Not to sound caulky...

[soapandwater]

I can now officially caulk the bathtub! My sister showed me how (she works in maintenance right now and is learning all this awesome stuff), and we worked on the tub. I am going to do the part that connects to the floor tomorrow.

I am thoroughly excited!

My list of accomplishments keeps growing: I can poach salmon, make awesome iced tea, and caulk a bathtub. I repeat: I can caulk a bathtub, which is much easier than washing dishes by hand.

I am so a grown-up now.
_________________
When you got a hundred voices singin',
who can hear a lousy whistle blow?

[Lyssalicious]

First of all, the thread title made me giggle.

Secondly, wow! That's impressive! Some days my biggest accomplishment is getting out of bed.

[lizzymahoney]

I'm pretty dang old. When I was growing up in the 60's, girls were not allowed to do many things. Like it was a law or something... Anyhow, I was a 'difficult' child so if playing with a power drill kept me occupied, my parents were okay with it.

All these years later, I am still surprised to find young women who have never had experience in practical household repair. Not disappointed, but bewildered maybe.

Caulking is a good thing. It does take some skill but probably more patience. I know most of my caulk jobs show where I stuck in a fingernail to see if it cured yet...

[Mathias]

Isn't it amazing how something like caulk can make you feel like a superhero? Good job! :)

About two months ago, without any prior electrical experience, I installed a programmable thermostat in my house. It took me about two hours from start to finish, but I did it all by myself...and it surprisingly works. Still! I was so proud of myself.

And with my newfound confidence I attempted to install a ceiling fan, only to be quickly humbled when I failed miserably. Heh. We can't win 'em all. :)

[melmelon]

How powerful!!!! To the annoyance of my husband or FIL, I compare all things of THAT nature to cake decorating (I used to bake for a living before babies)......drywall mudding....oh, that's like crumbcoating, right? Caulking... that's like using a pastry bag, right?

I also find that if there are some things I don't WANT to do, but need doing....all I usually need to do is get all the stuff together and tell him to either show me how or watch me break something....like sunday...I had asked him repeatedly(read: nagged) to either show me or dihimself how to change the oil in my truck.....ya ya ya....so I took all the crap out to the driveway when the kids were down for their nap....got the book out and started....two minutes later....he was doing it...sometimes I only keep him around 'cause he's good looking....he's getting worried about his "job security" with me....we both know I just let him stick around to lift the really heavy stuff and take the garbage out ;-P

[smudgy_cat]

Whoo hoo for caulking! Next on your list should be installing a new faucet and replacing a toilet. Those two skills alone will save you many times in life.

It is surprising how many women don't know how to do stuff like this. My friend has been griping about a leaking faucet in her bathroom for years, and while it isn't the most fun, it's relatively easy to replace. Even with numerous return trips to the hardware stores and a half dozen mumbled expletives, it could be completed in under 4 hours.

While I may not want to actually do a lot of stuff around the house, I know how to do a lot. I've learned how to do drywall, spackling, linoleum/tile/carpet installation, and how to paint properly. None of those are on my top 10 list of fun things to do, but if I needed to, I could take care of it myself. It might take longer than a pro, but it would turn out decently.

[soapandwater]

Nothing in our home ever looks like it's done by a professional, so I hardly care that my first caulking job does not look that great. Should anyone dare point out its imperfections, I can always say, "Well, it took care of that nasty bit of mildew."

And, really, that's what it boils down to.

It's so much fun getting to practice over here rather than waiting until I have a house of my own ten years from now and messing up there. That's why my mom is sometimes a saint. She actually said, "It looks GOOD!" "No, Mom, not really, but thanks!"

I also put a new light switch cover on today. That wouldn't sound so impressive if the idiots before us hadn't painted over the light switch multiple times.

It was definitely an interesting experience. Except now we need to repaint some around the fixture. Oh, well. One step at a time.
_________________
When you got a hundred voices singin',
who can hear a lousy whistle blow?

[smudgy_cat]

An easy way to deal with the light switch thing is to take a sharp razor blade or exacto knife and slice around the light plate. You should be able to pop it off pretty easily. My dad showed me this trick when I had to remove light switches that had been caulked in place by the previous tenants.

I've heard that squeegee-ing the tile after a shower is a good way to eliminate mildew problems. I need to start doing this, but shower tile water really grosses me out for some reason.

[sun bear]

stuff like that pleases me too, i.e when i hang a painting straight or i figure out how to fix the toilet. BTW for mildew, you can make a half and half bleach water solution and spray it on mildew and then wipe it away with a paper towel, it really gets rid of mildew. Also there's this stuff called damprid that you can get at linen's and things it sucks water out of the air and drips it into a container which you then flush or toss down the drain, that way the room isn't so steamy and mildewy.

jt