<p>I know I’ve been in a bad mood lately (see the vent post), so I thought I’d start a post where we can write down the good things we want to celebrate – kind of the anti-vent post!!</p>
<p>So, S2 calls me from school just now to share some good news with me. He never calls during the day. I thought it was sweet how excited he was and how he just wanted to share with someone. 
</p>
<p>Anyone else?</p>
<p>Oh thank you. For however long this thread lasts, I’ll read it to help shake away the long February winter.</p>
<p>My S-2 and I have a new topic of conversation: our activities in the gym. We are a very unphysical family so this is rather new territory. We just exchanged emails about doing “skull-crushers.”</p>
<p>D phoned and talked my ear off about her new job (just graduated college) and how much she’s learning there. I actually had to break off the conversation! Happiness.</p>
<p>My daughter couldn’t afford to go on Spring Break with her friends. We pay tuition but will not pay for Spring Break. She isn’t the least bit disappointed and can’t wait to come home to see all of us. She even invited me to go to the movies with her and her brother. I’m Happy!! :)</p>
<p>I had to appear for an IRS tax audit this morning and the gentleman before whom I appeared seemed to think I was telling the truth. We’ll see how his report to the decision making committee goes, but I’m cautiously optimistic!</p>
<p>DNT- fingers crossed for you!!!</p>
<p>The bulbs I planted last fall are coming up, very exciting
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The past week has been beautifully sunny, cold, but sunny and gorgeous to see the sights, very clear with surrounding snow capped mountains in view all around.</p>
<p>Grad student D, who would normally not be eligible to be a TA until the fall term, is in a class with the TA coordinating prof, guess DD is impressive in te class- she was invited to be a spring TA, same salary as RA, but tuition remission mean no loans for spring Q- yay for DD- and I was the one she called to share the news with ;)</p>
<p>The last six months or so have been amazing:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We reorganized at work, and – wonder of wonders – I’m now in the right department with the right manager! And he’s not an idiot! </p></li>
<li><p>Other work news: my new product initiative is scoring a 10 out of 10 with our sales force, account managers, and clients, my #2 nemesis quit in October, my #1 nemesis transferred to another group in September and just gave notice last week, all my product development teams are on schedule to finish their projects on time, and we are hitting record sales levels. Woot! as my son would say.</p></li>
<li><p>TallSon is appearing in two plays (one in the lead), and has been chosen to direct a play in the spring. He’s a sophomore in high school.</p></li>
<li><p>WashDadJr is happy, and is now going into month five with his GF – even surviving one round of “I’m not good enough for you, maybe we should see other people.”</p></li>
<li><p>WashMom is now directing rehearsals for the play she wrote last year. Costumers are costuming, set designers are designing, and composers are composing (which, as you know, is better than decomposing). I believe ticketers will be ticketing shortly.</p></li>
<li><p>My high school robotics team competed in its first tournament last Saturday. All three of our robots made it into the semifinals, and one lost in a very close finals competition. They also earned the “Innovate” award for engineering excellence, the Documentary Film award, and the “Inspire” award for best all-around team at the competition. Only one of my 20 kids has ever done this before. I’m so proud of them I could just brag. Oh. I just did!</p></li>
<li><p>Our new deck is finished and looks great. It’s so nice not having the kitchen door opening into space.</p></li>
<li><p>TallSon finished the work on his Eagle Scout service project, and should finish all his paperwork this spring.</p></li>
<li><p>Our Director of Software Development asked me if WashDadJr would like to apply for a summer software internship at our company. Since he spent last summer working in the rapidly-prepared food industry, he thinks it’s a good idea.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>and last, but not least,</p>
<ol>
<li> WashDadJr is coming home for spring break in a little more than a week!</li>
</ol>
<p>Good thread…</p>
<p>D, who is graduating in June from college and hasn’t had a post-graduation plan that her parents could explain to interested friends, called to say that she wants to get into “robotics” and that she plans to work, rather than go to grad school at this time.</p>
<p>I don’t know how far she’s gotten on executing the plan, but HOORAY for a plan!</p>
<p>Post 6 sets a new personal record for the number of exclamation marks in a single forum post.</p>
<p>Thanks somemom!</p>
<p>“…working in the rapidly-prepared food industry…” -HA!</p>
<p>Yesterday I realized that I’d somehow lost my fleece vest after having lunch on campus. That was bad enough, but then I remembered that my cell phone was in the vest pocket. So I retraced my route and low and behold, I spotted a black thing hanging on a bush–my vest! Someone had picked it up off the ground and left it for the owner to see. The phone was still in the pocket, I was so relieved!</p>
<p>I got excellent, polite, quick customer service at the DMV this week!!!</p>
<p>Many fix-it projects around the house are coming together this week. Gate opens and closes easily now, the grate leading under the house is repaired, the leaky faucet in the yard is fixed, and best of all, the several feet of rain gutter that was full of holes has been replaced and painted. Things are shaping up!</p>
<p>washdad, I think you can just cut and paste that and – voila! – your christmas letter. :)</p>
<p>I like hearing the good things going on in everyone’s life.</p>
<p>Things have been going well for me. My friends and I (and everybody else at my school) are all applying for these same competitive internships, and I keep getting interview after interview. Many of my friends haven’t gotten any interviews or have only gotten one first round interview, so I’ve been sort of hiding my own success because I feel bad and awkward about it. I’ve worked every summer since well before I was legally allowed to work, and I’ve had two great, tough jobs the last two summers, so I’m really glad it’s paying off. I applied seven places, have gotten five interviews (most of which are in the next few days… and the two interviews I didn’t get were for companies that I’m really not qualified for but just found interesting), and I just got a call today for a final-round interview for a great company. I also was notified today that I’ve been accepted as a Tour Guide on campus, which took an application and then three rounds of interviews. So, I’m feeling pretty good. :)</p>
<p>corranged, I hope you’ll come here and brag when you get an offer! But I get what you mean about how just sharing happy news can feel like bragging, especially if friends aren’t having the same success. Good luck!</p>
<p>We’ve been working on a Mock Trial in my Bible as Literature class for the past two weeks. It was the people of Israel vs. King Saul, and if the prosecution (which I was on) won, Saul would be impeached.</p>
<p>WE WON. w00t. Especially w00tness because we so thought we were going to lose. </p>
<p>Also, I found out a couple of days ago that I have a spot reserved at me for my dorm at Sonoma State! Now I just have to wait for the HLA (Housing License Agreement) to come Mid-March.</p>
<p>Got a middle of the night phone call from S2, who was still coming down off a high from a stellar performance earlier last evening. I had tried to call him 3 times earlier, when I was sure the concert would be over. Apparently he was fielding congratulatory phone calls. I can handle those kinds of sleep interruptions! :)</p>
<p>Ahh, what a great thread! I had coffee with a friend last night who told me that a friend of hers is the principal in the school where my oldest D teaches. Out of the blue, he mentioned to her that a young teacher in his school was doing such a great job and how fortunate he felt to have her there. Guess who the young teacher was! Made me very proud. :)</p>
<p>Even better was a great check-up for D4 earlier this week. After three years of cancer diagnosis and treatment, each clean check-up is a blessing.</p>
<p>somemom, I SO wish that I could see my spring bulbs. My gardens are covered in piles of snow, some about 5 feet high! It is a beautiful day here today though, the sun shining brightly, beautiful blue sky, but very, very cold. I guess I have a few more weeks to wait for crocuses!</p>
<p>Ahh, it is nice to celebrate happy things going on! </p>
<p>Corranged…I’m really proud of you and you are not even my own kid! Kudos to you on the internship interviews. You sound deserving and it seems like your hard work is paying off. You have always impressed me and so go knock 'em dead in your interviews and let us know how you make out. </p>
<p>Binx, your son sounds very accomplished and seems to be getting a lot of recognition. He’s graduating, right? Seems like the world is his oyster. Let us know what he does after he graduates Juilliard! </p>
<p>AlwaysAMom, that is really very cool that someone would be remarking about your daughter as a teacher and not realize who you were. Chills of pride must have come over you! I have to say that the news about your youngest daughter has to go beyond any happy news that I can think of, however, because nothing beats knowing your child is healthy and a survivor after having gone through what she has. I wish her continued health. You also must be on cloud nine planning your daughter’s wedding, and so lots to rejoice over. </p>
<p>I guess I’ll join in because I’m a happy parent right now because as we all know, if our kids are happy or have good things happen for them, it makes us happy. Yesterday was a very happy day for my oldest daughter who is a senior in college. She is an applicant to Architecture Grad Schools which is a highly competitive process where her schools have very low admit rates and a big chunk of the admissions decision is subjective, based on a portfolio. The odds are daunting. I have put it out of my mind since she did not expect to hear from any schools until mid March. However, yesterday, the dean of one of her arch grad schools, a well regarded one in her field, left her a voice message about accepting her! It is a huge relief to already be in at a school, one that she’d be happy to attend. It makes the wait to hear from the others easier and to know she has a chance. Even if it all ended now, she’d be happy. So, I am really excited for her happy news, that came earlier than we expected (and I don’t know what to expect given the very low odds). </p>
<p>I’m happy for my other daughter who has had a lot of good things happen for her lately and she is having a great year. She is the lead in the mainstage musical at her university which I saw on opening night and return this weekend to see again. She is cast in another musical which she begins as soon as this one ends. Her a capella group, which she is the musical director for, just won the Northeast Quarterfinals (she had to miss attending due to her show), and my daughter’s arrangement won for best arrangement and the soloist on her arrangement won for best soloist. She will compete in the Semi Finals at MIT coming up. She was offered a job this summer to be the musical director, as well as performer, and help to create the show as well, that will be put on for all 8,000 incoming freshmen at NYU at Madison Square Garden, and is getting paid five figures and free room and board for the summer. She will be able to save a bunch of dough for when she graduates, but also the job combines everything she loves…writing music and scripts, musically directing, and singing/acting/dancing and so she is happy for her good fortune. So life is going well for the moment.</p>
<p>Binx, as a musician, I can almost feel your son’s high! I stopped giving performances a few years ago for a variety of reasons, but I have to say I am very jealous. Congrats to him!</p>
<p>Alwaysamom, I am so happy to hear about your daughter. May she continue to have good health.</p>
<p>Thanks Soozie and Youdon’tsay!</p>