Wonderful Wednesday

mrsconn23 · July 2018

I honestly don't know if it is wonderful, but I'm trying to make be so by saying it.

No football practice tonight. The weather is beautiful. I'm planning to be outside all evening after work.

Oh and a random aside:

My sister wanted a DNA kit for her bday in December. I joked that I didn't trust those sites because what if they use it to track me down after committing a crime. FFWD to the last few months and that's how they caught the Golden State Killer and there's a cold case here that just got solved because of those sites. DH and I were talking about it last night and I was all, "REMEMBER when I called this shit?!"

I'm curious to see how this will play out in the future; if the companies will complain or laws will be passed or whatever. I'm not sure what kind of law can be passed since you're voluntarily giving your genetic material away to a public source.

Anyway, I found my intuition interesting.

ShesSoCold · July 2018

That IS interesting! I never made that connection until the GSK but it makes sense!

Today is H's birthday. Poor guy worked from 5 am -8 pm last night and he left about 5 again today. I'm trying a new pasta pesto recipe for dinner and it looks like it'll be a quiet little night.

We're having his family over Sunday and his grandpa is diabetic so I try to make a dessert he can eat. Anyone have any good recipes or sugar substitution recommendations that don't taste like chemicals?

ETA - Ooooh, Friday is our anniversary so I took the day off months ago, just in case we did something fun. Unfortunately it looks like thunderstorms all day. Tomorrow looks beautiful though. Maybe I'll see if we can take tomorrow off instead and go to a state park or something.

short+sassy · July 2018

@ShesSoCold, I'm not much of a baker or sweets eater, whether it is sugar-free or not, but I've heard using Splenda for a sugar substitute is great. Unlike the "artificial sweeteners" of the past, Splenda is a natural product. As such, it can be used in the high heat of an oven, without getting an "off" taste. Which was one of the problems with products like Sweet 'N Low and Equal. However, I have never personally tried that out because I have no desire to bake real desserts, lol.

For more "ready made" stuff. SF Cool Whip is awesome. SF puddings are pretty good, there is a slight difference. SF choco-syrup and ice cream, you can usually only find vanilla, are okay, but you can taste the difference. SF frostings and boxed cake mixes are great, I can't tell the difference.

I also make my own cream cheese frosting. Sometimes I'll use real confectioner's sugar, but only half...it's still sweet, but has a lot more tang. Which I like better anyway. I had a coworker bring a cake to work and he said he used Splenda in his cream cheese frosting. I would never have known, if he hadn't told me!

kvruns · July 2018

The weather is wonderful today! I wish I didn't have to work so I could enjoy not sweating my butt off.

I think we may need to leave some drinks/snacks out for the delivery people as we have a lot of packages arriving within the next week. Most weren't even Prime day deals, but rather good deals associated with it. My order I'm most excited about is on a UPS shipping delay and might not arrive - boo (and don't excited, it is just Honest Co diapers LOL nothing fun)

short+sassy · July 2018

@mrsconn23, it's funny you should mention DNA tests. I found Amazon Prime Day to be a real dud for me. The ONLY thing I found that I was interested in and excited about was a "23 and Me" package, that included the whole she-bang of all kinds of tests included for health, genetic markers, etc, along with all the typical ancestry stuff. Normally priced at $299. Prime Day priced at $99!

I excitedly put it in my cart and went to check out. I immediately got an alert that there was a "price change" in my basket. Sure enough, I go to checkout, and the price had jumped to $174. It had seemed like an "all day" offer, but maybe they had just run out. Maybe it was a timed one and I just missed it. I deleted it and refreshed the main page. There it was again for $99 with hours left for that price. Okay. Maybe it was a glitch the first time. I put it back in my cart. Don't get any alert. Except, now when I go to check out, it's the normal price of $299, smh.

Amazon, if you can't even get your s**t together for items featured on your MAIN page, then I'm not wasting any more time on your "look how great we are" day.

<<rant over>>

My only other slightly big news going on is I FINALLY gave a Notice to Vacate to that PITA tenant that causes me stress every month with her late rent and poor attitude. I'm an idiot for procrastinating and not doing it back in June, like I had originally planned. I sent it to her and her case worker via e-mail, last night. Today, my H is posting it on her door, putting it in her mailbox and sending it Certified Mail. If that sounds like overkill, it is. But she claimed she did not receive the last Pay or Quit Notice that was taped to her door a couple months ago. So I am blanketing her with every means I can think of to ensure she has received this notice and there are no "misunderstandings" about it. In fact, I'm only legally required to give her 30 days (on a month-to-month). I gave her 45 days (tenancy ends August 31st).

For right now, it is SUCH a relief to finally have this done and be moving forward in a positive direction. I'm sure it will still be a stressful, nightmare. I expect to get some screaming, irrational phone call from her at some point. My biggest hope, which may not happen this smoothly, is that she is just out by 8/31 and doesn't leave too much damage.

As it is, we will have a TON of work to do to get it ready for sale. Including repainting the entire interior. Uuggghhh. So time consuming and expensive labor. To be fair, that's nothing she did. She's just been there a long time and a total repaint is normal wear and tear and to be expected, for the length of her tenancy.

kvruns · July 2018

S+S do you think you will turn a profit when you sell it to have made the PITAness worth it?

6fsn · July 2018

Work out (doing a new one and it’s killing me!), work, swim lessons, cleaned house, now lunch, then zoo, dinner, gymnastics and work. Having the kids home unexpectedly fortissimo and the next few days has really thrown things off

ShesSoCold · July 2018

6fsn said:

Work out (doing a new one and it’s killing me!), work, swim lessons, cleaned house, now lunch, then zoo, dinner, gymnastics and work. Having the kids home unexpectedly fortissimo and the next few days has really thrown things off

What kind of workout are you trying?

There's nothing like a new workout to make me realize just how out of shape I really am. LOL

Casadena · July 2018

@mrsconn23 I've always been kinda freaked out about the public DNA thing too for the same reasons as you!

SSDD here, a little uninspired at work lately (and at home I guess). I've just been so TIRED!!! Going to bed earlier and getting up a little later isn't really helping, I feel like I could just sleep all day.

DH and I are starting Whole 30 in a couple weeks to help so i'm mentally trying to prepare myself for that. The sugar part I don't think i'll have trouble with, but we eat a lot of rice and small portions of dairy, so it will definitely be a challenge. Has anyone done it before? Tips?

cupcait927 · July 2018

Casadena said:

@mrsconn23 I've always been kinda freaked out about the public DNA thing too for the same reasons as you!
SSDD here, a little uninspired at work lately (and at home I guess). I've just been so TIRED!!! Going to bed earlier and getting up a little later isn't really helping, I feel like I could just sleep all day.
DH and I are starting Whole 30 in a couple weeks to help so i'm mentally trying to prepare myself for that. The sugar part I don't think i'll have trouble with, but we eat a lot of rice and small portions of dairy, so it will definitely be a challenge. Has anyone done it before? Tips?

I've attempted Whole30s before and failed. However, my H has done two successfully and the biggest key is prep, prep, prep. If you take Sunday to prep your meals for the week, it's so much easier to stick to the plan. Also, follow their Instagram account. They post some amazing recipes that I've tried (including a delicious taco casserole that is still in rotation after the Whole30 was over).

charlotte989875 · July 2018

Big meeting after lunch today. I made a bunch of figures for it, so I’m excited (yup, big nerd).

The weather is also beautiful here. H’s friends play softball Wednesday so I’m hoping we got out and watch them. Other than that, not much. H is going to camp this weekend so I’m just packing, getting things ready, and relaxing.

CharmedPam · July 2018

I hope they don't put a law on dna testing. If you killed someone - you should be caught! I find it interesting that that's how the golden state killer was caught.
@shessocold, so my hubby HATES artificial sweetener and can taste it a mile away. Ask his grandfather if he can do coconut palm sugar? It has a lower glycemic index so some diabetics can have it. Some can't though. I seem to do alright with it and use it when I make a dish H wants to eat.
Now, if he can't eat that- I would suggest truvia or erythritol. It may cost more but some people who don't necessarily use sweeteners cant tell a difference and like it too so it could please everyone. Best dessert to use this stuff in is cheesecake!

edit for: Happy Birthday to H!

@6fsn, the reason I don't stray from my routine is fear of finding new muscles I didn't know I had

Speaking of workouts. I was up at 1:00 for some reason. Our internet was down. I rebooted the server, and managed to get 50 minutes out of it while I used the treadmill. But when I went to move onto my weights - nope. Conked out on me! I ended up having to do my weights with music only. But I'm so proud of myself for still doing it without a TV program. Then I went back to bed at 3:30 and up at 7:00. LONG ass night and I'm tired!

Casadena · July 2018

cupcait927 said:

Casadena said:

@mrsconn23 I've always been kinda freaked out about the public DNA thing too for the same reasons as you!
SSDD here, a little uninspired at work lately (and at home I guess). I've just been so TIRED!!! Going to bed earlier and getting up a little later isn't really helping, I feel like I could just sleep all day.
DH and I are starting Whole 30 in a couple weeks to help so i'm mentally trying to prepare myself for that. The sugar part I don't think i'll have trouble with, but we eat a lot of rice and small portions of dairy, so it will definitely be a challenge. Has anyone done it before? Tips?

I've attempted Whole30s before and failed. However, my H has done two successfully and the biggest key is prep, prep, prep. If you take Sunday to prep your meals for the week, it's so much easier to stick to the plan. Also, follow their Instagram account. They post some amazing recipes that I've tried (including a delicious taco casserole that is still in rotation after the Whole30 was over).

Thanks! I never think to use social media to follow actual helpful accounts like recipes, etc.

short+sassy · July 2018

kvruns said:

S+S do you think you will turn a profit when you sell it to have made the PITAness worth it?

Yes! It has already been more than worth it. For as much as I complain, buying this house was a fantastic decision and ROI. There are just a lot of reasons it no longer makes sense for me to keep it. Some of that is described below.

I also bought the house below comps about 3 years ago and there has been some decent appreciation in the neighborhood. I'm hoping to clear (after realtor fees) $8K-$10K over what I paid for it plus repair costs I've had and will put into it.

--------------------------------------

A sneak peek into our strategy, lol. My H and I have especially decided that we need to sell this house NOW, as opposed to later. The city just put a temporary moratorium on new/renewal Short Term Rental licenses for non-owner occupied properties. If this ends up becoming longer term or permanent...and we think it will...we expect to see a GLUT of houses being put onto the market over the course of the next 1-2 years.

While this particular house is too far from the "core" of the city to be in AirBnB territory, I'm sure there will at least be some kind of trickle down effect throughout the city if this happens. Of course, we want to be ahead of that and have the house already sold. Plus I can pay a big chunk off of my HELOC.

For the time being, our plan is to buy a 4-plex that occasionally come up in a nearby suburb and/or stockpile down payment money for the "glut". If we time it right, we could hopefully pick up some amazing deals as the big STR players start getting rid of inventory that no longer fit their vacation rental business model. Rent them out to normal tenants for awhile. And hopefully see the property values start to go back up again .

mrsconn23 · July 2018

CharmedPam said:

I hope they don't put a law on dna testing. If you killed someone - you should be caught! I find it interesting that that's how the golden state killer was caught.

Yeah.

Again...IDK how they can stop law enforcement from using it as a tool, unless these sites just shut down. And these people are getting caught because FAMILY relations are uploading their DNA.

In the case here, they uploaded the DNA to the website and narrowed it down to two brothers via public records and then took the trash (once it left his property) of the guy they thought it was and it tested as a match to the DNA they had. He admitted to it right away. Hearing them break it down on the news last night was fascinating.

levioosa · July 2018

I read an interesting article about how using the DNA kits also has a clause in the agreement that they can use your DNA however they want. That’s what freaks me out. The criminal stuff not as much.

School today and then work the next three. I’m not looking forward to it. I’m still sick and feel like crap. This semester is feeling so long.

6fsn · July 2018

ShesSoCold said:

6fsn said:

Work out (doing a new one and it’s killing me!), work, swim lessons, cleaned house, now lunch, then zoo, dinner, gymnastics and work. Having the kids home unexpectedly fortissimo and the next few days has really thrown things off

What kind of workout are you trying?

There's nothing like a new workout to make me realize just how out of shape I really am. LOL

I’ve been doing beach body on demand since January. I’m doing a week of a little obsessed to kill the week before vacation. It does weights, slides, and resistance loops. The loops and slides are new for me. I’ve done 21 day fix, piyo,Shaun t 25

charlotte989875 · July 2018

mrsconn23 said:

CharmedPam said:

I hope they don't put a law on dna testing. If you killed someone - you should be caught! I find it interesting that that's how the golden state killer was caught.

Yeah.

Again...IDK how they can stop law enforcement from using it as a tool, unless these sites just shut down. And these people are getting caught because FAMILY relations are uploading their DNA.

In the case here, they uploaded the DNA to the website and narrowed it down to two brothers via public records and then took the trash (once it left his property) of the guy they thought it was and it tested as a match to the DNA they had. He admitted to it right away. Hearing them break it down on the news last night was fascinating.

I don’t know about a law, but judges can (and probably should) require a search warrant (which might already be happening IDK) before requesting data from these companies. Companies can refuse to cooperate with the police if they want to (unless there’s a warrant). But I’m curious what this means for privacy rights; are my rights to keep my DNA private violated if my sister uploads hers to a system? I get the value of catching murdered, but I think it’s super complex.

mrsconn23 · July 2018

levioosa said:

I read an interesting article about how using the DNA kits also has a clause in the agreement that they can use your DNA however they want. That’s what freaks me out. The criminal stuff not as much.

Uh yeah. Because companies never abuse the information they receive from customers. :: side eye ::

I understand people wanting to do it, and you do you and all that, but I have a lot of questions about how they're using that information. It's your genetic material that you're giving to them. It seems just as crazy to me as throwing your SSN to the wind and a company saying they can do what they want with it.

short+sassy · July 2018

6fsn said:

I’ve been doing beach body on demand since January. I’m doing a week of a little obsessed to kill the week before vacation. It does weights, slides, and resistance loops. The loops and slides are new for me. I’ve done 21 day fix, piyo,Shaun t 25

I bought one of the Beach Body DVD sets back a few years ago.

However, I've been disappointed at how ineffective they are, when you rarely take them out of the DVD case, lol.

OliveOilsMom · July 2018

Just finished a lot of prep work for a project I don't have to do! Woohoo! Sometime the prep work is the hardest, but this project will take a long ass time, so I'm glad to give it to our summer help!

It is a beautiful day here too! The humidity broke and it is really pleasant out! I will be going outside for a small bit to enjoy it! Tonight is yoga after work. Not sure what else.

I worked on cleaning off our kitchen table this morning. It is our inevitable dumping spot! But I got a lot thrown out and documents ready for shredding. I will probably have H take the shredding tomorrow to work. Our shredder died almost a year ago now, so he just takes it to the office. They don't care and its a big one so all the shredding takes 5 minutes instead of an hour plus.

charlotte989875 · July 2018

OliveOilsMom said:

Just finished a lot of prep work for a project I don't have to do! Woohoo! Sometime the prep work is the hardest, but this project will take a long ass time, so I'm glad to give it to our summer help!
It is a beautiful day here too! The humidity broke and it is really pleasant out! I will be going outside for a small bit to enjoy it! Tonight is yoga after work. Not sure what else.
I worked on cleaning off our kitchen table this morning. It is our inevitable dumping spot! But I got a lot thrown out and documents ready for shredding. I will probably have H take the shredding tomorrow to work. Our shredder died almost a year ago now, so he just takes it to the office. They don't care and its a big one so all the shredding takes 5 minutes instead of an hour plus.

Same. We keep saying we need to find a better plan for the new house, but that has yet to materialize.

mrsconn23 · July 2018

charlotte989875 said:

mrsconn23 said:

CharmedPam said:

I hope they don't put a law on dna testing. If you killed someone - you should be caught! I find it interesting that that's how the golden state killer was caught.

Yeah.

Again...IDK how they can stop law enforcement from using it as a tool, unless these sites just shut down. And these people are getting caught because FAMILY relations are uploading their DNA.

In the case here, they uploaded the DNA to the website and narrowed it down to two brothers via public records and then took the trash (once it left his property) of the guy they thought it was and it tested as a match to the DNA they had. He admitted to it right away. Hearing them break it down on the news last night was fascinating.

I don’t know about a law, but judges can (and probably should) require a search warrant (which might already be happening IDK) before requesting data from these companies. Companies can refuse to cooperate with the police if they want to (unless there’s a warrant). But I’m curious what this means for privacy rights; are my rights to keep my DNA private violated if my sister uploads hers to a system? I get the value of catching murdered, but I think it’s super complex.

I'm sure there will be a lawsuit at some point that will force these companies and law enforcement to define how it can be used. In the meantime, it is interesting to see how it has become a tool for law enforcement to resolve these old cases.

kvruns · July 2018

Our dining room table is the main dumping spot - and every time it almost gets cleaned off it gets bad again. Of course 1/2 the table is taken up by baby B's play tent (easier to just put it up there then take it apart and reassemble each time) but the rest is randomness like diaper bag, some dog stuff, stuff to bring to my parents' etc.

mrsconn23 · July 2018

We have a table off to the side in our kitchen that is the dumping spot. We use it when we have parties to put plates, cups, napkins, utensils. But 99.9% of the time, it's a table of randomness. DH bitches every time we clean it off about how we need to stop our bad habit of just letting it be a dumping ground.

We also are bad about leaving stuff on the peninsula part of our counter. We love to cover surfaces with shit in our house.

Image result for shrug gif

short+sassy · July 2018

mrsconn23 said:

levioosa said:

I read an interesting article about how using the DNA kits also has a clause in the agreement that they can use your DNA however they want. That’s what freaks me out. The criminal stuff not as much.

Uh yeah. Because companies never abuse the information they receive from customers. :: side eye ::

I understand people wanting to do it, and you do you and all that, but I have a lot of questions about how they're using that information. It's your genetic material that you're giving to them. It seems just as crazy to me as throwing your SSN to the wind and a company saying they can do what they want with it.

Oh! You mean like the oligopoly industry of credit reporting services that gather every, tiny detail of everyone's financial life. Never. Ever. Get permission from ANYBODY to do that.

And then can't keep their data secure and eff up people's lives. Looking at you Experian.

banana468 · July 2018

mrsconn23 said:

We have a table off to the side in our kitchen that is the dumping spot. We use it when we have parties to put plates, cups, napkins, utensils. But 99.9% of the time, it's a table of randomness. DH bitches every time we clean it off about how we need to stop our bad habit of just letting it be a dumping ground.

We also are bad about leaving stuff on the peninsula part of our counter. We love to cover surfaces with shit in our house.

OMG this is us. We have papers that pile all over.

Then DH gets grumpy that there are papers all over and I have all I can do not call him out on how most of it is HIS STUFF.

banana468 · July 2018

So @short+sassy how do you plan to follow up with the tenant if she doesn't bring up the notice to vacate? I'm just expecting her to pretend....something.

Currently in the middle of trying to get stuff done with not enough time. Hooray!

thisismynickname2 · July 2018

Re: DNA. I really do want to do one of those DNA test things. Maybe I'm hopelessly naive, but I just don't see what they could do with my DNA that I'd really be opposed to. Clone me? Scientific research? Sell it to some other for-profit company? Meh. As I'm not a criminal, I just don't see how it could be used for nefarious reasons (unless someone with access to it down the line really wanted to frame someone, anyone, for a crime I suppose...).

Re: working out. I signed up for a charity bike race! But two weekends ago I rode 14 miles and for the rest of the week felt like I'd die. My upper back was killing me, as were my knees. The race is just 18 miles so I'll live, but I should figure out some stretches or something to do before starting.

charlotte989875 · July 2018

thisismynickname2 said:

Re: DNA. I really do want to do one of those DNA test things. Maybe I'm hopelessly naive, but I just don't see what they could do with my DNA that I'd really be opposed to. Clone me? Scientific research? Sell it to some other for-profit company? Meh. As I'm not a criminal, I just don't see how it could be used for nefarious reasons (unless someone with access to it down the line really wanted to frame someone, anyone, for a crime I suppose...).

Re: working out. I signed up for a charity bike race! But two weekends ago I rode 14 miles and for the rest of the week felt like I'd die. My upper back was killing me, as were my knees. The race is just 18 miles so I'll live, but I should figure out some stretches or something to do before starting.

Link it to other data sources (hospital records, banking info, and other personal info) and ransom it, threaten to release it, give it to your employers. I mean my brain just goes there, but there are reasons people keep info private.

short+sassy · July 2018

banana468 said:

So @short+sassy how do you plan to follow up with the tenant if she doesn't bring up the notice to vacate? I'm just expecting her to pretend....something.

Currently in the middle of trying to get stuff done with not enough time. Hooray!

Yeeeaahhh. That's a good question that I'm not sure I have the answer to, lol! I'd be pretty surprised if I don't hear from her. But human nature is hard to predict and I've especially found her behavior to be erratic and unpredictable. Sometimes, she is a perfectly nice and reasonable person. Other times, she'll fly off the handle over some imagined slight.

I'm sure I'll have to get in touch with her anyway in the beginning of August about the rent. Because I always do (sigh). If I haven't heard from her about the notice by then, I'll try to find some way to nicely ask her about the house hunting.

On the one hand, I don't want to bug her. I've given her more than proper notice. It's her responsibility to take steps to abide by it. But, on the other hand, she's never been proactive or responsible about the rent. I get the impression she very purposely avoids doing things she doesn't want to do. So, those aren't good signs.

Mid-Aug., I'd probably get in touch with the case worker, either way. They've been notified also and I'm assuming that means they automatically stop my payment for Sept. This is obviously not their first rodeo, lol. I'm sure they don't want me coming back bitching at them that I neither got the rent and she didn't leave.

Worse case scenario, I'd file for an eviction on Sept. 1st and notify her case worker. That could then take another 3 weeks to get her out forcefully, if she pushed it all the way to the sheriff showing up at her door. But she'd probably lose her S8 voucher for that kind of non-compliance. Ironically, that's the best "carrot" I have and it doesn't even come from me.

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