Happy Monday everyone! I hope that everyone had a great weekend and that spring is starting to show in your neck of the woods. In the Bay Area, it finally stopped raining and on Saturday it actually got above 70! I was very happy and celebrated by taking a nap (inside). I know it doesn't make sense, but I left the windows open, so I don't feel too guilty about it!
Before I get to the confessions, here are a few random thoughts churning around the old noggin.
Today I have a plumber coming to fix a leak under my kitchen sink. It is going to cost me more than my last vacation, which makes me cringe big time, and reminds me of the joys (!!) of being a homeowner. This is one of those things I want my personal assistant to take care of and I will just write a check. It will not be a happy check, but at least I don't have to deal with the guys in my house and things possibly going worse than I already imagine. Just tell me when it's over please!
On the reading front, I have really been enjoying thrillers lately. I think my brain capacity has diminished recently and it is just so much easier to listen to a fluffy thriller than anything more substantial. The last one that I read and enjoyed was None of This is True by Lisa Jewell. I also just finished Kill Show, which came highly recommended by Lisa and Engie, and it did not disappoint. Due to my lowered brain function, I have also been getting back into podcasts. I just cannot concentrate enough for much more at this moment. Some of my favorites lately have been The Adventure Sports Podcast and All The Hacks.
I went skiing with my Dad last week and it was a great day. We got snow on Wednesday and we skied on Thursday and it was sunny and nice with great fresh snow! The only thing that was a bit of a bummer was that my ski boots, which I have had since high school (that is a long time!!) broke in the middle of a run, so we had to rent boots. However, that did not stop us from having a great time. Lately I have only been skiing maybe once a year and this was the perfect day for my one day this year!
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| Lovely day on the slopes |
Today, something big is happening in my life (aside from the plumber) and I will talk more about it next week. However, I am both looking forward to it and dreading it in equal measures. Stay tuned to find out what the heck I am talking about! And now, onto a few confessions...
I am not very good at spelling. Yes, I read a lot and I know a lot of big words, but sometimes I still can't remember if "protein" is "I before E" or not. By the way, why IS the E before the I in protein? It does not make any sense. Also, if I can write it down and look it it, my spelling is better, but if I have to spell it out loud to someone, I am slow and I have to look inside my head at a whiteboard in order to get the letters out of my mouth. I think in general I am more of a visual learner and will remember things much better if I read them or write them down than if I hear them (over the phone for example).
I sometimes hoard food. No, I am not like the chicken girl in Girl, Interrupted, but I do like to have something on hand in case I get hungry. I also do like to buy things on sale, so if it is a two-for-one, I will buy two of them. I also shop at Costco, although I am trying not to do that as much, as there are certain things you just don't need a two year supply of (although I will continue to buy the five dozen egg pack and the two pound bag of coffee). I bought a huge bag of protein powder a couple of years ago, and I finally just had to throw it away (gasp!!!) as it was a little sweet for me, and I barely used it.
I eat expired food. I do not like throwing food away. I will eat expired food in most cases (obviously not rotten eggs or moldy veggies or anything) and have some spices that date back to the teens (does curry spice REALLY go bad?) that I finally just threw away. Plus there are some arguments about "sell-by" vs "use-by" vs "freshest by" dates. If it smells fine, I will usually go for it. This really disgusts some of my friends and family members.
I schedule a lot of my text messages. Since I get up super early (usually around 4 am), and this is also when my brain is working at its best, I often reply to texts or send texts to people then. However, I am loving the schedule feature, and will usually set the text to go out around 8 am instead of the hour of the dead that I am actually sending it. There are a couple exceptions to this, such as when I know the person keeps their phone on silent at night, or if I know they get up super early too (Hi Mom!). The other thing I do, so I won't forget, is schedule texts like birthdays or anniversaries when I think of it. Otherwise the day will pass before I know it and I hate being the person to wish someone happy birthday a day late.
I have never cleaned (or used) my fireplace. Some people like to sit in front of a crackling fire at night. Some people love the routine of starting a fire. I am not one of them. I bought a house with a fireplace and I have never used it. Therefore I have never cleaned it. I grew up in a house with a woodstove, which was our only source of heat, and making a fire (and chopping and carrying wood) is a chore to me. I also do not like smelling like smoke, even when camping. I can make a fire in a jiff if needed for survival, but it is likely I am not going to just do it for fun.
Your turn! What random things are happening in your life? Do you ever schedule your text messages? Do you have (or use) a fireplace in your house?
We had fireplaces in the house where I grew up, and I loved sitting by a fire, but of course I wasn't doing the work of it, was I?
ReplyDeleteI worry less about the date on a product and more on if it's okay--like, if you find the spices still taste right, fine, but if the curry powder seems weak, time to replace it.
I've never scheduled a text message but I can see how that would be a useful tool!
We never had fire as fun in the house when I was a kid but we did have many a bonfire in the summer months, which I did enjoy. BUT like you, I did not have to do the work for the bonfire like I did for the home stove, so maybe that is where it is a little different. However, I am still more of a play cards camping person than a sit around the fire camping person, so, who knows!
DeleteI am with you; does it taste good? If so, I will use it.
Oh I love posts like this!
ReplyDeleteWhat a gorgeous day on the slopes. Bummer about the boots, but they have clearly served you well!
I have never scheduled a text and don't know how to do it!
We have a gas fireplace in our house and use it a few times a month in the winter. Growing up we had a fireplace, and then when I was a teen and we moved we switched to exclusively heating with wood. I do love the feeling of a wood stove, but would NOT want all the mess and fuss in my own place.
I don't really pay attention to expiration dates. We tend to eat food relatively quickly and if it smells fine, I go with it! That said, I notice that we have a few bags of chips that have been sitting on the shelf for months and they have expired and I have found that things like chips/crackers can go very stale very quickly!
I freeze things, too. Like if I open graham cracker crumbs for a cheesecake and I know I won't use them again for months, I put the remainder in the freezer to keep fresh. I also store my coffee in the freezer!
Yes! Stale is not good, and I do try to eat things once they are opened for sure! I also freeze a lot of things! I know you freeze chips and I still have never done that, but I would definitely freeze pretty much anything. Before I go on vacation, I often cook veggies and put them in the freezer for later. The dilemma with canned goods to me is that if I don't want it, and it is expired, can I give it to someone, or is that faux pas? I don't think food banks will take them, so I often end up throwing them away!
DeleteI think I might use the fireplace if it was gas; that is a whole other can of worms! I just do not love the wood smoke smell in my hair and I don't really want to chop wood. I know this makes me sound very prissy, but really I am a mountain woman; I just feel that I have done a lot of chopping already in life.
We have a wood fireplace, and I used to love it, but now it feels like too much work and too much mess. I'd rather have a gas one.
ReplyDeleteThe dates on foods are so meaningless anymore; they're not standardized. Your spices will lose potency, not spoil. That being said, I am vigilant about checking dates on pantry and fridge items (like condiments) and toss anything iffy.
My sister is a food hoarder and her pantry and fridge are scary. She's sort of a food addict, and everything looks good to her, so she buys it. I abhor waste, so I'm careful about what and how much I buy at a time. I shop every week, so I don't really Stock Up unless it's meat (we have a freezer in the basement). My mother used to let a lot of stuff go bad, like produce and bread, so I learned not to be like that.
I saved my hoarding instinct for high heels back when I was teaching!
Nance, I think we are kindred spirits in some ways. I abhor waste also, and my grandmother is your sister!! She buys anything if it is on sale, and many of them, even though there is no possible way she can eat them before they spoil. We are routinely cleaning out moldy bread and mushy veggies from her fridge when we go to visit. She just cannot hep herself! I do stock up, but usually freezable items or non-perishables, then I buy a little produce each week or two to supplement. I do still have a lot of food, but I am fairly good about rotating stock/dates and using what is oldest.
DeleteYour comment about high heels is a whole other story! I worked at Nordstrom in the Salon Shoe department and in the last five years I have probably donated hundreds if not thousands of dollars worth of shoes that I bought when I worked there. I got sucked in my the discount, the proximity and the "need" to have what I was selling. Then 20 years went by and I did not wear many of them again in that period. I finally had to get rid of them, even though it hurt me really badly!
Ugh home maintenance stuff. At least you won't have the leak after he's done. Good luck with the Something Big that you are excited for but dread.
ReplyDeleteThe thing with spelling that that there are certain words that spell check can't handle, so you only know that they're wrong but don't know how to fix them. I have two specific examples in mind, but I'd have to google them to write them.
IMO there are two breeds of expiration dates - the ones that matter and the ones that don't. With stuff like dairy I sometimes feel like the expiration comes before the date. The unflavored gelatin that I've had since I moved out of my parents house in 1998 is just fine. Or at least it was the last time I used it (2016?).
I don't currently schedule texts which is the exact reason why I often end up waiting too long to send them...in other words I approve of your methods.
We've used our fireplace exactly once since I've lived here and it was awful so the first time was the last time. Our new dog has claimed our hearth for her hang out spot, so I think its safe to say that we'll never do a fire again.
Your comments made me giggle and I want to respond to all of them, but you KNOW I am long winded! Re plumber, he was not a he but a they, five dudes rolling around my house, shouting at each other about uno y media (is that a time, a pipe size, a clock face reference when turning your wrench? I don't know!) while grinding into my walls and subflooring. I am eating top ramen for the next 12 years but I no longer have a leak in my kitchen. I did dishes for the first time in a week (don't ask).
DeleteMy spellcheck at work is German? Or Latin? I am not sure (I work for a Swiss company if that helps) so it redlines a bunch of normal English words all the time! This is not good for sending emails to clients when I myself am not great at English spelling! Re expirations, your gelatin is fine, I am sure of it. Dairy is fine, and the dates are a farce. Scheduling texts is a Godsend and makes me look like a better friend than I really am. Aaaaanddd...fireplaces are pretty but, like hot tubs, more buck than bang in my opinion!
A beautiful day on the slopes!
ReplyDeleteWhat random things are happening in your life? Not much, my life is pretty predictable these days and that is how I want it- with T being away on business and me solo parenting - I don't want surprises lol unless it's a bottle of wine just showing up on my door step.
Do you ever schedule your text messages? I don't - didn't want to pay for the app. Also an early riser but I assume that all have their phones on "do not disturb" that early.
Do you have (or use) a fireplace in your house? We do! We only use it about 1 or 2 a year :) I love the smell!
Hello! I have questions! Firstly, I would send you a bottle of wine, literally, I have extras, but NJ is the WORST STATE to send alcohol to. You need to move. Re text messages...app? What? I do not need nor pay for an app. You must have an iPhone. Get away from the dark side and get an Android, where we are all happy and free. :) I also agree re DND; if you don't want to be disturbed, either turn your ringer off, put your phone in another room or put on your DND! However, there are always people like my auntie, who thinks her kids are going to need her and she is going to miss the call (they are all adults PS) and so leaves her phone on just in case. Re fireplaces, I like the campfire smell but I do not want to smell LIKE a campfire, if that makes sense.
DeleteWe converted our wood burning fireplace to gas so we would actually use it. I like wood burning but Phil feels they are way too much of a mess. I love the gas fireplace and use it quite a bit! It's nice to turn on for like 5-10 min to heat up a bit and then turn it off.
ReplyDeletePhil is also not good at spelling. I would say I am a good speller. Do you like to play Scrabble? Since Phil isn't good at spelling, he will not play that game.
I should schedule my texts - that is smart. With iPhone users, I can tell if their phone is silenced. So I feel ok sending a text early/late if their notifications are silenced. My phone has notifications silenced from 8:30pm-7am, I think? So I never get interrupted by texts when I don't want to be! I love the ability to silence notifications!
Something big! Woo hoo! :)
I love playing Scrabble and I actually am not a horrid speller but I think spelling out loud is where I fall short. If I can see it written (clearly I am more visual with that kind of thing) I am normally good, but out loud, I cannot picture the letters as clearly, I guess.
DeleteAs an Android user, grrrrr :) I definitely use DND so you can text me whenever you want to! I know you cannot see if I am on DND but I assure you, if I don't want to be bothered, I will make that happen in my own world. However, I know some people, mainly older ones, may not be so tech savvy. Actually, to this point, my Dad does NOT silence his phone and his ring is both loud and obnoxious and on.all.the.time. We went on vacation together and I had to ask him to silence it at night because he normally doesn't and my Mom (who is half deaf) said that "it doesn't bother her." It bothers me, but of course, I like having control over that sort of thing :)
Woo hip!
None of This Is True and Kill Show were great! I'm glad you enjoyed them, too. It's fun to have books that appeal to a wide variety of readers.
ReplyDeleteI seriously contemplated the 5-dozen eggs at Costco on Saturday. We use 12-18 eggs a week and the 5-dozen is so much cheaper per egg. The only thing is that I can't see the date on the eggs in the 5-dozen pack, so that's what made me pause from buying it.
When I was a child, we had wood-burning heat in our whole house through a pellet stove. That stupid stove caught the house on fire twice in my childhood (the fire department came out! it smelled like smoke forever!) and I am adamantly opposed to wood fireplaces now. I like the ambiance, but I'm so scared of them that I can't relax around them.
Eggs! This may not make you feel better depending on your expiration feelings, but I use the 5-dozen pack over about five weeks generally, and they are perfectly fine. In some weeks, if I am away or less egg prone, I may even go six or seven, and they are also still perfectly fine. Sadly, I think there are enough hormones in those eggs that you should be able to keep them for a few months if not more.
DeleteRe the wood stove, we did have a small chimney fire when I was a kid due to creosote, but we caught it in time. I have absolutely no idea what kind of maintenance a pellet or gas stove need, but a wood stove (or fireplace) needs a lot! So you need to clean it regularly if you are going to use it without issue.
Yay for a beautiful skiing day! I'm very generous with food expiration dates. I tend to think of most of them as suggestions. Especially spices. I am SURE they degrade in quality/flavor over time, but I don't think they get rancid or anything. My husband is always saying, "This yogurt/milk says it expired on DATE." and I just shrug and say, "Does it smell okay? Does it taste okay? If so, it's okay." I'm still alive, although I suppose past performance is no guarantee of future behavior!
ReplyDeleteWe had a fireplace in our old house and dutifully got it cleaned when we moved in... and then never used it. I am allergic to smoke, and it just seemed like too much of a hassle. Our new house has a fireplace, too but I have yet to get it cleaned. I doubt we'll use it, but I think we would if we could convert it to a gas fireplace. That seems like a big hassle though and we have higher priorities.
Hope all goes well with your big life change!
Oh your story about fireplace cleaning makes me think of all of the house things that are like that. Do you prep it now in case you may use it, or do you wait until you are ready to use it to prep/clean/maintain it, and if then, do you not use it because you waited too long? It is a bit of chicken and egg and some may say just maintain it over and over so if you want to use it you can, but I would have cleaned my fireplace ten times by now and never used it. OR would I have used it if I had cleaned it (probably not)? Having said that, I do think that it is worth maintaining or upkeep for most things, as not doing that could cause an issue later. However, I just had a plumber fix my 100+ year old pipes, which were fine for the last hundred years, so...am I now back to the chicken again? Or the egg?
DeleteOur old house in Calgary had a wood burning fireplace when we bought it. We converted it to gas, and then when my oldest was born I became very fearful that he would flip the switch on and off and blow up the house/ burn himself, and so I had the pilot light extinguished. Fast forward to 2023 and we sold the house - and I still hadn't had it serviced or relit. So I guess having a fireplace was useless to me! We had to get it working as part of the sale contract for the house, and I think it maybe cost $100. Well, I guess we aren't fireplace people. I do have an immense fear of fire, so I guess that's why.
ReplyDeleteI will probably have to clean the fireplace/chimney when I sell my house also, because you are right, some people love a fireplace. I don't have a fear of fire, thank goodness, but I do have a very healthy respect for it, especially after the past several years of forest fires in my neck of the woods.
DeleteI feel like converting it to gas is a good idea, as in my mind, that seems more controllable, even if that may just be a fanciful idea in my head.
It's funny, because I think I'm a pretty good speller- but I do have to write out a lot of words and then I can see immediately if they look right or not. I was just commenting on Kae's recent post and I kept misspelling "protein" (yes- why is the e before the i?)
ReplyDeleteI recently listened to the Be Rad podcast you recommended- the episode where she talks about how she DNF'd the race in New Zealand- yikes! What a disaster. It made me really appreciate how much pressure these pro runners are under. It's one thing for me to DNF a race I'm purely running for fun- but they have to worry about letting down their sponsors. It was interesting to get a glimpse into that world.
I'm looking forward to your mysterious news!
I have no idea why protein is spelled how it is and I still have to recite "i before e" when I spell receive, even though I know how to spell it. When I was a kid, I often spelled valley wrong (vally) and things like that do make you think about the words, like why is that extra e there? Or like "eight" and "ate" - how are those two words pronounced exactly the same!?
DeleteScheduling texts! THAT'S GENIUS, KYRIA. I need to look into this functionality. I never even thought of doing that!
ReplyDeleteWhen we went to Tennessee, our cabin had a fireplace and my stepdad was in charge of getting it going. It was so much work!! Between gathering the firewood, getting it started, keeping it burning, and then cleaning it out the next day... whew. He enjoyed it, though, so that's a win/win for my mom and me.
I'm glad you had a good day skiing with your dad! That's a GORGEOUS photo you posted!
I think some people love making fires, but I am not one of them. My Dad will make a fire on a regular weekday at home and is always game to have one; I guess it is just cathartic for some people? Also my Mom gets cold easy, so maybe part of it is that he feels more useful if he can make a fire. I don't know!
DeleteI do not have an iPhone, but if you do, scheduling texts is in the Shortcuts app. If you have an Android, you can do it right from Messenger!
Oh, how wonderful you got to go skiing with your dad! I am heading home in March and we have a skiing trip planned with my family and I am so excited!
ReplyDeleteI love the random confession posts - thanks for indulging us! I also eat expired food. Not when it's rotten or moldy of course, but if it smells fine, I'll eat anything past its expiration date. I think these are really just "best by" dates, if anything.
I love that you schedule text messages. I do that with emails but I don't think I know how to do it with texts. I'll have to look into it. I have my phone silenced at night (because I get a lot of international messages at all hours of the day and night), so it's necessary... but I also don't need people to know that I respond to message late at night or very early in the morning, haha.
I am very excited to hear about the big thing that is happening in your life. :)
I have an Android, so it is right in the Messenger app, but if you have an iPhone, I think you can schedule texts with the Shortcuts app. It is a gamechanger! I really hope you have a great time with your family on your visit and ski trip! That is going to be so fun!
DeleteSending scheduled messages on an iPhone stinks. :P The only time I wish I had an Android. ;)
ReplyDeleteI can't wait to read about your big news! I should look ahead. Ha! The benefits of reading late.
And, you and I are on the same page re: (whatever) dates. If it looks and smells okay, it's all good.
I actually am not a big fan of iPhone! Maybe we will just agree to disagree on this one! I did have one when they first came out, so I am not just saying that; I did try! My Mom has a friend who will eat all kinds of "expired" spices and I really love her for it although some family members think that is strange. However, some people pick those things from their garden and dry them and eat them and there are no issues there, so it is funny that we put it in a jar and put a date on it and all of a sudden things change.
DeleteI don't schedule text messages b/c I either know that the person I'm texting is also up at the same time or they have the phone set to DND. I am not super picky about expiration dates but spices do actually lose their potency. Baking soda and baking powder need to be replaced after being opened for a long time, I'm not sure exact time frame but generally if I see it's past the expiration date and it's been opened I will throw it away and buy new to make sure whatever I'm baking turns out okay. Yeast is another item that you do have to pay attention to the date. I do check the salad dressings in my Mom's fridge b/c I've caught a few that were way past the date and for vinegar based that's probably more okay than a ranch... So glad you had a fun time skiing with your Dad!!!
ReplyDeleteI agree re baking supplies; I mean, if it just me eating it, I don't mind a flat pumpkin bread but I don't want to serve that to others! Also same thing with spices, if I am serving it to someone I am more apt to want it to taste the way it should taste. I think nuts also go rancid at some point, although I have eaten some old ones without any issues so far.
Delete