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Crystal Stemberger

Have You Heard About Amazon Smile?

Reposting from 2016 since it’s good to know!!!  We’ve donated more than $31 to SMART Animal Rescue (Sunmart Animal Rescue Team Inc. on Amazon Smile) since I found out about it…we are sort of Amazon addicts… I know gobs of us use Amazon, but have you heard about the Amazon Smile program?  It’s an easy way to support a favorite charity when you shop on Amazon and it costs you NOTHING.  The prices aren’t higher or anything.  Same Amazon, but now 0.5% of what you’re paying will be given back to the charity of your choosing when you join. Easy to Smile All you have to do is visit smile.amazon.com and select a charitable organization to receive donations from eligible purchases before you begin shopping. They donate there whenever you shop using smile.amazon.com.  You can change your choice at any time.  And they will occasionally remind you to switch over to Smile when you forget and are on Amazon anyway.  But I just bookmarked “smile.amazon.com” as my main Amazon link so I don’t accidentally forget. I’ve been on Amazon Smile for a while and my charity of choice is SMART Animal Rescue (Sunmart Animal Rescue Team Inc. on Amazon Smile).  There … Read more

DIY – Replacing an Outside Unit Air Conditioner Capacitor

*DISCLOSURE:  THIS IS A PERSONAL STORY, NOT PROFESSIONAL ADVICE* This is just a heads up post in case anybody else experiences this specific issue with their air conditioner. When our a/c stops working because the outside unit isn’t turning on (fan blowing inside but the outside unit is off), it most likely is the capacitor. How to Replace a Capacitor for the Outside A/C Unit It looks like a metal cylinder smaller than a soda can. Here are the steps we took to replace it ourselves: TURN OFF THE ELECTRICITY TO THE A/C Remove the bolts of the little panel in the back or on the side of your outside unit Take a picture of how it is hooked up currently so you know how to put the new capacitor back in SHORT IT OUT BY USING TWO INSULATED SCREW DRIVERS TO BLEED OUT THE ELECTRICITY BY TOUCHING TWO TERMINALS AT ONCE (just don’t go around molesting the terminals and it seems to work out okay) and unplug the 3 wires leading into it Either order a new one online or take it to a place like Grainger Industrial or any air conditioner repair shop to get a replacement.  Call … Read more

Compensated for Our Inconvenience!!!

Hi!  I will update all of you baby lovers about Baby BFS super soon (she’s just past 7 weeks old, wowza), but I had to pass along a money thing ASAP. Long story summarized, our sweet next door neighbors are having a pool installed.  We gave their pool company permission to shortcut through our back yard to dig the initial hole.  Crap happened. The First Screw Up On Day 1, the digging crew shredded our fiber optic internet/cable line with the sheer weight of the Bobcat hole-digger.  AT&T was way behind on appointments and couldn’t make it out to run a new line for us FOR 6 DAYS. The Second Screw Up Then, after those 6 days and only 4 hours after AT&T ran a new line for us, the pool company’s fencing crew re-installed the fence section and DROVE A NAIL THROUGH THE NEW LINE.  It was another 2 days before AT&T could make it out again. NO INTERNET That’s 8 days without the internet.  Our very apologetic (and truly thoughtful since I would not have come up with this idea) neighbors bought a WIFI extender so we could use their internet in the northwest corner of our house.  … Read more

Baby BFS Did Indeed Arrive!!!

So, our daughter was due around June 15.  BUT, she must have heard “you’re going on a low carb diet until she gets here” at our OBGYN appointment on June 6, because she quickly said “SCREW THAT!” My water broke June 7 evening, and 31.5 hours later, Baby BFS was pushed out early June 9!  She weighed in at 7 pounds 5 ounces and measured 19.5 inches.  😀 She had to be observed in NICU right off the bat but got their seal of approval by lunch the same day, woot! I don’t know what is worth sharing and what isn’t.  Every minute of that 31.5 hours seemed of the utmost importance to us, but I’m guessing that there are only bits and pieces that would be of real interest to anyone else.  Here were the most entertaining bits… It Doesn’t Just Happen in the Movies… In honor of my new low carb diet orders, Mr. BFS had made us a delicious dinner of grilled salmon, grilled zucchini spears, and pan cooked green beans with onions and garlic.  I had been feeling off all day and mentioned it while he was finishing making our meal, so he rushed off to … Read more

Baby Update – Around 2 Weeks to Go!!!

The last two weeks have been extremely productive when it comes to baby prep, but obviously not so much when it comes to blogging.  I think the best way I can describe this last month of pregnancy to someone who hasn’t been through it is to equate it to an old phone battery.  I am given a certain amount of energy to use before I just shut off without warning.  Then I nap for 1-3 hours, and *poof*, I’m back.  But I never know how much energy I’ll be assigned.  It’s a fun mystery every time I try to tackle a project or to-do list item.  😉 Shout Out to Liberty Healthshare Thus Far I’ve explained that we don’t have classic health insurance before, but I’m not sure if I’ve brought up Liberty Healthshare recently.  We switched over to this health sharing company in mid-2016 and they’ve been amazing so far.  $299 a month into a group pot and an annual unshared amount of $1000.  This will go up to $450 a month once our daughter arrives and $1500 up front each year.  Still way cheaper than the $750 a month that regular healthcare was rising up to when we … Read more

Baby Update – One Month to Go!!!

It’s hard to blog, or really accomplish anything, right now.  I’m in a weird limbo world where I want to get everything ready for our daughter’s arrival, but naps, Facebook, tv, and absolutely any other time waster seems way more attractive.  🙂 Baby Making Update My baby bump has inflated, we’ve finished our hospital birthing classes, we’ve done the hospital tour and pre-registered, and now it’s just weekly doctor appointments and waiting to pop while I keep swallowing acid reducers to stay sane. This little one is developing really well!  All of her measurements are coming in fine.  She’s already around 6 pounds with a month to go, which they think is perfectly healthy and not too big at the same time.  All of my tests have come back fine.  All of my baby-delivering parts are where they need to be and doing what they need to do.  So far, so good! Physically, making a mini-human hasn’t been all bad for me.   Granted, I still wouldn’t be one of those women who say, “I loved being pregnant!”, but all of my friends and family have had it worse.  The Annoying Parts I had the “morning” sickness that first trimester, but … Read more

Adventures in Baby-Making – The Third Trimester So Far

Hey all y’all!!!  As of today, I’m 33.5 weeks pregnant and our daughter is rocking and rolling!  My baby bump is obvious but I am apparently “carrying well”, so I’m looking good for someone less than 2 months from popping, haha.  She’s still expected to make her way out of me between mid-late June (June 15 is the 40 week mark but first time moms often carry longer).  Yep, Still Creepy When It’s Yours – But Creepy Cool The “Alien” style way she likes to stretch and looks to want to burst out right above my belly button is right on cue and just as creepy as it sounds.  Oddly enough, that doesn’t hurt as much as when she pushes super low and crushes my bowels or whatever other important things are down there…maybe the “Alien” writers couldn’t accurately show that level of pain and went for the easy burst out scene… Also creepy is how my body doesn’t wind down as it loses energy.  It just stops.  One minute, I’ll be chugging right along cutting a tomato for fajita toppings.  Then I just have to stop and sit down for 10 minutes like a switch was flipped in my … Read more