House for Sale, Soccer, and a Marathon?

April has certainly been a "fun" month.

Cameron started his 3rd season of soccer, and is showing great improvement. He seems to enjoy the sport more than he did in the beginning, which is fun to see. I always think of him as my little guy, but he is the 2nd tallest kid on his team. It just amazes me…this is the kid whom a geneticist deemed to be on the shorter side, so it is nice to see him growing more and more every day (or so it seems), but it is also sad :( My baby isn't a baby anymore!

We also had our annual Craniofacial team visit last week. The obvious was brought up, at some point Cameron will need braces. No surprise there- I had the same orthodontic issues he is about to go through, and we're going to be in for a long road to straighter teeth. As some of you know, one of Cameron's 10 surgeries was a jaw distraction in 2002. While the surgeon was careful in trying to preserve his tooth buds, we won't know if there has been any damage until Cameron is older and more teeth start to come in. Heck, he lost his first baby tooth in September 2006, and the adult tooth is just NOW starting to come in, and it is crooked. Like mama, like son… I had excessive crowding with my teeth prior to braces. My poor little guy is doomed! While at the team visit, we saw many other specialists, and it is possible Cameron MAY need another jaw distraction in the future. "May" being the key word. It all depends on his jaw growth and if he has any future problems with his breathing, which he hasn't.

Work is still going well. I have been employed with the University of Michigan for over a year now, and I am go glad to be here. It has been both a fantastic career move, and a great learning opportunity. I hope to be here for many, many years. It is very interesting to work for a department which handles all of the construction and renovation projects on campus, especially the "Big House." http://www.umich.edu/stadium/

Erik, my current roommate is due to move out at the end of this month. He is a state employee, and his job is one of many on the chopping block. He has the opportunity to relocate elsewhere in the state, so he is doing so. The whole roomate scenario went better than I expected (with the exception of a few instances). Pending the standard background screening, I have another roommate moving in in early May. She is an older woman, who has family in Hamburg. She and her little dog will be living with me. Hopefully everything will go smoothly with her as my new roommate. It is funny, before I found Erik, I had searched for about a year. This time, I found someone else practically right away!

Last night, I listed my house for sale. I've been debating it for a LONG time. I have been doing a lot of thinking about life, and what would be best for Cameron and I. While there are plenty of "pros" (lakes, Potowotami Trail, Pinckney Recreation Area, quiet…) to living in the boonies, there are lots of "cons," too. My plan is to move into a rental home (preferably within 10-15 miles of Pinckney, due to the custody situation) after my home sells. And, with this market being what it is, I understand it could take awhile. Or, maybe I will get lucky? I can only hope, right? My new roommate does know that my house is listed for sale, and that didn't change her decision, so I am happy about that. A little extra help with the mortgage is never a bad thing.
My book, Adventures in Dreamland: The Wild Ride is FINALLY in the design phase. I will soon be meeting with my design team to choose an illustrator. I am still gunning for Eric Merckling, an illustrator I found when "Dreamland" was just going to be an individual project. So, we will see what happens with that. As of right now, I should have advance copies of my book in hand by November, and the book will be available at retail outlets in the late winter/early spring of 2009. Yay!

On April 26th, along with another one of my friends, will be participating in a 5 mile trail run as part of the annual "Trail Marathon" at Silver Lake. Part of the run goes through the Potowatomi Trail, so I am looking forward to a hopefully nice day on a scenic trail. My goal for the day is not to speed through it (I run like a turtle), but to finish it within a reasonable amount of time. I am looking forward to it.

Well everyone, I think that is it for my overdue update. I am sure there is more I can share, but I will leave it at that. Have a great day!

Lisa