Okay, I Feel Awesome!

How good is a day when you get up, get things done, and can do what you want the rest of the day?!? Yes!

Last night Mrs. C. dragged me, most unwillingly, to the gym. I KNEW I needed to go, but it's one of those things. I'm NOT in a gym mood until I get there. I did a Debbie workout. Debbie is a trainer who I worked with. How awesome she was! She knew exactly how much to push me, without killing me. Debbie's husband, however, moved on to work at a university in the Atlanta area. I have been teetering on the edge of quitting the gym, were it not for my AWESOME friends, Mrs. C. and Hippy Chick.

MORE THINGS TO BE THANKFUL FOR :

20. Living in a country in which I can speak my mind without having aforementioned mind splattered on a wall beside me (Sadaam Hussein-style)

21. The right to vote

22. Friends who will drop-kick me into going to the gym

23. Cooking for Thanksgiving!

24. Good recipes on the internet

25. An extended-family that is very supportive, despite being insane

26. A sister who is an EXCELLENT cook

27. A daddy who would do almost anything for me and my siblings

28. A momma who is probably the sweetest person I know (maybe her momma was sweeter? maybe?)

29. A brother who served in Iraq and who has chosen to serve us here in law enforcement back here

30. The older gentleman I saw at Wal*Mart (that #$%^ place) who had on a "Retired U.S. Navy" cap. (I thanked him for his service and I almost burst into tears. After watching a lot of Ken Burns' The War, I can't NOT thank anybody I know is a veteran.)

31. A number of friends who are always game for coffee

32. Turkey breast!

33. Giblet-less gravy

Thanksgiving Is My FAVORITE!

Okay, I like most holidays. But, my FAVORITE is Thanksgiving (followed closely by Voting Day, which isn't really a holiday, but I just get so excited about it--watch Not For Ourselves Alone by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick and you'll vote even when you don't feel like it). I like that there's no pressure to get some awesome gift for each family member. In our family, we go to my diddy's brother's house. All the peeps from that side of the family generally show up. It's really nice. Bring a dish and catch up on all the goings-on from the previous year. No arguing about whether it's pronounced jib-let or gib-let (with a hard g). No tearing down one another. Just existing, eating, and enjoying. If you want to watch football, that's fine. If you want to watch the little kids play outside (which is really where it's at), that's okay. If you want to be super-helpful in the kitchen, that's okay too. Funny, I never find myself doing that.

So, in the spirit of thankfulness, I thought I'd start a list that I'll continue during the week when I need to add to it. . .

THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR

1. My family

2. My friends

3. A job that I absolutely love

4. Being southern (no offense to those of you from the northern regions, but I was MADE to be southern)

5. Finding (being led to) a new church with an AWESOME pastor

6. People at church who (lovingly) monitor my attendance!

7. The Child

8. Living with my sister so I can hear her raising The Child ("If you don't get up here on this bed to get your clothes on, you can't wear your Spiderman pajamas." "'Pidaman, momma, pidaman, momma!" "Okay, then get up here." That's REALLY what priceless is, Mastercard!)

9. My brother and his wife expecting A BOY!

10. People at work I actually like (I've been watching The Office quite a bit lately.)

11. Thanksgiving week off!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

12. A suitable place to live

13. A car that gets me from point A to point B satisfactorily

14. A really awesome friend who meets me to ellipticize twice a week!

15. A really awesome person who cut my hair and morphed into a really good friend!

16. A gym I can work out at and not feel wigged out because my body isn't (even close to being) perfect

17. Parents who cared (and still do care) about me and what I'm doing

18. Really good music

19. My i-pod (I know this is very-near, if not shallow, but it has changed my life. I don't think I could ellipticize without it. Okay, I could, but not as long.)