Super Tips for Homeowners

So...let me share another weekend of interesting items from the homefront.
About a month ago, I began contemplating how to remove my shower knobs to clean them. One evening at 11 pm, I attacked it with vigor. I tried twisting, pulling, and unscrewing but to no avail. They have continued to glare at me with mocking water residue just below the clear surface yet unreachable to even the smallest of brushes. I debated marching into Lowe's and finding a somewhat respectible clerk to explain my seemingly ridiculous problem but was pretty relunctant to say the knobs had won and subsequently I was deficient in knob removal IQ.
To my delightment, the water residue underneath the clearly mocking surface pushed off a portion of the top of the knob. Initially, I thought, "Oh great! One more thing to replace and I'm pretty sure shower knobs are not under $20." But no!!!! This predicament proved to be my saving grace. I grabbed a nearby pair of scissors, wedging them under the corner, and popped that face cover section of the knob off to discover....a secretly hiddent screw that allows for easy removal of the knob!
Armed with a baggy of white vinegar, cheap and able to dissolve almost any residue, I plucked that knob off and dropped it in to wait. Several minutes later with the help of a sponge and old toothbrush, I put back on my sparkling clear, residue-free knobs. The roommate and bros were amazed as I recounted my feat for Sat. afternoon fodder.
I also learned that simple staples due to trick to keep blinds that are slightly too long from continuing to drag on the floor.
And....perhaps even better...I found the power of joy! Yes, as the Scripture reads, my joy really was complete (well almost). A week ago, a bottle of weed killer leaked onto my garage floor. This would have not been any big deal as the garage floor has tire marks and a few oil drips except that the weed killer was florescent pink! Arghhh. Having had much success with the white vinegar all over the kitchen and bathroom fixtures, I thought I'd give it a try. No such luck. Still pink. And them I thought about the yellowy goodness lurking behind closed doors...JOY! So with a little elbow grease, broom in hand, I mixed my joy and water to bubble away the pinkness into the crevices in the garage. Maybe I'll get really lucky and the joy will also kill the any colonies below too. Needless to say, I was quite joyful about all the cheap but effective solutions to homeowner problems today. Now if I can just exchange the screen door rollers I bought that are the wrong size tomorrow....my joy will overflow into Sunday =)

Tidbit of the Week

I have spent several hours of the past week listing approximately 200 books on half.com in attempts to simplify, simplify, simplify. This was a worthy effort sparked by recent reportings from a colleague that the LMHC (that's Licensed Mental Health Counselor) exam was "easy sneezy" in her words. Having my anxiety lessened, I decided to part with by two-sided, hard and softbacked friends from the good 'ol days of seminary. To my delight, I have sold approximately 22 books in 3 days totaling over $200 (just the amount to repair my exhaust pipe that decided to hang listlessly as of yesterday). Marching my trophies into the post office today, I was greeted by a talkative fellow who seemed genuinely interested in helping me mail out my texts to their new homes. I had one text going to a mysterious APO address. Well, mysterious to me no longer! I learned that APO is military and this particular buyer is a medical military staff in Europe. I agreed to ship first class as I learned media mail will probably sit for weeks before sorting and retrieval. I also learned that FPO designate other branches of the military. In the words of a fabulous game...Who Knew?!

Notorius for all the Wrong Things

Has anybody else ever asked you the question, "SO if you could be famous or rich but not both, which would you pick?" I remember that question being posed of me in high school during scholarship interviews. Well, I may not have really wanted either but apparently I am famous enough to have my name scratched for the world to see at The Counseling Center. Lest you fear this latest fortune is going straight to my ego and crushing my feeble attempts to foster humility, let me clarify. My name, followed by a ubiquitous term starting in "b" closely associated with 4 other alphabetical characters, is inked onto the customer parking only sign tied to the fencing in The Counseling Center parking lot. I was informed of this latest graffiti and my notorious status to warrant said graffiti Friday afternoon promptly following my walk in on domestic violence, resulting containment of a suicidal individual having recently ingested items not to be confused with vitamins, and subsequently my encounters with a less than friendly as indicated by lack of handshake upon request(due to apparent germaphobia) police officer followed closely by a slue of paramedic staff and the Executive Director questioning me as to the barrage of Lafayette's finest at our offices. As you can gather, I was having one of the most peaceful Fridays yet training new staff on assessments and our apparently budding relationship with law enforcement and medical staff in the community. So when my colleague gave me a pitiful look and asked if I was aware of my standings on the parking sign, I could only laugh and reply to the negative but convey my humble and honorary acceptance as this was my first time to be mentioned in vandalism in Lafayette to my knowledge. My colleague also informed me she attempted to right the wrong by scrawling an addendum to the epitaph by adding "Not" to the plaasant label bestowed upon yours truly. Having guessed promptly who the culprit was, seeing I had informed some unfortunates of their demise from the program, I called my supervisor to share my status amongst Lafayette's elite. I was informed that cleanup had been requested of the janitorial and maintenance staff, who now prioritizes projects daily to ensure immediate ones are attended to first, but as to date, the sign including my name stills stands in all its glory...furthest to the right in The Counseling Center parking lot. I suppose, you, friends and family, are welcome to mosey on over and take a peek for yourself. Who knows when these fair fortunes will come my way again!

Retreat Pics

Reunion Reflections

Me, Mel, Frank, and Mo...ummm..that's our high school nicknames...our goal was to have men's names made up of our real names =)


the few, the brave, and ones who came


our ambush to see Chuck who was babysitting the cutest niece and nephew


In case you were wondering, between Jacksonville and Springfield is an all important landmark.

Happy 4th!

Child with sparkler

Ground Show












Mal with the nephews, Deon, Jonell

Quote of the Day

Says 12 yo to mom and other passengers in the car as driving by LPD today:
"Hey...look at that police escalator"
Mom to 12 yo:
"Huh?"
12 yo: "Look at the red police escalator"
Mom to 12 yo: "You mean the red escalade?"
Mom and me: GRIN!