The right tool for the job

I like saving money. We've been pretty lucky so far that we got a good deal on a house, a car, new couches, oh yeah - and some M&Ms. So when the brakes on our new minivan started squealing, I was excited to do the job myself.

Have I ever changed brake pads, you ask? No, I answer!

So I watched a couple online videos, called my dad to talk about it, and it seemed pretty easy. Take the tire off, take the caliper off, replace the brake pad and reassemble. My dad suggest blocking about 4 hours our for the job, but I thought, nah - I'll do this one in 30 minutes.

I was right on pace... for the first 5 minutes. Feeling pretty proud of myself, I put the new brake pads in and tried to reassemble the caliper, and that's where it went screeching off the rails. It didn't fit anymore, the piston was out too far and I couldn't push it back in.

Not sure what I had missed I called my brother in law, Tanner for help. He's a diesel mechanic with the truck heard round the block, so I figured he'd know.


After a comical exchange where he thought I was one of his customers asking for help, he gave me some pointers, but basically told me I didn't have the right tools.



I borrowed a C-clamp from my neighbor but couldn't get it to fit. As the minutes turned into hours, I started to get pretty frustrated - not just because I couldn't get the C-clamp to work, but mostly because my father was right - this was going to take me 4 hours! The picture below is to show what it should look like, but the C-clamp I borrowed wasn't quite big enough to fit like this.


That's when AutoZone came to my rescue. I was looking on their website for a C-clamp big enough to push my piston back in when I came across their "Loan-A-Tool" program., whose tag line is "There's nothing like having the right tool for the job." They had a kit of tools specifically designed for this very problem. Now if they could just train the sales associates to offer it to young whipper snappers like myself buying their own brake pads!

Long story short - I finished job in 15 minutes.

In short, I dedicate this post to Tanner - the right TOOL for any job.

Concoction of Deliciousness

Lisa decided to try out a white chili recipe the other night. Now I'm not one to get excited about white chili, but this was an excellent meal (as evidenced by Travis shoveling it in in the background). She even went all out with with fresh cilantro cut up and sprinkled on top!


Below is the picture of the finished dish on the blog she got the recipe from. She did pretty good huh?

The Vegetable Garden

I have planted a vegetable garden. It is meager and laughably small (like our food storage), but it's a start. I have no idea what it takes to grow a garden in Texas, but cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes seemed like a very safe bet.

Basically, my garden will feed us for a week - if that!

I've been thinking there's not much we can do, until Lisa came across the blog for some family in Las Vegas. They have used vegetables to landscape their backyard and it is amazing. They also must be the most organized people in the world - not just for being able to plan, plant and harvest all this food, but for then creating such a detailed blog to tell me how they did it!

I got so excited reading her blog! I've got all kinds of ideas for how to improve the soil, what to plant, how to landscape it. There's just one thing missing - how to keep my kids from pulling out the seedlings or picking all the vegetables before they're ripe.

We went home to CA not too long ago and Sophie and Sam picked all the fruit in one afternoon. Reminded Lisa of the time she was about 3 years old and picked all the carrots from the family garden and put them in the kiddie pool, proudly telling her mother that she had made carrot soup!

Clarification

Well, you are all just so smart for remembering April Fool's Day yesterday - good for you! (or y'all as they say here in TX.) As for whether yesterday's posting was a joke or not... If any of these recent behavior's are indication:

• incredible absent minded moments, including the moment when I sprayed Bryce's shirt collar with Windex instead of Shout
• Constant gagging every morning and evening
• Amazing ability to sleep for hours and hours and still be tired by evening

... we will have a new addition to the family in early October. :)

Happy April 1st!!