Feast for Your Eyes

Whew!  Things have been ca-razy here, and it’s hard for me to even wrap my head around the fact that maybe, just maybe, I won’t have to go to work tomorrow!  But truth is truth my friends, and I am so grateful for a day off.

Speaking of grateful, we just celebrated a holiday, didn’t we?  It seems so far away now… but because I didn’t have time to post during the festivities, I’ve created a little photo journal for your viewing pleasure.  My hoober and I were lucky enough to get to travel to the great city of Chicago for Thanksgiving, and all the wonderful things I got to do reminded me of everything I have to be thankful for.  It’s going to be long, because sometimes I just need a lot of reminders.

Man oh man am I thankful for these friends.  They know what this awkward stage in life is like, and are willing to be open about how great and terrible it is.  I am thankful that after so many months of that “I just met you and am on my best behavior” feeling, I could finally relax and just be me.

I didn’t take pictures of these next three, but I’m stealing off facebook, because I’m a rebel like that. I am thankful that this friend of mine is experiencing the next stage of life ahead of me, because she gives great insight!  I am thankful that she is so willing to be vulnerable and share her ups and downs with me.

I am especially thankful for this lovely lady on a day like today.  She is a constant reminder that someday, I really will love my job.  She is a teacher, and I got to see her classroom and hear stories and see how much her kids adore her.  She talks and you can see her passion, and I think, “Boy, I could use me some of that!”

I am thankful for in-laws that are truly like family.  I am thankful for a father-in-law who lets a girl come to morning coffee days that are generally boys only, and who encourages me every time I talk to him.  I am thankful for a mother-in-law who invites me on mundane shopping trips only to turn them into great conversation and bonding time (plus her brownies are delish).

I am thankful for sibling-in-laws (Ha! Fun new word everyone!) who can joke and play around and accept me into the family in a way that only peers can.  I am unbelievably thankful for that little girl who can make me laugh and sing Christmas songs at the top of her lungs with me.

I am thankful for deep dish pizza.  This is mainly because my stomach is in a blissful state for at least 24 hours afterward.

I am thankful for Christmas lights!  In all four years of living in Chicago, I never got to see these, and everything Christmas makes me happy. (I am one of those people.  I have listened to Christmas music nonstop since they started playing it, and there’s nothing you can do about it.)

I am thankful for this view to greet me after a long and way too bumpy flight.  (I am also thankful that I am far away enough from this view to not have the snow!)

And last but not least, I am thankful for these new friends who have made my new city feel much more like home.

Aaaaaah.  I feel better now.