The Joys of Being a Homeowner

The same month that my husband and I got married, we purchased our first home. Actually, we signed the papers on my birthday so happy birthday to me! That was three years ago...and today we are still working on the house.

I've told you all a bit about my house before when I was looking for windows (and yes, they were installed and look great!) but this time it isn't a remodel that upsets me...it is my oven.

When we moved in, my husband totally re-did our bathroom and kitchen. Literally gutted it out and put everything new in. So my oven will only be three this September but yet, it has decided lately that it does not want to heat up correctly. I started to notice this when I made brownies and I have made brownies numerous times but this time they just came out like crap! I knew they were bad when my husband who, bless his heart, really does try to like everything I make even though he speaks his mind, told me that they were just bad. The middle wasn't cooked at all and I know I baked them on the right temperature. So I figured it was a fluke....bad mix, bad eggs, bad oil, something but not my oven.

Well the next day I tried to cook chicken in my oven. It was a recipe from a spice package so it's not like I was doing anything from scratch and it said the chicken would be fully cooked in 45 minutes to and hour. Well 45 minutes rolled around, not done, an hour, not done, an hour and half after that I was reallllly pissed and super hungry. So we started to look into it and now I have been fighting with a thermometer I purchased for my oven.

My husband thinks the thermometer is garbage and that it really doesn't tell me the right temperature. Our manual for our oven does say not to go by a thermometer but considering my oven obviously doesn't heat up to the right temperature anyways, what can I trust? At least things are baking now when before a 350 degree preheat was only making it to 250 according to my thermometer!

Has anyone else out there experienced this issue? It is a gas Frigidaire oven. Everything is hooked up right. I really don't want to have to buy a new oven especially when this one is only two and a half years old!! HELP!

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Ladies: Need I Remind You that Valentine's Day is Less than a Week Away

Even though my husband does not believe in Valentine's Day, I still end up buying him something little just to say that I love you and always thinking of you. Sometimes it's hard to find something small that doesn't cost a fortune, something that he will actually like or even use.

I would like to provide my fellow ladies with some easy gift ideas that every man will like. These gifts will work for boyfriends (new or old), fiances, husbands (again, new or old) or even your dad or best guy friend.

• Brownie Heart: Go to the dollar store and buy a giant heart cookie cutter. If you can find 3 that are different sizes, go for that one. If not, one is fine. Pick up some red, white or pink icing and some sprinkles. Don't forget the brownie mix and ingredients! Now you can make a huge brownie heart and decorate it for your loved one. Guys ALWAYS like brownies...even the picky ones who don't like chocolate.
• Fun Dip: Yup...I said it. Fun Dip. It isn't something that you can't always find, but I found it in a 24 pack that was actually meant for kids Valentine cards. He'll love it!
• Cigars: Not my favorite gift, but he likes them. It is like a hall pass to doing something that I really don't like.
• Special beer: This gift is now off the books for me, but for those of you who don't own a bar or distributor, get him a special case of beer that he may not choose himself. He will appreciate you buying him alcohol...I promise.
• Finally, you can just go simple and buy a card. And yes a 99 cent card, or even the 2 for $1 cards from the Dollar Store are perfectly fine because all that matters is that you show you care. If he cares, he may even keep it forever!

Good luck on your Valentine's shopping! And don't wait until the last minute - just like Christmas, everything will be gone!

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