Good Things and One Bad Thing About Our "New" Car

A few good things about our "new" car:

One word- Reverse. How great is it that we now have a car that goes in reverse? It's awesome! That's how great it is. We can go forward AND backward with no pushing involved.

Two words- Rear defrost. The rear defrost broke on Milo after the first or second winter. This car has the most amazing rear defrost... Better than the windshield defrost which is slightly unfortunate. Still, it's great to be able to see out the back window.

Three words- Made of metal. I hit a deer... A DEER! And the damage was so much more minor than it would have been on a lighter car: A small hole in the radiator- which is now replaced with a new radiator- and a dented hood/front of the car. If you look at the front of the car, I've obviously hit SOMETHING, but one wouldn't immediately assume it was a large animal.

And now one bad thing in as many words as I wanna use- The car doesn't start on it's own in temps below 10F. This morning it was 0 degrees outside when I tried to start the car. It started for about 5 seconds before sputtering off. After that it refused to do anything. I had to call a coworker to get a ride to work. Branden didn't even manage to get it started until 2 this afternoon.

It's cold again tonight. In an attempt to keep it warm enough to start, Branden has literally tucked our car in with a charger on the battery, a light under the hood and two blankets tucked over/around the hood. We've heard that the light under the hood helps keep it warmer and Branden says that the battery charger will (a) keep the battery from being low in the cold and (b) keep it warm because charging batteries are warm...? The blankets, however, are all him. It makes me laugh but it has a bit of sense to it. We'll see how things worked in the morning.

We really need a block heater or something like that but, for reasons that I cannot recall right now, Branden said no to the block heater. I think it was because we'd only need it for the next couple of months. We are DIRT poor, but I'm still willing to pay for something I only use 3 months out of the year if it means that I'm not getting to work an hour later than I'd planned. So my next idea- not a block heater- is to maybe buy a small electric blanket and spread that under the hood overnight and see how that does. We do have a garage but, unfortunately, Branden's BROKEN car is in there... And there's not a door on the garage and it's not insulated so it's really not that much warmer than the outside, but that's not the point.

So while the good generally outweighs the bad on this car, the one major bad thing kinda makes the car unusable. At least there's something we can do about the problem and even 11F is warm enough to allow the car to start. No matter what, I am a fan of having a car and I appreciate my parents' generosity.

Sundance 2009 Is Almost Over

Turns out I was a little off on my count of long days left during Sundance. Wednesday ended up being long, today was almost 11 hours and tomorrow will be more than 12 but less than 18... I hope. THEN Saturday will be an 8 hour day- I think- and I'll be off on Sunday. Then this nightmare will be over! I very nearly quit today for the third or fourth time since this started. I was literally three words from walking out. I managed to make it through the day, though, and if I can just make it to Sunday I should be ok for a minute or two.

The real reason I'm writing it blog is because I am like Kazia: I check blogs every day and if nothing new has been written I get all disappointed. On the other hand, if I don't write regularly then I can't be all that disappointed when other people don't. I guess I figure other people have more exciting lives, or at least a better time, than I do. Honestly, how exciting is it that I've just worked a billion hours? A few amusing things have happened... I guess I could tell those things.

I gave one of my underlings a recipe to make for me. The dirctions were VERY specific as I thought I'd written it so any idiot could make it. Turns out I was wrong. The recipe said, "In a pot, on the stove, heat the cream until just boiling." I walked up to the stove to check on said underling and he'd put a metal bowl of cream directly on the burner and, although it wasn't yet boiling, the cream was burned brown. It wasn't funny at the time, but now I laugh at how stupid my underlings are.

The executive chef and I were discussing the possibility of me making 200 muffins out of coffee cake mix for a kids' brunch. Later I went to get something and found him reading the ingredients on the coffee cake box. Me: "What are you doing?" Him: "I'm thinking it's not a good idea to give caffine to kids." Me: "Ok. What caffine?" Him: "From the coffee." Me: "What coffee? *suddenly understanding how dumb my boss is* Wait, you think there's coffee in the cake?!" Him: "Yeah, isn't there?" Me: "NO. It's called coffee cake becuase you eat it WITH coffee! Haven't you ever TASTED it?"

There have been more amusing moments but some I cannot remember and some are only funny if you were there. So I guess you get two. Everyone should just be happy that I took the time to post.

"There's a Hole In My Bucket..."

There are five days of Sundance left. There's tomorrow, two more big days then the weekend and the end! On the one hand, it'll stink because we will be back to me not making much money. On the other hand I don't think my body- or brain- can take much more of this.

I have been in charge of three underlings since the day before Sundance started. Don't get me wrong, I've been grateful for the help and in some areas they really have been a lot of help... BUT it feels like that bucket song.

You know the one: "There's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza there's a hole in my bucket, dear Liza, a hole." Liza then proceeds to tell Henry to fix it with a straw, but the straw is too long. So she tells him to cut it and he doesn't know what to use. So she tells him to use a knife but the knife is too dull.... Yes, you know the song and you get the picture.

All day I hear, "What do you want me to do?"

I respond with whatever task I need accomplished only to be met with blank stares. So I start laying out steps. "Get out the milk and measure one cup."

The next thing I know I'm being asked, "Which one is the cup measure? Is the milk the one with the red top or the white?"

And I can only give one or two steps at a time or they get confused. I can't say, "Get a knife and a cutting board and a bowl." That's too much all at once. A knife and a cutting board can be retrieved in one trip, but not the bowl. I also have to specify the SIZE of bowl... It's not really all that fun to think for three people plus myself.

To be fair, they do manage to accomplish most of the simple tasks with minimal supervision/assistance AFTER I walk them through the task. And I can sit them down with a task that takes a lot of time but requires no skill- such as dipping strawberries- and they'll complete it while I do something that's more worth my time- such as decorating two full sheet, one half sheet, one quarter sheet and one 12"x12"x8" dummy cake. So I do get more things done most of the time and I can't complain about that.

It has been interesting. I suppose it's good practice for the time when I may own my own bakery.

Sundance Is Looming In The Near Future

Sundance Film Festival begins this Thursday and runs till Sunday the 25th. Yesterday was my one and only day off from the 6th till this is over. I worked 9.5 hours today and I will be working long hours for the next two days in an attempt to be prepared. Then I will work like a crazy working thing for the entire ten days of Sundance- including working at least two parties- with a planned crash at the end that I'm hoping will involve sleep. It stinks, but at least it means a couple of relatively good paychecks... We can really use the money right now.

Unemployment STILL hasn't come through for Branden. They said we're gonna see the money, but they didn't say if it was before or after we filed for bankruptcy. He's got some potential job stuff lined up, but it's not really paying enough to make a difference. Ok, it's not really paying anything and I go into panic mode at least once a day and I don't want him to think that I don't have faith in him but I just don't know what to do and nobody really wants to read about how stressed and freaked out I am so I'm gonna stop this really long sentence right here.

And talk about something hopeful. There's a chance that Branden may be doing some cab driving during Sundance. I'm trying not to get my hopes up too high but it could pay enough that we can pay rent, put some in savings and still pay off a couple bills that we haven't been able to pay. If it just pays rent that'll take away a lot of strain. And if there's just a little left over... That would be a miracle. THAT is what I'm hoping for: Enough plus just a little extra.

I think that is really what I want in life as well. I don't need to be super rich. I don't need to have tons of stuff or drive a nice car- I'd probably just hit another deer or large yellow dog if I got a nice car, anyway. I don't even need a big, beautiful house so long as I have a place to live and the people I love. All those things are nice but I'm only hoping to have enough plus that little extra to put away for the hard times.

Ok, So Maybe There's Some Truth To It

For Christmas "Santa"gave me a hard boiled egg timer,

an egg scoop, (not exactly like this one, but similar)

Yolky, the egg separator, (apparently "Santa" thought separating eggs with my hands was gross or something)

and a couple of small, silicone coated whisks. I commented at the time that apparently someone thought I was obsessed with eggs. (To be fair, I DID ask for the timer and have often looked at the silicone whisks with a little bit of curiosity.)

I have been thinking about this today and I have come to the conclusion that maybe someone wasn't too far off. I am a little crazy about eggs. We can run out of milk and I don't care. We can run out of chicken and I'm only mildly bothered. We can go a couple of weeks without spaghetti sauce or noodles. We can go a couple days without bread. But the DAY we run out of eggs I'm at the store. Almost every time we're at the store I buy eggs. I can know for a fact that we have 18 eggs at home but I'll still tell Branden that we need to buy eggs.

How can two people eat so many eggs? We can't. We probably use 6 to 8 eggs in a normal week. It just makes me feel good to have them. And we never waste them. If I think my eggs are getting old I just boil them up and eat them for snacks.

Eggs are so versatile. There are literally over one hundred ways to prepare eggs... I don't know all those ways but that's not really the point. They have almost every necessary nutrient. In China they are a symbol of prosperity. They represent new beginnings and hope- something we desperately need at the moment.

So yes, I'm a little crazy when it comes to eggs but it's not like it's a harmful crazy. And I promise not to force eggs on anyone who comes to my house... On the other hand, I am also willing to share my eggs if needed. Maybe that's what matters most in the long run: I am willing to share something that makes me feel more secure with anyone else who is willing to accept my form of security.

Furnace Update

We called our landlord about the furnace. He came over today and he and Branden installed a new thermostat. It seems to have solved the problem. No constant off-and-on, no huddling under a blanket in a cold house, no frozen nose... YAY!!!

We really do have the best landlords ever. No, seriously, they're AWESOME. Every time we have an issue- which is rare- they fix it as quickly as possible. They call us up just to make sure that we're doing ok and don't need anything. For Christmas they dropped off a card with a $50 gift certificate inside! I've NEVER had landlords like this before. They love us, too, because we always pay rent a few days early.

So everything appears to be fixed, my landlords rock and we'll be nice and toasty while we sleep tonight. :)

One More Quick Post For Today

Yesterday my younger brother, James, was in a car accident on the way to school. He was hit head-on by a girl who lost control of her car. He is fine but his car is probably totaled. (I've only heard what my mom told me yesterday right after the accident so I don't really know a whole lot.) Anyway, the roads are crazy. There are deer jumping out at people and people sliding around in their cars. Please, everyone be careful. We've been lucky but the next person may not be so lucky. Drive slowly and pay attention. I'd hate to lose one of my four or five readers... Especially since I probably know all of you personally.

Why Is My Furnace Not Heating My House?

Every afternoon I come home to a cold house. Today was even a lovely, warm (for winter) day and I STILL came home to a cold house! I don't know why as the thermostat is set between 65 and 70 degrees (F) at all times. Still, I have not come home to a house over 60 since winter set in. Even the thermometer on the thermostat says it's 60 degrees in here!

So can anyone tell me why my furnace kicks on for about 20-30 seconds (not even long enough to blow warm air) and then turns off? It does this about once a minute to once every other minute. I have forced Branden to go down into the basement multiple times. ( I should mention that this involves going outside and wading through the snow behind our house.) He says there's nothing wrong with the furnace... But there HAS to be something wrong! Since I started typing this it has turned off and on THREE TIMES!!! Three times in less than five minutes= Something must be wrong.

I should also mention that we have a digital thermometer here in the living room and, according to that, the temperature in this room has DROPPED three degrees since I began writing. So not only is my furnace NOT heating my house, it is COOLING it! Something is WRONG!

Branden thinks I'm a wimp, but my nose and toes are always cold! Ok, it's winter. Most people have cold toes in the winter. But to constantly have an ice cold nose inside your house is abnormal. I can't wait to make dinner so I can stick my face over the pot of boiling water and warm up my nose a little bit.

On a happy note, Branden and Ted went to a pick-and-pull today in SLC and found a radiator that should fit in the car. I don't know how much it cost but probably less than the new one we were gonna order online. When I last talked to Branden- about an hour ago- they were in the process of installing it. So, even though it sucks that I hit a deer, the inner workings of my car will soon be over that particular ordeal. As for the outside... I got a really good look at it this morning and it doesn't look all that bad. :)

One final note: The furnace has just turned on and off three times in ninety seconds. Maybe it's time to call the landlords.

"Doe, A Deer, a Female Deer"

Last Sunday I did not have a car. Last Monday I picked up a car from my parents... Yay, something good! Today I messed up the car that my parents gave me.

This morning at approximately 7:27 AM I hit/was hit by a doe as she attempted to leap across the road next to Rockport Dam.

I saw her there at the side of the road. I slowed to 50mph but she didn't seem to be going anywhere so I wasn't TOO worried. Just when it was too late for me to really do anything... I guess she panicked and began to leap across the road in front of me. I hit the brakes but I knew it was too late. She slammed into the front of the car and kind of flipped off into the snow next to the road. I immediately pulled over and freaked out as I watched her struggle to regain her feet... It never happened.

I called Branden in hysterics. This part is a little blurry. I wasn't crying at that point but I was hyperventilating and probably not speaking too clearly. I managed to get the message across, sort of told him where I was and realized that the car was smoking and should be turned off. After calming me down a bit, Branden told me that he and his friend Ted were on the way and I needed to call 911, tell them what happened and where I was as best I could. So I did and was told that someone was on their way.

I'd gotten out of the car to see what damage had been done- less than I'd thought, actually- and tell the dispatcher if the car was still smoking- it was. The doe, far from being dead, freaked out every time I moved. It was horrible watching her try to climb up the embankment at the side of the road and fall over again and again. Her two back legs were seriously broken and all she could do was paw at the ground with her front feet. I got back in the car as quickly as I could in hopes that she would calm down or that I at least wouldn't be causing her more stress. That was when I called my parents... Bawling. My mom decided it would be best to come to Summit County and see what she could do to help.

A couple people stopped to see if they could help but really nothing could be done till the pros arrived. Branden and Ted showed up first, followed by what I assume was a volunteer fire team in a GIANT truck. That was kinda cool and if I hadn't been so shaken I may have checked it out a bit. It turns out that the smoking was just some burning radiator fluid. Oddly enough, my radiator appeared to be fine other than a tiny bit of fluid that had leaked out.

Then the Highway Patrol showed up with a really big shotgun. Turns out that Ted actually knew the officer... Which was convenient because then he was nice enough to let Ted take me down the road to a gas station while he shot the doe. After the messy part was over Branden was able to drive our car to the gas station and the patrolman met us there, asked me a couple of questions and sent us on our way.

The car was doing well enough that Branden drove it to the shop so we could get it looked over and Ted and I followed in Ted's car. Mom met us at the shop as well and she took me home and spent a little time with me. We didn't get to have as much fun as we would have had if I hadn't killed a deer this morning, but it was nice to have a small amount of time playing games and talking. I spent the rest of the day at home doing laundry, washing dishes and packing away the Christmas decorations. Yep, that was my great day.

Just so I don't give the impression that I think my whole life stinks I will now write some good things. 1) The car only has cosmetic damage and a small hole in the radiator. We'll be able to drive it short distances until we can get a new one so long as we check the fluid. Also, a new radiator will only cost $113 which is still less than a whole new car. 2) I have an amazing man for a fiance who dropped everything he was doing and came to my rescue. 3) Branden's friend Ted willing came to my rescue as well and helped out in every way he knew. He is also helping Branden find work. 4) I have an amazing mother who also dropped everything she was doing and came to my rescue then spent a portion of her day making sure I would be ok. 5) I get paid tomorrow and it should be a big enough paycheck to cover the new radiator and a few other things that we need. 6) I have a place to sleep every night and it's usually warmer than the temp outside. 7) I have enough to eat and Branden lets me make really simple food for dinner when I'm stressed out.

Please Don't Let This Ever Be Me

I am a faithful reader of Cake Wrecks. http://cakewrecks.blogspot.com If you've never read the blog, you should check it out. It can be quite amusing and I often laugh out loud... But, if I'm honest, that's not the real reason I read it.

I've gone back through all the pages... I've looked at every picture and read every post... To reassure myself that none of the cakes posted on these pages are mine.

I dread the day that one of my creations appears on this blog.

For the most part I'm a crazy perfectionist when it comes to my decorating. I am concerned about the placement of every leaf and have been known to triple and quadruple check the requested message before writing it on the cake. Unfortunately, I have still been known, on the very rare occasion, to make mistakes.

I am BEYOND glad that this blogger has never received pictures of the "Santa's Workshop" gingerbread house that Kazia and I royally botched about four years ago. I am thankful that all my worst cakes happened well before this blog even existed. And I am really and truly terrified that one of my mishaps will someday be the laughing stock of the thousands of people who read Cake Wrecks every day.