Thanksgiving Mists of Avalon

What a weird post title. But look at it outside today! :

That's in the parking lot of my high school, outside our stadium. 'Cause I just got back from the track, mo'fo's!!

I did my three mile run/walk alternating again, but did it in a little over 47 minutes this time. Getting faster!  This is the shirt I wore today and I think it helped:

I feel very lucky today. :-)

I'm lucky for a lot of things. Heh, you can see where this is going, right?

Things I'm thankful for in no particular order:

*I mentioned it yesterday, but my parents. They are supporting me financially and emotionally right now. They are so great and they make me laugh every day. The Mists of Avalon thing is a reference to them, whenever it's really foggy out, one of us always goes "It's like the Mists of Avalon out there!" which...doesn't even make sense, really. I've read the book and it has nothing to do with weather other than the presence of mist :-) But it's just one of those things, and it makes me smile. Also, whenever someone says something is crazy, one of us always follows that up with "crazy as a friggin' loon!" ... for no reason. I don't know where these things come from, or how we developed these weird call-and-response traditions, but they're there and I love my parents for our weirdness.

*You guys!! I can't begin to tell you what it means to me to have you follow this poorly-written little corner of the internet and leave me feedback and ideas and positive comments. And not only for your feedback for me, but your blogs too! I would not be doing so well if it wasn't for you all. B. T. Dubs, I'm terrible at responding to comments - I try and reply through my email, but I don' t know if that always works...but please know that I am so appreciative and I love hearing from you and I hope you will continue to do so! I'll try and improve the "I exercised and then I ate and then I have a weird tangent to go on" posts :-)

*My legs. They carried me for three miles faster than I've ever done it before. They ran a MILE on Monday. They are strong and getting stronger.

*My dog! Seriously, he's awesome. He's a beagle named Parker. We got him from a rescue group about 5 years ago, and we have never been the same. He is our little prince. I mean, come on, look at that face:

*My friends: I need more than two hands to count the friends I have that I've known since elementary school, and I am so thankful for that. We've formed a group over the years that now includes spouses, children, siblings, and I don't know what I'd do without them. We have our own online forum, a PHONE TREE (no, seriously, we have a phone tree. We're just some orange slices and Capri Suns away from being a soccer team) and our own Holiday Potluck. I love them dearly and we've all seen each other through some really rough, dark times. They are always the light at the end of the tunnel.

*The DC area. I absolutely love where I live. The culture that's available, the proximity to other totally awesome cities, the history, the politics (well, sometimes!) and specifically in my town: the community. I have a really small family, but with the community I grew up in, we have so many family friends I rarely feel without. And I have a safe track I can run on, an indoor community pool/rec center, I grew up playing soccer and swimming with my friends and exploring in the woods and putting on plays at our neighborhood playground and splashing in pools in the summer. Anyway, it made for a GREAT childhood and it's a great place to form an adulthood. I'm so lucky and thankful for the DC area, even when I'm stuck in traffic on 495. Okay, not so much then, but otherwise. :-)

There are many other little things I'm thankful for, but I'm going to stop doofus-ing around on the internet, and go shower and help my fam get ready for the day. It's gonna be crazy! ...Crazy as a friggin' loon.