DIY Week

 

 

I am confident that I learn at least one new thing everyday.  At least.  This week was particularly enriching.  I picked up some awesome new skills.  Nothing I can put on my resume just yet but small victories nonetheless.

Project #1 - Radiant Heat repair.  Our radiant heat mat shorted out about 2 years ago.  I thought it might be time to remedy this.  I did not locate the short and repair it.  I hired someone who had really fancy equipment to come in and do that.  It was pretty cool.  But he identified some potential trouble spots where the wires crossed over so we were going to have to pull those up and rearrange them if we wanted the repair to last.  So using some tools that I hadn't touched since a sculpture class in college (I know it probably seems like yesterday but it was oh, 13 YEARS AGO!!) I took up the remaining tiles. 

 

 

Unfortunately in the process one of the wires got mangled in the process. So I got a quick phone course in splicing wires and I was off to Radio Shack for some butt splice connectors (The fifth-grader in me was embarrassed to ask for them by name - and the fifth grader in the cashier snickered at me when I did.)

The primary insulation contained three teeny tiny wires which each had to be spliced individually.   They were too small for the smallest divot in the wire cutters so I had to use an exacto-knife. This was probably a job for a surgeon...but as Avery said "mom, it's so sad you had to do all of this work and dad just watched t.v.")

After exposing the six wires, I used the connectors to get them all joined together.  This wasn't easy either.  The wires were really hard to clamp down on due to their size, eventually they all got connected and voila when I turned on the juice the floor heated up.  I then put a heat shrink wrap on and hit it up with the blow dryer to get on there nice and snug.  Then we tiled over it and so far so good.  (I know it looks like this was all done in one setting, but it really was a process over three weeks time)

 

 

Project #2 - Highlights

 

About every fifteen years or so I get the urge to give myself highlights at home.  Even though this did not turn out well last time I did it, after watching a few YouTube videos I was pretty sure I could do this. We didn't have YouTube last time I tried.  I am needing to go in for a cut anyway and I figured I could either pay $100+ to have my boy Jose sunkiss my locks or I could try to highlight them myself and if I messed up I could either do an all over permanent color or pay $100+ to have my mistake professionally fixed.  A few months ago Chelsey had taken me darker and let me have a little ombre fun which I really liked, but Chelsey lives too far away to have her touch it up. 

 

After an intellectual conversation with the girl from Sally Beauty I had the confidence and the equipment to go for it.  All for under $10, and that includes the conditioning repair pack she upsold me.    So, with one package of Clairol peroxide powder, some 30 developer, a sheet of foil, a plastic bowl and a disposable toothbrush courtesy of my local dentist, I was in business.

I thought I might have to deposit on a blond to get what I was going for and I was really expecting orange but I was totally happy with the results.

 

 

Also somewhere in this week I successfully represented myself in court against an unwarranted speeding ticket.  I don't have any pictures of this project but I learned some things about requesting discovery and raising reasonable doubt that I hopefully don't have to use in the future.

 

And, if you have a Brother printer and want to know how to get those ink cartridges to last longer, I have a hack for you that I will post when I get back from being a mother.