Baked "Stand Up" Tortilla Shells: 5/5

A few years ago, I stopped buying or frying our chalupa shells. I brush corn tortillas with oil and bake them instead. Much healthier and a little cheaper. Score. Alas, I was still buying taco shells. I mean, how could you replicate that pocket at home--without frying? Enter brilliant idea from EatingWell.com. Hooray! What an awesome concept. Here's how they turned out:

They weren't the prettiest things, and let's be honest, they didn't have quite the same texture as a nice fried tortilla! But for a healthy knock-off, I was exceptionally pleased with them. I don't plan on buying taco shells again anytime soon.

Bathtub Stain Removal: 3/5

We had a bath/shower until installed in our guest bathroom. It looks great except we've had these orange streaks in the tub. I have tried so many things to clean it! Bleach, Magic Eraser, vinegar, baking soda, Pine-sol, and Scrubby Bubbles. Nothing even made a dent. I've used paper towels, rags, stiff brushes, and sponges. No difference there either. Finally I found an old message board talking about something similar. I figured I'd tried everything else, why not try Clorox 2? I still had to scrub a bit and apply twice, but it worked!

*Temporarily. It was suggested on the message board not to use a bleach cleaner. I haven't! And yet the stains came back. Once again I had success with the Clorox 2. I'm thinking the marks are due to something besides using a bleach cleaner, but I have no idea what. Not that I enjoy scrubbing the tub but at least I have a recurring solution, even if it isn't a one-time fix.

*NOTE: Problem solved! I think. I forgot that while we had company, some Clorox Wipes were used. Looks like bleach was the problem after all.

Cereal Container for Car Trash: 4/5

Another easy organization tip! Can you tell I love these? I've had a plastic bag in my car for trash collecting. You know, the used tissues, granola bar wrappers, unwanted receipts, and other random debris. Sometimes the bag spills. And sometimes I worry that ants are going to pick up the scent and make a home in my car.

A cereal container was the solution I didn't know I was looking for. I even found a container that was designed to store cereal while still in the bag; it was easy to just stuff it with a plastic bag. Of course it seals, so I'm less worried about tossing food-related garbage in it. Then when it's full, I'll just toss the bag and put in a new one.

My only complaint is that it does roll around in the car. I don't have a middle console, so the "garbage pail" is underfoot. I'm sure I could weight it down or even velcro it under the dash or something like that. Any suggestions?

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls: 4/5

Just before Angel baby was born, I made egg rolls for the first time. I was scared about the wrapping and the frying. Both went better than expected. I am not a huge fan of deep frying though, so I knew egg rolls were a once-in-awhile-dinner-item. Then I saw this post for baked Southwest egg rolls! They were delicious. They crisped well for being oven baked, not fried. I was very pleased with the filling. What with the fiber from the beans and limited oil/cooking spray, I felt like they were reasonably healthy too.

The recipe made about double what we could eat, so I just froze half. A few weeks later I popped them in a 350* oven until crisp, flipped, then crisped the other side. They reheated better than the frozen egg rolls I've bought at the grocery store. We dipped them in my favorite guacamole recipe. Definitely preferred that over salsa! The husband agreed.

Oh, and remember how I said I'm a terrible photographer? Yeah, sorry for the picture.

Note: I don't think I'm consistent on my filling portions because I ended up with extra. I just saved the rest and used it as enchilada filling. Tasted great!

In-Style In Boxes: 3/5

These storage boxes are much cuter than the organizers on most desks. I didn't need standard paper size filer, but I thought using mini cereal boxes could make a great coupon organizer. They worked pretty well. I was too lazy to use pretty tape, so I just used plain old duct tape. I do feel like the organizer is lop-sided. Cereal boxes are cheaply made and thus aren't exactly the same size and shape (it's not like the manufacturers are worried about producing perfect craft boxes).

I'm sure most people would be able to make an organizer that looks better and less shoddy than mine. It works though and is still more fun (and cheap) than anything I would've bought. I have two of three more boxes saved so that I can give another one a try. Now I just need to convince myself to eat Lucky Charms, Golden Grahams, or Trix . . . Maybe the husband would like to do it for me.

Cleaning Sink with Bag of Vinegar: 1/5

Have you seen the pins about how to clean your sink? The aerator accumulates mineral deposits over time and this can be particularly difficult to clean. I have seen several pins that say you can tie/rubberband/whatever a bag of vinegar around the faucet and let it soak. This was a horrible, painful failure. I'm not referencing anyone's specific pin because, well, it is nobody's fault but my own. Oh, and the faucet's. And perhaps our hard water. See the offending faucet? It's in the trash.

Not only did I not get the faucet clean, but I broke the entire faucet. Then I tried to install the new one and failed at that too. After hours of wasting my own unskilled labor as well as several of the husband's, we ended up calling a plumber in the end. So that's the short version. If you care to hear the whole story, keep reading.

When I tried to tie the bag of vinegar to the faucet, it just plain didn't work. I couldn't get it sealed, so the vinegar kept leaking out of the bag and running down the underside of the faucet. After several attempts I gave up. I also realized I could hear a dripping sound under the sink. Somehow, and nobody knows how the some is, the vinegar was getting from the sink into the cabinet below. Of course I was frustrated and knew I'd have to chase that problem down, but first I was determined to get that aerator clean!

I figured I could unscrew the aerator with my hand. Nope. So I grabbed some pliers. Nope. The crust had gotten so thick that the aerator was stuck tight. Then I remembered my brother gave us a vice grip. Awesome! A chance to use it, right? Yeah. Rather than working through the green and white mineral deposits, I ripped the faucet in two. Seriously. I'm not that strong. I don't know how it happened. I would guess that it was cracking already which is how the vinegar was getting through. It's too bad nobody got to see the look of horror on my face when I realized what I had done.

Off to Home Depot I went to pick out a new faucet. I talked to friends, watched online videos, and read how-to articles. With a little more help from the vice grip (apparently I didn't learn my lesson after the first incident), I finally got it installed! And it was leaking. The husband and I tried and tried to fix the leaks. My mother-in-law gave me some great tips but sadly I still had one last leak we couldn't figure out. We just had to call a plumber.

What was the problem? (By the way, if you're still reading this boring story, I'm impressed. Don't you have something more interesting to do?) The problem was one lousy nut. I put it on upside-down. I didn't know you could even get it to go on upside-down, so I would never have solved this on my own. The water was then creeping up the threads. Doh. The plumber was very kind and told me not to be embarrassed. But of course I was mortified. On the bright side, the new faucet is squeaky clean!

Gift Wrap Door (er....shelves) 4/5

Wrapping paper is a regular frustration for me. I've wanted to get a hanging door organizer for awhile (my mother-in-law has one that I love!) but haven't found one that fits my needs. The rolls of wrapping paper have just been crammed in the closet where they aren't easily accessible and often unroll. Then a friend on Pinterest posted a gift wrap door.

My closet doesn't have a swinging door but has sliding doors instead. However, I do have a metal shelving unit in the closet, and it was perfect for hanging the gift wrap.

I found some cheap shower curtain hooks from Amazon.com and clipped the rolls onto the side of the shelves. Done. Couldn't have been easier.