Service project, anyone?

I had a conversation the other day with one of my sisters about the ability to ask for help, which most people, myself included, are not so great at. But by necessity I've learned how to do it a little better over the last year. But I need a little more practice. And yep, the Thelins still need help.

We desperately need help with a couple of things. They are things that Todd v1.0 would have typically been able to do by himself or with my help, but Todd v2.0 is having trouble getting up the wherewithal, and getting organized to do it, I'm clueless, and we don't have the money to hire it out. So if anyone has expertise (or some experience, or even just willingness to learn by doing?) and wants to earn some brownie points (and hey, I might just throw in some actual brownies to sweeten the deal) we could sure use some help with:

• Our sprinklers. Heads being replaced, a broken pipe fixed, basic stuff like that. We've never had sprinklers to deal with before. We did manage to get them turned on, figured out what zone is what, and even changed a wire to hook up one zone that was miswired. All by our selves! But the knowing how to fix stuff is beyond our realm of combined capabilities.
  
• Hooking up ceiling fans. We bought fans just after we moved in last year, then Todd had his stroke, and I didn't want to install them in case we had to put the house back on the market. Turns out that we are blessedly able to pay our mortgage, for now, so they need to be installed before we wind up roasted and basted in our own juices. I think the fans need to have another wire run, because we just have light fixtures there now, and I want, if at all possible, to have both the light and the fan on dimmer switches. I know, picky picky.
• And if you happen to have an aerator, or know some one who does, our poor lawn, which, crappy as it looks, is actually immensely improved over last year, needs it badly. So that when our sprinklers are fixed, the water can actually get down in there.
  

If you can spare a few hours to help with any of these things will you please call either Todd or me? Thanks for your continued help and prayers. With God, and with good neighbors, family, and friends, all things are possible.

Good bye, ranks of the unemployed, hello ranks of the under employed

I can't write a ton because, well, on top of it also being my first day back s a solo parent (you wouldn't think it would be this difficult an adjustment) I'm also sick as a dog. Or maybe a pig?

But Todd is working. He started today. He's working at Deseret Industries, (hereafter referred to as the DI) which is a thrift store/vocational rehab/humanitarian center run by the LDS Church, for those of you unfamiliar. He will be cashiering, and working 4-5 days a week, from 10-4:30.

This morning he got up and out the door on time, completely on his own, no nagging from me whatsoever. He drove today, but since the location is so near our house, he has plans to ride his bike on days when it's not raining or too warm, so he'll be getting some exercise to boot.

He will also probably be starting at the Applied Technology College. He's finding web design to be extremely difficult now, and will probably need to change directions career-wise.

I'll write more when I can think without it hurting.