Other Job Possibilities

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I'm going to talk about work.  Some more. 

Just like any other working human being, there are days I like my job and feel fulfilled as I run out the door.  Other days, not so much, and I run out the door even faster.

Anytime I try to think about what else I would want or could possibly do - I am clueless.  Truly, clueless.  Honestly, I think I get stuck because there are many wonderful things about my job/where I work that keep me from looking outside of my window-less cubicle walls.

My undergraduate degree is in Marketing, and my master's degree is in Engineering & Technology Management, the latter of which is tied pretty specifically to where I currently work, but not exclusively.  Now, almost six years out of undergrad, I feel like I'm so far removed from Marketing that my only option would be going back to an entry level sales position and work my hind end up the ladder.  No, thanks.

When I really sit down to think about what other job possibilities might be, this is what comes to mind - in varying degrees of seriousness:

- Grab my childhood joke books and becoming a comedienne

- Start asking strangers if I can take their family pictures and build a portfolio for a photography business

- Pen a series of children's books

- Become a voice-over actor

- Create new names for crayon colors, Baskin Robbins ice cream flavors, and Girl Scout Cookies 

- Run an in-home daycare  

- Open and operate an indoor learning/play facility

- Write witty greeting cards for Hallmark

- Become a children's fashion consultant and teach parents the keys to making their child/children look homeless in public

Yeah.  Maybe I should just stay right where I am.

Take Luck,
LP

Book Worm

Since finishing my master's degree program last May, I have been a reading fiend - seriously devouring anything that isn't related to systems engineering, managing people, and/or number crunching.

Here are my recent favorite reads:

11/22/63 by Stephen King - This book was so good, that I've now read it twice.  It is unlike any book I've ever read and may have every type of possible genre all wrapped into this one book.  The main character uses a time portal to go back to 1958 to try and prevent the Kennedy assassination from happening.  Thrilling.

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Inferno by Dan Brown - Dan Brown is my man.  I've read all of his books and loved each one, with Inferno being no different.  Robert Langdon, the principal character from The DaVinci Code, Angels and Demons, and The Lost Symbol, returns and finds himself in Italy - but doesn't remember how he got there.  The one thing I get tired of with 'ol Danny Boy's books is the aesthetic details of scenery and artifacts, but he does make up for it with character and plot development, and action. 

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The Cuckoo's Calling by Robert Galbraith - Robert Galbraith is actually a pseudonym for JK Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series.  Because she penned this book, of course I was going to read it.  The book tells the story of a supermodel who dies (presumed suicide) and whose family hires a private investigator to (gasp!) investigate. I read and read, and I kept waiting to get sucked in, but didn't until the very end.  The ending was great, but to be honest, this book was a hard read for me.  To make it a more pleasurable experience, I read it with an English accent.  I hear there's a sequel in the works and you can bet I'll get suckered into reading that one, too.  Cuz I'm loyal like that.

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The Book Thief by Markus Zusak -  A book I surprisingly loved about a young girl growing up with foster parents in Nazi Germany during World War II.  Let's just say that after I got over the initial confusion of who was narrating the story (hello, it's Death), I shed a few tears and loved the relationships she formed with other characters during the course of the story. 

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Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn - After hearing from several people that I should read this one, I did and I couldn't put it down.  Gone Girl is about a couple who have transplanted themselves from swanky New York to the Midwest.  Their marriage seems a bit rocky (depending on who you ask) and then Amy disappears.  A little dark, but this book was fun.  I wasn't a big fan of the ending, but I'm interested to see what they do with it on the big screen.  And I don't care what anyone else says, I'm a Ben Affleck fan.

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Dark Places by Gillian Flynn - Clearly, I like murder mysteries and Gillian's style of writing because I then quickly read her second book, Dark Places.  This one is about Libby Day, the lone survivor of a Midwest massacre in which three of her other family members are killed.  Her testimony put her brother in jail for the murders, but after being approached by a group of people interested in the crime, Libby starts looking into the details.  Again, super dark - darker than Gone Girl, but really, really good.

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Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn - Need I say it again?  I dig a good murder mystery and the way Gillian changes the perspective in her narration hooks me.  Sharp Objects follows Camille, a Chicago journalist who is tasked with returning to her small, Missouri hometown to investigate the murder of two young girls.  It's clear that Camille has some baggage, but she gets to the bottom of it.  More darkness, with plot lines you don't even want to think about being reality, but very, very good.

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Where'd You Go Bernadette? by Maria Semple - I needed some comical relief after spending so much time with Gillian Flynn.  Enter Maria Semple and Bernadette, the story of a Seattle mother who, long story short, loses her shit and goes missing.  Her husband is a Microsoft executive and their poor daughter is in the middle of the mess.  Of  course, I really enjoyed the references to Seattle/the Northwest.  A quick, fun, and funny read if you are looking for something light.

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I'm currently reading And the Mountains Echoed by Khaled Hosseini, who also wrote The Kite Runner and A Thousand Splendid Suns.  I'm just starting, but based on how much I enjoyed the first two books, I don't expect to be disappointed. 

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Have you read any of these books?  I would love to hear what you think.  Have you read any good books lately that I should add to my reading list?  Please share!

Take Luck,

LP

Humbled

Back in college, a teammate of mine shared with me a quote of her Dad's that has truly stuck with me ever since.  

"Humble yourself and you shall be raised.  Raise yourself and you shall be humbled." 

Now, since becoming a mama, that quote rings true more than everrrrrrrrrrrrr.  I mean, I'm considering writing a mommy manual and making Chapter 1: Prepare for The Humble Smack Down.

Cam, as with other wee humans, has this way of destroying every small victory I even attempt to fist pump when it comes to being his mother and raising him to be a functioning member of society.  This is not to say that I think I have mastered ANY thing related to motherhood or child rearing, but every once in a while, I feel like I've at least made some headway in my quest.  Only to be reminded that I've got a lot to learn.  

Tiff and I joke about it often, that we will tell each other about something our boys have done (or in some cases, stopped doing), or something we feel we've finally got figured out, only to be humbled.  Quickly humbled.  Humbled quickly.  

Here's how:

- When Cam was resisting sleeping through the night but sleeping pretty decent stretches of time at night, someone would ask about his sleep (I quickly began to loathe this question), I would regale them with his sleeping abilities and then, like Richard Sherman, the midnight monster would come out of nowhere and knock me back on my sleep deprived behind.  No more sleeping decent stretches for several nights.  Humbled.  

- Camden loves bath time.  Oh, wait.  No he doesn't.  Screams and refusal to sit down in the bath tub commence.  Humbled.

- Attempting to plan out the day with activities/errands and his nap schedule.  I plan for a one-nap day and he clearly (clearly) needs two.  Or, I plan for two and he refuses the second.  Humbled.

- It's the weekend and with Daylight Saving Time, I guess Cam will sleep until about 7:30am.  In hopes to wash my face and feed myself before releasing him from his bed chamber, I set my alarm for 7:00am.  Not so fast there, mommy.  He wakes up scream shrieking at 5:00.  Humbled.

- After three months of new daycare, I think he's finally stopped crying at drop off and I shout it to the blogging rooftops.  Yeah, that lasted a solid two days.  Cue tears, pouty lip, and the dreaded silent cry.  Humbled.

- Hammy is such a great eater and will eat anything we put on his plate.  The next day he's throwing every piece of food (that he just wolfed down the day prior) off his highchair tray and onto the floor.  Maybe he is my child after all?  Humbled.

- After telling Ryan how sweet Cam had been all day, he (Cam, not Ryan) strolls over, sits in my lap, and bites my forearm.  Humbled.  And bleeding.

See what I mean?  Clearly, I could go on.  But why embarrass myself even more?

In all seriousness, I know this is just a kid being a kid - constantly changing and letting you think you've got your shit together, only to prove you wrong, wrong, wrong-o.  In all reality, if I've learned one thing my 15 month tenure as a mama, it's that you've got to find the humor somewhere - especially in humbling situations.

Take Luck,
LP

Camden Lately

I just can't help myself but tell you about my little man cub.  My now-15 month old little man. 

- 15 months old and "growing on his own growth curve" - weighing in at 20 lbs 12 oz (7th percentile) and 29 inches long (4th percentile)

- Climbs. On. Everything.

- Showing love for Brock and Sonny by petting and laying his head on them.  He's super gentle with Brock but needs continued reminders to be gentle with Sonny and not tug on her ears.

- Will shove his hand down my shirt any time he feels like it.  Any time.  Any place.

- Is quite the snuggler, loves to give hugs,  and has started backing up into us when he wants to sit in our laps

- Totally and 100% knows how to nod his head "yes," but refuses and violently shakes his head "no," instead

- May be very fitting for him to be a chipmunk, squirrel, or hamster for Halloween considering his apparent need to see how much food he can hide in his squishy, puffy cheeks

- Wants his breakfast, lunch, and dinner... And yours too.  Offer him a bite and he may take off a finger

- Knows the sign for "more."  Especially when it comes to asking for more of Costco's weekend sample size four-cheese tortellini.

- Has developed quite the attachment to his blanket and lovey.  He may or may not get slightly frustrated when trying to pull his blanket through the crib slats.

- Speaking of attachments, he also recently found his St. Louis Cardinals hat and loves to wear it.  I don't mind - even though it makes him look like he's about to walk out the door to Kindergarten.

- Knows to trot down the hall to his room when we say, "Time for night-night" and "Let's change your diaper," and literally runs to the bathroom when it's "Bath time."

- Also knows that the dirty diapers go in the Diaper Genie and loves to help throw them away after a lift from mama

- Insists on emptying drawers of kitchen utensils, sippy cups, place mats, and plastic bags every. single. night. 

- Goes straight for the opened box of tampons in the bottom bathroom cupboard.  Every time.

- We've transitioned to have pacifiers only available at nap and bedtime.  Hell hath no fury like Camden spotting Roberto (the monkey pacifier) or Franky (the frog pacifier) outside the baby cage.

- Can point to his head, and maybe if you're lucky - his nose, too 

- Drinks milk and water from a sippy cup.  I swear our neighbors can probably hear him gulping his water (and subsequent gasps for air) on a daily basis.  

- Really, really likes to throw his sippy cup to the ground from his highchair perch, but will clap for himself when he does happen to place it nicely on the tray.

- Also really gets a kick out of feeding himself yogurt.

- How dare I try and escape to try and pee behind a closed bathroom door yesterday.  He stood yelling, "Mamamamamama!" and knocking (yes, knocking) on the door for the duration of my attempted alone time.

- Loves to dance and spin in a circle

- Those four molars I talked about two months ago?  They're still working their way through.  Good times.

I say this all the time - but I am truly, truly loving this age.  I try and try to get time to stop, but it's not listening.  Instead, I'm trying to live and enjoy the "right now" and soak up my beautiful, sweet, and fun-ny boy.  Before he turns terrible two and I want to give him away.  Just kidding.

Take Luck,
LP

Latest Obsession

I didn't used to think that I had an addictive personality, but clearly - Lara Bars disproved that theory.

My latest obsession?  Coconut oil.

I already knew of the wonders coconut oil could do when cooking and baking, but I'm just now learning how amazing this stuff is when used outside the kitchen. 

I kept seeing a blog post link being shared on Facebook recently and decided to see what oil pulling was all about.  It immediately struck my interest because I feel like I could brush my teeth three times a day, every day, and they still wouldn't be as white as I'd like.  I'm normally way behind on anything trendy, so what did I do first?  I asked my three confidants - Tiff, Rachel, and Cara, if they had heard of oil pulling.  They always know about trendy things lightyears before me.

To my surprise, none of them had.

Basically, you swish 1 tsp. of coconut oil (or any other vegetable based oil) around in your mouth for 20 minutes.  The sticky oil then attracts and pulls bacteria from your mouth and body and dissolves it.   Whaaaaat? 

I mulled over the thought of swishing coconut oil in my mouth for 20 minutes and was a little intimidated.  I don't like coconut and I get tired of swishing mouth wash after 20 seconds so... This didn't sound too appealing.  With no other reason to discredit this practice - I gave it whirl.  

During my first attempt I was totally caught off guard by the need to sort of chew the oil at first (gross), and the need to actively remind myself not to swallow it.  Once I got over those humps, I was swishing away.  Surprisingly, the 20 minutes went by fairly quickly, and now, as a more seasoned oil puller, I've swished while showering, blogging, or doing some other task that will keep my eyes off the timer. 

I've been doing this daily for a week now and can totally tell a difference in my pearly whites!  Apparently, in addition to oil pulling whitening teeth, it can strengthen your gums/teeth/jaw and help with tooth sensitivity, prevent cavities and gingivitis, rid acne/eczema and other skin issues, provide a general body detox, cure a hangover and migraine, improve sleep, clear sinuses and provide allergy relief, help halitosis and general pain issues, and so many more things!

Because coconut oil is a natural anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-inflammatory, oil pulling has prompted me to become slightly obsessed with coconut oil.  I've started using it as a mask on my face to help moisturize and eliminate redness and smearing it on Camden's bum to keep redness/diaper rashes at bay.

Other uses for coconut oil? 

- In place of/addition to Lanolin cream to sooth cracked or irritated nursing nipples (Uhhh, why was this not readily available in our home in December 2012?)
- A tiny dab rubbed on your hands and then through hair will help get rid of frizz
- Topically, can help skin heal faster after injury or infection
- Externally, for pets struggling with skin issues (I'm looking at you, Brock)

Seriously, the list goes on, and on, and on!

So, tell me.  Have you used coconut oil inside or outside the kitchen?  Have you heard of or tried oil pulling?  Inquiring minds want to know!

(Rachel tells me that Costco sells giant jars of coconut oil.  I may or may not become a coconut oil hoarder.)