Perspective

You know how everyone did that gratitude countdown to Thanksgiving on facebook (which was kind of annoying because for a whole month everyone was blowing up my newsfeed with how great their family, husband, kids, friends, life is...(I get it okay??))?  I would have liked to see more offbeat gratitude declarations, but that's just me.

Aaaaannnnyyyway, I actually have one.  A good one.

I'm grateful that my blog is fixed!!!  I don't have to write in HTML anymore.  And you should be grateful too because it means more random stories, needless details, and unsolicited opinions coming your way!

First on the docket:  I was starting to feel a tiny bit sad about my life today, but then I went on MSN.com and read that one of the stars of Little People Big World has been diagnosed with a rare form of cancer.

Seriously, Universe?  Seriously?  Couldn't cut them a break?

Now I'm not using their situation to make myself feel better, but reading that gives you perspective, you know?  Like, maybe life isn't that bad.  There are worse things in life than freaking out about your future Master's thesis or fretting about the boy who just doesn't like you back...no matter how much mascara you put on in the morning.

So huzzah!  Happy December everybody!

Generic Thanksgiving Post

Okay, I hate being cliche, but I'll make an exception this one time. *Disclaimer: this is not the only day I feel grateful for things.

Things I am grateful for:

The Big Stuff:
--a loving Heavenly Father
--a merciful Savior
--the atonement of Jesus Christ
--a family that understands my weirdness
--true friends

Patriotic Stuff:
--a country where I can say what I want, worship how I please, vote for my leaders, etc.
--men and women who are willing to fight for my freedoms
--a president who hasn't followed through on a lot of the socialist things he said he would do
--public education
--affirmative action...when it's on my side :)

Stuff taken for granted:
--the custom of this country to brush teeth and shower often
--insulated walls
--a grocery store within a mile
--always having something to eat
--always having somewhere to sleep
--a university that is significantly cheaper in price but not in education

Completely random stuff:
--that I don't have leprosy
--that I have a friend who owns Rock Band
--the versatility of soy
--that my leg hair does not grow as fast as a man's
--that I don't have to shave my face
--that my thrombocytes function properly--as do the p53 proteins in my cells
--that my overies and uterus correctly respond to the hormones sent out from my pituitary gland, and provide enough negative feedback to keep the system in check.
--my sympathetic nervous system! (and parasympathetic for that matter...)
--people who donate their bodies to science
--OB/GYNs that boldly go where not a lot of other people want to go
--that Dr. Porter magically knows the days when to make Monday quizzes a group quiz
--the rr in espanol
--the color teal
--that women stopped wearing corsets
--that my toes aren't webbed
--the development of ballroom dance
--yulia zagorychenko in all her perfection
--car fresheners
--the view of Mt. Rainier at the top of 410 that I rarely see anymore
--that my mom never tried to live vicariously through me
--that potatoes are so cheap

I could go on...

But in all, I'm grateful for my life. It's not perfect, but it's all I've got, and I'm going to make the best of it.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!