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Bone-smacking fun!

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Mr. Bone Jangles.

I didn’t paint that – a preschooler did from back in September.  It’s my tie-in to a crazy fun game – Whack-A-Bone!   I had fun playing it, and if your home or work environment can tolerate a voice incessantly chanting “Whack-a-bone, whack-a-bone,” maybe you’ll enjoy it, too. The best part about preschool is that I learn a smidgen about everything.  If you want to hone your knowledge of ulnas, fibias, sternums and the like, click here!  (Don’t click on the game logo that first pops up – wait for the skeleton game to load.  It takes about 10 seconds.)

Hey, Dad, guess what?

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 “Harboring” doubts? Don’t!

When we visited my parents in July, my dad told me how much he likes Harbor Freight.  Well, it turns out that there’s one in Lincoln!  I love looking around hardware stores, and it seems to me that Harbor Freight is kind of like the dollar store of hardware.  They have lots of cool stuff, and it’s pretty cheap!  I bought two pair of binoculars for school ($3.99 each) and this thing for 7 bucks.

I have no funny title.

Every year in preschool we talk about our bodies and I’ve always wanted some tangible way to show how your heart pumps blood around your body.  This is it! Now I don’t have to make some awful prototype!  (Plus I’ll never have to pay for gas again.)

Waffle (not awful) Toast

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We had a very nice visit with Lloyd’s folks this weekend. I always freak about about what to cook for people, but we were only home for breakfasts, and that’s a meal I can safely make. We had bacon and eggs yesterday, and an experiment today!

I can’t take credit for this, since I saw it on Slashfood a while ago, but we had french toast made in a waffle iron. The Texax toast pieces fit in my cheap-o Belgian waffle maker perfectly!

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I liked them a lot. I was so pleased with the result, we made garlic toast for dinner the same way! Slap some butter on both sides of bread, sprinkle on a little garlic salt, then leave them in there a couple of minutes to get really crispy. The best part is how they break off into little strips, then squares, perfect for filling with sauce. I shouldn’t have even made noodles.

Mmmm.

Impulse Buy

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You shouldn’t shop when you’re hungry, and I was hungry on Sunday.  We saw this in the baking aisle – chunky, crunchy sugar.  Mmmmm….. crunchy sugar – a novelty for the Sommerer household, but it has to be way more awesome than regular sugar.  It comes from Hawaii, for cryin’ out loud!  “On the island of Maui lie fertile tropical plantations.  There the rich volcanic soil is warmed by the Pacific sun, fed by mountain waters, and cooled by friendly tradewinds.  These are the perfect conditions for growing sugar cane, nature’s own sweetener.”  Huh. I think I got a tan just from reading the box.

I need some healthy cereal to dump this on.

Candle Hack

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We have a candle that someone gave me for Christmas, and Lloyd really likes how it smells. I thought it was vanilla, but apparently it’s called ‘Creamy Nutmeg’.   It’s a Bath & Body Works brand, so I went looking for another one at their store for when I’ve used this one up while heating my house.  Holy smokes!  A little candle is ten bucks, and a slightly bigger one is twenty!!  Are these people crazy?  Don’t they know I’m cheap?  (By the way, did you notice that I’ve added a new category?)

So I’ve begun a new experiment.  I bought the little vial of scented oil that was only $7.50, and I tried melting some tealights in the oven and adding a few drops to the wax.  Hopefully, burning these newly-tinkered-with candles will release an expensive smell in to the air.  (Yeah, yeah – I know they make oil warmers.  Where’s the fun in that?)

Yep. There’s melted wax spilled all inside that dish.

What did I learn?  1)Well, seven minutes in a 200 degree oven was plenty of time to melt the wax….  I think.  (I kinda lost track of time.)  2) Only use the tealights that have metal bases for the wicks.  One of my experimental subjects had no metal base and I couldn’t get the wick to stay after it floated away.  3) Anywhere from two to twenty drops should be enough.  (That bottle top is unreliable.)

Viola!  I’m burning one right now, and I almost think I can smell nutmeg.  If only I had a way to bundle these…..

Lloyd’s experiment

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Well, it turns out that I’m not the only one with mad scientist tendencies around here.  I stayed up late reading Saturday night and forgot to drink a cup of coffee before church.  As a result, I was really sleepy during the service.  (I felt like Brad must feel all the time.)  We went for our usual after-church grocery shopping trip, and Lloyd had an ‘a-ha’ moment in the car.

Lloyd: What if….
Lauren: What?
Lloyd: I can’t tell you.  I have to show you.
Lauren: You know I hate that. Tell me now!
Lloyd:

We got home, unpacked the groceries, and I saw that Lloyd was going to make me a cup of coffee! If you knew how inept he was in the kitchen you’d appreciate this gesture. He got the coffee maker out, scooped in some coffee, then cracked open a Pepsi.

That ain’t right.

WHAT!?!?  After I freaked about about the possibility of sugar burning in the reservoir, I calmed down. (After all, that’d be a good reason to buy a new coffee maker, right?) He promised to rinse it out when he was done, so the experiment proceeded. You know the weird part? It was good. It smelled terrible – it reminded me of the video game room in the 7-11 store from my childhood – but it tasted sweet, sweet, sweet and guuuuuuuuuud.

Lloyd Sommerer. Coffee genius.