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.

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…

I am now in my fourth week of classes and so far I am doing very well with grades around 95% still. So now you have some proof that I am not perfect!

I really enjoy the work and doing the assignments online. Saves a lot of writing and paper that way. Basically I log in to the school’s web site and submit questions and answers via the threaded discussion board. I earn participation points for commenting on other classmates posts, and have a private area to turn in my assignments. It’s pretty easy to do and I have learned a lot so far.

Yesterday I finally received the information I was waiting for regarding financial aid. I qualified for enough on a loan to pay for all the classes, with some to spare. I also received a $2,366 Pell grant to use towards educational expenses. The grant is money I never have to pay back, though I will likely use the bulk of it to pay down the loan. This was great news since know I don’t have to worry about how I will be paying for school this year. It’s only guaranteed for one year, if I complete and pass all my classes. So I will need to reapply for next year but I don’t think it will be much of an issue.

I am really happy that I have finally made the decision to do this. I know that teaching will be a lot more enjoyable to me than writing computer and web software. I’ve done that for so long it is time for me to finally give it a rest. I still do some stuff and I talk about that on my other blog, GrandSlambert, but it’s mostly stuff for WordPress, the software we use on this web site.

I have a few people that want me to develop web sites for them, and I might just to make a little extra money, but eventually that will no longer be my business, so I am not working to build that business. Once I earn my degree and start teaching I don’t want to have to work on a computer. It can become my hobby again.

I learned a valuable lesson today about quality time. Allyssa wanted to spend some time with daddy after dinner and I had every intention of doing this. We started watching the Bee Movie together when I stupidly got on the computer and read an email which got me working on something that certainly could have waited. Guess I wasn’t thinking, because when I was done:

Allyssa feel asleep waiting for daddy to do something that could have waited until tomorrow.

I guess I need to really pay attention to what I do with my time. I start school on Monday so time will become even more precious than it used to be. I have a schedule planned for Monday through Friday:

• 7:00am – Wake Up
• 8:00am – 1:00pm – Work
• 1:00pm – 2:00pm – Lunch and exercise
• 2:00pm – 4:00pm – School Work
• 4:00pm – 5:30pm – Work
• 5:30pm – Make dinner and spend time with the family before I go to bed.

No planning work or school on Weekends – those days are for family time. This looks like it should be good right? Hopefully I can stick to it, but I will need Laura’s and Allyssa’s help in several ways:

1. While I am at work, they need to avoid distracting me.
2. Have lunch ready around 1:00 so I can eat and exercise before school work.
3. While I am at school, they need to avoid distracting me.
4. At 5:30, they have to tell me to stop and be with the family.

I am sure if we both work at it, I will get on the schedule and be able to stick to it. It’s gonna be a long, hard 2 years with work and school, but I know it will be worth it. After this, we shall see if I continue for my Bachelor’s degree. You ready for this, Laura?

P.S. I should add that I did spend a few hours with her playing with a ball, potatoe heads, blocks and things before we started watching the movie. But it probably wasn’t enough.

OK, I know, it’s April, and most kids are thinking they’ve been in school long enough and it’s time for summer break. But I am not a kid, and no, this isn’t about Allyssa. It’s about me. You heard me. “Back To School” is about me.

For a long time I have been contemplating going back to school and get a degree in something. I know that a degree will help me get a better job and provide a better life for my family. I just never had the time (or the guts) to do it.

Then, earlier this month, I filled out a form online about going back to school. I got a call from a recruiter a few days later and the ball was rolling. I will be attending the University of Phoenix Online starting on Monday (April 20th) and will be taking classes for around 20 months.

So now it’s time for this old man who hasn’t been inside a classroom in 20 years to get back to studying and doing homework. Well, I guess it’s all homework, since it’s online and I will be doing most of it from home.

Oh, yeah, you want to know WHAT degree I am after with this. I will be going for my Associates of Elementary Education. With that, I can become a teacher’s aide while I continue for my Bachelors Degree in a couple of years. With THAT, I can be a full time teacher, which is the ultimate goal.

So, if you thought I never had time to update this blog before, just wait! I get to work full time, go to school full time, cook dinner and spend time with Laura and Allyssa, EVERY DAY. So, if you really want to know what I am up to, get a Twitter account and follow me. I update that more often.

Yep, you heard me, another move. Sounds like we will never get settled. The job in Schaumburg, IL with Verizon Wireless just wasn’t the right job for me. I thought it would be fun to not have to write code any more, but I ended up managing a couple of WordPress installs and that just isn’t what I want to do. When this new opportunity came up I had to take it.

Oh, yeah, this time the move is to Kansas City, Missouri where I will be working with someone I have known and worked with for over 2 years. I will again be writing code and building web sites and promoting the weight loss program that I know works – still down about 25 pounds from the first run and getting started to do it again.

We have spent this past week at Laura’s dad’s home in Holmen, WI, catching up with family and taking care of things that needed to be taken care of here. This time we have a condo waiting for us when we get there, so I packed up the necessary items from storage yesterday and will drive down tomorrow morning. The condo is a perk from the employer so we don’t have to spend thousands of dollars on a hotel room while we look for a place. It’s a small, 1 bedroom condo but it’s much larger then then hotel room we lived in for 6 weeks. It’s also close to shopping and entertainment so we’ll save money on driving everywhere.

Hopefully this one will be the one that lasts a while. As soon as we get settled we will share photos of our new digs and try to keep you updated as life continues for the Lambert clan. Now that we will be nearly 8 hours away from family and friends this blog will become an important lifeline to keep you all updated on the trials and tribulations of raising such a beautiful young lady.

No, don’t get excited, yet. This post isn’t about moving back to the La Crosse area. It has only to do with moving our blog yet again. I grew ever tired of Blogger constantly being down, and after using WordPress on a few other projects, have decided to install the software, add the plugins and themes I want, and run the thing on my own servers once again. With this move we also have a new look, though that may not stay forever – you know how fickle I can be.

With moving to a system that won’t be down when I want to post, maybe, just maybe we will update you more often. Of course, having Blogger be down when I wanted to post isn’t the only reason I haven’t posted anything lately. Mostly it’s because I am lazy – come on, you knew that already. Also, since leaving my full time job back in August (you knew that too) I find myself not wanting to be around the computer much during the day, and spending too much time with Allyssa.

I know, you can never spend too much time with your children, but when you don’t get your work done, you don’t get paid. And when the first of the month rolls around and you don’t have the income to pay the bills, you will understand what I mean by “spending too much time with Allyssa”.

The sad thing is that I don’t really spend too much time with her. I am spending too much time moving web sites around, playing with new software and trying new ways to generate income that I just don’t seem to get the work done. That’s going to change, which likely means not very many posts from me – but what’s new?