Blown

It seems like every year or so I need a new hairdryer. And, each time I get a new one, it comes with attachments for the end. It's usually a diffuser, which is a big round thing that has soft spikes that stick out from it - it's to dry your hair to make it look curly - and the other attachment is this weird thing that gets narrow at the end. Here it is:

At one time, I found three of these under our sink. It's odd, because I don't think I've ever used any of them. And, or course, they are not universal - kind of like a cell phone charger - so each time you buy a hairdryer you get a new one. Well, I found this one under the sink today when I was looking for something else and I just know I'm never going to use it. I did check and it does go to my current hairdryer, so I guess I've at least thinned out the herd of ones that I used to have and no longer had the matching hairdryer.

Failed Product #42 (and counting...)

I think I'm a typical woman in that I've tried a lot of skin care products, particularly those that promise less blemishes and clearer skin. Probably three years ago, I bought and tried Boots "expert anti-blemish" line. I always say something like this is my last ditch effort before I go to a dermatologist whenever I purchase a new product. I never follow through on my promise and just keep trying more products. I thought only the teenage years were for blemishes - "blemish" just sounds so much better than "acne" or "zit" - but I had wonderful skin in my teens. Anyway, I found the Boots line in the hallway closet where it has been sitting unused for a long time. I started looking around and noticed this won't be my only eighty-six on this type of skin care product. I've wasted tons of money on this stuff. Perhaps this Boots product line actually worked for somebody, but I didn't find it useful and it's full of parabens so it gets the big eighty-six this evening. Last year, I actually started a resolution where I told myself I wouldn't buy any new skin products, including lotions, for two months and I would simply use up what I had. I actually did do this and managed to get rid of a lot of products, but it seems I've fallen off the wagon.

Side note: Other useless brands I've tried include: Proactive (way too harsh), Arbonne (too expensive and didn't do anything), No. 7 (I can't even remember who makes this); Aveeno (didn't do much), Clean and Clear (minimal results), and lots of others I can't think of off of the top of my head. Plus, most of these products are tested on animals and contain parabens, which is just bad!

Lesser of two evils

What is it about TV...it's like if we don't have it we might die. When I tell people I spent a whole weekend reading, writing, and I didn't turn the TV on once they look at me like I've been dropped on this planet by an alien leader. But, alas, even I must have TV. The biggest issue is which provider to go with as they will all take your money and provide you with a vast array of TV shows that you won't watch. The ones you really want to watch - the ones that provide any kind of true educational and personal growth value - don't come in the "cheap" package and one must always upgrade. We used to have dish Network. Overall, we had one of two satellite problems - where it rained really hard and we couldn't watch TV - but otherwise the actual service was good. The worst thing about dish Network was that once we were their customer they wouldn't upgrade us or make our service better without a ton of cash and a DNA sample. They told us we had to leave for 6 months and then come back and then they would treat us like the new customers they treated so well - so much for customer loyalty. So, when U-verse became available I thought, why not? So, we now have U-verse. I think the actual services they offer - like being able to record a million things simultaneously - is pretty awesome. But, like with all TV providers, U-verse isn't right for everyone. Our place was built in 1960 so the wiring is old; thus, we have suffered dearly at its hands. I think we've met at least five or six AT&T employees and none of them have truly fixed the problem. There for a while it was a running joke - what man (not to be sexist but the repair workers were always men that came to our place) would be at our house when I got home from work. Sigh. Anyway, as always I've taken a very circuitous route to get to my eighty-sixable object of the day. I found in the coffee table next to our couch in the living room - which is where our TV is - an old Channel Directory for dish Network. As I've already set forth our entire TV provider history, we obviously don't need this anymore. I guess now I'll go watch one of my many useless channels. Perhaps I'll choose Wealth TV. That's right, a channel all about rich people and all the stuff they have that most of us will never see and all the places they go that are out of our reach. Come on, man!

Do you smell what I smell?

We all have the kitchen cabinet that's so tall we can't see all the way back on the top shelf. Some of us even have the cabinet over the fridge we haven't looked in for years - I can't wait to get to that as there should be prime eighty-sixable objects there. In one of my too tall cabinets on the top shelf way in the back I found some old macadamia nut pieces. When I found them I thought when was the last time I even baked anything with macadamia nuts? I asked myself that as this particular top shelf cabinet is in my baking cabinet area. After extensively searching my brain, I couldn't think of any time at all that I've cooked with macadamia nuts. I wouldn't make brownies with them, or candy, or even include it in cake icing. It's still a mystery to me. But here they are - sad to admit they are over one year expired - eyeing me with contempt as I've been so wasteful. I made the mistake of opening the bag - old nuts have just an awful smell. I don't think I'd eat one of these tiny pieces on a dare (unless a large monetary amount was tied to it). I wish this page was scratch and sniff so you could really experience what I just did. Ew. Needless to say, these nuts are toast.

Useful tip of the day: Did you know that eying and eyeing are both correct? I've always used the latter, but I found this fact interesting as spell check tried to correct me which took me to one of my most visited sites - merriamwebster.com. I just thought I'd share the knowledge.

Pressed for Space

One thing I love to do is cook, well, bake more than anything, but I really do like to cook, as well. Like most people who like to cook, I love to watch great chefs (I use the word "chef" knowing there's a possibility some have not actually been trained as a chef but are what a chef may call a cook, but whatever). The Food Network is like a drug to a good foodie. I must admit I've had entire Saturdays eaten away (ha ha) by an endless stream of thirty minute make-this-or-that cooking segments. But, in the all the time I've loved the Food Network, I've never seen Giada de Laurentiis, Mario Batali, Gordon Ramsay, or Ina Garten actually use a garlic press. A good chef will smash the clove of naked garlic with the flat side of a good solid knife - usually a santoku-style blade - and then chop up the piece of garlic into fine remnants. They will then carefully gather the tiny pieces of garlic on their blade and use their index fingers to push the garlic from the knife into the skillet or dish they are preparing. I've heard many a chef even make a comment about how smashing the clove with a flat side of a knife blade really releases the garlic's true flavor. I suppose my knowledge base is too small on this - as I don't even pretend to be at a chef level - but I bet it's fairly difficult to find a chef that uses a garlic press.
This long introduction brings me to what I dug out of our utensil drawer this evening: none other than a garlic press. It looks completely untouched. I smelled it and sense nothing of the garlic variety, which seems hard to believe knowing the pungency of garlic even in it's natural state. I thought to myself about this particular garlic press and I can't remember the last time I used it. I think it's something I used once. If you've never used a garlic press the mechanics are easy - you simply place a cleaned clove of garlic in the inside receptacle and pull the other receptacle in on it. The pressure crushes the clove of garlic. But, if you've done this you've experienced what most everyone does - that it's next to impossible to get the garlic off of the device as it gets caught in the nooks and crannies. I did see that my garlic press was made in Italy. I suppose that was to give it more authenticity as Italy and garlic go hand-in-hand. That being said, this garlic press is useless to me. In looking at it, I'm sure I paid top dollar for it, too, but that doesn't matter. That which is not used must be eighty-sixed. That's the resolution and I'm sticking by it.

Regularity Redux

It seems unbelievable, but in the cavern I call our hallway closet I found yet more acidophilus. If you look back at my January 7th post, you will see that at one point I really fell in to the trap of the" benefits" of acidophilus.  I cringe - again - at reading the purpose of the product on the bottle: "Acidphilus Aids in Reestablishing and Reinforcing Intestinal Flora". While I'm not going to say it doesn't work - as it has a huge following and it seems to really help those that need it - it just made my life a lot worse and my story is more of a cautionary tale than a  product testimonial. At to this bottle of acidophilus, it looks nearly full - there are 120 pills and it looks like all but two are in there - and the contents expired in 2003! Say what? I lived mostly in another apartment until 2005 so that means I actually brought back with me expired, useless acidophilus. Why would one do that? Even if this product still worked, it's so old its potency has been severely compromised at this point. Anyway, it's getting trashed and the bottle recycled!

Satellite feed

I got a pair of earrings from my friend Diane. The problem for me is I'm allergic to nearly all earrings so I just don't wear them. Plus, this pair is way too big - each earring measures 2.5". I felt like I might take off when I put them on or that perhaps I could get a satellite feed if I held my head just right. So, I'm sending these off to the Goodwill. I would re-gift them, but the thing is that during my girls' Christmas every year one of the people who re-gifts with me is Diane so she may get her own gift back, which would not be in good taste.
While Diane is one of my dear friends, I know she'll understand that these earrings aren't going to work for me. I feel they have a good future with someone else, which Diane would also understand. Thus, they are eighty-sixed.