Thanksgiving Lemming

Getting it in right under the wire...

I’ve been wondering whether I should do a Thanksgiving post. Everyone else is probably doing one. But, if everyone else was jumping off a cliff, would I? Obviously yes.

Firstly, I’ll state the obvious: I’m thankful for my family and friends, even though they drive me a little nuts sometimes. Does the second part of that sentence cancel out the first part? Maybe I should say I’m thankful for my family and friends, period. Nah, that doesn’t sound right. I AM thankful for them even though they drive me a little nuts sometimes. They wouldn’t be my family and friends if they didn’t. You know who you are, stop trying to hide behind the people that don’t drive me nuts! They’re not nearly as important to me.

It’s been a pretty rough year, but there are some things I’m thankful for:

• Hard decisions made and out of the way. Now I can get past it.
• Funny things my nieces say. They can cheer me up like no other people. For examples, use that little search tool at the top of the page to search for nervous, Toys R Us, Christopher Columbus, and dammit.
• Laughing until my cheeks hurt: thirty minutes into watching Lifehouse on Soundstage, Diane says, “He sounds like somebody.” The chorus of the song starts, she nods sagely, “Oh, he sounds like himself.” And, I'm the dork?
• Walking into my bedroom and seeing my goddaughter’s American Girl doll Josephina’s clothes for the day laid out on the end of my bed. And her food, made from cut out pieces of paper, on my dresser. She’s growing up, but she’s still a little girl too.
• July 4th weekend at Virginia Beach with the family for Craig’s wedding. The fantastic pool. Anne’s, Cori’s and my synchronized drowning, uh, I mean swimming. Aunt Sue flying out of the water slide at the hotel, the look on her face and her sunglasses flying off. Floam all over the place. The freakin’ keys to the hotel room. Fireworks at Mt. Trashmore. Craigie and Jessica being so happy!
• My 9 year-old nephew still being enough of a little boy to choose to sit so close to me on the sofa that you couldn’t even fit a playing card between us, my 5 year-old nephew being so jealous of it that he had to sit on my lap to be even closer, and the game of who has the stinkiest feet that followed.
• Being forgiven for a 20 year old hurt.
• My MP3 player. All those songs in the size of a gum pack - one of the best inventions ever.
• US Men’s Olympic Swim Team. Um, yeah. ‘Nuf said.
• Ricky Gervais and Steve Correll at the Emmys. The one funny part.
• Dr. Pepper. Always thankful for Dr. Pepper.

The Red Carpet

I grew up in a small town in Virginia and I dreamed of having friends from other countries. It fascinated me to think that other kids could be growing up so different from me. I still like the thought of having friends in other countries. I mentioned last week that I held onto Diane’s coattails while she was blogstalking. The very first place she led me was to Protégé’s blog: Life, Work, Pleasure. It also led to another friend, and she’s from another country! Protege is so smart and has the most beautiful pictures on her blog. She writes about the coolest things. One of my favorites was about Skagen, where Ålbæk Bay and Tannis Bay meet, and the waves from each crash into each other. The video is kind of amazing. She’s very thoughtful, in all senses of the word. She was the first person aside from Diane and my family to comment here, which meant a lot to me. Also, she thinks I’m funny, and that’s like pure catnip to me.

Last week after I gave Diane the Proximidade award (for the friendships we've made through blogging), I realized that I should have passed it on to Protégé also for how sweet and supportive she’s been to me. So, since I only gave it to one person and you’re supposed to pass it on to 8 people, I think I’ll just dole the other 7 out as I see fit. It’s my blog and I can do what I like with it. So, I’d like to pass it on to the first friend I made in the bloggy universe, Protégé.



Another thanks goes to Protégé since she gave me the Superior Scribbler Award. THANK YOU! It really means a lot to me.


Okay, now to my task…I’m supposed to pass the Superior Scribbler on to 5 people. Don't forget to add your name to Mr. Linky.



Heather – Here’s to your natural talent! Okay, it might not be musical and you might not be George Jones or Keith Richards, but writing (not to mention book reading, movie watching, and rollercoaster riding) is talent, and you happen to do it well. So there!

Diane – We’ve known each other for almost 19 years, and I’ve read and heard countless things you’ve written, but I’ve really enjoyed reading your blog (even if I did learn about your plug/wipe tendencies!). I’m glad other people are getting the chance to read what you write now and I'm proud that they're loving it!

Protégé – See above for all the reasons why you deserve this award back from me.

Shanna – Any blog that can make me laugh at kids throwing rocks at cars and the wild hairs and joint creaks that come with aging is okay by me. And, that list of funny things your children have said cracks me up. Lola and Miss Rumphius approve of your award-getting.

Candace – I came for the mutual Lochte love, and stayed for the lulz..and your writing. It’s funny and real and I love the stream-of-consciousness feel of it. I also kind of love that even though you live in the north, you spell y'all correctly when there are so many southerners that don't. That and you have great taste in music.

So, that's it! To quote Air Supply, I'm all out of love...