Well, i'm here. Behind on sending baby congrats cards, birthday gifts for Nicole/Chris's cousins, etc. but i did get Valentines cards + desserts done on time. :)
ME
- still loving my job. A lot of my life is my job right now. I'm on a lot of committees which keeps me in meetings on a daily basis. I'm on the building committee for our new space, head of the branding committee, just joined the Athena Award committee & 2 new committees through GCMCP, a minority attorney association that i technically can't even be a part of but who wants to benefit from my skill-set. This is on top of participating in every practice group meeting, attending networking meetings & fancy after-hours dinners for the firm. Whew. I still like to be involved so this laundry list looks like a lot but fits me just fine. Not sure i can add much more and still keep up though.... I got a raise and a bonus at the end of 2011 and get regular accolades from my boss and the Partners. This was a great career and general move for me.
- being so busy means that my book writing has taken a WAY back seat. I had friends edit it a year ago then i revised and had 2 people i trusted re-read it and edit again. I'm on my fifth round of editing. I'm honest enough to say that it's good enough but not great. I have no time to find an agent (that process was taking up hours a night in research, writing inquiries, etc.) so i think i'll head down the self-publishing route. i do think, regularly, that i should take out all sex scenes. i get embarrassed just thinking about my mother or grandmother reading them. I need to finish this editing process and just get it out there but my free time is so valuable that the idea of sitting down to do it is a drag.
- XU teaching is going well. Good class, good students. I got asked to teach the selling class again in the fall. I thought before answering the request from the department chair 'do i really have enough time and energy to keep doing this?' but ultimately i enjoy it and am professionally rewarded by the effort so i said yes. besides, its way-cool to say i'm an adjunct professor. :)
- though i've not said anything to him about it, i feel that my relationship with my husband took a turn in the last several months. if i reflect i think it was at the same time that he got snipped (sorry dear if you didn't want that public). I don't know - maybe it's the fact that he took medical action to solidify our family and that sealed the deal that we're 'whole'. ?? I know part of it is the extra time we spend together carpooling to work where we get an extra hour of 'us' time a day. Maybe it's a blend of all this + raising the kids and feeling professionally successful. I think it's the sum of it that means i have reached a point that I personally fulfilled in about every way. anyway, i've felt a deeper connection with him both emotionally and physically that i find very very very rewarding.
- I think BECAUSE i've reached a point that i feel very 'whole' as a person i've actually come up with what i'd tattoo on me. My whole life i thought tattoos were great but nothing ever stuck out as something i'd want on me permanently. now i have a concept but not yet an image in mind. Jim says go ahead if i feel strongly about it.
- I can't tell you how much i'm looking forward to the end of March when i'm going to Wheeling, VA with the girls. I literally get emotional when i think about how much i love them and miss them. like right now as my eyes are all welled just writing about them. *deep breaths*
- TV shows that DVR/DVDs have allowed me to come to love: Big Bang Theory, Revenge, Parenthood, Design Star, Shark Tank & So You Think You Can Dance. People said it but man it's true - DVR changed my life.
The kids
- They say the frickin' cutest things. I keep meeting to make a box to write them all down in and like the theme of this post, never make the time.
- Nicole is in ballet again and loving it. She's so smart. I know all parents say that about their kids but man, is she. Her vocabulary and thought process are a marvel. I take a lot of pride that i am the one that taught her to read. we picked her kindergarten and are REALLY excited about St. James.
- Chris is an iPad fiend. his favorite game is park math which is actually above his paygrade but who am i to downplay enthusiasm for learning? He also likes doing flashcards because Nicole does them and he's rewarded with gum. We sound out words letter-by-letter (he knows the phonetics for each) and i coach him to put it all together. My goal is to have him reading by 3 1/2. He's in tumbling classes which are ridiculously expensive but they get justified by 'that's why we work' like all expensive things.
Jim
- Softball starts soon & he's hiring a hitting coach. I'm interested to see the result
- His work is good - busy but manageable. He too got a nice raise at the end of 2011 and i'm quite proud of him.
- He and i are getting ready to be busy again with a second rental property we're in the process of buying. Good investment for a reasonable amount of work. That house, provided this all goes through (short sale) will start rehab in March/April most likely.
Looking forward to November's elections - my office is VERY political which leads to both good conversations and razzing. I'm certain that my friends and i will continue the debate as well. I have some hope of converting Lisa to vote Republican (too bad there isn't a Libertarian with a realistic chance...) but she'll probably vote for Obama again just to spite me. ha! *wink*
