I won!

There are a few of things that have made me feel not-so-great lately. I have tried not to focus on them, but it's kindof like when your computer wants to update something and it reminds you every time you log on. Some things just aren't easily ignored.

Like what, you ask? Well, you know I'm not a super negative person, and especially here on this blog, I try to focus on the joys of my life.

But, for the sake of hoping you can relate, here are some things I have had more "not winning" in than winning lately:

- Having a child: Even the foster care peeps haven't called in a while. I know in an ideal world, we'd never get a call and never get a placement, because no child would ever need foster care, but according to the news, people are still doing stupid things to their kids, which means some of those kids should be with us.

- Eating right: To their credit, my friends are awesome. And quite a few of them have made delicious goodies as Christmas presents this year. It is not my friends' fault that I'm not working out like I should and though they are not forcing their brown butter cranberry orange bread down my throat, I can't just leave it sitting lonesome on the counter. By eating it, I am showing my friends how much I love them. Love is good, right?

- Applying for grad school: My application to UMD for their PhD in Communication was due Dec 1. I'm still working on it. It's taking me for-e-ver to finish my writing sample, which is silly, cause I'm just adding a section to a paper I wrote in 2000. But that was a long time ago and the military has ruined me for writing in academic style and I'm a lazy perfectionist and well, it's just not done yet.

So, there. That's just a few of them. My house is a mess, there are science experiments happening in the veggie drawer of my fridge, my inbox is overflowing, the Christmas gift list still has lots of un-crossed-off items and I have a cold. That last one isn't my fault, but it still sucks.

Waah, waah, waah, right? But I'm not just whining and being ungrateful. I'm trying to find the silver lining and keep my eye on the goal and letting my joy be not dependent on my circumstances and all that good stuff. I have far more things to be thankful for than would fit in this blog. But maybe cause of where I am right now, something like the email I got today just makes me feel like a winner, and I'm embracing it!

What is it, you ask? You're going to think it's silly. But, ok, I'll tell you.

My team was selected to run the Cherry Blossom 10-miler in April! Exciting stuff, right? See, last year they sold out their 15,000 slots in two hours (TWO hours!!!), so this year they did a lottery system. I registered John and I as a team, so we'd either both be entered or neither of us. And we got in!

The Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C., is absolutely the most beautiful time of the year and makes this federal city the most beautiful place in the world for those two weeks. Sure, we can go run on the mall for free during the festival, but there's just something about paying to run with 14,998 strangers that is... well, it's just something we love to do.

Well, that's my little WIN for today. What about you? I hope you've gotten some sweet love notes from your Abba in the midst of your life, whatever's going on. I'd love to hear about them.