sometimes creativity stinks!

I am trying to get over my speechlessness so that I can share today's adventure with all of you! After lunch, I was checking in on my online peeps, when I detected a fishy smell. I got up to investigate and as soon as I stood up I could see the source of the stench. The twins, a mere 10 feet away from me, but just out of eyesight, had dumped an entire container of grits and an entire container of cornmeal on the carpet near the kitchen and then drizzled it with Thai fish sauce. If you have ever cooked with fish sauce, you know that it is one of the nastiest smells in the entire world! We've seen how they make it (thank you Travel Channel) and they literally put barrels of anchovies, salt and water out in the sun for weeks to ferment. That's what it smells like. Trust me when I tell you a little goes a long way!


Anyway, I luckily caught them as soon as I got that first whiff, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Oh, and Phoebe was using a rolling pin to roll it all out nice and flat, while subsequently smooshing it into the carpet for me. Notice that they also had a nice collection of oils and vinegars that they were planning to add to the mix.


My lovely friend, Meg, asks me how they manage these things. I will show you! First of all, you should know they are very sneaky and quiet about it all. Even 10 feet away, I had no clue what was going on. Secondly, they are fast. I estimate this took them less than 5 minutes to plan and execute. Thirdly, because I am constantly slaving away in the kitchen, preparing delicious and nutritious meals, I sometimes forget to re-lock the lazy Susan where many ingredients are kept. See!? See the child proofing device that is just hanging there while the cabinet sits open? I am faulty, what can I say?


After sweeping up the bulk of the mess, I obviously had to shampoo the carpet. I actually enjoy cleaning the carpets and had been planning to do it as soon as I could get the living room cleaned up enough to see the carpet! I must say, I love our carpet cleaning machine. It is about as janky and ghetto as it can be right now, held together with tape, but I can still get a clean(er) carpet with it.


See all that gross, dirty water in the bottom? That's just from the living room and I clean the carpets at least every other month! This is why everyone who has carpet should have one of these machines. Once you get one, you'll never be the same again! See that top tank? That's where the clean water goes. It leaks and something is clogged, so I can't get it to put out any water, but I improvise. Just to really fill you in on all my ghetto/resourceful ways, I have to wet the carpet by sprinkling water everywhere from a pitcher with a sponge! Haha! Oh, my, it's bad, I know. So I sprinkle the water and soapy water, then suck it up with my machine. By the way, if anyone needs a good gift idea for me, I could use a new machine. I'm sure they come in snazzy colors now, like pink or purple.


One more little thing...I LOVE this Spray 'n Wash Dual Power stain stuff! It will get any stain out and sometimes more. I know they make a carpet version, but because I am cheap/resourceful, I just use this regular clothing formula for those stubborn carpet stains. You do have to be careful though, because sometimes it works too well!

Until next time...