I'll do it

I've been really ambivalent about doing NaBloPoMo this year. My reasons are a bit complicated boring so I'll skip them for now. Suffice it to say I'll do it. I might even make a badge... somewhere between changing out my Halloween template, sorting through a bunch of paperwork, and oh yes, the hole in my ceiling.

Looky what I've brought for "Show and Tell!"

It's really more "show" since I did "tell" the past two days. See the broken bits on the right? That's where the closet ceiling is supposed to be. The wood slat stuff is above the ceiling and should be part of the mysterious invisible beyond.

Yesterday my eyes and nose were running from the mold. Today I have a headache from the bleach I wiped it down with. - Don't you wish you were me?

It's not the worst that could happen. I'm actually luckier than some of my neighbors.

I'll try to get a bit more organized on and off line today, and tomorrow I should be more entertaining. - Well, as entertaining as I've ever been ;) I may even re-write the first 3 November posts just because I can!

Quick update

I'm undecided about NaBloPoMo-ing this year. I may post about that tomorrow. For now I'll follow up on my post from yesterday.

Life is busy. Loads to do, deadlines, holidays, visitors... I had a great time trick or treating with friends' kids (so cute!) and then returned home last night to find that the recent rains had damaged some of the walls in my apartment and the ceiling in a supply closet fell in. I'm hoping the damage to the closet's contents is minimal (It's not a clothing closet, but there are a few things that could have been ruined by water), but I'm not taking anything out of there until repair people arrive since removing items from the top shelf will bring more of the closet's ceiling down!

Aside from the obvious annoyance, this messes up any productivity for this week since I'll have to be home for repair people to come in and out to fix and paint things - that's if and when I'm told they're coming. I'm rarely blessed with information like when to expect work people in my building!

So... lots to do and likely very little of it will get done this week, but we'll see.

Normally I wouldn't post mundane stuff like this but, like I said, I'm ambivalent about NaBloPoMo this year, so until I'm just "valent" (vs ambivalent... get it? No? Ok.) this can count as post #2 for this month :)

Brief post from my phone

Busy.

Was out of town trick or treating :)

Back home to find water damage. Grrr.

Loads to do and now that too :P

Will try to post from computer tomorrow and approve comments etc.

See ya!

I'm using up samples

All those little bottles of shampoo, conditioner, soap, creams, toothpaste, razors, and shoe polish, from hotels, gift baskets, and eager sales people? I've got about 3 large zip lock bags full of them, and I'm finally going to use them.

I know... I should save them for traveling, right? Do YOU use those when you travel? I don't! I think I will, but I don't. I either travel with small bottles of my tried and true products, or I use the small bottles provided by hotels and bring home about 5 to 10 more little bottles and soaps by the end of my visit. And if I'm visiting relatives or friends I again bring the products I'm used to, or I use their stuff. They like their stuff. Maybe I will too!

So these zip lock bags full of tiny little bottles saved for traveling? They haven't been getting used. But they are now! 

I will not be buying any new toiletries until I've used up all the stuff in those bags. I reserve the right to try something, decide I hate it, and throw it out if needed, and in an emergency I still have some of my regular products on standby, but the assortment of tiny bottles and soaps will be my only source of bathroom supplies until they all run out. - Which I think could take a good year or two!

Some of these last longer than I expected. I'd been thinking that each product had enough for one use, but not so! A small "packet" of toothpaste (Think foil packet that ketsup comes in at a fast food place) is lasting me a full week, and sample bottles of shampoo and conditioner are lasting about that long too. Soap seems to last forever (even the small ones) and I rarely use moisturizer so lotion samples will probably last forever too.

I'm kind of excited by this! I like using up stuff. I just hope nothing blinds me or turns my hair green.

Bacon Mints - Don't try these at home!

I've been seeing these online for a while and was curious. I'd bought Bacon Salt a while back and it's surprisingly good. I thought the mints might taste similarly.

Not so.

Bacon Mints taste like a cross between a medicinal type of mint flavor, and a hint of old leftover grease or lard that's been sitting around for a few days. There's no salty bacon-y taste at all. - If Bertie Bott made a menthol and lard bean, this'd be it!

I had such high hopes.

Um... it's not possible for mints to go bad is it?

Edit: I just checked and "Bacon Salt" and "Bacon Mints" are not made by the same company. - That shoulda been my first clue!

5 year old's costume ideas

Me

What do you want to be for Halloween?

Her

Maybe a witch!

Me

A witch! That'd be fun!

Her

Or a dog!

Me

A dog!

Her

Or a marker!

Me

A...

A marker? 

Her

Yeah because I like to draw. 

Candy Corn Tree

Saw this (from Woman's Day)

Made this

I love my tree!

I've recently developed a "bugs in the house" phobia, so the sticks and leaves are plastic. About $2 at Michaels. The candy corn.... also fake. Made out of Sculpy/Fimo which I happened to have lying around. (Ok nothing actually "lies around" in my home. It was neatly stored with like craft items, but you get the idea!) 

At one point I had fake candy corns in one hand and real ones (my models) in the other, and I absentmindedly put one in my mouth. I was about to bite down when I had a moment of panic. "Which one did I put in my mouth!!???" - It was a real one :)

Halloween Redecorating

Blog redecorated for Halloween :)

Credits

• Modified Blogger Awesome Ink template
• Ghost, Witch Hat, and Lollipop graphics from Smashing Magazine
• Pumpkin graphic from Pat's Web Graphics
• Label Cloud code by Phydeaux3
• Label Cloud "number of results per page" tweak from Hackosphere
• Code fix for Awesome Ink templates, that allows posts from the same date to appear as separate posts instead of one long post, from Southern Speakers
• Author Comment Highlight code (slightly modified) from Tips for New Bloggers
• "Break out of Frameset" code from MediaCollege.com

It's not just MY hearing

Friend

What did you get at the craft store?

Me

3 fake leaf garlands.

Friend

Wait... what did you get?

Me

3 fake leaf garlands. - Like a long string of leaves... fall leaves.... fake... to hang somewhere.

Friend

Oh. I thought you said 3 fake beef garlands!

Me

Yeah, they were out of those.

Containment Breached

Don't even pretend to not know what I'm talking about!

The good news is that there was no odor. That was my fear. That there would be some horrible egg gas released. That's why I was worried about simply tossing them into the trash because I didn't want them to explode and release "agent egg" all over my kitchen. But one exploded all by itself, and it was the NON mutant one! Or at least the less mutant one.

... It's always the quiet ones.

I think that because it was unable to ooze, it couldn't handle the internal gaseous pressure anymore. I'd actually considered that the lack of ooze on that one might lead to exactly this outcome, but then I ignored that thought. After all, that's the one that looked more normal (There's a life lesson in there...)

Fortunately, I'd deliberately kept them in a small door compartment so the damage was contained. There were a few minor splatter marks but the rest stayed within a little pop out module that I soaked, washed, and white vinegared for about an hour. Then the module was returned to its former location in the refrigerator door.

It looked like caramel. Really. In both color and viscosity. And again, much to my surprise, there was no odor. No I didn't take a picture - again. I considered it but my urge to clean ASAP won out.

I know what you're thinking. You're wondering where the other egg is? It's in the trash. Hey, with the threat of rotten egg odor gone, what do I care if it explodes in there!