How to Carbon Date… without the Carbon

This isn't me, but it's a classic example!

When I was working, I remember walking into someone’s office and seeing a shiny brass framed, oversized close-up of a young woman with crazy 80’s hair and hot pink cheeks.  From this one detail, I assumed two things: the person I was about to meet was middle-aged or older, and the pictures in his or her office were probably older than me.

I noticed the same thing when I was house-hunting recently.  I would walk into a home, and just by analyzing the pictures on the walls I could tell you whether or not the kitchen had been updated.  If the home owners weren’t going to bother changing the 11x14 portrait of the 3^rd grader in a mauve mat and pink plastic frame, I highly doubt they opted for stainless steel appliances.  I’m sure there are exceptions, but it seems to be a good rule of thumb.

In an effort to keep my surroundings up-to-date, I have vowed to change out all framed pictures annually and to update the frames as needed.  The holidays provide a good opportunity for this, because people tend to redecorate the entire house anyways.  This also forces me to actually print part of my collection of digital pictures, which I rarely do otherwise.

Today I sorted through files of vacations, weddings, and nights out from the last year and chose my favorites for printing.  Admittedly, I also supplemented a few pictures from friends’ Facebook postings, because they tend to be much better at remembering a camera.  I had a really good time reflecting over the events of the last year. The Changing of the Photos is becoming an event in itself, serving as a time to tell stories and reminisce.

I also demanded that my husband bring home his frames from the office for updating… we can’t have anyone thinking he’s an old man yet!

Fractions & Cooking for Two

Spinach and Artichoke Tortellini

The proverbial “hot dinner on the table” is now a part of my daily routine.  With our recent move from an urban to a rural area, we’ve decided to abandon our nightly restaurant habit for cost-efficient home cookin’.  And given my love for cooking, it’s not at all a burden.  I’m happy that our new situation allows me the time to watch my cooking shows, carefully plan the weekly menu, and save a significant amount of money in the process.

Most recipes I find are meant for families, yielding 4-8 servings or more.  My family consists of two adults and one cat, and none of us are very diligent at eating leftovers.  Call me spoiled, but I don’t like eating the same thing three days in a row.  The seemingly obvious solution is to just cut the ingredients down, such that the recipe yields two servings.

I have encountered a few problems with this approach. Let it be known that not all ingredients can be reasonably divided.  For example, I have not yet mastered the ability to mix in 1/3 of an egg.  I refuse to use only two burger buns, of a bag of six.  Try using only ¼ cup of heavy cream and watching the rest of the container taunt you from the refrigerator until you finally throw it away weeks later.

Some ingredients are so minuscule that I opt out of including them at all.  If the original recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of something to yield 6 servings, I would need to cut that down to 1/6 teaspoon of something to yield 2 servings.  I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to buy a whole jar of something for a measly 1/6 teaspoon.  For the same reason, I rarely garnish anything unless that same ingredient is used elsewhere in a larger quantity.

I’ve found two ways to overcome these obstacles.  Number one- Go ahead with the larger servings and freeze the leftovers for another week. This prevents the leftovers dilemma, and makes life easier down the road.  Number two- Get creative and use what you have on hand instead of buying obscure ingredients.  Part of being a successful cook is learning what and when to substitute ingredients, and that comes in handy when you are trying to utilize items already in your pantry. Plus it’s a more efficient way to do your shopping and spend your money, knowing that all of the ingredients will be used before they expire.

Fluid Mechanics in the Laundry Room

We recently moved out of a house that was built in the 1960's.  The yard was full of beautiful mature trees of all shapes and colors, the roots of which had apparently eaten into our drainage lines deep under the lawn.  Although the charm was irreplaceable, the infrastructure demanded an upgrade.

A week after putting the "For Sale" sign in the yard, I noticed the shower was slow to drain.  We bought all types of drain clearing chemicals and poured them down the shower.  It didn't seem to be working, but after each attempt we thought surely one more bottle would do the trick.

Laundry day came around, but I still hadn't put two and two together.  I loaded up the washer and hit the button.  After the first drain cycle, I quickly discovered that the drainage line of a washer is actually an open air system.  The tube coming out of the washer is not connected to your plumbing; it is simply resting down within a larger tube. An open air system allows for fluids to enter and exit the system... which is exactly what happened all over my laundry room floor.  Apparently my shower plug was actually a plug further downstream, prohibiting anything in the house to drain properly.  Including the washing machine.  Which, if plugged, drains back into your laundry room.

The yard had to be excavated, just short of the "For Sale" sign, and the piping was repaired. I can assure you that we didn't get any potential buyers that week.  Four years of college and I still had to learn the hard way!

How an Engineer Becomes a SAHW

Wait, so you have a degree in Mechanical Engineering? But you stay at home all day?

Yes, that's me.  I earned an engineering degree, and luckily was able to land a job in the energy industry.  My husband did the exact same.  We struggled for a couple of years to pursue our parallel career paths while trying to live in the same city.  The experience was quite challenging!  With every promotion came the fear of relocation.  We knew that eventually, an offer would come along that would force us to make a decision... my career or yours?  Who says "No" to the big promotion, or who quits?

My husband got the first offer to relocate, and it wasn't exactly optional.  We were in a position where one of us would have to quit our job to keep the other.  Although we had to make the decision sooner than either of us expected, it was an easy one.  Not because either of us believe that "the wife" should tend to the home, but because the math worked out that way.  My husband, who had only been working a few months longer than myself, was making significantly more money.  His rate of return for time invested was much higher than mine, so it made sense to pursue his career.  (This is what happens when two engineers marry!)  That was that.

I will admit though, that I was a bit relieved at the result of our logic.  While my job wasn't terrible, it certainly wasn't my "calling".  I felt like I was outsourcing all the things in life that I enjoyed- cooking, yard work, sewing.  I would say to myself, "Why am I working so that I can afford to pay people to do the things that I would rather be doing myself??" And in this economy, I felt good about freeing up an opportunity for another family to have that income.  So bottom line, although the math supports it, I was happy to become a housewife.  And here I am!