As my razors ran out last month I got to thinking about the cost of replacing razors. As it goes, Maggie and need to buy razors at about the same time every other replacement cycle. This adds up, even at wholesale clubs like BJ's. A cost that at times seems too high to accept. When added up we spend about $450 a year.
Enter Dollar Shave Club. You've probably seen the catchy video that plays to our sense of fun and ease.
At $6 a month for the mid-range razor and auto-shipping it seems like a good deal. After all, it would reduce the razor expense from $450 to $144 annually if we both liked the razors enough to stick with the program. No doubt, a significant savings in a time when our costs are increasing by 25 or 30% in everything from food to utilities. So I took the plunge and put in my order.
The razors arrived about 3 weeks later in all the catchy packaging and fanfare you might expect from the video commercial. I'll spare you the details of the unboxing and marketing experience. Russell Holly at Geek.com does a great job explaining this for you. I decided to give the razors a week long review concluding with my heaviest shave; my weekly head shaving.
Some caveats, I shave with only water and usually in the shower. My weekly head shaving does involve shaving cream since I fancy the top of my head more sensitive than the rest of my face. This water-only shaving drives Maggie crazy but I assure her that it is not as harsh as my step-father's dry shave-Seabreeze astringent routine he used.
What are my impressions?
The design of the mid-range 4 blade razor is good. The handle is reasonably comfortable in my hand and it does compromise my movement or force my hand into odd contortions. The blades pivot and run smoothly along my face and head without much effort or discomfort. I didn't cut or scrape myself with the razor at all, which I usually attribute to poor razor design.
My daily shaves went pretty well. I don't find the shave as close as my Mach 3's but generally speaking that is probably more a habitual feeling vs. actual feeling. Maggie didn't notice a difference in the smoothness of my face.
Saturday morning I changed out the blade, lathered my head and face and went through my weekly head shaving. Again, the handle and blade design was effortless and smooth. This is important to head shaving since the flesh is thin up there, the contours of the head are different than the face, and you're working kind of blind. The shave was not as smooth, again, but hardly noticeable.
All-in-all, this is a good change to both the budget and the grooming routine and something I would recommend to someone looking to give Dollar Shave Club a try (yes, hitting that link will get me a free month but won't cost you extra. It is the least you could do if you want to try them out).
But...
In reading reviews and forums, with a grain of salt, I found a few references to where Dollar Shave Club buys the razors and the ability to directly purchase at a fraction of the cost. The forums indicate that Dorco is the supplier for Dollar Shave Club. This is something I can't confirm but will note that my razor handle and blade cartridge does look familiar to models in the Dorco website.
When I first checked this out Dorco was offering a June Special with about 6 months worth of different razors, cartridges, and replacement blades for about $30. If the Dollar Shave Club/Dorco is true, then it might be worth a look and see how that positively impacts the grooming budget. Heck, it might be worth taking a look when the special pops back on the Dorco website too. That said, it is great to have the razors arrive in the mail, hopefully on time, and keep shaving without forgetting to pick up new blades.
Bottom line
Dollar Shave Club is worth the try, no obligation, and easy backing out (from what they advertise) if you change your mind. If you're on the fence about Dollar Shave Club give them a try and see how you like the razors. I'd be curious about your review too.
Last weekend we hosted a Brinner Party with some friends. It is part of our monthly commitment as friends to gather for a meal without our children. Originally billed as the Second Saturday Supper Club we've hit each month on some Saturday together with at least some members of our friends.
Syrup lineup
Maggie and I thought that having a theme party would be unique. Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner?
Rather than go the typical eggs, bacon, toast route that we so often have, we opted for some unique but easy to prepare foods.
Like all these parties it is an informal gathering and since we're long time friends people mill about, chat, and enjoy themselves regardless of spaces, people, or festivities. We've got a pretty small house but we make room for everyone.
Card table in the living room
Dining room crowd
Typically, with the Second Saturday Supper Club we would pick a restaurant for July to gather in but given that other folks are in the same boat as us with house size and Summer is a terrific time to gather, next month is going to another couple to host a party. We'll pick up in the Fall after Nathan comes into the World with a good dinner spot somewhere in town. It also gives us more time to think about where to go. Any ideas?
Olivia felt a little left out that we had a party at the house without her but we were able to save a few leftovers for her. She also got to spend the night at Papa and Grandma's house which always means eating junk, staying up late, and doing all the things Mom and Dad don't allow. The next day Olivia got to enjoy a special glass for her orange juice which also helped cure the don't have a party without me blues.
Olivia and I got the time on Sunday to try yogurt making again. After the last attempt we were hesitant about getting going but that wasn't going to stop us. We've also been quite busy with various activities so the time for yogurt making needed to fit into a busy schedule.
Maggie and I reflected on the last attempt and decided that the failure might have been two-fold. One, the temperature might have been too high. Two, that the culture we used was either too old, didn't have enough live and active cultures, or both. In any case, we went back to the original recipe and proceeded by making a few changes.
We changed from Fage to Chobani for the starter. We couldn't find the very popular Stonyfield Farms of Dannon with dates as far out as Chobani. Fage, while we love this yogurt, has mixed reviews.
We measured the temperature lower in the milk to make sure we got a more accurate temperature than measuring at the top of the milk where the thermometer reaches when clipped to the side of the pan.
Olivia, we think based on the failed attempt last time and the lengthy time commitment, was in and out of the process but was there for the important learnings. She also kept tabs on my progress by asking questions. Do you remember the process? Olivia did remember most of the steps without prompting.
Step 1: Heat the milk to 185 - 195 Degrees
Step 2: Cool the milk to 110 Degrees
Step 3: Create the slurry starter
(1C Warmed & Cooled Milk + enough yogurt starter to reach 2C)
Step 4a: Pour the slurry into the milk
Step 4b: Mix the slurry in very well
Step 5: Fill the jars/containers with the mixture
Step 6: Incubate at 110 Degrees
We waited the prescribed 3 hours from Dr. Fankhauser's recipe and directions. I know in the last post I wrote that the 3 hours seemed contrary to the other recipes calling for ten to twelve hours of incubation. So, Olivia and I agreed that we'd check at three hours and I would see it out from there. At our checkpoint we were thrilled to see that the yogurt mixture had gelled as Dr. Fankhauser suggested. We let it sit for another seven hours in the incubation and checked it periodically to see if the yogurt thickened more. It did thicken and I would recommend letting the mixture sit at least ten hours in incubation.
Thrilled that our yogurt has thickened.
After that, I transferred the yogurt to the refrigerator eagerly awaiting the morning so we could give it a try. I can't say we dreamed yogurt dreams but I was very excited to have breakfast.
Olivia, Maggie (an admitted Yogurt-hater), and I got to try it out for breakfast. The reviews were in. Yogurt WIN! Here's what everyone had to say.
Olivia - "It's very yummy and now we can add some flavors"
Maggie - "I'm very proud of you both for making a good batch of yogurt" (haters gonna hate...haha)
Mike - "This is delicious. Goodbye store-bought yogurt"
In terms of learning we covered a few important areas that we will continue to use and build upon throughout the cheese making curriculum.
Math
Reading measurements and increments
Reading temperatures
Telling time
Science
Reading volumes and displacement
Reading and recognizing temperatures
Measuring time
Concepts of mixing, inoculating, and incubating
Recall and comprehension
Procedures and processes
I'm sure there is a lot more that we included but at this early stage of learning we are more concerned with experiencing the process, building tacit knowledge of the process, and enjoying the act of learning together as a family.
Saturday was the 1 year anniversary of my first half marathon. I didn't run another half or anything but we did take Olivia down to the race to see the expo and get her into the free Kid's Mini Marathon. Maggie would eventually call it 26.2 yards of pure determination.
Olivia loves my races, she gets caught up in the excitement of being a fan, the cheering, the noise, and seeing people determined enough to finish the thing. It doesn't matter if it's 26.2 yards of 26.2 miles; Olivia is a ball of cheering energy. This Saturday, though, she was the star; the runner; the racer; the winner of her age group.
Buffalo Marathon hosts a short, free, run for the kids. Generally this would be for the runners but we opted in for the nice day, free family fun, and Olivia's enjoyment. We got down there early and walked the expo (still underwhelming) and signed her up for the race. I guessed wrong about the crowd and we ended up bumping around downtown for about an hour.
Olivia pulling ahead of the pack.
Race time came and Olivia was determined. She did a few dashes to warm up, stretched, and did a few other odd things to get loose. She's such a goof and clearly has her own brand of fun. I took my place at the finish leaving Olivia and Maggie at the start. We all waited for the four-year old girls heat.
In the meanwhile, though, Olivia cheered on the younger kids in her typical exuberant manner. She loves to cheer (and I look forward to see her and Maggie cheering on my races) and she was probably the loudest in the starting line crowd.
The race director called for four-year old girls and Olivia lined up front and center. The RD started them and Olivia bolted for the finish line. On such a short course, I almost missed the shot.
Here she comes, determined, fast, and focused. She's a terrific runner and I'm glad she enjoys the excitement of races and running. Physically, she's comfortable run/walking about 1.5 miles. It is a good foundation, she's set a goal to run a 5K with Dad this Fall. We'll run/walk it together, but I'll be super proud to cross the line with her.
"Just Win if You Want to Win"
In Cincinnati's Flying Pig while Maggie and Olivia waited for me to come across the finish, Olivia took to cheering for all the runners with this encouragement, "Just Win if You Want to Win."
Well, Olivia wanted to win so she flew down the course. At the end she told me and Maggie how proud she was of herself. We were too. Her sense of self is developing nicely and what matters to her is how she feels about herself.
After crossing the line, she grabbed some hard earned cookies, a little hug and the obligatory race banana.
She runs again next week in another free event for kids in Delaware park. We'll wrap that up with a 1.8 mile walk around the park together as a family.
Maggie reminded me last night, in the middle of a heated moment of budgetary frustration, that we have a good family and this too shall pass. We all need those reminders sometimes, that at our foundation we have a good family and, despite the current tribulations, we persevere. It is a big reason I love my family - for those reminders.
For the last few years we've been experiencing what a lot of families experience; rising costs and shrinking or stagnant revenue. Like you, we've seen gas prices double and triple (if you've been driving as long as we have), soaring food prices, inflating utility costs (despite all the improvements we make to save resources or maybe because of them), and increasing government/school taxes (or assessment values if you listen to the bureaucrats). In short our money just doesn't buy what it used to buy.
Economists define inflation with that last sentence (sort of). However, if you look carefully at what is happening, it does seem as though the scales are out of balance. None the less, our money isn't stretching as far as it once did and that forces you to take stock of your lives, your property, your budgets, and the like.
Last night we experienced a setback with our property assessment where we missed some important hidden bureaucratic deadlines which in turn is going to keep a recent increase in our tax allotment up for the next year or so until we can straighten it away. It was my fault, I blame myself, and I am taking it pretty hard. Missing tiny bureaucratic details costs us money; money we don't have from details I should have found.
Without going into the details, our house is worth barely what we owe and certainly not 25% more than what we owe. Add to that an increasing school budget and a bloated town government that built a surplus of over $1 million to buy us all fancy garbage cans and...well...my Libertarian blood begins to boil.
"We contend that for a nation to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle." - Winston Churchill
I digress...
As a one-income family we understand making some sacrifices for the health and happiness of our children. Maggie is an awesome mom and having her home is a tremendous boon to the growth of the family.
We made conscious choices to live more simply, live more sustainably, and rid ourselves of costly creature comforts that are easily replaced with other lower or no cost items. We have over-the-air television, grow/can some of our own food, time our showers, go most of the night with lights off, don't go on vacations, don't use our credit card, and generally live well below the Joneses of the world.
We are doing what we feel is right but for whatever reason, we are presented with challenges.
Sometimes we look on at the Joneses of the world and feel gut wrenching angst that we're doing the right things but seem to have so much less. Chalk it up to credit card debt or whatever but we wonder, in amazement, how it is done.
So, with the frustration off my shoulders, and my family standing in support we look at our budget on both sides of the bottom line. We need to look at the costs side and everything is up for review. We need to take stock in all our costs and determine if cut will our shoes stay tied. Cautiously examining things so we don't make frivolous and austere cuts that jeopardize growth or safety but enough that we can safely pay our bills, feed our family, and have something for unforeseen expenses.
We also need to take a look at the revenue stream. Are there ways to bring in more money and maintain our family environment? That's up for consideration too and ideas are beginning to percolate.
For now, we need to live on a little more of a shoestring budget and that's okay.
We need to stop worrying about the Joneses.
We need to listen to Maggie's advice, "We're a good family and this too shall pass"
Sunday was another exciting day for the family. We had a day filled with church, gardening, and Calypso but let me explain that a little.
Ring of Fire as seen in Buffalo, NY in May 1994 Taken from Oregon Live
You might know that Sunday, May 20 was the Annular Solar Eclipse where parts of the world witnessed a fabulous Ring of Fire effect as the Moon passed between the Sun and the Earth. Here in Buffalo, NY we got to see part of the lower right quadrant of the Sun be blocked by the Moon before it set behind the horizon; nothing like it was in May 1994.
We decided this was a rare opportunity to learn more about this phenomena and kept Olivia up a little late for the event. We headed down to a beach south of Buffalo to get a full view of the sunset, horizon, and whatever part of the eclipse we could see. Arriving a little early, I was able to give a little tour of where I lived while growing up and share some stories with the family. We also looked for fossils common to the shale cliffs of Lake Erie and were able to find some amazing shells.
Olivia holding the eclipse glasses on her face.
When we got to the beach, a family offered us some spare Solar Eclipse glasses. We all thought it was very nice and offered our thanks. It turns out the glasses weren't of much use by the time things got started because the sun was ducking behind some clouds making it harder to see through the glasses.
We watched as the Moon covered the lower right portion of the Sun and ventured home. Luckily we were able to catch the rest on Ustream from Scottys_Sky. We bumped around a few "live" feeds but found them lacking an actual live feed but instead were either a play-by-play announcement or periodically updated snapshots.
Scottys_Sky was live near Area 51 and had a live feed. We sat back and watched in delight as the Moon, Sun, and Earth came into alignment and formed the Ring of Fire effect. We got terrific commentary from the feed, nice crowd interaction and play with the folks at his site, and thoroughly enjoyed his efforts to broadcast this terrific event. Kudos to him.
Olivia was enamored by the experience. It is giving us a few great days of talking about, learning about, and being excited about the basics of space. She's even mocking up demonstrations we played out on the beach where she is the Earth and some rocks form the Sun and Moon. I'm amazed how quickly she grasps concepts like orbits and how objects can pass between one another in space.
Better yet, we got to experience the event as a family (including Uncle Foley). Here's some pictures of the evening.
So what of Calypso? Olivia was so excited about the beach, the dinner, and the family fun that she asked if we could come see the Calypso every night. After we figured out she was enjoying some word play with us, we began to meme the idea of Harry Belafonte providing a beachside serenade to us every night. We had a good family laugh.
A sunset family photograph
Uncle Foley, Dad, and Olivia taking in the horizon.
The sun setting at Hamburg beach. Look to the lower right of the picture and you'll see, ever so slightly, the beginning of the eclipse.
Showing Olivia the way the Moon is beginning to cover the Sun.
Maggie and I attended a party for a friend yesterday and each of us found ourselves on the receiving end of dissonance about our family's decision to homeschool. Both conversations were from K-12 teacher families and both rooted in ignorance and incorrect preconceptions of homeschooling.
Maggie's discussion was with an actual teacher who asked questions in an attempt to understand how we address and will continue to address issues of gym, music, art, socialization, testing, etc. We've spent a lot of time researching and thinking about these aspects and have some well-prepared and reasoned arguments. The conversation for Maggie was pleasant and ended with what we hope is enlightenment about how homeschooling is done with someone we believe to have genuine skill in teaching children.
My conversation was considerably more angry and attacking, including calling Maggie and me idiots for homeschooling and suggesting our kids will be retarded for doing so. Including a fantasy that Olivia's gym class is her running in circles or getting together with other retarded homeschoolers. It got my cockles up, that's for sure. It was with the husband of K-12 teacher who has repeatedly criticized our decision and wrongly thought our intention is to completely dismantle the public schooling system. Ironically, or perhaps as a result of conversations when we aren't around, it focused on gym, music, art, and socialization.
I reserved personal attacks because I don't feel they add to the discourse or serve to promote a healthy friendship. I don't mind a disagreement but calling me and my wife idiots and my kids retarded crosses the line. It shows you that there are many ways to deal with cognitive dissonance. One way is to ask questions and attempt to understand. Another is to attack, condemn, and put down.
Aren't you concerned with socialization? Yes! Aren't you?
The socialization conversation is tiresome already and we've only just begun. It gives Maggie, Olivia, Nathan, and me opportunities to practice it. This was told to me by a Masters Degree graduate from the college where I work and lifelong homeschooler - "practice addressing the socialization issue."
Sadly, this happens with those Olivia would call Uncle or Aunt (because of the closeness of our friends). Sadly, it resorts to petty name calling and angry disagreement. Now, I know he would never say that to my children but he should realize that saying it the parent is just as inflammatory. I was deeply hurt and saddened by the angry conversation. It weighs on my mind heavily.
The idea that homeschoolers are isolated or lack social skills is simply unfounded, untrue, and disproven. Social maladjustment happens regardless of educational environment; in many ways it is hardwired in our children. Because homeschooling is far from isolated and instead part of a highly connected world filled with networks, people, and possibilities homeschoolers often have advanced social skills including an ability to interact with people of all ages, professions, levels, etc.
Olivia is as comfortable talking to Ph.D's as she is with younger children. She regularly engages people in conversations about many things and sometimes finds herself easily bored with platitudes and placating. Maggie and I never practiced baby talk with Olivia. We always spoke to her as an adult. We use a wide vocabulary and help her to understand the words. We put ourselves in situations where we all get to interact with different people and topics. It is part of how we see ourselves in the world.
On the flip side of socialization, let's address some common schooling social situations that most people would find disagreeable.
How many eighth graders are pregnant in your school?
How many conversations are had about drugs, drinking, excessive partying, etc in your school?
How many students are mocked for being above the curve or common level of knowledge in your school?
How many students are mocked for physically developing early or late in your school?
How many students are bullied to the point of regression, depression, or suicide in your school?
How many students feel social pressure to wear a certain thing or not wear a certain thing in your school?
How many students are victims of peers' behavior problems in your school?
How many students are more concerned with dating than learning in your school?
How many inappropriate teacher conversations are overheard by students in your school?
This is a recent example of how broken our schooling system can be for some students.
I can continue the list but I feel the point is amply made. To stave off bias there are plenty of good conversations that result from good teachers following constructivist or social constructivist theories of learning. However, with testing, State and Federal mandates, etc these types of activities are not the rule but the exception.
One final question for the socialization issue: Would you rather have your children be prepared to have conversations with a wide, diverse, and interesting population or not? If not, then by all means follow your gut on that just don't mock our desire to have our children be part of the wider world.
How do we learn art, music, and gym (substitute any subject here)?
As I covered earlier, homeschoolers are connected to a wide and diverse world where we can learn from experts like professional musicians, other homeschool families with experts in particular areas, visit organizations and businesses who deal with these topics daily, or simply dig in and learn it ourselves (that is possible to do you know). Homeschoolers are also quite active in intramural sporting activities with other homeschoolers.
Which do you think is more exciting? Learning from a generalist in a school setting who can't possibly be an expert in all areas or a specialist who makes a living or excels in that field?
Now we know plenty of teachers and school administrators. We know plenty of highly educated people. Many of whom are experts in their fields and we'd be proud to have them teaching our child. Alas, we don't get to pick the teachers unless we homeschool - then we can pick from a fleet of experts, resources, and situations.
Anything left to say here?
Well, yes, a few more things. Public schools are a blip in the education landscape. For centuries before education was a highly individualized and diverse experience where students studied at home or under a master. The public schooling system is wrought with union and tenure problems. Public schools are widely criticized as being throwbacks to an agricultural and industrial era where the goal was to produce workers capable of performing tasks in a burgeoning industrial complex. Worse, public schools, at least in our area, are producing a remarkably low level of graduates who can boast an 85% of higher in areas like reading, writing, math, and science. Read the report for our district.
Last point, I promise.
Teachers in schooling environments are forever complaining that parents don't do enough, parents need to engage their children more, that teachers can't do everything, and/or that families aren't doing what is needed to adequately prepare their children for life. Well, here we are doing 100% of that work. How much more should we be doing? Perhaps, the crux of the problem really is that teachers can't do it all, won't do more, and need families to feel guilty about the contribution levels in order to preserve an outdated and outmoded model of education that is really more of a employment office than a place of learning.
We homeschool and we're proud. You're welcome to disagree but please don't attack our choice with myopic and ignorant preconceptions. Instead trying having an open mind, ask questions, and learn about our choice. We promise to respect your choices for your children and please respect ours.
