What? An Update? NO WAY!

Posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 by GrandSlambert

Yeah, I know, heart attack time right? Since moving back to Holmen I have been so busy trying to find a job that I just have not been able to do much of anything else. Then last month I got involved in writing some plugins for the WordPress software which has taken up quite a bit of time. One of those plugins I wrote was for sharing recipes, called Recipe Share, on WordPress blogs. For fun, I added that plugin to this site so I can share some of my recipes – there is one up already.

Allyssa is getting bigger and is really smart too! She knows the entire alphabet and can count to ten, though some days she needs a little coaxing to get through them all. She is also at that stage where she wants to be “naked”, well, except for a diaper, and refuses to wear clothes. She also refuses to sit on the potty so potty training is progressing very slowly, or not at all right now.

Her favorite movie right now is Cars. Well actually, it is Mater and the Ghostlight which is a bonus on the Cars DVD. I think I have seen that over 100 times already. It is kind of annoying too, because every time Mater breaks his headlight she has to scream out “he broke his light!” Oh well, she’s still the most wonderful part of my life right now.

The job market in the area is crap, and although there have been a couple of options, none of them have panned out. So, Laura and I have decided to use my knowledge to build a business. We are working now on a Business Plan and actually have about a half dozen customers already, so it just might work out. The trick will be to actually keep working towards that, and not playing games on Facebook (hint hint Laura).

Shoot, gotta get back to work now. In case you don’t hear from us in the next couple of months, just remember that it is NORMAL to for us to not update the blog, so things must be normal.

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Returning Home

Posted on Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 by GrandSlambert

Those of you close to us already know about this, but next week I will be moving the family back to Holmen, Wisconsin where we can be with family and the activities we enjoy. It has been an interesting journey to Minneapolis, Chicago and Kansas City, but I guess the old saying is true, “Home is where the heart is”. It took a while for me to realize it, but I just need to get back to a place where I can do the things I enjoy doing and be with my family.

I’d like to say there won’t be a lot of posts for a couple of weeks with packing and moving and settling in, but a lack of posts seems to be the norm for this site. So get ready for this blog to be normal! Maybe once we are back and we have things to share we will post more. Then again, we will be sharing those things with the very same people who read this blog, so we may not feel a need to update. Geez, what is a person to do?

Currently I am not working, nor is Laura, except to build up our new business venture. Hey, we already have nearly a dozen clients so things are looking up. We will be focusing on the area around La Crosse, WI in the coming months, so if you know someone who wants a cheap web site, send them on over to $150 Sites, OK?

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A New Endeavor – Cheap Web Sites

Posted on Friday, July 3rd, 2009 by GrandSlambert

Recently Laura has found that she enjoys designing themes for WordPress using a program I found a while back. Her interest piqued my interest and I have already created a few. Then a friend of ours suggested we offer inexpensive web sites using the themes we create and the WordPress software to quickly build mini sites for people. Thus, $150 Sites was born. Today we officially launch that business, and ask that if you know someone who is just getting started in business, or has a limited budget for their web site, that they check it out. We would really appreciate your support helping us build this new business. Thank you, I now return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

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Geek begets Geek

Posted on Wednesday, July 1st, 2009 by GrandSlambert

Allyssa, the next Geek Growing up in a house with two geeks for parents, it comes as no surprise that that Allyssa is going to be one as well. When I walked out of the bedroom/office for lunch today, this is what I saw, and I just had to snap a picture of it. She is just sooooo cute!

So, what was she doing? Filling up the screen with the letters a and z, and of course screwing up the windows so Laura had to move them back where she liked. Yes, this is Laura’s computer, because my brand new Dell has a bad hard drive. You can read more about that and my fun with Dell Tech support on my GrandSlambert blog.

So, while we are on the subject of Allyssa, perhaps an update is in order. As you know she is 2 years and 2 months old now. She is still on the petite side but that it is OK, she is cute. She is also very smart and can recognize most numbers and quite a few letters. Her speech is still a little hard to understand, but she can say a lot of words now. Of course, I love it when she says “I love you”, even if only mommy and daddy understand what she is saying.

Yes, she is two, and believe me she is really going through the terrible twos something fierce. She is very demanding and wants to watch Thomas the Tank Engine all day long. When she does not get to, she throws a screaming fit that you would not believe. We are still trying to figure out how to deal with that, but we know that it is a phase, and we will get through it.

On the steps Usually offering to take her to the pool stops the tantrum, but we cannot always do that. She really enjoys going to the pool and has become quite the water baby. Though the pool we have here is not the best, it is large enough that we can enjoy it, and if we go during the day when most people are at work we have it all to ourselves. Unfortunately, during the day it is in direct sun, so we try to go later in the afternoon when the pool is in the shade.

I think we might be spoiled living where we are. Wood burning fireplace, private fenced in back yard, pool and walking distance to just about everything we need. I would have been a fool to leave, and I am so glad we are staying. I just wish we had more room here but it works for now. OK, back to school for me. I just started my second block of classes and have a lot of work to do.

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The Grades Are In

Posted on Monday, June 29th, 2009 by GrandSlambert

Finally, after a week of waiting and dreading, my grades for the first block of courses are in, and I have to say I did better then I expected. As you know, we take two courses at a time and each block lasts nine weeks. My first block consisted of GEN105, Skills for Learning in an Information Age, and ENG101, Effective Essay Writing.

The GEN105 class was basically a “how do you use the computer for online classes” type of course. Basically we read online materials in Word document or PDF form, then use a discussion forum to submit assignments and answer questions. We also use this system to discuss topics with other students. Imagine that, me having to take a class to learn how to use a computer. Of course, I aced that class!

The ENG101 course was a bit more complicated, and basically taught us how to write essays, not a skill everyone has. This course required us to write what is known as an expository essay, where you simply write about the facts and use no opinion and do not try to influence the reader in any way. Those who know me KNOW that I am an oppinionated ass and always ready to argue about any topic you can think of. Writing this essay was a lot harder then I thought, and I was certain that I would receive a poor grade. I had already missed an assignment and turned one in late because I just did not plan well. Since the final essay was one quarter of the grade, I tried my best to do well. I was surprised to see my grade was an 82%, which helped my final grade, even if it was only a B-.

With the possiblity of moving I had taken a week off from school so I did not start again until today. My next classes include CIS105, Survey of Computer Systems, and ENG102, Research Writing. So one more bird course and one more tough course. Once I get through these I start on courses geared towards education, including history and social studies, my two worst subjects. I will try to keep you updated on my progress, but just know that I am dedicated to earning my degree in Elementary Education, so will likely be here in Kansas City for the next four years.

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NOT the year of moving!

Posted on Monday, June 22nd, 2009 by GrandSlambert

OK, everyone can ignore the last post, because after a week of thinking abou it, and packing, I decided that I want to earn my degree in Elementary Education. Since it is not possible to earn this degree in Minnesota with online courses, we will be staying here in Kansas City. But all is not lost, I will still be working for a company in Minnesota, but will work remote rather then be in the office.

I am so grateful to Charles for working with me on this. I know that I can provide some quality work for him even if I am not in the office. I will be working part time so I still have time for school and quality time with Allyssa and Laura. It will be some long days now and I know I will get pretty tired, but I have worked out a schedule that allows me to try and keep the weekends open for anything I want to do. Let’s see how long I can stick to that schedule – starting on Thursday.

While I am on the subject of school, I finished my first block of classes on Sunday and submitted my final assignments. I should know by the end of the week what my grades will be but I think I did well in both. With the hassle of moving and planning, and a possible degree change, I was not schedule to start my next classes right away so I have the week off. I will be back to it on Monday the 29th with a computer course and another English course. The fun continues…

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The Year of Moving

Posted on Saturday, June 13th, 2009 by GrandSlambert

People used to tell me that I move too often, and they would be very correct. I have lived in more places then I can remember, and this year is turning out to be the worst for moves. We have already moved twice, once to Chicago and then to Kansas City where we are as I type this message. However, at the end of this month the Lambert clan will pack up and  move again. It’s comforting to know that we will be moving back to familiar territory, closer to home. I have accepted a job in Minneapolis and will begin on June 29th up there. This comes at a good time since the previous position wasn’t working out for us.

I am going to try and make this the second to last move we make for a while. I am tired of moving and always wondering where my next paycheck is going to come from. So this time I am planning to make this job work long term. I will be working part time while I continue going to school. This will be the second to last move only because we decided to put all of our stuff in storage in Minneapolis and rent a room for a couple of months while we look for a place we can call home for a few years. The timing is perfect, with college students all gone for the summer there are lot’s of cheap rooms available. We’ll be able to save a lot of money this way with no ulitilies and cheap rent.

We originally planned to get a large enough truck to pack all the stuff here in Kansas City, then stop in Wisconsin to get the rest of our stuff in storage there and take it all with us. However, I really don’t want to have to move the stuff in Trempealeau twice, and it’s only two hours away from where we will be so we will likely wait until after Labor Day to deal with that stuff. Besides, our camping gear is there and we will be camping at Autumn Rose in Galesville, WI this September, so it will be near by. It will be nice to get all of our stuff together again, and to have a nice paying, albeit part-time, job that will likely become a full time position, if and when I want it to.

Changes at School

This move will effect the degree path I am following in school. Unfortunately, Minnesota does not allow the Elementary Education degree that the University of Phoenix offers. Though I still think it might be fun to be a teacher, reality has made this decision a lot easier. The highest paid elementary school teachers barely make $40K, and if I am already capable of making near $55K in the IT industry without a degree, think if what I could make with one! I will take a week off of school so we can move and get settled, and start back up on May 29th, with an emphasis on Information Technology, hopefully leading into a Bachelor’s Degree for System Analysis. I will keep you updated as I continue my education.

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