Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 8

Today, I am thankful for my love of the written word.

This? This is my future bedroom. (via)

I have always loved to read. Some of my fondest memories are of libraries and stacks of books and the girls of The Baby-Sitters Club. There’s nothing I love more than getting completely wrapped up in a story, in a place far away from anywhere I’ve been or anything I’ve experienced.

I have been reading for as long as I can remember. I’ve never been much for the classics or more literary books. Those are nice from time to time, but generally I like the ones that make me laugh, roll my eyes at the cheesiness, and my sappy heart squeeze at my characters finding love. Yes, I will generally choose chick-lit or a romance novel over a literary great.

Maybe I’m not the most well-read bookworm, but I don’t think one is necessarily better than the other. The written word is the written word. Some written words are more fluid and meaningful than others, but they each have their own way of speaking to us. Maybe the classics or biographies speak to you. They don’t do much for me, but romance novels and YA lit do.

I used to be embarrassed about being a bookworm. When I was in school, the readers weren’t the popular ones. And since I desperately yearned to be popular and accepted by the elite crowd (the Unicorns, anyone?), I hid my love for reading for a long time. But as I’ve grown up, I’m starting to realize how silly it is to hide your passions for fear of not being accepted. If I’m not accepted because I love to read (or because of my choice in reading material!), then that’s okay. Those people? They are not the people I need to be around anyway.

Have you ever hid a passion, because of how the crowd would react? What are you thankful for today?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 7

Today, I am thankful for my iPhone.

My iPhone and I have not been together for very long. Less than three months but I can’t even tell you how much I love it. My cell phone provider is Sprint and I love Sprint. My mom and I have used Sprint since I was a junior in high school (2005) and I don’t think I would ever switch providers. So I knew I was stuck with Android phones and was trying to accept this fact. But there was just something about the iPhone that called to me. I wanted that iPhone.

Imagine my surprise when rumors about the iPhone coming to Sprint began to surface in mid-August. I clung to those rumors. And in October, it happened. The iPhone was available from Sprint. I ordered my phone (also beginning my very own phone plan for the cell phone provider! It’s like I’m a real adult and everything!) and it arrived on a beautiful October day. (Okay, more like a crazy October night since I had to arrange for it to be delivered to a UPS facility and patiently wait until 7:00pm to retrieve it.)

Since then, we have become best friends. I’m a tad bit obsessed with my phone. I try real hard to not let it take over real relationships, but I won’t lie that it’s a great way to pass time and keep myself occupied. Plus, it offers me so much. I can look up anything I want and more often than not, I can think of an app I would like, search for it, and find it quickly.

I know this post may come across as silly, but I don’t really care. I love my iPhone and waited a long time for it!

And for my favorite iPhone apps? Well, I thought you would never ask!

• Words With Friends - My username is “stephanywrites”, if we’re not already playing. And we should be.
• Hanging With Friends - I will admit to loving HWF more than WWF. There’s something more exciting about it! (Same username as WWF - if we’re not already playing, we need to be.)
• Instagram - I love this for the social aspect. And they always make my photos look better than I can on my own.
• iMapMyRun - The perfect app for a runner. It works so well for me.
• SoundHound - I’ve been able to look up many songs with this app, find them on iTunes directly from the app, and download the song. (Big props to Melissa for recommending this one!)
• Things - An expensive app, but has been very helpful in managing my to-do’s and making me feel completely more organized. I downloaded this a few days ago so I’m just discovering how to use it all.
• Sally’s Salon - A fun, time-wasting game that I can easily get sucked into.
• Google Calendar - I’m realizing this is much easier for me to use than a paper planner. I can add dates either on my laptop or on my phone and it gives me reminders if I request them. I’ve been using this for appointments, bill due dates, and my blog calendar.

What is something silly, completely materialistic that you are thankful for? If you have an iPhone, what are your favorite apps?

Ten Days of Thanksgiving: Day 6

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4
• Day 5

Today, I am thankful for financial stability.

Growing up, I knew we were poor. My dad gambled away his paycheck and my mom had to make ends meet on her meager daycare teacher wage. Things were tight - always. Every year, when I would receive flyers for Girl Scouts or extracurricular activities, I stuffed them into my backpack, never to be shown to my mom. I knew we couldn’t afford extras like that, so I didn’t even ask. I knew about money problems and stressing over them way before a child should know about such things.

I hated being poor. It was embarrassing and made me feel inferior. I made a promise to myself to never put myself in that boat. I would not get into debt and I would be smart with my finances.

I can’t say I have always followed through with that promise. I was in credit card debt by the time I was 21. My mom and I moved into an apartment that was far above our living means and we struggled with our bills. It got to the point where my mom was getting check advances on a nearly regular basis and I worried on a daily basis where my next meal would come from. These are hard words to write, because it was a dark time for me. It’s embarrassing to think of how we let it get this far, how we dug ourselves into such a deep hole.

We eventually moved, cutting our rent bill almost in half, and allowing us to breathe easier. We were able to pay our bills, we were able to save, and most importantly, my mom was able to quit her second job.

I am on the road to paying off my credit card bills. After the 25th of this month, I will have three payments left on my biggest credit card and, leaving me with just my bank credit card. (Less than $300 to pay that one off.)

Once I started my full-time job, I became more responsible for the bills. (I pay my mom a portion from each paycheck.) I have my own bills to pay each month. And I can pay them. I don’t ever have to worry about not being able to pay my bills. When I get paid, I give my mom her portion and then break down the rest of my money between bills, savings, and entertainment money. It doesn’t leave me a lot left over after everything is paid, but it is enough. Money is not something I have to stress over anymore. (Other than stress of not having a lot of fun money for myself, heh.)

After spending my entire life stressing about money, it feels really, really good to be in this place. I am thankful for a job that leaves me with a good paycheck twice a month. I am thankful for a mother who can and happily does support me so I don’t have to do this all alone. I am thankful that I am not materialistic and the things I’m lusting after are things I need but are also things I’m willing to patiently wait and save up for.

Struggling with money is terrible and frustrating and scary. But you can fight your way out of it and come out on top. My mother and I are proof of that.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 5

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3
• Day 4

 

Today, I am thankful for Dutch.

Dutch and I have a fairly unhealthy obsession with each other, as my mom can attest. I let him kiss me all over my face. He sleeps tucked in right next to me, buried under the covers. When I’m watching TV, he’s always lying right next to me - or ON me. I miss him when I’m away and get excited every night I come home to see him. We cuddle, we kiss, and he knows exactly how to make me feel better when I’m sad.

Dutch is my third dog. My first was Minnie, a dog my parents bought from the SPCA when I was in fourth grade. She was a beagle-terrier mix and will always have a special place in my heart. She died in June 2008 from cancer. Buford was my second dog, an adorable, feisty Yorkshire terrier who was hit by a car and had to be put down due to his injuries a little over a year after we got him. (A family friend couldn’t keep him anymore so we jumped at the opportunity to have him.)

Minnie and Buford’s deaths hit me hard. They were both unexpected and frightening and heart-breaking.

I loved Minnie and Buford tremendously. More than anything.

But I love Dutch in a deeper, crazier, consuming way. When he’s around me, I’m constantly touching him, hugging him, telling him “I love you.” I cannot imagine my life without him. I’ve actually kept myself awake at night, thinking about the day he’s gone.

I realize this post may make me seem like a crazy dog lady, but I’m perfectly okay with it. I am a dog person, through and through. And I don’t think anyone who hasn’t had a dog can understand where I’m coming from. There is something special about dogs. They are loving and loud and affectionate. They fill up your heart with love and joy. They irritate you beyond belief sometimes and the barking can get annoying and sometimes, you have to wake up in the middle of the night to clean up after them. But you put up with it all because of all the happiness they bring you. Because you love them and they love you more than anything in the world.

Dutch has shown me what love is. He has shown me how to love. He greets me every time I come home with a wagging butt and cries and barks of “I’m so happy you’re home! I missed you so much!” (Or at least that’s what I choose to believe he’s saying, heh.) I am thankful for him, today and everyday. He may annoy me with his stubbornness, constant barking, and inability to quit licking my face when I try to talk to him but he’s given me so much love and joy that it doesn’t even matter.

I don’t know what I’ll do with myself when he’s gone but for now, I’ll enjoy the times I have with them and cherish every face lick and loud bark.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 4

• Day 1
• Day 2
• Day 3

Today, I am thankful for my ability to exercise.

I’ll admit I am never the one to bound out of bed in the morning to run or even to look forward to working out. I have daily debates in my head whether or not I want to go to the gym after work and have a million excuses why I can skip my workout for the day.

But I lace up my shoes 4-6 times a week and get my body moving, even when my whole mind is protesting against it.

Why?

Because I feel better when I do and worse when I don’t. Because I’m striving to live a healthy life and exercise is a part of that. Because it makes me feel strong and powerful. And because there will be a time in my life when I won’t be able to exercise. I’m hoping this time is far, far in the future but it could happen in an instant.

It was an instant for my mom. It was an instant for Ashley.

On Saturday, while my mom was on a long run for her marathon training, I got a call from her about 90 minutes into her run. She had fallen and her knee was hurting. She needed me to come get her. While her knee is fine, when she fell, she used her arms to break her fall and ended up re-injuring her elbow that she broke last year. It’s just a bruise, nothing major, but she hasn’t been able to run since then or do anything but low-impact exercise (recumbent biking and walking). When she was hit by a car, she couldn’t run for three months. She was in the middle of marathon training at this point so it severely disrupted her training program.

My worst injury to date was a sprained ankle two years ago and I was only out for a week. I couldn’t imagine having to take months off exercising or going from Ironman-fit to barely able to walk. It’s a scary thought and it’s something that could happen. So I need to take this time, when I am healthy and young, to be thankful I can exercise and to stop the complaining.

I am thankful for my body that is strong enough to carry me through weight-lifting classes, spin classes, and runs. I am thankful for healthy lungs and a healthy heart that can keep up with how I push my body. I am thankful for strong legs and arms. I am thankful for the endorphins and happiness a good workout brings me. I am thankful for sweat, racing hearts, and being out of breath. I am thankful for my ability to exercise.

*Inspired by Lisa

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 3

I’m spending the next week and a half documenting and reflecting on ten things I am thankful for this year. (Inspired by Lisa.)

• Day 1
• Day 2

Today, I am thankful for blogging.

When I started this blog, I didn’t have any long-term goals for it. All I wanted was a fresh start and a place to just write. To grow. To explore. To not be afraid of sharing my feelings.

It’s grown into so much more than I could have ever imagined.

Not only have I found a place to talk about what I’m going through with real and honest emotion, I have found people to connect with. Friends who have let me know that I’m not the only one who has gone through something or not the only one who feels that way. I have found connection and support. Some of you have challenged me to set goals and take on things that frighten me. Some of you have been a place for me to vent to. Some of you have helped me on school assignments or offered me advice.

It hasn’t been a one-way street, though. With these friendships, I have become utterly intertwined with your lives. I have hurt when you hurt and celebrated with you celebrated. I have developed some of the closest bonds with bloggers, some of them morphing into weekly e-mail catch-ups. While I have yet to jump into the world of Skype dates (who wants to be my first?), I still relish these relationships.

And 2012 is the year I leap into meeting you amazing people in real life. I’ve spent too long harboring jealousy over blogger meet-ups and worrying what people will think of the “real” me that I want to break out of that cycle.

And I would be remiss in writing this blog post about blogging and meeting blog friends, without mentioning a very special blog friend I met this weekend. I started reading Amber’s blog two or so years ago when she was still in journalism school. We were able to connect over classes and I ate up her posts about entering the professional world. We met at City Walk in Orlando on Saturday night where we proceeded to spend the night talking about blogging, books, language differences, and weather. (Yes, we discussed the weather. No, it wasn’t as boring as it seems.) We didn’t get a whole lot of time together but it was so good to finally meet someone whose life I had been following for years. I was nervous up until right before I saw her and then it was like catching up with a good, old friend. And now? Now I need to meet the rest of you.

Ten Days of Thanksgiving - Day 2

I’m following along with Lisa over the next ten days, detailing ten things I am thankful for this year.

Today, I am thankful for my nephew.

Last night, my nephew came over for a sleepover since my mom is watching him today. (His day care is closed because of Veteran’s Day and my brother and sister-in-law needed someone to watch him.)

My nephew is at a great age. He’s developing an insanely funny sense of humor. He’s more independent and communicative. And he is just so much fun to be around. He’s always been fun to be around, but he seems to get even more fun the older he gets.

This morning, I got up and came out into the living room to see him playing. The minute he spotted me, his eyes lit up and a big smile spread across his face. He immediately rushed over to me, gave me a big hug and a kiss. Those moments? They melt my heart.

There’s something about being an aunt that is special. My nephew has two other aunts and they have a closer relationship with him. It used to upset me that I’m probably never going to have a relationship with him like they do. Whenever we’re all together, it’s usually to them he goes to first. But I comfort myself in the fact that we have a different kind of relationship. And I comfort myself in the fact that we will always have a relationship and I will always be that aunt he can come to for a joke, a laugh, a smile.

I always knew I would love being an aunt. I knew I would love seeing my brother as a father. But I never knew how he would become such a force in our life. Or that life before him would seem so plain.

Being an aunt is one of the best gifts my brother has ever “given” me. It’s been such a wild ride and I just can’t wait to see this amazing little person grow up!

Tell me, what is one thing you’re thankful for today?