I got this, you might want to stand back.

I'm a handy honey if I do say so myself.  I can assemble furniture, install the pipes under the kitchen sink, I know the difference between flat and phillips,  replace the bathroom's ball-cock and flapper valve, unclog the garbage disposal, replace fence boards, put in a new water faucet, spackle a hole in the wall, tape and paint a room, troubleshoot the vacuum cleaner, operate power tools, check all the fluids in my car's engine and wear lipstick at the same time.

That last one came into play not long ago. (the car fluids, not the lipstick)  I picked Will up from preschool like always.  But when we got home I saw that my car's temperature indicator was indicating that my engine was waaaaayy too hot. As a matter of fact, my temperature gauge had no where else to go.  It was at maximum elevation.

This was shocking because The Bluebell never runs hot.  She's a Honda CR-V and she's cool as a cuke. Nothing goes wrong with her.  I change her oil and replace her tires.  But today something did go wrong.  Today, The Bluebell had a fever.   Yes, I refer to my car by name and gender.  Kaylee and I have this in common.  

I popped the hood and checked the reservoir next to the radiator.  Dry as a bone.  Ho-boy.  I took Will inside and let the engine cool for a while.  After 20 minutes I went back out and opened the radiator.  Nope, no green goo like there's supposed to be.  I fetched my jug of coolant, did the appropriate mixing in of water and got ready to fill the radiator to the correct level.  

As usual, I succeeded in pouring the stuff all over the place.  Because, while I am handy I make messes.  Drywall powder is all over the floor after I attach a thing to a wall. Drill bits are all out of order when I'm done with the drill. I lose my work gloves, don't put things back in the right place or clean up after myself when I do handy things.  I leave screws in my pockets that end up being run through the washing machine. I think the other people in my house should be pleased and grateful that I've just completed whatever handy thing I've just done.  

I did manage to get most of the coolant into the radiator and the reservior.  Some went on my pants, some on my shoes, some on the engine, some on the driveway, some on the front bumper, as I said, it got everywhere. 

This frustrated me because it meant I'd have to wait until the stuff all dried out before I could see if any of the hoses were leaking. 

By the way, if you do have a leak that requires the attention of a mechanic, put a white paper towel on top of the fluid that's leaked out.  Take the towel with you to show your car guy exactly what is leaking out.  Radiator fluid is green.  Transmission fluid is red.  Oil is black.  Make sure you check these levels before you drive to the garage as you can do severe damage to your car driving with the levels too low.  Read the car's manual to learn where all these check points are located.  

I started the engine, turned the heater up all the way and kept an eye on my temperature indicator.  After a few minutes I turned the heater off, a  couple minutes more and I turned on the A/C.  When I was satisfied nothing was going to blow up, I went to pick Zoe up from school.  The Bluebell isn't showing anymore signs of running hot.  

Say what you want about my lack of neatness.  I knew how to check what was wrong and adjust accordingly. I don't stand in the driveway with my hands on my hips waiting for someone to come help me.  I should go check my tire pressure and change the air filter in the FAU.  

But I'm going to have some coffee first. 

Amanda's beauty tip of the day:  Make applying lip balm part of your daily routine, just once or twice a day.  Lipstick won't look good on cracked and peeling lips.