We've taken on a lot, and somehow managed to stay in tact. Living life now as a family of 4!

When I talk about our plans to gut and then rebuild our main floor before getting married during the school year, most people look at me like I (and by extension Jake as well) are completely insane. 'Maybe get married before hand,' they advise. 'Might want to hold off on too many non-refundable deposits for the wedding,' they caution. Yes, I admit, we have created a busy year for ourselves (thus the title of this blog). We have jammed some major life events into a pretty short time span. We are blithely taking on the challenge of living through a major renovation while planning a wedding. Both of these projects often are the demise of couples. However, I have no doubts. One of the first things Jake and I have had to do as a couple is learn how to work together - not an easy task for two people who are used to and like being independent and doing things on their own. Further complicating matters is that I am a bit of a 'measure naught, cut 8 times' kind of wo...

Last night I dreamt about the wedding for the first time. It wasn't like the Oma dream in the real-ity of it - lots of rooms/situations morphing into other rooms in this one. However, I did wake up because my feeling of nervous excitement just before walking down the aisle was so intense. It started out as just a still shot of a room full of tables, partway set, and then it was a really fun party. I'm sure this part was in part influenced by the shindig I went to last night. Lots of people, dancing, general feeling of good cheer - it was wonderful. All of a sudden I realized it was time for the ceremony to start, but LOTS of things we had planned to do - like getting flowers and setting the tables - had not happened. Meh! I thought, too late to worry about that now! Mayaswell keep on having a good time. This is when that intense excited-nervousness started. I was with a faceless friend who kept reassuring me that it was going to be all fine, and I could barely contain mysel...

The other night I had one of those dreams that is like stepping into an alternate reality that is just as real as this one. Animals don't talk, rooms don't morph into other rooms, and houses don't usually have secret passage ways. This real-dream world is like you got to rewind or fast forward in your actual life. Oma was sitting on her chair, and she looked exactly the way I remember her from when I was a teenager. Her mannerisms, voice, eyebrows - all were precisely OMA, and we were talking. She told me she was so happy to meet Jake (unfortunately, they never met) and was happy I was happy and prayed and gave us her blessing in the most Oma-ish way. It was incredible. It was like a stolen conversation - one I didn't get to have when she was alive, but still. I think this happened, nearly 2 years after her death, because I recently brought her drawing into the bedroom. We have packed away all our art where it won't get damaged, but I couldn't bear not see...

The mild winter (btw, they are forecasting ZERO chance of a flood here, which has famers worried about drought. I do not know how people have the guts to farm in this part of the world. It seems to work out so rarely!) has gotten us thinking about the timeline of this project. Spring is well on its way, and the time has come for some action! First, we figure this is pretty much the last chance we have to work on the upstairs, since our attention is going to be focusing on downstairs for the next year or so. Jake did an amazing job of trimming out the closet, as you can see in this terrible picture. There are still doors to be hung, obviously, but those require sandblasting, so I'm going to say they won't be up before the kitchen is. Then again, Jake loves to work on this stuff in the evenings, so you never know. That, by the way, is the reason that I feel mostly ok about this huge project. Jake is the kind of guy who finishes his jobs. The office/loft area is trimmed out BEAU...

I've been thinking about this post for a while. I considered writing a bunch of shorter, more focused blurbs and then publishing them one at a time, but that just isn't my style. Way to polished and professional-like. So here we go. I will number the ramblings for your convenience. 1. Investing Update: Unfortunately, we/I do not have the mental energy and time it would require to find a truly ethical investing option. I was very much unimpressed with the ' ethical' brand portfolio - sounds like their web developer said 'Use a green colour scheme and you will get droves of clients. It doesn't even matter what you put on there.' I appreciated that they didn't invest in companies who make weapons, but then they turned around and cited Suncor as one of their major 'Success' stories, and that just turned me off. ALSO, did you know, they will charge higher fees for a lower return, investing in EXACTLY THE SAME COMPANIES as the regular one. What the...

I know, that is not what VD stands for. Well, sometimes it does. It's Valentines day, my second one in a committed relationship with the man I'm going to spend the rest of my life with. He's out for beer with a friend and I am enjoying some much needed alone time. Isn't that wonderful!? To be fair to Jake, this is not what he originally wanted for this particular day of the calendar year. He is much mushier and romantic-er than I am. I am the one that will need reminding of every/all anniversary we will celebrate, while he will be the one to drop gentle hints. No, I quashed his plans for romantic Valentine's Day's last year when I informed him that I spend the 14th with the girls every year (except this year because everyone is busy and/or tired. boo lame!). The thing is, sure, it's nice to think about and celebrate being with someone. That's what you have your special days for, anniversaries and holidays, and hopefully just regular days when you...

Let's step away from the kitchen for a moment. I know that is a pretty exciting project, but there are other things going on. Like tax and RRSP season. I know, it sounds so lame! When did this happen that we have to be worried about RRSP's?! I guess around the same time I started not checking the price of groceries. So, because I am an avoider of many things, I have not bought any RRSP's up till now (one of the many benefits of Jake is that there is a strong motivation for us to be smart with money for the crazy projects we are taking on.). There is a chunk of money begging to make more money, especially because you get a significant tax return because of it. We have a financial guy, who is really great. He is trustworthy and smart and kind. Very important for someone like me who avoided filing taxes for 3 years. (Yes, I really did do that. You are not alone) He is very good at presenting the options and letting us choose. Here is the rub: conventional investing means...

Most of the people who come over immediately decry our plan to renovate the kitchen because the current one is so 'cute!' and 'retro!' and 'how can you get rid of that stove?'. I didn't really put much stock in their claims until I saw this on apartmenttherapy.com THESE PEOPLE HAVE OUR STOVE! (except ours is cooler, because the temperature thingy on the top lights up, and there is a toggle switch for the warming oven AND there are instructions on how hot and long to cook everything you could possibly want on the inside of the door). Maybe we are making a mistake? (just kidding, Jaker!)

You know, sometimes the research does pay off! It's pretty amazing, actually. We were, as I wrote, initially discouraged by the lack of choice in the fridge we wanted - the two brands we thought made 30" french door fridges, Samsung and GE, did not get great reviews online. Especially GE. People hate that brand! So yesterday we went to one more store, Midland Appliances, where the sales guy told us that KitchenAid, Whirlpool, and Maytag are all coming out with 30" French door fridges in the next few months. Success! So now we know! By getting a smaller fridge and changing up the pantry on the end, we can gain an extra FOOT of counter/cupboard space. Isn't that incredible? I'll answer for you: YES IT IS. ALSO: Jake has been set on a gas stove since he ever first started dreaming about renovating his house but more than one person has told us now to consider induction . It transfers heat through the glass top with magnets, is hella fast to heat and cool, and s...

A few posts ago I wrote about the tiny size of our kitchen, which is presenting more than one designing challenge. We got some initial drawings back from a highly recommended cabinet maker. We were really excited to see them, but they just seem too chaotic - we're afraid the kitchen will look cramped. So, these are a little confusing, and since I can't figure out how to rotate them, you have to rotate your head to see them properly. Probably the one that is the easiest to understand is the aerial view. The stove is at the back of the kitchen, where we currently have counter. The sink is under the window, facing west, where our stove currently is. The fridge will be where the microwave currently is (btw, we are 90% sure we are not including a microwave into our design. Life change!). This is a rough drawing, and there are many things that will be tweaked before/if we go ahead with this builder. The reason for this post, mostly, is this has forced the issue of applia...