Wednesday, November 19, 2014

About Jake

This afternoon a woman from church came over to drop by a late birthday gift (She's been trying to bring it for some time, bless her.). Anyway, she asked how renovations on the house are going, so I took her upstairs to look at them, and as we walked around, I kept telling her that Jake had done this or that to different parts of the home. After she left, I spent some time thinking about his home-improvement talents and feeling so grateful for him and all he does for us. He's pretty amazing. I thought about how he has so many practical skills that so many people lack today (We're quite specialized in what we do, and we hire other specialized people to do all the things out of our skill set.). I think I recall Pres. Hinckley encouraging us to learn basic skills of self-sufficiency, and I think Jake has those down. I do not - on the feminine side of things, I can't sew or do many domestic tasks that would be helpful in helping us to be able to really take care of ourselves should the need arise.

But, here are the things that Jake has done to the house since we have been married:

  • Cut out some of the driveway cement, install a drainage pipe and re-pour cement.
  • Pull up old carpet from the upstairs.
  • Paint most of the rooms in the upstairs.
  • Weld a bed frame for us.
  • Lay laminate flooring (which includes measuring and cutting pieces, putting down quarter-rounds on the edges, laying transition pieces from laminate floor to carpeted and tiled rooms).
  • Lay sticky tiles in the bathroom.
  • Replace bathroom faucets.
  • Replace toilet.
  • Rip out old shower and plumbing.

He is in the process of replacing the shower wall, and he will probably tile the bathroom walls. He is going to re-do the kitchen, among other projects. The only thing we have paid someone to do is install carpet into the upstairs' bedrooms. Not only does he have all of these handy-man sort of skills, but he can run a tractor and use it for different functions. He can sew a button onto something, cook, play the piano, and even braid. :)

Anyway, I am so blessed to have him in my life. I feel like our marriage yoke is so unequal - he can do so very much more, but maybe little by little I can work on developing my own skills.

Thank you, Jake.

Tuesday, November 4, 2014

I Failed

Ugh - I already failed at Nablopomo because it looks like I forgot to post yesterday.  Well, here's a post for today anyway:

I have seen a mouse in the house THREE TIMES today!!  We've known that there are mice here for a long time now - we've seen evidence of them, and Jake has seen one or more in the garage - but I have never actually seen one in the house.

1st Sighting: I was sitting on the couch in the family room, minding my own business (or maybe others' business, too - may have been on Facebook), when something in the kitchen caught my eye. I had a psychology professor who taught us that if your eyes tell you they see something, they probably do (There is quite the story that goes with that lesson.), so I looked and lo! and behold, there was a mouse scampering across the kitchen floor. I called Jake and told him, and then I went and got the kittens, who have been living on the other floor of the house.

2nd Sighting: I was sitting on the couch in the family room, again, when I heard a noise coming from the kitchen. The kittens were near me, so I knew it wasn't them, and that left the mouse as the culprit.  I grabbed a kitten and looked in the kitchen near the stove, where I thought the noise was coming from. There is a hole next to our stove, and I put the kitten near it, hoping he would go in and investigate.  Then, while he and the other kitten and I were all there, the mouse darted out from under the stove and then back under it again. I pushed one kitten into the hole and he stayed in for a minute.  Both he and the other kitten walked back and forth in front of the stove for a minute or two, as well, but they didn't seem as drawn into the situation as I would like.

3rd SightingI decided that I should actually try to accomplish something today, so I started moving baby stuff from the living room to a bedroom - I didn't want the kittens to get into it.  After moving several items, I grabbed a bag, and I lifted it I saw something, which startled me, of course, and then I watched a little grey mouse run under the door to the utility room.  I grabbed the kittens, who were trying to sleep on the couch, and threw them into said utility room for a few minutes.  They probable never saw the mouse in there, but when I let them out, I left the door cracked in case they decide they'd like to look around in there more.

Jake says he's bringing four different types of traps home.

Sunday, November 2, 2014

Happy Dia de los Muertos

I'm not really writing about Dia de los Muertos, but I thought I would wish you a happy one anyway since it is today.  I thought about finding a Mexican store and seeing if they had any pan de muerto, but I didn't do it last week, and the Sabbath is not a day to shop, so I guess I'm out of luck - maybe next year.

This evening Jake said that we only have 3 1/2 weeks until the baby's due date, which freaked me out, but I think it is closer to 4, which is still crazy.  She has been moving around a little this evening, so I have spent a little time watching my belly be moved about a bit; it's strange to have a part of my body move from inside without me being the one to do it.  Anyway, Jake is getting more and more excited to meet the baby, and I'm excited to meet her, as well, although I'm also getting increasingly nervous about the process of getting her here.  If any of you know of how to stay calm about the situation, I would love to hear your suggestions.

Saturday, November 1, 2014

Nablopomo 2014

My husband was wondering what Nanowrimo means when he saw a FB status update from my brother, and that reminded me that Nablopomo starts today. I hope to participate in it until the baby arrives (which means that I hope I fail due to the baby being born before the month is over).  So here's to hoping that I can remember to do this everyday until then.  Cheers!