Automotive Repair? Me?

You know that moment when your turn your turn signal on and it blinks at a double the normal pace?  You know what that means, right?  It means one of your blinker bulbs has died.   Ugh!  What an annoyance.  I know it is not a big deal, but I've never done replaced a blinker bulb...front or rear...on any car I've ever owned.  Seriously...I've always had a dad, a boyfriend, or a husband to take care of these little nuisances for me.  (I know, very disgrace to women everywhere...I'll deal with the shame.)

This is the tail end of my car...not exciting, I know.

 Still, I mentioned to Superman that I had a blinker bulb out and he suggested I could take it to our local mechanic and have him change it out for $20 or so.  $20!  to change a lightbulb?  Seriously.  I had to be able to do it myself...how hard could it be?  I'm smart, I'm capable, I do know how to change a lightbulb.  And I certainly don't want to pay $20 for someone to change a lightbulb for me.

I determined that it was the rear blinker bulb that was dead.  Then I went to my local Napa Auto Parts and had them look up what kind of bulb I needed.  (There is a book for that...did you know?)



This is what lurks behind the colored lense.  Three little lightbulbs.

After that, all I needed to do was actually change the bulb...still, I didn't really know how to do that.  So, I did what every modern person does these days when they want to know how to do anything...I searched YouTube for instructions:  How to change the bulb on a Suburban Tail Light...  And, of course, I found a video.


See how the socket is blackened?  It has gone bad...had a short
or something...the bulb didn't light up.

Easy, peasy, right?  Wrong.  The new lightbulb didn't light up.  Turned out that my tail light socket had actually burned out and I needed to replace the socket.  Another quick trip to Napa (I love those guys...they are all guys who worked on cars as kids) and I had a new socket. 



There you have it...the burned out socket.

It was simple work to switch out the socket, I had already disconnected everything that needed to be disconnected.  After that, it was short work to unhook the connector and switch out the sockets.

New sockets...the package came with both driver's side and passenger
side sockets for $3 more than just one.  You never know...

Back home again, I switched out the socket, put in all the bulbs, and tested my turn signal.  Ta da!  It worked!

Let there be light!!  Woot!  I did it correctly and my lightbulb lit up!

There you have it...my foray into the world of automotive repair.  Have I mentioned I'm ready for Superman to come home?

Best part?  I got it all back together correctly.  Looks just
like a normal, unremarkable tail light.  Success!

I'll be this would have cost even more than $20 if I'd paid someone to do it.  I am pretty darned proud of myself.  Have you ever changed a tail light?  Is this one of those things that everyone has done and I just never knew it?

Still, I'd say this counts as productive, wouldn't you?

A Trip to the Dump and some Broccoli Beef

My Valiant has been desperately trying to share a cold/flu with me since Sunday.  I'm doing my level best to graciously decline his generosity.   So far, so good, but it has been touch and go for these past few days.  No Crossfit workouts, that is for sure.  Still, I haven't been idle. 

Monday, I signed Buttercup up for gymnastics...the studio makes you sign up in July for classes that begin after Labor Day.  Weird, isn't it?  Valiant felt cruddy enough that he actually spent the day in bed...that is pretty sick, for a 16-year old! 

Tuesday, I headed out with Buttercup (again!) to have our third consultation with orthodontists, trying to make our final pick for her braces.  We didn't go with the one we met with that morning, but it did cement our decision.  She's thrilled to be moving forward and getting her braces on August 6.  She's been waiting and waiting.  (Completely different than my boys were, that's for certain.)

Today?  Today I finally decided to tackle a pile of yard and garage debris that needed to get taken to the dump.  Unlike our home in California, the trash service here doesn't pick up whatever you've left at the curb.  Until I moved here, I'd never been to the dump.  I wonder if that is unusual?  Have you been to the dump?  So, anyway, here you don't just put out whatever you want and have it taken away on trash day.  No...you either have to have your trash neatly bagged up (how do you do that with scrap wood?) or take it yourself.  So, I procrastinated...I procrastinated so long that we had 440 pounds of stuff loaded up in the back of my Suburban...$22 worth.  I must say, it felt good to get all that stuff out of the yard!  What?!  You thought I'd take pictures?  Seriously? of the dump?  Um, trust me, you don't want pictures of the dump.  Still, you can read about it here...we have a waste-to-energy plant, which I think is kind of cool.

After I got back, I did more yard clean-up and made Broccoli Beef for dinner.  Seriously, if you like Broccoli Beef at your favorite Chinese food restaurant, you need to try this recipe.  It is so easy!

Broccoli Beef
from "Quick & Easy Enjoy Chinese Cuisine"

1/2 pound flank steak, sliced thin, against the grain
2 teaspoons corn starch (can subsitute arrowroot powder for paleo cooking)
2 teaspoons soy sauce (can substitute coconut aminos for paleo cooking)
1/2 teaspoon sugar (can omit for paleo cooking)
1 1/2 pounds broccoli florets
2 Tablespoons oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup of soup broth (I used beef)
Some cornstarch for thickening (can substitute arrowroot powder for paleo cooking)

1.  Place thin-sliced flank steak in bowl with 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 2 teaspoons soy sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon sugar.  Toss and set aside for a few minutes.

2.  Heat oil in pan, add meat mixture and cook until done.  Remove from pan and set aside.

3.  In hot pan, add broccoli, salt, and soup broth.  Cover and bring to a boil, cooking for 2-3 minutes.

4.  Add meat back into pan and toss.  Add cornstarch to thicken if desired.  Serve over rice or eat as is.

That is it!  Isn't that easy?  This cookbook is amazing because it is so simple.  If you are at all interested in cooking Chinese food, this book is so simple and the results are so fabulous, I encourage you to try it.

Yet another productive day as we work our way closer to Superman's return home!  97 days and counting!!  Did you know that we're five week from Labor Day (already!)?  Time sure flies.   I feel good about getting things done...how are you doing with your goals?

Litter control!

When you have cats, one of the unfortunate realities is that you deal with cat litter.   When you have four cats, it can become a seriously pressing issue.  Honestly, it is a challenge to keep the litter confined to the litterbox area.  I saw this post from "Practically Functional" a few days ago and thought it was pure genius.  Seriously.  The next morning, I headed to my own Home Depot and bought this anti-fatigue mat and cut it down to size (simply using a box knife, I cut one row off...originally 3 x 3, I cut it down to 2 x 3) and put it into place. 

Anti-fatigue mat solves cat litter dilemma!

When the cats hit the mat, any litter that might be on their paws falls into the holes of the mat rather than coming with them into the laundry room and beyond.  (Oh, what?  You don't see the litter box?   That would be because the litterbox is in the bathtub with a row of the mat under it...yes, we have actually given up the use of a bathtub in our house to keep our litterbox out of the way.)

Best solution ever!

Anyway, this was a genius solution and I am so glad that Jessi at Practically Functional shared her simple solution so I could copy it!

Day 98 - Dealing with cat litter is definitely productive!

Smelly Clothes? This is the BEST STUFF EVER!

Smelly?  Stinky?  If you spend any time working out, or if you have kids who do sports, you know exactly what I'm talking about.  With today's man-made fibers, I have found it more and more difficult to actually get the smell out of our workout clothes.  Buttercup's Five Fingers seem to get stinky pretty quickly, too.  So, whether they end up smelling like a locker room, like musty towels, or stinky feet, it is so frustrating to realize that my favorite workout clothes aren't coming out of the laundry clean-smelling.    Honestly, when it comes to the kids' t-shirts, I've been giving up and tossing them after a while, but really, we can't afford to do that very often and certainly not with anything that cost more than the "4 for $10" t-shirts from Walgreens.

Little did I know my solution would come in the form a sweet woman who worked at REI.  One day a few months ago, I was browsing through the store with my daughter and chatting with one of the ladies who works there when we started talking about how stinky workout clothes can be and how frustrating it is to try to resolve the situation.  The saleslady promised that she had the solution...Penguin Sports-Wash Laundry Detergent. 

The best stuff ever for stinky, smelly clothes.

...I'll admit to being skeptical, but I was desperate and willing to give it a try and I am so glad I did because this stuff really works!  It is "high-efficiency", so it even works well in our front load washer.  I have actually used a bucket for pre-soaking in the case of the super stinky stuff and for shoes.  Once you get the stink out of the items, using the detergent in your regular load does the trick.

So, whether you're dealing with workout bras, football jerseys, or your daughter's oh-so-cool Five Finger shoes, this stuff is the BEST EVER!  I'm just sayin'

Day 99 - Solving your laundry dilemmas is definitely productive!