Happy Spring

Well, it's been a while since I've posted, even though I swore I would do better. And quite a bit has happened.

I'm an Appraiser!

I FINALLY got my Real Estate Appraiser's License issued and once I get a few more things in line (like insurance, etc.) I can start appraising houses on my own. I am soooo appreciative of my husband who took the time to teach me the business and supported me on this career change. So now I really need to hit the pavement and get my website built and work on some other marketing strategies. I'm a little nervous (baby-bird-like) to venture on my own, but I know Dave will still help me, and overall I'm excited to immerse my self even more in the exciting (and sometimes depressing) world of real estate.

Easter Time

Easter came with all it's activities and the kids and grown-ups have enjoyed the season (for the most part). Bridget got to participate in an Easter egg hunt at Tumble America (where she takes gymnastics- "hand-sticks" as she says) with her BFF, Alex. They had a great time and enjoyed visiting with the Easter Bunny, himself!

Dave and I left the girls at my mom's house, and we snuck off to Lake Tahoe to enjoy the last days of the ski season. We got fresh snow, but the weather cooperated enough that we were able to ski all day without freezing too much. Not bad for mid-April! We even escaped without losing any money to the casino or any horrible chocolate-martini-hangovers!

Easter at Mom's

Then we went back to Mom's for the holiday feast and the official Easter egg hunt. The girls really enjoyed their time and grandma's and had a lot of fun searching for their eggs. My aunts and uncles also stopped by for the day as did my step-brother and sister-in-law. It was so nice seeing everyone, but ov course, chasing two toddlers around and keeping everyone out of trouble doesn't leave much time for catching up. Oh well, it was great to see everyone.

Here is a Gallery/Slideshow of our Easter Festivities:

http://www.carinlane.com/easter-2009/index.html

Well, as usual, I'm short on time, but I hope to complete my update soon!

Stand by.....

Hello, hello!

There will be a post on this blog every week....even if I have to make up random things or ramble on about nothing.

So here's the topic this week...FaceBook. (I'm watching The Soup right now...I see next week's topic!)

I love FaceBook. So does Dave, even though he wouldn't admit to it. It has connected me with all my old school friends, and keeps me in touch with old colleagues. I remember seeing a 20/20 about it, thinking, that's nothing special. Then my sister made me sign up to see some video or picture album or something, and I'm thinking, "Great...one more thing to sign up for and try to manage account info... (sigh)" I've already let Jen know about my silent cursing, followed by my, "I was wrong...I love FB".

Now I am completely addicted. Since I am no longer going to an office and connecting with my lady friends, I have resorted to FB to connect me to the outside world. Plus, I LOVE seeing my old friends and seeing where they are now. I think FaceBook will be the death of the High School Reunion (thank goodness). I don't need to go to some lame dinner/party to see what everyone's up to...and this way I connect with those I care about...many of whom wouldn't be at the reunion anyway. Awesome! I just love knowing what everyone is up to. Everyone has turned out to be so interesting and wonderful, I am constantly impressed with all my friends. And I love the opportunity to increase my circle of friends beyond my daily interactions.

So, if you aren't on FaceBook...get on it. Old, young, popular, and otherwise...try it out, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised. Add me as your friend, or better yet, create some type of page that hundreds of thousands will become fans.

I don't need to be #1....right?

I'm not going to give any lame excuses for letting my blog slip, like I've been too busy or any other nonsense...because let's face it, if I have time to watch American Idol or The Bachelor, I have time. What I also have is a paralysis and habit to do nothing when I don't think I have the perfect means to the end.

I find that I have a debilitating condition that has plagued much of my adult life. My lack of achievement may seem like laziness (I refuse to think anyone would even consider inability as the perpetrator), but I believe it is my fear of anything less than perfection. Perfection may even be a little high, a fear of failure is probably more like it. I think I take "A job worth doing is worth doing well" to an extreme. If I don't have a perfect plan or know exactly the "right" way to do something, I end up doing nothing at all. I am trying to remind myself that success isn't being #1, in this world there is room for a whole lot of successful #2s and #3s and so forth. For example, there isn't only one successful coffee company. OK Starbucks might be the tops, but there are a slew of other companies turning profits (maybe not in the current economy) and who have fans and followers. The point is that there is room enough in the world for diversity, and unlike Olympic sports, being #2 and #3, even #20 can still be life-changing, wildly successful, and completely fulfilling.

So, in a very public way, I will be attempting to overcome this curse by posting something, anything, even just a thought, a little tidbit....and it doesn't have to be perfect, life-altering, or revolutionary. It will be my "therapy"...probably just what everyone wants to be involved in...and by everyone, I am talking about the 2 or 3 people who say they read this. My hope is that I will be motivated to take more chances in life and be less afraid of failure.

Well, I've used up all my time today and this is about as enlightening as it's going to get (I hear American Idol calling...talk about people with no fear of failure). Stay tuned for the fun to start!

Post-Holiday Relief

Well, it's been quite a while since my last post...nearly 20 days. Shameful! So now it's time to blog about what I've been up to and give excuses for my delinquent posts.

Shortly after my last post, we got an offer on our house. We had it very quietly on the market in the hopes of selling it before it went down anymore in value. While we really liked the house, and I especially adored the family friendly floorplan, we knew we didn't want to be there for 15 years so we felt it was time to liquidate. We were fortunate enough to get an offer from buyers paying with cash, so that was an extra bonus of not needing to worry about precarious financing in this uncertain economy. The big catch was that they wanted to be in the house before Christmas. So let me reieterate the timeline we were faced with....they signed a contract on Tuesday, 12/9, the house closed on Friday 12/12, and we moved out on 12/19!!!! 10 days total to agree to sell the house and move out...at holiday time!!! We were so lucky to find a beautiful rental home very close by in a great neighborhood of similar square footage and quality that was ready immediately. It was really crazy to pack and move and then host the holidays, but we are down to only about 2 boxes left to unpack and a few pictures to hang, so I think we've done pretty good, as tough as it was.

So, friends, please stop by and see our new crib or shoot me an email to get our new address.

Well, very shortly after settling into our new, albeit temporary, home it was time to celebrate the holidays and we were so happy to have my mom and step-father join us from their winter retreat in Arizona. The kids especially love to spend time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Bridget and I made Christmas cookies for Santa, starting the new family of leaving out cookies and milk. I asked Bridget if we should put out chocolate milk or hot cocoa, but she said we couldn't because it would get in his beard...so regular milk it was. Santa left a note in return thanking the girls for the goodies and asking them to continue to be good girls next year. Bridget was so excited to know that Santa came, she excitedly showed the empty plate to all of us.

Christmas morning started with the kids being very excited about their gifts from Santa, including guitars and computers (Leapfrog and V-tech) for the kids and stockings full of toothbrushes, notepads, hairclips and other practical goodies. Unlike some other 3-year-olds I've heard of who really only needed one gift, Bridget was quite content to continue opening gift after gift after gift after gift.... But I do think her favorite gift was the $5 DVD Stuart Little...we've watched it at least 10 times already (oh....have I depicted myself as someone who lets their children watch endless TV?). Courtney really liked her learning purse from Santa, which was surprising since I think it was a last minute choice of his. She actually only cared for Bridget's new Pez dispenser on Christmas morning, until she retreated to her Radio Flyer horsey (Bridet's gift from Santa her 2nd Christmas) for the rest of the morning.

The afternoon was full of feast preparations (thanks Mom!) and a visit from my step-brother and his family. Christmas with three 3-year-olds and a 1-year-old was fun if not a little ...um.... crazy. It was great to see the girls growing and all of their new developments...one of which was the way the grabbed step stools to help themselves to the abundance of cookies, crackers, brownies, and whatever else we had on the counters. I think we all had a great time and it was a wonderful holiday.

In the two days since Christmas, I have overwhelmingly enjoyed the quiet and have even been able to watch the first half of the Jane Eyre mini-series and even Prince Caspian (The Chronicles of Narnia). I just got internet access on my laptop yesterday, so now I can even catch up on emails...and yes, this blog. So, stay posted, I will write more, that will be among many resolutions I plan to attempt to keep in the new year.

Bead in the Nose Incident (aka What Every Parent should Know)

Well, it has been a couple weeks since the incident occurred, but I've been meaning to chronicle the ordeal and publish the solution in an effort to save parents of pre-schoolers and toddlers unneeded stress, anxiety, money, time, and ultimately a trip to the Emergency Room.

So I was at work and checked my voicemail only to discover a message from the daycare director that Bridget had lodged a rock up her nose. Knowing my daughter the way I do, I couldn't help but laugh and roll my eyes. I probably shouldn't have still ben chuckling when I called the director back though, having now painted myself as an unsympathetic mom. Well, I walked over to the daycare to see what I could do, and sure enough she had a very small pebble stuck about halfway up her right nostril. She would start squirming and screaming anytime we tried to get close to her nose. We got some tweezers, but just the sight of them completely freaked her out. I tried to get her to blow her nose, but she was too scared and refused.

Having exhausted every option we could think of, Bridget and I walked back to the hospital and into the Emergency Room. Luckily it was a pretty slow day in the ER and they got us in to see the doctor in less than an hour. So we got the obstruction out....but I was the one that did it.

Here's what I did.....

*** Instructions***
The doctor instructed me to lay Bridget on the bed on her back. I plugged the clear nostril with my hand and then blew into her mouth (like CPR). Just one puff and the pink bead popped right out (along with a fair amount of snot that coated my face...gross).

Yes, it was not a rock or pebble at all, but a pink bead that she had found outside. She liked it so much, she didn't want anyone else to get it....so she put it where no one could get it. Good thinking, Bridget! After the ordeal, Bridget and I went to the cafeteria to lunch on chicken nuggets and chocolate milk, then we walked back to the daycare in time for naps.

New Direction

My goodness, I can't believe it's been so long since I've posted anything. I am shamed by my friend Alison's blog...first for the glorious food, second for the fact that she posts entries daily. I need to get with the program! Well, I think I'll be better now that I have resigned from my job.

Yes, you heard me right. After 10 years....that's since I was 22 (in case you needed help with the math...oops, I've divulged my age)....I have decided to move on. It's definitely bittersweet. My decision is mainly based on the fact that there is no opportunity for internal advancement. The final straw was that my current title and pay are incorrect, a fact with which all of my management has agreed for 3+ years...yet they refuse to correct the injustice.

But I did say this decision was bitterSWEET. There is much to be happy and positive about. There is better opportunity for growth and potential outside of the hospital. And I have decided to pursue avenues in real estate...namely appraising. Yes, I'm aware the economy is, um, well, shaky to put it nicely, and yes, real estate has been the first victim of this catastrophic collapse. However, I've weighed the risks and benefits and feel confident that this will be the beginning of a fabulous chapter in my life, hopefully taking me to great places.

I hope you'll be happy for me. I am!

Happy Halloween

I hope everyone enjoyed a safe and happy Halloween. It is so fun to experience this holiday with children. Our girls have definitely changed our perception and priorities on this holiday (well, everyday really). We started our day with a Trick or Treat Parade through the financial offices at the hospital. Courtney's costume was a hit and she even loved wearing it. I couldn't believe how full Bridget's treat bag was after just going through those offices. She nearly had to drag it back to the daycare.

Later in the evening we handed out candy and then took the kids through the neighborhood. Our block is pretty quiet, but everyone was so nice and it was really nice to meet some people wehadn't before. Even though we took the girls in the red wagon, I still had to carry Courtney quite a bit and after just one block, we were done.

All in all, I gained 10 pounds, but a good time was had by all!