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!