Tuesday 10 - Up before sunrise edition

1. Yesterday was muggy/thunderstormy... so much so that when I got home from work around 7:30 last night my house was super stuffy and uncomfortable. I set about opening windows... and when we went to bed we left our ceiling fan for some much needed circulation. At 3:30 am, Asia woke up, got out of bed, walked around the house creepily for a couple of minutes and then came back in the room and turned the fan off. I, who hadn't been sleeping most of the night, said, "Please don't turn that off... it's so stuffy in here..." to which my dear husband replied, "I woke up with a premonition that I need to turn it off." Chalk that one up to one of the weirdest marriage experiences in our 21 years of sharing a bed... I laid there for another 45 minutes wondering if the fan was on the brink of flying off it's screws and killing us both or if my husband was just in some crazy sleep-walking stupor. Of course, he went right back to sleep and I ended up getting out of bed at 4:15, knowing I would never get back to sleep.
2. Is anyone else out there secretly ashamed after years of watching Trading Spaces on TLC to own/love their ceiling fan? I feel like I'm breaking some sort of cardinal decorating rule but just can't give it up. Mine's U.G.L.Y... but I love it and could never take it out.
3. I bet you would never guess the amount of black and orange candy I've stocked up on for Kyler's grad party this Saturday. Inspired by Pinterest's ridiculous overkill of candy buffet pictures, I've been stockpiling anything orange and black and sweet that I can find. If you need a sugar high over the weekend, I'm your girl.
   
4. I've been bumping into lots of Kyler's friends from elementary school lately... it's so fun to ask "What are your plans after graduation?" and hear all the answers. There's such an air of excitement and expectation and good ol' pie-in-the-sky optimism with these young kids. For some reason having one of them under my roof makes me hopeful and excited and so proud... the future looks bright from where I stand. There are some pretty amazing kids out there in my world. What an honor to have known so many of them since kindergarten and watch them grow and mature and develop into the amazing people they are today...
5. I have had four WW members so far this year pass the 100 pounds-lost milestone. I have another one well on his way to hitting the 200 pound mark. How in the world I ended up in the ridiculously-rewarding position to inspire and motivate such and incredible group of people I'll never take for granted... we're talking MAJOR life transformation. What an honor to know these incredibly perseverant and tenacious folks.
6. Asia and I take walks together almost every evening... and many of our conversations revolve around the commonalities in the people we work with... him in his growing private therapy practice and me in my work with WW... there are so many correlations between the two... many of the tools and techniques that work in my setting are also effective in his. It's fascinating how many conversations we have where we are able to help one another with a particular challenge in helping to motivate people toward positive change. It's energizing and super fun to both be using our talents and gifts for others this way. We feel super blessed to both be doing something we love so much and getting paid for it.
7. Savannah was officially certified last night as a Starbucks Barista... how fortunate we feel to have her employed at something she can take with her through college and beyond if necessary... she is technically a Safeway employee working at one of their in-store Starbucks counters - but now has the skills and knowledge to be easily hired in a stand-alone Starbucks if she so desires when she turns 18... she worked for several months as a courtesy clerk - bagging groceries, jockeying carts and sweeping the store and is now MUCH happier in the barista role with her cute little black hat and green apron.
   
8. Just heard the news that one of my brother's daughters is going to have a baby... I'm already a great-aunt from Asia's side of the family but somehow feel older now that it's happening from this side... this will make my parents great-grandparents. Oh.my.grief. What a blessing.
9. It's outrageous how many last minute tasks I have on my to-do list this week in anticipation of all our grad-weekend celebrating. Staying on-task is absolutely essential. It's such a thrill to be honoring my handsome son this way and I'm savoring every stinking minute of it... I LOVE this kind of stuff.
10. Happy Tuesday, dear friends. Thanks for stopping by. You make my day when you come visit with me this way. Smooches!