Exceedingly Grateful

It is after 11:00pm and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I can't believe it is already here! I am sitting on the counter and waiting for my potatoes to cook. Maybe part of my not believing Thanksgiving is almost here is the reason that I didn't start cooking till now... I don't know, but either way, this seems like the perfect time to post a gratitude blog.

I am grateful for a couple few things - maybe more than usual this year. A lot has happened in the last year. This week last year I was in D.C. with Hali and Lindsay. I had just decided to apply for the full-time MPA program at BYU and I am pretty sure that I thought I was insane. Now I am an unemployed, overworked, full-time grad student. I have quit my job, been to China and almost completed my first semester of grad school - AND I have lived to tell the tale.

That makes me grateful.

Here are some highlights of the things I am grateful for this year:


Running, cause I think I am staring to get the hang of this thing
New music, for giving me new ways to express myself
The BBC, for giving me Austen, Simon Schama, Sherlock, Matt Smith, David Tennant, many happy memories from my childhood, AND A SONIC SCREWDRIVER!
Macaroni and cheese, because after all these years, it still makes me so happy
Aspirations, because I will never achieve half the things I dream - and that's ok
Art, for keeping me in touch with who I really am
School, because it reminds me that I can be more
Team Jacob, for taking on our ridiculous name and taking on everything school throws at us
My laptop, because I never thought we would be so close
Top spots at the Tanner, cause they keep me motivated to get to school on time
Simply Orange and Izze sodas, because they make me feel fancy
The Cocoa Bean, for making absolutely anything into a reason to celebrate
Lou, for being me on a ten year delay
My heater blanket, because it makes going to bed in the winter so delightful
High-top Chuck Taylors, even if I should be more lady-like.
New friends, as I am constantly amazed by the people who come into my life
Old Friends, cause I think they love me so much that I couldn't stop them if I tried. Heaven only knows what that is about, but I am grateful for it.
The gospel of Jesus Christ, because I do know where I would be without it - and I am grateful that I am not there

There are, of course, many more things that I am grateful for, and I don't think I could ever adequately express the gratitude I feel for all of the blessings in my life, but I really am grateful. I am overwhelmed almost everyday by all that I have been given. And all of you have contributed to that. Thank you. I am grateful for you. I hope that you know that.

Thanks.