Two Steps Forward, One Step Back.

Let's start with the good news.

Yesterday, Brian brought home fresh halibut and wanted to try homemade fish & chips.  I'm not a big fish & chip fan only because it is so greasy which usually upsets my stomach.  But I surfed the Internet anyway to find a "healthy" version of the meal and was very happy with the results.  After reading  a British chef's recipe, I pan fried the fish in a light coating of flour w/ salt and pepper and baked the 'chips' in the oven using Extra virgin olive oil for both.  It was honestly the best fish and chips I've had in a long time.  It didn't upset my stomach and the fish was very moist and tender.  First kudo to me.

A little background on my next kudo.   A week or so ago, I was passed a clipboard in church to sign up for pears.  They were quite inexpensive and being in the middle of a conversation I signed up for the minimum amount and passed the clipboard on.  I was supposed to pick up my pears that Wednesday, which I totally spaced, but was happy to find that a cute friend brought them right to my door!  (Thanks again Beth).  I was quite surprised to find her carrying a 35 lb box of green pears! 

I had no idea how many pears I bought until now nor what I was going to do with them.   Long story short, I decided to be domestic and can them at home.  It was either this or waste them as they are all ripe at the same time.  I bought all the goods to do so with the help of my mother-in-law and sister Stephanie.  I started this tedious chore at 8:00 pm after our fish fry and finished a short 4 hours later.  I have never canned before and have wanted to have a supply of homemade canned goods at home, but never went for it.  So  I was so proud of myself that I still have those bad boys on the counter top to admire.  Hence, kudo number 2.

Now for the less proud moment of the week.  While shopping around at Wal-Mart last week I decided to try some hair remover facial wax at home.  It didn't look too complicated and wasn't too expensive either.  (This should have been my 1st  red flag.)   It also came with pain reliever lotion.  (This should have been my 2nd red flag.)

While Brian was working late one night I got ready for my home salon treatment.  I heated up the wax in the microwave for the said amount of time, but the top was still hard as a rock, so I kept heating for more time.  After a few nuke sessions, I could smell the heated wax although I could not get it to stir.  I know push harder!  Sure, that will help, . . . or just slam the top solid wax into the boiling liquid wax underneath.  Can you tell where this is going?  Yep, that molten lava splashed all over my hands!  I mean ALL over my left hand and good coverage on my right. 

I have not felt such pain in a long time.  I immediately put my hands under cold water to solidify the wax, which was pretty much instantaneous anyway.  I thought for sure I would have blisters underneath it all, but I couldn't get the wax off to tell.  I might as well of dipped my hands in concrete to dry.  Uhhgg.  I chipped and chipped away at that stubborn wax and I still couldn't get that last fine layer off my skin, which made my hands feel numb.   No blisters or burns, which was a relief, but I could not stand the rough feeling of it all over my hands.  I worked on this for an hour when Brian came home and suggested alcohol - nope, no good.  But I did try massage oil and hallelujah it worked!  It all came off completely and I regained my sanity. 

I only share this story to help anyone else who can not get wax off their skin and is too embarrassed to ask a friend.  Needless to say I did not put that blasted stuff on my face or anywhere else on my body - it's as good as gone.