Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Today I ran the Turkey Trot 5k, which I didn't exactly trained for. I ran 2.5 miles on Tuesday, but that doesn't count as training. That was just a test to see if I would die trying to run this thing. Thankfully, I didn't (I actually ran about 4 minutes faster than I thought I would). Speaking of thankfulness, today I am going to compile a list of things I am thankful for, you know, because this is a holiday specifically for giving thanks (and not gluttony, as some would believe).

I am thankful for:

• My family...they really are the best. I love 'em to death and I am so thankful that I have a good relationship with all of them, parents included.
• My wonderful friends. You guys know who you are. I wouldn't be the person I am without weirdos like you to be there every step of the way. 
• My dog. She's getting up there in years and I am going to be very sad the day she passes. I've grown up with her. 
• My job. I am so thankful to have a job that I actually like to go to. I never think 'oh man, I have to go to work again. I just went yesterday!' It's actually for school that I think that. 
• My legs. Even if I don't run that often, I still actually kind of like to do it. I'm thankful that my legs are strong enough to run a 5k without training. (I must say, I'm pretty lucky)
• My fingers. I don't know what I would do if I couldn't play piano. Whenever I'm stressed, I go to the piano...when I'm sad, I play piano. If I'm really happy, I play piano. Basically, if I feel anything, I play my piano. If I could take it everywhere I went, I would.
• Being able to grow up with Harry Potter. I know it's kind of lame, but I am thankful for it. They're great books to read regardless of when you read them, but I'm thankful that I got to be a part of the Potter generation.
• The delicious strawberry salad that my grandma makes every year for Thanksgiving. Oh my word, I could eat it all day.
• The seasons. As much as I complain about Michigan winters, I'm glad we have them. Christmas wouldn't be the same without snow, just as football season wouldn't be the same without the changing leaves (not that I'm really a fan of football anyway, but I do like the wings that come with it!)
• My childhood. I had a wonderful childhood, which is more than can be said for most people. My childhood was filled with playing outside, neighborhood capture the flag (usually played with shoes rather than flags), lemonade stands, catching crayfish, and creek parties (campfire with the whole neighborhood at our creek, plenty of food to go around!)
• Where I live. My neighborhood is pretty much the ideal neighborhood. We lived in the country, but our houses weren't a mile apart and we only lived a mile from town (easy biking distance). There were plenty of kids to play with when I was younger and plenty of space to run. Our road is pretty useless unless you live on it, so there was minimal traffic. A creek ran behind all of our houses, which was also fun to play in. I just have a great neighborhood and I'm thankful for that.
• For my most faithful reader. I love you, Franco Fan. Thanks for reading. It's nice to know at least someone cares what I write. If I ever get a book published, your name is going to be the first one listed in the Author's Note at the end (and it's going to actually be your name too, not just 'Franco Fan')
• For all my other readers (if you're out there). I don't know if anyone else reads what I write. But if you do, thank you. And I hope you enjoy reading it.

I am thankful for quite a bit more, but this is all I'm going to put on my list. In other news, I am currently reading East of Eden. It's a bigger book than any of the others I've made reviews for and it's a slower read. So, I'm not really sure when you'll get your next review. I hope to finish it before December 16 though (I've got to set a deadline!) I hope everyone has a happy Thanksgiving. Until next time!

“The poor man shuddered, overflowed with an angelic joy; he declared in his transport that this would last through life; he said to himself that he really had not suffered enough to deserve such radiant happiness, and he thanked God, in the depths of his soul, for having permitted that he, a miserable man, should be so loved by this innocent being.” -Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The Twenty First Day

Writing Challenge Day #21: Your Favorite TV Show

       
          I have a handful of TV shows that I watch. I watch Falling Skies, which I actually don't enjoy, but I've been watching it from the beginning and I can't stop now. And there's only one more season, so it'll be over soon. I also have 'The Big Five', which are all contest shows, for lack of a better term. 'The Big Five' includes America's Got Talent (Mat Franco won! He was my favorite of the top 6, so I'm glad he won.), American Idol, American Ninja Warrior, Survivor, and Face Off. I enjoy all of these shows, mostly, but none of them are my favorite. My favorite TV show, easily, is The Walking Dead. It was a show that I originally wouldn't have watched. And I wasn't planning on it either. My brother just happened to be watching the first episode while I was doing homework. So, of course, I watched it instead of doing homework. And at first, I couldn't stomach it. I had to close my eyes during the gory scenes (and have my brother tell me when they were over). It was a disgusting show. But for some reason, I watched the next episode. And the next one after that. It was so addicting. And I eventually built up my gore tolerance. And they just got more intense and more disturbing. It comes back on October 12! I am slightly excited for season 5. I also don't like Carl. And I think that's all I've got to say on that.

*Edit* I may have lied unintentionally. While I do love Walking Dead, I really do, I don't think it's my favorite TV show. There is one other show that I forgot about entirely, probably because it's series finale was in 2004. You know what I'm talking about? Friends. I think it is the best show ever and I'm just sad that there won't ever be new episodes (unless by some chance they do Friends: The Nursing Home Years, which, however entertaining it might be, isn't very likely to happen.) So number one favorite TV show? Friends. Number one favorite TV couple? Monica and Chandler. (Sorry Jim and Pam, I like them better) Number one favorite TV character that Jennifer Aniston has played? Rachel Green. I also really like the theme song.

"It takes ten times as long to put yourself back together as it does to fall apart." -Mockingjay

The Sixteenth Day

Writing Challenge Day #16: Something You Regret Not Doing This Past Year

          There are quite a few things that I regret not doing this year. I regret not running every day. I sort of regret not going to the winter formal. Not that much though...I'm not a huge fan of those. Let's see...what else do I regret not doing? I think that my problem is I don't usually regret not doing something. I tend to regret things I've done. Anyway, I think the thing I regret not doing the most is not really being there for a few friends. I was very close with three of them, but the other two? Not so much. It's not that I didn't like them, because I do. It's just...they didn't need me. And I suppose I didn't really need them. I definitely could have tried harder to stay close to them, but I already had the friends I needed, the ones that really helped me get through the past year. They were the ones that were there for for me. So I guess what I'm saying it's, I regret not trying hard enough to be close to my other friends. It's my biggest regret, because they are great people and I would love to be as close to them as I used to be. But I am pretty good at shutting people out and retreating into myself when things start to be rough. And I really regret it and I'm sorry.

"That was the thing. You never got used to it, the idea of someone being gone. Just when you think it's reconciled, accepted, someone points it out to you, and it just hits you all over again, that shocking." -The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen