Clean and Pristine

I found out recently that my water is very very hard and that's a bad thing. Other than Murfreesboro, our water was the worst the dishwasher repair guy had seen and that's nothing to sniff at. But- he gave me some invaluable advice!

We were getting ready to chuck our less than one year old dishwasher when we learned something new. Vinegar is the answer! So, if you have hard water deposits in your dishwasher like we did (milky film, spots and yucky stuff on your dishes after washing) listen to this...

Put a glass upright in one of the upper front corners of your dishwasher and fill it halfway with white vinegar every day for 10 days. Use either "Cascade Complete" or the Walmart dishwasher soap and for a week use the heavy load button. It will eat off all the deposits clogging up the sprayers and shine your dishes! There's also an additive called "Lemishine", but I have yet to find a store that carries it. It's better to use vinegar anyway because it's natural and better for the environment.

Anyway, this worked wonders for me and now I'm not having to hand wash anymore, although I do still hand wash my pots and pans. The dishwasher is not good for stainless!

PS. I also use vinegar as an additive to my mop water. It cuts through everything, and makes your house smell like Easter.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qwzc30glWac Pure and Simple

Check it!

You all HAVE to link over to my friend (our friend) Mia's blog for this post!

http://flashingyellowlights.blogspot.com/2008/04/wow-hummm-huh.html

5th-Grader Finds Mistake at Smithsonian
Wed Apr 2, 5:54 PM ET

ALLEGAN, Mich. - Is fifth-grader Kenton Stufflebeam smarter than the Smithsonian? The 11-year-old boy, went with his family during winter break to the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History in Washington. Kenton noticed that a notation, in bold lettering, identified the Precambrian as an era on the "Tower of Time" display.

Kenton knew that was wrong. His fifth-grade teacher, John Chapman, had nearly made the same mistake in a classroom earth-science lesson before catching himself.

"I knew Mr. Chapman wouldn't tell all these students" bad information", the boy told the Kalamazoo Gazette for a story published Wednesday.

So Kevin Stufflebeam took his son to the museum's information desk to report Kenton's concern on a comment form. Last week, the boy received a letter from the museum acknowledging that his observation was "spot on."

Excited as he was to receive the correspondence from museum officials, he couldn't help but point out that it was addressed to Kenton "Slufflebeam" and not Kenton Stufflebeam!

Hairy Situation

My hairdresser has disappeared.

I had the best hairdresser in the world. His name is Chase and in the beginning, unbeknown st to me, he was a hairdresser to the stars! He came to Tennessee from Manhattan to inherit his family's farm and worked in a very cute salon... and let me tell you- he was/is magical. He could do hair like no body's business, and I swear, he made you look taller, thinner, smarter, clearer skin... magic. Like a leprechaun, a FABULOUS leprechaun!

So, what do I do now? I look like a Jehovah's Witness (seriously, my friend mistook me for one at the door from behind) and I'm so scared to go to someone new. Some people, not me, are blessed with beautiful full thick hair that can do no wrong. I'm halfway bald as it is, and, like my tv personality twin Monica, have humidity sensitive hair. Frizz city. The last time I got my hair cut before Chase came into my life, I ended up looking like Jem except I was not truly outrageous!

Listen, I'm not normally obsessive (really?), but it's been one year since my last cut and I'm about to lose it. Does anyone have a good treatment they can recommend until I can find someone new? Hot oil or deep conditioning?

Help.

Fun Times

My blog circle of blog friends continues to expand and I love it!!!

First my friend Chemenn from Utah, commented, so she's officially on the "list". Her husband Jeff is at Vanderbilt right now, so hopefully we can get together in person soon as well as blog communicate.

Next, my girlfriend Cheryl and I threw a baby shower for our good friend Teresa Sat night. It went very well by the way. Teresa gave me her blog address and so did another good friend Mia, who was there. I told them my blog comment woes and now we're all blog connected. It's the first time I've had blogging friends from my own ward, so hopefully, we can convince more sisters to join the fun. Oh yes, things are going to change I can feel it!

A 3 Topic Post

I don't have a ton of time this morning but I have 3 things to post. So, I'm going to combine, even though they have nothing in common.

First of all, I have to call myself out. A lot of my friends run, and have finished or are now training for marathons. I have no desire to do this, BUT, I seem to get some kind of satisfaction from telling others about their accomplishments. For example, a group of sisters from church are getting ready to run the "Music City half Marathon" soon. (They have a blog and I'll post the link when I remember it) One of these sisters is my visiting teaching partner Jessica. She came over a few weeks ago and was telling me a little about their running group and asked me if I wanted to join. I, of course, declined, but proceeded to tell her about all my other friends who run marathons as if I had something to do with their success. That is so weird and yes, embarrassing. I'm going to stop doing this.
___________
Second, my kids inspire me. Spencer and Grace don't get along. Actually Spencer is mean to his younger sister Grace. We get onto him all the time about this because it's mean, and Grace totally looks up to him. Anyway, a couple of weeks ago, Grace and I were talking about having hurt feelings and I told her that I knew Spencer hurt her feelings, but to ignore him because he was just a silly boy. She told me that he didn't so much any more. I was surprised, but even more so when she explained... Spencer told her that his New Year's resolution was to be nice to her. So sweet, especially if you know my Spencer!!!
___________
Last but not least, I had a small window of opportunity this morning to start reading the April edition of the Ensign magazine. President Monson, our new prophet, wrote an article titled, "Treasure of Eternal Value" and I wanted to share just a couple of the things he said:

He quotes the Savior from the Sermon on the Mount... "Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

Then continues in his own words...
"I wish to provide the three pieces of your treasure map to guide you to your eternal happiness. They are:

1. Learn from the past
2.Prepare for the future
3.Live in the present

"If ye are prepared, ye shall not fear."

My treasure surely is my family, so I need to stop blogging right now and play with Sophia since she just finished her breakfast. Just finished about an hour ago.

Spring has Sprung

I love Spring! You get to garden, open your windows again, kick the kids out... it's great! Scott and I just built a retaining wall (before we were all struck down with the stomach flu) about a week ago and I'm so excited to get a couple of new things planted. I did successfully plant two varieties of lilies last year and they seem to be coming up as planned. I'll post pictures when/if they bloom. My roses are coming back too, but I need to spray them. I didn't do the typical knock-out variety because I don't like single bloom roses, and these "Janet" heirlooms are a lot more difficult. Hopefully soon they'll start blooming.

I can't wait to join a gardening club when all my kids are in school. I love to suck the knowledge out of unsuspecting old people! Old people like this guy in the picture...and no, that's not me next to him.

You Want a Piece of Granny?

OK, no matter where you stand on the war issue, you've got to read this! It's funny, and I don't mean that in a condescending/rude way... I personally do not want a piece of Granny. This Granny in particular looks pretty tough->

THE GRANNY PEACE BRIGADE

Grannies holding a knit-in to protest the war in Iraq clashed in a shouting match with pro-war activists in Times Square on Wednesday, the fifth anniversary of the start of the conflict.

About 30 member of the Granny Peace Brigade, some sitting in rocking chairs and wheelchairs, were knitting stump socks for veteran amputees and baby clothes for Iraqi families at the Times Square military recruiting station that was damaged by a small bomb on March 6.

"You want a piece of granny?" Frederick Olbrey, 70, yelled at about half a dozen war supporters gathered across the way as the grandmothers sang "God Bless America."
Olbrey, a 1950s air force veteran, was campaigning with the granny brigade to demand that troops be brought home now.

The brigade consists of a core group of grandmothers who have been protesting against the war at the Time Square center since Oct 2005, when they tried to enlist in the Army to replace the young men and women who were being deployed in Iraq.

"We tried to enlist and they wouldn't let us in. We've had long lives. We don't want our young grandchildren, or all the grandchildren, to have to sacrifice their lives, so we thought lets replace them," said the grandmother of five.

After refusing police requests to move from the center the grannies were arrested, sent to jail for a few hours and charged with disorderly conduct. After a six-day trial they were acquitted.

I Wanna Donkey

These are Martha's donkeys. Every time I see her farm, I think, yeah I could do that. I could be a farmer and live off the land. Who needs civilization? I have this daydream once in a while of having a well and generators everywhere. My communication with the outside world would be minimal. Oh wait, that's me now, minus the farm! Agoraphobia, remember?

I also dream of living in an RV and travelling all over the country. Scott and I were talking about this the other day and he was getting really excited... then he realized I only wanted one so I could wander around it while he was driving. I pictured the kids playing cards in the back while I made hot dogs on the open road. Scott said you couldn't make hot dogs on the open road because you'd scald yourself with the water at any given turn or bump. Whatever, I'll figure something out.

More Porridge Please, sir...

Today the kids and I went to a place called Mr T's Patio Furniture. I wanted to price check some outdoor furniture for the back porch. We've never had any, and I didn't know what to budget. So, off we went!

Do I have "POOR" written across my forehead or what? First of all, I couldn't figure out where to park at Mr T's so I'm sure I looked like an idiot driving around and around in circles. When my car full of children and I finally unloaded from our filthy mini van, we had to walk across Africa to get to the front door. Did I mention the temperature had dropped about 30 degrees since we got in the car so all 4 kids were dressed inappropriately. Spencer was shivering like "Oliver Twist" and Sophia had just, not 10 minutes earlier, ripped the hat off her coat and had her shoes on backwards. Anyway, we finally made it into the store when a salesman asked, "Can I help you?" with a tone. You know the tone, "Can I help you... find your way back to the other side of the tracks?"

I explained my dilemma and he immediately pointed me toward the lesser expensive furniture. I wouldn't budge. I asked him what the difference was in the quality of these $4,500 aluminum sets and the $500 aluminum sets and he said with a smirk, "It's like the difference between a Cadillac and a Kia." So I said, "What do you mean, cars have different engines, fabric, bells and whistles that affect the price... don't you just sit on a patio set? I still don't understand the difference." He got a little uncomfortable and again mentioned the lesser expensive sets several more times. By now all my kids were whining about the cold and Spencer had even found his way back to the van. Oh how I wish I had "Pretty Womaned" this guy and shoved his commission right up his g'donk.

The funniest thing about it is we totally can't afford the $4,500 sets or even the "cheap" $1000 sets!!! He was right on the money, no pun intended. -But that's not the point! I just think everyone who walks into a store should be treated with kindness and respect regardless of the way they look! When I worked retail I was nice to everyone... except for the creepy guy who came in everyday asking me out in a fake coonskin cap. C'mon, that's just freaky!

So Long Hickman Street house

We just got back from a weekend in Winchester, KY and yes, I know, who goes to Winchester on vacation? Well, we do and it was soooo great.

When we moved, I promised the kids we would go back within the year to visit their friends. Originally we were planning a trip to the Huntsville NASA museum over spring break, but then I realized St. Agatha would be closed on Fri. (duh, Good Friday and Catholic school) Anyway, we scrapped the NASA trip and decided to run the children up at the last minute to spend a day with their friends at school.

I have to thank my friend Julie who let us crash her place with almost no notice Sat night and kept Oliver until Sunday. Then, on the sly, she put together a ward pot luck after church on Sun so we would have lunch without breaking the Sabbath and have time to visit with our good friends at church. Now, that's a great friend!!! I also got to hold Kristen's adorable little Ellie for most of church and you know, she loves me.

We were running around the rest of the weekend visiting people and places we had left behind. Which brings me to my point. Closure.

When we moved, it was so fast and hectic that it didn't even register for at least a couple of months. The stress of finishing our home improvements, kid's spring sports, starting a new job, showing the house and of course, freaking out during the selling process left little time for us to really say goodbye. I think I especially was really depressed for a long time, but this trip proved very therapeutic.

We drove past our old house on Hickman Street (shown above as it was when we lived there... happy huh?) and now it just looks weird. The folks who bought it took down all of my brand new 2" blinds and got rid of my topiaries among other things. They actually threw the beautiful pot rack I had in the kitchen out in a garbage pile along with our lovely fireplace tools. I KNOW!!!! I should have taken everything, but my mind was so focused on selling, I would have given given my right arm if they wanted it. Anyway, it was a little upsetting, but I now have no attachment. Plus, they put out these huge white planters on the front porch that are just hideous! It doesn't look like my house anymore, and you know, it's a good thing.

The kids were thrilled to see their friends at school and enjoyed the special treatment they got from all the lovely teachers at St Agatha. The only downer was, that last day Sophia got the stomach flu and puked about 8 times during our 4 hour drive. Poor thing! She was such a trooper though and faithfully used every plastic bag we had in the car. Plus our hotel laundry bag and the blowpop bag.

Anyway, it was wonderful seeing our old friends, and while I love and miss them, I am so happy to be home in Tennessee. We really do feel at home here now and are looking forward to getting even more settled and getting to know the new friends we've made. Heavenly Father truly blesses us everyday, and I should be more appreciative in the moment rather than suffering with my relentless nostalgia/anxiety.

Thanks girls!

I've been sick for 2 days now so I've had a lot of time to blog! So, this morning while reading Alice's page again, I saw Kristen's comment and followed the link. What I found was really funny! This is a Playmobil toy security checkpoint on Amazon.com that may or may not be for real. I'm sure every one's already read these, but I'm going to post a couple of the reviews... of course giving props to Kristen and Alice, without whom I wouldn't have enjoyed a good laugh!
________________________________


Product Description
From the Manufacturer -The woman traveler stops by the security checkpoint. After placing her luggage on the screening machine, the airport employee checks her baggage. The traveler hands her spare change and watch to the security guard and proceeds through the metal detector. With no time to spare, she picks up her luggage and hurries to board her flight!


Customer Reviews:

"I was a little disappointed when I first bought this item, because the functionality is limited. My 5 year old son pointed out that the passenger's shoes cannot be removed. Then, we placed a deadly fingernail file underneath the passenger's scarf, and neither the detector doorway nor the security wand picked it up. My son said "that's the worst security ever!". But it turned out to be okay, because when the passenger got on the Playmobil B757 and tried to hijack it, she was mobbed by a couple of other heroic passengers, who only sustained minor injuries in the scuffle, which were treated at the Playmobil Hospital. The best thing about this product is that it teaches kids about the realities of living in a high-surveillance society. My son said he wants the Playmobil Neighborhood Surveillence System set for Christmas. I've heard that the CC TV cameras on that thing are pretty worthless in terms of quality and motion detection, so I think I'll get him the Playmobil Abu-Gharib Interrogation Set instead (it comes with a cute little memo from George Bush). "

"This is a great product, but it has several shortcomings. It's a shame that Playmobil has allowed itself to be swayed by the ultra-liberal political correctness mongers. When I opened the box I was dismayed to find that all of the characters in the set are Caucasian. We all know that only people named Muhammad, Khalil, Ahmed and Haji are selected for the random security search. I was really looking forward to my 3 year old daughter getting use from that small tube of KY jelly and that latex glove that fits the female security guard with the short-chunky hair-cut. Also the boom box hidden in the suitcase, that has the c4 inside hooked up to a barometric altimeter doesn't work even if brought to 35,000 feet. Apparently it hasn't functioned since Pan Am went out of business. Lastly, buying the additional gas chromatography system, has made the toy so much more enjoyable. The only bad thing about that is that I can no longer blame my flatulence on the dog, the system is that good! "

"While I'm sure your child will love this do we really want to reveal our security secrets to the terrorists? I bet al-Qaeda is training the next generation with this very product. I am saddened to learn that Playmobil hates America."

he he, sarcasm.

Come and Get Your Happiness

http://youtube.com/watch?v=pfRIFQJRPTI

I feel like I've been a bit of a Debbie Downer lately judging from my blog comments, so here's something a little more uplifting! Enjoy.

I'm Back

Hello blogging friends! I'm back and ready for good times!!!

February has been a crappy month, but March is looking good. I've been working on some home improvements: kitchen back splash, fireplace tile, drywall repair and painting. We're also starting soccer and baseball soon so I'll be getting out more. Plus my quilting group is off to a great start and I might be able to finally get my baby gift out to my good friend Janine. (hint hint)

Janine by the way, is my lovely Canadian friend who, I'm thrilled to announce, has started blogging! We knew each other when we lived in Germany and she's one of my favorite people. So, I've added her to my FRIEND list and I can't wait until she writes more. She's a very funny girl and funny people are so appealing.

I used to know more than one Canadian, but I live in Tennessee now so pickins' are slim. There is actually one Canadian couple that lives around the corner and that reminds me of a funny story.

We got about 4 inches of snow the other day and Scott took the kids sledding. He ran into "Sebastian" (I don't know our Canadian neighbor's name so we'll just call him Sebastian) and he had the coolest snow gear! Fancy sled and all. I guess he told Scott that he got a lot more use out of this stuff up north but not so much here. Anyway, "Sebastian" got down to the business of sledding and wouldn't you know, our Tennessee snow was too warm and slushy for his equipment and his sled got stuck halfway down the hill! I'm sure "Sebastian" was extremely disappointed and feeling rather homesick right about then. I'll have to talk to him at the pool this summer and make him feel more at home here because I'm so good at that! I can picture it now...

I'll say something like, "I've always wanted to go to Canada."

He'll say, "That's nice."

I'll say, "I remember when the Olympics were in Calgary and it looked beautiful."

He'll ignore me.

I'll say, "I have a Canadian friend Janine, do you know her?"

He'll say, "No, I'm sorry, I don't."

So, I'll say, "That's too bad, because she's really funny."

Then he'll walk away because that's weird. I can't wait!

I love it!

My friend Julie has joined the world of blogging! I've added her link to my page and am excited because this is the only way of communicating with me now. I've become very fancy and high tech!

I will start writing again soon! Things have been a little hectic around here (extended family stuff) so I haven't been able to sit and write much. But, soon I'll be back to provide you with hours of wit and wisdom. I know you're all on the edge of your seat! All three of you.

My Mixed Tape

I've added a new page element. It's a bunch of songs I found throughout our cd collection and a couple rare gems found on youtube. It's interesting to sit down and list some of your favorites because you discover things about yourself you perhaps hadn't noticed before. I, for example, am a middle aged Brit.

Who knew?

Anyway, if you're bored, browse through and see if there's anything you like. I tried not use too many songs from one artist. Hope you enjoy.... c'mon, how could you not enjoy Xanadu?!!!!

The Most Unlucky Entrepreneurs

I check Martha's blog pretty much everyday, (everyone else's too) and love to read about what she's doing. This morning, however, I was tickled to death. Let me explain...

When my sister and I were little, we were always scheming to find ways to make money.

We would put on plays and force the other children in the neighborhood to partipate. Most of these plays were musicals. I would do the choreography, normally to a ridiculous Beach Boy tune and we would go door to door selling tickets at 10 cents a piece. Not suprising, no one wanted one.

We tried to make a scientific "bee book" where we collected literally over a hundred bees, pulled their stingers out, and stored them in jars. One day when we went to the garage to start putting them in a book, they were all gone! My Mom had thrown away two months worth of research because, "it smelled so bad". I guess it never occurred to us to store the bees in a cold place.

Then there was the band we put together called MCM with our friend Michelle. I was the lead, Michelle was on keyboard, and my sister was the drummer. Now, this band was pretty awsome, but bare bones. I had no microphone, Michelle's keyboard was a kid's toy, and my sister's drum was actually a tire. No one wanted tickets to these shows either.

Then there was our home brew perfume. We'd go searching through the woods and people's gardens for flowers to make perfume out of. Then we'd smash the petals in a bowl, mix it with water and let it age in plastic bottles. For research purposes, we convinced one of our friends to try it out before selling door to door. Unfortunately, her neck turned yellow and she smelled like rot for a day.

The best of the best was the idea Martha and her friends stole from us. Dog Hair Yarn. That's right, we were making dog hair sweaters back in the day, 1987. On her most current post, Martha talks about making dog hair yarn out of her chow Paw Paw's fur. Our neighbor Chris, had a huge chow dog. Candice and I would run over every day and collect the disgusting fur that the dog had shed. Then we'd put it in zip lock bags and try to spin yarn. Everyone made fun of us but look who's doing it now! Yes, their process is a bit more sophisticated, but nevertheless, we take credit for the original idea. I really should be a part of Martha Omnimedia!

Kids used to be a lot more scrappy.

Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!!!!!

To my Valentine, Scott, the nicest, smartest, funniest, cutest guy in the whole world.... and who won't read this until next week sometime.

Love, Renee

Valentine Question

Since I have so many readers and posters I thought I would post a question:

What are you getting your husband for Valentine's Day?

I'm always at a loss. Everything seems so girly, you know. I'm going to pick up some pulled pork for dinner and got a little chocolate, but nothing with any kind of "wow".

So again, please give me your ideas and feedback. PG rated only.

A House of Order

I love being organized. I know it sounds demented, but I so enjoy making piles, choosing stay or go, finding containers for the pile, sometimes labeling the container, and the best part, purging all unnecessary items. With 4 kids it's not an easy thing to keep up with, but I almost think you have to be even more diligent the more kids you have! I would be a wreck if I didn't stay on top of things. Plus, again, I love it. Finding the time is the hardest part.

My kids had a snow day today. So, I was scrambling to try to find things to keep them occupied. We ended up completely cleaning out the playroom because we're going to turn it into a rec-room. You know, basketball, darts, gaming system, etc.. but I couldn't bring myself to paint until it was clean "from the inside out". We ended up taking 5 bags of garbage out, compiling 4 bags of yard sale/goodwill toys and 2 bags of keepsakes!!! Who needs all that?

In the end, the kids were so happy and felt much more relaxed. I don't know if I'm rubbing off on them, or if they just don't want the headache of trying to keep track of everything. Either way, I'm totally excited. I think things used to be more simple and peaceful before we cluttered it all up.

So I'm on a mission. An organizational mission. You know a house of order and all that. I've already started. Scott built in two closets downstairs, one is an extra linen closet and the other our dry food storage pantry. I redid all my kitchen cabinets and cleaned out every closet in the house.... but I need to simplify even more. My schedule, my decorating, toys, crafts, or whatever. If we don't use it or haven't used it in a year, it's gone. I know I don't need all the china I have, or the clothes I can't fit into anymore, cleaning supplies that didn't work well, sucky books, baby stuff, and the ugly Christmas/holiday stuff in the attic. It's going to take time I know, but every minute will be productive fun! Plus, the money we make can be used for food storage, my other new passion.

I can't wipe the smile off my face, seriously.