I was beginning to wonder if we would have any kids – so I’m thrilled we have a girl finally after many years of trying. My fertile years are fewer so I have little hope that we will have another child. But you never know – it could happen.

Before using Raesmom, I had another nickname that was not common at all – hence I could usually register on forums pretty easily. It seemed to grow in popularity and was harder to use. Sometimes I do run across Raesmom that is taken but I can usually find something I can use that is similar.

But let’s hope that if kid #2 (and who knows..kid #3!) ever come along, they will not take it my choice of username personally.

Here is my Valentine working on her Valentines for her class. It was seven years ago on Valentine’s Day that I took a pregnancy test that was positive. Needless to say, that was the best Valentines ever. She is such a joy to our lives. I highly recommend being a parent. Kids are awesome and a ton of fun. It’s not all fun and games but there is always joy. I love that girl of mine!

I type pretty well – not to brag or anything – but I can type well enough. Now typing on my phone? I hunt and peck while my husband uses both of his thumbs to tap out messages. I doubt I will ever learn to thumb tap on my phone’s keyboard. Guess when you are used to doing something one way, it is really hard to switch to another.

I had tried going back to work at year ago but left a few weeks into the job. I just couldn’t stand it. I missed my little girl and did not like this interruption to our lives. Now I am at a much better point to return to work as my daughter is in school but still it’s hard to be away from home.

Going back to work is hard as it takes up way too much time. There is so much that I could be doing. I hate to admit that going back to work has made me less productive. Oh the irony. I do more “work” at home than at my job.

So I do feel the need to have my time all to myself again. But for now I will stay put even though some days I feel like running. It does make for a nice daydream.

Right now I am doing a lot of functional testing but hope to branch out in some direction. This I’m not sure which direction to go. I figure I will do some research and decide which area appeals to me.

Each month I also plan to read at least one book on software testing and one on development. This month I bought Beautiful Testing: Leading Professionals Reveal How They Improve Software that is so far pretty interesting. It almost seems like a book you would give someone who wants to understand testers and their role. But it is good for me since I’m so new to the testing field. I haven’t decided on which development book I want to buy although I’m leaning towards something to do with Android.

My regular job is changing. We are implementing a new software project and saying goodbye to the one in development. It’s bittersweet since I was drawn to this job for the testing aspect but also excited about being part of the implementation team for this new product that will also have plenty of testing opportunities.

My freelance job is going great. I’m getting a lot of good experience with testing and I can tell that what I’ve learned from it is helping me at my full-time job. And with my freelance job I have been making some extra money – which is awesome considering I just wanted a chance to test and not too worried about getting paid. But the pay is great and makes me think that I could do this part-time making good money.

A recent shortcut fix at work did fix one problem but created many more. It was a quick fix but the ramifications of solving a problem in that manner were not taken into account. Therefore, we will now have an on-going issue to fix this shortcut. Oh the joy.

While shortcuts are tempting especially in our situation where doing the fix manually would have taken a few hours. The good news would have been that once it was done the right way, it is done – no more dealing with the issue. As it stands now, we will have to call support when this issue arises in the future. Having this problem will hopefully make us think twice before taking a shortcut to fix a software problem.

Now that I reflect on that job, I know that it wasn’t right for me but did lead me to a rewarding career. How is that possible if I didn’t get the job you might ask? Well, I will try to explain. See, the job was in software testing – something that sounded interesting to me. I had beta tested games before and absolutely love it so I knew that I would enjoy testing software. What I didn’t know is what testing software really meant. Sure, I figure it meant using unfinished software and looking for what doesn’t work. But beyond that, I really didn’t have a clue and it showed in the interview. I thought of software testing as a way in with this company and that I should aspire to be something other than a tester. Now I see the error in my ways of thinking.

Software testers are not developers looking to gain experience and to get in with a company. They are doing a job – one that requires it’s own special skills and talents. This I have learned since taking a job as a tester. I no longer believe that software testing is just a stepping stone to something else. Also I’m glad I am learning software testing through my own ventures than through a company’s. This way I will be exposed to more opinions, methodologies, etc.

So even though I was sad that I didn’t get that job last year, it worked out for the best – in fact better than I could have imagined. Finally I am doing work that I love again.

My niece’s card was easy to pick out. I went to the niece section and found a card that complimented her that then complimented me. For example, you are so pretty, nice, and sweet but that is because you get it from me. Har har har. I love those types of cards. So her card was easy to find but my brother’s was a little more difficult.

At first I thought of going with a fart birthday card – you know a card that has something to do with farts. These are his favorite cards in fact he got me the same fart birthday card for my birthday two years in a row. The only fart joke card I could find was a thick card that had a fart poem that was eight pages long. EIGHT pages! Wow. I could finish my Steve Jobs book by the time it took me to finish reading and eight page poem on farts. Deciding that was way too much for a fart joke, I pressed on until I found a card.

The card I did choose was funny – it was funny on several levels so I felt compelled to write in the card the reasons I thought it was funny. I thought that would make it even funnier. I also did it in case he opened it when I wasn’t around. That way he would know why I chose it although it was pretty obvious why the card is funny.

I also picked out my nephew a card which he wasn’t nearly as excited as I was over it. It was Spongebob – whom he loves – singing Happy Birthday.

I will have a break from birthday card buying for the rest of the month but will have a few to buy in February. My other brother’s birthday is in March – so maybe I will find a better fart birthday card before then.

Now I’m the opposite of high maintenance. I hardly ever wear make-up and even yesterday I came to work without brushing my hair. But when it comes to eye wear, I am extremely critical. I wear my glasses all the time so I want a pair that is both comfortable and looks good on my face.

I found a pair of frames that I liked. They are wire – which I haven’t had a pair of wire frames in quite some time. When I got the glasses back, I tried wearing them. I was slightly dizzy and my eyes were extremely tired after wearing them for a few hours. That is ok. My eyes are just adjusting so I tried wearing the glasses the next day. The dizziness stopped but the metal glasses are hard to get used to. In fact, I thought about taking them back altogether. I may give them another week and if I still cannot wear them, I will take them back.

I kind of hope that I can get used to them because I do like the frames.

Since my blogs represent my interests, some days I like to talk about more interest better than the other. It makes it really hard to be consistent and have new content each week. Still if I want to be a better blogger/writer in 2012, then I must find a system that works for me.

From what I’ve learned in 2011 about my blogging style is that I blog better when I am alone. It is very hard for me to blog on weekends/evenings when the whole family is home. I just can’t concentrate. Also I really enjoy writing in a very casual voice – like I am talking to a friend. Punctuation is probably horrid on most posts but thanks to spellcheck spelling should be pretty good. I also hate editing – which is ironic since I used to be an editor sort of when I worked in television. It is way easier to pick apart someone else’s work than it is your own.

My biggest blogging challenges are finding time to myself. When I have a moment, I may want to read, crochet, or just do nothing. Blogging means getting on the computer which means checking email, Facebook, etc. So that post that will take 15 minutes now will take 45 minutes to an hour.

So moving forward in 2012 I need to take what I learned about my blogging style and use it. I will post when I have something to say but will try very hard to say something at least twice a week. I will use more images and start my own personal stock photography from my photos. Small goals for now. If I get to hitting those regularly, then I will be more ambitious.