Lesson 5: Appropriate Travel Mannerisms

This blog is titled, "Undomesticated Me" and it mainly refers to my adventures of owning a house and becoming more domestic BUT since my life also includes much travel for work, I feel I need to blog about those adventures too because not only will they act as entertainment for all you readers, it's a channel for me to vent (which is much needed)!

It is late at night in Minneapolis, but here, in my reality, it's 7:25am in Germany! I'm in the Frankfurt airport and just got here from Toronto and am en route to good ol' Bangalore, India. Yes, that's right, India, not to be confused with Indiana (someone asked me that yesterday, "Oh, you mean Indiana?" and I responded, "no, I don't"). Work calls and they have asked me to facilitate some training seminars at one of our corporate campus locations in India for two days. Yes, I'm traveling for four days basically for two full days of work.

I have been doing the International travel thing quite a bit this year and I've picked up some of the "best practices" or "tips and tricks" that I think all people should follow:


Things I feel are "Best Practices" for International travel:
1. Don't be that person who is shocked and roll your eyes when the security people ask to see your passport. They are just trying to verify your identity for yours and more importantly, MY, safety! You brought it with you for a reason.
2. Never rely on airplane food because it is usually super duper bad. This is obvious and everyone is probably like, "Thanks Katie, that's not really new or exciting." You're right... but in all honesty, it's important to remember!
3. Socks. Wear them and bring a clean pair in your carry on. I hate it when the guy three rows back from me takes off his shoes and has the sweatiest, smelliest feet ever. Sometimes I wish the flight attendants would come by and put barf bags over them like little paper slippers.
4. Carry on luggage needs to be neatly packed and not exploding with ALL of your personal belongings, purchases and more. The guy next to me today had a suitcase that was literally exploding at the seams and then he had another huge bag which he tried to shove under the seat. Every 30 mins he was at that under the seat bag and would keep bumping me because he had to dig through so much crap!
5. Deodorant. Wear it. Enough said.
6. If I don't say "Hi" to you when you sit next to me OR if I'm wearing head phones don't talk to me, please.

On today's plane ride from Toronto to Frankfurt, Germany I had a young guy sitting in front of me who kept putting his hands over the back of the seat and they would keep touching my movie screen. Every time he touched it with his fingers my movie would pause or the menu would pop up. That was very annoying. I kindly tapped him and asked him if he could refrain from touching my screen. He smiled at me and nodded and then I realized five minutes later when he did it again that he didn't speak English. I won't be that ignorant person and say, please speak English everyone, but I was annoyed to say the least.

To wrap up this long winded post (I've been awake for a long time and my wittiness is running dry) I attached a pic from the Toronto airport. I love the giant Beaver he's cute and very Canadian.... hmmmm.

Lesson 4: The Kitchen is Supposed to Be Used

In my continued attempt to at least pretend I'm domestic, I realized it's probably time that I use my kitchen. I've had some people over in the last month and a half and it usually has been for bbq'ing or grilling, but that entailed everyone bringing something, usually me mixing up my specialty (guacamole), and sitting outside. You may even say my kitchen is a popular place to be as it seems whenever I have people over we congregate in the kitchen but it's definitely not because I'm baking or cooking. I remember saying to my realtor and parents when I was looking for a house, "It'll be so nice to have a nice sized kitchen!" Ha! Apparently in my search for a house I had this grand vision of me cooking large Martha Stewart type meals for all of my friends and family and wearing an apron and saying things like, "Oh you like that glaze? It's just something I threw together that I thought would bring out the true flavour of the roast." Could you imagine?

So tonight I decided that I was going to actually use my kitchen and cook a real meal. Emerson is taking the GRE tomorrow and to ensure he has a lot of brain power I felt a good home cooked meal by moi would be a great idea! I called my mom this morning from the office (I was really busy apparently) and asked her for my Mama's (Grandma) meat loaf recipe. I always loved my Mama's meat loaf and I thought making it tonight would also be a great way to remember her and show her that I am not useless in the kitchen but actually quite the opposite. I mean who knows, I could turn out to be a genuine Rachel Ray! Anyway, I called mom and she gave me the recipe and I went to the grocery store after work.

Now, I didn't follow the recipe exactly... only because it called for a little bit of pork and I couldn't find any and I was just much too busy to ask anyone. I got home and got started. I took pictures along the way which you see here.

The ingredients. Don't worry, light bulbs are there because I have some burnt out ceiling lights!

Mixing up my ingredients!

Making it a "loaf"

Much needed throughout the process...

Okay, it's now 10:34pm and I have to let you ALL know that the meatloaf was a total success! It tasted delicious and the potatoes I boiled were fabulous (very tricky potatoes.. you just put them in water and boil)! Emerson told me that it was really really good! I'm going to take that and let you all know that I, tonight, had a domestic moment by showcasing my unknown cooking talent! Will I be making elaborate meals from now on? No. But now I at least can say, "Hey I cooked dinner last week so let's just go out".

mmmmm so good!

Things I learned from Lesson 4: 
- When the oven is on it makes my kitchen very hot and I felt like I was sweating... I didn't like that.
- Apparently meat loaf is kind of "juicy" and you need to put the dish on a pan because if you don't meat loaf juice will spill all over the inside of your oven and burn. It sucks.
- Buy a kitchen timer. I made blueberry muffins before putting the meat loaf in and was quickly reminded that I will forget what time I put things in the oven and I will get distracted by something and lose track of watching the clock.
-Wine... it just tastes so good.

Lesson 3: Don't Rely on Your Inner-Level

Readers, you are so lucky because I'm playing catch up on blog posts! All of these things have happened in the last month and a half of living in my new house, but they are all so important to share.

Everyone gets so excited about a new house because they get to decorate! Now, I'm not a great decorator but I'm pretty sure I have the best taste out of anyone I know. I haven't had time yet to paint or do anything major, but I have had time to hang pictures, frames, and stuff to add colour to my space.

My mom bought me these two really nice pictures from good old Canadian Tire! Side note, if you're looking for fun pictures, Canadian Tire is where it's at! For those of you who are not my Canadian friends, Canadian Tire is like a Home Depot / Walmart but yet so much better. Anyway, these two pictures are great! I brought them back with me from Thunder Bay and decided that they belonged in my living room.

I am not a patient person. I know, this is shocking to most of you. When it comes to hanging pictures I'm especially not patient my Dad would probably say I'm just lazy.

My way of hanging something on the wall goes like this:
1. Find a picture you want to hang.
2. Find a spot on the wall that I think would fit that picture.
3. Hammer a nail (don't worry too much about how big or small this nail is) into the wall.
4. Hang the picture on the nail and hope it stays.

Perfect.

Well, this time things were a bit trickier because I wanted to hang these two pictures side by side. So this meant I had to re-think my typical wall hanging steps.

My way of hanging side by side pictures on the wall:
1. Find two pictures you want to hang side by side.
2. Find a spot on the wall that I think will fit both.
3. Hammer the first nail into the wall (again, not too worried about the size of the nail).
4. Hang first picture and hope it stays.
*Now, here's where it differs and gets tricky...
5. Put my elbow on the first picture and lay my arm straight across the wall and mark the approximate spot for the next picture to go. Scratch spot with a nail.
6. Take another nail and hammer it into the wall in the spot that looks "just about right" compared to where my mark is and where I believe the other nail is in the wall.
7. Hang second picture and hope it stays.
Boom.
Done.

I was so proud of myself for hanging these two large pictures. They looked pretty good except for the fact that they definitely weren't even. The second picture was much lower than the first. So, in true fashion, like anyone would do I took the picture down from the wall, used my hammer to remove the nail and then again used my "inner level" to move the nail up a bit till I believed it was right on! I then hammered it in, and hung the second picture back up. Boom. Done.

Well, it looked much better than the first time but it's still not exactly right. I assume that most people don't notice it. If you look at the pictures I posted you'll see that it's only slightly off.

What I learned from Lesson 3:
- My "inner level" is not exactly reliable.
- Every time you put a nail in the wall it leaves a hole. Every time. Good thing these big pictures cover up my mistakes.
- My arm is not perfectly straight all the way across and does not act as a perfect ruler.
- Don't attempt to hang pictures when you're hungry... it distracts you. By the second attempt at hanging pictures I was way more interested in getting a cheese string and watching whatever I had recorded on my DVR (most likely "Say Yes to the Dress", "Cake Boss", or "Housewives..").

Lesson 2: Yard Care

My brother Zack was so excited when I bought my house because he then decided to build me a lawn mower. Yes, he built it! He is very talented. I asked him to paint it pink as I thought it would make me more excited to take it out and actually use it, but he refused.

One of the things I love about my new house is I have a nice big front yard and a two-tiered, fenced in back yard. Ohhh, it's so very pretty! Right away I began to imagine all the fancy yard parties I would have including yard games, maybe an outdoor tiki bar, a bbq going, and more. What I didn't think about is that I'd have to actually put work into keeping the yard in a condition which would be inviting to people.

When I moved into the house here is what I thought about yard work:
1. The grass only needed to be cut like once a month or once every three weeks.
2. Flowers would bloom beautifully in my yard.
3. Weeds.... they wouldn't grow in annoying places.
4. There are no bugs in the grass so I can walk around bare footed.

Here is what I quickly learned:
1. Grass grows very fast and if I cut my yard only once a month my neighbours would absolutely hate me.
2. Flowers are difficult and need attention. Ugh. Not only attention but they need to be watered, pruned, and positioned properly in accordance to their growing conditions. Too much water and/or sun will kill them.
3. Weeds grow everywhere may it be along my fence, in the cracks of my driveway, around my house, or on my stone patio. They are also impossible to kill!
4. Bugs live outside. They like grass. They will bite.

My mom and dad came into town the weekend after I moved in. They brought me the lawn mower and many other goodies (thank you parents)! My dad was determined to show me how to work the lawn mower so I could cut the grass for the first time... but we all agreed that it would be better if dad showed me how to start it but then proceeded to cut the lawn himself while Mom and I went to Target and Home Depot. It was a better decision because Dad did such a good job. I also knew that he really did want to cut the grass for me out of the kindness of his heart.

I also learned that I had to keep a jerry can of gas and some oil in my garage because my lawn mower would not continually work without attention. Gas I knew about, but I have a hard time pouring it in... it's heavy, ugh! Oil though, I guess I just assumed that only cars/trucks needed oil. Regardless, I have mastered keeping the lawn mower full. Usually, when I'm cutting the grass and my lawn mower putters out I know it needs gas. If it starts to smoke a little bit, I assume it needs oil. My system is flawless!

I have decided to put little latterns around my front steps and also around my backyard patio. They are very cute and they are solar powered which is fabulous because I don't have to worry about flipping a switch! Anyhoo, the only issue is when I cut the grass it's hard to go around them, so when I'm just trying to do it quickly I just go around them. I have posted a pic of my typical "going around the latterns" style. It leaves a nice little fringe as I like to call it.

Lastly, I learned just yesterday that you can't cut the grass when its wet. Now, before you go "oh katie..ugh", I'm going away on a work trip this weekend and will be gone for a week. The weather man told me that the rest of this week it was supposed to rain (he was wrong by the way), therefore I figured since my grass was already about 3 inches long (I've been busy) I had to do it yesterday so that it was fine while I'm in India. It hadn't rained all day, so I decided to cut my front yard (the back can wait). I started and right away the mower was heavier, it was chugging along, and it kept dying. I realized quickly that the part of the mower that spits out the cut grass kept getting clogged with large amounts of wet grass. Before you panic, I didn't reach in there while the mower was going, but I got my trusty rubber boots (that I wear when I cut the grass) and my gardening gloves and reched in there and cleaned it out. It wasn't hard. What I wasn't ready for was that every 2 mins I had to do this.

My front yard is big... this meant it took me like an hour to mow the front. Not only that, but it shaved my grass pretty short and left piles of ugly, dead, wet grass all over. My neighbours must be so thrilled to look at my lawn. I posted a pic of that as well although I don't think it really does it justice.
I did decide that I would use my new rake (I bought it at Home Depot for $5) and pick up this ugly grass, but it was SO humid out and I got sweaty so I stopped. I think I made the right choice. I know the wind and rain will wash away the rest of that ugly grass.

What I learned from Lesson #2:
- Mowers are high maintenance and don't like wet grass so I need to remember to wait until my lawn is dry.
- Flowers attract butterflies (which I forgot to mention) so I'm keeping them to a minimum as butterflies and I don't mix.
- Flowers are pretty but they are a little bit bitchy and require a lot of attention. Hmmmm that seems to resonate with me a bit.
- All in all, I think I'd be better off just hiring someone to do my yard. Someone like a neighbour boy who I can pay in popsicles and candy.

Lesson 1: Electrical Outlets

Since the idea for this blog came out of left field, I wanted to get caught up on some of the Lessons I've learned so far that's why my postings are all on the same day right now.

Houses have electricity. If your house doesn't, I feel sorry for you because how do you watch Bravo, use a blender to make guacamole, or curl your hair? Anyway, electricity is very important and in my house we have a lot of things plugged in.
So to bring you all up to speed, I have two roommates who live with me! It makes life wonderful!

Last weekend, I got a text from my one roommate telling me the power in her room had gone out but it seemed that the power ONLY went out in her bedroom. I wasn't quite sure why this would be, but let's be honest, why would I have any clue as to why the power went out... I know nothing about that stuff. My boyfriend (Emerson) and I were out and I knew that if I were to come home it wouldn't be till very late, and I probably would be in no state to be playing electrician! We asked my roommate to check the breaker and she told us that the breaker never popped. We had her turn off all the breakers, let it sit, and then turn them all back on except for the one to her bedroom. I told her to leave it off till the morning when I'd be home to "take care of it". I also ensured I called my Dad right away as I figured he'd have the answer and be able to fix it over the phone... but he had gone fishing... UGH how dare he! Kidding Dad.

The next morning Emerson and I set out to try to figure out what the issue was. When I say the both of us, I really mean I watched as Emerson tried to figure it out. We tried the breakers again... nothing. So, I knew I had no choice but to call an electrician.

Let me tell you that electricians on the weekend are not cheap. This guy came over and explained to me the "cost" and what things he could offer but was pretty sure he'd figure it out. He thought (as did Emerson and I) that one of the wires behind one of the outlets in my roommates room went loose causing all of her electricity to go out. He said he'd have to pull out these outlets to find that wire. I okay'd this as I figured I had no other choice.

Off he went starting to pull out things. He started with the ceiling light. Nothing wrong. He then started testing things downstairs at the breaker. Nothing. Then, about an hour and a half later I notice the lights went on in my roommates room.

So happy!
That didn't last very long...

The electrician came out and said that he was a little embarassed but he solved the problem. Now, if you look at the image I posted abaove of the electrical outlet, you'll see those little reset and test switches. All of the outlets in my roommates room did NOT look like that, they were plain old outlets, EXCEPT for one that we didn't see behind her bed!! The electrician then told me that all it was was that the safety switch on that outlet tripped causing the electricity to go out. All we had to do was hit the reset button...... UGH!

The electrician felt bad so instead of charging me the $189 fee plus a $79 service fee (for coming out on a weekend) he charged me an $89 fee plus the $79 weekend service fee. How kind. Thank you sir.

What I learned from Lesson #1:
- Look at the rooms in my own house and know what outlets are where.
- To remember this, I'll continually remind myself of the more fun things I could have bought with that $150+.
- Next time, ask my roommates to check ALL outlets and look for something as simple and silly as that reset switch.

So, I did it...

First off, let's thank my dear friend Chad Kuyper for giving me the idea to start my own blog about the adventures of owning a home! Thank you Chad! Second, let's thank me for buying a house because if I hadn't, I wouldn't be having all these great adventures! Thank you Me!

So, I did it.. I bought my first home here in beautiful St Louis Park where I'm close to shopping, I have great neighbours, and I now have a lot more space to clean, organize, and call my own. I moved in the weekend of May 28th, 2010 and boy, has it been an experience ever since! Here are some thoughts so far on moving:

1. Make sure you tape the bottom of your boxes. If you are lazy like me and think that as long as you grab the bottom when you pick them up that they'll be fine... you are sadly mistaken.

2. When packing glasses and cups don't stack them on top of each other in the box. Things do shift when moving. I lost many a nice glasses because of that.

3. Measure and maybe visit your empty house before you start moving furniture. I assumed that my set of couches would fit in the basement but sadly, I didn't quite approximate the size of them in comparison to the size of my hallway doing downstairs which ended up in them not fitting and some angry movers.

4. Make sure you have wine. I don't think I would have gotten through my first night in the house without wine.