Years in the making - we can finally use it!!

So I was going to walk through the ENTIRE process we had to take to get the tub clean, but that would be long and boring. So here is the short of it.

1. Fill the tub with water. Discover that there is A LOT of rust in our water. Add enzyme to clean out the lines. Run tub for 1 hour and let sit overnight.

2. Drain tub. Wash down the sides and bottom of the tub. Refill and overfill tub with water. Use an improvised filter (ie old coffee filters attached to hose with zip ties). Add a large amount of Clorox to kill any lingering nasties. Run tub for an hour.

3. Drain tub again. Refill tub with aforementioned improvised filter. I am REALLY not looking forward to seeing our water bill. Balance alkalinity, pH, and hardness. Add starter bromine (if you are going that way) and shock with Chlorine.

4. Let tub get to temperature, make sure everything is at the right levels, Enjoy!!

Valuable lessons we learned - 

1. If you ask a pool supply place about a hose filter or Chlorine neutralizer, they will look at you like you are an alien (at least in this area). You are better off finding it online. Same with a new filter. Although they had at least knew what we needed, they just didn't have it in stock.

2. When you need to add 2 oz  or 4 Tablespoons of Clorox per 100 gallons of water, don't multiply 4 Tablespoons for 16 Tablespoons, then translate that into 16 oz. That's twice as much Clorox as you need to add and it means there is more work to be done.

3. The best way to bring down a tub with WAY too much residual chlorine is to just remove some water and add fresh. OR if it's almost at an acceptable level, have you husband sit in the tub after a run.

4. We should have gotten this thing working a year ago.

Years in the making...

When Andy and Nicole bought there house a few years ago (thinking it's been around 5 or so), the owners left a hot tub. Andy and Nicole didn't want it, so Kevin and I said we would take it. The tub made it's way to my parents house first were it got some needed repair work. There were a few leaks, which doesn't really work for a hot tub. My Dad got it all fixed up and working so that we could take it. So, almost 2 years ago (when we had a u-haul available), we transported the tub from my parents house to our garage. 

Where it sat for a year.

Then last year, when all the SFU guys were visiting for the home XC meet, they moved in to the back patio.

Where it sat for almost a year.

Until finally, last Friday we had the electricians come out and run the shutoff box and line so the hot tub would FINALLY have power. So, since it has been at least 5 years since the thing was used and who knows how the people who had it before cared for it, we had a bit of work ahead of us.

Which, I will detail in additional posts or else this sucker will be WAY too long.

Maddie's Thought of the Day

As I was helping Mad get ready for bed today, I told her she better go sit on the potty before we brushed her teeth. She looked at me matter of factly and said, "Mommy, I went potty yesterday before bed, I am good."

Yeah, thanks for trying, but go anyway.

I'm Gonna Try

I just saw the trailer for the new movie I Don't Know How She Does It starring SJP based on a book by Allison Pearson. Trailer for the Movie, although I liked the one I saw on TV better.

The short synopsis is that it's about Kate Reddy a manager of a hedge fund with two small children and how she juggles life. I really hope it's a worthwhile flick to see. I can completely relate to working full time, but at the same time spending as much time as you can with your kids, having a relationship with your husband, trying to keep your house in some semblance of order, and fitting in a few moments for yourself to exercise or read or do a hobby or just decompress. It is a juggle and there are times when I just want to crawl back under the covers and hide. I don't, of course, and try everyday to be the best mom, wife, engineer, etc that I can.

There was a quote at the end of the trailer that made me think...Kate is talking to her husband Richard (presumably after a difficult time in their marriage) and she says, "Me without that job isn't me, but also me without you and Ben and Emily is nothing." I like what I do (if I didn't like getting to work at 3:45 am some days, I would have found a new job by now) and it's definitely a huge part of who I am. But, at the end of the day (and many times in the beginning too), there is no place I would rather be then at home with Kevin and the kiddos. I think being away from Kevin and the kids all day makes me really appreciate the time we do have together. There is certainly a balance that has to be worked on to have the career and the family too. So far, I think we are doing a pretty good job at it.

The song that they played at the end of the trailer - Sabrina Starke - A Woman's Gonna Try is awesome. I love Sabrina Starke's voice. The song is upbeat and has a wonderful message. I think it's a great sentiment for kids, family, life, and even work. When ever there is love involved, I'll try and do whatever it takes.  I may make mistakes, but I'm still gonna try.

Since the movie doesn't come out until September, I am thinking about picking up the book to read. Let's face it, it's not like I would actually go to the theater. The last movie I saw in a theater was The Departed and that was released in 2006. Plus books are usually better than the movie anyway. The reviews for the book are good, although there were a lot of complaints about the ending...that it was wrapped up too nicely. Isn't that what we want though? After a tough day or week of craziness, it would be nice for things to wrap up nicely with a happy ending. True, it doesn't always happen like that in real life, but books and movies are a way to escape real life, so I'll take it.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!

We are ice cream fanatics and snobs. There is always at least 2 quarts of ice cream in our house. We eat it at least 4 nights a week (another reason we both run so much). If it's box store bought, it's Breyers. If it's not Breyers, it's Vale Wood. If it's cake, it's Dairy Queen (got a peanut butter cup one for my birthday that was awesome!). 

For Father's Day this year, I thought it would be neat to make our own ice cream. I did great a really nice ice cream maker, but the whole making ice cream part isn't really an activity for the whole family. It's not like we are cranking a wooden crank with the ice and rock salt freezing the ice cream. It's an electric mixer that does all the work for you. It's fairly noisy too. But, it does a good job, so I really can't complain. It's pretty much become a toy for me to play with (like I needed another).

I have made quite a few batches now and am finding that there is a certain learning curve. It took me 3 batches to perfect my vanilla recipe. This was a key one to get right since it's by far Kevin's most favorite flavor. I guess I should add that ALL the ice cream flavors we eat start with a vanilla base. Neither of us is a chocolate fan. I believe there is one exception to this rule. I started with a recipe I found online (All Recipes - my favorite website for finding recipes) and tweak my technique and the recipe based on reviews and our personal preference. Now Kevin says it's his prefered vanilla (used to be Breyers Natural Vanilla). 

Making gelato was a new experience.  The first time I had inferior equipment which resulted in making green tea flavored scrambled eggs. Needless to say, that got thrown out! The second attempt was considerably better and resulted in a nice creamy Green Tea Gelato. It was good, but not my favorite. I think a Chai Tea Latte flavor may be really tasty.

Over the weekend, we went up to the cabin. On the property around the cabin are tons of wild blackberry bushes. We picked about 3 cups to bring home. I was thinking of making just a blackberry ice cream, but instead decided to make a blackberry cheesecake ice cream. The cheesecake ice cream was easy...I just took my vanilla base recipe and added in a box of instant cheesecake pudding. That made for a really thick and creamy custard like base all without having to worry about tempering eggs! Then I made a syrupy sauce with the blackberries. I swirled the sauce, graham cracker crust pieces, and the cheesecake ice cream together. I need to work on my swirling technique, but it was still delicious!

Making our own ice cream has been fun to do, even if it's not the family fun time I thought it would be. It's been interesting to experiment with different flavors and techniques. We'll see what fun (or interesting) flavors we come up with next! Family and friends may even be subjected to my ice cream around holidays.

On a side note, it's been a long time coming, but our next experiment in home creations will be beer! We just need to get our butts in gear to figure out what kind to make and get the ingredients for it. Stay tuned!