Five on Friday #120

EINS

Teh Sister sent me a free Hello Fresh code, so I figured, why not.  It arrived on Monday with 3 meals.

Something was leaking.  I still have no idea if it was an ice pack or sweat or something else.

Ingredients for 2 different meals.

Completed meal.

I'll just be straight up.  I wasn't impressed and here's why...

1.  When I cook, I cook for, technically, 2 meals, dinner that night and enough for leftovers for lunch the following day.  Sometimes, I even cook more than that.  1 Hello Fresh "meal" is exactly enough for 2 people to eat.  I probably could have had a few bites for leftovers, but it wouldn't have been enough for lunch the next day, so I still would have needed to figure something out for lunch.
2.  Originally, when I started the chicken meal (not pictured), I only saw 1 breast of chicken in the 12oz package.  Turns out, there were actually 2 breasts in there, but I for sure thought we were going to be splitting 1 chicken breast for dinner for correct portions.  I was more impressed with the pork meal (pictured).  Portions are very precise, which is good and bad.
3.  The value of these "6" meals (which I consider 3 since I will have cooked 3 times and cooking once = 1 meal) is $70.  I can shop for MUCH cheaper than that and get more bang for my buck.
4.  I would have done a better job picking out produce.  The onions were bruised up and the sweet potatoes were TINY.  The arugula was completely wilted.  The Walmart Grocery employees do a better job of picking out my produce and they DGAF about what they give me.

Pros:
1.  All the ingredients were right there.
2.  All the directions were right there.
3.  The process was mostly simple.
4.  Only basic ingredients/tools were needed that weren't supplied (olive oil, measuring spoons) if they gave you "too much".
5.  Delivered to my door.
6.  Different recipes than I would have used if I had to plan this.
7.  Teh German probably could have followed the directions and we wouldn't have starved.
8.  Portion control is done for you.  You definitely won't be going back for seconds since there won't be anymore.
9.  This box was free.
10.  I didn't have to meal plan.  (I forgot this box was coming and meal planned for the week anyways, but that was on me.  It ended up working out though because we stayed home one night I thought we were going out and I didn't have a plan for another night.)


Final thoughts?
I would NOT subscribe to the Hello Fresh meal box.  In fact, I probably wouldn't subscribe to any meal box for $70 for 3 dinners for 2 people... or 6 total meals.  Nonetheless, we got a $70 box for free and I'm not one to look that gift horse in the mouth. 

ZWEI

I made my own laundry detergent last weekend and then the Laundry Fairy didn't even come to visit!  Well, technically she was just delayed.  AKA. I was too damn lazy to do laundry last weekend and I finally broke down on Wednesday and started it.  #DontJudgeMe

The process was actually extremely simple because I used the no cook recipe because I'm #LazyAF #notsorry.

If you're too lazy to click on the link, I will share the process with you.

Tools needed:
-Blender that you can screw onto a mason jar.  This means, not a Ninja (woe is me).  But the blender you can use costs $20 at Walmart and probably cheaper than that if you go to a thrift store.
-2 1 quart mason jars, not wide mouth to work with the blender chopper madoogie*.
-1 cup of Borax
-1 cup of Arm & Hammer Laundry Washing SODA (not the same thing as baking soda)
-1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap (5.05oz)  (there are alternatives out there, but I'm telling you what I did.)

Optional:
-To make less of a mess, a wide-mouth funnel.  My regular funnel wasn't too happy with the borax clumps.
-I also added some of the Gain Fireworks to one of the jars.  I saw somewhere to only add 1 tablespoon, buttttt I added more like 3+ tablespoons because I'm me.  It turned out just fine.
-Essential oils for smell.  

Directions:

1. Grate/slice up the soap bar.  Put half the bar in each jar.  I actually cut the bar into sixteenths and put the cubes in the jar.  That probably wasn't the best way to do it, but it worked out ok.  This soap grates pretty easily, so it would have been easy to make smaller cubes
2. Add 1 cup of hot water from the (CLEAN) coffee maker.
3. Wait 1+ hours for the soap to "gel".  If you didn't grate the soap, this will obviously take longer.  Because the cubes didn't dissolve, I waited until the next day, whatevs.
4. After the soap has gelled, cut through it with a knife to loosen it from the jar.
5. Get your funnel and use it for the adding of the powders.
6. Add 1/2 a cup of Borax to each jar.
7. Add 1/2 a cup of Arm & Hammer to each jar.
8.  Add "enough" of the smell enhancer that you want.  I used the Gain Fireworks, essential oils are also an option (but you'd have to look at the link to see how much to use).
9. Add water to the "shoulder" of the jar (the highest, widest point of the jar, there is a diagram on the link).
10. Put on the rubber seal*.
11. Put on the sharp chopper thing*.
12. Put on the blender cap*
    *I seriously have no idea what these parts are called and I'm too lazy to look them up.
13. Make sure the blender bottom is tight and put it in the blender.
14. I just pushed a button to make sure it got smooth.  You can pulse, you can set it and leave it.  Whatevs.  When it's done, it should be the consistency of mayo and smooth (i.e. NOT grainy, if it's grainy, the powders didn't dissolve and it's still fine to use).

When I was done with all the steps, I felt like the contents were a little runny, but they thickened up after it cooled.  I also may have added too much water to mine since I added water, then beat the powder down some, then added more water.  Nonetheless, it turned out fine.

I won't lie, I was super skeptical at first.  But I already had borax in the house and the other ingredients cost me less than $10, so I was willing to try it.

A normal load of laundry includes:

• laundry detergent (whatever I can find on sale/have a coupon for that I'm not allergic to (Purex or Tide).  Currently, I am using Purex).
• laundry softener (whatever is on sale/I have a coupon for)
• 1 scoop of Borax
• 1 cup of vinegar (for Teh German's oily clothes)
• 1/2 a cap of Gain Fireworks (because I really love the smell)

Using my creation, now I use:

• 1-1 heaping tablespoon of laundry soap
• 1 cup of vinegar (the oil, I cannot with the oil)

The first load I washed, I was extra skeptical about when I took it out of the washer.  I'm used to the overwhelming smell of delightful laundry scents and there was no scent.  But, it was a test, so I threw those clothes into the dryer like normal.  They came out smelling really good.  Not super strong like with all the detergents, but they still smelled good.

Megan hack:
I'm #lazyAF so rather than deal with trying to get the soap off the measuring spoon, I just throw the whole spoon in the washing machine and pull it out when I move the laundry to the dryer.

Now my problem is that I have to use up the rest of the store bought detergents!  #firstworldproblems

Overall, I WOULD recommend making your own laundry detergent.  It's easy and way cheaper than store bought products.  The friend who turned me on to the homemade soap makes a year's worth of detergent at a time!

PS.  I added more of the scent booster crystal things and microwaved the sauce and reblended.  I lurve the smell now.  I do not lurve the fact that my mixer ate the rubber seal thing...

DREI

Some things from my phone/life:

Sometimes, I let the dogs do the dishes.
Teh German always hates it.
PS.  Pax is a hog.

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We got our marriage license this week!
We wanted to make sure we did it well in advance just in case the whole foreigner thing threw us a curve ball.
It didn't even make a difference.
Wewt, we're gettin' mawwied.
PS. This feel like it happened a million years ago, let me explain.... (continue reading)

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The most valuable "appliance" in our house right now...

Our AC has been out since Wednesday early, early morning (like before our alarms went off) and when I came home at noon on Thursday (so I could suffer with the dogs) it was 87°F upstairs and 83°F downstairs.  Wednesday, Pax and Meri had a play date with Roux and Roux's Humom didn't have any issue with the dogs staying at their house for the afternoon while the AC was out.  When I picked them up, I thought our AC was fixed.  On Thursday, they just had to suffer.  I did have the fans on, so that helped.

Wednesday, a tech came out and "fixed" the AC, but it never started cooling, so in fact, he did NOT fix it.  He did fix the noise that was also a problem, so I guess that is what my $180 went towards.  When we went to bed Wednesday night, it was 83°F upstairs and 80°F downstairs.  When we woke up, it was probably 87°F in our bedroom since we shut the door (because Meri has a tendency to wake up in the middle of the night and find all the squeaky toys).

When I called the company at 9:30 on Wednesday night, I was surprised when they answered the phone.  They scheduled the same guy to come back on Thursday.  We were both surprised when he said that the outside unit was saying it was low on freon, which meant there was a leak somewhere.  Then he found the leak, without using his handy dandy leak detector because the leak was so bad.  What this really meant for me is that the coil is fucked and we need a new one.. andddd the labor to replace the coil is.... "$999."

I am actually in the process of contacting Dan Ryan, and eventually Linnux, to see about getting this situation paid for since this is NOT an issue that a 1 year old HVAC should have.  The technician blamed the entire thing on the defective blower, but I don't know how far I will get.  Even if I have to pay for it out of pocket, I'm going to get the HVAC fixed.  I CANNOT deal with no AC, especially with the dogs.




Last night, I refused to cook because it would have made downstairs the temperature of the sun, and instead we picked up a grocery order from Walmart for Teh Running Bestie, sold a baby enclosure I've been moving from house to house since 2013, went to Lowe's and bought a window unit, and went to Sushi 101 for dinner.  When we came home, Teh German slammed shit around and installed the window unit and went to smoke a cigar.  I tried to do some work, but was too resigned to be productive and opted to go upstairs and hang out with the AC unit while it cooled our room down and read.

Oh yeah, and we might not have AC until next week AND the company is NOT working on Monday since there will be too much traffic in the area because of the eclipse.  #FML

TL;DR: Home ownership is hard and expensive.  AND THIS is why we have a house savings account!  Also I find it extremely inconvenient that the AC always goes out during the hottest time of the year.

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How to know my week has been extra crappy:
Unopened packages.

These packages include 1 cabinet for the guest bathroom, 3 new pairs of heels to replace 2 pairs of heels that I've had for several years which have seen better days and 1 new color that I've been wanting for several years, 2 storage cabinets for the master bathroom, Halloween costumes, and whatever else I've ordered this week that I've forgotten about in the catastrophe that has been my week.

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I posted here earlier this week about the rules of using "/" and the photo above show my FB post and then on Wednesday at orientation, I received this shit show handout from the Chaplain which had me praying for patience and the restraint not to stand up and start yelling, "TOO SOON!  TOO FUCKING SOON!"

If you can't follow the rules of grammar, at least (for the love of all that is holy) be CONSISTENT in your fucktardary.  For me.  For Jesus.  For Buddha.  For whatever the fuck you believe in that is valuable to you.  PUULLEEAASSSEEE.

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I passed off the pergola project to Teh German.  With the AC debacle, I cannot handle it all.  There is no reason Teh German couldn't have handled this project from the beginning but since I'm usually more available, I took it on.  I really need to stop doing that.  It's his now.  We've discussed how we're going to pay for it and really, it's Teh German's thing more than mine. 

Teh German has the contractor's number and vice versa and they can work it out and this solves multiple problems:
1. Me feeling responsible for everything ever.
2. Dealing with assholes who try to give me shit for not being able to stick to our "scheduled" appointment.  (Not this week, motherfucker, I will cut you.)
3. Teh German constantly asking me for updates about the situation. 

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VIER

Some things from the Internet:

The comments on this video of a night sky long exposure made me want to slap people.

I'm usually neutral about TSwift, but #FUCKYAS to her win.  Even more #YAAASS to her testimony on the stand.  I want to high-five her so bad.  Why do people think that it's ok to touch other people without their permission?  I will never understand.


Things about Charlottesville, VA and racism and shittastic shitheads..

Yes, this is Racism
Trump shouldn't be the focus of the Charlottesville incident
Representing History (in regards to this issue, SC leaders have said that SC Confederate monuments will stand because SC is "different" and I LOLed.  I live near a city where the Sons of the Confederate are painting a Confederate flag every day on a public graffiti boat to make a point that they will not be "erased."   Ummmmkay.)

My heart hurts for this country and I am very afraid that Trump has become a scapegoat for shittastic things that happen.  More focus was put into the fact that HE didn't say anything rather than the fact that these 2 groups were violent.  It is a complicated situation no matter how you look at it.  The white supremacists had the right to gather, as did the black lives matter group.  That last link makes it sound like the white people were a mob and all I keep thinking of is the book Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult.  This is 2017.  White supremacy isn't defensible to me, no matter how hard I try to look at it from all angles.  That makes this situation easy to judge, but it isn't because laws.  I hate the world I live in when I try to defend white nationalists.  I've seen the memes about compromise and that is not what I'm suggesting.

I think it's high time to check white privilege.

FÜNF

10 things that made me happy this week:

1. No issues getting our marriage license.
2. Teh German agreeing to cancel dance lessons on Wednesday because I was overwhelmed.
3. Homemade laundry sauce.
4. Awesome dogs who roll with the punches and don't get worked up over having maintenance people in the house.
5. New recipes for dinner.
6. Not shady repair dudes.
7. Getting RSVPs.
8. Time to read.
9. A window AC unit
10. Teh German telling me some things in Australia he would be interested in doing/visiting.
11. *bonus* Passing off something from my plate to Teh German.  I need to do this more often.

Happy Friday, Gentle Readers.