Party in the shower!

 A few weeks ago, we were at Home Depot shopping for a new exhaust fan/light because our old one was dying. We were planning to buy a cheap one, but I spotted this red one and said, "If technology has advanced to point where we can have a disco party in the shower, that's the one I want!" Upon closer inspection, we learned that it not only changes colors but also has a bluetooth speaker in it! An impulse buy that turned out to be a major project.

Mike crawled into the attic to remove the old fan/light and install the new one. It was quite an ordeal, more involved than he expected, and he got several pokes in the head from nails in the roof. 

He asked me to bring him his drill bits. I thought I could handle that, but as it happens, there are a lot of things in the garage that qualify in my mind as potential drill bits. These looked promising, so I passed them up through the hole.

He said those were hex bits (??) so I went back to garage, selected my next best guess, and passed it through the hole in the bathroom ceiling.

Not the right one in there, so back to the garage. Third time was a charm. This nondescript little box contained the necessary bit.

Look at this delicious stud!

With the new fan in place, he started the electrical part of the job, which presented more unexpected problems. Which wire goes where, how to stuff them all in the small space, other things I know nothing about. Eventually everything appeared to work, and we downloaded the app (which has a pretty steep learning curve) and had a little party in the bathroom.

We named her Fan-C, because she is one fancy fan. She has so many options, including a motion sensor that Mike had to figure out how to deactivate so the party wouldn't start every time someone walked by the bathroom. 

The next morning, I plugged the space heater into the adjacent switch and suddenly nothing worked. That caused more problems and frustration and involved making trips to the hardware store, seeking advice online and from a guy who knows electrical stuff, and finally ordering a new switch from China. Meanwhile, Mike had his appendix removed and everything came to a halt. A few days ago, the switch arrived, Mike installed it, and now it's hard not to spend all day in that bathroom. I like showering in purple light listening to John Legend.  

Menopause Claws

It all started with a Facebook post. I snapped a picture of a "Menstruation Crustacean" (lobster-shaped heating pad 😄) at Walmart and posted it with the comment that I didn't need that so much as I need Menopause Claws, a device I dreamed of inventing, that attaches to your body and regulates your temperature. My friend Andrew saw the post and sent me a link to a device that was invented at MIT years ago that does just that. I thought I would look into that product when I had time.

The next day was booked solid with both jobs and other obligations in between. But because of a scheduling error at my first job, I got to leave a couple hours early. I decided to use that time to research Menopause Claws (which is actually called Embr Wave, but I like my name better). To cut a long story shorter, suffice it to say that this is the email I ended up sending to their customer service:

Ok, your bot and your human convinced me to fork over $300 for this thing, which I was willing to do because the hot flashes and night sweats have been so miserable for 4 years. The website offered me a code (WELCOME10) for 10% off if I coughed up my email address, so I did. However, when I put the code in at checkout, the website tells me it's not a valid code. I tried all caps, no caps, space, no space..nothing works. The human on chat offered me several customer service options, including a phone number, so I called it. I got a message that said "Thank you for calling Embr Labs. Please leave a message and a customer service agent will get back with you" over and over on a loop.  Maddeningly, there was no option to leave a message.  So I sent a contact form. Then I got an email from you with a link that said "Get $30 off" so I clicked it. It took me right back to the website. Where's the $30? By now, I've developed serious doubts about the whole operation. If the customer service is this bad before I've even given you my $300, the 60-day money back guarantee is meaningless, because I'm sure I won't be able to return it for a refund, which I wasn't planning to do, but based on my experience with your company so far, I suspect the product doesn't even work. If you're scamming sweaty, irritable menopausal women, I wish you endless hot flashes.  

Not my best WWJD moment. (tangent: I wonder how Jesus would have handled menopause? Probably sweated silently and graciously and healed Himself.) Meanwhile, resourceful Andrew sent me the email address of the CEO of the company. I sent her a more professional version of the above email (minus the curse of eternal hot flashes, etc), and she immediately replied with this incredible, generous email, clearly demonstrating why she's the CEO:

Hi Janel,

I am so glad that you wrote to me. Hearing about your experience is quite shocking to me - I completely understand your frustration!  We recently launched a new website, and I suspect that you helped us discover some important issues!. I can't thank you enough. Our product is amazing and I want you to experience it. Please send me your address, and I will send you one for free and a second one that you can gift to a friend. Please let me know which colors you would like. My mobile phone number is below if you would like to speak to me directly. Again, I can't thank you enough for writing to me. Please accept my sincere apologies and thank you for giving us a second chance.

Best Regards,

Liz

I think that's how Jesus would run a company. Above and beyond. I sent Andrew the update. He asked if I would send him the extra one so he could use it as an olive branch for his wife, who is also suffering in menopause, and their relationship could benefit from the boost. 

When I got to the ER that night, I was telling a patient about the whole thing. He was a young guy, but we made a connection and he needed a distraction, so I felt led to talk to him awhile. He was very engaged in the story, and when I got to the part about doubting the product even works, he said, "Oh, I think it does! I'm in a Facebook group for people with anxiety, and they have said it helps with hot flashes related to panic attacks. I'd like to get one but I can't afford it." I decided right then and there that I was going to give him mine. I finished the story, listened to one of his, gave him a hug and prayed for him, and he gave me his contact info and asked me to let him know how the device works when I get it.  I started getting the idea that perhaps this whole thing is why I haven't received the healing I asked God for. I'll put up with all the misery of menopause just to see how God uses it. I would have missed connecting with Andrew, Liz (we have since exchanged several emails, and I really like her), the patient, and the Holy Spirit if I hadn't been going through this. Stay tuned to see what else He does with this. 

Nevada/Arizona - Day 8

Monday 2/10/25

5:00am up and starting the trek home. Returned rental car and took the shuttle to the airport. Watched people gamble in the airport while listening to Kenny Rogers sing The Gambler on the speakers. There was a girl waiting with us at the gate wearing a shirt that says “you give me the ick.” That became our catch phrase for awhile. 

Not sitting by Mike on the flight. We both had middle seats.

The guy on the aisle next to me slept with his big leg against mine. Tailwind made us go 660 mph and arrive in 2 hours and 23 minutes. It was a very relaxing vacation that Mike planned right before all the stress of this year. God knew we’d need this trip at this time. We are thankful.

Nevada/Arizona - Day 7

Sunday, 2/9/25

6:45am. Left our fantastic rental house and drove to Hoover Dam. Drove and walked over the bypass bridge and the dam. Very interesting!

It was early on a Sunday morning, so we were the only ones on the bridge at first.

It was very chilly and windy on the bridge, so Mike wore my fuzzy jacket.

I was endlessly entertained by the fact that I could put one foot in Arizona (where it was Mountain Time) and the other foot an hour behind in Nevada).

We drove back to Vegas and watched a show called “Postcard from Earth”and participated in robot demos at Sphere.  It was so cool!!

Mike lost $25 instantly by betting red at a roulette table at the Venetian.

  I won $1.82 on a panda slot machine. I gave the change to a street musician playing a soprano sax on a bridge.  We stayed at a Baymont hotel with a great 24-hour heated pool. Walked to the nearby mall. Walked over 16,000 steps today!

Nevada/Arizona - Day 6

Saturday, 2/8/25

NHTT and a beautiful hot air balloon. 

(We just saw it, didn’t ride in it).

Walked Rotary Park (including a butterfly garden with no butterflies) and watched a covey of Gambel’s quails.

                                                                    Cupcake Mountain Played games in the garage and went back to wonderful Rotary Park to watch the sunset. NHTT

Nevada/Arizona - Day 5

Friday, 2/7/25

NHTT, blueberry pancakes, games in the garage (Ms Pac-Man, Galaga, billiards).Laundry, Landman, Uno on the fire table in the back yard.Walked the bridge district at night.
NHTT and a ring around the moon.  

Nevada/Arizona - Day 4

Thursday 2/6/25

Slept in, NHTT, Mike shared a seed/dirt revelation from the Andrew Womack book he’s reading. I made blueberry pancakes with brandy syrup. Sure signs we’re living in a desert: flat roofs, no gutters, no clouds, everything is brown except in the rich neighborhoods where they irrigate; no rivers, just “washes”; you don’t park in your garage because your whole yard is rocks so you just park anywhere on your yard. Going to Bill Williams Wildlife Preserve to search for life.

We found lots of animal bones.

Discovered the palo verde tree, which is all green, even the trunk and branches. We decided it’s God gift to a very brown environment.

Bill Williams Wildlife Preserve was wonderful! We loved it. Back home for Landman, leftover Mexican food, NHTT with brandy Alexanders and star gazing.