Sorry I've been gone for so long. Benji pulled the shift keys off the keyboard on the laptop, so it's become incredibly difficult to blog. I had no idea I used the shift keys so much!
With the end of Toxic Audio, Melody Yellowvan has been on the prowl again, and we're starting to feel like gypsies once more. Tim has now done 2 auditions for Disney, had one cancelled because of a threatening hurricane (which ended up being a tropical storm instead), done a cruise (without me!--he was singing, not vacationing), and taken the family to LA (since he had an audition and had to get a passport in a hurry--2 days, and he had it!).
In LA, we went to the beach. That's pretty much it. The beach and Universal Citywalk to watch the indoor airdivers "fly". The kids loved the beach. Tim hadn't really ever played on the beach either, and he had fun body surfing and playing with the kids. Benji and Dan were terrified of the water at first because I warned everyone not to go too deep, and they were pretty sure the waves were going to wash them away. Eventually everyone played in the water, and now Caleb says the beach is his favorite place on earth. It's one of my favorite places to play, too, so that was cool. No sunburns, no crowds, and it wasn't hot. So much for the stereotypes of LA in August!
We also fled the heat (and the $500 electrical bills to keep the house merely 80 degrees instead of 110) and went home to visit family. We ended up very busy, despite not planning much--2 wedding receptions, both of which were outdoors in places where there was water, so I didn't get to visit my cousins as much as I'd like to have, a farewell party for friends who have since moved to Poland, visiting relatives at their houses, a stake party where the kids got to ride ponies, make rockets, slide on all those big blow-up slides, and watch a hot air balloon go up and down and up and down and up and down for a long time (Anda got to ride it, too!). They loved all of this, but especial favorites were playing with cousins on Grandma Wilson's farm and in her fantastically kid-designed yard, and picking and eating Grandma Jones's tomatoes in her garden. Naturally, travelling, we managed to be exposed to sicknesses. This time is was adenovirus and strep. We caught the adenovirus but so far have shown no sign of the strep, which is good because, with no insurance, it's hard to get antibiotics for things like strep, and adenovirus you only treat symptoms with over-the-counter meds.
It was an incredibly busy month, at once frustrating and fun.
The thing that amazed me most is the response we got to Tim's show closing. Almost everyone we knew advised him to quit performing and "get a real job," which, in all practicality, would mean abandoning 10 years of work in his field and going to work flipping burgers or stocking shelves. Honestly, I can't see how that is a wise choice, although I can understand that being everyone's response. Music is one of those mystery careers that nobody knows much about, and part of the image of success is a mystique that can't exist with someone you know--therefore, the only people who can succeed at music are someone else, not someone you know.
But you know, nobody would say to a computer programmer, "Gee, IBM cut your division and you have no job now. That must be a sign from God that you should quit programming and go work at McDonald's." But we heard that a lot. And this with auditions for jobs practically coming out our ears--tons of things to apply for as a musician!
The last week, since we've been home, Tim has been feverishly putting together an audition tape for Cirque du Soleil. It's close to being done, I think.
Meanwhile, I rebelled against the "central air" mentality that predominates here and got on craigslist and bought a swamp cooler for $50. I had to clean it thoroughly--all the troughs were plugged with mineral deposits, which is why it didn't work for the previous owner--the pads weren't getting wet. I had to buy supplies, including new pads, and hook up the water, and build a stand for it, and now we have a functioning swamp cooler. That keeps the house the same temp that $500/month of a/c did--80 degrees--or less. For the cost of running a fan and a little water. What a relief to dare to be comfortable and not have to pay our entire food budget for it!
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Friday, August 08, 2008
If you throw out the best idea, what you're left with is....
This showed up in my google news health section today:
"Gift cards key to new AIDS prevention strategy
The Associated Press - 37 minutes ago
ATLANTA (AP) - Could the AIDS virus be stopped with gift cards? Desperate for a way to stop the escalating spread of HIV among young gay men, public health officials are looking to novel strategies, such as enlisting local gay opinion leaders to urge their peers to practice safe sex....The idea is to give gift coupons to popular, influential men in the gay community and encourage them to talk up condom use, regular HIV testing and other responsible actions.
It may sound frivolous, but little else has proven effective for the men most affected by the epidemic.
Last week, new figures showed still-rising HIV infections in gay and bisexual men, with about 53 percent of new cases in that group. Meanwhile, HIV rates among injection-drug users and heterosexuals is declining."
Frivolous? The idea is frivolous?
I, actually, am deeply saddened by the HIV epidemic. Thousands of people are suffering , and thousands of children are being left parentless. I am not trying to negate that this is a major problem, and also an immense tragedy.
But it seems to me that the best solution is not gift cards. It's the one they defined out of the equation in the first place: monogamy. Abstinence. Self-control.
More condoms and a few gift cards just won't cut it....
I think the greatest tragedy of all is that we, by our choices, are enabling the crisis to continue because, darn it, we don't want to take the risk of offending anyone.
It reminds me of the section in Nephi where he scolds his rebellious brothers, and they get mad at him for saying "hard things" against them--for offending them. I agree with Nephi--the truth sometimes is hard, especially when it requires you to change not just your behaviour, but the paradigms that make it okay.
Nephi says, "the wicked take the truth to be hard." I hate to say, "the wicked" and "repent" because not all the victims of this plague are in need of repentance or were wicked themselves--the wives whose faithless husbands brought it home, the children, the victims of rape, and, unfortunately, all the people who are caught in the cultural morays that have changed and encourage risky sexual behavior--the ones who ought to know better but have been taught from a young age to experiment and follow their body's natural inclinations (the ones who were taught that bad is good from such a young age--like children whose fathers take them to prostitutes or introduce them to porn when they should be hearing fairytales--that it honestly never occurs to them that it might be wrong).
But repentance is the right concept--not just for people who are wantonly sharing their bodies with others, but also for the entire culture that decided that not offending someone was more important than truth.
What a sad state for our world to be in.
I am reminded of when I said to my mother, "I would do anything to lose this extra weight." And she replied, "Not 'anything'. You know what you could do--you just won't do it, so it must not matter THAT much to you."
Stung, I realized she was right.
The same principle applies here. If they were really 'desperate' for a way to stop the spread of HIV among young gay men, they might consider teaching true principles,like abstinence and monogamy, instead of offering gift cards. It might just work.
"Gift cards key to new AIDS prevention strategy
The Associated Press - 37 minutes ago
ATLANTA (AP) - Could the AIDS virus be stopped with gift cards? Desperate for a way to stop the escalating spread of HIV among young gay men, public health officials are looking to novel strategies, such as enlisting local gay opinion leaders to urge their peers to practice safe sex....The idea is to give gift coupons to popular, influential men in the gay community and encourage them to talk up condom use, regular HIV testing and other responsible actions.
It may sound frivolous, but little else has proven effective for the men most affected by the epidemic.
Last week, new figures showed still-rising HIV infections in gay and bisexual men, with about 53 percent of new cases in that group. Meanwhile, HIV rates among injection-drug users and heterosexuals is declining."
Frivolous? The idea is frivolous?
I, actually, am deeply saddened by the HIV epidemic. Thousands of people are suffering , and thousands of children are being left parentless. I am not trying to negate that this is a major problem, and also an immense tragedy.
But it seems to me that the best solution is not gift cards. It's the one they defined out of the equation in the first place: monogamy. Abstinence. Self-control.
More condoms and a few gift cards just won't cut it....
I think the greatest tragedy of all is that we, by our choices, are enabling the crisis to continue because, darn it, we don't want to take the risk of offending anyone.
It reminds me of the section in Nephi where he scolds his rebellious brothers, and they get mad at him for saying "hard things" against them--for offending them. I agree with Nephi--the truth sometimes is hard, especially when it requires you to change not just your behaviour, but the paradigms that make it okay.
Nephi says, "the wicked take the truth to be hard." I hate to say, "the wicked" and "repent" because not all the victims of this plague are in need of repentance or were wicked themselves--the wives whose faithless husbands brought it home, the children, the victims of rape, and, unfortunately, all the people who are caught in the cultural morays that have changed and encourage risky sexual behavior--the ones who ought to know better but have been taught from a young age to experiment and follow their body's natural inclinations (the ones who were taught that bad is good from such a young age--like children whose fathers take them to prostitutes or introduce them to porn when they should be hearing fairytales--that it honestly never occurs to them that it might be wrong).
But repentance is the right concept--not just for people who are wantonly sharing their bodies with others, but also for the entire culture that decided that not offending someone was more important than truth.
What a sad state for our world to be in.
I am reminded of when I said to my mother, "I would do anything to lose this extra weight." And she replied, "Not 'anything'. You know what you could do--you just won't do it, so it must not matter THAT much to you."
Stung, I realized she was right.
The same principle applies here. If they were really 'desperate' for a way to stop the spread of HIV among young gay men, they might consider teaching true principles,like abstinence and monogamy, instead of offering gift cards. It might just work.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
I liked this article
Turns out Grandma Brown's doc was right--living in a spotless environment isn't good for kids' immune systems. If these researchers are right, it actually causes them to develop improperly, causing trouble for the rest of their lives! Also, kids with more siblings have fewer immune problems. Go figure. Obeying the prophets actually causes us to physically develop better bodies!
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25968435/
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25968435/
Saturday, August 02, 2008
fun clothes catalog
http://www.modbecatalog.com/
This site exists to sell modest clothing. Cute and stylish modest clothing. Check out their "2-piece" swimwear that is more modest than most 1-piece suits--and cute!
This site exists to sell modest clothing. Cute and stylish modest clothing. Check out their "2-piece" swimwear that is more modest than most 1-piece suits--and cute!
Sunday, July 27, 2008
The quest
Caleb noticed yesterday that the novel we were reading, The Patchwork Girl of Oz, had the perfect plot for a computer game (adventure game, like King's Quest, which Caleb tells me are called "RPGs") because it has a clear quest with multiple steps required to collect the final treasure. So we had a nice long discussion with Caleb and Anda about the fact that most novels have some kind of quest in them, and we identified the quest in a whole bunch of novels we've read together. It was thoroughly delightful. Then today, Caleb took the book and used it as a script and began making the game. He uses RPG Maker 2003, which lets him make the maps, put the characters in, and actually produce a full, functioning game. He learned somewhere else that he can open the "sprite sheets"--pages you choose your characters from--in MS Paint and modify them any way you want, so he's making characters that look like the descriptions in the book.
It's all very cool, and not the first RPG he's developed.
All of this wouldn't be possible if he were wasting his time in public schools just between 1st and 2nd grade. Where you don't read novels at all, and making a computer game is something nobody even dreams of except as a job when you grow up.
It's all very cool, and not the first RPG he's developed.
All of this wouldn't be possible if he were wasting his time in public schools just between 1st and 2nd grade. Where you don't read novels at all, and making a computer game is something nobody even dreams of except as a job when you grow up.
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Why the small print matters
An ad came in the mail that claimed, "Green is the new color of clean. Through Green Seal Certified housecleaning chemicals, HEPA vacuums, and microfibers, The Cleaning Authority is committed to caring as much for the planet as we do for your home.*"
So I followed the asterisk and found this, in very small print, at the bottom of the page: "...Not all franchised locations will use Green Seal Certified products for residential housecleaning services, or follow US Dept. of Health and Human services recommended practices such as using HEPA vacuums and microfiber dusting cloths."
So not only might they not do what their main advertising point is--"green" cleaning, they might not even do the minimum suggested by the government! Yeah, they really sold me on their product.
Actually, if you read it carefully, they never claim they will use those things. Just that through them they are committed to caring as much for the planet as they do for your house, which apparently isn't much. It's not a very grammatical claim in the first place, is it?
So I followed the asterisk and found this, in very small print, at the bottom of the page: "...Not all franchised locations will use Green Seal Certified products for residential housecleaning services, or follow US Dept. of Health and Human services recommended practices such as using HEPA vacuums and microfiber dusting cloths."
So not only might they not do what their main advertising point is--"green" cleaning, they might not even do the minimum suggested by the government! Yeah, they really sold me on their product.
Actually, if you read it carefully, they never claim they will use those things. Just that through them they are committed to caring as much for the planet as they do for your house, which apparently isn't much. It's not a very grammatical claim in the first place, is it?
Lip Injury and other stuff
I finally found the perfect soap dish. I've always been annoyed by the kind that drain sticky soap water onto the counter, and the kind that let the soap slide off, and the kind that collect it into a marshy mess that I have to look at and clean up, and the kind the soap sticks to. And leaving the soap on the counter coats everything with soap scum. The solution? A dry sponge. Set the soap on it, and everything stays clean and tidy, the soap doesn't slide off or stick, and no scum on anything. If the soap does stick, get it wet and it comes right off. If it gets gross--wash it with the next load of laundry and let it air dry. My bathroom counters look so much better!
As for the lip injury....You know how you can sometimes use your teeth to break that 2" wide clear packing tape? I was doing that for the kids, and had been for 20 minutes or so as they "wrapped presents" by stuffing random toys in boxes and closing them up. Out of the blue, one of the pieces of tape didn't just break and tear across. It outright exploded in my mouth, cutting my lower lip open in 5 places that are just now, several days later, healing. I've never had a bloody lip from biting tape before! We switched to using a broken popsicle stick to break the tape (since scissors are never around when you need them, right?).
2/3 done with my novel--yes, the same one--yet again. This time around it's about 91,000 words long, with a clear plot, clear character development arc, and (gasp!) romance element. I personally miss the epic-style "telling everyone's stories and showing how they intertwine in the long run", but everyone who read it said it was too confusing that way, and that the audience who really would love the book is not the audience who loves, say, The Gunslinger series, where both the length and the complexity are the joy of the series. So we have the pared-down, straightforward, more beautifully written version with more foreshadowing and other literary elements, fewer characters, more descriptive passages, and an easy storyline, focusing on just Kate's story and not all the others'.
I don't know if it's better, but it certainly keeps me distracted!
Pure cane sugar was cheaper than regular white sugar at the store so I bought some. It's less processed than white sugar (or even brown sugar anymore), and it's not quite as sweet, ounce for ounce, but it also hits the kids less when they eat it. Interesting find--more natural seems like it's always better. I think the processing that's going on in the food industry might be actually causing a lot of the health problems in the nation.
Babies are all crying.....more later.
As for the lip injury....You know how you can sometimes use your teeth to break that 2" wide clear packing tape? I was doing that for the kids, and had been for 20 minutes or so as they "wrapped presents" by stuffing random toys in boxes and closing them up. Out of the blue, one of the pieces of tape didn't just break and tear across. It outright exploded in my mouth, cutting my lower lip open in 5 places that are just now, several days later, healing. I've never had a bloody lip from biting tape before! We switched to using a broken popsicle stick to break the tape (since scissors are never around when you need them, right?).
2/3 done with my novel--yes, the same one--yet again. This time around it's about 91,000 words long, with a clear plot, clear character development arc, and (gasp!) romance element. I personally miss the epic-style "telling everyone's stories and showing how they intertwine in the long run", but everyone who read it said it was too confusing that way, and that the audience who really would love the book is not the audience who loves, say, The Gunslinger series, where both the length and the complexity are the joy of the series. So we have the pared-down, straightforward, more beautifully written version with more foreshadowing and other literary elements, fewer characters, more descriptive passages, and an easy storyline, focusing on just Kate's story and not all the others'.
I don't know if it's better, but it certainly keeps me distracted!
Pure cane sugar was cheaper than regular white sugar at the store so I bought some. It's less processed than white sugar (or even brown sugar anymore), and it's not quite as sweet, ounce for ounce, but it also hits the kids less when they eat it. Interesting find--more natural seems like it's always better. I think the processing that's going on in the food industry might be actually causing a lot of the health problems in the nation.
Babies are all crying.....more later.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
More Funny Kids
I just asked Benji if he wanted to play with Pooh Bear. He looked at me funny, and then grabbed his diaper and said, "Ewww!"
Friday, July 18, 2008
Anda
First a funny:
A couple of years ago we were given a pair of stuffed bears. They have magnets in their noses, so when you put them together, they "kiss", and that completes a circuit, causing the "girl" bear's cheeks to glow pink.
I don't know where the girl bear is now, but the boy bear has become a favorite toy, especially when the kids discovered he can slide down the metal pole of our bookshelf, holding on by his nose. "He's a fireman!" they said.
Anyway, they wondered why he had a magnet in his nose, so I explained the girl bear thing, and concluded with, "When the husband bear kisses the wife bear, she blushes."
Anda said, "What is 'blushes'?"
I replied, "It's when her cheeks turn pink."
Anda thought about it for a minute and then said, "I guess she got a really cold kiss!"
Now a serious:
Every pre-kindergartner gets excited to go to school for different reasons. Caleb really wanted to raise his hand in class and answer a question right and get praised for it. My friend's daughter thought riding the bus every day would be the best thing ever.
I finally weaseled out of Anda her reasoning for wanting to go to "a big school"--one of her math lessons was too hard and she didn't get every answer right on the quiz, she "will get to go to the park more often" (I think she thinks the playground is a park) and she thinks all the kids in the school will be her friends and she wants lots of friends.
I'm afraid school will be a bitter disappointment to her. Math won't be easier when a teacher is explaining it. It will be the first year, when she's repeating kindergarten, but after that? It's more intimidating to ask a question in front of the class than in front of Mom, and Anda has the same hangups about making a mistake as I do--the first mistake she made doing school, she cried, deeply devastated, and refused to do school for weeks (which was okay because she was just barely 4 years old). So now I find out that weeks ago she got 3/5 on a math quiz after a lesson (it was a vague lesson that I had to re-teach Caleb, too, and the quiz tests things not taught in the lesson; I tried to explain this to her, but she took the failures to heart as her own instead of as the designers'), and she wants to give up on homeschooling all together.
That's Anda for you. Just like me. I can't count the number of times I failed at something, or perceived I failed, or was mildly criticized, or just got embarrassed (usually needlessly) and had the strong strong desire to quit and never try again, or to move, or to never go back. Some things I did quit--I didn't sing when I thought people could hear me from the time I was 12 until I had kids because a friend teased me. I never have played basketball again since the girls at church laughed when I tried to make a shot at a practice and didn't know what I was doing--and I've avoided other sports, too, just in case. I still remember the one worksheet I got less than an A on in elementary school (Fifth grade, doing math with Time; I still don't get how the teacher was doing it, with adding and carrying and borrowing to figure out what time it will be when she gets there). I also remember that the other kids in the class teased me because it was the first (and only) time I didn't say my score out loud when the teacher was collecting grades (he always gave us the option to pass, and I did, and they openly mocked me for it). Or the time I wanted desperately to move because the Relief Society President rolled her eyes at the condition of my house and refused to come inside, clearly uncomfortable.
The trouble is, the jabs of peers are much more painful than not understanding one assignment, and the damage is far more lasting. I read once that the only long-term negative parts of having Tourette's syndrome actually come from the way the child is mistreated by other children at school, not from the disorder itself.
And I'm not sure sending Anda to school will teach her to "get back on the horse," so to speak. In fact, I'm afraid all the positive attention she gets for being so darn smart will only exacerbate the problem. So then is it a favor to send her to school?
Not only will Anda be bored out of her mind in school, I'm afraid she'll be sorely disappointed in the "having friends" thing, and in the "easier to do math" idea and the "playground is like playing at the park" thing. I suspect she'll have more success at making friends by joining a home school group that meets at the park once a week or so, and going to the "science for homeschoolers" and "art for homeschoolers" classes at the local rec centers. And both of those things would be less work for me, and cost less than school does, and would not require us to be somewhere at 8:00 am every day, which would be so difficult as to be almost impossible for me. (Don't laugh or say I should try harder--the mixed up sleep schedule is something that I suffer from constantly; many tears have been shed, many options tried, and it's still a serious and very real problem for me that is not so easy to solve as you'd think).
There are good things that come from school, and Anda would probably do well. She's social, bright, pretty (the clerk at the store yesterday said she looks like a porcelain doll!), creative, fun. But the negative things that school does to children are so powerful and long-lasting that I hesitate to send my children there, even when they want to go.
A couple of years ago we were given a pair of stuffed bears. They have magnets in their noses, so when you put them together, they "kiss", and that completes a circuit, causing the "girl" bear's cheeks to glow pink.
I don't know where the girl bear is now, but the boy bear has become a favorite toy, especially when the kids discovered he can slide down the metal pole of our bookshelf, holding on by his nose. "He's a fireman!" they said.
Anyway, they wondered why he had a magnet in his nose, so I explained the girl bear thing, and concluded with, "When the husband bear kisses the wife bear, she blushes."
Anda said, "What is 'blushes'?"
I replied, "It's when her cheeks turn pink."
Anda thought about it for a minute and then said, "I guess she got a really cold kiss!"
Now a serious:
Every pre-kindergartner gets excited to go to school for different reasons. Caleb really wanted to raise his hand in class and answer a question right and get praised for it. My friend's daughter thought riding the bus every day would be the best thing ever.
I finally weaseled out of Anda her reasoning for wanting to go to "a big school"--one of her math lessons was too hard and she didn't get every answer right on the quiz, she "will get to go to the park more often" (I think she thinks the playground is a park) and she thinks all the kids in the school will be her friends and she wants lots of friends.
I'm afraid school will be a bitter disappointment to her. Math won't be easier when a teacher is explaining it. It will be the first year, when she's repeating kindergarten, but after that? It's more intimidating to ask a question in front of the class than in front of Mom, and Anda has the same hangups about making a mistake as I do--the first mistake she made doing school, she cried, deeply devastated, and refused to do school for weeks (which was okay because she was just barely 4 years old). So now I find out that weeks ago she got 3/5 on a math quiz after a lesson (it was a vague lesson that I had to re-teach Caleb, too, and the quiz tests things not taught in the lesson; I tried to explain this to her, but she took the failures to heart as her own instead of as the designers'), and she wants to give up on homeschooling all together.
That's Anda for you. Just like me. I can't count the number of times I failed at something, or perceived I failed, or was mildly criticized, or just got embarrassed (usually needlessly) and had the strong strong desire to quit and never try again, or to move, or to never go back. Some things I did quit--I didn't sing when I thought people could hear me from the time I was 12 until I had kids because a friend teased me. I never have played basketball again since the girls at church laughed when I tried to make a shot at a practice and didn't know what I was doing--and I've avoided other sports, too, just in case. I still remember the one worksheet I got less than an A on in elementary school (Fifth grade, doing math with Time; I still don't get how the teacher was doing it, with adding and carrying and borrowing to figure out what time it will be when she gets there). I also remember that the other kids in the class teased me because it was the first (and only) time I didn't say my score out loud when the teacher was collecting grades (he always gave us the option to pass, and I did, and they openly mocked me for it). Or the time I wanted desperately to move because the Relief Society President rolled her eyes at the condition of my house and refused to come inside, clearly uncomfortable.
The trouble is, the jabs of peers are much more painful than not understanding one assignment, and the damage is far more lasting. I read once that the only long-term negative parts of having Tourette's syndrome actually come from the way the child is mistreated by other children at school, not from the disorder itself.
And I'm not sure sending Anda to school will teach her to "get back on the horse," so to speak. In fact, I'm afraid all the positive attention she gets for being so darn smart will only exacerbate the problem. So then is it a favor to send her to school?
Not only will Anda be bored out of her mind in school, I'm afraid she'll be sorely disappointed in the "having friends" thing, and in the "easier to do math" idea and the "playground is like playing at the park" thing. I suspect she'll have more success at making friends by joining a home school group that meets at the park once a week or so, and going to the "science for homeschoolers" and "art for homeschoolers" classes at the local rec centers. And both of those things would be less work for me, and cost less than school does, and would not require us to be somewhere at 8:00 am every day, which would be so difficult as to be almost impossible for me. (Don't laugh or say I should try harder--the mixed up sleep schedule is something that I suffer from constantly; many tears have been shed, many options tried, and it's still a serious and very real problem for me that is not so easy to solve as you'd think).
There are good things that come from school, and Anda would probably do well. She's social, bright, pretty (the clerk at the store yesterday said she looks like a porcelain doll!), creative, fun. But the negative things that school does to children are so powerful and long-lasting that I hesitate to send my children there, even when they want to go.
Thursday, July 17, 2008
Job Hunting Again
So, it's official: Toxic Audio is closing on July 30. At least, the V Theater's website isn't selling any tickets after that. I guess that's as official as you can get.
It all has something to do with the complex "recession-proof"-ness of Las Vegas. In other words, Vegas is very much NOT recession-proof, despite their claims to the contrary, and, with the gas prices preventing visitors from driving or flying in as much as they did last year, the entire city is in shock. Even the schools are funded by taxes on the tourism industry (read: Casinos), so having all of them losing billions of dollars each quarter this year puts everyone in a bad state.
Especially the theaters, from what we've heard (of course, since we're in that part of the industry, that's what we _would_ hear). Even the visitors who come aren't buying show tickets. Big shows here--headliners that don't ever offer cut-rate tickets or worry about selling out--are modifying their theaters to hold fewer people so they still look full. Little shows, new shows, and experimental shows (like Toxic) are all being cut back or cut out.
We don't know why Toxic didn't get continued, but I personally think we are victims of the economic state of the nation. After all, the show only had one bad review, and that was from a poker professional who fell asleep during the show (and that was the extent of his bad review--"I fell asleep during the show"). And we've had dozens and dozens of good reviews, both from news outlets and on "regular people" blogs. And the comments of the guests after the show have been consistently good, consistently along the lines of "I love this--you belong in a bigger theater". Comments and reviews don't sell tickets, and neither did the V Theater (I have theories about this, too, but I won't go into it). Word of Mouth does sell tickets, and the buzz was just building enough for this to really take form, but it didn't get a chance.
So we have to move on.
Tim is auditioning for shows produced by Disney, and we're tracking down audition notices from other big companies (Cirque du Soleil, Dragone, etc). We were going to go back to Colorado and finish school, but it turns out they aren't offering the last two classes he needs this semester. Go figure. So we're looking for work.
If you know of any jobs that are open out there....
It all has something to do with the complex "recession-proof"-ness of Las Vegas. In other words, Vegas is very much NOT recession-proof, despite their claims to the contrary, and, with the gas prices preventing visitors from driving or flying in as much as they did last year, the entire city is in shock. Even the schools are funded by taxes on the tourism industry (read: Casinos), so having all of them losing billions of dollars each quarter this year puts everyone in a bad state.
Especially the theaters, from what we've heard (of course, since we're in that part of the industry, that's what we _would_ hear). Even the visitors who come aren't buying show tickets. Big shows here--headliners that don't ever offer cut-rate tickets or worry about selling out--are modifying their theaters to hold fewer people so they still look full. Little shows, new shows, and experimental shows (like Toxic) are all being cut back or cut out.
We don't know why Toxic didn't get continued, but I personally think we are victims of the economic state of the nation. After all, the show only had one bad review, and that was from a poker professional who fell asleep during the show (and that was the extent of his bad review--"I fell asleep during the show"). And we've had dozens and dozens of good reviews, both from news outlets and on "regular people" blogs. And the comments of the guests after the show have been consistently good, consistently along the lines of "I love this--you belong in a bigger theater". Comments and reviews don't sell tickets, and neither did the V Theater (I have theories about this, too, but I won't go into it). Word of Mouth does sell tickets, and the buzz was just building enough for this to really take form, but it didn't get a chance.
So we have to move on.
Tim is auditioning for shows produced by Disney, and we're tracking down audition notices from other big companies (Cirque du Soleil, Dragone, etc). We were going to go back to Colorado and finish school, but it turns out they aren't offering the last two classes he needs this semester. Go figure. So we're looking for work.
If you know of any jobs that are open out there....
Monday, July 14, 2008
Today
Right now...
Anda is cutting all the corners off a big piece of paper. I don't know why. She says she doesn't want there to be corners.
Daniel is throwing English muffins at the walls. I don't know why.
Caleb is having a potty break while he thinks about whether or not his character on the RPG (a kind of computer game) he is creating needs a weapon or is strong enough on his own.
Benji is eating. As usual.
I am pondering how would a college freshman from BYU respond to a tree suddenly swooping down and grabbing her. Would she be terrified, amazed, looking for the trick, etc? Would she gasp or scream?
Tim is sleeping, since he was up all night with a migraine.
It's been a fairly normal day. I'm just glad English muffins don't leave as much gunk on the walls as watermelon or ice cream.
Speaking of ice cream, last night I was craving ice cream. Had to have coconut, not the other six flavors we already had open, so I went out the chest freezer on the back porch and got the coconut ice cream (tampico brand--really tasty stuff, as it the guava ice cream). I noticed it was unusually soft. Several hours later I went out again and noticed that the last popsicle out there was melting, and the last box of ice cream out there was soggy, and the frozen pizzas were all flexible, and....
At 2:00 am I had to empty the whole freezer into the inside freezer because it was apparently not working any more. Must have shorted in the massive rainstorm we had.
Naturally, I had to crave ice cream in the middle of the night so I would notice before we lost any of the meat that was out there. Fortunately, we had used a lot of our meat lately and when I went to stock up, the store was out and gave me a rain check.
This seems like a disaster, but since we are job hunting, and therefore possibly facing a move in the next few months, it might be a blessing. One less big thing to try to cram into a truck! Again. Plus, thanks to the midnight cravings and a constant nagging feeling 2 hours later that I needed to go check the freezer again, we only lost one popsicle. That's it. And some things (like a chicken and some mystery meat that was frozen in 2003) that we should have thrown away a long time ago.
Anda is cutting all the corners off a big piece of paper. I don't know why. She says she doesn't want there to be corners.
Daniel is throwing English muffins at the walls. I don't know why.
Caleb is having a potty break while he thinks about whether or not his character on the RPG (a kind of computer game) he is creating needs a weapon or is strong enough on his own.
Benji is eating. As usual.
I am pondering how would a college freshman from BYU respond to a tree suddenly swooping down and grabbing her. Would she be terrified, amazed, looking for the trick, etc? Would she gasp or scream?
Tim is sleeping, since he was up all night with a migraine.
It's been a fairly normal day. I'm just glad English muffins don't leave as much gunk on the walls as watermelon or ice cream.
Speaking of ice cream, last night I was craving ice cream. Had to have coconut, not the other six flavors we already had open, so I went out the chest freezer on the back porch and got the coconut ice cream (tampico brand--really tasty stuff, as it the guava ice cream). I noticed it was unusually soft. Several hours later I went out again and noticed that the last popsicle out there was melting, and the last box of ice cream out there was soggy, and the frozen pizzas were all flexible, and....
At 2:00 am I had to empty the whole freezer into the inside freezer because it was apparently not working any more. Must have shorted in the massive rainstorm we had.
Naturally, I had to crave ice cream in the middle of the night so I would notice before we lost any of the meat that was out there. Fortunately, we had used a lot of our meat lately and when I went to stock up, the store was out and gave me a rain check.
This seems like a disaster, but since we are job hunting, and therefore possibly facing a move in the next few months, it might be a blessing. One less big thing to try to cram into a truck! Again. Plus, thanks to the midnight cravings and a constant nagging feeling 2 hours later that I needed to go check the freezer again, we only lost one popsicle. That's it. And some things (like a chicken and some mystery meat that was frozen in 2003) that we should have thrown away a long time ago.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
Funny Kids this month
Today, Tim was painting new designs on a T-shirt, and Caleb came in and said, "Mom, Dad is editing his shirts."
A couple days ago, I looked down and found Benjamin trying to pull off his belly button. He has a slight hernia, so his belly button is a pronounced outie, which means he could easily pinch it. So he was trying to pull it off. I finally said, "What are you doing Benji?" and my little one year old replied, "I want a ding-dong!"
A couple days ago, I looked down and found Benjamin trying to pull off his belly button. He has a slight hernia, so his belly button is a pronounced outie, which means he could easily pinch it. So he was trying to pull it off. I finally said, "What are you doing Benji?" and my little one year old replied, "I want a ding-dong!"
Friday, June 27, 2008
What's Been Going On Around Here
Sorry for the long absence from blogging. I've been sick.
Yes, morning sick. At least as bad as my second pregnancy, maybe as bad as my first--and at least twice as bad as either of the last two.
Plus I developed a severe headache that comes and goes but gets worse when anything touches my neck--including my pillow. So I've not been sleeping well, which makes it all worse. Tension? A sinus infection? It would be more convenient to find out if I had insurance....as it is, I have to look up the clinics in town that do "Pay on a sliding scale based on income", find proof of our income (where did I put those pay stubs?), and pray the care is half-decent, in English, and respectful of human dignity (none of which have been my experiences with welfare clinics).
To make things more convenient, I am exhausted and cry over everything. Everything. Harry Potter counting down to his eleventh birthday? General Conference address that says mothers should develop their talents but not surf the internet? Tim singing "Stand By Me" in the show? News articles? Recipes...oh, let's not go there. Put together the phrases "emotional" and "train wreck," and you have me.
Oh, and it gets better. I have all the strong cravings a first-time pregnancy gets. For a week all I wanted was pizza--and now I can't stand to even look at it (not since the one we bought to bake at home came out moldy....) Then I just HAD to have a couple of tacos from Jack in the Box, which I've only tasted one other time in my whole life--ten years ago, the day I met my parents at the end of my mission. Then the other day I had to have Arby's ham and swiss melt. The next day it was steak and mushrooms. And I'd pay a lot right now for a toasted turkey-and-avocado sandwich, but I don't even know who makes those. Oh, and when we ran out of nectarines I thought I would die. I actually ate a whole Juan Canary Melon the other day. HAD to have it--and I'd never even tasted one before! (It's a lot like honeydew, if you wondered).
I also have food aversions. Don't make me drink soda. Or eat candy. Even ice cream looks nasty, and I barely tasted Tim's birthday cake and didn't even touch Anda's. And I can hardly look at tuna without gagging. This is only significant because Tuna is everyone's favorite lunch meat lately.
So, to make things worse, my usual distraction, working on my novel, is tied up in writer's block. Everywhere else I look there are messes because I feel to tired to fix them, and Tim is already handling all poopy diapers, his regular jobs (performing, composing, working on school, etc), the dishes, the laundry, and feeding kids.
Plus it's now 107 degrees in the shade every day, so going outside brings on waves of nausea. Apparently the local roaches are opposed to the heat, too--they've decided to come into the house.
Then the kids got ahold of an old sleeping bag and ripped a big L-shaped tear in the bottom. The would be no big deal, except it happened to be an honest-to-goodness down sleeping bag and they happened to be in the room where toys are spilled all over the floor, so vacuuming up the mess in time was impossible.
You wanna know what sleeping bag down blowing in the air conditioner looks like? Roaches.
Yes, morning sick. At least as bad as my second pregnancy, maybe as bad as my first--and at least twice as bad as either of the last two.
Plus I developed a severe headache that comes and goes but gets worse when anything touches my neck--including my pillow. So I've not been sleeping well, which makes it all worse. Tension? A sinus infection? It would be more convenient to find out if I had insurance....as it is, I have to look up the clinics in town that do "Pay on a sliding scale based on income", find proof of our income (where did I put those pay stubs?), and pray the care is half-decent, in English, and respectful of human dignity (none of which have been my experiences with welfare clinics).
To make things more convenient, I am exhausted and cry over everything. Everything. Harry Potter counting down to his eleventh birthday? General Conference address that says mothers should develop their talents but not surf the internet? Tim singing "Stand By Me" in the show? News articles? Recipes...oh, let's not go there. Put together the phrases "emotional" and "train wreck," and you have me.
Oh, and it gets better. I have all the strong cravings a first-time pregnancy gets. For a week all I wanted was pizza--and now I can't stand to even look at it (not since the one we bought to bake at home came out moldy....) Then I just HAD to have a couple of tacos from Jack in the Box, which I've only tasted one other time in my whole life--ten years ago, the day I met my parents at the end of my mission. Then the other day I had to have Arby's ham and swiss melt. The next day it was steak and mushrooms. And I'd pay a lot right now for a toasted turkey-and-avocado sandwich, but I don't even know who makes those. Oh, and when we ran out of nectarines I thought I would die. I actually ate a whole Juan Canary Melon the other day. HAD to have it--and I'd never even tasted one before! (It's a lot like honeydew, if you wondered).
I also have food aversions. Don't make me drink soda. Or eat candy. Even ice cream looks nasty, and I barely tasted Tim's birthday cake and didn't even touch Anda's. And I can hardly look at tuna without gagging. This is only significant because Tuna is everyone's favorite lunch meat lately.
So, to make things worse, my usual distraction, working on my novel, is tied up in writer's block. Everywhere else I look there are messes because I feel to tired to fix them, and Tim is already handling all poopy diapers, his regular jobs (performing, composing, working on school, etc), the dishes, the laundry, and feeding kids.
Plus it's now 107 degrees in the shade every day, so going outside brings on waves of nausea. Apparently the local roaches are opposed to the heat, too--they've decided to come into the house.
Then the kids got ahold of an old sleeping bag and ripped a big L-shaped tear in the bottom. The would be no big deal, except it happened to be an honest-to-goodness down sleeping bag and they happened to be in the room where toys are spilled all over the floor, so vacuuming up the mess in time was impossible.
You wanna know what sleeping bag down blowing in the air conditioner looks like? Roaches.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
Vitamin D in babies
The latest study to hit the news wires today was that 42% of babies and children are vitamin d Deficient, especially nursing babies because breast milk contains no vitamin D.
I read the reports and was fairly shocked. I am a strong believer that mother's milk is perfect for babies. If God didn't make it with vitamin D, then babies don't need dietary vitamin D, and taking supplements is a bad idea. Further, who set the amount of vitamin D infants need? What constitutes deficient?
The thing that shocked me most was that doctors only gave passing mention to the cause of the deficiency--the Doctors themselves! For years they have been telling parents to keep their children out of the sun and, if they MUST go out, do it when there is no direct sun and even then wear sunscreen (which interferes with Vitamin D production, according to the article I read). My doctor told me to put sunscreen on the kids every day, like we brush teeth every day.
When my doctors first told me that 6 years ago, I smiled and nodded and came home and said, "God designed humans to work outside. They've been doing it for centuries healthily. We aren't made to stay out of the sun completely. Someone is going to discover in a few years that this is a BAD idea, and they will have damaged thousands of kids' health over it." Besides, I have always worried about exposing kids to chemicals every day--and slathering on the sunscreen as part of the daily routine would certainly count as chemical exposure every day.
I, personally, have always encouraged my children to play in the sun every day. Not excessively, but kids need to play outside! It helps regulate their sleep, it keeps their skin healthy and cures eczema, it awakens their brains and keeps their muscles and lungs healthy. For all our playing outside, we've never had a sunburn (which, I understand, is what leads to skin cancer, not simply exposure to sunlight). And we've only used sunscreen when sunburn was a real risk--at swimming pools, when hiking, etc.
Instead of doctors saying they were wrong and now thousands of kids have weak bones and immune systems and are at risk of type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis (linked to weak immune systems caused by lack of Vitamin D), the doctors said, "It's because ALL children need vitamin D supplements!"
The problem with that is other studies I've read indicate bodies don't process dietary vitamin D the same way as sunlight vitamin D--and it doesn't have the same health benefits. Of course, it benefits the drug companies--why would they want you to get free vitamin d?
Doctors are not people to admit mistakes, generally, so I predict it will be years yet before they say, "That stupid previous generation of doctors hurt lots of kids--send your kids out in the sunshine every day!"
Granted, I do understand that sunshine can cause skin cancer. Our bodies were made to work in the sun outside. They were not made to suntan or to have massive amounts of skin exposed. I wonder if someone has done a study on whether the amount of skin you have tanned (ie is your belly and back Tan? upper limbs as well as lower limb?) is related to the chances you'll develop cancer. Is a farmers' tan healthier than a bikini tan?
I read the reports and was fairly shocked. I am a strong believer that mother's milk is perfect for babies. If God didn't make it with vitamin D, then babies don't need dietary vitamin D, and taking supplements is a bad idea. Further, who set the amount of vitamin D infants need? What constitutes deficient?
The thing that shocked me most was that doctors only gave passing mention to the cause of the deficiency--the Doctors themselves! For years they have been telling parents to keep their children out of the sun and, if they MUST go out, do it when there is no direct sun and even then wear sunscreen (which interferes with Vitamin D production, according to the article I read). My doctor told me to put sunscreen on the kids every day, like we brush teeth every day.
When my doctors first told me that 6 years ago, I smiled and nodded and came home and said, "God designed humans to work outside. They've been doing it for centuries healthily. We aren't made to stay out of the sun completely. Someone is going to discover in a few years that this is a BAD idea, and they will have damaged thousands of kids' health over it." Besides, I have always worried about exposing kids to chemicals every day--and slathering on the sunscreen as part of the daily routine would certainly count as chemical exposure every day.
I, personally, have always encouraged my children to play in the sun every day. Not excessively, but kids need to play outside! It helps regulate their sleep, it keeps their skin healthy and cures eczema, it awakens their brains and keeps their muscles and lungs healthy. For all our playing outside, we've never had a sunburn (which, I understand, is what leads to skin cancer, not simply exposure to sunlight). And we've only used sunscreen when sunburn was a real risk--at swimming pools, when hiking, etc.
Instead of doctors saying they were wrong and now thousands of kids have weak bones and immune systems and are at risk of type I diabetes and multiple sclerosis (linked to weak immune systems caused by lack of Vitamin D), the doctors said, "It's because ALL children need vitamin D supplements!"
The problem with that is other studies I've read indicate bodies don't process dietary vitamin D the same way as sunlight vitamin D--and it doesn't have the same health benefits. Of course, it benefits the drug companies--why would they want you to get free vitamin d?
Doctors are not people to admit mistakes, generally, so I predict it will be years yet before they say, "That stupid previous generation of doctors hurt lots of kids--send your kids out in the sunshine every day!"
Granted, I do understand that sunshine can cause skin cancer. Our bodies were made to work in the sun outside. They were not made to suntan or to have massive amounts of skin exposed. I wonder if someone has done a study on whether the amount of skin you have tanned (ie is your belly and back Tan? upper limbs as well as lower limb?) is related to the chances you'll develop cancer. Is a farmers' tan healthier than a bikini tan?
Mowing the Lawn
We finally went and bought a lawnmower that works, since the one the landlord left leaks gas, sends out blue sparks, and won't shut off unless it feels like it. And that's when the pull cord doesn't stick!
Dan hopped up this morning to watch Tim mow. This is the first time in his memory that he's seen a lawnmower in action. He was IMPRESSED. The lawn was knee-high in some places, so it was a dramatic change.
First he said, "Dad's making pools for us to play in!"
Then he said, "Dad's shaving the grass!"
He ran from window to window watching and yelling, "Hi, Dad!"
It was all very exciting.
Dan hopped up this morning to watch Tim mow. This is the first time in his memory that he's seen a lawnmower in action. He was IMPRESSED. The lawn was knee-high in some places, so it was a dramatic change.
First he said, "Dad's making pools for us to play in!"
Then he said, "Dad's shaving the grass!"
He ran from window to window watching and yelling, "Hi, Dad!"
It was all very exciting.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Learning to Fix a Dishwasher, take 2
In case you missed this story the first time it happened, at least 2 years ago, I'm telling it again. Not because I just like the story, but because it happened again.
I already mentioned that we worked our tails off and got the dishwasher installed, and then it didn't drain properly. I couldn't even feel or hear water trickling through the drain hose. It just wasn't working. So I poured, in several batches, a liter of vinegar in and then closed it up for the night and went to bed with prayers that the dishwasher would work.
I had concluded that the drainage system was full of mineral deposits that I had scraped off the walls and "whirlybird" (that's the official term, from the repairman instructions that came with it!) inside the dishwasher. I hoped the vinegar would soften and dissolve the deposits into the water that was sitting in the dishwasher.
What the vinegar fumes did was loosen the deposits all through the dishwasher.
But it still didn't drain.
I prayed that it would work, and be fixed miraculously, but it still didn't drain. So I tried everything I could, inclusing sticking a pipe cleaner down the drain. Nothing worked.
So I prayed again and pulled the thing out--not an easy task, especially since my wrench wouldn't fit and I had to use pliers to undo the compression nut on the copper tubing, while lying on my side and working through a six-inch opening with a one-year-old cheerfully sitting astride me pulling my hair and taking alternately the wrench and the pliers--whatever I put down--to try to help. I was terrified he would hit me, but all that happened was I lost a few handfuls of hair. To him, not to me tearing it out.
Finally we got the thing out and worked on two obvious problems--gave the power cord the extra inch it needed to plug right into the plug adapter, skipping the extension cord (which can be a fire hazard, especially under a sink), and tightened all the little bolts on the part that leaked. Then I rocked the thing back and forth and up and down and drained tons of water and soft semi-dissolved mineral putty out. Banged it out of the hose, too, and then turned the whole thing on its side and felt every hose. I was afraid to take everything off--I didn't want to break the turbidity sensor, or lose any of the springs. Even with the "exploded" diagrams, I was afraid to take it all apart because some of the parts were very complex--this is a much newer dishwasher than I'd ever fixed before. Plus some of the clamps were old enough that I knew if I took them off, they'd break (I've seen it happen before), and I didn't have new ones, and wouldn't have a car until tomorrow late because Tim is out of town rehearsing with moosebutter, so I couldn't buy more.
So, after I had done everything I thought was prudent, I turned the whole thing back upright, which drained the last of the water and gunk out, and did all the work of hooking it back up and shoving it back in (and pinched Ben's fingers!), and then I turned the power on and ...
It was like there was no change, except that the leaky part no longer leaked, and the cord was indeed long enough.
So, back to my knees, I explained my desperation to Heavenly Father that I had to have a dishwasher, and how I would go for a different one if that was the right answer but I was getting desperate to be able to feed my family.
Then back to the kitchen. I stared at the thing. Read the repairman's guide again. Stared at it more. Watched a bit of the kids' movie, played nintendo for minute, handed out bottles and checked on Dan while he threw up. Fed everyone burritos and popsicles for dinner. It seemed apparent that one of the pumps wasn't working, and I didn't want to deal with that.
And then, back in the kitchen, it occurred to me that time in the previous owner's garage, plus all the moving, might have loosened some of the many electrical plugs under the dishwasher. I dove down to tighten them and then thought better of it and unplugged the dishwasher first (it says on the repair panel that some of the inside parts are purposely not grounded and there is danger of shock). Then I lay down on my side again and tightened every plug I could reach.
Plugged the whole thing back in again, and...it still didn't drain. BUT, when I turned it on and filled it and then cancelled the cycle so it would drain,the drain hose under the sink jumped. This meant that the pumps were now working.
Back to the instructions, the first thing it said to check was the air gap--that thing that sticks up by the faucet on the sink where you can hear gurgling when the dishwasher is running. I had checked it before, but this time I got out a screwdriver and started taking it apart. I stuck the screwdriver down the gap to release the catch, and there was instantly a splutter, and a cough, and then the gushing sound of water running. It was draining!
When it was done, I pulled the cap off and found it absolutely plugged with hard, dry mineral deposits that crumbled in my fingers. With that clean, I turned it on "drain" again, and had a gushing fountain all over the kitchen counter! I quickly opened the dishwasher, put everything back together, and then, delighted, listened to the whole thing drain.
Then we put it all back together and started a cycle with no soap to be sure it would work and to clean the inside. The Vingar that had been sitting in there for 24 hours had sufficiently loosened all the deposits inside that when we opened it, the water was all frothy as if we had put soap in.
And it worked!
Once again, Heavenly Father taught me how to fix the dishwasher. And once more, it was one step at a time, with no clue that it was merely a step and not the end. Each time the new idea hit my mind, I was sure it was the answer to all the problems. But had I been inspired to take apart the air gap first, I wouldn't have fixed the leak (it was so small, and so much work to get the whole thing out again) or the loose plugs (fire hazard, especially with a leak underneath!). So, once again, I am extremely grateful--and reminded that in the "bigger" things in life, when it doesn't work out, that Heavenly Father usually doesn't show us the end or the whole process, but merely the next step--and only then if we pray and work hard doing everything we know to do.
He knows what he's doing.
I already mentioned that we worked our tails off and got the dishwasher installed, and then it didn't drain properly. I couldn't even feel or hear water trickling through the drain hose. It just wasn't working. So I poured, in several batches, a liter of vinegar in and then closed it up for the night and went to bed with prayers that the dishwasher would work.
I had concluded that the drainage system was full of mineral deposits that I had scraped off the walls and "whirlybird" (that's the official term, from the repairman instructions that came with it!) inside the dishwasher. I hoped the vinegar would soften and dissolve the deposits into the water that was sitting in the dishwasher.
What the vinegar fumes did was loosen the deposits all through the dishwasher.
But it still didn't drain.
I prayed that it would work, and be fixed miraculously, but it still didn't drain. So I tried everything I could, inclusing sticking a pipe cleaner down the drain. Nothing worked.
So I prayed again and pulled the thing out--not an easy task, especially since my wrench wouldn't fit and I had to use pliers to undo the compression nut on the copper tubing, while lying on my side and working through a six-inch opening with a one-year-old cheerfully sitting astride me pulling my hair and taking alternately the wrench and the pliers--whatever I put down--to try to help. I was terrified he would hit me, but all that happened was I lost a few handfuls of hair. To him, not to me tearing it out.
Finally we got the thing out and worked on two obvious problems--gave the power cord the extra inch it needed to plug right into the plug adapter, skipping the extension cord (which can be a fire hazard, especially under a sink), and tightened all the little bolts on the part that leaked. Then I rocked the thing back and forth and up and down and drained tons of water and soft semi-dissolved mineral putty out. Banged it out of the hose, too, and then turned the whole thing on its side and felt every hose. I was afraid to take everything off--I didn't want to break the turbidity sensor, or lose any of the springs. Even with the "exploded" diagrams, I was afraid to take it all apart because some of the parts were very complex--this is a much newer dishwasher than I'd ever fixed before. Plus some of the clamps were old enough that I knew if I took them off, they'd break (I've seen it happen before), and I didn't have new ones, and wouldn't have a car until tomorrow late because Tim is out of town rehearsing with moosebutter, so I couldn't buy more.
So, after I had done everything I thought was prudent, I turned the whole thing back upright, which drained the last of the water and gunk out, and did all the work of hooking it back up and shoving it back in (and pinched Ben's fingers!), and then I turned the power on and ...
It was like there was no change, except that the leaky part no longer leaked, and the cord was indeed long enough.
So, back to my knees, I explained my desperation to Heavenly Father that I had to have a dishwasher, and how I would go for a different one if that was the right answer but I was getting desperate to be able to feed my family.
Then back to the kitchen. I stared at the thing. Read the repairman's guide again. Stared at it more. Watched a bit of the kids' movie, played nintendo for minute, handed out bottles and checked on Dan while he threw up. Fed everyone burritos and popsicles for dinner. It seemed apparent that one of the pumps wasn't working, and I didn't want to deal with that.
And then, back in the kitchen, it occurred to me that time in the previous owner's garage, plus all the moving, might have loosened some of the many electrical plugs under the dishwasher. I dove down to tighten them and then thought better of it and unplugged the dishwasher first (it says on the repair panel that some of the inside parts are purposely not grounded and there is danger of shock). Then I lay down on my side again and tightened every plug I could reach.
Plugged the whole thing back in again, and...it still didn't drain. BUT, when I turned it on and filled it and then cancelled the cycle so it would drain,the drain hose under the sink jumped. This meant that the pumps were now working.
Back to the instructions, the first thing it said to check was the air gap--that thing that sticks up by the faucet on the sink where you can hear gurgling when the dishwasher is running. I had checked it before, but this time I got out a screwdriver and started taking it apart. I stuck the screwdriver down the gap to release the catch, and there was instantly a splutter, and a cough, and then the gushing sound of water running. It was draining!
When it was done, I pulled the cap off and found it absolutely plugged with hard, dry mineral deposits that crumbled in my fingers. With that clean, I turned it on "drain" again, and had a gushing fountain all over the kitchen counter! I quickly opened the dishwasher, put everything back together, and then, delighted, listened to the whole thing drain.
Then we put it all back together and started a cycle with no soap to be sure it would work and to clean the inside. The Vingar that had been sitting in there for 24 hours had sufficiently loosened all the deposits inside that when we opened it, the water was all frothy as if we had put soap in.
And it worked!
Once again, Heavenly Father taught me how to fix the dishwasher. And once more, it was one step at a time, with no clue that it was merely a step and not the end. Each time the new idea hit my mind, I was sure it was the answer to all the problems. But had I been inspired to take apart the air gap first, I wouldn't have fixed the leak (it was so small, and so much work to get the whole thing out again) or the loose plugs (fire hazard, especially with a leak underneath!). So, once again, I am extremely grateful--and reminded that in the "bigger" things in life, when it doesn't work out, that Heavenly Father usually doesn't show us the end or the whole process, but merely the next step--and only then if we pray and work hard doing everything we know to do.
He knows what he's doing.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Religious Thoughts
I was holding Benji while I was disconnecting the old dishwasher I pulled out, and he was holding a screwdriver and trying to help the best a 1-year-old can, and I was letting him even though it slowed me down.
And I had this thought:
That's what we do to Heavenly Father. He's working on this great work that we can hardly comprehend, just like Benji could hardly grasp (and certainly couldn't understand) the work I was doing replacing the dishwasher. But if we want to help, Heavenly Father lets us crawl up into his lap and take a set of tools and do our very best with them--not because He can't do it faster and easier himself, but because part of the purpose of everything a parent does is to help his or her children learn and grow. So He's doing His grand work, and he lets us poke in our screwdriver randomly here and there as we do our best to "help" with our best skills and our hardest efforts at understanding what we're supposed to be doing--and I suspect He's grateful for the help.
And I had this thought:
That's what we do to Heavenly Father. He's working on this great work that we can hardly comprehend, just like Benji could hardly grasp (and certainly couldn't understand) the work I was doing replacing the dishwasher. But if we want to help, Heavenly Father lets us crawl up into his lap and take a set of tools and do our very best with them--not because He can't do it faster and easier himself, but because part of the purpose of everything a parent does is to help his or her children learn and grow. So He's doing His grand work, and he lets us poke in our screwdriver randomly here and there as we do our best to "help" with our best skills and our hardest efforts at understanding what we're supposed to be doing--and I suspect He's grateful for the help.
Oh--Pregnancy
I've just hit that point in pregnancy when I feel sick if my tummy is empty of food, or if I smell anything weird, or if I don't sleep enough. Plus I'm getting those weird cravings (mashed potatoes with chicken gravy at 4:00 am anyone? Hot dog wrapped in bread with no crust?).
And tired? I'm so tired! Plus grouchy. My poor kids.
Then again, how often do I get to spend the day growing fingers, hands, arms--and an extra brain?
(Once every two years, I guess.)
And tired? I'm so tired! Plus grouchy. My poor kids.
Then again, how often do I get to spend the day growing fingers, hands, arms--and an extra brain?
(Once every two years, I guess.)
A week for fixing things
This is the kind of week its' been: I just turned around while 3 people were talking at me and I was trying to pour red juice without spilling, and I found the only silent person in the family--the baby--sitting in a small puddle of vomit that he had produced, and he was picking the chunks out and eating them. It's been THAT kind of a week.
Right before we moved, I bought a pair of computers for $40 off Craigslist hoping to use them as school computers and sincerely hoping one was strong enough to put our MagicJack on so that we could use it instead of Vonage, since I paid $50 for 5 years of service on the MagicJack and we were porting our Vonage number to Tim's cell phone (which finally happened after 6 weeks of waiting even though it was supposed to take 4 hours--turns out once they schedule it, even if they do it wrong, there's no changing it. Someone accidentally typed in May 26 instead of May 2-6, and that was it). Anyway, I was disappointed to find one computer was too slow using Windows XP to process the more complex school activities, so that one wouldn't work for the new phone system. And the other was fast, but it hung every time we turned it on.
My brother stopped by on his way to Disneyland, and he looked at it and said the memory was bad. So the next day, wishing I hadn't given away the computer that died (it's memory cards were fine--the motor went), I walked into the storage room and found a motherboard sitting there that the previous tenants had left. It was stripped of everything except 2 128mb memory cards! So I cracked open the computer and found it held 2 128 mb memory cards. It took me a few tries to get them in right (I didn't know the 2 slots were not interchangeable, so the first time I put them in backwards and they didn't work). Now the computer works great, and the phone system works fantastically (and we owe nothing on it until 2013!) The computer still won't load up from off if the peripherals are plugged in, but it also doesn't slow down or hang if we leave it on all night, so that's okay.
My next project was the dishwasher. The one in the house was rusting away inside, leaving a rust-colored, mineral-infused coating on all the dishes. Most of the holes were plugged, and it was just not good. The owner said, "Well, you have to pour vinegar in once a week." Maybe so--perhaps she should have told her sons that when they were living here for the past year? I didn't want to deal with it, especially since the tines on the racks were literally rusting off. So Tim went and got me a dishwasher we found on Craigslist that the owner swore worked fine, but he was selling it cheap ($25) because the faceplate was all scratched up. And it was.
So I spent all day yesterday yanking out the old dishwasher, most of the time with Benji on my lap trying to help. I did remember to turn off the water and unplug it first. I didn't remember to have towels ready when I pulled off the drain hose. that was a little messy, but easily remedied.
We had a break in the middle of the work to take the kids to a local pizza place that was doing a "Kids make it, we bake it" day where the kids got to make and eat their own pizza free if mom and Dad bought a meal. So we fed everyone for $20, and one of the other Toxic guys joined us with his wife and kids, so it was really fun.
Then back to the dishwashers. We put in and pulled back out the new dishwasher half a dozen times before everything was hooked up. It took 2 trips to WalMart for appliance extension cords (one for the cord, another for an outlet extender that made it possible to also plug in the disposal, since the appliance extension cord blocked the disposal outlet, which is wired specially to the disposal switch, so it couldn't be rearranged). Got it all in, plugged in the thing, turned on the water--and it leaked. So everything off again, I tightened the compression nuts on both ends of the copper tubing, and that stopped those leaks, but the place the copper tubing connects to the dishwasher also leaked--just a little, and only when the dishwasher is off--so I'm still trying to figure out what to do about that.
Unfortunately, the thing was coated with mineral deposits inside, which I wiped down with vinegar and scrubbed off.
They plugged the dishwasher drain.
So now I'm facing pulling the whole thing out again to clean all the inside components of mineral deposits.
What a pain!
Meanwhile the dishes are piling up.
Apparently you can keep the inside of the dishwasher clean in a hard water area by putting in a cup of vinegar with the dirty dishes once a week or so. Online "wisdom" also says you can put half a tub of Tang in, but the makers of the drink don't advise this. Other people say a packet of lemon Kool-Aid once a week where the soap goes (in an empty load) solves the problems. Any way you look at it, everyone agrees you have to throw in some acid every week or dishwashers here get really yucky.
I just want clean dishes. Is that too much to ask?
Right before we moved, I bought a pair of computers for $40 off Craigslist hoping to use them as school computers and sincerely hoping one was strong enough to put our MagicJack on so that we could use it instead of Vonage, since I paid $50 for 5 years of service on the MagicJack and we were porting our Vonage number to Tim's cell phone (which finally happened after 6 weeks of waiting even though it was supposed to take 4 hours--turns out once they schedule it, even if they do it wrong, there's no changing it. Someone accidentally typed in May 26 instead of May 2-6, and that was it). Anyway, I was disappointed to find one computer was too slow using Windows XP to process the more complex school activities, so that one wouldn't work for the new phone system. And the other was fast, but it hung every time we turned it on.
My brother stopped by on his way to Disneyland, and he looked at it and said the memory was bad. So the next day, wishing I hadn't given away the computer that died (it's memory cards were fine--the motor went), I walked into the storage room and found a motherboard sitting there that the previous tenants had left. It was stripped of everything except 2 128mb memory cards! So I cracked open the computer and found it held 2 128 mb memory cards. It took me a few tries to get them in right (I didn't know the 2 slots were not interchangeable, so the first time I put them in backwards and they didn't work). Now the computer works great, and the phone system works fantastically (and we owe nothing on it until 2013!) The computer still won't load up from off if the peripherals are plugged in, but it also doesn't slow down or hang if we leave it on all night, so that's okay.
My next project was the dishwasher. The one in the house was rusting away inside, leaving a rust-colored, mineral-infused coating on all the dishes. Most of the holes were plugged, and it was just not good. The owner said, "Well, you have to pour vinegar in once a week." Maybe so--perhaps she should have told her sons that when they were living here for the past year? I didn't want to deal with it, especially since the tines on the racks were literally rusting off. So Tim went and got me a dishwasher we found on Craigslist that the owner swore worked fine, but he was selling it cheap ($25) because the faceplate was all scratched up. And it was.
So I spent all day yesterday yanking out the old dishwasher, most of the time with Benji on my lap trying to help. I did remember to turn off the water and unplug it first. I didn't remember to have towels ready when I pulled off the drain hose. that was a little messy, but easily remedied.
We had a break in the middle of the work to take the kids to a local pizza place that was doing a "Kids make it, we bake it" day where the kids got to make and eat their own pizza free if mom and Dad bought a meal. So we fed everyone for $20, and one of the other Toxic guys joined us with his wife and kids, so it was really fun.
Then back to the dishwashers. We put in and pulled back out the new dishwasher half a dozen times before everything was hooked up. It took 2 trips to WalMart for appliance extension cords (one for the cord, another for an outlet extender that made it possible to also plug in the disposal, since the appliance extension cord blocked the disposal outlet, which is wired specially to the disposal switch, so it couldn't be rearranged). Got it all in, plugged in the thing, turned on the water--and it leaked. So everything off again, I tightened the compression nuts on both ends of the copper tubing, and that stopped those leaks, but the place the copper tubing connects to the dishwasher also leaked--just a little, and only when the dishwasher is off--so I'm still trying to figure out what to do about that.
Unfortunately, the thing was coated with mineral deposits inside, which I wiped down with vinegar and scrubbed off.
They plugged the dishwasher drain.
So now I'm facing pulling the whole thing out again to clean all the inside components of mineral deposits.
What a pain!
Meanwhile the dishes are piling up.
Apparently you can keep the inside of the dishwasher clean in a hard water area by putting in a cup of vinegar with the dirty dishes once a week or so. Online "wisdom" also says you can put half a tub of Tang in, but the makers of the drink don't advise this. Other people say a packet of lemon Kool-Aid once a week where the soap goes (in an empty load) solves the problems. Any way you look at it, everyone agrees you have to throw in some acid every week or dishwashers here get really yucky.
I just want clean dishes. Is that too much to ask?
Monday, May 19, 2008
Moving part 2
So we should have been done, right? The truck unloaded, stuff in the new house.
But there was still stuff in the old house!
So my sister was driving through town on the way home from her vacation, and we called and asked if she and her husband might come help, just for a little while. She said, "You never ask for help, so you must really need it!" and they tracked down one other friend and met us at the old house.
That was the last call we could make from the new house--the internet stopped working suddenly and we couldn't fix it, and, since our phones run through the internet, we couldn't call them about it.
So, back at the old house, Beth and Ryan and their friend Kyle started dragging all the remaining big stuff--bunk beds and things--out to the truck. They also got the rest of the stuff out of the office and the garage, and were an immense help. But they had to leave at 7:00, and we still hadn't packed the kitchen or laundry or the miscellaneous stuff.
So I suddenly felt well enough to help, and I set to work. Through all of this, Tim still was sick and had no voice, so it was rather silent and unhappy in the house. We packed. And we packed. And we packed. And we packed. Finally, after midnight, we had the truck full and we headed over to the other house. We got there and dragged all the twin-sized mattresses into one room and made one big bed there. The kids quickly dropped off to sleep, and Tim and I started, all by ourselves in the middle of the night, unpacking the full 26-foot moving truck. By ourselves. It must have been well after midnight, because Tim said, "We have 3 hours before we have to get this truck back". So we worked and worked and worked and finally, as the sun was coming up, we were done. We swept the truck and then dragged our sleeping children into the van and drove the truck back, just 15 minutes shy of its due time at 7:00 am. Tim had been working for 24 hours straight on 4 hours of sleep, and I had for about 18 hours on about 2 interrupted hours of sleep, and both of us sick, by the time we dropped onto the one big bed with all our sleeping children and fell asleep.
Church was at 1:00 the next day. We didn't go. But the Elders' Quorum president stopped by to ask if we needed more help during the week, and he arranged it to have people come on Thursday.
Then we dropped Tim off at his show and went back to the house to pack and clean, which we did all day. Tim was still sick enough that he could barely sing the show.
Monday, Tim got the day off from the show because he still couldn't sing. So we went back to the old house and loaded the van full of boxes, and then the kids and I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Tim bought us a new vacuum, and we put it together, and cleaned more. THen he came back and we packed the kitchen. By now we were out of boxes, so we put everything into plastic grocery bags--and the laundry into garbage bags--and loaded the van full to the top again. Only one bagful of glass dishes broke in transit, as far as we know, and it broke to dust when it fell out of the van. Anyway, Tim dropped off that load, too, while the kids and I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned more. Then he came back and cleaned with us.
We finally loaded the kids out of the house--Benjamin was sleeping on a blanket on the porch, and Daniel and Anda had loaded themselves into their car seats and fallen asleep an hour before--when Tim mopped the last floor, locked the doors, and we were done. And good riddance, we both thought as we looked at that fancy stylish house that we hated. The sun came up as we dropped the key under the neighbor's mat, as instructed, and we drove away.
Tuesday, we noticed the office in the new house smelled REALLY BAD. So bad that we finally closed the door. Tim took all the desks and things out that he had planned to keep and added them to the DI pile that FILLED the driveway. Still smelled bad. Like cats. Like Cat Pee.
With everything out, we finally realized it was the carpets. So we emptied the master bedroom completely so the cleaning company could re-clean it of the cat hair. But the cat pee smell was in all three kids' room, plus the den, and it was BAD. The kitchen was too small to unpack into. We couldn't find anything, and now we had to empty the office, too, for fear that the smell would seep in.
Tim arranged for a carpet cleaning company to come on Thursday morning, and on Wednesday we spent the day completely emptying all the bedrooms so the carpets could be cleaned. Everything that had been in them had to go into closet shelves and into the living room, den, and school room, which still held half a dozen model airplanes and a closet full of tools that everyone kept promising to move so we could use the space.
We also went to the theater to try to call Cox Cable, so they could turn on our internet access again, which they weren't supposed to have turned off in the first place.
Oh, and did I mention that the owner had actually had the gas shut off, so we had no hot water through all of this? Wednesday, the gas company came and turned on the gas. Now, with all the calls and services we've used, I have to say that the lady who answered the phone for both me and Tim at the gas company was the nicest lady I've ever worked with. So Wednesday, we also go to shower finally.
Thursday morning, the carpet cleaners came. They, even, were appalled by the smell in the office. It was that bad. They had to replace the carpet pad and tack strips and enzyme clean the carpet in hopes that they could get the smell out. Cost us $600! The home owners planned to pay us back--sometime. Anyway, by the time the Elders' Quorum showed up to help us get moved in, the carpets were STILL WET, so we wearily had to to send them home.
Friday, the carpets still stank, so I went to Home Depot to price out new carpet pieces and also stick-on linoleum tiles because the kitchen floor was white with green flowers and uncleanable. There were little black splits in it everywhere with black circles around them inside the linoleum--mold, I assumed. The carpet guy at Home Depot said that they couldn't install carpet where there was a pet smell that strong--it's a HazMat situation.
So Friday night Tim sniffed all around all the carpets and identified the cat pee spots. Our bedroom had none, so we vacuumed with "Love my Carpet" deodorizer and put up our bed and then slept with the kids in the den once again.
Saturday, I was finally fed up. All by myself, while Tim was at work, I put together all the kids' beds, the crib, and dragged mattresses to them all, and made the rooms sleepable, avoiding the cat pee spots. Then we went to home depot and, at our own expense, bought kitchen tiles.
Sunday was mother's day. Tim insisted I eat the candybar the ward gave me without sharing it with the kids, which I did--but when nobody was looking so they wouldn't feel bad. The carpet company came and re-did the office, and we agreed to let it dry 24 hours. Then I spent the rest of the day doing the kitchen floor. This was so we could build cupboards so we could put the kitchen stuff away and start eating at home. The new floor looks fantastic. It was easy and looks great, and was well worth the $90 it cost--it makes the whole room feel better, and it doesn't show dirt as well. I also built one of the cupboards I bought from Wal-Mart.
Monday, we realized the room still stank. So we called the house manager and he sent the neighbor over to look at it. She agreed that it stank and said there's nothing you can do but rip out the carpets. But we had no money left for that (having already put $1000 into just the house part of the move, in addition to rent and deposit), and the owner and manager didn't either.
So Tim started working on emptying the tool closet, boxing it all up, because we desperately needed the storage room so we could start putting things away! He also pulled up all the stinky carpets and used the remnants of the new pad to replace all the old stinky pads.
Then, Tuesday or Wednesday, Tim found 40 square feet of carpet listed on Craigslist for free. So he went and got it. And when we unfolded it, the main body was just the size of the office, plus a bunch over in a rectangle here and there. Delighted, we ripped out the old carpet and threw it out the window. Then, we dug up a can of Kilz out of the tool closet and painted the floor under the new pad, and the kids loved that. Benji plunged both arms into the paint and smeared it around this his hands, and, with the kids working over his head, he looked like Jackson Pollock had been babysitting.
Since then (it's now Monday), we have been dragging boxes here and there, taking landlord stuff out to a pile in the yard, trying to dig up places to put the big stuff so we can unpack the boxes. I managed to be the first of 300 emails to get three big sets of shelves full of cubbyholes from a doctor's office that was moving--they're the shelves that used to hold their files, and all the cubbyholes are about 8" by 12"--perfect size to hold sheet music, mic parts, folded kids clothes, toys, etc.
Tim dragged a bedroom set outside that we are giving away, so then we could stumble across the rolled rugs from one side of the living room to the other. I dragged boxes and boxes and boxes out of the way until I could set up the kids' computers, and then my own (finally), which is now threatening to die (not a surprise since I got it used in 2001 and it was designed and built for Windows 95--it's that old!). And yesterday the relief society arranged to come help me get stuff in order on Thursday, so that's a huge relief.
We might actually get moved in here before we have to move out!
But the move is hardly done. I can't find my clothes or most of the kids, I can't find the spoons, although I had no trouble producing the level and stud finder. I built one cupboard but need to build at least one, maybe 2 more because the kitchen, as usual, is just too small.
And then there's all those boxes! Everything we own, including stuff that used to live in the garage, is in the house wanting to be dealt with. And the kids keep unpacking boxes onto the floor and scattering the contents, which doesn't help things in the least.
And, in the midst of all of this, we found out that we are expecting a baby! This is very exciting news that we are happy about. But it does complicate things immensely, since my body is now running on "doing something else, sorry!" mode and "don't make her mad, she stings!" mode. It's very much like when your computer starts an automatic download in the background and suddenly the sixteen windows you already had open become barely responsive--that's me.
And I thought Tim getting a job would solve all my problems. Silly me. Then I thought moving to this new house would solve all my problems. The long-prayed for blessings are certainly not without their own trials!
But there was still stuff in the old house!
So my sister was driving through town on the way home from her vacation, and we called and asked if she and her husband might come help, just for a little while. She said, "You never ask for help, so you must really need it!" and they tracked down one other friend and met us at the old house.
That was the last call we could make from the new house--the internet stopped working suddenly and we couldn't fix it, and, since our phones run through the internet, we couldn't call them about it.
So, back at the old house, Beth and Ryan and their friend Kyle started dragging all the remaining big stuff--bunk beds and things--out to the truck. They also got the rest of the stuff out of the office and the garage, and were an immense help. But they had to leave at 7:00, and we still hadn't packed the kitchen or laundry or the miscellaneous stuff.
So I suddenly felt well enough to help, and I set to work. Through all of this, Tim still was sick and had no voice, so it was rather silent and unhappy in the house. We packed. And we packed. And we packed. And we packed. Finally, after midnight, we had the truck full and we headed over to the other house. We got there and dragged all the twin-sized mattresses into one room and made one big bed there. The kids quickly dropped off to sleep, and Tim and I started, all by ourselves in the middle of the night, unpacking the full 26-foot moving truck. By ourselves. It must have been well after midnight, because Tim said, "We have 3 hours before we have to get this truck back". So we worked and worked and worked and finally, as the sun was coming up, we were done. We swept the truck and then dragged our sleeping children into the van and drove the truck back, just 15 minutes shy of its due time at 7:00 am. Tim had been working for 24 hours straight on 4 hours of sleep, and I had for about 18 hours on about 2 interrupted hours of sleep, and both of us sick, by the time we dropped onto the one big bed with all our sleeping children and fell asleep.
Church was at 1:00 the next day. We didn't go. But the Elders' Quorum president stopped by to ask if we needed more help during the week, and he arranged it to have people come on Thursday.
Then we dropped Tim off at his show and went back to the house to pack and clean, which we did all day. Tim was still sick enough that he could barely sing the show.
Monday, Tim got the day off from the show because he still couldn't sing. So we went back to the old house and loaded the van full of boxes, and then the kids and I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Tim bought us a new vacuum, and we put it together, and cleaned more. THen he came back and we packed the kitchen. By now we were out of boxes, so we put everything into plastic grocery bags--and the laundry into garbage bags--and loaded the van full to the top again. Only one bagful of glass dishes broke in transit, as far as we know, and it broke to dust when it fell out of the van. Anyway, Tim dropped off that load, too, while the kids and I cleaned and cleaned and cleaned more. Then he came back and cleaned with us.
We finally loaded the kids out of the house--Benjamin was sleeping on a blanket on the porch, and Daniel and Anda had loaded themselves into their car seats and fallen asleep an hour before--when Tim mopped the last floor, locked the doors, and we were done. And good riddance, we both thought as we looked at that fancy stylish house that we hated. The sun came up as we dropped the key under the neighbor's mat, as instructed, and we drove away.
Tuesday, we noticed the office in the new house smelled REALLY BAD. So bad that we finally closed the door. Tim took all the desks and things out that he had planned to keep and added them to the DI pile that FILLED the driveway. Still smelled bad. Like cats. Like Cat Pee.
With everything out, we finally realized it was the carpets. So we emptied the master bedroom completely so the cleaning company could re-clean it of the cat hair. But the cat pee smell was in all three kids' room, plus the den, and it was BAD. The kitchen was too small to unpack into. We couldn't find anything, and now we had to empty the office, too, for fear that the smell would seep in.
Tim arranged for a carpet cleaning company to come on Thursday morning, and on Wednesday we spent the day completely emptying all the bedrooms so the carpets could be cleaned. Everything that had been in them had to go into closet shelves and into the living room, den, and school room, which still held half a dozen model airplanes and a closet full of tools that everyone kept promising to move so we could use the space.
We also went to the theater to try to call Cox Cable, so they could turn on our internet access again, which they weren't supposed to have turned off in the first place.
Oh, and did I mention that the owner had actually had the gas shut off, so we had no hot water through all of this? Wednesday, the gas company came and turned on the gas. Now, with all the calls and services we've used, I have to say that the lady who answered the phone for both me and Tim at the gas company was the nicest lady I've ever worked with. So Wednesday, we also go to shower finally.
Thursday morning, the carpet cleaners came. They, even, were appalled by the smell in the office. It was that bad. They had to replace the carpet pad and tack strips and enzyme clean the carpet in hopes that they could get the smell out. Cost us $600! The home owners planned to pay us back--sometime. Anyway, by the time the Elders' Quorum showed up to help us get moved in, the carpets were STILL WET, so we wearily had to to send them home.
Friday, the carpets still stank, so I went to Home Depot to price out new carpet pieces and also stick-on linoleum tiles because the kitchen floor was white with green flowers and uncleanable. There were little black splits in it everywhere with black circles around them inside the linoleum--mold, I assumed. The carpet guy at Home Depot said that they couldn't install carpet where there was a pet smell that strong--it's a HazMat situation.
So Friday night Tim sniffed all around all the carpets and identified the cat pee spots. Our bedroom had none, so we vacuumed with "Love my Carpet" deodorizer and put up our bed and then slept with the kids in the den once again.
Saturday, I was finally fed up. All by myself, while Tim was at work, I put together all the kids' beds, the crib, and dragged mattresses to them all, and made the rooms sleepable, avoiding the cat pee spots. Then we went to home depot and, at our own expense, bought kitchen tiles.
Sunday was mother's day. Tim insisted I eat the candybar the ward gave me without sharing it with the kids, which I did--but when nobody was looking so they wouldn't feel bad. The carpet company came and re-did the office, and we agreed to let it dry 24 hours. Then I spent the rest of the day doing the kitchen floor. This was so we could build cupboards so we could put the kitchen stuff away and start eating at home. The new floor looks fantastic. It was easy and looks great, and was well worth the $90 it cost--it makes the whole room feel better, and it doesn't show dirt as well. I also built one of the cupboards I bought from Wal-Mart.
Monday, we realized the room still stank. So we called the house manager and he sent the neighbor over to look at it. She agreed that it stank and said there's nothing you can do but rip out the carpets. But we had no money left for that (having already put $1000 into just the house part of the move, in addition to rent and deposit), and the owner and manager didn't either.
So Tim started working on emptying the tool closet, boxing it all up, because we desperately needed the storage room so we could start putting things away! He also pulled up all the stinky carpets and used the remnants of the new pad to replace all the old stinky pads.
Then, Tuesday or Wednesday, Tim found 40 square feet of carpet listed on Craigslist for free. So he went and got it. And when we unfolded it, the main body was just the size of the office, plus a bunch over in a rectangle here and there. Delighted, we ripped out the old carpet and threw it out the window. Then, we dug up a can of Kilz out of the tool closet and painted the floor under the new pad, and the kids loved that. Benji plunged both arms into the paint and smeared it around this his hands, and, with the kids working over his head, he looked like Jackson Pollock had been babysitting.
Since then (it's now Monday), we have been dragging boxes here and there, taking landlord stuff out to a pile in the yard, trying to dig up places to put the big stuff so we can unpack the boxes. I managed to be the first of 300 emails to get three big sets of shelves full of cubbyholes from a doctor's office that was moving--they're the shelves that used to hold their files, and all the cubbyholes are about 8" by 12"--perfect size to hold sheet music, mic parts, folded kids clothes, toys, etc.
Tim dragged a bedroom set outside that we are giving away, so then we could stumble across the rolled rugs from one side of the living room to the other. I dragged boxes and boxes and boxes out of the way until I could set up the kids' computers, and then my own (finally), which is now threatening to die (not a surprise since I got it used in 2001 and it was designed and built for Windows 95--it's that old!). And yesterday the relief society arranged to come help me get stuff in order on Thursday, so that's a huge relief.
We might actually get moved in here before we have to move out!
But the move is hardly done. I can't find my clothes or most of the kids, I can't find the spoons, although I had no trouble producing the level and stud finder. I built one cupboard but need to build at least one, maybe 2 more because the kitchen, as usual, is just too small.
And then there's all those boxes! Everything we own, including stuff that used to live in the garage, is in the house wanting to be dealt with. And the kids keep unpacking boxes onto the floor and scattering the contents, which doesn't help things in the least.
And, in the midst of all of this, we found out that we are expecting a baby! This is very exciting news that we are happy about. But it does complicate things immensely, since my body is now running on "doing something else, sorry!" mode and "don't make her mad, she stings!" mode. It's very much like when your computer starts an automatic download in the background and suddenly the sixteen windows you already had open become barely responsive--that's me.
And I thought Tim getting a job would solve all my problems. Silly me. Then I thought moving to this new house would solve all my problems. The long-prayed for blessings are certainly not without their own trials!
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