"Top 10 Signs of Spring in Colfax" and the Self-Improvement Blog

Here's our home-grown version of a "Top 10" list...

Top 10 Signs of Spring in Colfax

1. The chickens are laying eggs again!

2. The kids complain when I make a fire in the house.

3. The moss on our lawn is greening up nicely.

4. There's an even distribution of chicken poop throughout the yard.

5. Emma is trying to wear shorts to school.

6. Neighbor kids stop by more frequently.

7. Toys-- ALL OVER THE YARD.

8. Our snow has been replaced by mud.

9. I'm digging through the closet for capris pants (and may actually shave my legs at some point).

10. Last fall's giant pumpkin (the one Jonathan unloaded for us) looks like this now (see photo).

Ba-dump-ba!

Here's more fun... we had birthdays recently.

A little girl we know, Olivia Bourget, turned three at the end of March. The kids and I attended her birthday party.

Olivia's dad was Aaron Bourget, a friend and co-worker of Jon's who died almost two years ago after being hit by a car.

The little boy in the foreground is his son James, born after his dad died. I'm sorry I don't have a photo showing James' face... but he's the image of his dad. And the sweetest little boy.

Olivia is only a week older than Leila but very much the big girl already. She wear underpants (not diapers) and opened all her own presents (with just a little help from Mom). She gave every gift-giver a nice thank you hug.

The following week we celebrated Leila's third birthday.

We had a small family celebration at home, with cake and presents. Unfortunately my frosting turned out runny, as you can tell by the frosting "skirt" pictured above, so the cake wasn't pretty. But it sure tasted good!

As for cake... I'll be eating less of that now.

Yesterday I joined a weight-watch website. It's a free site that was recommended to me by Jay's mom (Susan's future mother-in-law), who also uses it. It helps track your weight loss progress. You record your meals and snacks, and it counts the calories for you. You also record whatever exercise you do.

I think it will help. I've been doing good with my walking and have stopped drinking soda, but getting the eating under control will no doubt be my biggest challenge. As many of you know, we Braggs of Rhinelander are notorious snackers.

As I mentioned in my last blog, I've taken up drawing again. So far I've finished portraits of the three younger kids, and will next turn my attention to the older three.

I've been rather stymied there. I've done two portraits of David this week but wasn't happy with either version and threw them both away... they just didn't look like him. I think the problem is that I don't have a good, clear, recent photograph of him to work with. The best photos I have are from when he had long hair, and his look is so different now.

So I'll have to wait till we go down to see Susan and David in May. Then I can hopefully get a few good close-up photos that will help me capture that elusive "essence of David" :).

This (unflattering) photo of me was taken just a few days ago. All of the snow you see in the background is completely gone today. It's been warm and our only remaining snow is in the woods and shady spots.

But I digress!

Besides weight loss, there's a "Part 2" to my self-inflicted self-improvement program. I'm starting to think seriously about what I want to do after Leila starts kindergarten... and dreaming of a job I would really enjoy. An actual Career.

But a career in what? You'd think I'd have this all figured out after 6+ years of college and by age 41, but no... Anyway, hoping to figure out that puzzle, I took a career aptitude test last week.

The test results gave me an interesting look at my "work" personality. Without boring you with all the details, apparently I'm "effective at bringing others together", "extremely committed" and I "handle people with tact." Some of it seemed contradictory (I'm "aloof" but also "people oriented"... is that possible?), but for the most part I thought the observations were pretty accurate.

I was also given 20+ possible careers that might be a good fit for me.

Some of the potential careers-- like novelist, artist, playwright, and poet-- were fun to see listed but probably not anything I'd be willing to bet our family finances on.

"Teacher" was listed, but here again, I think no... and not just because of the unfriendly political climate (and looming wage cuts) that teachers face these days. I just don't think I have the knack, that special gift for teaching, that spark, that I know my best teachers had.

"Director of religious education" and "priest/clergy" were on the list-- but again, no.

Most thought-provoking for me were things like human resource manager, mediator, mental health counselor, or editor. These are things I could realistically see doing (and loving).

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on my progress! I guess the next step would be to research local demand for these careers (since I don't want to relocate) and find out what further education would be needed for each. After that I'll feel ready to make an informed choice.

I hope my blog readers will send me tips along the way!