March 8th, 2010 by admin

I am getting very excited and equally nervous about our upcoming trip.  I am freaking out about how to handle traveling alone with Sera.  In any case, I am very excited to not have the boatload of schoolwork to worry about that I am finishing up with right now.  Tomorrow night is my finance midterm and I’ve turned in the smaller of the two ridiculous papers that I’m assigned right now.  I’m still trying to get packed and make sure I remember everything.  It’s amazing how someone so small can have so much stuff!

Today, I had to take Sera to her 4 month check-up, complete with shots.  I always hate taking her to get her shots because she’s hurting and there’s nothing I can do for her.

Here’s mommy’s pretty little princess:

March 1st, 2010 by admin

So, after months of putting off trying to fix the laptop, it has been determined that if I spend about $400 on sending it to HP’s repair shop, I might have a fixed laptop. SO, I guess someday soon I’ll be in the market for a good netbook. Any suggestions/recommendations? Oh yeah…I want something…pink.  =P

February 27th, 2010 by admin

I would like to take this moment to complain. Last time I checked, the MBA program was designed for people who work and have other commitments outside of school. This is why we are only expected to take between 1 and 3 classes at a time. How, then, can a professor justify assigning a 30+ page paper due halfway through the semester? More importantly, how can said professor justify assigning an ADDITIONAL 15 page paper ON TOP of that 30+ page paper, due in 2 weeks?!

This is all on top of a new job, new baby, house to clean, husband to take care of, dinner to make, and another class’ work. Ugh…

February 23rd, 2010 by admin

How is it possible that I am sick again? Still, maybe? I hope it’s the same thing I had last week, but geez, what cold goes away for a week and comes back again? Yesterday, late afternoon, I came down with a wicked sore throat, stuffy nose, and sore muscles and joints. Today is the same.
Oh, and to add insult to injury, Atlas ate one of my library books. Do you suppose the library will accept the old “My dog ate my library book” excuse? I didn’t think so either.

February 21st, 2010 by admin

So, this weekend is John’s birthday and we are celebrating with food.  Tonight we went to Red Lobster, which I always seem to think sounds better than it actually ends up being, then I always end up thinking that I paid too much for this meal that wasn’t that good.  Even so, we had a good time.

We came home and I endeavored on phase two of the great cheesecake experiment.  Results were similar to phase one.  Will need to reevaluate procedure and/or ingredients.

Birthdays, to me, are more important than any other birthday because it’s the one day you get to celebrate just that one person.  I think people should get more presents on their birthday than even Christmas, but then again, I’m not religious, so I guess that’s sort of biased.

In any case, it was a good night.

February 20th, 2010 by admin

Tonight we are trying attempt #2 at the perfect mini cheesecake recipe.  Here’s the ingredient list:

Crust:

12 halves of graham crackers, crushed into crumbs (about 1 cup)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

4 tablespoons (half stick) butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:

3 blocks cream cheese, slightly softened

3 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

Beat butter, graham crackers, brown sugar, and cinnamon on low to medium speed until crumbly.

Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla extract together until creamy.  Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth.  Spoon crust mixture into 12 muffin cups then top with filling mixture.  This will yield a significant extra amount of filling, but as for now I am focused more on perfecting the correct ratios of ingredients than the outcome of leftovers.

Bake at 350 degrees for fifteen minutes to half an hour or until filling is slightly browned and firm to the touch.  Let cool before serving.

February 20th, 2010 by admin

John decided to change hosting servers so I’ve had to redesign the appearance of my blog site.  There will be much more development forthcoming, I’m sure, but for now, this is all I have time to put together.

For Sera’s first Valentine’s Day, she got a bag of candy and valentines at day care.  John and I went out to dinner at Teller’s, which is always a nice experience (though my root vegetables were thoroughly drenched in vinegar) and Sera slept through dinner, so that was an additional bonus.

This weekend is John’s birthday, so that means going out to eat again – probably for sushi – yay!

Sera is now sitting up and can sit in her new exersaucer on her own.  She’s started giggling and laughing at people and at being tickled on her tummy.  She loves the stuffed lion she got from her grandma for Christmas and likes to chew on his crinkly mane.

All three of us got sick last weekend.  It was a nasty cold with sore throat and stuffy noses.  Luckily, we were able to recover within a couple of days and Sera handled it like a trooper.

She’s also started teething so she’s slobbering all over everything and putting everything in her mouth.  (Disinfectant for everyone!)  She’s working hard on sleeping through the night and has managed to get to 7-9 hour stretches at a time, which is really great for both John and I.

I have a ton going on with work and school, so I’m just trying to hold on and not get too stressed out until our vacation in March.

February 8th, 2010 by admin

I think my brain’s shut off today.  Since I can’t remember what I was going to write, here are some new pictures to fulfill your update craving!

January 29th, 2010 by admin

This week was crazy-busy.  Monday was the only relatively normal day (aside from maybe today…).  Tuesday, the boss and I went to a luncheon in Kansas City with the AMA.  The speaker was one of the contributing bloggers at Garmin’s corporate blog.  It was informative and the food was great.  I was slightly disappointed with the speaker’s ability to speak intelligibly about corporate blog policy, but I did get some good ideas on how to generate content for our internal blog.  The luncheon was at Figlio’s in Kansas City. Right before the luncheon, the dentist called with an opening for my root canal on Thursday.  (Goody.)

On Wednesday, I worked from home in the morning and had a dental cleaning around noon.  It’s always a challenge to be productive with Sera at home with me, but it’s nice to have her there.  I love spending time with her.  She really is the center of my world right now.

Yesterday (Thursday) I went into the dentist again for the root canal.  About an hour into the procedure, Dr. Houck stopped and told me that she didn’t see any decay that had made it’s way into my nerve, so the tooth is still viable.  She finished clearing out the decay, did the build-up and put a temporary cap on.  We will see if the decay continues or if this cleaning out solved the issue.  We will recheck at the end of February before putting a permanent cap on.  (Whew!  Managed to get out of that one!)  I still have the second procedure, a root canal on my bottom left molar, to do at the beginning of March.

Then, last night, I had class from 5:30 to 8:15 so I didn’t get home until about 8:30.  It’s exhausting getting all of this stuff done, but I’ll be glad when I do.  My classes this semester are going to be pretty challenging and time-consuming.  I am a little worried, to be honest, about making sure I have time to get everything done.  I have done so well up until now, it would be a shame to throw away all my hard work by overburdening myself.  Oh well, it gives me something to focus on for this weekend.  (Someday I’ll have time to really focus on that scrapbook for Sera…)

January 22nd, 2010 by admin

This week I’ve finally been able to catch up on all the things I’ve had to put off for money’s sake, like eye doctor and dentist’s visits. Unfortunately, it looks like the combination of putting off treatment earlier and being pregnant have resulted in a hefty dental bill upcoming. Between several fillings and two root canals, complete with crowns, I will be owing upward of $2000 after insurance. Apparently we only have $1500 total dental coverage per year – a completely asinine arrangement if you ask me. Today, I’ll get to do the fun part and go pick out some frames for some new glasses. Hopefully, my new prescription will be correct. The last two times I went to the eye doctor, I was pretty unhappy with the results. It seemed like maybe my eyes weren’t the problem. I was pretty happy with the optometrist yesterday, though, and feel a lot more confident that this time around I’ll be getting what I’m supposed to. At least I can take solace in the fact that these things are finally being taken care of. Now I just need to get my car’s oil changed and the house cleaned and I’ll feel a bit more together.

Sera’s doing great. We discovered a week or so ago that she is supposed to be sleeping a lot more than she was. We decided to try implementing a more scheduled sleep regimen for her and it seems to be working pretty well, though we’re still in the transition, I think. She now goes to bed around 6:30pm and wakes every 3 hours or so to eat and be changed, then goes back to sleep without much fuss. We also invested in a nice new space heater for her room, as our old one only worked on one setting and was pretty rusty (it IS 24 years old!). In any case, we’re getting along.

I have found an area that I may actually have some interest in pursuing as a career. I am currently working in Knowledge Management, which is basically Information Systems Management. We handle all of the explicit knowledge within the company, including a technical solutions database and intranet portal. Branching from this experience, I may pursue a career in public relations or marketing with a specialization or focus in social media. I also like brand management and marketing strategies. Don’t know what it’s going to take to get into these fields, but my supervisor seems to appreciate and support my new-found interests and is supportive of me attending various AMA (American Marketing Association) events, webinars, and whatnot. We’ll see…something to pursue further. Also, I am taking International Strategic Marketing Management this semester, so I hope that will be interesting.