…And Into This Weekend

Calm before the storm of tomorrow
I’m making it out to be more dramatic than it is probably going to be. My sister will have more of her friends around, and I will have Twin at my side and a bottle of beer in my hand. I hope that we mingle outside so there’s more space, and less 3rd hand smoke. If I have to answer questions about my friendships, I will say I keep my FB list small and intimate. It is one thing I am very pragmatic with.
 
Mr. NO
Yesterday Twin and I went to a mall to kill some time before meeting with our real estate agent. Twin wanted to go to Bath and Body Works to pick up some more room odorizers. On the way to that shop we went through the food court. “OOOH… do you want Baskin Robbins?” “No.” “How about Mrs. Fields cookies?” “No.” That’s okay because we just had lunch and I said “No” to dessert at Panera.
In Bath and Body Works, Twin and I were picking up different things and smelling them just like normal people. I started to check out ingredient labels. I found Parabens in the lotion. On KUOW awhile back I listened to a person say, “personal care products is like the Wild Wild West for chemical companies.” I don’t know if it was the same interview or a different one where they said “fragrance” or “parfum” can be anything chemically. There’s no definition. Often times heavy metals are found in those types of things. After Twin tried to pick up 6 Wallflower refills for $24 I went on a tirade about lead being found in all sorts of products. She was pretty upset with me after that.
I was trying to sell her on oil diffusers for essential oils that can be used for aromatherapy. It seemed cost effective because those oils get watered down AND you can control how strong they are. We try to be smart consumers so I’m just following through. With the food stuff, we don’t know what ingredients they use, but we can go to the store and read them.
I still smelled Bath and Body Works after that, so I’m pretty sure there’s some heavy metals in their fragrances.
 
Creativity and Reality
The last bit up updating is with our home-buying experience. The septic system was the “best of the season.” It was as though the guy didn’t flush toilet paper. We are full steam ahead with getting the contractor’s bid so an appraiser can be sent. We need to have a pretty good conversation with a contractor because we have a lot of ideas, but a limited budget. We are creative people, but we need to know what boundaries we have. There is some priorities, such as the one bathroom.
Other quick points to end out with the house is:
– We are considering tank-less water heating. There isn’t much difference between a 9-year Electric 50 Gal. Water Heater and .
– Twin built her kitchen last night and it looks really good. We have decided on what brand of appliances yet though.
– We took measurements and we definitely have a lot of space to work with, so it will be interesting to see what the end result is.