I only have 9 months to update you on? This should be no problem, however, I will try to keep this in order for you.

***In December, one day Pat came home about 1PM, which was strange, as he usually arrived home about 5 or so. He told me he had accepted an offer of early retirement, and would be done on 12/31, and then after his vacation was used up, he would be honorably discharged on 2/18.

Quite a shock, but the possibilities were exciting. I did a new resume for him and he networked with some of his friends who had left the Air Force for the civilian sector. He thought about it, and decided he would either like to work in management in the security realm, or else buy a farm and get a job with a local police force. He obtained addresses of Midwest corporations online, as well as police forces within 50 miles of Mankato, Milwaukee, and Rochester, and sent them out on January 2nd. He also created a Careerbuilder and Monster page for himself, saying he wanted to work in southern MN or southern WI. After we traveled out to San Diego to visit my folks, drove back because, well, we could, we arrived home on January 12th to an inbox full of requests, and 17 voice mails.

He went on a couple practice interviews locally, as we got the Glenwood house ready to be listed. On a Monday in late January, he drove to 4 companies, 2 in MN and 2 in WI, for interviews, background checks, peeing in a cup, and so on. He got home Saturday afternoon, and he had heard from 3 of them, all were requests for 2nd interviews. He would leave again the next Monday, and had day long talks with 2 of them, and a 5 hour one with the other. He used two offers against each other, and thought he was going to have to take his second choice due to it being a much better offer, but after accepting it and calling the other to decline, a higher up called and asked what he wanted. He asked for the sky, and ended up getting exactly that.
A move to the Green Bay area was upcoming.

***We listed our IA home for $20K less than we bought it for, and sold it in 3 days, full price. The real estate market is fine, as long as you ask for fair market value. It makes no difference what you paid for it. It seems no one understands that.

***So, in mid-February, we left to buy a house. We'd picked out 5 online we wanted to see, and after the 2nd one, we stopped and told our realtor to head back to the office and write up an offer. It was Pat's dream to someday own a ranch and we found a very nice newer home attached to 150 acres of forest and pasture. Mishicot, WI is just outside of Two Rivers, and about 30 minutes from Green Bay. They accepted out offer of $30K under the asking price, it had been on the market for 6 months, and needed to be settled due to a divorce. We needed to come up with $30K more for the ranch than we sold our IA place for, thank goodness for the low property values of East Central WI!

*** They moved us on March 19th, and they unloaded our stuff on the 21st.

***Pat officially started his job on 3/26. He works for a utility company, and is responsible for all aspects of their security. Of course, he oversees two assistants, so they do much of the day-to-day stuff, as well as rotate weekends on call. It is simply astounding how much his military background is worth in the corporate world.

***Matthew Patrick Taylor (two middle names, because we are yuppies) joined us on April 18th, a few days ahead of schedule, which was fine by me. 6 pounds, 5 ounces; 19 inches. He sleeps good, usually wakes up once to be changed and eat around 2 or 3, Pat does them Fri-Sun and often once or twice during the week as well. He's a happy, healthy little guy, and he loves to lay on the floor and look up at his projector that shines on the ceiling, and plays with his little toy he lays under.

***Still playing online, though not nearly as much as I once was. Due to Pat's income, I lost any incentive to play for anything but fun. I still play 3/6 and 5/10 and sometimes try to find a cheap way of qualifying for the Sunday afternoon tourneys, if Pat can watch Matt, but I haven't hit the money in one since he was born.

***Pat usually works Tuesday-Friday at the office (Fridays he ducks out at 12 or 1), and on Mondays from home. He has spent a couple hours a day taking out much of the damaged fence and building a new one, along the wooded part. He finished that in August, and has been building a pretty white wood fence down by the barn, which he thinks he'll finish this month, and then he hopes to bring in a bunch of young cattle soon thereafter. We have a shed full of hay from 2005-6, which apparently a neighbor that went out of business stored there, but never claimed, and he's been prepping and cleaning the barn for storage of cattle feed. He's having a lot of fun, and is living his dream.

***Many nights we have laid in bed and been thankful Pat's promotion was not granted and how good things have worked out since. Some times, what you want is the last thing you should hope happens.

Hope this finds you all well. I'll try and get back to you sooner!

I come to you tonight from the suburbs of Mankato, MN; home of several inches of snow and an early Thanksgiving with Pat's family. We had some folks over today, and all were excited to see me and touch my belly, which is officially a "bump" now. Still healthy and feeling good, my doctor says I'm a poster child for a perfect pregnancy, knock on wood. The only thing at all out of the ordinary is my boobs seem to be growing earlier and a bit more than usual. I swear, he looked at Pat and smiled when he said it. I should sue the bastard.:)

I have added NL to my ring games, playing as high as the $1000 buy-in table, 5/10 NL. I have also playing higher limits of late, anywhere from 3/6 to 10/20, though I often settle in at 8/16 limit, where there is usually a couple 9 person tables going. Full Tilt is a lot more fishy than it used to be, but it still is mighty tough compared to the "good ol' days" of the Ongame sites. I'm playing without a bonus for the first time in ages, but I did manage to pick up 27% rakeback, which is better than FT's horrible bonus anyway. I am finding a bit uncomfy sitting for longer tourneys, so I'm limiting them to the Sunday night ones I'm able to qualify for.

I was actually up about $8K early in October, but NL is not a game for the weak of heart. One day I sat down and within 15 minutes, had been dealt KK twice...and of course, lost 2 buy ins, to QQ and to 87 (well, it was suited). Down $2K at 9AM...ouch. Even with the swings, as long as I end up $2000 monthly, all is well.

For November, I'm on a bit of a tourney streak, almost always get my chips in with the best hand, and the beats have been minimal. I qualified for 4, yes, all 4 big tournaments tomorrow on my first try. It's actually almost scary I haven't "broken through" yet with a huge payday, as close as I've been. I'm not complaining, but it seems like several times, I know if I'd have won one more race, the final table might have easily been in reach, and then we're talking serious money. I don't mind being a classic grinder, but I could happily not be for a while.:)

We came up on Thursday afternoon, and Pat and his dad and grandpa went out with a realtor and looked at some old farms and land. He's signed up through 2009, and is currently unsure if he wants to do 7 more years after that to "do his 20", or leave in '09 and go into law enforcement or some sort of security consulting work, and at some point get into ranching and beef cattle. He was surprised how expensive land and hobby farms were, and the idea of "having to work" on the farm does not appeal to him, he just wants to be semi-retired, for the most part. He seems to be leaning more toward staying in after their day of looking.

Maybe I'll make this a monthly blog, update it every 1st of the month, so folks will know when to check it out.

So, since we last spoke, my choice of occupations has become, while not illegal, a gray area of United States law. I used to dance around topless on a stage, so I know the degree of irony here, as strip clubs are also 100% legal, but also frowned upon by many.

I was pretty down for a couple days, even though our financial situation would be far from dire if my poker income were to go away completely, which I doubt will happen. Not only is Pat securely employed by a company unlikely to go out of business (it would literally involve the end of the world), he has civilian opportunities galore, as proven by his buddy who left last year for a 6 figure salary as a "security expert" for a huge corporation, and has already moved onto Company #2, which included a signing bonus in the $40K range. But, other than a couple Cryptos going away I always played at the beginning of each month, it's been business as usual for me, and hopefully, it will remain that way. Like many, I'm a bit concerned about On Game, as I could probably play at Poker Room, FCP, and so on forever and never run out of bonus. Mostly, however, Neteller is my main concern, as they are publicly traded and seem unlikely to simply ignore US law, even if they do not have to follow it. Just in the last few days, Poker.com, PokerShare, Full Tilt, and FCP have intro'd new bonuses, so it looks like there are plenty of opportunities for me to play, as long as I can move money around.

My health is good, and I guess the little one's is as well, I have an appointment next week. I feel fine, no ickyness at all, so I'm thankful for that.

I feel sorry for the 50 people (or 25 people twice a day) who hope I updated...because I am a bad blogger.

All is well on the baby front, I'm up 3.5 pounds and never been happier about it. I have been working out nice and easy 5-6 days a week, one day mostly treadmill and some light weights, and the next day mostly in the pool. Pat and I spent a couple hours at the bookstore the other day, and he got several history titles, I bought all these "my life is changing!" books, an investing/money management one, an exercise/good health one, and 2 pregnancy ones, one rather philosophical, and the old standby, "What To Expect When You're Expecting", which managed only to frighten me, as I wake daily expecting the pain and discomfort to kick in and make the next few months hell.

Breasts not sore, but more sensitive. No nausea, no morning sickness, in fact, I'm actually hungry in the mornings, as I've never been much of a morning eater. No heartburn. No mood swings, at least, not anymore than ever.:) Admittedly, it's just such a mixture of coolness and a combo platter of fear and responsibility to know that a very, very tiny HUMAN BEING is inside of me...it seems like science fiction in many ways.

As for poker, I am in the midst of my 2nd 5 figure month, thanks to a $6800 final table appearance at a popular Sunday night tourney on 9/10. If you play long enough, you will indeed see flops like 10-8-6 when you limp in with 7/9...and triple up when two others go all-in with 6/6 and 10/10. That was with about 100 people remaining, and took me from 30th to 2nd, and I folded my way to a huge payday. I also got a huge laugh in the chat box, when one player kept calling me a word that rhymes with wussy for folding to his continued blind steals (he was the shortstack, but still had about 33% of my chip total), and I play to make money, not win tourneys. I was happy to fold every hand and finish last if players kept winning their all-ins, but I also know that's unlikely to occur. Sure enough, 7 left, I'm dealt AA in the small blind, and he raises on the button, 5x the big blind, I just call, as did the big blind. The flop comes A84 rainbow, I check, other blind checks, loudmouth goes all-in, I instacall, big blind ponders his spot in life and finally folds, claiming later to have flopped the low set, but knowing how tight I am, he thought he was beat. The Matasow clone turns over K/J, drawing dead except to a Q/10 runner/runner straight. As the others players giggled, the loser typed in, *ussy needs aces to beat me", I replied, "By the looks of the board, all I needed was a 4/2".

Hope all is well with you too. Take care, and if I'm too happy for you, sorry!!

I've never been in a relationship with a criminal, so I've never had conjugal visit sex, and being a grown-up, I can't say I've ever been involved in bad fights either, so make-up sex has never been much of an option either. So, as far as I can tell, pregnancy sex is just about as good as it has been.

I'm not really sure why this is, as I've never been particularly concerned about becoming pregnant as some who choose not to practice safe sex often are. It might be a combination of things, making love to the father of your child, not just your husband, the fact he's all nervous and concerned about your well-being, or maybe I'm pumping out double or triple my normal hormone load, or what. Maybe it's just my motherly "glow", and while I weigh within a pound of what I have for 3 months, someone insists my boobs are bigger, as well as firmer. Or, maybe he just knows there's no quicker way to a girl's pants than complimenting her breasts.:)

OK, now for the clothed going-ons.:)

One thing sitting in front of a monitor allows is plenty of time to search the various sites for what I call "bargains", though the proper term is "overlay". For most recreational players, they sit down after work and dinner, find a tournament that they can afford and the game they want to play, and sign up to play. I play only to maximize my chances to win, which means I look for fair levels timewise and a large starting stack, sites with loose players (Pacific), and finally, tourneys that are guaranteed to pay out at least $X amount, even though they will not take in anywhere near that in entry fees. They are difficult to find, though if you find one, they may be offered nightly for a week or a month as part of a promotion.

One night, I found a $20K guaranteed prize pool, $20 entry fee, and it started with 280 players ($5600 in). Last week, one site (not on the radar of many US players) had a 25K pound tourney, $50 pound entry fee, which had 121 entrants ($6050 in). I took 4th in that one, in 22nd with 22 left, but because of the structure, many people still played fast, having jobs to go to in the morning, or bars to visit that night. $4500 for 5 hours work makes you look even better, trust me.:)

Last night, one site had 2 tourneys scheduled within 5 minutes of each other, one a "fast" one, 5 minute levels, no guarantee, $10 entry, it ended up with 1400+ players. The other, started a few minutes later, $10 entry, slow 12 minute levels, $10K guarantee, got 670 ($6700 in). If it wouldn't have started after the other, I bet it would have had about 250, as I signed up 7 minutes before it began (2 before the other one), it had 190.

Last month went well, mostly 3/6 for a few hours in the afternoon to knock out what is almost a bottomless bonus at the Ongame? network (Poker Room, Euro, Full Contact, Hollywood, etc), then playing in 3-4 tournaments, usually $20-50 ones, which means I'm usually ending up in the money once or twice a night, and when the play gets tight, I can concentrate on just a table (or two).

By the way, one minor problem I'm having is the bankroll I'm having to keep at each site, which numbers about 30 right now. I have about $25K sitting there right now, which means most of my profits are still just sitting there, not earning interest, not able to be invested. I guess that's a good problem to have, but when I went to withdraw my money to Neteller at the end of July, I had to take $500 from here, $300 from there, $250 from that one, and so on. I don't think there is a solution, but I've never heard of anyone mentioning it before.

Been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry for my coming up MIA, but as with many Iowans, I've been enjoying the lovely weather and laid back warm weather months. I've even taken to playing some in the afternoons out on our large deck, which is shaded until about 4 or 4:30. I would have told you that would never happen a few years ago, so either I'm maturing or changing or have just grown so accustomed to hot weather, I figure I might as well get outside some.

Congrats to my good blogging friend Decker, who apparently got hitched and is talking about reproducing. As I am fond of saying, good luck with that, and enjoy the practice.:)

Felicia is, get this, apparently quite upset with some folks in the blogging community. I'm glad I moved away from the front of the line to allow the variety necessary to keep readers coming back for more. On the bright side, she is doing better on the health front, and her hubby qualified for the WSOP main event.

I seriously considered playing in the Ladies event, and would have loved to have played some 10/20 live in Vegas during the WSOP, as I figure it would have been 60% seeing the flop. I actually had made plans to spend about 7-10 days in the city that always sweats, but as you now know, I did not. For irony's sake, I would have been staying at the Orleans the same time as Ms. Lee, at least for a few nights.

Daniel Negraneau is rich enough to be called eccentric rather than just nuts, and it's good for him he is. I realize the fields are too large for a guy to be a consistent POY candidate at the WSOP, but Daniel is by far the smartest player I've ever seen. I wish I could play like he does, but I can't. I sneak in with 76s and J9o if 5 or more players call and I have position, but I simply haven't figured out how to make it work otherwise.

And Dutch Boyd, still wearing that woman repellant of a hankie on his noggin, won a WSOP title, and got ripped on mercilessly. I have no idea if he can possibly pay back the money Pokerspot owed to the players, but he'll be despised until he does. And the shut the hell up about rake free poker, no offense my friend, but if your room went broke collecting a rake, your plans to make a buck by not charging a rake make me giggle.

As for poker, the bad stretch I was in ended sometime in mid-May. Since then, top pair, good kicker has been holding up a vast majority of the time. Just a couple days ago, I was dealt KK, and an A came on the flop. I had position, so after the check, I bet, he called. After check, check, he bet the river and I called, he had AJ. It seemed so strange, and it finally sunk in that I had been winning almost every KK for quite a while, while many times, it seems like an A comes on 75% of my KK flops.

Now, is that my perception, or reality, I don't know. I do know I had my 2nd best month ever in june, making high 4 figures, about 25% from bonuses. I have been playing more since school ended, and more confidently. Playing at 3/6, 4/8, and 5/10, I usually am the best or second best player at the table, and have been playing more aggressively, but only with top hands. As I type this, it almost sounds ridiculously easy, but that's what I've done. I do not have Poker Tracker, but near the end of each session, I check my stats, and most days, I'm in about 12-14% of the hands outside the blinds, and I raise far more often than I call.

In the evenings, I'm back onto the tourney trail. I participated in some large freerolls that Poker Letter had, and have cashed in them, so I started playing in some $10-20 ones, and while the bad beats are constant, I found if I entered 3-4 at or about 6:30-7, I'd usually still be playing in 1-2 at 11. Sure, there were plenty of -$70 and -$90 nights along the way, but along the way were some +$550 and +$475 evenings as well. A couple weeks ago, I took part in my first satellite for one of the big $200 tournaments, and I made it in. I felt a bit awkward, but didn't miss the money by too much, lost with JJ to AT, and had to go all-in with 55.

Last week, it took me a pair of sats, but again I made it, and finished with a record payday for me of just under $3K. I got blinded away and without an ounce of guilt slowplayed my way into an extra $1000 or so. Hey, go hand for hand if you want, I'm playing for real money here.

We are going out to San Diego for a couple weeks in late August, and we're looking forward to seeing the folks and their new place. Then a long weekend in the Mankato area, followed by Pat spending about 10 days relaxing around the house. Looking forward to that, as we do make fun of Iowa a lot, but it's a very nice place to call home.

That's about it from these parts. Take care, and I'll talk to you later.



Oh yeah, I'm pregnant. Apparently, we're a fertile pair, as we decided on Memorial Day weekend to go without protection for a couple years, and then seek medical advice. The doctor will not give me a due date (what's up with that?), but according to the internet, March 3rd is the estimated day of arrival.

One of my favorite poker blogs is written by Decker, and it seems our fortunes ran together once again last month.

He did not give a total won/loss, but I disgustedly added up my balance as of May 1st and I was up $460 for the month of April...my goal is $3K, and even worse, I made $1450 in bonuses, meaning I dropped almost exactly $1K at the tables.

What's even worse is I barely made anything over at Party while knocking off 2 $100 bonuses this week, making $25 after the bonuses were credited. So, with that out of the way, I continued on at Full Contact, and promptly lost $400 the past 2 days, boom, boom, boom. Last night, I lost to 3 straights in my first 15 minutes, down almost $200 before my chair was warm. At least a couple were runner/runner, just for that extra kick in the shin.

You know, a few months ago, I made $10K in a single month. Luckily for me, some of that balance was still in our savings so we did not have to set aside our strategy of investing and paying extra on the mortgage with all of Pat's income.

Tomorrow's a new day, I'm telling you.