Not Everything Goes As Planned... A.K.A. - A Disaster Area!

I was having a great day on Wednesday.  Dinner was ahead of schedule, the kids were happy, we had some friends over, and the dreaded caterpillars were gone.  Feeling as content as I was, I did something without thinking and created a gigantic mess!

Let me back up...

I was making Cafe Rio Beef (recipe here).  It was looking lovely, and I decided I should really make some beans to go along with it.  I found a recipe for Cafe Rio Beans (recipe here), but I didn't have canned black beans.  I did, however, have dry black beans and a pressure cooker.  I've pressure cooked dried beans many times, and they've always turned out well.

So I go along my merry way making the beans.  The timer went off, and I turned off the heat.  I don't know what I was thinking, but rather than release some of the pressure from the pot or let it cool sufficiently, I decided to press the button the unlocks the pot.  If there's still some built up pressure, it will release it and allow me to open the pan. 

Well, I learned the hard way that this is a VERY BAD THING to do (without releasing some pressure first)!  I didn't have any explosion or anything like that, but as the pressure cooker was releasing the pressure in the pan, liquid came out.  Dark brown liquid. 

A LOT OF IT! 

All over my counters, the tile back splash, the stove, and the tile floor.  And all over me.  No burns or anything, but it made a big, BIG mess!  Actually the word "Big" does not even begin to describe it. 

Michael insisted on taking a picture "for the blog."  I was a little unhappy about it at the time (and I definitely was not planning to blog about it), but I think it is appropriate to capture the "not so fun" moments, so we can laugh about them later.

So here it is.  Please keep in mind that this does not even begin the capture the horror I was feeling in the moment.  The liquid was seeping across the stove and the counters, pouring onto the floor, spewing all over me.  As it seeped across the stove, the liquid was going into the area under the control knobs.  It was not a fun moment. 

A few minutes prior (to this picture), I was begging the kids to help by grabbing some bath towels, while mopping up what I could with paper towels (I went through the rest of the roll and it didn't even make a dent.)  They were AWESOME and ran to the rescue! 

We stopped the spread of the mess and cleaned it up.  (YEAH!  Thanks, boys!)  Then we realized that all the electric ignition (pilot light) for the stove (on every burner) were going off continually.  I googled the problem and read that this can happen when they get wet.  So I dried them off thinking that would help.

No luck...

So I tried turning on all the burners, thinking it would dry out faster if they were on.  No luck.  I read that sometimes it helps to turn off the breaker and then turn it back on.  No luck.

When John arrived home, he found someone who said you need to turn the breaker off for 24 hours, then turn it back on (after it's dried out), and that should fix the problem.  STILL NO LUCK!

I was getting worried.  We have a cooktop range, and it is quite pricey to replace.  Last night, I was so stressed about it when I went to bed, that I prayed about it.  I woke up still stressed. 

Well, the breaker for the cooktop is the same one for the microwave, and one of the boys needed to heat something up in it, so Michael went outside and turned it on. 

Lo and behold, I witnessed a miracle!  My stove was fixed!  No more incessant clicking!  No more guilt about ruining my cooktop!  I gave Michael a huge hug and called John with the good news. 

We are so grateful to our Heavenly Father for helping us and blessing us with a functioning stove! 

Old iPhone Pictures

I finally pulled copies of the pictures from John's iPhone the other day.  Here are a few:

The family at Temple Square.

The ward Halloween party - the priest quorum making root beer and winning the chili cook-off.

Something funny I found at CVS: a Snuggie for Dogs.

John as Darth Vader.

Attack of the Giant Ducks!

During our last trip, Disneyland was under attack by Giant Ducks!

But don't worry, we caught it on film.

Captioning

John created this picture using an app on his phone.

A New Hairstyle, Perhaps?

John used an app to create a new hairstyle for me.  What do you think?

Snuggies

John and I were at a drugstore sometime ago and found a "must have" for all dog owners:

I Love Signs

I don't know if you know this about me, but I love interesting signs.  While in MD, I saw this sign in the local McDonalds.  I guess they have had problems with people loitering.

My New Sign

I was at the church bookstore on Saturday and saw this sign. As I've been called a "mean mom" many times over the years, I decided to embrace the title and buy the sign. It's in my kitchen.

This Makes Me Feel All Warm and Fuzzy

When we visited the Bodie (Body) Lighthouse in the Outer Banks, there were several of these signs located along the paths and walkways. Doesn't that make you feel safe, so much so that you don't need to worry about where your children are walking?:)

Highlights from the Scavenger Hunt

After referring to the scavenger hunt in my earlier post, I thought I'd post a couple pictures of Michael's team. They had to take pictures showing they completed the tasks on the scavenger hunt at the mall.

Fry Holster

Yet another one of the old pictures. I took a picture of this on my vacation to Maryland a few years ago. Every time we visit, we like to go to Roy Rogers Restaurant. It's a fast food place with a western theme. The fry holster was pretty unique, so I thought I'd capture it on film.

Disney's California Adventure, Grizzly River Rapids

The Grizzly River Rapids is one of our favorite rides at California Adventure. Everyone, except AJ, loves it. There's usually a really long wait, so we went in the "single ride" line. David and Michael were able to go in the same boat, but John and I went alone (well with other riders, but not with each other).





I took a picture of Michael and David near the end of the ride, but Michael was hiding and David was not facing the camera, so I didn't post it. Below, there is one picture of John and a few of me. There are more of me, because John had the camera, and he wanted to make sure there were pictures of me posted on the blog. Also, I got drenched! There are geysers on the ride, and I was right under one.

You can't see me in this picture, because I am in all that white water from the geyser.

Here I am immediately after.

And finally, here's a picture of me after getting off the boat. Not the most flattering picture, and it doesn't show the full extent to which I was soaked, but it does the job.

Why are there trash cans on your blog?

A valid question. John, the kids, and I joke about Disneyland's trash cans (that they encourage waste, because they say "Waste, Please.") I thought I would take pictures of as many trash cans as I could while at Disneyland this time to share the humor. (I posted something short on the same theme in December 2009. If you want to view that post, click here.)

Oven Cleaning Troubles.

I don't know what my kids are doing in the oven, but this is the second grease puddle I've found in the bottom of my oven. Last time, I tried taking pictures of the flames in the bottom of the oven (while running the self clean cycle.) They didn't come out, so I posted pictures of my smoking oven (here).

This time I had the presence of mind to record a video of the flames in the oven. Enjoy!

Oven Problems

I'll admit it, I'm not the best cook. In fact, I often have problems in the kitchen. John might tell you that's because I don't always follow the recipe. I like to think of it as creativity and free-spiritedness (is that a word?).

Well, I had a major spill in the oven, although I don't remember exactly when or how it happened. There was an oily substance on the bottom of the oven, so I ran the oven cleaning cycle.

I came into the kitchen an hour after it started and found this:

I wish I'd captured the 12 inch flames inside the oven, but they went out before I could take a picture. It was a sight to see.

Bunnies!

In our valley, there is quite a bit of wildlife, including bunnies. We see them all over our neighborhood, and one night, we saw them while at the drive-thru at In-N-Out burger. They were probably waiting for someone to drop some french fries.

Easter Dog.

In Venice, they don't have Easter bunnies, they have Easter dogs. Here he is resting after a long day of egg hiding.

Actually, a few days after Easter, I was walking back from lunch, and we (me, Keith, Erik, and Pericles) saw this dog on the sidewalk. We figured he either got into the leftover Easter candy, or his owner really wanted to celebrate Easter.

Mouth Off

John downloaded an app for the iphone called "Mouth Off." Basically, if you put the iphone up to your mouth and talk, you can select a "mouth," and it will move as you speak. John wanted to video me using it, so I put it up to my mouth as I called upstairs to Jacob asking if he wanted to come with us to the scripture mastery on Sunday evening. I couldn't keep a straight face.

Crazy Cat.

Our cat, Mia, has some serious emotional issues. She's not dangerous, just needy, yet standoffish. I found her under the dining room table with a doll (a friend's daughter left at my house). She had carried it under the table and was sleeping on it.

April Fool's Day

David made dinner on April Fool's Day. Here he is presenting his creation: meatloaf and mashed potato cupcakes. Despite their strange appearance, they were pretty good. Thanks, David!