Overexcited

Dear Friends and Family,

Yay! My interface is fixed!

Last night was not a good night for P. We had lots of nos and squeals and shouted responses and time outs. I'm hoping it was because she was overexcited from her Christmas party and not because she's picking up some bad habits.

One more day and then we have some time off. I cleared my inbox yesterday. Today, I need to clear my whiteboard and my desk. And, I need to clean my desk. Then, it's time off to spend with family and with the house and the prepare for the new year.

Let's hope P is better tonight. Then, I'll be in a mood to wrap presents tonight for her to open tomorrow. If not, then we may hold off until after the holidays.


Cheers!
mouse

Only Marginally Guilty

Dear Friends and Family,

We're planning on taking P to school for a couple of days next week even if Mr. mouse and I are off from work. At first, I felt super guilty about sending P to school while we were off from work. But, in truth, I'm super excited about having two days free to get the house back in order. Yes, two days off, and that's what I am excited about.

I'm torn between diving deep into one large project (aka the basement) or spending my time across many rooms on little things that I would never have the time to do. I think, maybe, what I'll do is work in 15 minute chunks - and after each chunk of time switch rooms letting my whimsy choose the next room. It's amazing what you can do in 15 minutes to help a room.

I'm inspired by P's book. Little Miss Neat. She lives in Two Pin Cottage and everything is as neat as can be. I would like to be Little Miss Neat and live in Two Pin Cottage. I would.

My list of rooms? The living room, the play room, the kitchen, the laundry room, the half bathroom, the basement, the garage, P's room, our room, P's bathroom, our bathroom.

So excited.


Cheers!
mouse

Fun Week

Dear Friends and Family,

Something still wrong with my blogger interface this morning. I wonder if this is their way of trying to get us to upgrade to the new interface? Or, do they really think the week of Christmas preparation madness is the moment we want to attempt to learn something new? Or, is someone asleep at the wheel?

Tonight, I have the enviable task of taking P Christmas shopping for Mr. mouse's present. I waited until the last minute so she'd have less temptation to spill the beans. I also have the somewhat humorous task of helping her pick out Mr. mouse's gift. (Last night, on the way home, she proclaimed she wanted to get him a spoon. Yes, a spoon. Could it be because she was looking at her spoon at the moment? Perhaps.)

Then, tomorrow is Wednesday. And, we have P's holiday party. And, the day after is Thursday. And, then we're off from work on Friday. Yay!


Cheers!
mouse

Top 10 Needs

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, this is new. Something is wrong with my blogger interface this morning. Hello, Monday.

Over the weekend, I found a local charity and their top 10 needs align so closely with our top 10 needs that I'm hoping to take advantage of the situation and drop off some stuff with them. Is that bad?

For instance, they need toiletries. We have boxes of hotel shampoo and soap. They need new or used children's books. We have several books we never read because P doesn't like them. They need job interview clothing. I kid you not, I have my suits that I was just looking at thinking that they needed to go. They need gently used coats. Seriously? Because we just cleared out the coat closet. They need non-perishable food. We don't have a ton, but we're always looking for an excuse to get rid of something in the pantry.

Is this bad? We have this stuff lying around and I'm dying to get it out of the house because I feel like our house is overflowing with stuff. I feel like I'm taking advantage of them. We have this stuff. Would you be so kind to take it off of our hands?


Cheers!
mouse

The Toddler Christmas List

Dear Friends and Family,

In the spirit of keeping my sanity, I decided P did not need me to buy her a little bit of everything. Yes, I could make a VERY long list, patiently browse all of the sites, buy a combination of things that make me feel like I too can climb Mount Everest. And, then, do the crazy package tracking. All, in the spirit of what?

Instead, P is going to get a simplified list of things...

1. two books
2. paint plus paint brush set
3. a couple of small pieces for her Duplo collection
4. one board game
5. one set of ribbons to wave while dancing

And,

1. three pajamas (she's outgrown her current)
2. two pairs of pants (see above)
3. two tops
4. one snowsuit (also outgrown)

Still a mountain of boxes to wrap and unwrap, but within the bounds of sanity compared to the exercise I went through last Christmas and for her birthday.


Cheers!
mouse

Christmas Frenzy

Dear Friends and Family,

Not to switch gears on you, but I will. The Christmas frenzy has begun in earnest.

Tomorrow, we need to bring in P's gifts for her teachers. It's been an absolute NIGHTMARE traffic-wise this week, so we haven't had a chance to make the cards yet.

Then, sometime between today and tomorrow (um, sounds like tonight) we need to order all of our gifts or sign ourselves up for some weekend shopping. And, there's still the Christmas cards. And, the photo books. And,...

Ugh.

Honestly, I wish Christmas was about skipping all of this craziness and spending time with P. And, buying a couple of fun things for P. And, calling it a day.


Cheers!
mouse

Faith

Dear Friends and Family,

After sleeping on it, and given a chance to change his mind, Mr. mouse says he is committed to making our marriage work.

I am ecstatic.

I think he is more reflective. I know there's stuff he's struggling with. And, I'm sure there is stuff I will struggle with. But, for now, I'm glad we had the talk. I'm glad we came to an agreement. I'm glad I get to look forward to a future filled with memories together as a family.

I'm glad.

I'm also trying to figure out... How much do I try to help? How much do I just give him the space to do what he needs to do on his own?

I think I'd like to use a part of our Christmas vacation to drop P off at school and use a day by ourselves. I feel bad about sending P to school when we're both off. But, in the long run, I don't think it'll do her too much harm.


Cheers!
mouse

Alarm Clock Ringing

Dear Friends and Family,

The alarm clock has been ringing for the past 20 minutes, but Mr. mouse seems to be deep asleep so I'll let it continue to ring. Oh. There. It just stopped.

We were up late last night, talking, about stuff. The stuff from the weekend stuff. And, it was close to two before we fell asleep.

I got a lot off of my chest. But, I can't say I feel a lot better about it all. I feel like, in this one, there's no right or wrong. There's his opinion and there's my opinion. Neither is right or wrong, they're just opinions after all. I told him if he feels strongly about it, he should look for someone who agrees with him. But, he doesn't want to. The topic isn't important enough to break up a family over. Instead, he would prefer it if I changed my mind. But, try as I might, I can't or rather I won't.

I'm entitled to my opinion. I am strong enough to say, if this isn't right for you than we need to both be grown up about it and find alternative solutions which work for both of us. I'm scared to death of the thought of not being together. We've been together for the past 16 years. But, I owe it to myself to be honest with myself. I need to remind myself, this isn't about me. But, in the end, I keep coming back to questioning myself. Is this about me? And, is the topic important enough to break up a family over?

It's not easy. But, life isn't easy. And, I've overcome. And, I've persevered. And, I've always tried to stay true to who I am. I'm not easy. But, life isn't easy.


Cheers!
mouse

12.12.11: Things Done

Dear Friends and Family,

While it's not easy playing second fiddle, it is nice having Mr. mouse back home. He fixed the leak in the ceiling by replacing all of the rubber parts on the toilet in the master bedroom. He fixed the broken sockets in the kitchen by replacing the GFI outlet by the sink. And, he took out all of the trash and did all of the laundry. See?

We did have a dust up over some stuff, but I won't go into it now.

And, now, it's Monday and while we didn't finish our Christmas shopping - in fact, I don't think we've even begun our Christmas shopping in earnest, we did get a bunch of stuff done over the weekend, so I can't complain.


Cheers!
mouse

Options, Options, Options, Options

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, short of a nice Santa rally on Wall Street, 2011 isn't going to be a banner year for me to write about.

So, in thinking about this more, I think I've got a couple of options. I can wait it out since really much of it is beyond my control. Or, I can do the things within my control to change the trajectory of our retirement portfolio.

Decisions I can make? I can decide what to invest in. I can invest more aggressively. I can invest more of our portfolio. I'm going to veto both of those options simply because I don't believe it has much upside for us and it does have bucket-loads of downside for us.

Other decisions I can make? I can decide to save more. And, I think this is a viable one. We're comfortable with our budget now. Perhaps we can budget a little more carefully and send the balance in to our retirement portfolio. I'm willing to try it for a couple of months if Mr. mouse is.

Then, come January, that'll be a nice add to our sad retirement portfolio. My goal is to make my entire paycheck discretionary. We'll see how that goes.


Cheers!
mouse

Quiet Evening with P II

Dear Friends and Family,

Yes. Mr. mouse was busy again last night so P and I had the night to ourselves.

Traffic was a bear so we went out for dinner, putting a hold to our plans for a picnic for dinner. P ate lots of noodles and lots of unagi rice and was generally happy to be out at conveyor belt sushi.

We got home, did our flag puzzle, colored, and then went upstairs for hydrolysis. We read four books and then I pretended to sleep so that she would fall asleep. Except, as it always happens, I really did fall asleep for a couple of minutes. When I got up, P was asleep. I carried her into her room, went briefly into the basement for White Elephant inspiration, and fell asleep for the night.

This morning will be a little bit of an ad-hoc exercise in getting out the door. And, tonight will be a little bit of an ad-hoc exercise in getting everyone to bed. But, Mr. mouse has promised me the work craziness will be done tonight. So, tomorrow morning life will return to some semblance of normalcy - just in time for the holidays.


Cheers!
mouse

Quiet Evening with P

Dear Friends and Family,

Mr. mouse was busy last night, so I had the joy of a full evening with P.

We went out to eat pancakes for dinner. Then, we changed out of syrup-covered clothes. We hung the rest of our Christmas ornaments. We made a Lego pizza oven with a monkey on top and baked giant slices of pizza for miniature Duplo friends. We watched two songs on Mr. mouse's computer. We tied a string to a car and pulled it around the house. We read lots of books and drank lots of milk. Then, P leaned forward and collapsed on our bed and I let her sleep for 10 minutes before carrying her into her room.

I had fun. I hope she did as well.


Cheers!
mouse

Plan B

Dear Friends and Family,

I realized a very simple Plan B if my idea doesn't work. It's not a very sophisticated plan at all which makes me think it's viable as a backup plan. If my idea doesn't work, I will wait until P enters kindergarten and... wait for it... I will find a new job.

Yes. It's that simple. P will enter kindergarten in the fall of 2014 which means if I don't want to disrupt her current program, I don't have to.

Now, there's always the possibility that I can lose my job or my job can go away. Plan C, so to speak. In that scenario, P has to change schools anyway. In that scenario, I'd probably either focus on my idea or switch gears and find a new job.

Somehow, it made me feel better to realize I have options. I don't have to work in my current job until I retire. I can make a move and try something new. That might not be a bad thing.


Cheers!
mouse

12.05.11: Dentist Visit

Dear Friends and Family,

P went to the dentist and it was a partial success. She let the hygienist count her teeth and brush her teeth with a toothbrush. She let the dentist look inside her mouth. But, she had no interest whatsoever in the metal picks or the powered tooth cleaner. Still, it was a big improvement over last time when she didn't let much of anything happen beyond putting on the bib and sunglasses.

The other thing we spent a lot of time talking about this weekend is Santa. Apparently, she's learned about Santa at school and about presents and Christmas. Huh?!?! Well, I've had the first of what I'm sure will be many talks with her about it. She picked up the phone at the hotel (which we unplug the moment we step into a room) and called Santa. "Hello? Santa. I would like a car for Christmas. Bye." Yes, that is was our child says to the phone. Fortunately, she means a matchbox car, not a real one, but still.

And, last but not least, the toilet training thing may be on hold for the week. P has the nastiest of rashes on her butt and it a little overwhelmed with all of the stuff going on down there.

On one thing, she has been consistent over the past week. We're done with breastfeeding. I made it the whole weekend without the pump. I think we are officially weaned.


Cheers!
mouse

The Lost Year

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, it's not as bad as the lost decade, but, it's certainly not a good feeling.

We're on track, barring a nasty December, to break even on our retirement portfolio this year. Really, the plan is to make money, not break even, but given the environment we're in, I guess breaking even is better than losing money.

I had high hopes for November, given October's performance, but November didn't continue the trend.

Still, we are fortunate. Mr. mouse has a job that he enjoys and I have a job that if I don't enjoy at least keeps me satisfied for the moment. And, if we can turn the ship around even modestly, we should be in decent shape come somewhere between April 2019 and February 2023 which is MUCH later than December 2016 which was our original goal. But, we've done what we can. Now, we just need time.

I just keep telling myself that at some point we'll start getting out-sized gains instead of out-sized losses, but it's tough to believe that when the out-sized losses keep coming.

One thing all of this makes me realize, well a couple of things really. One, most people probably haven't even done the math. There's too much happiness which makes me assume there's a lot of bliss out there. There's too many nice cars and expensive shoes and bags to make sense otherwise. Two, most people are going to be pressed to retire anytime in their lifetime. If we, with our ability and disciple to maintain a diligent savings rate and good fortune are barely able to see retirement in future, how does the average person manage it? I can't see how the math works out.

So, even if the past year was a lost year, I'm optimistic that I'm doing what is within my control to secure our future.


Cheers!
mouse

All Full Nai Nai Parts

Dear Friends and Family,

Stop here if you're easily squeamish.

After two and a half years, I think P and I are done with a very physical bond that started before birth.

I started breast feeding because I thought it was worth a try. I continued because of a belief that the stuff in formula can't possible be as good for you as an incredibly complex natural substance. I made it through the first year thanks to a lot of luck, and some discipline, persistence and tracking.

I continued because it is a special bond. It's time alone that can't be replaced by time doing other activities together. I can't describe it. It's different.

And, after the first year, it's as easy as cake. You don't pump. You don't have to worry about the nutritional aspects. If they get hungry, you can feed them food. If they get thirsty, you can give them milk or water. If they're not growing, it's not because of the breast feeding. No pressure whatsoever.

And, that's what made it so difficult to figure out when the right time was to wean. I knew I wanted to do it sometime before she turned three, because there's a point when you're done (and different people define that point for themselves, mine was three). And, fortunately for me, P made it easy. She decided she was done. So, I've got about a week while I wind down using my old friend the breast pump.

But, I have to say, it's been a rewarding experience. It wasn't easy the first year, when the pressure can feel immense. But, it was very easy for the next year and half. And, I'm glad we got to share what we did for as long as we did.


Cheers!
mouse

December Rush

Dear Friends and Family,

It's November 29th which means there are 26 days between now and Christmas. Twenty six days to get everyone's gifts ordered. Twenty six days to do cards. Twenty six days to enjoy the tree. Twenty six days to make our photo album. Twenty six days to plan our week off between Christmas and New Years (note to self: I am fine spending those days at home with Mr. mouse and P). Twenty six days to plan the teacher's lunch. Twenty six days... How did this happen?

The question I should be asking is not how long is the list, but how can we simplify the list? Does everything have to happen in the next twenty six days? Call me a grinch, but we-all seem to make it more complicated than it needs to be in the "spirit of the holidays," which, when you really think about it, aren't really about any of what I wrote about up there.

In my perfect world, I wouldn't buy presents for anyone besides P. We would decorate the tree. We would make a handful of cards together. We would spend the week at the park, at the zoo, at the aquarium, at museums and at home. We would go to every store in town with a cart with a car in front and we'd play all day.

And, then, it'd be January, and I'd emerge from my cave of isolationism and be none the worse for the wear.


Cheers!
mouse

11.28.11: Thanksgiving Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Where did the five days go?

We made homemade pie. We baked dinner rolls. We made a turkey. We ate a turkey. We did some online shopping. We played in the park with P. We went to a birthday party for one of P's friends. We had our two and a half year check-up. We got our flu shots. We started decorating our tree.

We continued potty training. We went to the library. We ate at our favorite diner. We decorated a box with stickers. We did the flag puzzle many times. We bought a friend who P named Yabbi.

We tossed a couch that was in desperate need of tossing. We got a new sideboard to use as a shoe rack. We cleared the kitchen island. We donated many bags of old shoes and coats.

All of which is a good lead-in to my Thanksgiving list.

I am thankful for P and Mr. mouse...

for P's health and continued development, for the things she says and the things she does, for how hard she tries, for how brave she is, for her laughs and smiles, for snuggling with her while we read bedtime stories, for the hugs she gives, for the kisses she gives, for playing together and for all the things we do together that somehow make it all worth it...

for Mr. mouse's health and happiness, for the time he spends with P, for the time he spends keeping the house in order, for the time he spends keeping our life in order and for the things he does without asking for anything in return...

for the health and happiness of my friends and family, people who make me laugh, who make me think, who love P unconditionally, who are there even if I don't see them everyday...

for work, although it may not always be gratifying, it pays the bills and allows us to save for the future, and gives us the flexibility to do the things we do...

for a common approach to life, where we recognize that life is complex and complicated, but we're both okay with consistently trying to simplify it - neither of us have the ambition to be more than we are, both of us agree that more money does not equate to more happiness, and that allows all three of us to enjoy the day-by-day pleasures that life gives if you take the moment to enjoy them.


Cheers!
mouse

PS: P's answer? She is "happy for" dada. And, after much prompting and prodding, she is also "happy for" mama (the terms of endearment she uses when she wants to show affection.)

I Would Like...

Dear Friends and Family,

P is growing up quickly. I knew from watching kids in her classroom that somewhere between two and three, kids go from distinctly toddler-like to distinctly no-longer-a-toddler. How's that for a categorization?

There's the speaking. There's the body proportions. There's the potty training. There's the confidence in running and jumping. There's the ability to listen.

And, apparently, for P, there's the ordering at a restaurant. She's been wanting to see the menu for some time now. But, last week she started wanting to order. The first time, she echoed Mr. mouse in the background. Then, on Sunday, she ordered her own cheese pizza. And, last night, she ordered soup.

And, on Sunday, when the waitress came to collect plates, she handed hers over and said, "I'm done." And, tried to do the same yesterday.

Distinctly no longer a toddler.


Cheers!
mouse

11.21.11: I Went Pee Pee on the Potty, Dada

Dear Friends and Family,

Yes. We had a play date. Yes. We went to see Trixie for her birthday party.

But, yes, the highlight of our weekend was the start of toilet training. P came home with a sticker on Thursday for using the toilet after nap. Then, she came home with four stickers for using the toilet all day Friday.

So, we tried to continue the toilet thing all weekend. We had some luck, but we're glad we kept her in diapers since it was a hectic weekend with times we forgot to ask her if she needed to go and times she didn't want to go in unfamiliar places.

But, it's a start. And, we've got a less hectic Thanksgiving, so we'll try to continue the process over the long weekend.

I won't even begin to talk about how it makes her seem even more grown up than she already does.


Cheers!
mouse

Over-Thinking to Avoid Over-Committing

Dear Friends and Family,

8 days. 8 days. I must make it through the next 8 days until Thanksgiving weekend. And, I must commit to not doing this craziness next year. I've been thinking of a weekend calendar so we don't over commit.

Breaking the year into four quarter with 13 weeks apiece... Then,

1:
2: housecleaning, manicure
3:
4: housecleaning
5: haircut, wax, manicure
6: housecleaning
7:
8: housecleaning, manicure
9:
10: housecleaning
11: haircut, wax, manicure
12: housecleaning
13:

Now, I just need to lay this up against our calendar for 2012 and see what other commitments we have. Weekends 1, 3, 7, 9, and 13 are free for travel. The other weekends are local, ideally. I think if we lay it out in advance, then the likelihood of doing something like we did this past month will go down and I won't be chanting 8 more days.


Cheers!
mouse

Piling Up

Dear Friends and Family,

It's been several weekends we've been out of town. And, we have a couple more social commitments to get through between now and Thanksgiving. Which means, Thanksgiving will be our first real break from the craziness that has been our fall. And, after Thanksgiving, we have the holidays coming at us full force - with family visits, presents, more social commitments, stuff for P's teachers, and the list goes on.

It's beginning to pile up and I realize I'm going to need to be meticulous with the to do list to come out of this in one piece.

First to do on the list? Winter boots for P. Time to go look on-line.


Cheers!
mouse

11.14.11: River City Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

We went out to Portland to celebrate the joint birthday weekend.

The flight seemed amazingly short after our Tran-Atlantic trips. And, we had a good two days out there thanks to a vacation day on Friday.

Friday, we hit the food trucks for lunch. Mr. mouse and I had a combination of burger with guacamole and cactus which was delicious, an Indian vegetarian plate lunch which was standard and a Chinese noodle dish with a nice kick of pepper. We bought noodles and chicken for P, but also bought a back-up chicken and rice.

Friday, for dinner, we had conveyor belt sushi followed by self-serve frozen yogurt.

Saturday, breakfast, Voodoo doughnuts. Lunch, Bridgeport Ale House. Snack, Stumptown Coffee. Dinner, L+L Hawaiian. Dessert, birthday cake.

Sunday, leftovers in the hotel room.

In between eating, we enjoyed the book store, the toy store, the park, the hotel pool and walking the rainy streets of Portland's colorful neighborhoods. And, in between the walking and eating, it was nice catching up with our friends and remembering that there is life outside the confines of the here and now here in the Windy City (which beckons with a reminder that it is Monday morning and I do have an early morning meeting).

But, before I leave... The foliage in Portland was gorgeous. Tons of maples in glorious shades of pink, peach, orange, yellow and red. Stunning.


Cheers!
mouse

Short Week

Dear Friends and Family,

One week off. Four days back. Two days off. Four days back. Three days off.

Yes. It's the end of the year and I am determined to use my vacation days this year. And, since it's the middle of November, that means there'll be a couple of long weekends thrown into the mix.

I have to say with the dark and now the cold, I feel like hibernating for a couple of months and resurfacing in spring. I've been giving some thought recently to what my "ideal" day would look like. In my fantasy world...

05:00 - 07:00 my time
07:00 - 08:00 everyone gets ready for the day
08:00 - 08:30 commute and drop off P
08:30 - 05:00 work
05:00 - 05:30 pick up P and drive home
05:30 - 06:30 unwind and play
06:30 - 07:30 cook and eat dinner
07:30 - 09:30 unwind and play
09:30 - 10:00 everyone gets ready for bed
10:00 - 05:00 sleep

Currently, it's:

04:30 - 05:45 my time (-45 minutes)
05:45 - 06:30 everyone gets ready for the day (-15 minutes)
06:30 - 08:00 commute and drop off P (+ 1 hour)
08:00 - 05:30 work (+1 hour)
05:30 - 07:30 pick up P and drive home (+1.5 hours)
07:30 - 08:00 unwind and play (-30 minutes)
08:00 - 08:30 cook and eat dinner (-30 minutes)
08:30 - 09:30 unwind and play (-1 hour)
09:30 - 10:00 everyone gets ready for bed (same)
10:00 - 04:30 sleep (-30 minutes)

Now, I just need to find a way to work towards my fantasy world.


Cheers!
mouse

Mouse vs. Food

Dear Friends and Family,

Yes. I am still waiting for the ah-ha moment that motivates me to lose the weight I have put on since becoming a mother. I would call it baby weight, but it isn't. This isn't weight from being pregnant. This is weight from being distracted, low on time, dealing with traffic, putting dinner on the table for P, food is lying around the office when I need a break weight.

I need to face hunger in the face and face it down. I need to be okay with it. I will not starve to death. I will be okay.

I have given myself until the end of my granola bar supply (which is a week or so away) to continue with my current approach - two glasses of milk for breakfast, some carbohydrate with one serving meat and one serving vegetable for lunch, three servings of fruit and one serving of nuts for a snack. After my granola bars run out, I will add two servings of vegetables with cheese and crackers for an afternoon snack.

Who eats this much food and is still hungry?!?!

Today, I will face down hunger and win. I am stronger than you, hunger.


Cheers!
mouse

Entities: Legal and Tax

Dear Friends and Family,

Wow, is it ever complicated. When do I get to the fun part?

Somehow, I think a lot of entrepreneurs gloss over this part and then wish they hadn't. So, here's what I've learned so far.

There's two decisions that need to be made in conjunction that define your business. There's the tax entity decision which tax people like the IRS care about. You've got three choices - sole proprietorship, partnership, some variant of corporation. Then, there's the legal entity decision which lawyers care about. As risk adverse as I am, it has to be some form of limited liability company. There's no way I want somebody to be able to go after my personal assets if this fails. Conversely, I don't want somebody to be able to go after my business assets if I fail. And, that's where it gets complicated.

A limited liability company is a legal entity, but not a tax entity. If you're a limited liability company with one member, you're a single member limited liability company. Makes sense. Your taxes are filed as a "disregarded entity" and you go from there. But, it seems like the legal protection of a single member limited liability company is a lot less than a partnership or a corporation. After all, are you really that different from a sole proprietorship, really?

If you're a limited liability company with two or more members, you can be a partnership or a corporation. Only problem is, I'm doing this alone now since my partner bailed. So, a partnership doesn't make a ton of sense.

Which leaves me with a limited liability company filing as a corporation. The paperwork burden and legal burden is the most onerous with this combination. But, I don't think the other two options really give me what I need. Therefore, I think I'll be reading 805 ILS 180 - Limited Liability Company Act in detail to see what I need to know.


Cheers!
mouse

11.07.11: Interim Week

Dear Friends and Family,

It was a busy week in the mouse house. After being gone two weekends there was a ton to do. And, next weekend we're doing Mr. mouse's birthday. And, the weekend afterwards is some combination of play date, children's theater, Trixie's birthday and recuperation. And, the weekend after is Thanksgiving. How did that happen?

Saturday, we got the house cleaned. And, P and I returned library books and played in the park and ate lunch and shopped in a little corner grocery and dropped off our custom t-shirt order.

Sunday, we played in the park, picked up our t-shirts, and I napped while P and Mr. mouse went to Target. Then, while P napped, Mr. mouse and I rearranged the living room - we took down the baby gate and put the couch back to it's pre-toddler position and determined a wedge couch we have needs to go. One bag of old coats down, several bags to go. It's a never ending battle.

Last night, P and I read books on the couch and it felt so good to be in a room that seemed like a semi-adult room vs. a barricaded accommodation for barreling toddler.


Cheers!
mouse

Little Miss Neat

Dear Friends and Family,

P has book called Little Miss Neat. Little Miss Neat lives in Two Pin Cottage. And, her key to keeping things neat is that everything has its place and everything is in its place.

I need that. I desperately need that.

If everything was in its place, I would be happy. So, let's think about this for a moment.

There can be two problems. Something is not in its place or something does not have a place. Things not being in their place is easy to solve. Things not having a place is what gets me. Like, for instance, the car seat in the living room. It used to be in Mr. mouse's car (which we sold) and now we keep it in case we need it for a rental car.

It's in the living room for crying out loud! On the couch!

Clearly an item with no home. Now, if the car seat had a place I could move it there immediately. But, without a proper home for it, it sits on our couch waiting patiently for a home. What is the proper home for this current irritant?

Well, if placement is determined by where it's needed, I would say somewhere close to the front door makes sense. But, not the couch. I don't want it in sight, which would imply the coat closet is the right place for it, but that's valuable real estate for something that gets used two to four times a year which means it's need to be farther from it's logical home... long term storage... garage or basement... garage... which is full, so we need to find a home there. See, this is why we don't live in Two Pin Cottage.


Cheers!
mouse

Toddler to Pre-K

Dear Friends and Family,

An interesting thing happened while we were on vacation.

P went from toddler to pre-K. I know she's only two and a half, but in the span of a week the talking exploded, she figured out shoes, she leaned out, she told us she was hungry and thirsty, and just so many other things.

When I look at her pictures from a year ago, I see a toddler. When I look at her pictures from the trip, I see a pre-K kid. We're done with the baby years and now I have a sneaking suspicion we're done with the toddler years as well.

What's it like traveling with a two year old? Well, it went remarkably well. The trick, I think, is avoiding the red eyes. They don't sleep well, you don't sleep at all, and everyone's off schedule for a day trying to adjust.

Instead, we took a day flight to Europe that left mid-morning and landed mid-evening. I know, that means we lose a day in transit, but think about it this way...

Everyone gets up and does last minute trip prep. You go to the airport and get on a plane. You spend a long time on the plane. You get your bags, you go to the hotel, you check in, you eat dinner, you go to sleep. Doesn't sound bad, does it?

In comparison. Everyone gets up, spends a full day doing their day routine. You go to the airport and get on a plane. You eat a late dinner. You spend a long time on the plane when everyone should be sleeping, but no one is really sleeping. You get your bags, you go to the hotel, you check in, you should leave for the day because it's morning in Europe, but instead you go to sleep (effectively losing the day you gained by going on the night flight) and when you wake up, you're officially jet lagged because you're still on home time, not on local time.

See my point?

It was never an issue for Mr. mouse and me. We don't get jet lag. But, we didn't want to make that assumption for P. She was off one night (the second night of our trip) when we put her in a pack and play, she woke in the middle of the night and needed care before falling back asleep.

On the way back, we did the same thing almost. We got on a plane mid-morning. We came home. We stayed outside the whole day to avoid falling asleep. We went to sleep earlier than normal, but within the bounds of reasonable. And, we've been on local time since.


Cheers!
mouse

Thanksgiving on My Mind

Dear Friends and Family,

Trip download coming, I promise.

But, today, I have Thanksgiving on my mind because it just dawned on me yesterday that it is just a couple of weeks away. And, I'm thinking about how to make it more healthy.

What's on the menu from last Thanksgiving?

1. turkey (turkey, olive oil, salt, pepper)
2. ham (ham)
3. gravy (turkey drippings, flour, turkey stock, milk, salt, pepper)
4. home baked bread (flour, yeast, salt)
5. mashed potatoes (potatoes, butter, milk, salt, pepper)
6. stuffing
7. green bean casserole
8. candied sweet potatoes
9. corn (corn)
10. cranberry relish
11. apple pie
12. ice cream (egg, sugar, cream, milk, vanilla)

So, choices on a dish to make more healthy? Let's see... Which ones have processed ingredients? Stuffing has sausage, green bean casserole has cream of mushroom soup and fried onions, and candied sweet potatoes have marshmallows.

Sadly, I guess green bean casserole should be the one to get remade. And, if I'm going to remake it, I might as well think about it and look for some inspiration. Can I make it in five ingredients or else? Can I make it vegan? Can I make it gluten free? Can I make it nut free? Can I make it low fat? low salt? low carb? Yes, I'm sure I can make a vast leap from green bean casserole to a new green bean dish that is going to be a fabulous add to our Thanksgiving feast.


Cheers!
mouse

Retirement Review

Dear Friends and Family,

No worries. We're alive and I haven't abandoned my journal.

We went... on... vacation!

But, I'm not going to try and write about that today because I have close to a dozen posts in mind that I need to organize.

So, instead, since it's the last day of the month, I'll do a retirement review.

Needless to say, October was a good month for the mouse retirement fund almost erasing the dismal performance of sad September. More than just erasing a month of bad news, it shows a reversal of trend. Instead of decreasing each month, and more disturbingly, decreasing at an increasing rate, October was a sign that it is worth it to keep investing. There will be times where it's tough to stomach, but, with retirement being a long term strategy, retirement planning is a long term exercise as well.

The retirement range? Now it's between January 2019 and January 2023.


Cheers!
mouse

Friday Friday Friday

Dear Friends and Family,

It's Friday and so far it looks like a manageable day.

I need to make waffles for breakfast for P. I need to pack P's bag and her car food. I need to stop by an ATM. I need to drop off at school. And, then I can head into the office and fill out my expense report.

Then, the madness begins. And, as long as I can make it until 6PM, I can rest easier knowing I have the weekend ahead of me and the work week behind me.


Cheers!
mouse

P.S.: Last night was solo time with P. It's gotten a lot easier now that she's so independent.

Bi-Weekly, Bi-Monthly Retirement Check

Dear Friends and Family,

Contrary to typical advice, I look at my retirement portfolio frequently. How frequently? Twice-a-month frequently.

Yep. Every two weeks, I take a peek at something or other.

I know. The experts say you should look quarterly, but that seems crazy in today's volatile market. And, while I look every two weeks, I don't make "changes" nearly as frequently. I don't change my holdings every two weeks. I change my expectation on retirement date every two weeks.

Yesterday, was one of my two monthly checks. I have a model I built which takes into account inflation because a dollar today won't be worth a dollar tomorrow. And, while in the short run, it's close enough, in the long run it isn't. I know what I want in today's dollar for retirement, but sad to say, I'm not retiring today. And, fingers crossed, I need my retirement to last longer than today because I'm not planning on dying today, knock on wood.

So, inflation needs to be accounted for. And, because it's easier I enter it monthly. And, then I see if it impacts my retirement date. Sometimes, if it's lower than anticipated I can pull my date in by a month or two. Sometimes, if it's higher than anticipated I need to push my date out by a month or two. It tends to even out, but recently I feel like it pushes out two out of three months and pulls in one out of three months... with a gradual creep in retirement date.

Now, my end of month adjustments tend to be more drastic. A good month could pull retirement in three to six months and a very bad month can push retirement out a year or more. That's the adjustment when I look at how our portfolio performed over the month. The last two months have not been pretty. I'm hoping this month is a prettier picture. We'll see in 11 days.

Well, yesterday, I did my inflation math and looked at the numbers and our retirement dates didn't change. Yeah for us!


Cheers!
mouse

Alone and Okay

Dear Friends and Family,

Yesterday, my business partner told me that she didn't have the time nor the money to commit to our idea. And, while I'm bummed to be working alone again since I work best as part of a team, I'm okay with the idea as well.

When you're alone, it's easy to make decisions and you don't need to worry about how to split the equity or what if one partner wants out or a million and one other things. So, once we get back from vacation, I'm going to begin the task of filling out the paperwork to begin my own company.

How exciting is that? I don't know about you, but I'm super excited.


Cheers!
mouse

Laundry Therapy

Dear Friends and Family,

By the time I got home yesterday I was sick. And, one symptom of sick, for me, is cold - cold on the inside, cold on the outside, cold to the core.

Knowing I was sick, Mr. mouse sent me upstairs to rest. And, I lay in bed under a pile of blankets trying to warm up. And, I eventually did. And, I feel better now.

Now, why is it called laundry therapy? One of my exes was convinced you could stave off a bad cold by lying under a pile of freshly done laundry. And, instead of being sick for days on end, you'd be able to nip it in the bud. Well, I thought he was crazy at first until I tried it once and now I'm a believer.

It warms you up and it forces you to rest. And, while I now use extra blankets in lieu of laundry, I still practice it whenever something bad hits me.

Thanks, J, for the tip. I owe you much.


Cheers!
mouse

10.17.11: Fall Colds

Dear Friends and Family,

P caught her first cold of the fall season which means I caught my first cold of the fall season. Her runny nose started on Saturday and my sore throat started last night.

Feeling under the weather made for short tempers all around. But, hopefully, we turn that corner and begin to function again before... vacation.

Yes, long awaited, much overdue vacation. What was supposed to be a spring trip to Asia, but then got delayed to a summer trip to some undetermined destination may finally metamorphosis into a fall trip to Italy.

I've determined there's just too much going on. Uh-oh. I know! This is a perfect moment for a Top 3 Update.

1. Trip Planning. If you're going to take vacation, you might as well throw yourself into the planning so that your precious time off is well spent.
2. Survival. I have a conference. Mr. mouse has work meetings. Mr. mouse has a haircut. P has school pictures. Just need to power through.
3. Recuperation. Must get better.

But, when I get back...

1. My weight. I went shopping for clothes for my trip and realized I've got two choices. I can take the time to manage my food and be happy with everything I try on in the store because I look good (this was me, pre-P) or I can let food happen and then join the ranks of people who are looking for the perfect "thing" that makes them look good because the clothes have to hide my myriad flaws. I'm going to really focus on the former.
2. Time with P. Even it it's dropped to number 2, it's still important to me. It's important to spend the time with her. She's only going to be this little for a short while and then she's not going to want to spend every waking moment with Mr. mouse and me.
3. My business idea. Time to get with the lawyer and open the account and get things rolling. I'm so glad graduate school recommendations are over. Three recommendations, three weekends that I could have spent focused on me.

And, then, before I know it November will roll into December will roll into the holidays. Definitely time to focus before things get too far.


Cheers!
mouse

Fantasy Football Take II

Dear Friends and Family,

A team "came available" and there are five of vying for it. I enjoy it, but it's a time sink. I want to win, but I'm not sad when I'm out. Huh.


Cheers!
mouse

The Less Obvious Option

Dear Friends and Family,

I've decided to concede defeat. I am willing to invest $50 a week in help. $50?!?!

I know, it sounds profligate. But, $217 a month (on average) is a small price to pay for my sanity. I cancelled our never used gym memberships. That's $130 a month right there. Then, $20 a week doesn't sound like it's too much to pay for a little more peace.

One option would be for the person to help on the never-ending war. Namely, places like the kitchen island that never seem to be done, or when they get done, I turn around and they get undone on me.

Or, I can get them started on things that once they're done, they stay more-or-less done. An example would be our gate... P's outgrown her gate, but we have it up still... there were thoughts that we might need it again (no, not for a second child, for when friends with toddlers visit) and then there were thoughts that we can sell it either to a friend or on Craigslist and then we just got lazy and it's sitting there. That's something once it's taken care of it's taken care of for good.

I think I'll continue to fight the good fight on the kitchen island front and have my helper take on the one-and-one things.

Now, I just need to find time to find a helper. Add that to the list under whenever or yeah, right. Still, it's nice to imagine the possibility.


Cheers!
mouse

Retirement Planning

Dear Friends and Family,

Nothing like bad financial news month after month after month to prod a mouse into action. Realizing that stocks and bonds probably will do a lot of ups and downs and not much of anything in the next couple of years, I've been thinking through a different approach.

Step 1: Readjust my expectations on when we'll get to retire. December 2017 just isn't going to happen given The Great Recession. It's more like June 2023 given the current math. That's okay. I just need to manage my expectations.

Step 2: Begin investing the pile of cash we have. Each month we've been saving, but lacking any good options, we've been leaving the money in cash. This time, instead of investing in index funds which probably won't be the answer we need, I'm looking for individual stocks. Yes, I know that's riskier. But, I'm not out there actively trading in odd stocks. I'm looking at companies like Costco and Wal-Mart (neither of which I have purchased, both of which I have looked at).

Step 3: Continue to work on my idea. At best, it's a source of wealth. At worst, it's an intellectual exercise. Hopefully, it'll be cash positive and contribute to our retirement.

Step 4: Look at other ideas. A friend asked if we'd would be interested in investing in his business. We've got a long list of things to look at. But, if at the end of it, it looks interesting, we may.

Step 5: Look at rental properties. Real estate is depressed. Mortgage rates are low. This may be an option if we see something good on the market.

I was super excited about 2017. I'm less excited about 2023. Still, I guess I should consider myself fortunate. Some families when they do the math see a number much larger than 2023 and some families never think to do the math.


Cheers!
mouse

10.10.11: Picnic in the Park

Dear Friends and Family,

You couldn't have asked for nicer fall weather. Actually, it was beautiful summer weather with fall colors for a backdrop. Too bad P had a giant bug bite on her eye. Or, maybe that was a good thing. We could enjoy the weekend without Mr. mouse badgering us to take fall photos.

Saturday, P asked if one of her friends was free. He was. And, we met up for a picnic. We ate. We picked crab apples. We blew bubbles. We threw balls. We watched a bird at a pond. We looked at cars. We ran into P's teacher. We lazed in the sun.

Sunday, P went for bagels with Mr. mouse. We went to the park. Then, P played at home while I had lunch with a friend. She went for a walk afterwards with Mr. mouse. And, after her nap, she ate dinner at the table before we all went out for a supermarket run.

And, that was our weekend. Simple. Fun. Nice.

I was talking with a girlfriend over lunch and it reminded me how important life is - how important happiness is. People make choices all of the time. And, there may be a point in the future when I regret the choices I have made. But, for now, I am happy with the choices I have made - balancing work and life so I have my free time, pursuing moderation so my wants do not exceed my means, maintaining simplicity so I can focus on what's important to me.


Cheers!
mouse

Apples, Apples Everywhere

Dear Friends and Family,

Our kitchen island is back out of control. What's on it? And how do I tame it again?

1. P's lunch box: should be on a cart
2. granola bars and cookies: should be in the cabinet
3. pasta: should be in the cabinet, did we lose track while putting groceries away last week?!?!
4. old cookie: should be tossed
5. P's papers: should go in the pile of P's papers
6. P's art work: should get labeled and put away
7. old bagel: should be tossed
8. plastic bag: huh?!?!
9. black cable: WTF?!?!
10. peanut brittle: should be consumed, there's one piece left
11. nougat: should be tossed
12. bills: should be paid and filed
13. 18 or so apples

Apples. This is what gets you in trouble. No home. And, they look so pretty when the island is bare and you first put them on the island. But, then, those sneaky little things give out permission slips and waivers for all sorts of other things to hang out on the island, and before you know it, chaos has consumed the place.

What to do? Can't let things linger. They need to have a home. Then, they can't go and give out a bunch of permission slips.


Cheers!
mouse

RIP Steve Jobs

Dear Friends and Family,

Last night, we went out to dinner. We drove home. We drew P's bath. We put P to sleep and Mr. mouse and I went straight to bed. And, this morning I woke up, made my coffee and logged on to see what there was to see... And, of course, realized that Steve Jobs had passed away.

I feel like the world is a little emptier today. He made such a difference in all of our lives. And, it seems a little less human today without him. I've worked in technology. I know where bad product development and bad technology can lead. And, I just think it'll be a little less exciting now.

Well, time to go get ready. And, to remember all the amazing things he did. I must be Irish. We need to celebrate his accomplishments, not be sad at his passing.


Cheers!
mouse

10.05.11: Apple Picking

Dear Friends and Family,

We had a most wonderful weekend.

Saturday was the usual routine. I took P to the bakery and then to breakfast and then to a local grocery store then to the library and then home. I think she enjoys the Saturday morning routine - going out with me every other week while Mr. mouse spends time getting the house cleaned.

Sunday, we finally got out of the house by lunch time and headed out to the apple orchards. P had a great time. We weren't sure how she'd do with it because she doesn't like new experiences. But, she loved the wagon ride, she fed apples to her friend Monkey, she tried to pick up every apple off the ground to take home, she ran, she laughed, she smiled for the camera, she fed me apples, she picked apples off of the trees, she went on the wagon a second time, she ran among the pumpkins. It was a most wonderful trip. I love when P spills over with unbridled happiness.

And, now, it's Wednesday. If you're wondering what's going on and why I've been sporadic, it's because I'm working on a Rubik's cube.

I want to sleep. I want to leave on time. I need to weigh my fruit and measure my milk. And, I've got a bunch of things on my mind - a college recommendation I'm writing, my business plan, a business I'm thinking about investing in, a trip we're taking this month, a trip we're taking next month, and Halloween. Yes, my one brain cell is building up a queue here.


Cheers!
mouse

The Timed Approach

Dear Friends and Family,

I've realized the flexibility of Weight Watchers is more than I can handle. Sometimes, too much choice is not a good thing. It forces you to evaluate and make decisions and life is too complicated right now to do that. Plus, I just don't have time to enter all the stuff in.

So. I've been following a different plan for the past two weeks. One that doesn't require me to make many choices.

5AM. I measure out two cups of milk in the morning. I drink some with my first cup of coffee. I drink the rest with my second cup of coffee. Then, I must make it to 11AM. Add water as needed.

11AM. Time for lunch. Pack it in advance. I packed a week's worth on Sunday. Don't think about it, pack it. Then, don't think about it, eat it. This week? 5 oz rice, 2 oz random chicken from the refrigerator, 3 oz random vegetables from the refrigerator/freezer. Reset the water clock by refilling the water bottle.

2PM. Time for snack. 15 oz fruit, 1 oz almonds. Chug whatever water is left from lunch and refill. Then, I must make it until 4:30 PM. Add water as needed.

4:3PM. It's open season on food.

Once I feel like I'm ready, I'll add a 4:30 snack and then tackle dinner and post dinner. But, for now, my brain can handle this. No thinking, just doing. Maybe Nike was onto something when they were on their Just Do It kick.


Cheers!
mouse

Fun Night

Dear Friends and Family,

As promised, P had her fun night. Now, it's back to the mix of fun and games that is our life. Tonight, our friend from the Winter Cabin is visiting and we have mail and dinner. Tomorrow night, I have a board meeting. So, it's odds and ends until Friday for P.

I know life happens. But, why does it seem to happen all at once?


Cheers!
mouse

Ctrl-Alt-Del, Shut Down

Dear Friends and Family,

P's been on a bender since Saturday and needs a reboot.

Ever since we had haircut, we've been bombarding her with new people and adult activities and modified hours and girlfriend just wants to play a little bit.

Today, I think I'll let P have her equivalent of a perfect evening.

• We'll stay for group time at school
• We'll stop at Panda Restaurant for some noodles and chicken
• We'll have three songs when we get home
• We'll play security and read books with Surprise
• We'll have milk and stories in bouncy chair
• We'll have stories in bed

Hopefully, that'll make up for all of stuff we put her through the past couple of days.


Cheers!
mouse

09.26.11: The Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Turns out you sometimes can't predict what your toddler is going to do.

Things P is afraid of:

1. haircuts
2. the dark
3. new people sitting next to her in the car

Things we thought P would be afraid of, but is completely fine with:

1. a new park
2. a play date
3. going over a new friends house for dinner

So, we're 1 for 6 this weekend. (We knew she wouldn't like the haircut.)

And, now, it's time to get ready for work. Sigh.


Cheers!
mouse

09.21.11: Weekend?

Dear Friends and Family,

The weekend? It's Wednesday and I'm writing about the weekend? That's not a good sign.

Okay. Weekend.

Highlight of our Saturday? a trip to the bookstore

Sunday? a last minute purchase of School House Rock tickets

The rest of the weekend? Saturday was a typical start with a trip to the bakery, followed by breakfast, a trip to the library and a trip to the park.

Saturday night, we took P to the bookstore and she fell in love with the train set. And, she didn't want to leave. And, she saw another mother cave and spend an additional 30 minutes with her son at the store letting him play with the train.

I wasn't going to set a precedent. I picked her up and gave her a couple of seconds to calm down. Then, I gave her two options. Option A: we can leave now. Option B: we can put down the train, go over to the benches, read some books, see which books we like, and buy the books we like - three books. She thought about it for a moment and picked the latter option. I put her down. She put down the train. We walked away. I was bursting with pride!

Sunday, we went to see School House Rock. P has been watching some of the old videos. She's allowed up to three a day for nine minutes of screen time. Yes, we meter screen time by the minute. She's been learning the preamble, conjunctions, adverbs, nouns and the legislative process - although if you ask her, she'll say preamble, freight train song, lolly, grandma song and Mr. Bill. The show was a huge success. P loved it. She wants to go back, but it was a one-time showing. Sigh.

And, last but not least, a "friend" had a post on Facebook that I read about. Her 18 month son finished his nap, took off his pants, took off his diaper and the proceeded to pee onto the floor. Her thoughts? Time for toilet training. Mine? Definitely time for training - parent training and toddler training come to mind.


Cheers!
mouse

40 Minutes Later

Dear Friends and Family,

I was curious so I looked. And, then because I found something I kept looking. And, forty minutes, four gift cards later, I placed my order.

En route, if we're lucky, is one Missoni for Target sweater for P, one Missoni for Target set of gloves for me, and two boxes of diapers.

I refuse to pay anything near the prices being asked for on eBay, but $10 for a pair of gloves for me doesn't seem too unpalatable. And, the diapers P will work through. And, the sweater, well, that was the original impetus for looking for $50 of merchandise to qualify for free shipping.


Cheers!
mouse

Anti-Medication Mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

It's slowly dawning on me (or it's something I've known forever, but just don't write about) that I dislike medication. I'm concerned that as a whole we're an over-medicated society. And it may be how the risk-reward incentive system is set up.

I went to the hospital yesterday and the doctor looked at my hand and recommended Benadryl or Claritin to ease the swelling if it was bothering me and he wrote a prescription for antibiotics because he thought I might have an infection.

I filled the prescription, but I have yet to take it. I did cave last night and took a Claritin for the swelling.

My thoughts? What's the risk associated with prescribing the antibiotics? Well, if the FDA is doing it's job, the short term risk should be minimal. Reward? Patient goes away feeling like they have a solution to their problem. What's the risk of not prescribing the antibiotics? Well, if there's no infection, at worst the patient might feel like going to see a doctor is a waste of money. If there is an infection, then that's where all heck can break loose. Therefore, the system is set up to prescribe the antibiotics.

On to the Claritin and Benadryl. Somehow, those don't seem as malignant as the antibiotics. The perception might be because I've taken it before. It might be because it's over the counter. It might be because the list of short term and long term side effects seems to be more clear cut - I'm not creating super-allergens, at least not to my knowledge. It might be because he left it up to me to manage my care - take as needed. Risk to doctor if I take it? Minimal. Risk to doctor if I don't take it? Minimal. Reward to doctor if I take it? Minimal. Reward to doctor if I don't take it? Minimal. Therefore, it feels less motivated since there's nothing either way for him in giving the advice.

To be clear, this is different, in my mind, than my friends parents who tried to pray away her Type I diabetes. There's medication and there's over-medication and everyone draws that line at a different point. My line is drawn well before skipping on the insulin shots, but well after taking a pill just in case.

I think that's one of the most important life skills I can impart upon P - to think through how motivations can incent certain behaviors in people and to think through what that means for how they are interacting with her.


Cheers!
mouse

Turning into a Country Song

Dear Friends and Family,

I one or two calamities away from having the lyrics to a country song. A couple of weeks ago it was the concussion. And, now, it's the bee/wasp sting. I got stung on the hand while waving goodbye to P on Tuesday.

Tuesday, it was a little red dot that stung for a couple of minutes.

Wednesday, it was an angry red blob that itched and was beginning to swell.

Today, it's a hand that looks like it's made of sausage stuffed into casing - swollen to the point where it's impossible to make a fist.

One more calamity and I'm going to put it to verse and publish it on YouTube.


Cheers!
mouse

D-O-L-L Spells Doll

Dear Friends and Family,

We have three toy rules in the house...

1. no battery operated toys
2. no licensed characters
3. nothing gender specific

So, you might be wondering why we gave P an early Christmas gift last night, specifically, a battery operated licensed doll - a true triumvirate of breaking all three rules in one fell swoop. It's like salted caramel, fatty, sweet and salty all at once, but that's another blog post altogether.

Well. It came down to this. She likes playing with dolls at school. While we enjoy Lego and other toys at home it seemed silly to deny her any dolls at home just because they're dolls. Back to the first two rules. Yes, it can sing if you put in batteries, which surprisingly we did not. And, yes, it's licensed, but she doesn't know the brand because it's not a US brand. I had to let Dora and Elmo into the house to a degree - they're on her diapers. And, her friends at school taught her Mickey Mouse.

She was giddy when I gave her the doll. She wrapped her in a blanket and played with her all night. She gave her a pretend bath and she took her upstairs to read books. Hopefully, she doesn't play with the doll to the exclusion of all of her other toys. We'll have some plush friends with hurt feelings if she does.

This will stymie any guilt at vetoing any dolls she does get for Christmas. I hate to be that parent, but I almost wish I could put out a list of idea generators for the grandparents. I hate that they spend money on stuff that I then prefer for P not to have. My parents fare better than Mr. mouse's since my sister keeps them in check. I'm staring around the living room to see if I can figure out what they got her, but I'm drawing a blank. Mr. mouse's folks got P a purple dollhouse. Time for that puppy to go back down into the basement, I think. Done.

Oh, and if you're wondering what our deprived child got for non-battery operated, non-licensed, non-gender-specific birthday... well, she got several puzzles, several board games, a large yellow ball, a duck puppet, a zoo set and lots of books. It is possible, it just takes a little more imagination.


Cheers!
mouse

09.12.11: More Time at Home

Dear Friends and Family,

Asked what we did this weekend, and I couldn't remember. It must be the concussion.

Even with my foursquare crutch, I needed help from Mr. mouse. Saturday, we went for bagels in the morning. Then, we took turns showering before heading out for a walk. We took P to the library and then a neighborhood market where she fell in love with the shopping cart and then to the park. We blew bubbles, kicked a ball, and ran in the playground. Then, we came home for lunch and afternoon nap.

Dinner? We tried a new pizza joint and then walked over for ice cream.

Sunday... We took our sweet time getting out of the house. Then, more bagels followed by art fair followed by macaroons at the bakery. P fell asleep at the art fair, so we had the afternoon to clean and then we capped off the evening with a supermarket run.

And, delight of delights, our kitchen island is clear again. Now, to regain the rest of the kitchen... We'll see, my to do list is beginning to grow again. It always seems like I get ahead only to fall behind. One day I will figure this out.

Oh, and football started. So, while I don't watch any games, I do watch my fantasy football stats. Looks like Ravens DST and Drew Brees will pull me through in one piece this week. Unlike other leagues, our league eliminates the lowest team each week. Then, the remaining team pick apart the spoils. It's quite vicious.

And, I have a hypothesis going. There's the theory of outliers and a magical 10,000 hour point beyond which your expertise grows non-linearly. Well, I think it applies to much of child development. And, because P has such a long commute and such helicopter parents and such good teachers at school, I think she's hitting that 10,000 hour point in verbal development and that's why we're seeing such an explosion in her verbal skills.

Well, we all hit that point sometime in our life. With her, by hitting it earlier, it gives her a chance to "move on" to other things. My job? Keeping the white lab coats away and keeping Mr. mouse from filling her head with uselessness.


Cheers!
mouse

Doctor's Appointment

Dear Friends and Family,

After going in for my concussion, I realized I was woefully out of date on my regular check-ups. So, I'm going in today for a check-up.

I know my health won't be as good as it was the last time I went in 2006. For one thing, I'm five years older and close to 25 pounds heavier. But, more important than that, I haven't been sleeping as much or exercising as much. So, it's bound to be worse than last time.

But, still, it'll be good to check. Perhaps this is the wake-up call I need to be more mindful.


Cheers!
mouse

Four Day Work Week

Dear Friends and Family,

I like short work weeks. It's already Thursday!

Our toddler is quickly becoming a pre-K. P's feet had a growth spurt. And, she's looking taller as well. A lot of her clothes from last year fit from a width perspective, but some are simply too short. Mr. mouse tried to convince her that one piece was a "cropped hoodie," but she simply said, "I don't like cropped hoodie. P want sweater."

Then there's the more amazing growth spurt. She's beginning to recognize sounds like words that begin with or have the letter S in them. She's got two or three sight words down. And, she can get the concept of reading a sentence, like last night when I wrote P sleeps on cot on Mr. mouse's white board and she pointed to words as she recited the sentence.

She's got a good handle on her puzzle which is marked for ages four plus. And, she's got a good handle on her mix and match cards - you flip 20 cards face down and flip them over two at a time matching them. And, her memory is oddly good. She remembers that our friend has two guitars - a red one and a green one - even if she only saw the guitars for a couple of moments. And, she remembers that Mr. mouse has sushi pieces on a grey cabinet even if it's been over a month since she was there.

Like I keep telling Mr. mouse, my job is to keep the freaks in the white coats away.


Cheers!
mouse

When McDonald's Is a Good Idea

Dear Friends and Family,

I was leaving work yesterday, tired, hungry, frazzled. And, I made a brilliant decision with the few working neurons I had left in my head. An afternoon snack. Yes, a snack, so that I don't get home and find myself famished and eat half of the refrigerator before realizing that that was a bad idea. Brilliant. An afternoon snack.

Since I was already walking to my car, I reached into my bag for one of two granola bars I keep in there for just such an emergency. And, I pulled it out and realized a rodent had gotten to it.

Now, I realize my journal is called mouse journal. Ironically, I HATE mice. And, to have evidence of one in my bag is more than my mind can take. I think I need a new bag and a new house and a new everything. It's all mouse infested as far as I'm concerned.

Fortunately for my Weight Watchers plan, P was hungry on the way home, and after getting gas we stopped by a McDonald's. I got a hamburger for 7 points and P got a small fries. Afternoon snack problem solved.

Too bad we have a much larger rodent problem to deal with.


Cheers (or not)!
mouse

09.06.11: Quiet Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

Long weekend. No travel. No major plans. Not a bad idea.

Saturday, P and I did our usual routine while the house was being cleaned. We went for breakfast, P ordered her usual ham, pancakes, syrup and dip. Then, we bought bread. And, last but definitely not least, we went to the library to return some books and get some new ones.

Then, we came home and ate lunch and played until it was time to get ready for our play date. Mr. mouse walked P until she fell asleep. Then, he loaded her in the car and I drove while he showered. Yes, it's that complicated sometimes.

We drove to the edge of the earth to go to an amusement park/petting zoo/arcade/paintball/water park coming soon/go kart coming soon place that is clearly trying to define its reason for being. No surprise, P hated all of the animals. She was interested in all of the rides, but only enjoyed the ones she could ride with Mr. mouse. But, in the end, she was glad she went. We went for dinner afterwards and then hit the grocery store for milk.

Sunday? We went to the park and surreptitiously fed the ducks and not so surreptitiously blew bubbles. Mr. mouse snapped some pictures. We ate some plate lunch. Nap in car and in crib.

And, Monday? Brunch with Auntie Janet!

The highlight of the weekend? Mr. mouse built P a simple Lego plane. While he was playing with her, I built a simple security station with a belt, two benches and the TSA agent played by P's bus driver. Next came a gate. And, that was the weekend. The Lego people went through security and went to the gate and got on the plane all weekend long. P even let a giraffe through security, once.



Cheers!
mouse

Hard Brain

Dear Friends and Family,

I don't know if it's the concussion or if I'm getting old or it's my analyst, but his way of doing Excel is impossible for me to follow.

I consider myself an above average Excel user. But, I also try to make my work easy for someone else to pick up, probably because I've picked up a file or two in the past that were bears to wrap your arms around.

But, his Excel sheets are IMPOSSIBLE to follow. He uses one formula over and over again to do a multiple row, multiple column combo vlookup hlookup which really is kind of nifty but is impossible to easily audit.

I just can't bring myself to begin writing formulas that way. Like I said, I'm not sure if it's the concussion or I'm getting old or I just refuse to pick up something that the next person can't follow.

Perhaps I should change my name from mouse to dinosaur.


Cheers!
tyrannosaurus mouse

I Need an Attorney

Dear Friends and Family,

Normally, no good comes of those words.

But, we do need an attorney and it is something we are excited about. My partner is setting up time with the two of us and an attorney to discuss setting up a limited liability company (LLC) for our new company.

And, for me, that makes it real for a very simple reason. An attorney costs money. And, until you fork over the first dollar, it's just an idea, a mental exercise. Once money's involved, it's for real.

Next on the list, setting up the entity and then opening a bank account. There's so much stuff that has to be done before we get to the fun stuff of actually opening our business. Huh.


Cheers!
mouse

Getting Closer

Dear Friends and Family,

Our dream of starting a small business is getting closer.

We have a name. We have agreement on the basics of our partnership agreement - how we split the money, what happens if a partner wants out, and what happens if a partner dies. We're looking for a lawyer and we're looking at software to manage our finances.

My goal for September is to have a legal entity created, have a bank account opened and be able to process transactions. The first transactions will be dummy transactions - just to make sure we can do the simple things right (like bill a client and pay a vendor) then we'll add on more complicated things like pay an employee. And, then the fun begins.

I'm not sure if this will be a viable business which is why it's currently a weeknight/weekend venture. If it grows into something big, then I'll take the leap into it being a full time job. We'll see.


Cheers!
mouse

Consumer Sentiment?

Dear Friends and Family,

Well, it's not the end of the month yet, but I had a sneak peak at the retirement portfolio and it's not a pretty picture. And, the short term cash picture is better than it was a month ago, but still not feeling particularly fine there either.

Add to all of that lay-offs at the office and contemplating starting a small business and it's no wonder I've got the jitters.

Last September was surprise good news. Then, we had seven months of good news which left me feeling pretty buoyant. Then, May looked like a bump in the road. Then, June looked like a pot hole. Then, July looked like we would be on the cobblestones for a stretch. But, August, well, August looks like a sink hole.

August looks like we'll be working several more years than we wanted to. The light at the end of the tunnel? Don't have to worry about it being the train because it just went out.

Time to adopt a hunker down and retrench strategy because it's going to be awhile to wait this one out.

On a positive note, several friends seem to be moving so the job market seems to be loosening up. But, I'm not sure I want to make a bunch of changes. P likes her school. I am working on my business idea.

Time to hunker down and retrench.


Cheers!
mouse

08.29.11: Birthday Weekend

Dear Friends and Family,

It's my birthday today. Happy Birthday, mouse!

The birthday weekend was a mish mosh of events. We went to a food truck social on Saturday - bust - incredibly long lines for some trucks and no food left for other trucks.

Sunday, we went to bruncher - as in breakfast, lunch and dinner all rolled into a single meal. Then, we went for a walk in the zoo. P actually enjoyed the zoo - looking at the flamingos and the ducks and the penguins and even the giraffes and the ostrich. She's still not a big fan of the lion, but it's a definite improvement over the last couple of visits. Perhaps it's time for a return trip out to San Diego or at least back to the local zoo.


Cheers!
mouse

Diagnosis: Mild Concussion, Prognosis: Continued Improvement

Dear Friends and Family,

I went to the doctor yesterday to have my head looked at since it was still bothering me from Monday. Given my condition on Wednesday, he was tempted to send me in for testing. But, given my improvement on Thursday, he was also inclined to send me home and have me watch for additional changes.

Well, I continue to feel better. Headache is mostly gone. Tenderness is mostly gone. Things still not feeling 100% up there, but I feel functional which is better than I've felt all week. So, I'm hoping I'm on the mend.

And, because I was there, I made an appointment for a follow-up general appointment. I'll be going in next Friday to get a check-up. Other than (or is it then? see, I'm still not 100%) my head, I feel like I'm in okay health. I know I need to lose some weight, but nothing's bothering me. Here's to hoping it's just a check-up.


Cheers!
mouse

Toddler Discipline

Dear Friends and Family,

I know sometimes Mr. mouse and I take helicoptering parenting to new levels. This is one of the reasons why we're probably only going to have one child. I can't see us upping the ante and doing this twice.

I try not to be too proud of P, knowing that there will be times, when I least expect it, that she'll let me down. I don't complain too loudly if she gets bitten in school, knowing that at some point she, too, may bite a classmate.

But, Monday, I got clocked on the head by one of her classmates. Bad enough that I'm going to see a doctor today. Headaches, sleepiness, nausea, dizziness - seems like a doctor's visit was in order.

I told my colleagues at work that P would at most do something like twice. Twice? Well, the first time we would say something like we don't throw things at people. Then, we'd monitor. If P were to hypothetically throw a second object at a person, it would be a non-stop 24/7 barrage of why we don't throw things at people. As in...

"I see my flag. American flag. My country flag." "In America, we raise our children to be polite. It's not polite to throw our toys." "Last light." "That's right, we're almost home. When we get home, we'll play with our toys. We'll play nicely. It's not nice to throw our toys." "P like brown ice cream." "Ice cream is for good little girls. Good little girls don't throw their toys."

And on and on until we thought the message had sunk in. She's a smart one, but more importantly we're determined ones.

I'm not sure if some kids are feistier than others. I'm not sure if it's a gender thing. I'm not sure if it's a parenting thing or if P gets special treatment in school. I don't know. I just know we wouldn't have much tolerance for it in the mouse house.

We did have a throwing incident at home once when she was much younger. She was learning to throw a ball and we were giving her smiles and words of encouragement and having a fun evening. Well, she picked up a ball-shaped toy and threw that next and we had to explain that not all round toys were balls. It hasn't happened again since so we didn't have to test our discipline theory.

Here's to hoping that we won't have to.


Cheers!
mouse

Stock Purchasing

Dear Friends and Family,

I'm making my first re-entry into the stock market. We spent a bunch of months paying down the house, building up the emergency fund, etc. And, then, we spent a bunch of months sitting on cash because the market seemed like such a crazy place.

Why the change? I had a conversation with a friend yesterday. And, I'm not sure I agree 100% with everything he does. But, sometimes he says things that make sense. And, yesterday, it did. The concept is to invest in strong companies which bring a "buy high" implication which is counter-intuitive, until you think about it in a people context, where if you were investing in people, you invest in good performers, not in mediocrity.

So, I took a very "bold" move and decided to invest less than what some people spend on a new outfit. At the same time, I'll be entering in a stop sell later today which should theoretically further limit my losses.

We'll see. It won't make us wealthy, but it's something to continue looking at.


Cheers!
mouse

08.23.11: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 140.4

A loss is a loss is a loss and one I'm not complaining given that I had cake before heading to the game, kettle corn at the game and wine with the neighbors after the game. Sunday, I got to indulge in my love of thin crust pizza. Given all that a couple of days before weigh-in, I'll take a 0.2 pound loss.

I have to admit, I've fallen in love with a new service they offer at work. It's a concierge service, but without any service fees. There is a minimum purchase requirement of $20 for which they do your "shopping" for you. Yesterday, I got my Diet Cokes, a couple of Lean Cuisines, paper towels, dried blueberries, diapers and P's crackers all boxed up and dropped off at my desk. I don't use it for fresh foods (remember, I need to cross oceans to get home from work), but it does reduce the temptations, having someone buy exactly what you need. Plus, it saves time and money. See why I've fallen in love?


Cheers!
mouse

08.22.11: Quiet Weekend at Home

Dear Friends and Family,

Actually, it was a quiet weekend at home with our old friends from the Winter Cabin. We went to visit for a baseball game and because FB seems to be my scheduling nemesis, we had a quiet weekend with our old neighbors which isn't a bad thing.

The game wasn't even close. But, it was nice to spend the evening out watching a game, watching the sunset and enjoying the times. And, while it took longer than you would have thought humanly possible, Mr. mouse crossed another item (vaguely) off of our "yeah, right" list. We have a third cell phone. Three people still call us on it. I have already contacted one of the three people. It's a personal mission to contact the other two in the next year. Because, yes, my clutter hoarder husband also hoards phone numbers in the off chance that someone somewhere will try to reach him and be stymied by a disconnected phone number. Somehow, these long lost people will not think to check google and find him on facebook or linkedin. Yes, this is the world I live in.

Well, I had harbored a secret hope that we would FINALLY lose this number. AT&T had discontinued the phone and the rate plan. And, if we did nothing by 8/31 we would be minus an extra number and plus $60 a month that we pay for this lunacy. $720 a year for the off chance someone needs to find us. Yes, this is the world I live in. Instead of letting the madness end, Mr. mouse spent an hour and half on Sunday at the AT&T store converting his sad appendage into a prepaid plan with a new phone. I hate myself and am torn as to whether or not I should cross this off of the list or leave it on there and tackle it next year. As in, what do you want for your birthday? I want you to cancel that effing third cell phone number.

Seems a little melodramatic. I don't know. For now, it's still on my list... We'll see if I continue copying it over each time or if at some point I cave and let it go. If only Mr. mouse wasn't sure a hoarder.

On a completely non-related thread, I had a moment of inspiration while on the plane. Dinner needs to be addressed. I pick up P by 6PM. We hit the road and get home somewhere in the neighborhood of 7 to 7:30PM. Before you know it, it is 8PM and I am starving (since I eat lunch at 11AM). Dinner is on the table somewhere around 8:30 on a good night. And, then, by 9, we're trying to get P to sleep. Yes, I know the real problem is the fact that it takes an ungodly amount of time to get home - and we have three options there - stop working, move work closer to home, or move home closer to work, but I'm ready to cross any of those bridges quite yet. So, back to dinner.

In a perfect world, Mr. mouse would also leave work at 6 and get home and cook and we'd have a hot meal when P and I get home. Folks, we don't live in a perfect world. So, here's my draft at something that may work.

This would involve much prep in advance, but it would free up weeknights for spending time with P while keeping food on the table.

4 meals prepped in advance, 1 night out (in no particular order):

Sandwich and Soup: one sandwich on good quality bread with two extra ingredients thrown in so that it's not just meat on bread and a bowl of soup

Salad and Soup: one salad with two extra ingredients thrown on top so it's not a bed of mixed greens with meat and a bowl of soup

Fried Rice: exactly what it sounds like

Rice with Meat and Vegetables: rice with stir-fry

Dinner Out: because realistically, we need a night out each week

What I would need to prep in advance:

1. plan the menu
2. shop for ingredients: stop by the bakery for good quality bread, mixed greens, whatever is on the plan for the week
3. prepare the stuff: make ahead meat, two sandwich adds, two salad adds, soup
4. pre-portion it out: pre-portioned meat for the stir-fry, pre-cut vegetables for the stir-fry, 6 oz sandwich meat, 6 oz salad meat, 2 oz fried rice meat, rice for fried rice, two sandwich adds, two salad adds, two fried rice adds, four servings soup in two containers

What's left to do on the weeknight:

Soup and sandwich night: heat the soup, toast the bread, assemble the sandwich

Soup and salad night: heat the soup, wash and dress the greens, assemble the salad

Fried rice night: heat the pan, toss it all in with an egg, stir and serve

Rice with meat and vegetables night: heat the pan, toss it all minus the rice, stir and serve with rice

Huh, I need to continue to revisit this. I'm exhausted just thinking about this.


Cheers!
mouse

Yeah, Right

Dear Friends and Family,

I made it through another week at work. And, while it wasn't a fun week by any measure, I think I made a difference this week. We had to let someone go in our department and two people were taking it really hard. I think I made a difference for them in making the week more bearable.

On a personal note, we crossed an item off of our "yeah, right" list. You're thinking, huh? I sort my to do list into three buckets:

• NOW!
• whenever
• yeah, right

Mr. mouse had a camera that stopped working. It sat in a bin for months on end. He finally sent it in to be repaired. They couldn't repair it and sent it to level 2 repair. They couldn't repair it. He researched the crazy list of options of cameras available (new and used) to come up with a list of price, feature, benefit, etc. And, he bought a new camera which just arrived. That's why it's on our "yeah, right" list.

Other stuff on that list?

• our dead desktop
• digitize wedding video
• the dead watch
• the marginal air conditioning
• the third cell line that we don't need
• our decrepit gym membership
• our sad money market account which earns almost no interest
• the worn out deck table

Yes, it's a sad list of stuff that usually gets copied from week to week to week, untouched, with little faith it will ever get touched. When it does, it's an extra dose of feeling good.


Cheers!
mouse

Yikes!

Dear Friends and Family,

There's a mouse in the house. I saw it this morning. And, so did Mr. mouse. I can't think of anything else at the moment.


Cheers!
mouse

Mormonism Meets Buddhism Meets mouse

Dear Friends and Family,

First and foremost, I'm not even considering converting to Mormonism - raised a Catholic by a mom who once considered entering a convent, I've found my comfort level with religion in being a Buddhist of sorts.

Being a Buddhist, I am 110% comfortable with the idea that there are useful concepts and constructs to be found everywhere and if you find something that works for you, it's fair game to pick it up and adapt it to your use.

One of the things I do like about Mormonism is the approach to money. Replace "tithe" with "donate to charity" and "replace 10% of your income" with "what you think makes sense to you" and we have a workable solution of sorts.

Another tenet is to avoid debt - to live within your means and to recognize the difference between wants and needs. Amen.

Followed by use a budget. This one I've gotten a little slack on. We used to have a very strict budget. Now, we know how much we need to save for retirement and as long as the monthly budget balances, I don't get too hung up on the details. Last month and the month before were tight, but this month is shaping up better.

Let's see... Build a reserve. Yes! This is a tough one and one we took a couple of years to do. I'm still not sure if it's the "right" amount, but it's enough so that I can sleep soundly at night. If one of us loses our job or decides to try something new or both, then we can last indefinitely on the other income although retirement will slip out several years if that were the case. If both of us lose our jobs (I'll assume we don't both decide to try something new spontaneously and simultaneously as that seems like poor planning) then we have one or more years of reserve depending upon how much we cut back on our expenses. Again, not sure if it's the right amount, but it's enough so that I can sleep soundly at night.

And, last but not least, get the word out. Family? Not very successful on this front as I'm concerned any conversation on the above makes several family members begin to believe I am an angel investor and they are a worthy start-up. Friends? Yes, especially ones with a natural interest in managing their finances.

See? Totally fine adapting and using good stuff from everyone.


Cheers!
mouse

08.16.11: Weekly Weigh In

Dear Friends and Family,

weigh in: 140.6

Well, at least the number is going in the right direction - down (in case you were wondering). Actually, this is tied to my happiness map. I have a lot less interest in eating out - it's a good way to save money and to help with the weight loss.

There's still a place for eating out in our routine. It's just not as often and when we do eat out, it's for something more worthwhile. Realistically, we'll eat out at least once each week on a weeknight - when the traffic is bad or we're picking up mail or something comes up. Then, I think twice on the weekend is a reasonable goal - once on Saturday, once on Sunday. That might seem like a lot, but it's down from our current trends.

We typically ate out 1-2 times during the weeknights and maybe 3-4 times on the weekends. Toss in 5 lunches at work and it adds up. I've been taking Lean Cuisines in for lunch so lunches at work are down to a more manageable 1-2 per week as well.

before: 11X per week
after: 5X per week, still a lot, but a lot better

Eating out is mindless. You order, play with P, and someone brings you your food. It's an easy routine to fall into. Eating in takes work. But, we've come to realize P rarely eats what we eat for dinner, so the bar gets set lower. She can have rice and beans and we can have leftovers. It can be equally mindless if you want it to be.


Cheers!
mouse