Stuck in an elevator with somebody who talks a lot?(A)
OR
Stuck in an elevator with nobody at all?(B)

If you said (A) then you are probably extroverted like a dog.
If you said (B) then you are probably introverted like a cat.

Dogs usually like being with other people.
Cats usually like being alone.

My mom was scratching my head this morning and said, “Ethan, you are just like a puppy.” But I sort of think I am more like a cat.

Just like your hair dryer, garbage disposals have a GFCI: a circuit interrupter that shuts the device off if there’s a safety issue. If that safety issue was just a fluke, resetting the button will do the trick. You should be able to find the reset button just underneath the disposal. Just make sure the normal on-off switch is set to ‘off’ and that there aren’t any spoons in the sink, so you won’t have any surprises when the disposal starts running again.

Is this common knowledge? Well, my friend didn’t know, and had gone 3 weeks thinking her garbage disposal was broken before I fixed it tonight. I wouldn’t have known had my brother not told me. And he didn’t know before either: he figured it out when installing a replacement disposal for his mother-in-law, who’d gone without for ages.

So if you didn’t know, well, now you do, and knowing is half the battle. Maybe someday it’ll save you or a friend the cost of a new disposal or visit from a repairman.

1) Stir 4 small boxes of gelatin into 2.5 cups of boiling apple juice. Yes, this is the basic recipe for Jell-o Jiggler’s.
2) Pour into whatever type of pan you’d like; you can either plan on cutting the jello into small pieces or mold it into small pieces in the first place. I used mini ice-cube trays.
3) Pop them in the fridge till they’re firm.
4) Unmold the pieces onto a plate or pan sprayed with non-stick cooking spray
5) Cover loosely (in a paper bag, for example), place in a warm, dry place (like the top of your fridge) and let it dry for a day or two.

And that’s it!

I found this out when I’d intended to make Jigglers with my kindergarten class in Russia. My host mother found the jello in the fridge, wasn’t sure what it was (this was nearly 15 years ago) and simply took it out and set it on top. I’d already cut out one shape to test it, and to my surprise it ended up tasting much like gummy bears — maybe even better.

We’re going to try coating ours in Vitamin C crystals before they dry this time to see if we can get sour gummies too. I’ll let you know how they turn out.

So my goal is not only to lose weight, but to figure out how to get myself a spendy metabolism. And the wise words of my friends mom are seeming to make more and more sense.

Think of burning calories like you would think of burning firewood. If the fire is going strong, you can burn more or less anything. The trick is getting that fire started.

Start with something that burns easily, and build up from there. If the fire starts to go out, add a little more kindling — and extra oxygen. Once the fire’s hot, harder-to-burn items are no big deal, but do keep it going throughout the day, and don’t add any new heavy material to it if you’re about to put it out for the night.

According to Roy’s mom, then, you start the day with your simplest carbs, build up to your proteins, and then stop eating a few hours before bedtime. And to that I add: make a conscious effort to increase oxygen consumption as well.

I’ve also added Shape-Ups, Tai Chi, and extra walking to my regular routine: no weight loss yet. So now I’m adding these concepts in as well. 12 weeks from now I may look and feel exactly like I do right now, but if there are significant changes, I’m going to be stoked

I can explain.

“Goodbye, decade of the Oughts.” A friend posted this on facebook. I’d never associated the word aught with ought. According to the dictionary, ought can mean zero too. But I didn’t know this. I was a little melancholy (as I tend to be when my kids are gone) and we’ll just say it took much less time to think of the things I ought to have done than it did for me to chew myself out for not doing them.

I decided to ring in the new year alone, so as to avoid inflicting my grumpiness on anyone else. A couple of friends rescued me though, I ended up having a good time. I also ended up with a new resolution.

Years ago I’d resolved to do unto others as they would have me do unto them… to try to anticipate how a person actually wants to be treated and behave accordingly. I don’t think that worked out very well, but I learned from it. I think I did learn to have more compassion and empathy. I also learned that I’m not very good at reading minds. And I learned that some people can always point out what you’ve done wrong: the harder you try to please them, the more critical and even downright cruel they become.

I was thinking about that as I washed my face. At least I don’t have to start another year with someone who treats me like that… Then, I looked into the mirror to apply my nightly benzoyl peroxide. Zits. Bump on the nose. Weird teeth. Wrinkle-that’s visible-even-with-my-glasses-off. Nice.

Actually I didn’t say those words in my mind because that’s not how I think when I’m talking to myself. It’s more of a feeling thing; I only use words to talk to others. God understands this about me, so when these words came into my mind I knew they weren’t mine: “Love thy neighbor as thyself, Velda. That means you’ve got to love yourself, too.”

Then I realized that if I treated others the way I treat myself, I’d be at least to some extent the same sort of critical jerk I don’t want to be around. And no matter what, I am stuck with me. So my goal this year is to learn to be kinder to myself. More gentle, more understanding. More compassionate, forgiving, and encouraging.

When a friend is trying to get healthy, I try to work out with her, and I watch for subtle changes and tell her how great she looks. When my kids are struggling with their homework, I assure them that they CAN work it out and encourage them to take a step back and try to think of it another way. When I walk into a friend’s home, do you think I even notice any untidiness (read.. the fact that she actually lives there) before she points it out? Or if it’s so messy I do notice do I try to help her out? If my friend got four As and a B+ in one heavily-loaded semester, I’d be cheering for her, not chiding her lack of perfection.

I will keep trying to be kind to others, but I think it’s about time I became a better friend to me, too. So that’s my resolution, and I’m excited to see how it will go. Wish me luck… I am

But anyway, the whole reason I’m posting this is because we’d forgotten how bad it was, and what a miracle it was we found a remedy that actually works. And since someone had asked the other day how we got rid of his warts, I figured I’d post the solution here. If you want it and don’t mind the gross picture, click ahead!

You’ll need ALL of these things (getting the right combination is important)

- Apple Cider Vinegar
- Cotton Swabs
- Duct Tape
- Clear Nail Polish
- cheap, DISPOSABLE emery boards (a pack of 5 from Sally’s would work)
- hand sanitizer

On the first night:

1) Lightly buff the surface of the wart with an emery board. Wash away the dust and use some hand sanitizer, and throw away the board.
2) Break the cotton off the top of a swab. You should have a ball about the same size as the wart. In Ethan’s case, we had to use small cotton balls instead.
3) Dampen the cotton with the vinegar, put it on the wart, and duct-tape it in place, sealing off the edges as best as you can so you can sleep.

In the morning, remove the duct tape, wash everything and let it dry, and then give the wart a few coats of nail polish.

At night, pick off the nail polish and put on a fresh swab of vinegar with your duct tape.

After a day or two, you’ll notice some black specks on the surface of the wart. It’s dying. My son said this hurts a bit.

Keep repeating this process for a few days until the wart turns completely black. Then skip the apple-cider vinegar swab and duct-tape routine. Don’t worry about picking off the nail polish either at this point. Just add a fresh coat every day. After a few days, the wart will fall off and should be gone for good.

These are some things we had tried:

- Salicylic Acid Patches
- Compound W
- Freeze-it-Yourself Kits
- Freezing it at the Doctor’s Office
- Lemon Juice
- Wrapping in Duct tape only
- Wrapping in Duct tape With salicylic acid patches
- Tagamet / Zantac (supposedly can wake up a dozing immune system)
- Burning it with the end of a still-hot match
- Slicing the top off it with a razor (I think this is what made it bigger. NOT my idea and I don’t recommend it)

He even tried the suggestion to rub the wart several times per day with a washcloth and repeat, “Wart, Go away.”

None of that worked. The vinegar solution caused the wart to turn black and die in a matter of days, and within 2 weeks the wart was gone completely. In fact, even his smaller, non-treated warts disappeared quickly as well after that.

Anyway. Here’s the picture of the wart about to die. Hopefully yours isn’t this nasty. If it is though, take hope .. and start using some vinegar!

A huge wart dying: the black specks are a tell-tale sign that the wart is going away. It was completely gone a few days after this.

A grainy photo courtesy of my old broken Nikon - hopefully I'll find my Elph before Christmas!

I’m not sure where we first saw the idea of Advent Socks — I’m thinking it was Better Homes and Gardens or Family Fun, but I’ve wanted to try it ever since, and as Mary put it, this year we get to start any new tradition we’d like! So just before Thanksgiving, I bought twelve pairs of cute dollar-store socks, and a set of clothespins to hang them up with. Each day we get to do a Christmas activity and read a scripture. One of our friends found this printable advent calendar at Kid’s Corner as a perfect list of activity and scripture suggestions.

Ethan came up with the idea for our tree. We bought three different colors of green paper and cut out seven hands for each of us. On each hand, we wrote down little acts of kindness we could do, and then we arranged them into a tree shape using pieces of poster putty. Any time the kids do one of those items, they can put a star sticker on that hand. And since Christmas is about giving and appreciating what we’ve been given, next we cut out round ornaments and wrote some things we’re thankful for on each one. We finished it off with a paper star and a trunk torn from a grocery bag. I think it’s adorable, and it’s really helping us get in the spirit of Christmas.

In case you couldn’t see so through the grain of my photo, the kids really are having a blast. And we’re enjoying trying out other budget-friendly traditions too… what does your family do?

First I put half of a cube (4T) butter in a 13×9 pan at 350 degrees. Meanwhile, I whipped up a 13×9 brownie mix using the ‘cake like’ recipe with three eggs. I also skipped the water in lieu of pineapple juice. By then my butter was melted, so I added a half cup of packed brown sugar and a tablespoon of pineapple juice to the pan and stirred it all together. I was tempted to add just the tiniest bit of cinnamon at this point too, but I didn’t this time.

Next I added my pineapple, and since I only had tidbits, I just arranged them in a single layer. You could add Maraschino cherries too, if you have some. I didn’t. Finally, spoon the brownie batter on top — don’t worry about spreading it around much — and pop it in the oven.

I cook by smell & touch, so I waited until the stuff smelled heavenly, then made sure I could touch the top of the brownies without leaving a dent. And that’s it! If I had a tray to invert this on, I would, but I’m just going to leave it in the pan for easy travel to my nephew’s Birthday Luau. Since the brownies formed naturally craggy edges, I was able to sneak a spoonful, and it is heavenly.. caramelized edges, drippy caramel sauce, and tart pineapple over a chewy chocolaty cake. I’d better head out to this party before I end up sneaking too many samples… Aloha!

I’m aware that many of you feel that the government shouldn’t try to solve all our problems – and I agree. But there are still big problems with healthcare that people obviously haven’t been able to sort out on their own. Like the person who has had a major illness and thus will never be able to buy private insurance. What would you recommend they do? What could private businesses do? Or, if you do think the government needs to fix this, how would you go about it?

Here’s my idea: Instead of creating public health insurance, create public care clinics aimed to take care of basic needs and prevention. People can walk in, make an income-based copay, and have all their minor health issues taken care of and their major issues funneled through a triage. Pilot this program in major cities including Washington D.C. so our presidential family and senators are able to use this as their primary healthcare. They can still buy their own health insurance if they’d like, or even pay their doctors directly if they choose to do so… which is what I’m guessing families like the Obamas would do anyway (after all, they do send their kids to private schools), but this would help preserve choice for the rest of us.

I am not sure how much more this would cost than the existing medicaid system, and I know that increased taxes would be bothersome, but of course you’d still get to complain to your senator and what not if this plan were really put up to vote. And if each clinic’s administration were locally elected, we’d preserve some voter control and greater choice in medical care.

That’s just one idea. What are yours? I’m looking ONLY for ideas and constructive comments about those ideas, not fuel for the existing argument. And since brainstorms are only fun as long as no one gets electrocuted, I’ll moderate comments a little heavier than usual.

– Edit. Not to scare away comments. We just had a similar little talk on Facebook that got ugly the other day and I don’t want that to happen here.

Also I’ll be posting links to other ideas as I run across them. Like this one by John Mackey — who is being boycotted by many for daring to voice his opinion. I don’t necessarily think he’s right, but villifying people for simply stating their ideas? Again. Dichotomy is the death of creativity.

Here’s a simple list of the legitimate concerns of the different healthcare camps, from Jason at PoliGazette. In Jason’s words, “Perhaps if the debate started to focus more on these kinds of potential points of compromise and less on trying to personally disparage and malign everyone on the other side, we might wind up with a health care system that actually works instead of one that just serves as a political weapon.” — Well said.

That’s of course not exactly how the song goes. It says “What’s your function?” instead, and the function is to hook up words and phrases and clauses. And then we learn about several conjunctions and how they work. I’d like to focus on the word “but” since we’re sometimes oblivious to its power.

In one of my classes, a teacher suggested we should always use the word “and” instead of “but.” I remembered a manager telling me the same thing. Both times I thought it was kind of weird. Sometimes a contrast is required, and then the word “and” does not have the intended effect. For example: “I want to sleep and I have insomnia.” Sounds okay, but slightly off, right? So let’s not go cutting up our dictionary just yet.

I do think, however, that we should consider its placement more carefully. Does the placement of the word “but” change the meaning of the sentence? Consider the following benign example:

“I’d like to try the dessert, but I’m full.”
“I’m full, but I’d like to try the dessert.”

The first seems to suggest that even though I’d like to try the dessert, I can’t because I’m full. The second suggests that even though I am full, I would still like to try dessert. Let’s try another:

“I need new shoes, but I’m broke.”
“I’m broke, but I need new shoes.”

In the first, the fact that I’m broke seems to render my need for shoes obsolete. In the second, one would conclude that I need shoes regardless of not having money.

One more example for emphasis:

“I fell, but I got up.”
“I got up, but I fell.”

See what I mean? “But” is a powerful word there. What about using the word “but” in making statements to or about others? Certainly there’s a difference in these examples:

“You’re not perfect, but I love you.”
“I love you, but you’re not perfect.”

“You’re smart, but you have a lot to learn.”
“You have a lot to learn, but you’re smart.”

Whatever comes after “But” could stand on its own; whatever comes before amplifies the statement. Consider that when giving feedback. Honestly, people typically don’t need criticism nearly as much as we might think they do. When we decide criticism IS necessary, we tend to think that saying something nice immediately beforehand will prove our intentions are benevolent. And then we’re frustrated when feelings are hurt.

It’s true that a spoonful of sugar can help the medicine go down, but that’s only if the sugar chases the bitter. Not the other way around. We follow praise with criticism, separated by a word that emphasizes the latter in relation to the former, and then we wonder how they could misunderstand our motives.

The problem? Misuse of the word “but.” But, there’s an easy fix. Conjunction Junction had it right. Remember: “Not this BUT that” — only use “but” if the intention is to negate whatever precedes it. In other words, if you don’t want to go around crushing people, watch where you put your “but.”

This week when I think before I speak, if I find the word “but” in my phrase, I’ll test what comes after it as the stand-alone phrase it ought to be. If the stand-alone phrase doesn’t sound right, the sentence as a whole must be rethought. And if all goes well, I’ll be a more effective communicator soon. Wish me luck!