Lays I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed

Lays, I'm a fan. Lifelong. I was excited when I saw the new Crispy Taco flavored chips. Genuinely excited.  

Salty deliciousness that I rely on from Lays + Taco flavored?  What's not to love? 

Let me tell you.  

THESE are not to love.  

I didn't get taco flavor at all.  I got something that reminded me of lettuce, then something almost sour, like maybe a hint of sour cream, but I thought there was also lime. Sadly though, the flavor I never got was actual taco flavor. 

As far as consistency, my brain could not compute the flavors I was getting, absent any real crunch.  I think my brain was expecting a corn tortilla flavored crunch that never came.  

Because true to form, it was a potato chip. Crisp yes. Crunchy? Not so much. 

I haven't been this disappointed since the first time I was tricked into eating styrofoam, er, I mean a rice cake.  

I'm disappointed because I wanted these to be good. I wanted to make taco dip and eat the whole bag while binge watching something stupid rather than working. Or cleaning.  

Instead, the only entertainment I got happened when I tricked my family into trying a chip and watching their faces fade from curious and hopeful to pucker and resentment.  

Final recommendation: stick to Taco Flavored Doritos.

Thirsday Thirteen - Reviews Recipes & Random BS

 

Today I'm lazy. So you get a list of 13* reviews, recipes, & random BS.  

1) The comfort that is Tater Tot Pie

2) One very important public service announcement

3) Mmm Cinnamon Crispy Chewy things

4) Sometimes I just want bang bang bang

5) Journals. Nice. New Journals

6) Fun Fact about the emergency button on iPhone

7) Impress your taste buds with Blackened Oven Chicken

8) what good is chicken without Easy Garlic Potatoes

9) Might as well have some Roasted Asparagus too

10) More Journals. The fun ones

11)  If I didn't have kids, the blog would'a died years ago

12) 2019 Dating Escapades

13) The nerd in me wouldn't sleep without giving you the 13 Unusually Long English Words courtesy of Merriam Webster. 

Play along: http://newthursday13.blogspot.com/

 

* this is a legit blatant plug of me. Just sayin.

Wordless Wednesday

 

DIY Toddler Hand Rail

My daughter and granddaughter, Squeak, have an apartment in my basement.  Even though they have their own home, Little Miss spends as much time upstairs with me as she does downstairs with her mom. 

Little Miss is 2 and super independent. Too independent. She comes from a long line of stupidly independent women and the gene didn't skip her.  

She's now taking to coming and going as she pleases, absent an adult. On the stairs. She goes up. She goes down.  She gives me a near heart attack every time. 

She is tall enough to reach the hand rail, but, her hand is too small to actually grip it.  She refuses to sit and scoot down the stairs once she figured out she could walk up like a grown ass adult. One foot in front of the other.  Not step up and plant both feet on one stair, then do the same on the next. Nope. She's a one foot after the other.  

And I'm too old for this kind of terror. 

So I decided to get her a toddler hand rail. But they don't really exist - at least as far as I could find. There were thick ropes people hung to their existing rails, and that would probably work fine. But it also made me nervous for no rational reason. 

So I thought about it for a few days, and came to a solution.  I needed a 12 foot hand rail.  I looked on line and didn't find anything I really liked.  So I took Little Miss to the hardware store. I found a 3/4" dowel that she could grip completely with her little tiny hand. I bought two. I bought four hand rail hardware mounts. 

I had Little Miss be my biggest helper and hold the dowel so I could see how high it needed to be. 14" from the bottom was just right.  

A few drill holes, lots of measuring and re-measuring, some stud finding, about two hours, and bam!  Railing in place.  It's not beautiful, but it's functional and hopefully it saves her from any slips or falls  

She was so proud using it going down the stairs and then up again.  I feel so much better knowing she has a good grip. 

It's not beautiful. But it's sturdy, functional, and Little Miss thinks shes a really big girl now.  Mission Accomplished. 

Happy 420

One day the feds will deregulate.  Maybe in my lifetime.

Wordless Wednesday

 

https://wordlesswednesday.blogspot.com/

I'm in a slump of some sort

 

I've been struggling with ideas lately. This happens when I'm overwhelmed at work.  Or over stimulated. Or lazy. I fall into a slump that is sometimes hard to get out of. 

My plan is to write up a brief review for a couple of books I've read the past month.  I'm hoping this pushes me in the direction of reading the other two books in the series. The series consists of four books written by Alice Hoffman, written about the Owens women through the generations.  

As many of us did, I fell in love with Practical Magic the first time I saw the movie, so so many years ago. It is now a quasi Halloween tradition as we watch it every October.  When I learned there were books, I was beyond excited to read them.  

I’m trying to get back into reading like I used to, back when I loved to read and get lost in a fantasy world.  I’d gobble up a book (or two) in a weekend.  Then law school happened and I’d read a couple hundred pages a night to prepare for class the next day.  Law school legit killed my desire to read anything.  I graduated in 2014. I was able to read a whole book (after starting it at least 11 times) in 2018.  Since then, I’ve read many books and the Practical Magic series is my latest grab. 

It is said that you can read these books in any order, because they all tie into each other but do not require reading one before the other.  Chronologically, however, the books flow are as follows:

Magic Lessons, set in 1664 tells the story of Maria Owens. 

The Rules of Magic, set in the 1960-70s, tells the stories of Franny, Jet, and their brother, Vincent

Practical Magic, is set in [probably] the 80s-90s and tells the story of sisters Jilly (Gillian) and Sally.

The Book of Magic, takes place after Practical Magic, involves three generations of Owens Women, including Sally's daughter, Kylie and involves the death of one of my favorite characters. 

I have read the first two books, Magic Lessons and The Book of Magic.  I was preparing to read Practical Magic and my dog ate the book.  Legit ate the book: