Weekly: Reflect on 5 things for which I'm grateful.

replacing this with the daily “This good thing happened today” goal. I really need to be focusing daily on the things that are still good.

Wow, guess I’ve been slacking on this goal again – tsk.

1. Beautiful weather ‘Nuff said.

2. Euchre Tournament! Tomorrow night we get to go to a euchre tournament and I’m so excited! I love cards, but rarely have a chance to play any more. Tonight I need to figure out what food to take.

3. Kaiya Danced! My 5-year-old granddaughter has been in dance class for well over a month, and has been too shy to join the class – until this week. She’d practice at home, and did not really want to quit, but had a really hard time working up the courage to get out there. I am so proud that she finally did.

4. Ellie’s Birthday Party My niece’s daughter is having a party for her 2nd birthday tomorrow. Should be fun!

5. Pizza and movie night I am so looking forward to being a slug tonight. :) It’s been a difficult week and this should be great. I got 3,000 frequent flyer miles for joining Netflix, and so far I like it. I don’t even have to make the effort to go find a movie tonight – woo hoo! _{told you I was feeling like a slug!}

The past couple of weeks have been super-difficult, but I suppose all the more reason to do this. I need to get back to it.

1. Best Co-Workers Ever One of them is leaving for a trip to France next week and won’t be here for my birthday, so today I was presented with my co-workers’ gift basket – not only a bottle of Relax Riesling, a couple of aromatherapy candles and some Hershey kisses, but also a gift certificate for a massage, and a trip to the day spa scheduled for next Friday afternoon (like a “Get out of jail work free” card!) for a mani-pedicure and facial. Ahhhh … :)

2. Upcoming Concert A friend told me about a concert here Tuesday, so I got tickets _{though sucky, last-minute ones} since we haven’t been to one for a while and I like the bands (the ones I’ve heard of, anyway). I’m also grateful that this friend, Dee, just bought a new house!

3. Other early gifts I also got another box of early birthday gifts, all of which were absolutely perfect from the very best of friends.

4. The Fiero is Running! For now, anyway, the 1988 Fiero my youngest drives is running, which means I never have to worry about being asked for a ride, though it does mean I have to worry about when she’ll take off somewhere and get into trouble again …

5. Dinner at Graze Had a very memorable dinner with the fam to celebrate Middle Daughter’s birthday last Saturday night. Here is the Birthday girl that night.

1. Great time in CA Wineries. Little one truly swimming for the very first time. Sammy Hagar standing by our table in Lake Tahoe’s Cabo Wabo. The Beach – ahhhh. Bowling with preschoolers. Hatching dinosaur eggs. It’s all good!

2. Middle Daughter Such a joy to be around, and finally showing signs of being an adult! I am sooo thankful she’s doing well in her new job and is loving it. And that she’s actually able to get up at 4 a.m., rather than going to bed then as usual!

3. Du State Du duathlon. 3rd Place in the Fat Tire division, out of a field of …. you guessed it – 3!

4. Lunches out with great friends Catching up is so fun.

5. Upcoming Wedding of an old friend’s son. It’ll shoot the hell out of Saturday, but maybe that kind of rest will be a good thing; ya never know. :)

1. Work I’ve had a chance to get very close to being caught up, which I know will be short-lived, but I’m still very grateful! Not to mention how much I appreciate my co-workers.

2. CA Trip! Tuesday we’ll be going to Sonoma for a couple of days, then proceeding on to the home of Eldest Daughter & family. I’m soooo excited!

3. Daughters Though we’ve had some real “adventures” this week, I’ve had a really good time with the younger two who are both living back at home for now. They are giving some honest effort to get their act together, and I’ve just really enjoyed their company. Middle Daughter and I went to the art gallery and shopping Sunday, and she’s shared some great lily pond pictures she took and has been good about sharing how things are going at her new job.

4. GNO with my friend Liz, who I hadn’t caught up with in a while. Mamma Mia was a lot of fun, even though I’m not really an Abba fan.

5. RAGBRAI! I didn’t end up on the sag wagon – yay! And had a truly marvelous time.

1. Lifestyle When our power was out for 36 hours earlier this week, it really made me reflect on how very fortunate we are to have a huge fridge full of food. And the ability to replace it when it gets ruined like that. And the electricity to run it, and our other appliances. And water at our fingertips, etc. SO many others are nowhere near that fortunate.

2. Middle Daughter has apparently finally landed a job – and not just any job, but one she’s truly excited about and that seems to be right up her alley – I think she’ll do great! It’s with Lifetouch Photography, which I think does not only studio portraits, but a lot of sports pictures, school photography, church directories, etc. Fingers crossed that her car holds together and that this will be the catalyst to get her life back on track. Yay!!!

3. RAGBRAI I’ve been wanting to participate in this ride ever since I first heard about it 15 or 20 years ago. Now I can for a couple of days, and just can’t wait!

4. Support from friends and family, manifesting itself in wonderful ways – long hugs and kisses; help around the household; caring phone calls, texts and e-mails, good conversations and meals shared.

5. Buzzy Bees The daily joy of seeing how much the bumble bees love my big balloon flower bush by the mailbox as I retrieve my mail and deadhead the flowers and pop the new balloons. I just loooove summer!

1. The weekend! Whew! It’s been a grueling week in the office.

2. Neighborhood Party Tues. night my next door neighbor had one of those home jewelry parties. I almost didn’t go because I really dislike those “parties” where you’re supposed to come and buy stuff, and also because we are somewhat neighborhood pariahs, thanks to our youngest 2 kids. But I actually had a really great time, and the women there were all really great.

3. Baseball Game Sunday night is a River Bandits game which we’ll get to attend for free, since we’re QC Illini Club members. Should be fun!

4. Great book I’m really loving the book I’m reading – Nelson DeMille’s Night Fall.

5. Eldest Daughter’s Call A few days ago my CA daughter called to say they’d be coming to visit for 10 days at Thanksgiving!!! They’ll be here when little Aidan turns 4, so we can host a birthday party, which will be sooo fun!

1. Great time at a family wedding out of town last weekend, and a 4th of July picnic.

2. My sis-in-law. We had lunch today and made plans to have a girls night out next week. Love her!

3. My great boss. Difficult days in the trenches like today make me appreciate his easy-going nature and genuine warmth so much.

4. Friends

5. John Deere Golf Classic! Friday several of us get the afternoon off to go schmooze for free! Hospitality tent with food and beverages, parking, admission ticket including a local band concert in the evening – all free thanks to our office manager’s connections.

1. Penguins Comedy Club 4 of us are going tonight to watch a client of ours perform – and I have free tickets! _{meaning they just get you on the price of beverages rather than admission :)}

2. Fireworks on the Mississippi directly following the stand-up acts.

3. Firecracker Run tomorrow morning – my favorite 10k race of the year! Even though I’m horribly out of shape, it’ll be great fun!

4. 4th of July Picnic at my brother-in-law’s on his brand new deck.

5. Family Wedding Saturday night at a dinner theater in the nearby Amana colonies, and the ability to spend the night there at the hotel where the reception will be held. I may even get a little shopping in … :)

Wow – have I ever let this goal slide recently. tsk, tsk …

1. Chicago! I’m heading up there tomorrow – YAY!!!

2. Eldest Daughter’s Anniversary They celebrated their 10th anniversary recently, and spent the entire weekend in Callistoga without children. I’m very happy to say that I was terribly wrong in my initial assessment of my son-in-law; I truly love him as my own now.

3. Having a great job and wonderful co-workers.

4. Perfect weather Hopefully the flood waters will start to recede more quickly now.

5. Lemon Bread I recently found a recipe for this bread that is DA BOMB! It was a hit at home on Father’s Day and in the office the following day.