Sorry Chad. You win in both the beard and the already-married-to-me categories though...
ETA:
BUT WAIT! There's MORE - Velociraptor style.
Unfortch, Blogger can't find this one, but the link should work.
I am a Hiddlespuddle.
Sunday, November 17, 2013
Melted
Oh dear lord. Tom Hiddleston, I will harmonize on with you all the days of our lives together. This. Is. Everything.
Be Prepared
My brief but halcyon tenure at the American Red Cross has left me with a deep personal commitment to disaster preparedness. Making the switch from the the fairly predictable weather patterns of the east coast (Come on guys, we knew Hurricane Sandy was coming for like, 2 weeks) to the intense and unpredictable patterns of the great plains is still a challenge for me, over a year later.
Naturally, I defer to the Red Cross on general disaster preparedness techniques. You should not only read these, but act on them.I have a few additional tips of my own.
1. Buy renter's insurance. It's not that expensive - probably between $80 - $150 per year. I bought my first policy from the basement during my first tornado warning here in STL and I haven't looked back.
2. Make a "ready bag". This will vary, depending on where you live, but mine includes a bottle of wine, a candle, matches, a headlamp, batteries, a blanket, clif bars, water bottles, a backpackers first aid kit and a paperback book - right now it's a collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov, but I switch it out from time to time. The most important part (which I learned the hard way) is to keep it somewhere out of the way, but highly accessible. The good news is, you can add a Frisbee for a "ready for action" picnic bag.
3. Make a plan. When disaster strikes, your cell phone probably won't work. Our plan is to meet at Chad's school if anything terrible happens. Big old buildings, proximity to hospitals and food sources and likelihood of access to other services nearby spurred that choice.
4. Prep the house to minimize damage.When I have notice before a big weather system, I generally do the following: close all the blinds to help block debris and flying glass if a window does break. Move valuable objects (like our camera, laptops, jewelry, music equipment etc..) to the bathroom closet - I go in the bathroom closet too, if there isn't time to get to the basement. I also move the car away from potential falling trees if there is time. Finally, I go around unplugging appliances in case of electrical surge and put the cell phone on the charger until it's time to take cover - I want to have as much charge as possible if we lose power.
5. Shoes on, hoods up. I always put on a weather appropriate outfit, including durable, closed toe shoes and socks. No excuses. I recently found out that my Dad does this same thing, only he also wears bright colors "so that they can find me more quickly in the rubble" hahahahaha. Good one, Dad.
Naturally, I defer to the Red Cross on general disaster preparedness techniques. You should not only read these, but act on them.I have a few additional tips of my own.
1. Buy renter's insurance. It's not that expensive - probably between $80 - $150 per year. I bought my first policy from the basement during my first tornado warning here in STL and I haven't looked back.
2. Make a "ready bag". This will vary, depending on where you live, but mine includes a bottle of wine, a candle, matches, a headlamp, batteries, a blanket, clif bars, water bottles, a backpackers first aid kit and a paperback book - right now it's a collection of short stories by Anton Chekhov, but I switch it out from time to time. The most important part (which I learned the hard way) is to keep it somewhere out of the way, but highly accessible. The good news is, you can add a Frisbee for a "ready for action" picnic bag.
4. Prep the house to minimize damage.When I have notice before a big weather system, I generally do the following: close all the blinds to help block debris and flying glass if a window does break. Move valuable objects (like our camera, laptops, jewelry, music equipment etc..) to the bathroom closet - I go in the bathroom closet too, if there isn't time to get to the basement. I also move the car away from potential falling trees if there is time. Finally, I go around unplugging appliances in case of electrical surge and put the cell phone on the charger until it's time to take cover - I want to have as much charge as possible if we lose power.
5. Shoes on, hoods up. I always put on a weather appropriate outfit, including durable, closed toe shoes and socks. No excuses. I recently found out that my Dad does this same thing, only he also wears bright colors "so that they can find me more quickly in the rubble" hahahahaha. Good one, Dad.
Saturday, November 16, 2013
Fire Drill
I grew up in a home that was eat-off-the-floor clean ALL. THE. TIME. Seriously, my Mom is a very impressive lady. But everyone likes to step it up a notch when they are entertaining. For example, I will never for get my Mom telling me to clean the hair out of my hairbrush before my grandparents (her in-laws) came for a visit. Seriously. The hair out of my hairbrush. !!!!!
I can't keep up with the standards my Mom set for me, though heaven knows i try very hard. Our home devolves into squalor (by Mom's standards) whenever I get busy and stays that way until I shame myself into dedicating a Saturday morning to cleaning. As a result, I live in terror that friends will drop by unannounced, or that Chad will bring someone home to work on a project, only to find my gross gym clothes strewn about our only bathroom.
So what do I do when guests come over on short notice (besides yell at Chad for inviting them)?
1. Tidy Bathroom - If I only have 30 seconds warning before someone comes over, I head straight to the bathroom to run a clean, damp cloth over everything to remove any hair or dirt. I make sure there is plenty of TP and a clean hand towel. I also usually light a candle. I do not clean my hairbrushes. Even if they are gross.
2. Tidy living room/dining room - If I have a few more minutes, I try to scoop all the miscellaneous crap in the living room and chuck it into the bedroom and shut the doors. No one expects to see your bedroom during a visit unless it's a large party and the space is needed for coats.
3. Clean looking garbage can - Our main garbage is in the kitchen closet, and that shit gets gross if you aren't careful. I always give it a spray and scrub with Mrs. Meyers cleaning solution on both the inside and outside lid.
4. If I still have time, I try to make the kitchen look sanitary. We're terrible about leaving dishes in the sink, and I do them quickly if I have time. It's actually a great motivator, sometimes I think we should do false alarms just so they would get done more often!
I think the best entertaining advice I ever received was to pick-up before guests arrive and clean after they leave. In other words, guests do not normally give your baseboards the white glove test, but they do often track things in on their shoes. Also, cleaning is easier when you have first picked up.
So if I lived in a prefect world, I would organize our house so that it's always picked up, and then the rest would just be cake! I'll let you know if it ever happens, but don't hold your breath.
I can't keep up with the standards my Mom set for me, though heaven knows i try very hard. Our home devolves into squalor (by Mom's standards) whenever I get busy and stays that way until I shame myself into dedicating a Saturday morning to cleaning. As a result, I live in terror that friends will drop by unannounced, or that Chad will bring someone home to work on a project, only to find my gross gym clothes strewn about our only bathroom.
So what do I do when guests come over on short notice (besides yell at Chad for inviting them)?
1. Tidy Bathroom - If I only have 30 seconds warning before someone comes over, I head straight to the bathroom to run a clean, damp cloth over everything to remove any hair or dirt. I make sure there is plenty of TP and a clean hand towel. I also usually light a candle. I do not clean my hairbrushes. Even if they are gross.
2. Tidy living room/dining room - If I have a few more minutes, I try to scoop all the miscellaneous crap in the living room and chuck it into the bedroom and shut the doors. No one expects to see your bedroom during a visit unless it's a large party and the space is needed for coats.
3. Clean looking garbage can - Our main garbage is in the kitchen closet, and that shit gets gross if you aren't careful. I always give it a spray and scrub with Mrs. Meyers cleaning solution on both the inside and outside lid.
4. If I still have time, I try to make the kitchen look sanitary. We're terrible about leaving dishes in the sink, and I do them quickly if I have time. It's actually a great motivator, sometimes I think we should do false alarms just so they would get done more often!
I think the best entertaining advice I ever received was to pick-up before guests arrive and clean after they leave. In other words, guests do not normally give your baseboards the white glove test, but they do often track things in on their shoes. Also, cleaning is easier when you have first picked up.
So if I lived in a prefect world, I would organize our house so that it's always picked up, and then the rest would just be cake! I'll let you know if it ever happens, but don't hold your breath.
We Fought About...
This couple is sharing all of their fights on Twitter. And it is brilliant. There are lots of reasons why, but I think my favorite is that it is so easy to relate to. All the things they fight about sound silly when they are boiled down to one sentence:
"Alan's phone died and he came home late."
"I didn't cc Claire on an email."
"Alan sent me an article that put Prince in a bad light."
But seriously, how many of us have had fights like this? And how many of them spiraled out of control into a vortex of off-topic nonsense? I think I'm a going to start a rule about boiling arguments down to 180 characters before anymore discussion is allowed. It's so crisp and clear, and then we can actually deal with the issue.
My husband and I have been fighting a lot lately about division of labor. Namely, that we are bad at it.
"Emily doesn't ask for help when she needs it"
"Chad doesn't even see the giant pile of dirty clothes until Emily trips on it"
"Emily doesn't read labels in the store. All of the shower products are wrong."
"Chad never EVER helps with the shopping"
There's plenty of articles out there about the "second shift" that women work - i.e. what I call homekeeping. It's quite true in our household, and it's not because my husband doesn't want to share the load. The fact of the matter is that I have/make more time for homekeeping. Maybe because I like it, maybe because I care, maybe because I am a woman. Who knows?
Here is Chad's Work-Life balance. Most of the time, he is sleeping or at school. He doesn't have a lot of time to spend on chores.
Here is my work-life balance. I do almost all of the chores, and I spend about 20% of my time doing them. This includes cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, mending clothes, taking out the trash, pretty much everything. But as you can see, I usually only work around 50 hours a week, I sleep more than Chad, and I have time to work out. And I STILL kick the crap out of him when it comes to down-time.
It doesn't seem quite so unfair when you look at it graphically. However, it seems very unfair when I'm scrubbing toilets and trying to pre-package 10 lunches every weekend. Or when Chad asks innocently: "hmmm... did you follow the recipe exactly for this dinner that you just prepared for me?"
The good news is, once Chad graduates and starts making an income again, we will probably hire a cleaning service to take care of the heavy lifting. However, something tells me that my need to have an "ready to entertain" house will leave the brunt of what's left on me.
So who else out there feels like they always lose trash jenga, chore chicken or whatever you want to call it? Is anyone successfully using chore wheels? Has anyone's relationship actually ended over these kinds of issues?
"Alan's phone died and he came home late."
"I didn't cc Claire on an email."
"Alan sent me an article that put Prince in a bad light."
But seriously, how many of us have had fights like this? And how many of them spiraled out of control into a vortex of off-topic nonsense? I think I'm a going to start a rule about boiling arguments down to 180 characters before anymore discussion is allowed. It's so crisp and clear, and then we can actually deal with the issue.
My husband and I have been fighting a lot lately about division of labor. Namely, that we are bad at it.
"Emily doesn't ask for help when she needs it"
"Chad doesn't even see the giant pile of dirty clothes until Emily trips on it"
"Emily doesn't read labels in the store. All of the shower products are wrong."
"Chad never EVER helps with the shopping"
There's plenty of articles out there about the "second shift" that women work - i.e. what I call homekeeping. It's quite true in our household, and it's not because my husband doesn't want to share the load. The fact of the matter is that I have/make more time for homekeeping. Maybe because I like it, maybe because I care, maybe because I am a woman. Who knows?
Here is my work-life balance. I do almost all of the chores, and I spend about 20% of my time doing them. This includes cooking, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, mending clothes, taking out the trash, pretty much everything. But as you can see, I usually only work around 50 hours a week, I sleep more than Chad, and I have time to work out. And I STILL kick the crap out of him when it comes to down-time.
It doesn't seem quite so unfair when you look at it graphically. However, it seems very unfair when I'm scrubbing toilets and trying to pre-package 10 lunches every weekend. Or when Chad asks innocently: "hmmm... did you follow the recipe exactly for this dinner that you just prepared for me?"
The good news is, once Chad graduates and starts making an income again, we will probably hire a cleaning service to take care of the heavy lifting. However, something tells me that my need to have an "ready to entertain" house will leave the brunt of what's left on me.
So who else out there feels like they always lose trash jenga, chore chicken or whatever you want to call it? Is anyone successfully using chore wheels? Has anyone's relationship actually ended over these kinds of issues?
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