For those of you who are headline readers, I thought I'd save you the trouble of having to decipher a clever headline to get to the result. I got 80% and the requisite was 70%. Yippee. All that matters, though, is the PASS part.
I took and passed my 4th of 5 classes for CISR. I've also registered for the 5th and final class today. My Financial Principles semester starts 9/2 (this Tuesday) so I am really trying to study and pass these designation classes before my online classes start, since I foresee not having any time to devote to it afterwards.
I hope all is well with "y'all". I have some cute pix of Jimi that I will post when I can find the time. Speaking of which, he is teething and is up crying. I will write more later.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Long Time, No Speak
I realize I've been absent for almost two weeks now. I have been really busy. Where can I begin?
On the 18th Jimi had his 12m checkup and shots (a month late). We learned that his Dr's nurse that loved him so much had resigned and changed industries. Evidently the offer was too good to pass up. He is 33 1/2 inches tall, 26 1/4 lbs and his head is 51 cm in circumference. There are about 2 1/2 cm in an inch, so his head is about 20 in. The Doctor told me that in relation to the rest of children his age, his head is off the chart, meaning he has a big head. I quipped that I could have told him that 13 mos ago! He is also off the charts on height, and is in the 75th percentile on weight.
I had an OB/GYN appt on the 26th. The baby's heart beat is 140. My blood pressure was 130/80, a bit on the high side. I have gained 4 lbs since my last visit 4 wks ago. At first the nurse was having a hard time getting enough of the heartbeat to count it, because she said that the baby was moving and just when she'd just about have it, the baby'd turn. So, the Dr. came in and found the heartbeat, adding that the baby was hiding behind the placenta. Oh? I said, what does that mean? My doctor coyly replied that it means the baby is hiding behind the placenta. You know, all that fancy medical jargon like "hiding" had me uncertain for the meaning of his statement.
Our oven was delivered last Tuesday. It is a convection oven and really great, but it takes some getting used to. It cooks much faster than regular ovens, which finds me burning garlic bread far more often than I'd like. Otherwise, I'm very happy with it, and my main concern about it sticking out further than the rest of the cabinets is really a non-issue, as Jimi has not hit it with his afore-mentioned huge head on it. One of the really nice features it has is that it has an oven lockout and cooktop lockout. So even though Jimi is tall enough to reach the controls, he can't turn anything on. If he were to try, the oven makes a beeping, alert noise to summon my attention. The only problem with this is that they made the control panel at a height that they assumed either a) I'd be taller or b) my stomach would be smaller. When I try to clean the back burners, or reach up above the stove, my baby belly rests on the controls and sets off the alarm. It reminds me of those cookie jars that ridicule you when you open them to get out the cookies!
In 2003 I began a journey to become a Certified Financial Planner. It has been a long time dream of mine to make money making other people money. I started to take the CFP board's required curriculum, and had completed one class and was in the middle of a second when I was laid off and broke my finger within a couple of months of each other. It was kind of a bummer, because after the surgery to repair my finger, I really could not keep up with the 100 page reading assignments, article reviews, and client practicums required weekly. I dropped the class before the cutoff and then I started dating Dapo. Then, we got married, and he was in school and I resolved to complete my studies after he was done with his.
I've enrolled in the same online course I had to drop, as part of the six required courses for CFP. The news on CFP certification, however, is that you must have a 4yr degree, which I do not have or want. This was not the case five years ago. I did find a small loophole that if you have your ChFC designation (hey WAKEUP, this is INTERESTING!) you are exempt from the education requirement. The plot thickens as only one (albeit renown) college offers this designation and it's not the one I've been studying from. I found out, though, that they will transfer credits for the same CFP courses I've been taking, up to three classes. This is great news because their classes are twice as expensive as my classes I've been taking. So, that's the plan. Take two more online classes, transfer the three courses, take the more expensive remaining three courses from the American College and then get my ChFC designation, followed by my CFP designation. As an aside, if you go to a financial planner, do yourself a favor and make sure they have one of those designations.
Along the way of financial planning information gathering, I called several financial planners in town (at the time, SLC), who all told me that the first step in becoming a planner was to get my Life and Health license, because I would be easily hired by most offices, who would likely be willing to pay or reimburse me for more education. At the time I was still unemployed and had been for a long time, and U/E was putting pressure on me to find a job. So, I settled on an insurance company who wanted me to get my Property & Casualty license. I did, and then continued on to what I really wanted, which was my Life, Health & Accident. I passed that one, as well, and now have as many insurance licenses as are possible. It is worth noting, that I have never been an agent or producer assigned to a company. I have kept up these licenses for my own satisfaction of knowing I will never have to take those awful tests again!
With that comes continuing education. In SLC the co. I worked for paid for me to get a CISR designation, which is Certified Insurance Service Representative. It not as prestigious as a CIC designation, but it was a good place to start and gives you credit for CE. I was only able to take 3/5 classes before switching to NAC to be a financial analyst, more up my alley. And a lot more $$$, too. You only get three calendar years to complete the CISR classes, or you have to start over again. My AL license expires in March, and my three years is up in December, so I decided I may as well take the two remaining classes and get CE and the designation at the same time. I realize it seems like a lot of designations, but it is all to get to one desired end: making money making other people money. Not that designations in and of themselves make you credible, but the three letters after my husband's name sure gives him a lot more respect.
The CISR classes can be done online, and I started last week doing one of the two courses and have arranged with a proctor to take the exam tomorrow. So with all the studying and reading I've been doing, I've just not had a lot of time. And, there was also the Olympics, which I watched most every minute of.
Now that we're caught up, I can go to all of your blogs and see what you've been up to!
I have more to blog about with Dapo's immigration, but I'm tired of the topic. I also will drop in once I find out my test results. Till then!
On the 18th Jimi had his 12m checkup and shots (a month late). We learned that his Dr's nurse that loved him so much had resigned and changed industries. Evidently the offer was too good to pass up. He is 33 1/2 inches tall, 26 1/4 lbs and his head is 51 cm in circumference. There are about 2 1/2 cm in an inch, so his head is about 20 in. The Doctor told me that in relation to the rest of children his age, his head is off the chart, meaning he has a big head. I quipped that I could have told him that 13 mos ago! He is also off the charts on height, and is in the 75th percentile on weight.
I had an OB/GYN appt on the 26th. The baby's heart beat is 140. My blood pressure was 130/80, a bit on the high side. I have gained 4 lbs since my last visit 4 wks ago. At first the nurse was having a hard time getting enough of the heartbeat to count it, because she said that the baby was moving and just when she'd just about have it, the baby'd turn. So, the Dr. came in and found the heartbeat, adding that the baby was hiding behind the placenta. Oh? I said, what does that mean? My doctor coyly replied that it means the baby is hiding behind the placenta. You know, all that fancy medical jargon like "hiding" had me uncertain for the meaning of his statement.
Our oven was delivered last Tuesday. It is a convection oven and really great, but it takes some getting used to. It cooks much faster than regular ovens, which finds me burning garlic bread far more often than I'd like. Otherwise, I'm very happy with it, and my main concern about it sticking out further than the rest of the cabinets is really a non-issue, as Jimi has not hit it with his afore-mentioned huge head on it. One of the really nice features it has is that it has an oven lockout and cooktop lockout. So even though Jimi is tall enough to reach the controls, he can't turn anything on. If he were to try, the oven makes a beeping, alert noise to summon my attention. The only problem with this is that they made the control panel at a height that they assumed either a) I'd be taller or b) my stomach would be smaller. When I try to clean the back burners, or reach up above the stove, my baby belly rests on the controls and sets off the alarm. It reminds me of those cookie jars that ridicule you when you open them to get out the cookies!
In 2003 I began a journey to become a Certified Financial Planner. It has been a long time dream of mine to make money making other people money. I started to take the CFP board's required curriculum, and had completed one class and was in the middle of a second when I was laid off and broke my finger within a couple of months of each other. It was kind of a bummer, because after the surgery to repair my finger, I really could not keep up with the 100 page reading assignments, article reviews, and client practicums required weekly. I dropped the class before the cutoff and then I started dating Dapo. Then, we got married, and he was in school and I resolved to complete my studies after he was done with his.
I've enrolled in the same online course I had to drop, as part of the six required courses for CFP. The news on CFP certification, however, is that you must have a 4yr degree, which I do not have or want. This was not the case five years ago. I did find a small loophole that if you have your ChFC designation (hey WAKEUP, this is INTERESTING!) you are exempt from the education requirement. The plot thickens as only one (albeit renown) college offers this designation and it's not the one I've been studying from. I found out, though, that they will transfer credits for the same CFP courses I've been taking, up to three classes. This is great news because their classes are twice as expensive as my classes I've been taking. So, that's the plan. Take two more online classes, transfer the three courses, take the more expensive remaining three courses from the American College and then get my ChFC designation, followed by my CFP designation. As an aside, if you go to a financial planner, do yourself a favor and make sure they have one of those designations.
Along the way of financial planning information gathering, I called several financial planners in town (at the time, SLC), who all told me that the first step in becoming a planner was to get my Life and Health license, because I would be easily hired by most offices, who would likely be willing to pay or reimburse me for more education. At the time I was still unemployed and had been for a long time, and U/E was putting pressure on me to find a job. So, I settled on an insurance company who wanted me to get my Property & Casualty license. I did, and then continued on to what I really wanted, which was my Life, Health & Accident. I passed that one, as well, and now have as many insurance licenses as are possible. It is worth noting, that I have never been an agent or producer assigned to a company. I have kept up these licenses for my own satisfaction of knowing I will never have to take those awful tests again!
With that comes continuing education. In SLC the co. I worked for paid for me to get a CISR designation, which is Certified Insurance Service Representative. It not as prestigious as a CIC designation, but it was a good place to start and gives you credit for CE. I was only able to take 3/5 classes before switching to NAC to be a financial analyst, more up my alley. And a lot more $$$, too. You only get three calendar years to complete the CISR classes, or you have to start over again. My AL license expires in March, and my three years is up in December, so I decided I may as well take the two remaining classes and get CE and the designation at the same time. I realize it seems like a lot of designations, but it is all to get to one desired end: making money making other people money. Not that designations in and of themselves make you credible, but the three letters after my husband's name sure gives him a lot more respect.
The CISR classes can be done online, and I started last week doing one of the two courses and have arranged with a proctor to take the exam tomorrow. So with all the studying and reading I've been doing, I've just not had a lot of time. And, there was also the Olympics, which I watched most every minute of.
Now that we're caught up, I can go to all of your blogs and see what you've been up to!
I have more to blog about with Dapo's immigration, but I'm tired of the topic. I also will drop in once I find out my test results. Till then!
Friday, August 15, 2008
Drumming up business
A friend of mine from church who has 3 young kids is constantly inviting me to do things. I usually have legitimate reasons why I can't do one thing or the other, and turn her down. She called me one day last week and invites me to a Southern Living party. I had never heard of it, but it is basically like a Pampered Chef thing only with interior decor.
I had not left the house in a couple of days, so I agreed to go. I really don't dig these types of parties, but hey it was a mommy's night out. My friend, LB, is an L&D RN who teaches childbirth classes. Evidently she kept in touch with one of her really fun groups and they all still get together at various times of the week. There were several of them there, most of whom had their children around the same time Jimi was born. One such lady has a nephew who is looking to take drum lessons, and LB thought I should do it. The kid aspires to make All-State drum line, so I politely told her that there are others in the area who could do a better job for them.
In the process of that, a friend of hers overhears us and with a great deal of jubilee insists that I teach her the drums. I really was hesitant at first, simply because of my afore-mentioned lack of professional experience. I agreed to teach her what I know and she starts lessons on Thursday.
Two days later, someone at church came up to Dapo, asking him if he gives piano lessons. He decided it would be worth his time if he did, and his first student had her first lesson yesterday. So I guess you could say we have a little international music academy going on here.
It is sure to make me a better drummer, though, since I'll have to prepare and practice more than my student!
I had not left the house in a couple of days, so I agreed to go. I really don't dig these types of parties, but hey it was a mommy's night out. My friend, LB, is an L&D RN who teaches childbirth classes. Evidently she kept in touch with one of her really fun groups and they all still get together at various times of the week. There were several of them there, most of whom had their children around the same time Jimi was born. One such lady has a nephew who is looking to take drum lessons, and LB thought I should do it. The kid aspires to make All-State drum line, so I politely told her that there are others in the area who could do a better job for them.
In the process of that, a friend of hers overhears us and with a great deal of jubilee insists that I teach her the drums. I really was hesitant at first, simply because of my afore-mentioned lack of professional experience. I agreed to teach her what I know and she starts lessons on Thursday.
Two days later, someone at church came up to Dapo, asking him if he gives piano lessons. He decided it would be worth his time if he did, and his first student had her first lesson yesterday. So I guess you could say we have a little international music academy going on here.
It is sure to make me a better drummer, though, since I'll have to prepare and practice more than my student!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
A Stinging Zinger
I mentioned a long time ago that I am playing softball. Our team has been absolutely terrible, winning only one game in the entire season. I had fun, but of course having fun losing is not as fun as having fun winning. At least we were consistent!
Yesterday marked our final "tournament" game. Yes, we got to play in the loser's bracket! We won our first, got beaten badly the second and put up a good fight but still lost the third. Double elimination means "see you next year".
I just have to say that I had my best hit all year last night. In slowpitch co-ed the outfield creeps up on the girls, because we don't hit as hard, right? I got a good pitch and gave it a ride courtesy of my DeMarini Distance bat. The center fielder was running backwards to try to catch it and it still went over his head! I was running for two, or else I would have had a double. Even more exciting than hitting it over the guys' heads is my first base coach says, "she's pregnant, too, so that oughtta add a little sting to it".
He had the last laugh, because they won the game.
I was feeling a little disappointed because I am just starting to get to the point where I am conditioned (I didn't say in shape, just conditioned). Now, the season is over and I'd have to start right back at square one in a year, after the baby. Not to mention having to find an alternate source of exercise. Plus, the fact that we are just starting to get team chemistry.
The good news is that our team, minus the two best players who are sick of losing, is going to play fall ball. Fall ball is actually my favorite season of softball. I get to play my favorite sport when the weather is nice and cool. If there were a winter ball, I honestly think I'd play it. Spring ball is fun until it gets hot. Anyhow, it looks like we're going for a repeat!
At least if we set goals to exceed this season's wins, we won't have to aim "two" high.
Yesterday marked our final "tournament" game. Yes, we got to play in the loser's bracket! We won our first, got beaten badly the second and put up a good fight but still lost the third. Double elimination means "see you next year".
I just have to say that I had my best hit all year last night. In slowpitch co-ed the outfield creeps up on the girls, because we don't hit as hard, right? I got a good pitch and gave it a ride courtesy of my DeMarini Distance bat. The center fielder was running backwards to try to catch it and it still went over his head! I was running for two, or else I would have had a double. Even more exciting than hitting it over the guys' heads is my first base coach says, "she's pregnant, too, so that oughtta add a little sting to it".
He had the last laugh, because they won the game.
I was feeling a little disappointed because I am just starting to get to the point where I am conditioned (I didn't say in shape, just conditioned). Now, the season is over and I'd have to start right back at square one in a year, after the baby. Not to mention having to find an alternate source of exercise. Plus, the fact that we are just starting to get team chemistry.
The good news is that our team, minus the two best players who are sick of losing, is going to play fall ball. Fall ball is actually my favorite season of softball. I get to play my favorite sport when the weather is nice and cool. If there were a winter ball, I honestly think I'd play it. Spring ball is fun until it gets hot. Anyhow, it looks like we're going for a repeat!
At least if we set goals to exceed this season's wins, we won't have to aim "two" high.
Saturday, August 2, 2008
A tax-free weekend, sorta
Here in Alabama they do a sales tax-free weekend right before school starts so that hordes of people flock to the mall and create mayhem and madness. It sounds like a fun thing, except it is only on school supplies, clothes, shoes and computers. You know, back to school stuff.
Well, we didn't get to participate in the no tax extravaganza, but we did take advantage of a big year-end sale Sears was having on their lawnmowers and got Dapo a riding mower. It was taking him close to three hours to cut our yard. He does such a nice job, but he's a busy man and we really needed to make his life easier.
Also this week our already-cracked glass cooktop cracked all the way up into the heating element, which means its time for a new stove. Just to replace the glass was $525, and a new oven was $1300 or so. Since replacing the glass would have been like paying $10k for a windshield on a $20k car; I got a really nice oven, complete with lock-out options for both the cooktop and the oven. Sorry, Jimi! It's convection and has a lot of nice features that I will probably never use.
While we were at it, we also got a freezer. Since our family is at the moment literally expanding we thought it would be good to get a place to store bulk meat, lots of apple juice cans, lots of frozen veggies, etc, etc. I figured that we go through $20 a month in apple juice because we buy it by the plastic gallons. I'm pretty sure I can cut that in half by buying the cans. I'd like to be a recycler, but my sorry excuse is that our area of the county is not offered curbside pick up. I can make myself feel better about that with my new plan of "reduce": not using so many plastic jugs that I don't recycle. I also plan to breast feed the baby and am hopeful that I can produce enough mlik to store in the freezer as well. The freezer also has a digital lock-out and temp control on the outside.
There were cash rebates, no payments no interest and extra %'s off of everything we bought, so it was a good weekend to buy. Everything will be delivered later this month (starting with the lawnmower on Wednesday) and when I get pix I'll post them.
Well, we didn't get to participate in the no tax extravaganza, but we did take advantage of a big year-end sale Sears was having on their lawnmowers and got Dapo a riding mower. It was taking him close to three hours to cut our yard. He does such a nice job, but he's a busy man and we really needed to make his life easier.
Also this week our already-cracked glass cooktop cracked all the way up into the heating element, which means its time for a new stove. Just to replace the glass was $525, and a new oven was $1300 or so. Since replacing the glass would have been like paying $10k for a windshield on a $20k car; I got a really nice oven, complete with lock-out options for both the cooktop and the oven. Sorry, Jimi! It's convection and has a lot of nice features that I will probably never use.
While we were at it, we also got a freezer. Since our family is at the moment literally expanding we thought it would be good to get a place to store bulk meat, lots of apple juice cans, lots of frozen veggies, etc, etc. I figured that we go through $20 a month in apple juice because we buy it by the plastic gallons. I'm pretty sure I can cut that in half by buying the cans. I'd like to be a recycler, but my sorry excuse is that our area of the county is not offered curbside pick up. I can make myself feel better about that with my new plan of "reduce": not using so many plastic jugs that I don't recycle. I also plan to breast feed the baby and am hopeful that I can produce enough mlik to store in the freezer as well. The freezer also has a digital lock-out and temp control on the outside.
There were cash rebates, no payments no interest and extra %'s off of everything we bought, so it was a good weekend to buy. Everything will be delivered later this month (starting with the lawnmower on Wednesday) and when I get pix I'll post them.
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