Small Victories

If we only waited until the big wins happen, we'd have few occasions to celebrate. That's why I'm a big believer in celebrating the small victories. They keep us moving forward in a more positive frame of mind.

Here are a few small victories this week...

Idol Chat: Last night when we watched American Idol, we did not get to see the actual audition of my friend's niece and husband. However, in a quick montage of winners, we did see them kissing each other and holding up their "golden tickets." So it's onto Hollywood, baby! Hopefully next week we'll see more of them, but for now it's very exciting for my friend and her family. (And I'm sort of into it, too.)

Book Worm: Carter is starting the semester off on the right note. He got his first book read already and tested on it today. We gradually have been getting better at pacing out the reading so he doesn't have to "cram" every weekend to finish a book. It was good to get one out of the way so early -- and I didn't even have to read this one to quiz him. That's a small victory right there. He's gaining confidence in his understanding of the books. And he ended up doing pretty well on the test, too!

Perfect Attendance: Although there was no school Monday for the district, somebody managed to get to his new school four days in a row! Today he overslept and missed the bus. But instead of saying, "Screw it" and staying home, he called Grandpa and got a ride so he wouldn't miss. That feels like a huge victory, but we're not going to overreact. We're still taking this one day at a time.

Learning Curve: My new responsibilities at work involve a major project that will take a lot of steps to complete. (And a whole lotta learning on my part.) Right before I headed home today I finished off the first step. I'm feeling a bit anxious about some upcoming steps, but knowing I'm off to a good start is a boost. I'm not cocky or anything, but I'm not scared either. That's something anyway.

Super Sunday: Martha Stewart has officially taken over my body for the weekend. The good news is, she arrived early. Tonight I made Superbowl Sugar Cookies to take to a party Sunday. I decorated half of them with red sugar (for the Cardinals) and the rest of them with yellow & brown sprinkles (for the Steelers). I have a few more treats to make tomorrow for a bonfire tomorrow night and for the game Sunday. It feels good to get some of it done. Now the "victory" will come when I manage to keep everyone's hands out of the cookie jar until then!