Small Successes & Thankful Thursdays • Vol. 11

My eleventh weekly edition of Small Successes for moms (hosted over at Faith and Family Live)...as they say, it’s important for moms to recognize that all the small successes in our days can add up to one big triumph. During this week, my last week at home before returning two days a week to the office...

1. We conquered the front yard.
   And when I say "we conquered", I mean we called the landscapers and had them come overhaul it. So really, I picked up the phone and scheduled it. What's funny is that I actually scheduled it twice - and the first time, he thought I meant my house in Tacoma...which they did as well. Nonetheless, making one little call got our front yard in shape -- which had been neglected for 5+ years, ever since Jonathan went to law school. There's a funny story explaining why we have very little grass...seems Jonathan's best man, Adam, who used to live here with him, wanted to help kill the weeds so he sprayed weed killer all over the grass. Little did he know...the yard was predominantly weeds, which is why it looked so green. Until he sprayed. Then it was all brown. :) But right now, as I look out, the bushes and trees are trimmed back, there's a semblance of flower beds, and the Easter lilies are planted and nipped back so they bloom this summer. My hope is that we till up the soil and plant grass as well. It was so inspiring that I...
2. Planted my first herb garden.
   It's several pots worth, but we have thyme, rosemary, basil, oregano, and chocolate mint growing now. I love the scent from the leaves and can't wait for them to grow. Check them out!
3. I am ready to go to Reno tomorrow.
   Well, nearly ready. Ready enough. It's the last major planning meeting we have before the Leadership Summit in September. Everything has been scaled back, given the current economy, so we have about 27 hours instead of 2 1/2 days to get everything done for the Training Task Force, including sleep. :) The time crunch will force us to focus, but since we have a fantastic team, I'm not worried. And I won't complain, because it gets me back to Jonathan and Thomas sooner. It will be my first night away from the Wee Ski...so the fridge is stocked up with pumped milk for the babe, salads for my mom, and meals for the husband. And a long list of tips and ideas to help everyone survive. :)

And what I'm thankful for this week...

1. Fabulously generous people who are buying tickets for the Shoot to Fight Cancer. We've raised more than $1000 so far, and there's a day left to sell tickets! Don't you want one?
2. A new cut and color. Meegan is my godsend - she saves me from my crappy genes that started my hair turning gray at 18. It's now highlighted and happy again.
3. My mom. She's coming down in the morning to stay with Thomas while Jonathan's at work tomorrow. I'll be on the road at 3:30 a.m. (gotta love living far from the airport) and she'll get here before Jonathan leaves for the day.
4. Not bringing Thomas to Reno. Especially because of the swine flu, oops, the H1N1 virus, I'm really glad he will be home away from the germies that travel on planes. I'll be amped up on airborne, so hopefully I won't bring anything home with me.
5. Stella. Who always provides really funny things to make me laugh.