Lots of Good News

I have so many things I want to share, and I don't want to forget them all, so for this Friday, a quick brain cleanse with bullets:

• Alex and Kate both got straight As for 2nd semester of their respective freshman years! I mean, this is not a surprise but it's still mighty impressive, and wow, it's fun to be a parent and get to be proud of your kids for being hard workers, and smarty-pantses.
• Kate made the high school JV Volleyball team (tryouts were this week)! This relieves the sting from last year's disappointing result, for sure. It's going to be a fun fall season. I want to remember this, from the coach: She told Kate she was really impressed, that Kate had clearly worked on all the things she told her to work on last year, and she said, 'You proved me wrong.' !! Validation. And commendation because Kate did, indeed, work REALLY hard this year.
• My company hired a new General Manager and he seems nice enough... We'll see. There are some people who "only give him 6 weeks," but I'm hopeful it will be a good change.
• I have been told multiple times what a good job I'm going in my new role. I've had to admit out loud, to both the new manager and others, that it really has been hard. However, I'm starting to feel like I halfway know what I'm doing, and when this higher-up told me he could see that I'm more relaxed, and confident, THAT was a boost of confidence.
• Shawn closed on the sale of his mom's house! Huge weight lifted from him! Of course it's a mix of emotions, selling the home he grew up in. But he has worked so hard on all the paperwork and lawyer discussions and dealings with banks etc., and I'm so proud of him. It's been hard to sit on the sidelines but since I wasn't named an executor, it really was kinda all on his shoulders. 
• My mom's two procedures, a knee injection-in-lieu-of-replacement, and a carpal tunnel surgery, are both DONE and hopefully will be successful for her! Less pain is very much YAY. I'm so happy my sister and brother-in-law got to be with her this week to help her while she recovered.
• I just had a huge win at work, getting rid of a project that was an absolute albatross around my neck - the people affected were agreeable to it and I'm SO relieved.
• Kate was confirmed at church 2 weeks ago, and it was a JOY-FILLED 2 days, with her cousin -- the daughter of her godparents, incidentally -- coming to stay with us and serve as her Sponsor. I would love to write more eloquently about how I felt that night at the church, but I don't know if I can articulate it. We were surrounded by friends (kids and parents from her St. Joe's class of 9 years), a former neighbor and longtime church member who had known her since she was tiny, surprising her with a sweet card, PLUS having family there from out of town... it was a holy moment, indeed. My heart needed to feel that full, and it was so good.
• (And now for a complete shift,) I have done 5 full days of Intermittent Fasting (16 hours fasting/8 hours eating window) and it's not that hard, and I feel pretty good, like it's already a helpful thing for me. The book I ordered about it should arrive today. I am excited to delve a little further, and feel optimistic. The doctor/author seems to know her stuff, and says this way of eating helps not only weight loss, but all the other things as well. It reduces risk of disease, inflammation, blood pressure, etc etc etc. Snake-oil? We'll see, but I'm willing to give it a go.
• The weather has been lovely the last several days! I just had lunch on the front porch with Alex and it was cool, breezy, and I think I'm going to finish my workday here as well. 
• It's about to be a 3-day weekend! I hope you have something fun planned! We don't, really, but I am so grateful already for the day off, and for it being summer!