Always thought water damage came from below. Stories like this prove you gotta check everything, even above eye level. Makes total sense now.

My wife called my cash envelope system "cute" for the first two years. Now she asks me how much is in the grocery envelope before we go to the store. That paid off car feeling is no joke, it's like getting a huge raise every month. I still get looks when I pull out actual cash, but the freedom is worth every single eye roll. Watching that debt disappear was the best joke on me anyway.

Was it a full cup or just a splash?

Evan saying "stop as soon as the flour disappears" is right, but there's a hidden step. The real trick is mixing your wet ingredients until they're totally smooth BEFORE you add the flour. If you don't do that first, you end up overmixing later trying to get rid of lumps. So the clock starts after the flour goes in, but the battle is won or lost before that.

Tearing paper tape shouldn't be a life crisis. It's tape. Sometimes it rips, sometimes it doesn't. I just use my utility knife if it gets fussy. People act like a bad tear ruins the whole project... it's just drywall, not brain surgery.