It’s Small Success Thursday over at CatholicMom.com, where we celebrate the things that went right this week.

Like I said earlier, we’re in house moving mode, so this will be quick and picture-laden.  I had (and still have) a ton of deep-cleaning to do before we list (probably, hopefully on Saturday).  The beautiful ceramic and glass tile backslpash my husband put in our kitchen was covered in missed grout, not to mention accumulated grime.

Utility blade + Kaboom + polar fleece scraps + elbow grease =

Our fiberglass tub gets cleaned regularly, but not even washing soda and a cloth could eradicate the stains on the bottom of the tub: dull their edges, yes, but not eliminate them.  BEHOLD!

Low-odor oven cleaner + Magic Eraser + elbow grease = 

Last but not least, I lost my beloved Ray Bans a few weeks ago.  My old frames were so pretty and comfortable and edgy and quirky and conservative all at once.  I loved them.

The only spare pair I have featured in the picture you see on this blog post.  Those are the glasses I wore when I was pregnant.  THE FIRST TIME.  IN 2003.  The pair before pregnancy shifted my astigmatism.  The pair before this nearsighted beauty needed to start taking her glasses off to read.  Can you say, “Welcome to migraine territory?”  They were enough to keep me street legal, though, so I adjusted and endured the tiny turn-of-the-millennium frames on my giant Celtic head for several weeks.

So, first I finally made it to the eye doctor, which was a success in and of itself.  I’m not afraid of the eye doctor, per se.  It’s more like an annoyance with the process that is so deep it runs to anger.  First, I get migraines from the dilation drops (the overabundance of light and eye strain that follow, rather).  Second, I have very sensitive eyes with a blink reflex so fierce that, the one and only time I tried to be fitted for contact lenses, the optician’s assistant endured my attempts for an hour and a half before she finally said, “If you give up and leave now, I won’t charge you.” All this means that I’ve never been able to have a complete adult eye exam.  That ring of blue light they have to put right on your eye?  No eye doctor actually got the thing close enough before my eye would snap shut on it.

I knew I was due for dilation, and I didn’t want to deal with the Blue Ring of Failure.   And then, THIS GUY!  I don’t know how he did it, but he said my pupils were naturally big enough that he’d try getting away without the dilation–AND HE DID!  And then he was able to get both eyes with the blue ring!  I don’t know how.  I did offer to be hooked up to one of those Clockwork Orange things:

Alas, he was fresh out, but it didn’t matter!  He succeeded where countless others have failed.  And then, to ice the optical cake, they had my exact same pair of Ray Bans but in a more lightweight material that, I think, works better with my skin tones.  

Maybe next week’s Small Success will be finding time to wax my eybrows and do roots and makeup.

God is good.  All the time.  Sometimes He even makes it obvious.  What went right for you this week?  Link it up or comment it over at CatholicMom.com!