Day Seven: Stuff and Things

It's Day 7 and once again I'm sitting here with less than an hour until midnight, trying to figure out where I'm going with this blog.  My challenge today is to post my prized possession.  

Since I'm a bit of a worrier, I have actually thought about this topic before in the form of "what would I grab if the house were on fire?"  My priority would of course be the living members of my household--John, Amelia, Lady and Abbie.  But if everyone were safe and I had a few moments to grab STUFF, what would I take with me? What can't be replaced?   Technically, my wedding ring and anniversary rings can be replaced though not with the exact same pieces (and new ones wouldn't have the emotional value either).  Besides that, the only items that are irreplaceable are my pictures.  I have a massive crate stacked full of pictures, as well as a computer with approximately 7,000.  In fact, the pictures (and all of my other files) are backed up on an external hard drive just to be safe.  I had a close call once and learned my lesson. 

Pictures have always been of great importance to me.  There have been few times in my life when I wasn't the girl with a camera around her neck or wrist.  I started with my Mickey Mouse 110 and graduated to 35 MM (including the talking one my dad found for $1 that I lost in NOLA).  I eventually moved on to digital and sacrificed quality for the comfort of KNOWING I got a decent picture.  I would love a better digital camera, but for now I need something I can drag around with me and not worry about possibly destroying. 

Back to the challenge (it's 11:37!)...

I suppose I could take a picture of my crate of pictures, but what fun is that?  I've decided instead to just TELL you about my prized possession and then spend the remainder of the blog showing you pictures I took of other random crap around my house.  Essentially, it means this blog is a total waste of time, but after crying through last night's blog, I need lighter fare.

This is my Cutco vegetable peeler.  I bought it when I lived in Memphis and temporarily lost my mind.  A former student was selling Cutco and I agreed to listen to his pitch.  I felt bad for him, so I agreed to make a purchase.  Now don't get me wrong, Cutco makes excellent products but they are very expensive--way more than a public school teacher supporting two people can afford.  I ended up buying a small block with a few pieces.  As a bonus I got the vegetable peeler.  This thing has saved me so much time and trips to the ER to sew on fingers.  I have no idea how much they cost to buy  a la carte, but I will pay out the nose to have another one if this one ever breaks.

Cavenders All Purpose Greek Seasoning makes everything taste better.  Well, maybe not everything. I wouldn't suggest sprinkling it on ice cream.  Or Cap'n Crunch.  Probably wouldn't do much for a peanut butter and banana sandwich either.  Hell, now I can think of at least 100 things that would be rendered practically inedible by Cavenders.   But it's really good on meat.  And most vegetables.  I sprinkle it in casseroles and in quiche and it's the secret ingredient in my meatballs.  Good stuff. 



If you do any amount of laundry, I'm sure you have a preferred stain remover.  This one is mine.  The list so far?  Pureed peas, formula. spit up formula, vomit, chocolate, grease, poop, yellow poop, green poop, liquid poop, explosive poop, mold, juice, butt juice (if you have a dog, you know this one), makeup, deodorant, mud, ink, dirt, tomato sauce, coffee, and hot pink puff paint.   (Wow.  I feel kind of disgusting now.)  This stuff doesn't work miracles; it still takes some scrubbing.  But I haven't found another product that takes out stains like Zout.  I love this stuff so much I want to take it behind the football bleachers.  Go ahead, you young whipper snappers. Laugh all you want about my love affair with a stain remover.  Someday you'll understand. 




I really like milk.  Especially in big, cheap, plastic cups.  The bigger and cheaper and more plasticky, the better. 



 This is my lullaby.  No, really.  It seems I lack the ability to sleep if I don't have some sort of "colored" noise (white, brown, whatever) roaring in my ear.  It started when I was a kid and had frequent respiratory/sinus issues.  I slept with an old school cool mist vaporizer that made my room sound like I was camping out underneath a Mack truck.  I'm not sure the contraption helped me one bit, but it did completely disable the part of my brain that allows me to sleep in a quiet room.  I can use one of those noise machines, but I prefer a big roaring fan.  When our apartment flooded once, the cleaning crew brought in an industrial size fan that sounded like a small freight train.  I slept beside it in the living room for two days.  Pure bliss.  When John and I married, I had a big box fan that I kept on high.  John likes a quiet room, so over the years we've done the compromise thing.  Now I sleep with a small tabletop  fan set on low.  

 

I have a nice collection of Willow Tree figurines.  I've loved them for years, before they because popular.  I've never bought myself one, but my friends and family have added to my little resin family.  My most recent addition and current favorite is "Guardian."  John gave me this as a late Christmas gift. I love how something so simple can show such powerful emotion.  There are a few pieces I would currently like to receive, but I will wait patiently for them.  Just to be safe, though, would someone please tell a certain younger brother of mine that he should really get me the "Brother and Sister" figurine?  I've given up on dropping subtle hints. 

Nothing beats packing for a mini-vacation every time I leave my house.  Instead of my normal "keys, phone, wallet" check, I now have to plan for every possible scenario that might take place with my little one.  Formula? Check.  Bottles?  Check.  Extra pacifier?  Check.  Diapers, wipes and emergency outfits?  Got em.  Toys?  Sure.  Baggies for poop?  Why not.  Teething rings.  Extra socks.  Sanitizer.  The list goes on and on.  I've given up on carrying a purse most of the time and just cram everything into one of the pockets in my cavernous diaper bag.  At least I have a great bag.  My Kalencom is roomy, sturdy, vomit-proof and brown.  

For those of you who haven't read my blog until today, I apologize for the random nature of what I've written.  Feel free to go back and read some earlier posts if you want something more meaty.  I'm just doing what the "challenge" instructs me to do.   Unfortunately, I'm an hour-and-a-half late posting this since I lost half my blog during an auto save.  Gotta start working on these earlier in the day.

As always, thanks for reading.  Make sure you appreciate the random crap in your house today.  It could be gone tomorrow and you might not even notice.