Thought I'd post a new pic of the Aimster...

Sick kiddo!

I was just writing to my good friend Ms K about Aimee's woes. I absolutely hate it when she's sick. I can handle having a migraine for four straight weeks (which I am on week five of now - it's not too fun) but I can't stand it when she's sick. She's too little for that!

Took her to the doctor on Tuesday. When the doctor was putting her stethoscope all over her tummy Aimee kept saying, "All done" until she was practically yelling it at the doctor. Like "Get off of me, you meanie! That's cold!" My kid definitely has a temper and knows what she likes and doesn't like. And she's not afraid to tell you all about it. That will serve her well in life. And it will give her mother a nervous tic.

She's been really cuddly and needy (not the way my kid usually is) so you know she's feeling like crap. I hope this doesn't last too much longer. I don't think Doug and I can take much more.

Rocktober!

My Rockies have finally won! Last night the Colorado Rockies swept the Arizona Diamondbacks in game 4 of the NLCS. The final score was 6-4.

At last! My two teams, the Colorado Rockies and the Seattle Mariners, have continually been underdogs and neither team has ever been to a World Series. Until now.

Nevermind that the game started at 8:18 (no, not making that up - that was the posted starting time) and lasted into the wee hours (and I am counting the post-game ballyhoo in this as well).

I was up for it. WAY up for it.

And to think they did this on a shoestring budget. No A-Rod with his $30 million a year (HATE A-Rod; don't even get me started) or rich owner trying to buy a championship ring. These guys are the real thing. And we, as fans, love them for it.

Now we need to work on the Mariners. They almost had it in 2001, let's shoot for 2008!

A balancing act

I have to say, I'm nuts about my kid. Aimee is a joy to be around (most of the time, anyway) and watching her grow has made me appreciate the little things so much more. Like... balance.

Aimee's learing to walk. She's not all the way there yet (she still needs your finger for "support"), but it's been so fun to watch her figure it all out.

Balance is the key, and the reason she's not quite there yet. She's going to be a sprinter, I think, and she just doesn't take the time to get her balance before taking off with her Frankenstein-like strides. Just like her Mama - deosn't want to take the time to master the boring little things - she wants the big picture right now!

Having Aimee has made me apprecaite my own "balancing acts" and trade-offs that I make every day. I can either have a really big job, that will give me big props and bring in big bucks, or I can have a great family life and satisfying personal experiences with friends. I am still struggling like Aimee. Why can't I have it all????

That Pampered Chef just blew sunshine up my a....

What is a person to say to their MIL if invited to a Pampered Chef party? No? Not unless you want to be drummed right out of the family.

So I went last night. And I have to say, it was grueling, it was boring, and it was expensive.

I am not a Pamapered Chef devotee, and I only have a few of their things (gifts from the MIL, no less). It seems I am in the minority. Just about every product the sales lady talked about had most of the people jumping up and saying "Have it, Love it!". It was hard to remember that there was only one Pampered Chef salesperson there.

We got the spiel about how durable the products are, and how wonderful they are to use...blah, blah blah.

All of the above may very well be true. But I refuse to buy a frying pan for $150. Goes against my grain. I like my money in the bank making me more money, thank you very much.

But then, there was my MIL (and I DO like my MIL) talking about how she'd really like to make her sales quota and get her host prize. So I bought three things.

I spent $90 for three small things. Not my proudest shopping moment.

There's the chopper I bought for $30. I am sure it will do good things. I was looking to buy one because Aimee still needs her food chopped in small bits. Turthfully, I could have bought this one a while ago - I have needed it. But I am really sure I could have purchased one for - oh, around $15.

Then I got a set of "Prep Pots". These are little dishes that you use to measure out your ingredients beforehand and just dump them in your recipe when you need them. I have no idea why I bought these. I think the pressure was too much for me.

And then there is the fluted pan (it's a Bundt pan, but Bundt has a copyright on the name, so it's a fluted pan). Now, there's no mystery as to why I bought this one: the salesperson emailed me several recipes for 15 minutes cakes. (a cake - fresh baked, in 15 minutes - and from the microwave!! Made me want to jump up and shout "Gotta have it! Love it!") I was hungry for cake, so I went for it.

So there I was, $90 lighter and my MIL is beaming at me. Of course, I was one of the few people who spent under $150. AND I told the sales rep that I did not want to host my own party, thank you very much. But I still ponied up a decent amount, so the MIL was happy.

I really, REALLY hope she doesn't get the bright idea to have one of these parties again.

And if she does, please, pease PLEASE don't invite me!

Oh well. At least they fed us.

Only 28 more years to go...

Today has been hard. Okay, not as hard as it's been for the last few days - I actually don't have too much migraine pain today, but I am so bored I could scream.

Don't get me wrong - mostly I like my job. But I don't LOVE my job like I used to.

Before I had Aimee, I had a really high profile job that kept me travelling and in meetings and conferences usually for 10-12 hours a day. And I loved every hectic minute of it.

I loved interacting with lots of people, being a little higher up on the food chain, and never getting into a rut. Now I am just a financial analyst - at the same desk day sfter day, running the same reports day after day, and butting heads with the same people day...after.....day zzzzzzzzzzz.

Does anyone else feel this way? That getting on the "Mommy Track" is a HUGE step down for their careers? It makes me so sad that many women have to choose: be a great mom or have a great career. You can't have both.

Ah, well. Enough bitching. Better get back to it. Afetr all, there's only 28 more years to go until retirement.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

Here goes nothing...

A new beginning. A new and different Cara. I've been through a nasty divorce, a cross country move, snagging a great new job, snagging a great new man, a wedding, a new baby, and (last but definitely not least) motherhood.

Getting back to writing is the last piece of my recovery and rebirth.

I intend to pour it all out here. Get back to my writing habits. Dust off my muse, give her a little spit-polish, and get her in shape again.

So here's my new vow to myself: I will blog at least three times a week. Check in. Write down what I'm feeling and thinking about. Maybe get some insight into some things my conscious self just doesn't have time to think about.

So, as I said before, here goes nothing...