Settling In, Digging Heels

I gotta just make some comments about Obama. Did I call his flakiness during the campaign? All this talk of changing politics and unity, etc. The congress is at its same old, his treasury secretary does not know how to pay taxes, and he has hired lobbyists for some key postings in his administration. Sure he is affecting some change (Gitmo, aid/abortion, transparent government), but anyone would have felt like a breath of fresh air after W... Not impressed.

Unrelatedly, I procrastinated until the last week before the deadline for this quarter's round of FSO tests only to find out that the whole section is booked solid. Globally! I guess foreign officer wannabes have been waiting in the wings, biding their time until the change in administration. Anyways, now I have to wait until June to restart the process. At least work has been pretty rewarding. Learning new things, keeping busy, collecting that pay check, and hammering away at the mortgage. I have been lucky to survive several rounds of job cuts but the future is still nerve-wrackingly uncertain.

Meanwhile, domestic life has been a delight - Elizabeth is growing (and growing; she is at the top of her age group in height... yes, height!) and getting more active. Play time is more staisfying with chuckles and smiley faces aplenty. Alas, sleep time is somewhat of a challenge. Especially in the last few weeks with her gums giving her a bit of grief. But she has been a sport about it - too cute! Speaking of which: