Surrender, Dorothy: Reviews

K2W Home Repair Workshops

Seriously, this past weekend I had some real fun at K2W Workshops in Overland Park.  I got to knock holes in stuff, and nobody told me I was doing it wrong. It totally rocked.

(Note to readers: This was a a review workshop. In other words: I didn't pay for it.)

Average Jane wields her drill.

I was really excited about the basic repair workshop, primarily because I was going to learn to patch holes in drywall. If you'll recall, I'm good at creating them.

 

Move along, now. Nothing to see here.

So anyway, this class went from 9-4. It was serious business. I attended along with a bunch of strangers and Average Jane and Cagey. We sat at cute little desks with lots of tools.

 

Totally not your high school shop class.

Next, they let us write on the walls behind us.

 

See that towel rod? I installed it, all by myself.

 

Put that in your pipe and smoke it.

Next, we learned to repair holes in drywall.

 

Learning how to make the hole SQUARE.

 

Krista's patch looks awesome.

 

Julie demos the "California patch."

 

Some things you learn too late in life.

Next, we moved on to electricity. We learned to install a new switch, a new outlet, and a light fixture.

I must say, I was really good at this. Shockingly good.

HA HA.

 

First fixture.

 

Second fixture.

 

Kelli also did a lovely job.

We finally finished by exploring the glory that is plumbing. Many disgusting stories followed, some of which involved dental floss.

Lunch was served, and the retail value for my instruction was $135.00. Beloved was all, "What? You didn't get any tools?" But I thought the class was worth the money and my time. To not have to call an electrician or plumber for every little thing is immensely worth it to me, and not everyone has my husband or my father at their disposal.

And honestly, even though I'm surrounded by handy males, I like to be able to do things MYSELF. I loved it. It was a long day, though -- if you can divide it up, you might try doing that. Divorce party? College graduation? Girls' Night Out? Go for it. I recommend.

Starbelly Maternity Tees

My best friend is pregnant, so I was delighted when local company Starbelly asked if I wanted to review their high-design maternity tees.

 

Cute, eh? There are four designers -- this one is Sarah's. It's hard to see the writing in this photo, but it says "My best feature." And as anyone who has been pregnant knows, your bump may not be your BEST feature, but it's the first thing people look at after oh, the sixth month or so. Might as well slap something cute on it, right?

The tee itself is very thin and very soft, 100% cotton. I was a little concerned it would be very small (I asked for a medium for my petite friend, just because so many things are just too small when you're pregnant). As a test, I put it on myself (I wear a medium) and shoved a pillow in there, too. Still fit! The tag says to wash before wearing, though, and I'll be it shrinks just a bit, so go larger rather than smaller on the sizing.

The other thing I liked about the tee was its length. No need to worry about pregnancy plumber-butt, which can also be a problem.

The drawback? It is really thin. The black one I got isn't see-through, but I'm guessing you wouldn't want to wear your red-white-and-blue bra underneath a white version, no matter how great your rack is looking these days.

And Finally! Punkster Giveaway Winner

I am so sorry I am WAY OVERDUE on announcing the Punkster giveaway winner. And the winner is ... number 5!

 

SARAH! 

Thanks everyone for participating!

Punkster: Giveaway

The good folks at Punkster sent me a bunch of super-soft onesies, t-shirts and baby-sized flannel shirts for review. They're pretty cute.

 

The shirts are 100% organic and so so soft. I don't have a baby, so I haven't washed any of these or road-tested them, so this is more of a giveaway than a review. Enter a comment until midnight Central on August 18 to win.

If you want to purchase something else from Punkster's friend Acoustic Kid, use coupon code ONLINELAUNCH at checkout for a 25% discount.

Good luck!

Mommy Doesn't Drink Here Anymore

I'm not going to lie to you, folks. Rachael Brownell, author of Mommy Doesn't Drink Here Anymore: Getting Through the First Year of Sobriety, is my friend. So I'm going to say nice things about her because she's my friend. But as my father always says: "Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they're not out to get you." Which I totally stand by. And just because Rachael's my friends doesn't mean she didn't write a really powerful book. Because she did.

 

Rachael writes with honesty and talent about her relationships, the birth of her three young children, the moves they made, the ways she coped, and the sheer volume of crisp white she was able to take down in her effort to be resilient.

I'm humbled by her ability to look inside herself with such objectivity. To document for all the world to see and read an unflattering view of her drinking. As a writer, I know how difficult this is to do -- to lay bare one's flaws without trying to change the story a little, to alter the ending to be more favorable to the heroine. It's very difficult to write with total honesty. It's easy to hurt the people you love.

I can't remember the exact words, only the after effects: the look of someone involved in an emotional prizefight left standing in the ring, surprised that someone so small and previously kind can deliver such a deft right hook. Surprised and hurt and quiet.

He says this to me: "Rachael, you're becoming mean."

And I stop and listen to the sound of my own undoing.

I salute Rachael for her honesty, but also the people in her life for understanding why she needed to write this book. It's a very fast read -- I read it on the plane on the way home from Chicago to Kansas City -- and though I didn't read it in the self-help sort of vein, I appreciate the story of Rachael very much.