Happy Sunday!

It is bright and sunny and I woke in my own bed this morning! It is also 37 degrees as I type this, so there are drawbacks to the bright skies. I think it is safe to say that the weather has officially shifted away from summer. Thank goodness.

Holly and I survived our quick trip to Michigan. Twelve-plus hours in the car for three minutes of dancing. I love my daughter that much.

PROUD OF:  Holly did so well this at her dance competition. She was moved up a level and was now dancing in the intermediate category. With Irish, what level at which you perform has to do with experience and performance at competitions and has nothing to do with how long you have been dancing or how often you practice; this is different from her other dance competitions which have everything to do with how often you practice. So, moving up a level means she has scored really well in the previous year and is ready for that next level. You never know how such a move is going to go, so it is always a bit scary to advance. Holly performed beautifully. She competes in three different dance types and faced as many as 10 competitors at a time. She scored 4th, 3rd, and 2nd places in her dances! If she keeps this up, she will be in the advanced group next year!

HAPPY ABOUT:  Wisconsin’s football team is now 8-0. They are the only team in the Big Ten who has not lost a game. With some other upsets this weekend, they should advance into the top 4 teams for the football playoffs. This makes my heart sing!

ENJOYED:  We couldn’t watch the game yesterday, but Holly and I listened to Iowa State take on number 4 ranked Texas Christian University for their homecoming game. Listening to that made the six hour drive thoroughly enjoyable as well as nerve-wracking as I listened to amazing defensive play after defensive play. Iowa State clinched the huge win just as we were hitting the outskirts of Chicago. I wish I could have seen the fans rush the field and the band celebrating the upset, but I tackled Chicago traffic with fierce pride that my son’s team knocked off the fourth team in the nation (and helped Wisconsin in the process).

LOOKING FORWARD TO:  Because Holly and I were traveling on Friday night, we didn’t start watching “Stranger Things” until after we go home last night. We are only two episodes into the second season, but given our schedules, there is no chance of binge-watching the entire season so I have that to look forward to all week long as we fit episodes in whenever we can.

THANKFUL FOR:  Holly and I came home to dinner last night, and there was actual thought put into it. Jim’s usual dinner plans include sandwiches or grilled meat and bagged salad. He will, when asked, prepare a recipe I leave out for him. He is just not the most creative in the kitchen. Except yesterday, he found a recipe online that required the slow cooker, he went and bought the ingredients he needed, and had everything ready to go for when we arrived. He is not perfect – my house still needs cleaning – but after over twenty years together, he still manages to surprise me.

**********

Here are past posts from the few last weeks in case you missed them the first time:

• It’s Monday! What Are You Reading? – 23 October 2017
• Sing, Unburied, Sing did not make me want to sing
• I’ve got a Fever and I like it
• Good Me Bad Me is very good
• Fabulous Friday – 27 October 2017
• What’s For Dinner? – Week Starting 21 October 2017