mpheels's Profile

I have a heavy duty white noise machine. The type used in medical offices. We lived near an interstate when I was a kid, and my mom put a fan in the room to drown out the traffic noise. I've needed white noise ever since. After years of using fans, my parents gave me the real deal for Christmas.

I also have to have my feet covered. I can sleep completely exposed in 90+ degree heat, as long as my feet are covered.

Having just signed my lease for the next year, pleasepleaseplease read your lease before doing this. My lease prohibits the obvious painting and permanent alterations. It also prohibits temporarily affixing stickers, fabric, or contact paper to walls or other surfaces without prior approval. My property manager is pretty reasonable, and would probably be OK with something like this if I asked, but if I didn't ask I would run the risk of paying for clean up when I move out.

I use OurGroceries, and love it. I used to use paper lists, but would lose or forget it. I always have my phone. I like to make my list while I'm on the bus home from work, and it's much easier to tap on the phone than scribble on a scrap of paper. My favorite part is being able to maintain separate lists. If I'm at store #1 and decide the apples don't look good, I just bump apples down to the list for store #2.

I have a velour lint-brush mitten that is great for picking up cat hair. I use it to wipe down the couch once a week, and any other surface the cat claims while I'm at work. I also have a beach towel that works with my bedroom decor, and spread it on the foot of the bed where the cat sleeps at night. Just toss it in the wash with the sheets.

I reduce the starch or meat in a recipe and replace with veggies - reduce ground beef and replace with chopped mushrooms, reduce pasta and replace with green beans. I will also swap out bread for veggies - instead of tortillas for tacos, use lettuce leaves. Also, not vegetables, but get myself to eat more fruit by allowing replacing impulse buys of candy or baked goods with fruit. When I find myself staring longingly at the slices of chocolate cake in the bakery case, I give myself permission to buy the expensive tropical fruit I don't normally get.

Does it have to be online? I've found big-box craft stores like Michael's and AC Moore to be good sources of cake/cookie decorating supplies. They are not a good source for affordable bake ware.

Bed Bath and Beyond, World Market, and HomeGoods also frequently have unique/unusual decorating items for baked goods.

I like desserts in jars for portion control and portability. I can make a batch of banana pudding in jars, and easily pack one with my lunch. Sure, I could do the same thing with tupperware, but the jars look nicer and don't leak. Of course, I also can/pickle/preserve, so I almost always have empty canning jars on hand.

My father collected banks, mostly cast iron pieces. He died when I was a child, and the bank collection spent the next 20 years boxed up in the attic. Last summer I help my mom and step-dad clean out the attic in preparation for an out-of-state move. My mom and I carefully unpacked the banks, arranging them on the dining room table. We each picked out the few that we loved the most, then picked out one for each of my cousins, step siblings, and other close family members. The rest went to an auction house along with a truckload of other stuff.

The banks I saved are displayed around my apartment. Rather than display them as a single collection, each bank is part of a grouping of other similar/related things. The iron piggy bank sits next to a Chinese ceramic waving pig and a Chilean 3-legged pig (Chanchito). The green and blue magician lives in my bedroom, where he perfectly matches my bedding. The horse is in a shadow box along with several agricultural artifacts from my grandparents.

Sometimes I think about buying an e-reader to manage the many articles I read for work and class, so I can read them on the bus without keeping track of dozens of 10 page documents. When it comes to reading books for personal enjoyment, I really like the sensory experience of books - the feeling of holding the book and turning pages, the smell of paper and ink, the satisfying thunk when I finish a book and drop it on the floor next to my bed. Not only do I still use actual books, I still get them from the library!

I think the problem is in trying to walk, or worse climb stairs, while the shaking is still happening, which leads to people falling. There is also risk of bricks or other debris falling off buildings and hitting you.

That said, we definitely evacuated my office building (in central NC). It's an older building, and there have been several major construction projects nearby in recent years, with lots of blasting, ground compaction, and other things that could have compromised the integrity of the building. Most of us thought it was a construction accident at first, but then were worried that the building itself was failing. It wasn't until we were all standing around the parking lot with our smart phones that we learned how widespread the shaking was felt.