I just noticed something.... depending on which web browser you use to open up my blog, the formatting may or may not look like I intended it.
I use Mozilla Firefox, and the blog looks just like I want it to. When I open the blog in Internet Explorer, the pictures and formatting from my last post are all jacked up.
Frustrating.
Any techies know how I can fix this?
Monday, April 28, 2008
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Garden
Here's a peek at our garden so far this spring. It's still in infancy stage, so I'll post again in another month or so.
We planted Big Boy tomatoes, roma tomatoes, grape tomatoes, squash, cucumber, zucchini, and cabbage. On our back deck we have two varieties of lettuce, strawberries, and several herbs.
Before.............................................................................After
Herbs............................................................................Lettuce
Strawberries (one plant)...................................................The Sexy Gardner
Hopefully we'll have lots of yummy fruits and veggies to share! (Sorry, I'm not sharing The Sexy Gardner....)
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Convicted
I was reading Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" this morning, and today's devotion kind of kicked my butt on the whole burnout thing.
You can read it here.
(If you read this days later, it was the April 23rd devotional).
If you have any deep thoughts after reading it, I'd love to hear them!
You can read it here.
(If you read this days later, it was the April 23rd devotional).
If you have any deep thoughts after reading it, I'd love to hear them!
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Burnout
I'm sure everyone experiences burnout in some form or fashion at different times in their lives. At the moment, I find myself in major mortgage burnout.
Don't get me wrong - I love what I do and really couldn't imagine doing anything else. Well, except for nothing. Which is where I find myself currently. I'd really just rather be doing absolutely nothing. Of course, I'd find things to do, such as playing golf, or reading a book, or organizing some things at home. But instead, here I sit at my office and I'm writing this. So, I'm AT work, but most certainly not working.
I think that all Loan Officers in my field fall victim to the roller-coaster effect. I read a mortgage broker's blog recently and he had this to say about it: "The roller-coaster effect comes into play when one's income soars and then dips. Their emotions follow suit. They go from feeling invincible when their pipeline is big and they fund everything out and they get a big check - to desperate, angry and depressed when they realize their pipeline is dry. They lose faith in their ability to earn a steady income and become less effective as their attitude deteriorates. They are constantly stressed out and irritated and feel like their career is out of control. They become skeptical that the system works, and may even question why they got into commission based sales in the first place."
While I don't necessarily experience the extremes of emotion that this guy obviously does, I can certainly relate. My business is slower right now, and it's a very complicated and challenging time in my industry (who HASN'T heard about the "mortgage mess"??). But next month, who knows? I could have 10 referrals from past customers or friends and I'm back on top. This is the challenging part of my career, for sure.
The beautiful part of what I do (other than getting to help people with some of the most important financial decisions they will ever make) is that I get to make my own schedule and work as much or as little as I please. I generally take about 5 weeks off per year. If I feel like going home to take a nap, I just go. There are no expectations of me, no "quotas", nothing. I can make as much or as little as I want to. And I LOVE that flexibility. But the downside is that I have absolutely no idea what my paycheck will be two months from now. As of today, it is nada. Zippo. But there's always, tomorrow, and I don't know what's around the bend. There is ALWAYS something around the bend.
I'll push through my burnout. I WILL get past it. In the meantime, I might be reading a few more books than normal, or going to hit some golf balls in the middle of the day for no good reason.
Don't get me wrong - I love what I do and really couldn't imagine doing anything else. Well, except for nothing. Which is where I find myself currently. I'd really just rather be doing absolutely nothing. Of course, I'd find things to do, such as playing golf, or reading a book, or organizing some things at home. But instead, here I sit at my office and I'm writing this. So, I'm AT work, but most certainly not working.
I think that all Loan Officers in my field fall victim to the roller-coaster effect. I read a mortgage broker's blog recently and he had this to say about it: "The roller-coaster effect comes into play when one's income soars and then dips. Their emotions follow suit. They go from feeling invincible when their pipeline is big and they fund everything out and they get a big check - to desperate, angry and depressed when they realize their pipeline is dry. They lose faith in their ability to earn a steady income and become less effective as their attitude deteriorates. They are constantly stressed out and irritated and feel like their career is out of control. They become skeptical that the system works, and may even question why they got into commission based sales in the first place."
While I don't necessarily experience the extremes of emotion that this guy obviously does, I can certainly relate. My business is slower right now, and it's a very complicated and challenging time in my industry (who HASN'T heard about the "mortgage mess"??). But next month, who knows? I could have 10 referrals from past customers or friends and I'm back on top. This is the challenging part of my career, for sure.
The beautiful part of what I do (other than getting to help people with some of the most important financial decisions they will ever make) is that I get to make my own schedule and work as much or as little as I please. I generally take about 5 weeks off per year. If I feel like going home to take a nap, I just go. There are no expectations of me, no "quotas", nothing. I can make as much or as little as I want to. And I LOVE that flexibility. But the downside is that I have absolutely no idea what my paycheck will be two months from now. As of today, it is nada. Zippo. But there's always, tomorrow, and I don't know what's around the bend. There is ALWAYS something around the bend.
I'll push through my burnout. I WILL get past it. In the meantime, I might be reading a few more books than normal, or going to hit some golf balls in the middle of the day for no good reason.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Trip Pictures
Can't help but show off my family. In order of age... here is Cade (he'll be 4 in July):
My sister Jennie ("Nennie" to the nephews) loves to paint with Cade.
Here is Reid... He'll be 2 in August. He's with his mommy, Julie, on the swing.
Landry is a little over 8 months old. His smile will melt any heart.
And finally... Cooper is 3 months old today! He is a snuggle bunny and I couldn't get enough of him.
Here are some other photos from my trip:
My half niece got married on the beach. That's my dad performing the ceremony! He is a justice of the peace, and my niece Nikki wanted her grandfather to do the wedding. It was really special.
My sister Jennie ("Nennie" to the nephews) loves to paint with Cade.
Here is Reid... He'll be 2 in August. He's with his mommy, Julie, on the swing.
Landry is a little over 8 months old. His smile will melt any heart.
And finally... Cooper is 3 months old today! He is a snuggle bunny and I couldn't get enough of him.
Here are some other photos from my trip:
My half niece got married on the beach. That's my dad performing the ceremony! He is a justice of the peace, and my niece Nikki wanted her grandfather to do the wedding. It was really special.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Back in town
I got back from Texas late Monday night, but have been in a bit of a fog the past few days, as I came back sick. I don't know if I should blame my parents or my nephews, so I'll just blame both!
The trip itself was wonderful. I'll post pictures when I have a few more minutes. I got to meet my newest little nephew Cooper who is sweeter than North Carolina iced tea, and I also got to see my half-niece get married. It was just a great trip. The only thing that was missing was my husband. I really missed not having him around, especially at the wedding.
I did find out that my man was loved on by my dear friends Stephanie and Lou. They came over to our house and kidnapped him one night and took him to dinner and then First Friday in Raleigh. I think he would have stayed holed up the whole week if they hadn't done that. It was really thoughtful of them, and it touched Jeremy that they did that. (However...... he forgot to bring his cell phone, so here's me calling from Texas at 10:00, then 11:00, then 11:30pm, and wondering where the heck my husband is!!! He got a small scolding for not calling me until midnight, but I quickly forgave him and was glad he had a great night out.)
One other small observation from my trip: taking care of kids is a physical workout!! I have 4 little nephews ages 2.5 months to almost 4 years, and I was a little sore from constantly picking them up, putting them in car seats, playing with them, etc. It's embarrassing, but true. I complained one night about how worn out I was, and my sisters just looked at me. I'm not sure why I didn't get any sympathy? :-) They are amazing mothers, and I don't know how they have the energy.
The trip itself was wonderful. I'll post pictures when I have a few more minutes. I got to meet my newest little nephew Cooper who is sweeter than North Carolina iced tea, and I also got to see my half-niece get married. It was just a great trip. The only thing that was missing was my husband. I really missed not having him around, especially at the wedding.
I did find out that my man was loved on by my dear friends Stephanie and Lou. They came over to our house and kidnapped him one night and took him to dinner and then First Friday in Raleigh. I think he would have stayed holed up the whole week if they hadn't done that. It was really thoughtful of them, and it touched Jeremy that they did that. (However...... he forgot to bring his cell phone, so here's me calling from Texas at 10:00, then 11:00, then 11:30pm, and wondering where the heck my husband is!!! He got a small scolding for not calling me until midnight, but I quickly forgave him and was glad he had a great night out.)
One other small observation from my trip: taking care of kids is a physical workout!! I have 4 little nephews ages 2.5 months to almost 4 years, and I was a little sore from constantly picking them up, putting them in car seats, playing with them, etc. It's embarrassing, but true. I complained one night about how worn out I was, and my sisters just looked at me. I'm not sure why I didn't get any sympathy? :-) They are amazing mothers, and I don't know how they have the energy.
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