Problem solved!

For well over a year, there's been a slight leak around the base of the faucet at the kitchen sink. Recently, a drip from the same faucet has become more pronounced. Both problems could be ignored and put off for a while, and they were. But, I (Jennifer) knew they were waiting for my attention.

We were both very productive last weekend with some tasks, so I decided to take on the faucet. I called my father-in-law, who is great at giving advice over the phone about home repair projects. Mike asked if I knew the brand of the faucet. Like most things in our house, there is no brand name on the product, which tells me that the maker wasn't confident enough in the product to say who made it.

I tried to unscrew the top of the faucet, but I needed help because it was stuck on tight. Keith got involved for that. We got the parts off, but we didn't see anything obviously wrong. We opted to replace the entire faucet, so I got ready to head out to Lowe's. Keith's only instructions and input were that I not buy the cheapest faucet available and that the layout stay basically the same as our old faucet.

I found a Moen faucet for a clearance price, which was twice the price of the cheapest faucet. I even checked to see that the brand was on the faucet, which of course it was. We put the faucet back together, sealed the leaks that magically appeared, and turned the water back on.
Inspired by the new chrome finish, I scrubbed out the sinks, and they look really nice, too.

Once again, we have another home repair done with only one trip to Lowe's! That's the best it could be, and we love our new faucet!

Here I am, too, thanking myself for checking the shut-off valves under the sink a couple of years ago. All of the plumbing in our house was left without maintenance, and every one of the valves in the house were broken (including the washing machine water lines!). I've turned off water at the street LOTS of times, but this time, I got to use the valves that I had replaced before. It sure does make for a lot less drama when the handle is right there at the sink!

Jennifer's news

I started a master's program four years ago, but I withdrew from the program when I was given a chance to teach GHP in the summers.  Since the master's program required me to start in a summer, I never went back.  Now that Keith and I are married, I'm not going away in the summers anytime soon.  So, I started investigating the master's program again.

Recently, I was accepted into the Masters of Arts in Teaching program at Georgia College & State University.  There's a Macon campus, and I can finish the program in one year if I go full time.  Keith and I decided that was the best option, so I've resigned from my job as of the end of this school year.

In preparation for being back in school without working, we've been putting pieces in place.  Of course, I had an application process to work through, which was tedious.  Along with that, I prepared for a writing test, requested letters of recommendation and transcripts, and checked on the courses I took years ago to make sure they would still count.  We're planning our vacations around my school schedule, and we've refinanced our house.  I know some people have wondered where we've been lately, but I couldn't put this news out in cyberspace until I made my resignation official.  

The Masters of Arts in Teaching (MAT) program is demanding.  I'll take two courses in June.  Then, I'll take four courses at night in the fall while I observe classrooms during the day.  With 2-3 days a week in a classroom and 4 nights a week in class, it'll be quite busy.  Next spring, I'll do a ten-week student teaching assignment while I go to class one night a week.  But, then it'll be over.  

When I get done with my program in May 2011, I'll be certified to teach.  Then, my options for work open up quite a bit.  I like my current school, so I'd be fine with going back there.  But, I'll also be able to teach in public schools for the first time.  

I'm looking forward to being a student again, and I'm excited that I get to do it while Jay is a student, too.  We'll graduate on the same weekend and probably even the same day.  (I'll accept my diploma in the mail since I'll be in Birmingham watching him walk!)

Wow!

Today is a COLD day at our house.  The forecast for last night was snow showers, so my school was canceled today!  When I left our house at 1:30 this afternoon, this building looked about the same as it did when this picture was taken.  But, I said my good bye and good riddance, and off I went to run errands.

The front, outside of the building doesn't look too bad.  The secret, though, is the inside and the backside of the building.  It's falling apart!  It's a disaster.  Here's the inside corner after Keith got to work today.  It really was sunken in.  The roof had two holes that were at least a foot in diameter.

I'm inside writing this post while Keith is out in 30 degree weather finishing the demolition project.

We're going to put in another building that's two or three times as big as the old one, and we're excited to get the ground cleared so we can think about what we want to do next.

The old building was 12 x 8 feet, but we didn't use it for much because it was so nasty inside.  When we add 12 x 20 or larger, we'll get several hundred square feet of storage space.  Oh, we are excited to see that day!