Today's blog post leans heavily into "little," as I'm in a bit of a hurry. 1) I did a smaller than normal Winco grocery shop, as I still have a fair amount from last week. I picked up dry cat food for "Meatball," but grabbed an extra one for my daughter's cat as I hate...
1. The drain for our basement washing machine was revoltingly bubbling up and my husband was able to remedy the situation by renting a heavy duty drain snake. Unfortunately it was Easter, which meant Home Depot was the only tool rental option, but it's now taken care of. Without a shred of concrete evidence, I've...
What's making me happy: I'm happy that the road to Timberline Lodge was freshly plowed so that my husband and I were able to avoid putting chains on the tires. I'm happy that the architects of Timberline Lodge included this little writing nook way back in the 1937, and that no one besides me wanted to claim...
Four things that make me happy: I was able to slip way from my patient assignment for a few minutes yesterday to attend a talk about "Caring for the transgender patient." The speaker was an anesthetist who transitioned from male to female, and was always one of my favorite co-workers. What makes me especially happy...
It's time again for Five Things That Make Me Happy And One Thing That's Pissing Me Off. Why add the "One Thing That's Pissing Me Off?" Because I'm a realist, that's why. Five things that make me happy I stopped into Goodwill this afternoon to look for weird things to photograph for a piece I'm writing. I found...
It's time again for Five Things That Make Me Happy And One Thing That's Pissing Me Off. Why add the "One Thing That's Pissing Me Off?" Because I'm a realist, that's why. Five things that make me happy My neighbor and I enjoyed a lovely walk plus brunch this morning, which was her way of thanking me for...
Five things that make me happy: My son and I were craving a fresh re-watch of the original Wallace and Gromit short movies, and were able to find them for free through my mother's Amazon Prime account! (This was after using a RedBox code to watch Shaun The Sheep, which I highly recommend.) Clark Howard...
Five Things That Make Me Happy This picture of my now 17-year-old son holding a photo of his three-month-old self. It's all the parenting emotions wrapped up into a single image. Having a Grocery Outlet store that's an easy errand after dropping my son at school. I bought three full bags of food this morning for the...
Five things that make me happy: My own personally autographed from from Mr. Rogers, who was one of my grandparents' neighbors. It was glued onto the front of my childhood refrigerator door, which was luckily left to mildew archived in my father's basement. Yes, he spelled my name wrong, but it's a happiness sparker nonetheless. My neighborhood has...
Five things that make me happy: I made $100 selling a cool antique (but thrifted) coffee table that my mother wasn't using. She and I had spent a few hours going through the back of her kitchen and she'd encouraged me to sell anything she'd otherwise be getting rid of. (I think she was more excited about the...
Five things that make me happy Waking up yesterday to find that my 19-year-old son had stayed up all night to paint enormous watercolors of animals holding staffs for his drawing class. (Pardon the awful and blurry iPhone photo.) I think that he's actually going to be able to make a living from the thousands of hours...
Five things that make me happy: 1) The Non-Consumer Advocate had 105,741 hits last month, which is the first time it's gone over 100,000 since I was on The Today Show. 2) A local blog reader e-mailed me about a great 1998 Honda four-door Civic that her son will soon be selling. My husband is skeptical...
Happy: Building a fire in the fireplace. Not only is it relaxing and cozy, but it draws my teenage boys out to snuggle up with me on the couch. A rare and appreciated pleasure. And since my couch is on casters, I push it up comically close to take full advantage of the warmth, which yes, makes...
Five Things That Make Me Happy: The past two days here in Portland have been drizzly and grey, which somehow just feels right. I'm sitting on the couch drinking tea in my fuzzy flannel pajamas and thinking maybe I should add a pair of warm socks. My older son turns nineteen next week, which absolutely...
Five Things That Make Me Happy: My 14-year-old nephew is visiting us from New York for the next two weeks. Not only does he have two sets of Portland grandparents, but he's one of my younger son's best friends. I anticipate much fun and many shenanigans. My house sits on a city street paved with...
Five things that make me happy: 1) This photo of my son and his Japanese host family: 2) Netflix options such as Tiny: A Story About Living Small, Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing, and Orange is The New Black. Especially Orange is The New Black, and especially the scene in Vee's apartment where she serves salad from one of...
Five Things That Make Me Happy and One Thing That's Pissing Me Off Happy: My recently purchased $30 thrift store loveseat had developed a break in the rear support. This made the couch very uncomfortable, and was a huge bummer. So yesterday I removed the bottom upholstery fabric and identified the culprit which was a...
Five Things That Make Me Happy: 1) This photo from 1990: 2) My next door neighbor and I took advantage of some lovely sunny weather to meet up for coffee and go for a walk. Great conversation and terrific company. 3) I extended my outside time by pulling out all the overgrown dead foliage from my garden, a...
It's time again for Five Things That Make Me Happy And One Thing That's Pissing Me Off. Why add the "One Thing That's Pissing Me Off?" Because I'm a realist, that's why. Five Things That Make Me Happy: I discovered that Pandora not only plays music, but comedians as well. I put in Jim Gaffigan's name and...
It's time again for Five Things That Make Me Happy And One Thing That's Pissing Me Off. Why add the "One Thing That's Pissing Me Off?" Because I'm a realist, that's why. Five Things That Make Me Happy: I stopped by my father's house to borrow his Squeezo Strainer, which allows me to make applesauce...
Five Things That Make Me Happy: The cafeteria at work has added salmon to the salad bar, which mean that for around $4.50 I'm able to eat an enormous salad comprised of spinach, beets, garbanzo beans, edamame, zucchini, sunflower seeds and lots and lots (and lots) of salmon. (I should try and remember to bring...
Five Things That Make Me Happy: 1) Reading and hearing about the soccer game between Mt Tabor Soccer Club's Green Machine and Major League Soccer's Portland Timbers. This was a Make-a-Wish Foundation event between an eight-year-old boy's team and Portland's popular soccer team. It was attended by more than 3000 fans and treated like a real...
Five things that are making me happy: Hosting Yu, the same Japanese exchange student who visited with us last year. And since my son attended his high school last summer, this is now the third time that these two boys have hung out. Also, when we first pulled into our driveway, he said, "Home." Skyping...
The bubbles that come to the surface of boiling water when I drop a package of dried tortellini into the pan. My son working hard and completely independently on his Halloween costume. A homemade waffle straight out of the waffle iron. Discovering that the audio book I randomly pulled from the library shelf is a...
Five things that are making me happy: I am flying to New York today to appear on Thursday's Today Show. (You know, of course, barring real news.) I get to visit with my dear friend Greta for two days, and then I get to take the train up to New Hampshire and stay a couple days...
Five things that make me happy: Having my son home from Japan. I am sad that his month-long adventure is over, but I just love having his energy back in the house again. Rearranging furniture. I spent half an hour decluttering and rearranging the furniture on the front porch last night. The seating area is...
Five things that make me happy: Watching my 14 and 16-year-old sons speak Japanese. It's at once both unexpected and wonderful. Hooray for a fantastic public school program that taught my blond sons such a very foreign language. Having a bunch of stuff to look forward to. Next week I'm going to hear Deanna Duke...
I woke today to find that I won a cookbook and gift card to Grand Central Bakery. All I did was post a comment about healthy eating on their Facebook page, which was "My healthy eating habit is to just keep the crap out of the house. This is also known as the why-I-don't-buy-Nutella theory."...
I am happy that our Portland summer has been so mild that I haven't needed to water my hydrangeas, even once. Normally I have to water them daily to stave off drooping and leaf burn. I am happy that my husband seems to be catching the bug for fixing up the house. He's normally pretty...
I have written past columns about five things that make me happy. I like these mini-posts because they're very to the point and keep the long winded side of me in check. It's good to remind myself of the happy things, as life can get a bit zooey around here at casa Wolk-Stanley. But today's five things that make...
I have written past columns about five things that make me happy. I like these mini-posts because they're very to the point and keep the long winded side of me in check. It's good to remind myself of the happy things, as life can get a bit zooey around here at casa Wolk-Stanley. But today's five...
1) I walked to a Mexican restaurant with my next door neighborhood and used a punch card to pay for my meal. I've been working on this card since my father was alive and almost all of it was filled from him taking me to lunch. It was his favorite restaurant. I couldn't find a...
1) I went to the Supercuts training center yesterday for my free haircut and left with a lot more hair chopped off than I'd asked for. I really liked the hairdresser, you know . . . as a person. However, I prefer my hair longer than my shoulders so it doesn't do that flip up...
1) Yesterday was finally my day to hit the Portland Art Museum with my free library pass and although my kid flaked out at the last minute, I still took myself across town for an adventure. I took the city bus there and back, which set me back just $2.80. Cheaper than parking. I was...
1) I sold my $1.99 thrifted Philippe Starck citrus squeezer/reamer for my full asking price of $50. This puts an additional $44.31 towards my Oregon Food Bank donation for the month of April. I'd been feeling a little down with my lack of eBay sales, but this one perked me right up! I'm 85¢ away...
1) My house guests have flown back to Iowa and New York, so I'm spending the day getting the house back in order. Multiple loads of laundry, a quick walk to the grocery store for milk and eggs, and a bit of a nap -- a reset for the house and my wellbeing. I'll have...
1) My sister's family and I were invited to the Oregon Historical Society for a private docent tour by a friend, whose daughter volunteers at the museum. It's already free for Multnomah County residents, so it was a certain frugal lady's dream come true. You know I enjoyed this pair of circa 1800 socks, complete...
1. I sold my thrifted $13.50 bench for my full asking price of $100 after six days on Facebook Marketplace! Fourteen people messaged about the bench, mostly offering lower prices, but I held out until I got what I felt it was worth. This piece was one of a kind and the original artisan must've...
1. I haven't sold my $13.49 thrifted bench yet, but there's been a lot of interest which is a good sign. I'm asking $100, which I know is a stretch, but it's a one of a kind artisan created piece and I wouldn't be heartbroken to keep it. 2. I ran out of the house...
1. I donated $137.82 to the Oregon Food Bank for February's $100 Goodwill Gift Card Challenge. That amount is bolstered by $50, as I chose to keep a Pottery Barn linen duvet cover that I thrifted in January. It's much higher quality than the crappy Ikea version in our daughter's childhood bedroom and it didn't...
1. I received a notification from Portland General Electric informing me of a 5-8 P.M. "Peak Time Rebate," so I made the effort to switch off extra lights, unplug the microwave, not watch TV and even turned the heat down a few degrees. (We have a gas furnace, but the blower is electric.) Because ....
1. I gathered my trusty Starbucks "splash stick" and empty Blistex containers to consolidate everything into a singular tube. (Yes, "splash stick" the official name!) This is a once a year-ish chore and quite satisfying. I know they sell makeup spatulas for five bucks or so, but this freebie works perfectly. 2. I had a...