. :D  But no filmy aftertexture (well, it isn't really an aftertaste, is it?) and real sugar?  And REALLY good?  Nifty.  And a fair number of different flavors available (as well as the standard vanilla/strawberry/chocolate), such as mango and guava.

5.  One oddity spotted at the above grocery store, and I imagine it's just b/c someone was pulling up whatever on the meat pricing label just to get the packages marked - one pound packages of crawfish were labeled as "imitation crab meat".  Not crawfish meat, either.  The whooooole crawfish.

6.  Also, I had noticed before that one of the play grocery store items that Calla has, which is supposed to be a 2 liter bottled drink, has a label declaring the flavor to be "aloe".  I figured this had to be some kind of mistake - well, kind of, anyhow - that they used that recognizable 2 liter bottle as the representative container for any non-canned liquid, and that it was meant to be hand soap or lotion or something.  But now that I've seen the soda choices at the store, I see that her toy label was NOT a mistake.  There is indeed aloe-flavored soda available there.  I don't think I'm quite up for trying it, though I imagine it probably wouldn't taste much different than a carbonated herbal tea or something.


7.  Passed by a coin-op laundromat on the way home from there - the name?  "The Lost Sock".  So either they're promising you will find all those lost socks you've been missing, or they're advertising the inevitable result of laundry.  Either way, it is memorable, so I suppose it does work for that. :D

So the big lesson learned this week - if you have an ethnic grocer near you, GO.  You never know what you may find.

7 Quick Takes Friday - XI

1. Been a while since one of these!  Anyhow, the boy is off to school.  Didn't know if he'd be going today, since he was up a lot last night coughing, but he was up and asking about school this morning, soo...we'll give it a go.  Resumed breathing treatments as well, so hopefully that will help.  Allergies are awful right now.

2. Calla likes trains.  Not so much playing with toy trains (though she will), but making trains from lines of chairs or other furnishings...

The view from my seat.  Skeleton bear (thus named b/c of his skeleton costume - he doesn't have his hood up, but Calla prefers it down.  He's her favorite stuffed animal by FAR.) is in front of me, in the dining car. ;)  There's an ottoman in front of the table, but you can't really see it from this angle.

 And the view behind me, where her favorite doll is riding.  Sometime after this, she also added a little toy-sized Cozy Coupe as a passenger as well.

3. We're going to be getting Patrick a new car seat this weekend.  I had been forewarned on one of the message boards I frequent that the one he has now, which can be used with a harness or as a booster, is not a good booster b/c of the way it positions the seat belt on the child's body (lap belt too high).  I tried it to see how it fit him, and yep - it did NOT fit him well at ALL.  It's almost like it held the seat belt out in front of him for him to crash into, rather than position it to lay across him correctly.  He's hit the weight limit on the harness of the seat, so we'll be getting a new carseat for him this weekend (probably a booster only, but I'm open to a higher weight limit harness & booster combo, if we can afford it).  We'll probably move Calla into Patrick's current seat with the harness, because it is SO much easier to get a good snug fit on the harness in his than in her current seat.

4.  Purged some toys from the kiddos' room yesterday and boxed 'em up - they could probably stand to have another box out as well, but I only had one box.  I was going to rearrange their room to see if I could get them more floor space with the beds against the wall, but it didn't work well that way.  Oh well - at least I got a box of toys out.

5.  I took Calla to a baby-to-preschooler age mom-and-kid type music class thinger on Monday - the instructor's son had been in speech therapy with Calla.  I had been meaning to take her for months now, but with the bronchitis and such, it's only now that I finally got around to it.  She didn't quite follow what was going on, but that's pretty typical of the first couple of sessions.  I'll probably go ahead and take her through the rest of this year (only a couple more sessions until summer break), since it's only $1 per session, and then we'll see how she handles it when it starts back up this fall.  I'd like to get her acquainted with a structured activity of some sort, just to see how she does.

6.  Assuming that enough students sign up, I'll be doing a physics class for a local homeschool co-op this coming school year.  It's two hours a week (the co-op is actually one day a week, but they have classrooms secured for a second day for high-school level classes and such that really do need more tutor-led instructional time per week), and the child care during class times is a whopping $5 (though I'll need to check - I dunno if that's available during that additional day or not.  If it isn't, I imagine I should be able to line someone up for that one day per week, since it's such a short time).  The following year, though, I will probably be trying to get into the local school district.  Glad we'll have been able to swing my staying home with the kiddos as much as I have until school age, but it's been tight, and being able to get some savings built up will be a good thing.

7.  Fingers crossed, I think Calla very nearly has this whole potty thing down.  She's very inconsistent with poo, but otherwise seems to have it.  Hopefully that'll come too pretty soon.  C'mon, Calla!!

Dinner last night

Lo, the discovery that snow crab is actually affordable at the grocery store meant that we indulged last night. :D

It was also very nice to discover just how freaking easy it was to prepare.  Not gonna cook like this every week, but I'll definitely be doing it more often.

Sorry it's not more attractively arranged, though, LOL!  And it was rather amusing that the only thing I could find for the melted butter were old baby food jars - hee!  They worked well, though!

(And we did have veggies, but they didn't fit well on the plate, so we had them afterward.  Lemme tell ya, it definitely pointed out just how big restaurant plates are - probably more like the size of the chargers.)

In disagreement about home buying and features...

An article I read recently on How Stuff Works listed ten things first-time homebuyers want, but don't need.  They advise going over your wish-list of home features with your agent to make sure it makes sense for the money spent and for practicality.

And while what they listed weren't bad considerations, I found myself disagreeing with them in many cases - I think largely because of what must have been their mental image and mine of the same features.  It's one thing to get a reality check if you think that, say, putting money into homes with pools is going to pay off down the road, given cost of maintenance and insurance/liability issues, but it's quite another to decide that you need to give up what you want just because it won't yield big bucks.  Even the most average house with no perks suffered in the housing crash - whatever you spend on a house, you risk not recouping.  So giving up everything for a bland home you won't truly enjoy simply for resale is just as big a mistake, in my opinion.

With that, their list:

A Big Yard

The argument against that they give is maintenance, with an eye toward the highly-maintained green carpet-like lawns and extravagant landscape.  Both of which, they say, are not kid friendly.  Okay, I'd agree with that.  But it's a huge jump to go "magazine-manicured-and-landscaped-lawns-are-not-kid-friendly" to "don't get a big yard".  Postage-stamp yards aren't all that kid friendly either.  Just be realistic about what you'll be able to do with the yard.  Just because you won't have an authentic English garden doesn't mean you can't have a flower bed with perennial bulbs and a mowed lawn.  A tip you'll see over and over in gardening magazines - know what works in your area, and work with that - that'll give the most bang for the buck AND for the time.  But that said, if you love it, why the heck not??  As long as you are doing it because you love it, and not because you think you'll get $$$$ out of it for resale.

A Home Theater

The big argument here is against the cost of putting one in, and the likelihood of having buyers later who will shell out the $$ to recoup.  And as above, what they seem to be picturing is the big built-in with the specialized seating and projection system, etc.  But a homeowner could get something close with darkening curtains (maybe even staying pulled back behind lighter ones during the day) and a surround sound system, with whatever TV you can afford.  And?  You get to take the TV and surround sound system WITH YOU, and when you're not watching a movie, the room is in use as your family room.

IF you go for a dedicated home theater with the dedicated stuffs, the article STILL assumes that you're doing it all-out with a huge room that will never be usable for anything else ever again.  A nearly-normal-sized room can, when it comes time to sell, be fitted with a couple of chairs or daybed, or an inexpensive desk, and be marketed as a guest room or home office.  Heck, if it's your basement - easy room to keep dark - then strip the stuff out.  A finished basement with potential is not a bad thing.

As above, again, just don't expect to put one in and have it as a big draw for buyers later.  Do it because you yourself love it.

A Fireplace

Arguments against here are the maintenance, dead space during the summer, and the fact that a traditional fireplace won't really warm a room much (since much of the heat goes out the chimney).  Bah.  As long as you are willing to have it cleaned, then go for it.  Newer options, especially, DO actually allow for heating - granted, these are typically gas fireplaces, but they retain much of the appeal of a traditional one.  Ditto a modern wood-burning stove.

(and seriously, arguing about the dead space inside a fireplace?  Get a freaking screen.  Or candles.  Etc.)

Walk-In Humidor (or wine cellar, or...)

Because, you know, those are common on the first-time homebuyer's list.  SERIOUSLY?

Stainless Steel Appliances

Okay, sorry.  We're not talking avocado green or harvest gold here.  And I do agree with them in their comment about wood-paneled appliances (the type that match/blend in with your cabinets), in that if your choice of cabinetry goes out of style, it will stick out more - but aren't most of those removable?  If not, at any rate, I still stand by my comments about knowing what you're spending and not expecting it to necessarily get you money in the end.  But I guess I see stainless steel as neutral enough that it's not going to stand out in the same way as a trendy color.  And I see a difference between a kitchen with the standard appliances in stainless and a kitchen with the big hoods and an extra convection oven and other specialty appliances that add to the amount of stainless in the kitchen (the picture they chose for the article, of course, had one of those big oven hoods in stainless...).  Most first-time-home kitchens are not going to SCREAM appliance color in that way.

Outdoor Kitchen

This one, they admit, can work if you keep it modest AND you're in a climate that allows for use most of the year.  Otherwise, I'd imagine you could just as easily do with a nicer-model outdoor grill, patio or deck, and deck furnishings (vs. a built-in fireplace and such outside), which will be less costly and which you'll be able to take with you.

Formal Dining Room

They argue against, with money goiong toward other areas of the home, such as larger closets, etc., since most folks won't use it often.  I'd just say to really know whether or not you'll use it.  REALLY think about it.  In our home, we have a separate dining room - but it's an older home, and we don't have another informal dining area attached to the kitchen, so the dining room is IT.  So look at what the home offers, be realistic about whether or not you'll use it, and if you still really love it, go for it.

A Library or Sunroom

They argue that these have limited appeal.  I disagree, depending on how they're set up.  I think their vision of a library is wall-to-wall-to-wall built in bookcases, and their vision of a sunroom, something closer to what I'd call a conservatory - nearly an indoor greenhouse.  I guess I don't see either of those rooms in that way.  A library can easily become a home office or a kids' room - if the built-ins are not on every wall and are deep enough to handle some storage baskets or bins.  A sunroom, if it isn't something more akin to a greenhouse, can do that outdoor-feeling-inside, especially with french doors or the like to be able to open into the yard or onto a deck or patio.

(So in this case, I think their vision of what a library or sunroom must be and mine must be rather different.)

Have to agree with them on one thing.  They don't like those bump-out-greenhouse-windows either. :D  Hee!

A Shed

Their argument against is that they can be an eyesore (depends on the shed, in my opinion), can be moldy/mildewy inside (again, depends on the shed), and it can advertise a lack of storage space inside.  But really, if we're talking storing lawn/garden equipment, a maintained decent-looking shed can be perfect (I think, given their comment about sheds taking up lawn space, we're also thinking of different-sized yards - but then, they argued against the large yard, too.  A small yard isn't going to need a hefty lawnmower, you know?  And a larger yard isn't going to be overpowered by a shed).

Pools, Ponds, water features

Their arguments here are the amount of time and money that go into maintenance, as well as the insurance/liability issues from the possibility of drowning (since children can drown even in a small, shallow pond).  I would simply say to know what you're getting into with the maintenance, have a talk with an insurance agent about insurability, and consider your own family makeup and your likely guests.  Water features are not something to do as investment, I agree. 


In all of these cases, their arguments have to do with a first time home and resale.  My argument is this:  Know your budget, know what you will REALLY use and not use, and then act accordingly.  Again, we've seen how the market can bottom out and make even the most wisely-designed-for-resale home unsellable - so as long as you're not depending on getting all of that money back out of the home soon, then get what you will use and love.  Better to be stuck in something you LIKE than in a home in which you gave up everything you wanted for some future resale date.

Hee! Physics test funny.

see more Epic Fails

Discoveries

My folks spent the past week here.  Much of The Barricade was thanks to the acquisition of a new chainsaw, which was desperately needed in order to cut branches that the Big Snow had broken.  Many many branches were cut, ten windows in the house have been replaced (yay for getting rid of drafty single-pane windows!) leaving only the eight in our room undone, and the leak in the roof has been, I think, fixed.  The hubby will be checking it again today with the garden hose to make sure before he begins work repairing the ceiling of my bathroom.

I'll be very happy to have my bathroom back.  And my laundry room - there are tools on the floor that, although mostly out of the way, don't really allow me to get to the dryer as easily.

The funniest part of their visit, though, had to be when I asked my mom where she got the mug she was using for her coffee.  They were at our house, but I didn't remember having that kind of mug.  She pointed to my cabinets.  Would you believe, there was a cabinet that I just had.not.used. in at LEAST a year, probably more like two or three?  I don't know why - i just never did.  Sure enough, there were some mugs on one shelf, a pie plate on another, and a couple of travel mugs/drink bottles and an ice cream sundae dish on the third.  I've now rearranged some of the things from other cabinets to make better use of the space from the Undiscovered Cabinet.

I knew it wasn't just a false front/decorative cabinet.  Why the heck wasn't I using it?