Well this might be the most nontraditional blog post I do.. Since everyone has decided to fill up my newsfeed with their "Days of Thanks", I figured this would be the easiest thing to do. Time to just list everything and be done with it. Plus it makes you think if you do it all at once and you can't cheat and use the same thing twice! I'm sure someone will get away with being thankful for their family on Day 1 and Day 22! ;) Not that being thankful for family twice is a bad thing. Plus I'm sure there are some single girl things in here somewhere!
I am thankful for....
1. My family! They are crazy for sure but we are more functional than most families and a little more dysfunctional than those picture perfect ones. Mom and I talk everyday and dad and I still hang out together when I'm home even if it's just hanging out in the garage while he changes my oil. Bub and I have a surprisingly good relationship. And I think sis and I have actually come a long way. :) I am one lucky girl.
2. Having a job! With this terrible economy, a lot of people have trouble finding jobs. Let alone a job that actually uses their degree. I get to do that and got a little promotion. I may complain about work some days but I know I'm lucky to get up and have one to go to.
3. My education! No matter how much I wish Sallie Mae and all her minions didn't exist, I have a degree. I loved school and always miss the sleeping in until noon :) People who say high school is the best years of your life are crazy and didn't get the opportunity to go to college because that's where it's at!
4. My car! When my old car decided to start falling apart a little at a time, I panicked about how the heck I was going to afford a new one. But thanks to my strategic bill planning and budgeting, I didn't have to settle for the worst thing on the lot. I got an SUV with 4wd! It might be a soccer mom car (or moto mom in training as I like to call it) and not brand new, but I love it. It gets me from A to B and has heat, ac and windows that work. That was quite the upgrade!
5. My friends! I have some amazing friends. Hands down the greatest! When you grow up you realize how important it is to keep the people around who don't cause drama and lift you up instead of bringing you down (unless you need to be brought back to reality). Girls night dinners, midnight Twilight showings or lunch dates, I am surrounded by some pretty awesome women.
6. My apartment! I love it (minus the price some days) but I have my own apartment. No roommate, mom and dad don't pay for it, and I can even afford cable and internet without having to steal it off the neighbors. :) Other than wanting to upgrade the furniture, I like all my decorations and the fact that it feels home-y. Mom and dad's will always be home, but my apartment is my mess, my decorations and has my remote- which I don't have to share.
7. Mine (and my family's) health! Working in personal injury, you see how fast someone's life can change and it's never good. Car accidents, injuries at work and surgery that goes bad are all I see everyday and it makes you grateful that it hasn't happened to you or someone you love. One back injury at work and you hear about someone losing their home since they live paycheck to paycheck and aren't getting a full one while injured. One doctor's mistake and your family is suddenly without you. Being surrounded by that makes you realize how lucky you are.
8. Access to healthcare! Kind of goes along with #7, but if there's ever an issue, dad has amazing insurance which I have used and abused this year since I get kicked off at 26. When I have to sign up for work's plan, it might not be great but it is still offered. I just want to get as healthy as possible before I get kicked off! Hence the annoying allergy testing and shots..
9. Where I live! I love where I decided to move and can't ever see myself moving back to the cornfields. They are nice to visit but there's no way I could deal with a 20 minute drive just to Walmart or 45 minute drive to get to work. No thanks! Fishers is amazing. There is always something going on, great schools, and yes, its a little uppity. I'm not afraid to live here alone and I'm pretty sure I could leave my car unlocked for weeks and no one would steal my Jason Aldean cd out of it. :) Plus it probably helps that a police car parks in the carport right under my stairs..
10. My family's financial well being! Nope, we aren't millionaires.. Not even close. But my parent's have done pretty well for themselves. My brother, sister and I are basically spoiled- and now we are all over 18. Growing up, I've been to Disney World 5 times, was never told no for any school thing I wanted money for and got a car at 16. Now I'm old and Sallie Mae beckons so I'm still spoiled because I don't pay Verizon for my phone or State Farm for my car insurance. When my car needed new rotors, I didn't pay for them. Yes, I'm spoiled for sure. But I know I am lucky that my parents can do this.
11. Never going hungry! My parents house was always full of food. Grandma spends twice the amount on food as I do and she lives alone too. If you open my freezer right now, something unhealthy will probably fall out at you. Ten uninvited people could show up at my door right now and I could feed them all dinner and dessert. There are kids who only get 1 meal a day at school and from what I hear, that's turning into an iffy subject. My version of being hungry is my stomach growling at 10am even though I just had a bagel at 8am. My $50 a week grocery bill is a luxury.
12. Grandma! If you see any of my posts on FB, you know the woman has flipped a switch and has driven me crazy from time to time. But, I have a grandma! And she makes up for the fact that I have other grandparents who will tell you I went to IU and not ISU and think I'm still dating a guy I broke up with 2 1/2 yrs ago. She's crazy but she is around and does random things like send me free car wash coupons.
13. Music! Mostly country.. Getting ready in the morning? Pandora.. Need something to listen to at work? Turn on some T. Swift.. In the car? Of course that means it's time for my own concert. My purse, Michael, appreciates his serenades.. A song can bring back any memory. Patsy Cline's Crazy and I think of grandpa every time. Spice Girls and I think of my best friend. Hawthorne Heights and I think of going to Bogarts in high school and a creeper tapping on my window and Brittany telling me to "Run the red light!". All good stuff!
14. Past relationships! They are only a few of them.. 2 mainly.. But when they were each like 2 years, you learn a lot! Some days I wish I would have gone through college without a relationship and other days I'm glad I had them because you learn so much about who you are in a relationship and what not to do and what not to put up with. Be mean to me while you are drunk? See ya! Open my door and tell me I'm pretty? You can stay! ;)
15. Being single! This means I can be thankful for single guys! Nope, I'm not the biggest fan of being single. But, I know so much more about myself after being without a relationship for over 2 yrs. I might not be a completely different person, but 2 years ago I would never go out to a bar alone to meet some friends. Heck I wouldn't drink a beer 3 years ago. I've met a lot of great guys, some complete duds and ones who have shown me it's ok to be myself. So what that I'm a girl and like motocross and cars and still want to be taken out and get to wear a little black dress? It's not that confusing.. It's actually pretty awesome and you're dumb if you think it isn't. :)
16. Peppermint Stick ice cream, Car and Driver and the UC Bearcats! Yes this is more than 1 thing, but they are important things! Dad and I still bicker over who gets the ice cream and when I lived at home I would always steal the Car and Driver since I usually got to the mail first. Ever since I was old enough to know what UC was and that I should like them, you could typically find Dad, Grandpa and I yelling at the TV together. The year K-Mart got injured in the Conference USA Tourney, there may have been tears. The year Huggs got booted out, there were Bob Huggins for president bumper stickers!
17. Cell phones (or any phone)! My connection to the world! When you live 1 1/2 hours from family, how else do you connect with them?! Mom and I talk every day. I usually get to talk to dad and bub sometime in there too. Being on the phone all day with potential clients is my job. Ridiculous how much I need the phone in one day!
18. My Kindle! I use it a ton for being on the internet and listening to music, but I don't think I've ever read so much. Of course I had to read all these ridiculous love stories that will never happen to anyone, but whatever. It's a fantasyland for a day or two. Reading is always good! Even if it is 50 Shades trash that is awesome!
19. Smokey! He was the cutest puppy and now he's mostly a big, lazy bum when I'm home. But he's so pretty! Watching him play with his tennis ball alone is pretty funny stuff and he really likes people, especially the ones with food! His face puts a smile on my face! But that's probably because he never chewed up my couch, my baseboards or dug up my plants! :)
20. Reconnecting with people! Over the last year I have gotten to see and reconnect with more people from college. Living at home, I would have never had that chance. No one picks to get up and move to Manchester. But, Indy.. there are people there! Fun people to spend time with and step outside of your comfort zone with. I'm thankful for Steak n' Shake at 3am and $80 worth of cab rides (which luckily I didn't have to pay for :) ) to come home and go get my car again.
21. Sweatpants/yoga pants! As a single lady, I get the pleasure of coming home to an empty apartment and have no one to look hot for after 5:30pm (unless by some miracle I have a date!.). I'm home for 5 minutes and I already have on my comfy clothes and am probably already turning on Nextflix. Future boyfriend, if you are reading this, I promise to wear yoga pants more than sweatpants. Your welcome...
22. TV! Yep, maybe a little sad but I have my shows and for the hour or so they are on, I get to forget about work or whatever other dumb thing is bothering me. Vampire Diaries, Big Bang Theory, Nashville, Hart of Dixie, Awkward, Teen Mom, The Moto.. Love them all. TV is free and you usually get a laugh or lesson out of it. Maybe tv rots your brain, but a couple good shows and I'm a happy girl!
