Mmmmm. Turkey.

I adored Thanksgiving. (The feeling of it, that is, not the history of it haha!) There's just something all too good about getting together with your family and having a huge delicious meal that makes the entire house smell like heaven for hours both before and after the bird has been carved.


I also love celebrating thankfulness. Deep down, I'm a really cheesy person in that way. I love the warm and fuzzies that holidays bring! (Proof: my Thanksgiving posts from last year and the year before. It's insane to read back through those. Some things have changed so much, and some things have stayed exactly the same.)


Here is this year's quick-list of things I'm thankful for:


1) A healthy heartbeat coming in loud and clear from Dragon Fetus 2.0 at the doctor's office. After about 30 seconds of terrible silence and searching. When she finally found it, it was so strong and consistent and totally made me tear up. IS IT JUNE YET?!


2) Being able to watch my Lily girl enjoy the holidays as a curious almost-two-year-old. Halloween was a blast, and so was Thanksgiving, and today when I put up the Christmas tree and started hanging decorations she couldn't stop squealing and running around with ornaments in her hands. While I assembled the tree, she patiently decorated our cat Frodo with tinsel. The look worked well for him.


3) Friends. The few close friends I have are so important to me. They keep me laughing always, support my dreams, and come over on Sunday nights to watch Walking Dead with me. (Hi, Nick!) I am so lucky to have as much support and love as I do from these people, both in real life and online.


4) My Crock Pot. Don't you laugh at me. I want to hug whoever invented this magical machine that lets me slow cook a roast for eight hours and fill my house with delicious smells.


5) Writing. Who would have guessed, right? But it's undeniably one of my most treasured aspects of life. I am so happy and lucky to be able to strive for a career that allows me to imagine, create, and simultaneously receive free therapy. It's my biggest dream in the world to become a published author, but even if that never happened I'd be happy just writing my way through these fun stories.


6) My love(s). On even the very worst of terrible, horrible, no good very bad days, when I feel all stressed or sad or unsure of myself, Edmund and Lily are always there for me to turn it all around. It means the universe to me.


7) Anyone who reads this blog. There are tons of writing blogs out there, and even more posts about what a writer should and should not be blogging about. Most of that advice discourages random, inconsistent, personal, boring-to-anyone-else-but-you posts, but I don't really give a shiz. I'm not using this as a platform for myself, and have only ever been interested in keeping a sort of online diary to record whatever the hell I'm feeling on any particular day. The fact that anybody reads it kind of blows my mind. So, if you're reading this, seriously- THANK YOU.


8) Candy. Enough said. I sort of have this theory that there is a raging sugar-deprived six year old inside of me that is forever trying to get out. And I am more than happy to quiet that six year old with Sour Punch straws, Sour Skittles, Jujubes, and peachie o's.


9) YA Highway. This awesome blog has welcomed me with open arms and I am overwhelmed by how supportive and kind they are. Girls, I admire you all so much. Seriously.


10) Books in the mail. When you're close to broke, buying new books is difficult. And by difficult, I mean impossible. I've been lucky enough to have different people send me books for free and those people make a bigger impact in my life than they probably know. Kody, Joanna, Dawn, Loretta, and anyone else who has ever sent me a book, THANK YOU. You rock.

So now it's official, Christmas season is here and I'm having a decoration celebration tonight, complete with cookies and cocoa and a few friends to enjoy it with. We even have candy canes to use as stirring sticks for the cocoa. Happy holidays, everyone! I'm sure this month will be filled with all sorts of fun seasonal stuff.