Long Live the Underdog! -or- how I vanquished the serial killer -or- my 7 triumphs for the week

Once you've been inspired by my 7 Triumphs of the Week, please go visit Jen for some more mature reading, book recs, and a giveaway.

Here are all the ways I triumphed this week:

1 - I didn't get serial-killed. This morning my friend Muriel sent me a forward about how girls can be safe. There were several bullet points on different topics, but the further I read the more they all seemed to be like tips for not letting serial killers get the upper hand. Anyone who's known me since I first watched Unsolved Mysteries in 2nd grade, knows that I learned as a young child that anyone can be a serial killer. And it's my responsibility not to help them kill me. 

So anyway, I read this email, felt sufficiently creeped out in the house by myself, and decided to jump in the shower. Once I had fully lathered the shampoo in my hair, I suddenly heard the dogs start barking like CRAZY. I knew I had locked the front door when the husband left to work, but I suddenly worried that the serial killer had actually entered via the sliding glass door. I knew we'd had it open the day before and couldn't remember if I locked it. I was like, "God, seriously?? I just read this email and now I'm getting serial-killed?? This scenario did not appear in the email." 

Incredible. 

Well, the dogs wouldn't stop barking and something started banging up against the bathroom door. At that point, I resigned myself to my fate and decided to grab my phone and call 9-1-1, for which I determined to jump out of the shower and wrap myself in a towel. I figured I might as well call 9-1-1 before I got attacked, so maybe they'd use the GPS and show up just in time to catch the perp and stop his reign of terror from ruining any other lady's shower. Suddenly, the "serial killer," a.k.a., my wiener dog who was supposed to be kenneled due to lack of supervision, burst triumphantly into the bathroom, barking celebratorily. With soapy-suds hair, shower still running, I put the dog back where she belonged, and praised the other dog for not escaping -- he was doing his tattle-tale bark, so with the tattle-tale and celebrator combined, it definitely sounded exactly like a serial killer had intruded.

Checked locks and finished shower unscathed.

2 - for some reason, it's really important to me to make food for my husband. If I don't do that, I feel like I'm failing as a wife. For some reason, making food more than anything is what I focus on to make him happy. This week, I experienced a major triumph, in that I cooked him breakfast every day, sent him lunch to work every day, and cooked him dinner every night.

3 - I actually made something really, incredibly delish. It's lemon pepper tilapia, baked in the oven. I blame my success on using mostly FRESH stuff: fresh cracked black pepper, freshly squeezed lemon juice, and freshly pressed garlic cloves. This was a big hit.

I still need a lot of help with red meat. The big problem is that I don't want to eat it, so I have no idea what I'm doing to it. It could be good, bad, OR ugly. I feel like I'm wearing a blindfold every time I try to cook red meat. Do any vegetarians have clues to share? Do any cooks have tried-and-true red meat rules to apply? Does anyone have a key for what the heck to do with all the different cuts of red meat? The main reason I don't eat cows: way too complicado. But also, cause the baby ones are really cute and they like have big brown eyes, like my puppies. 

4 - the Word of God presided over most of my days. We just found a church that we love, and I joined up with the ladies Bible study on Tuesday nights. The study in which I partake involves memory verses and daily homework (well, 5 days worth). It's been great so far, and really challenging in a good way. The more you get into the Bible, the more you want. So rich ... and I don't know how to explain it, but it makes the biggest difference in my daily life moments.

5 - my job has not clobbered me emotionally. This is definitely a change within my spirit, moreso than a  change in my actual circumstances. My job has only gotten more challenging, and my self-evaluation has not really given me any reason for pride. It's just that I know that I've been put in this place for a reason, and I know that my main purpose is tied up in my job performance, but in being what I was created to be, so I don't sweat the small stuff. I'm going to learn a lot, and accept each situation as it comes. Like it or not, the people I work for/with are going to be bathed in prayer, and I will evaluate every moment with a certain spiritual detachment that keeps me from asking my job to provide me with my personal worth. At least, this is where I am this week. It works a lot better than workingworkingworking with desperation, hungry for success, devastated by hiccups, and so intensely affected by the ups and downs of the approval coming from others. 

6 - I did not kidnap any babies. I saw the most precious infant, who was born at 6.5 lbs. Each little breath you could watch as it filled her belly and lungs while she slept. Every inch of her was tiny and perfect and so brand new. Her tufty hair was awesome. When she woke up to ask for something to eat, her brand new vision was so alert and focused. What a little angel! But I held it together and didn't snatch her. In fact, I kept my arms folded behind my back (thanks, yoga!) and looked with my eyes, not with my hands.

7 - I rooted for the right teams. I love the Orioles. I don't follow them like I did 5 or 6 years ago (until the moment Rafael Palmeiro broke my freakin' heart), but they will always charm me like crazy. So proud of them for making it to the 2012 playoffs, for the first time in so many, many years. Their record never dissuades my love. I love them for who they are, not for the benefits they bring me. LOVE those O's! They have actually spanked the Yanks (New York Yankees) 2 out of 4 times they've met in the playoffs. At the moment, things are not looking too good in game 5, but it's no matter. Yanks may win the battle, but ultimately, they lose the war, wherein the war = being charming to Sydney. 

PS -- on my way now to watch game 5 between Nats and Cards. It's not very patriotic of the Cardinals to try and beat the Nationals, so if they win tonight they should probably all be tried for treason. I now live within a few miles of the Nats stadium, so I've adopted them as my tied-for-second-favorite (with the Rangers) team, and I reeeeeally hope they win tonight. It's also many years coming for them.

Long live the Underdog!