I walked across the Grand Canyon, but there was already a thread about it so I’m not sure it counts here, too.
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I’ve lost 40 pounds.
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I’ve started a new job (my last one sucked).
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I’ve taken a moral inventory of my shortcomings and managed to keep my new job despite several situations that would have caused me to say “fuck it, I quit” at any of my previous jobs.
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I’ve gotten on anti-depressants and completely changed my life! I think this has a lot to do with #3.
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I’ve written a book (haven’t published it yet).
What’s it about Homie?
I don’t want to give too much away, so I’ll just say that it’s nonfiction, and could be used as a textbook or a reference book in elementary or junior high schools.
Thanks for taking an interest! 
:rolleyes: Big deal. I make a six-figure salary from my artwork. (Two of the six are to the right of the decimal point, but still…) 
Seriously, congrats, Sound Mind! And congrats to all you other over-achievers, too.
Two of my pieces won first and second place in the jewelry category in an art show this summer. I was surprised enough when the judge came around with ribbons, but I was stunned when someone else came by later and handed me a check for the award money!
Somehow I am managing to get up, get dressed and function at work, every day. Not only that, I am pleasant at work and feel good when I’m there (most days). It’s days like today that are not so good…
But, I am sticking to this, even though it means working 2 jobs (both PT, but together they’re FT) because it means health insurance for my family.
Congrats to all here–none of this is easy. Keep it up!
I’ve gone from being a SAHM for 11 years (minus the PT job at a megahell that I am glad I walked away from as my friends that are there say nothing has changed and it gets worse every few weeks.) to getting a FT job at the Salvation Army Thrift store.
In less than 6 weeks FT work, I’ve been promoted to Floor Supervisor, got a raise and lost ten pounds. I share Supervisory job with another lady who I like quite well and we get along very nicely. It isn’t a mentally hard job and I think the managers are so use to dealing with a different demographic entirely, that having someone who has their own teeth and can read and speak proper english has made me (and our floor team) stand out. Srsly. They are happy to have us and I am completely content to do my job ( so far.) The store hasn’t opened yet and I am told the Grand Opening is a Fucking Nuthouse and will be so until early December.
(The store looks so damn nice right now, too.)
With me being at work, the kids come home to an empty house and I have instructed them they can only call me if there is a fire, blood or zombie holocaust. No phone calls yet.
Our kids are straight A students whom one teacher said of our son, " He is going to go far in life." and “He’s such an Old Soul.” He is. Like a fifty year old man. In his bathrobe shouting at the paper boy for chucking the paper into the running sprinkler. and another said of our daughter ( a teacher that also has taught our son.) " You can tell she is thinking and I try not to compare siblings to each other, but in her own way I can see her doing bigger things than her brother." She is also a safety and she enjoys jackbooting the hallways. I look forward to seeing her run her own country with an iron fist and fantastic shoes.
My life has hit an upswing lately and while I am not exactly thrilled with 40 work weeks, and the condition that my house has rapidly deteriorated too ( from Crap to Condemned.) we are in need of this positive cash flow quite desperately.
Did you make those outfits? Those are freakin’ adorable! I cannot imagine stuffing a duck into a dress at all, I’d be laughing to hard and pissing off the duck.
I have only made a couple of outfits so far (I have designed a heap more though) I have only had the job a couple of weeks. I’m never going to make a fortune out of it but it is really really nice to be valued.
P.s.
I’m working on a lovely vintage 1850’s design in green and white satin at the moment then I will be working on a -ahem- ducky Chanel suit (just like marge simpson wore) I’m giggling as I type.
- wow- forget teaching, I have a new career goal
- WOW. that is a tremendous accomplishment, and trust me I know, so good for you!!!
- I realized I’ve been spending too much time with my boyfriend and not enough with my other friends, and I’ve made plans to fix that.
I got some very complimentary comments about one of my CG works from Frank Vitz, Visual Effects supervisor for the original Tron and X-Men 1 and two movies, among others.
I’m 38 weeks pregnant, and still going to level 2 yoga and pilates classes. My teacher told me yesterday she had never seen anyone as far along as I was still going, and with such good technique. I felt very chuffed, looking like a whale as I do!
Why do they use skinny Indian Runner Ducks instead of full-figured ducks like Pekins? 
Sorry, I’m coming up empty with things to brag about. well, other than knowing a lot about ducks, but that’s not new
At my boyfriend’s urging, and with his help, I cleaned my bedroom.
Sounds petty and childish, I know, but the place has been a disaster area since I first left for college four years ago, and was in desperate need of a change. I got rid of things I’d had for nearly 20 years, which I didn’t think I was capable of doing. I also stripped my wallpaper and repainted. My room went from being a pastel pinkish purple with flowery wallpaper to a gorgeous steely gray. The wall that had the wallpaper is now a much darker purple. It’s still me, but it’s grown up, and I like that.
When we tore up the wallpaper, we found that underneath, my dad had written “wallpapered by [dad’s initials], 11/93.” That’s 16 years ago. I was 6. I hadn’t thought that it was that long ago, as I clearly remember picking out that wallpaper, but apparently it was. In response, my boyfriend and I wrote “Painted by [my initials] and [boyfriend’s initials], 10/09.” I know folks are less likely to find that, but I thought it fitting all the same.
Now the only thing left is to get some lamps, and to find new curtains to replace the horrendous ones I just took down. They were light brown (faded from sunlight) with pink flowers, and didn’t even match the original color scheme, much less the new one. Not only that, but I found out fairly recently that they weren’t even the same length! A trip to JC Penney is in order.
I got a 100% on my infectious disease and disinfection test. I have a 97.9% average overall for the past three weeks of school. That includes the theory and the lab grades, so that’s really good.
I’m excited about it, at any rate. 
I was going to be selfish and start my own thread, but I guess I’ll join in on this one.
As of 9/20/09:
I quit smoking cold turkey. I have been a smoker for 29 years. Guess I didn’t want to break that 30 year mark. The joke always was “I will be a smoker until they cut a hole in my throat.” The secret is that I don’t want a hole in my throat. I knew a friend’s mom who had one, and I thought it was creepy.
I quit drinking beer. I still drink alcohol. But this cuts my consumption down by at least 50%. And, yes, I know I drink a lot. But I’ve cut down at least. So I deserve some credit, eh?
I quit drinking caffeine. I don’t drink coffee, but I quit drinking Pepsi. And all its flavors. Because I quit drinking Jack Daniels.
I drink a lot of sugar free juice and dilute the juice with sucralose by 1/3 nowadays, because I don’t need that much sugar. (I am a diabetic type II).
I think I’m doing well. Now I just need to get off my fat ass and start exercising.
Yah ME! I guess. I think I’m doing better.
I just wanted to give a little street side shout out to all my fellow dopers in this thread for their YAY ME moments!
I’m a member of a thinktank for my province’s Animal Rights Party. I have been pushing a particular idea of mine for a couple years. First I had it included in the Party’s election programme. Two months ago, a bill with my idea was passed in the Provincial senate, with a grant of seventy thousand dollars.
The idea was about a catch, neuter and release programme for wild and stray cats in nature reserves. What was new about it was that is was combined with targeting half-wild cat populations on farms, to prevent cats from farms to infest nature reserves and killing off all the wildlife there, new regislation for hunters to hunt cats as pests, and the arrival of Felix Sylvestris, the true Wild Cat and an protected species in the forests of the Netherlands. Felix Sylvestris should be prevented to breed with Felix domesticus, so taht was another reason to try and reduce the number of stray and roaming cats in the forests of my province.
This is my kind of volunteer work: I have an idea, I tell others, and they make it work.
Also, my idea to get into contact with other parents of young kids in my block is paying off: I got a big box of toys this week from a neighbour that I can use or pass on.
On the other hand, my job is going badly and my psych has suggested I take three months sick leave and intensive therapy.
Keep it up, Uncle Brother Walker! You are doing better! The first steps are the hardest. Try going for walks; you may really enjoy it. The weather is so beautiful now.