1) IT’S DATE NIGHT!!!!
Due to expenses and babysitting availability, we’re only making it out to date nights for just the two of us once every six weeks… or so… (I think this time it’s been longer.) So tonight? We’re going to one of the nicest restaurants in the whole county (Frank’s Outback in Pawley’s Island. It’s incredible. The whole thing is under two massive, sprawling oak trees adorned with Christmas lights and they serve this amazing gourmet fare outside even in the winter - using those space-heater-tower-things, of course. And it’s so unlike anything the Grand Strand has, but it still has the whole laid-back charm of the South going on, which makes it doubly unique.) and then we’re going to see UP (which I hear is the best movie some of my friends have ever seen ever ever) and we’ll probably be out later than 11 p.m. like real adults do!!! Needless to say, I got so excited about the prospect of a night out, I splurged on a new satin-y top yesterday just for the occasion. (I don’t have nice things anymore…)

Which leads me to my next couple gratitudinal points. (New Word Alert!)

2) I got a pretty pretty new shirt!
I mean, it’s nothing special but what was amazing was that I had to try on three different ones before I found one that fit… it was a “small”!!! At one of those teeny-bopper stores! (Charlotte Russe to be exact.) So you know it’s a legitimate “small” instead of a “small” at, say, Lane Giant Bryant. Whee!

3) Tomorrow is payday!
I’ve done a TON of reviews in the last couple weeks so my freelance reimbursement will be healthy enough for me to make a large credit card payment AND get Chloe’s 18-month photos taken at The Wals. Huzzah!

4) I haven’t had a horrific tummy episode in a little more than 10-ish days!!!
Just like they came, they went away without any sort of warning. We’ve spent um… a lot on testing that turned out negative and I’m not taking the Nexium and Reglan I’ve been prescribed with any regularity at all (at all) and they just stopped without us ever finding a legitimate reason for it coming in the first place. I’m relieved, but I have a sneaking suspicion that it was all because of Vyvanse, the one medication I’ve stopped taking in the last couple weeks because it was making me feel weird anyway. :::sigh:::

5) I have a garden!
I got so excited about landscaping last week that, not only did I mow and weed our entire property, but I spread and activated ant[hill] killer and cleared out a tiny little bit of land on the back side of our house for a wee garden. I have two big planters [that used to hold young palm trees that my cat destroyed] which are now serving as smaller, concentrated segments for intensive nursing. In one, I’m growing five different herbs and in the other, I’m starting my tomato plants before I have to move and stake them. And then in my ground-based garden, I’ve planted green beans, eggplant, zucchini, and lettuce. I’m entirely too excited about this. So much so that I found myself awake at 6 a.m. last Sunday morning (without the help of an alarm clock, no less) eager to get up and start working. Gross.

6)Chloe started saying lots of stuff this week!
I think I’d be just this excited even if I hadn’t been an English major but it’s hard to imagine anyone being more excited than myself. When she pointed at the cat last week and declared “Keedee!”, I called everysingleone of my family members, even though it was 7:30 a.m. Over the course of the week, she started saying shoe (”shhu”), juice (”juss”), bunny (”bah-ee”), and “Hi Daddy!” (”Haai Dede…” [insert wave here]) It’s unbelievably exciting, especially when she points at the desired object so we know her declarations aren’t just arbitrary; they’re actually directed at the identified object! Wheee!

7)There’s no outstanding “beef” I’ll one day have to answer to.
A few days ago I mentioned disappearing and making a general ass of myself with a former employer. After I sent this nervously-written letter, she called me back immediately to tell me not to be silly; she’d been keeping up with me through my blog and knew what had happened and, even though she was disappointed, she wasn’t angry or cursing my name or anything. Hooray! Not only that, she was excited to hear about the project Greg and I are working on and has even expressed interest in getting involved, as her work would be a terrific complement to ours.
So yay! I haven’t screwed up royally on this one. :::whew:::