With cat-like tread, upon my dream I steal

For the last few months, I've found myself lamenting (admittedly more than once twice a million times) that I "just need a tiny success. Not a miracle, just a success." It's no secret that I've been agented and on submission for quite some time with a few dead books in my lap. It's not fun, I'll tell you that. But it's necessary and it's just the luck of the game sometimes.

However, the last few months have been getting to me, hence the need for a tiny success.

I wish this was the post where I got to tell you fantastic news about how it finally all worked out and I'm finally a millionaire and I finally get to meet my silver fox of a crush Kevin Kline who will be starring in the movie adaptation of my NYT bestselling book. But it's not. That dream hasn't come true quite yet.

And I wish I could tell you that some wise old man gave me an inspiring talk about learning to recognize the dreams that come true right in front of our eyes. And that the wise old man was Kevin Kline. But it's not.

And sometimes it's hard to count our blessings when we are trying ever so hard not to be upset over that teensy weensy particular blessing that just hasn't come our way yet. But the theme this week is a dream come true, not Marie writing angsty high school poetry to herself about having to wait and work for what she wants. I pine! I pale! I am late to English.

So!

Tonight we celebrated my daughter's second birthday. At the risk of getting nauseatingly sentimental, let me just say that today's tiny success---heck, let's just make it this YEAR'S tiny success---has been seeing her blow out her candles, pop balloons with her friends and stay up well past bedtime eating enough cake and ice cream to rot out every tooth we've tried to grow so far. She's healthy and by darn, tonight she was happy! I guess that's my dream come true...at least coming true every day that she is.

Is that a cop out? My dream is having a happy kid reach two years old without either of us killing each other. Done! Come true!

Oh yeah, I also moved overseas. That was pretty rad, too.

Any dreams come true for you guys out there? While you're thinking, here's some singing Kevin Kline to roll around in like catnip. I usually end posts with a lolcat, but this will have to do. Me-wow!

A Dream (Not) Deferred

I've had many dreams in the past 28 years. Become a nuclear physicist, fly to the moon, write an epic fantasy trilogy, play video games for a living, and so on and so forth. While some of them aren't ever going to happen (nuclear physicist for example), I'm finding out this is an all right thing. Everyone needs dreams, no matter whether they happen or don't, because having a dream is what makes life interesting. Or at least I hope it does otherwise why the heck are we talking about them?

We're supposed to talk this week about our dreams that came true recently. I've had a few of those in recent weeks, so I'm going to devote a little capsule to each.

First is that I found a full-time job close to home. Not just any full-time job either; this is a place where I can have a real impact on the company's future. For someone like me that's a big deal, especially because I've felt like a cog in a wheel for awhile now. It's a brilliant company run by passionate people, and I'm proud to work here alongside them.

Second is that the Kickstarter goal for Doctor Fantastique's Show of Wonders was met at the end of January. This means we can do some fascinating things with the print edition of the magazine, and puts the publication on the road to profitability.

Last, but most certainly not least, is finding out Her Highness the Missus and I are expecting child numero uno. I adore children (convinced I never matured past 9 years old), and the idea of being a father gets me highly excited. It's going to be a tough thing to do right, but when have y'all ever known me to shy away from the tough stuff?

So those are the dreams of mine that have come true lately. Anything you want to add?

Dreams Come True

"No matter how your heart is grieving, if you keep on believing, the dream that you wish will come true." - Cinderella

This week's theme is A Dream Come True. A dream really is a wish your heart makes. But as we all know, you can't just wish your dreams into reality. Which makes them that much sweeter when you achieve them.

I was going to say that my dream that came true was my promotion at work. While that was an awesome and amazing thing, I don't think it qualifies as a "dream" because I still have room to grow in my career. It doesn't feel like I'm living a dream - yet.

So after some thought, I'm going to use a dream that happened more than a year ago but sometimes I still can't believe it actually happened (I know I've mentioned it before). This place that I live in, the one with the WALLS and the TWO BATHROOMS and the FIREPLACE and many other amazing things, it belongs to Hubs and me!!

No one else!

And when we bought our condo, so many others dreams came true with it. Picking out new carpet and taping those little paint cards on the wall to figure out what color to paint. AND THE WASHER/DRYER! No more community laundry where people steal your clothes and you try not to think about their underwear tumbling in that same machine. (I am a bit of a germaphobe. Please don't ask me to house sit so I have to sleep in your bed - no offense!)

The dream that came true for me was buying a condo and turning it into a home.

And even though we will eventually buy a house with a yard and get a dog (a future dream), I'm not in a hurry. I can see us living here for a solid few years. And considering that a couple of years ago I thought home ownership was so far out of reach, I'm living the dream right now.

What dreams (even small ones) have you achieved?

P.S. - A very small dream will be coming true soon! Ever since my birthday in September, I've been dying to go to Disneyland but the Pirates ride was closed and then I wanted everything to be back to normal after Christmas. So now we finally get to go!! Yay!!

This week's theme: A Dream Come True

Technology. It's a fickle mistress. This week we'll be writing about dreams come true; those small (or big) moments of success that make us want to kick up our heels and shout with joy. These are things we've achieved off of wish lists past, and they help remind us that those lists are possible. But, thanks to technology (and a massive migraine), I will be adding my dream come true to this post tomorrow morning. See you then!

*SEGUE*

Okay. So. Now that my internet is cooperating again, I can actually write this post. YAY! 

I wanted to write about this because January was a rough month for me, yes, but it did have some good things happen, too. One of which was a dream come true. A tiny dream, but a dream, nonetheless.

A few years ago, my husband and I went to the zoo that I now work at and discovered how adorable wallabies are in person. I mean, I'd known they were cute. They're basically mini kangaroos. How can that not be adorable? (Note: I love any and all things miniature).

But in person, they were just so much more... special. We took lots of crappy pictures and forced everyone to look at them. Okay, maybe that was just me. But I couldn't get over how darn hilarious they were, and every time we went back we'd go see the wallabies first. I even included them in my sidebar description when we started the Archives.

After a couple years, I sort of settled down. I got hired at my current job and there were LOTS of cute animals there. Even mini ones. But wallabies always had a special place in my heart.

Where am I going with this?

Well, a couple months ago, I started volunteering at a local facility that has a wide range of exotic animals just to get some more diverse experience. They happen to have three wallabies there. I was excited, but trying not to get my hopes up. I had a lot of training to go through before I could get near them.

And then, last month-- it happened. During all the craptacular parts of January, two shining moments stuck out. I got to play with my wallabies. I gave them carrots, I petted that ADORABLE FUZZ BEHIND THEIR EARS OMG. I watched them hop around in the rain. I watched them do wallaby yoga. I just got to sit with them and soak up the fact that there were wallabies a few inches from me.

So yes, in January, a dream of mine did come true. It's not the first, and it won't be the last, but it's something to hold onto when life gets a little rough, right?

Have you had any dreams come true recently?