Sinks and Snack Pods
May. 7th, 2025 07:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39Monday, I was up at 6:30am to have coffee and get my soul in my body before the sink installer (plumber?) arrived.
Before anyone mansplains me about how easy it is to install your own sinks and faucets:
- I've been mansplained about this several times already. Thanks, though.
- I did try to replace/fix the guest bathroom faucet, and was unable to remove it without breaking it.
- I'm unwilling to rely on my complete inexperience to both remove the old and install the new properly. This is NOT MY HOUSE, it's Jameson's, and we both agreed it's worth the money to have someone do it right.
M'kay, thanks.
Of course the guy did not show up during the first half of his window, so I got up early for nothing, but if I hadn't gotten up then Murphy's Law would dictate that he'd have been here EARLY. While I waited I packed lunch and dinner for Disney tomorrow, worked on foodie finds, and watched some anime. He did show up around 9:30, so I nervously piddled on the computer while he got to work. He was just finishing up when Jameson got back from the gym.
Thanks everyone who had kind thoughts in our direction for this installation.
For once, everything went smoothly and we did NOT get ripped off! Yay!!
One of the new sinks. I forgot to do before-and-after photos. The old sink was off-white with a very corroded Moen single handle faucet. The old sink was also metal, and rust was coming through the enamel where it had cracked (had been like that when we moved in.) Jameson was very happy with the new sinks, and that made me happy :) Since he doesn't let me pay bills, I am glad to contribute to household things when I can!
After that was a normal day: grocery for dinner ingredients, practicing, small tour things here and there, and some down time which I very much appreciated.
One extra thing that I did was wash the little scrap of felt that my mom embroidered for me, many years ago, to put over my trombone stand.
Trombone stands are made with rubber parts, and when there's condensation in the trombone bell it can stick to the stand and cause a loud suction-y noise when you pick up your horn. A lot of trombonists simply put a sock over their stand top to prevent that issue. My mom wanted to do something special for me. So she took a little blue piece of felt and embroidered it, and cut a hole in the middle. It has never quite fit properly, but that doesn't matter, I use it anyway.
My mom died before I got to college.
She never got to see me perform with the circus, or on a cruise ship, or on tour, or at Disney or Epic.
She died not knowing whether I'd succeed as a musician or not.
But that didn't matter to her. She supported me anyway.
And I fully believe that that is a big reason why I was successful in the end.
Today I washed her gift so that I can attach it to my bass trombone stand and bring it on this next tour with me. That way my mom can be there in a way. She would have been SCREAMING and crying happy tears to hear what tour I'm on this summer. We would have been overjoyed together, I know.
Anyway.
Dinner was just Chicago dogs and smiley fries.
After dinner I had a little surprise for Jameson!
A few days ago he sent me THIS TikTok.
If you can't see the video, it features this XL pill bottle...except instead of pills, someone filled it with SNACKS.
I was FLABBERGASTED. What a great idea!!!
You can have your sweet, savory, chocolatey, gummy, sour, or crunchy snacks, all together! Yet separate!
It's like a grandma's candy dish, only portable!
And the bottle is so cheap, I HAD to get it. I mean, how convenient this will be for tour!! At the airport, or on an 8-hour bus ride, or a long rehearsal with short breaks! I can mix and match snacks as I like, and I can refill it from the free hotel breakfasts that offer dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate chips. Not to mention the candies that inevitably appear on tour. And I can easily share with others without them shoving their sticky hands into my bag of candy. People can take what they want from any compartment.
I got one for each of us, and an assortment of movie theater boxes of candy for us to choose from.
There are six compartments with one being double-sized (I felt that this would be good for larger gummies, salty snacks, or granola.) We each added some Good n' Plenty, Jelly Bellies, Skittles, and Peanut Butter M&M's to our bottles. Jameson added Sour Patch Kids and plain M&M's to his, and I added pepitas, and a mix of leftover Robin Eggs and 72% chocolate chips to my large compartment.
Everything fits through the spouts. We might have to shake stuff once in a while, but really, even the large Robin Eggs fit!
I am so unreasonably excited about this!! The possibilities are endless!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was a rehearsal day at Disney. I love rehearsal days because it's essentially full-day pay with half the work for both myself and Keith (the full time trombonist.) I got to do one set and the parade. We did our "Disney Classics Medley" with a new dialogue break, and the guys are doing "You Can Fly" for parade so I got to try that for the first time and it went well. It was a very hot day so I made sure to drink lots of water and keep an eye on myself.
Also, I brought my Snack Pod! (That's what I'm calling the pill bottle full of candy lol)
It was SO NICE to be able to grab a small snack between sets if I felt like it!
Yes, I know that you can pack a small snack for yourself as well, but to have lots to choose from is what's so fantastic here. Sometimes I pack myself salted nuts and find later that I'd rather have something sweet, or vice versa. Whatever I'm still excited about it haha.
It was a nice day, and at the end of it Keith asked me to come in on the 18th! Yay! Always happy for Disney work!
Back home, catching up with Jameson while packing breakfast lunch and dinner for tomorrow at Epic.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, Epic work. The routine has become
5:30am - 6am Wake up, make coffee, do "Phillipa hair"
6am - 6:45am Drink the coffee and work on Foodie Finds or watch anime
6:45 - 7:30am Breakfast, washing dishes, grabbing my stuff, out the door
7:30am - 8am Any early morning errands that can be done. Shipping packages, picking up bagels, going to Sprouts or Whole Paycheck. Today it was Sprouts for extra electrolyte drink mix and a snack mix for my Snack Pod.
8:30am - 9am Park, go through security, sign in, put lunch in fridge, put on makeup and costume
9:10am - 10am Practice bass trombone
10am - 11am Chat with the guys when they arrive, have a snack, warm up on the tenor trombone
11:30am First set of the day
The cart is gone again for repairs, and so is Plume, so we had to do the shows without it. It was fine, I never miss the cart but always miss cute little Plume. No drunk people in our faces today so that was nice. It was very hot so we all tried to stay hydrated.
After work I ate dinner in the car while driving home. Packed meals for tomorrow and made a dinner plan with Jameson for the weekend.
The MD for the tour I'm on announced his involvement across all his socials today, so have hopes that I'll be able to share it with you all soon too. Still going to wait because etiquette is for the full casting announcement to go out first and that hasn't happened yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: Another day at Epic, no cart and no Plume.
Friday: Early morning car appointment for the 100k service and regular maintenance. Crossing fingers and toes that there's nothing beyond that because after spending $2k on replacing all of our sinks and faucets this week my bank account is hurtin'.
Saturday & Sunday: Nothing planned. Practice and cooking and chores.
Before anyone mansplains me about how easy it is to install your own sinks and faucets:
- I've been mansplained about this several times already. Thanks, though.
- I did try to replace/fix the guest bathroom faucet, and was unable to remove it without breaking it.
- I'm unwilling to rely on my complete inexperience to both remove the old and install the new properly. This is NOT MY HOUSE, it's Jameson's, and we both agreed it's worth the money to have someone do it right.
M'kay, thanks.
Of course the guy did not show up during the first half of his window, so I got up early for nothing, but if I hadn't gotten up then Murphy's Law would dictate that he'd have been here EARLY. While I waited I packed lunch and dinner for Disney tomorrow, worked on foodie finds, and watched some anime. He did show up around 9:30, so I nervously piddled on the computer while he got to work. He was just finishing up when Jameson got back from the gym.
Thanks everyone who had kind thoughts in our direction for this installation.
For once, everything went smoothly and we did NOT get ripped off! Yay!!
One of the new sinks. I forgot to do before-and-after photos. The old sink was off-white with a very corroded Moen single handle faucet. The old sink was also metal, and rust was coming through the enamel where it had cracked (had been like that when we moved in.) Jameson was very happy with the new sinks, and that made me happy :) Since he doesn't let me pay bills, I am glad to contribute to household things when I can!
After that was a normal day: grocery for dinner ingredients, practicing, small tour things here and there, and some down time which I very much appreciated.
One extra thing that I did was wash the little scrap of felt that my mom embroidered for me, many years ago, to put over my trombone stand.
Trombone stands are made with rubber parts, and when there's condensation in the trombone bell it can stick to the stand and cause a loud suction-y noise when you pick up your horn. A lot of trombonists simply put a sock over their stand top to prevent that issue. My mom wanted to do something special for me. So she took a little blue piece of felt and embroidered it, and cut a hole in the middle. It has never quite fit properly, but that doesn't matter, I use it anyway.
My mom died before I got to college.
She never got to see me perform with the circus, or on a cruise ship, or on tour, or at Disney or Epic.
She died not knowing whether I'd succeed as a musician or not.
But that didn't matter to her. She supported me anyway.
And I fully believe that that is a big reason why I was successful in the end.
Today I washed her gift so that I can attach it to my bass trombone stand and bring it on this next tour with me. That way my mom can be there in a way. She would have been SCREAMING and crying happy tears to hear what tour I'm on this summer. We would have been overjoyed together, I know.
Anyway.
Dinner was just Chicago dogs and smiley fries.
After dinner I had a little surprise for Jameson!
A few days ago he sent me THIS TikTok.
If you can't see the video, it features this XL pill bottle...except instead of pills, someone filled it with SNACKS.
I was FLABBERGASTED. What a great idea!!!
You can have your sweet, savory, chocolatey, gummy, sour, or crunchy snacks, all together! Yet separate!
It's like a grandma's candy dish, only portable!
And the bottle is so cheap, I HAD to get it. I mean, how convenient this will be for tour!! At the airport, or on an 8-hour bus ride, or a long rehearsal with short breaks! I can mix and match snacks as I like, and I can refill it from the free hotel breakfasts that offer dried fruits, nuts, and chocolate chips. Not to mention the candies that inevitably appear on tour. And I can easily share with others without them shoving their sticky hands into my bag of candy. People can take what they want from any compartment.
I got one for each of us, and an assortment of movie theater boxes of candy for us to choose from.
There are six compartments with one being double-sized (I felt that this would be good for larger gummies, salty snacks, or granola.) We each added some Good n' Plenty, Jelly Bellies, Skittles, and Peanut Butter M&M's to our bottles. Jameson added Sour Patch Kids and plain M&M's to his, and I added pepitas, and a mix of leftover Robin Eggs and 72% chocolate chips to my large compartment.
Everything fits through the spouts. We might have to shake stuff once in a while, but really, even the large Robin Eggs fit!
I am so unreasonably excited about this!! The possibilities are endless!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday was a rehearsal day at Disney. I love rehearsal days because it's essentially full-day pay with half the work for both myself and Keith (the full time trombonist.) I got to do one set and the parade. We did our "Disney Classics Medley" with a new dialogue break, and the guys are doing "You Can Fly" for parade so I got to try that for the first time and it went well. It was a very hot day so I made sure to drink lots of water and keep an eye on myself.
Also, I brought my Snack Pod! (That's what I'm calling the pill bottle full of candy lol)
It was SO NICE to be able to grab a small snack between sets if I felt like it!
Yes, I know that you can pack a small snack for yourself as well, but to have lots to choose from is what's so fantastic here. Sometimes I pack myself salted nuts and find later that I'd rather have something sweet, or vice versa. Whatever I'm still excited about it haha.
It was a nice day, and at the end of it Keith asked me to come in on the 18th! Yay! Always happy for Disney work!
Back home, catching up with Jameson while packing breakfast lunch and dinner for tomorrow at Epic.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, Epic work. The routine has become
5:30am - 6am Wake up, make coffee, do "Phillipa hair"
6am - 6:45am Drink the coffee and work on Foodie Finds or watch anime
6:45 - 7:30am Breakfast, washing dishes, grabbing my stuff, out the door
7:30am - 8am Any early morning errands that can be done. Shipping packages, picking up bagels, going to Sprouts or Whole Paycheck. Today it was Sprouts for extra electrolyte drink mix and a snack mix for my Snack Pod.
8:30am - 9am Park, go through security, sign in, put lunch in fridge, put on makeup and costume
9:10am - 10am Practice bass trombone
10am - 11am Chat with the guys when they arrive, have a snack, warm up on the tenor trombone
11:30am First set of the day
The cart is gone again for repairs, and so is Plume, so we had to do the shows without it. It was fine, I never miss the cart but always miss cute little Plume. No drunk people in our faces today so that was nice. It was very hot so we all tried to stay hydrated.
After work I ate dinner in the car while driving home. Packed meals for tomorrow and made a dinner plan with Jameson for the weekend.
The MD for the tour I'm on announced his involvement across all his socials today, so have hopes that I'll be able to share it with you all soon too. Still going to wait because etiquette is for the full casting announcement to go out first and that hasn't happened yet.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thursday: Another day at Epic, no cart and no Plume.
Friday: Early morning car appointment for the 100k service and regular maintenance. Crossing fingers and toes that there's nothing beyond that because after spending $2k on replacing all of our sinks and faucets this week my bank account is hurtin'.
Saturday & Sunday: Nothing planned. Practice and cooking and chores.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-08 12:56 am (UTC)That's very cool for the trombone stand cover. It's good you have something like that.
The snack pod seems cool.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-08 01:00 am (UTC)A good plumber, who shall find, for his price is above rubies. Mind, that's pretty much what they charge, but plumbing that works is worth it.
Where I come from, the common wisdom is never to do your own plumbing or electrical work, because that way madness and/or death lie.
no subject
Date: 2025-05-08 01:26 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2025-05-08 09:46 am (UTC)& it's so nice that you have the embroidered felt cover made by your mom to remember her by!
The snack pod looks cool, I want one too! :D
no subject
Date: 2025-05-08 10:29 am (UTC)To be told twice, "You know, you can just do that easily yourself," as though I never would have considered that, is what I found annoying. I dislike the presumption here that I wouldn't have thought to install them myself without being told. And/Or, men not stopping to inquire WHY I'm hiring someone to do a thing before advising me. But again, to be fair to these guys, this is a pet peeve of mine across categories: I categorically hate it when people dole out unsolicited advice without first ASKING or even considering what someone has already tried or thought of.
In this case, I DID try to DIY the sinks first. That's how I discovered that we don't have the tools needed to completely remove the sinks and faucet, because they're original to the house and had corroded badly.
I also DO do a lot of things around the house myself. For example a few years ago I rented a compactor and bought some polymeric sand and essentially re-sealed our pool deck myself, saving us at least $1500. It was hard work but I learned a lot, and we didn't have weeds on our deck for a full year which saved us a lot of time and energy! So, I will certainly buckle down and DIY when I think I can handle it or when we can't afford a professional :)
Anyway, that was too long :p
Yes, I'm happy to have that memento of my mom. She was so supportive of me when it seemed everyone else around me was urging me to quit or waiting eagerly for me to fail. Of all people in my life, she'd be SO PROUD about how things turned out...but if it HADN'T worked out, she'd have been proud too!
Highly recommend Snack Pod! Only $12 and very convenient so far!