Rachel at ~28 weeks (I don't really remember)

Rachel at 34 weeks

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The last month has been eventful enough that I should have been writing more frequently, but I will do my best to cover to big events that have transpired without carrying on forever.

Summary

Life continues on as normal for us.

Class demands most of Bruce’s time, but he is really enjoying the material. My classes are going fine- hopefully the grades are equally optimistic when the semester is over.

I see the midwife once every 2 weeks and so far everything appears to be normal. As Opal’s due date approaches I get fatter (see photos) and parenting seems to become more of a reality- scary.

Last week was the final mow of the season, so our income again declines (my seasonal job ended October 1 and without lawns Bruce is officially unemployed as well), but we have a little more time.

We are enjoying our new ward. Bruce plays basketball with some of the guys twice a week and I enjoy visits from my visiting teachers. I should be more involved in the ward Relief Society activities, but it’s hard to sacrifice the little time I have with Bruce to go to activities, so for now my primary interactions are in church.

Some of the other major events of the last month are outline below.

School

Bruce has the rest of this year and then either one or two more years until he graduates. He will apply for the Master’s program at the end of this year and if accepted, will need to 2 years to graduate with his Masters, otherwise he’ll be done with his Bachelors after one year.

I will be going to school full time next semester, but do not need any classes to graduate (meaning I could graduate in December, but it’s cheaper for me to be a student) so I’ll take some classes just for interest. It almost seems like a sin to not take upper level courses and get my money’s worth, but I’m excited to get a basic understanding of some topics outside my major. I’m considering a computer science class, an upper level nutrition class, and a couple others, just for fun.

I’ve decided not to apply to the University of Utah’s Occupational Therapy program. The reasons are many and varied, from expense (tuition + daycare + commute Salt Lake everyday), to time, to timing (Bruce would have to wait nearly a year for me to finish my degree). I’d still like to be an OT and would like to consider a program when Bruce lands his first job, but for now it’s on hold.

Opal

Opal’s doing well, so far as we can tell. I’m down to a month and a week, but we’ll see when she actually comes. A week late and I’ll be finished with classes, 2 weeks early and I can deliver over the Thanksgiving break. Feel free to motivate her to come at either of those convenient times. She moves a lot and makes me move slower, but doesn’t bother me too much otherwise. One exception- we went on a date to the BYU bowling alley and I bowled a 40. I blame Opal.

Work

I’ve decided that one baby can’t create an entire day of work so I’m looking for a job that will let me work from home to fill the rest of the day. The supplemental income would be nice, and it should give me something to do after I graduate. If you hear of any valid work-from-home positions or have any great home business ideas, feel free to submit them. They will be reviewed by the committee.

Other

We're cheap and Bruce was shaggy so I cut his hair. He's a good sport, but it didn't look as good as his hair dresser cuts it. Nonetheless, it will do, and it was a fun Friday night project.

Technology Updates

Bruce’s New Laptop

Bruce’s laptop stopped recognizing the AC power source or charging the battery a few months ago. We’ve accepted the need to replace it, but haven’t rushed the purchase, but after the Dell Outlet sent Bruce a 20% off coupon he decided to put his remaining birthday money towards a new laptop. It arrived earlier this week and Bruce has enjoyed the installation, transfer, and exploration process. This week he acquired Microsoft Word and has rights to use it on two computers, so I benefited with an upgrade on my computer.

Windows 7

In addition to the computer purchase, we upgraded to Windows 7 (great student discount). As with the computer, Bruce has really enjoyed discovering some of the quick tricks and features of Window 7 on our desktop, and in a few weeks he will receive a complimentary upgrade for his laptop, so he’ll be able to use it there also.

Home Improvement Projects

Table

Our table is currently culturally diverse. We decided to paint it black (middle color), but have been busy with other things so only portions are complete. The leaf is the desired color, the left is the original color, and the right is the base color. Right now it's half black, half orange. Not to worry, it's very function in this state.

Curtains

When we moved in I made blue curtains from $1 fabric at WalMart (the dollar rack worked out well for the bedroom curtains, but the living room showed a lot light and looked cheap). So, we started looking for something more classy. We visited JCPenny and found a color and a design we liked, but not a price to match it, so we set it aside until we had time again and then stopped at WalMart, JoAnn’s, Target, and who knows where else. We found some sheer at JoAnn’s for cheap in the right color, and found a solid to coordinate with it. We left it overnight to look for coupons and consider the purchase. The next day we bought the material and we were pleasantly surprised to see the material both ring up at $1/yd, rather than the expected $4/yd! I have begun (in a very small way) making the curtains and eventually, I’ll make pillow covers for the couch throw pillows from the same material.

With the accent color acquired, all we needed was the brown curtains and we were finished. We were looking for lined curtains to try to make the apartment a little warmer, but they were all $30+ for one panel- a little out of budget. We stopped at Big Lots to look for a decorative curtain rod and found some lined brown curtains which were a little more affordable. We got them (but should have waited because a week later they went on sale and we could have saved $6), paid more than I would like for the whole acquisition, but have the potential or a very pretty curtain setup.

Couch

Another project that I’ve begun is stiffening the couches. We have beautiful chocolate couches, but when I study on them I feel like I sink in the cushions- great for sleeping, but not great for just sitting. I read about some places online where you can order new foam for the cushions- it’s neat, you can choose they firmness of the foam and they measure and cut it for you- but it’s kind of expensive for something that is mostly personal preference, not a matter of necessity. So I did some additional reading and found that you can use foam from anywhere. I checked CraigsList.com for a futon, thinking I could use the foam from it at a low-cost, found one, and now need to experiment with the change. Hopefully my $10 purchase firms the couch, but if not, we have a futon for any visitors.

Paint

Since we don’t have enough other home improvement projects going we decided to try to paint. We like paint. We think paint makes rooms look pretty and white makes them look ugly. In our last apartment we painted and asked for forgiveness and it worked out well, but since we live in a much smaller complex and know the landlord a little more intimately we figured we should try a different approach. So, I called to ask if we could paint. She said she would talk to her husband. I called back a few days later and she no, we could not- they had bad experiences with previous residents. I conceded, but when they were at the complex later that week I invited her to look at the extra room. The ceiling has some sort of smoke stain or something and overall the paint is pretty old. She agreed it could use some new paint and said we could choose a neutral color for the room. We got some paint chips, chose our favorites, had her approve one, and are planning to paint with her next Friday and Saturday. We’re excited, and especially excited about being allowed to paint color (rather than white)!

A Particularly Eventful Day

Friday

Friday was an eventful day. We had class, I did some research, and the day went normally. We went to the temple in the afternoon to do sealing’s and I got a little warm, did some swaying, at which time (according to Bruce, I don’t remember anything) Bruce grabbed my arm and one of the older gentlemen jumped out of his seat and stood behind me to catch me if I fell. I passed out but came-to pretty quickly, so besides making the older men fret over me for the next half hour, it was fine.

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Later that evening Bruce had a moment almost as cool as passing out in the temple. He was laying in his hammock in the computer room (they hang from hooks we screwed into the studs) when he suddenly dropped the 4 inches to the ground. We investigated the damage (particularly important since we’re not sure how management feels about ¼ inch holes in the wall) and found screws from the hook broken deep in the wall. Yesterday he patched over the remnant and it’s hardly noticeable now. No pictures of Bruce, but here's my Brazilian hammock.