April 2014

April 2014
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Archive for April 2014

Can YOU fix a Thermostat? I did!

Posted on April 29, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Last August my baby boy got married here at home in our back yard. You can read all about the wedding here. It was a lovely summer day and pretty hot too. I remember we were so glad when the sun went down. It was such a fun night of partying and just having some fun.

My house was not only hosting the wedding ceremony, we were also the “get ready” station for the wedding party, etc. This included my grandson, Evan, who was the ring bearer. The household was a little tense to say the least. We spent the morning cleaning, decorating, and making sure all the details were in order for a wonderful wedding day.

Then came the time for the boys, including Evan, to get their best duds on to be ready for the ceremony. This caused a bit of a stir for Evan because he was already hot, tired and sweaty and did not want to put on his shirt with a bow tie. His Uncle Bryan ended up carrying him down the hallway kicking and screaming to the bedrooms to get dressed. That’s when a little fiasco happened. In the midst of his little tantrum while being carried down the hallway he kicked the thermostat right off of the wall and the batteries went flying!! We have one of those thermostats that can be popped off of the wall easily for programming.

I momentarily panicked, took a breath, and then calmness came over me. I had a house full of people, it was hot outside and we need the air conditioner running for the day. The thermostat was not going to fail us. I found the batteries rolling around on the floor, picked up the thermostat and put everything back together and back on the wall mount. I set the AC to come back on and nothing happened. Gulp, another small moment of panic. Then I did what I suppose any of us might do in this situation. I took the thermostat off of the wall again, and noticed that one of the batteries was a little loose. I proceeded to the kitchen and got out our gigantic roll of foil (Travel Man uses this for his grilling). Then I tore off a small piece of foil, folded it up, and stuck it in between the battery and the housing of the thermostat. I was totally focused on fixing this situation. The thermostat then went back on the wall and voila! the AC was up and running once again. I’m not really certain if this was the safest thing to do, but I did it and it worked.

Now a few things I need to mention here. Travel Man (my wonderful hubby) was running around the backyard like a chicken with his head cut off so I never told him all of this happened with the thermostat that day. In fact I don’t think I told him the entire story until somewhere around Christmas time. It was a stressful day for us, and I wasn’t going to add to his stress factor, especially since I was able to get the thing fixed. The other mention is that my Mom was quite emotional that day. We had just lost my Dad, her grandson was getting married, and it just really got the best of her. But, my five minutes of finessing (which seemed like 5 hours in the scheme of things) the thermostat completely entertained her and made her laugh and smile that day. I’m glad I could do that for her.

This is one of those stories that will go down in the family history books in the “Remember When” chapter. We had quite a few wonderful moments on that wonderful wedding day, but for me this one was the most stressful and most successful at the same time. And you know as I’m writing this I’m thinking that all of my own family members might not have heard this story. That’s ok though, I always want things to stay positive for everyone!

When is the last time you had a family “moment”that you considered one for the history books?

4 comments Posted in Around the House, Family

Connecting on the WiFi from 30,000 feet

Posted on April 26, 2014 by Renee Spindle

My Travel Man has a crazy work schedule. He’s home, he’s gone, and then he’s home again. Sometimes his trips turn around so fast it makes your head spin, and that’s no joke, for him and for me. In the last few weeks I have realized that his travel communication has taken a new turn. Whenever my Travel Guy is gone for a few days we always make sure we get in some video chatting time. This is really important for him and for me too, to have the personal connection time. Normally we chat on either Facetime or Google Hangouts. Google Hangouts usually has a fairly decent connection either domestically or internationally. We have used it in both instances, and had fairly good video success. Just a little long distance relationship advice.

Now back to my original story – the airlines (in our family meaning Southwest Airlines) have recently updated their WiFi service and it is now available on most flights across the country. What this means for my Road Warrior of a husband is that he can stay connected to home and chat with me while he is 30,000 feet above wherever he is flying to or from. It’s a great techie tool for him to stay a little more connected with me at home, and keep up on all of the latest news with the kids and grand-kids. For instance, we have recently had a rash of a certain cat in the house (who shall remain nameless) bringing in his latest catch for me to see. So I’m able to chat with my hubby and let him know we have yet another mouse or lizard in the house. I’m sure on the other end he has a little chuckle as he knows how much I hate to have anything crawling around on the floor that does not belong there.

And you know it’s more than just a little mind-boggling to realize that we can chat with each other the whole time he is in the air. I’m still completely amazed by this fact. You realize my mind-boggling won’t even register with our grand-kids. They will be growing up thinking this is “par for the course”. Nothing out of the ordinary for them.

Also there have been occasions recently where I will have the grand-kids here with me and I allow Evan to type a few chat messages to his Papa. He always takes a “Selfie” to send along too with a sweet loving message.

So here is the way my Travel Guy’s flights go these days with his new-found WiFi connection while he is in a big metal tube in the air. He has a nice tablet computer that goes along with him wherever he goes. He is normally able to watch a movie, or a TV show via the airline connection, chat with his wife, and check his email messages. That’s a ton of multi-tasking while on a travel assignment. I suppose it could be a blessing and a curse. A blessing because we are able to stay more connected than before, and a curse because he doesn’t really get any time off from his work e-mail. A fine line and a tightrope that a lot of people walk these days I’m sure.

My Travel Man really likes to geek out since he’s on the road so much, and I’m truly glad he’s got all the techie do-dads he needs to make his travels just a little bit easier. The added bonus of the WiFi in so many places makes our connection with one another all the more convenient, and we definitely like it that way. Being able to stay connected like we do is what makes the distance between us just a teenie bit more tolerable.

No comments Posted in Travel Man, Travels

My Phone Cover got a Little Ugly

Posted on April 19, 2014 by Renee Spindle

Earlier this year I ordered two new phone covers for my iPhone from Vistaprint. I wanted to have one cover with a picture of my grand-kids on it. The cool thing about these covers is you pick your layout design and then add your photos into the template that you have selected.

The second cover that I ordered had a picture of my “Renee’s Revelings” logo. I think I must have gotten a buy one get one at a discount or something to that effect.

Of course the first cover I used on my phone was the one with the picture of the grand-kiddies. Evan loved it, he thought it was cool that I could have pictures of him and Madison with me on the outside of my phone at all times.

Now for my dilemma, a few weeks ago the pictures on the cover with the grand-kiddies started to get rubbed off of the back. It was a little frustrating and the cover looked a little creepy with the way the pictures had rubbed off. I had a fleeting thought that I should email Vistaprint, and see how they would be willing to help a dissatisfied Customer. But I did not email them right away. I procrastinated and waited another week to send an email to Vistaprint’s customer service.

So very late one night a week or so ago, I sent an email to the customer service department explaining how disappointed I was with the phone cover. Without hesitating the next morning I woke up to an email from Vistaprint letting me know that they were sending out a replacement cover that same day. The new phone cover arrived for me in the mail the day before yesterday, and I’m a very happy camper.

Now that’s what I call taking care of your Customers. It so refreshing to deal with a company that puts their Customers needs first, and takes care of business with absolutely no questions asked. I would highly recommend using Vistaprint for your home office needs, or if you just want to have a cool phone cover or some fun business cards.

Have you had a great Customer Service experience recently?

This is by no means a paid endorsement for Vistaprint. I just wanted to pass along some positive information on a company that does things the right way. All photos in this post taken by the author.

No comments Posted in Around the House

The Youngest Reader in Our Family

Posted on April 15, 2014 by Renee Spindle

This is our 17 month-old granddaughter, Madison. As a matter of fact she just turned 17 months old this past week. I think I usually stop counting the months once the grand-kids turn two, but before that two-year old marker each month seems to include some sort of wonderful milestone. Most of Madison’s milestones these days involve words. Words she hears that she immediately repeats. Our little family myna bird. These pictures speak for themselves, such sweetness and innocence. The funny thing about Madison is sometimes she puts on such a serious face when she’s looking at the pages of a book you just have to sit back and smile.

Madison is fast becoming a little book-worm. She loves to look at her picture books, or have them read to her. Sometimes she only listens to one or two pages, or I should say sentences and then wanders away. But she always comes back a little bit later to have the book read to her in its entirety.

I cannot remember any of my kids being so attached to books at such a young age. It was always more of a struggle to try to figure out what would keep the kids’ interests to keep them reading. I did always tell my kids one of my famous Mom phrases (well famous to me), “Reading is knowledge, and knowledge is power.” I’m not sure if it really stuck with any of them, but it sure felt good for having said something so inspiring to them.

Now that she’s a few months older, once in a while Maddy will pretend she is reading her book to you, and jibber-jabber along through the pictures while turning the pages. Her Nana (my Mom) and I applaud her efforts each and every time, and hope that her interest in books and reading will continue to grow and blossom with her for a long, long time.

This post linked to the GRAND Social blogging event at Grandma’s Briefs.

One comment Posted in Grandkiddies

Birthday Raspberry Cheesecake

Posted on April 8, 2014 by Renee Spindle

We had THE best raspberry cheesecake last month. My daughter, Hilary requested a cheesecake for her birthday celebration. Yes, I still take special requests for cakes, etc. on the birthday persons special day. More importantly Hilary asked if the cheesecake could be swirled with a raspberry sauce.

So being the dutiful mother that I am I went on an internet quest to find a great recipe that included raspberry sauce. The recipe for the raspberry cheesecake that I chose is posted at Just a Pinch Recipes.

This was the first time that I had made cheesecake with a homemade sauce to go along with it. The results were fantastic and there were raves and compliments all around the room. The cheesecake disappeared in a flash. If you want to try this cheesecake on your own here’s what you need to do.

Ingredients-

Crust:

1 cup graham cracker crumbs (about 1 package, finely ground in a food processor)

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted

2 Tbsp. sugar

Raspberry Sauce:

2 Tbsp. sugar

6 oz. fresh raspberries

Filling:

32 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

pinch of salt

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature

Topping:

6 oz. fresh raspberries, for topping (optional)

powdered sugar, for dusting (optional

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Wrap exterior of a 9-inch springform pan (including base) in a double layer of foil; set aside.

2. Stir together cracker crumbs, melted butter, and 2 tablespoons sugar in a medium bowl. Press crumb mixture firmly onto bottom of pan.

3. Bake until set, about 10 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 F.

4. While the crust is baking you can get started on your raspberry sauce. Process raspberries in a food processor until smooth, about 30 seconds. Pass puree through a fine sieve into a small bowl; discard solids. Whisk in 2 tablespoons sugar, and set aside.

5. Put the cream cheese in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

6. With mixer on low-speed, add remaining 1-1/2 cups sugar in a slow, steady stream. Add salt and vanilla; mix until well combined.

7. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing each until just combined (do not over mix). Pour cream cheese filling over crust.

8. Drop raspberry sauce by the teaspoon on top. With a wooden skewer or toothpick, swirl sauce into filling. Keep swirling until you get a pattern/design that you are pleased with.

9. Bake the cake until it is set but still slightly wobbly in center, 60 to 65 minutes. (The recipe on Just a Pinch calls for the cake pan to be set in water for baking. I did not do this.)

10. Transfer cake pan to rack; let cake cool completely. Refrigerate, uncovered, 6 hours or overnight. Before unmolding, run a knife around edge of cake.

This recipe makes (1) 9-inch round cheesecake. You can garnish with fresh raspberries around the top of the cake if you like.

If you’ve never made a homemade cheesecake this recipe can seem a little daunting at first. But just get busy and have fun making a delicious dessert. My birthday girl was extremely happy with the results, and I’m sure this cheesecake will make an appearance at one of our family parties again very soon.