Nikki's Thanksgiving Thursday Thirteen

For a variety of reasons, none of them particularly onerous or challenging on their own, it's been a rough last couple of weeks. I haven't been feeling especially thankful lately, so it really is the perfect time to count my blessings.

Here are 13 things I'm thankful for this year:

1. My family. I am so lucky to have them close, and to have close, loving relationships with so many of them! I'm also going to get to see a little more of them than usual this holiday season, and I'm really looking forward to that.

2. My job. I feel very fortunate to still be working despite store closures nationwide, and to have a crew of people I can enjoy and respect.

3. The Pomme de Sang Forum and Fanfic Archive, the Fiction Writer's Workshop, and Romance Divas. I have met so many wonderful people since I joined them! I have been able to get back into writing again and found a great community to share the experience with. Not to mention just having a ton of great stuff to read and talk about! Thank you everyone.

4. Fluffy the cat. I'm sorry for the unfortunate circumstances that brought him into my home temporarily, but it's been great to see him come out of his shell and find his voice. He's definitely getting the hang of lazy weekend mornings sleeping in, and that's a great thing :)

5. Good friends. I've thoroughly enjoyed meeting new people, but there's nothing like the friendship of women I've grown up with. I'm glad you're still in my life.

6. My apartment. The housing market being what it is, I feel very lucky to have my apartment stay at a rate I can live with so I didn't have to move this year. I hate moving, and am very cozy in my little apartment. (Across the street from work - woohoo!)

7. My muse. I'm so glad it came back! Shame on me for letting it get away. Thank heavens it was willing to come back around once I decided to get off my butt and write again.

8. The new Star Trek Movie. I love movies, and it's been ages since a movie came out that I just had to see over and over again. Hurray for spending a summer at the movies again!.

9. iTunes. I feel sort of ridiculous saying this, but I'm really glad to have been forced to get used to iTunes. I finally feel free to just download the songs I want instead of the whole cd, and I've been able to find a bunch of new music I would never have risked in a store. I need new music almost as much as I need new books to read, and it's great to have a place to get a new bite if I need to.

10. My Blackberry. Hurray for getting email on my phone, and for Pandora radio and an ebook reader on my phone when I get to restaurant before my friends do, or just want to read in bed!

11. Studded tires. I would not have been able to buy Christmas presents for my family in time for the holiday last year, or even made it to Christmas breakfast at my mom's if I hadn't had studded tires on my car. Two solid weeks of snow and ice is more than I ever thought I'd see in the NW. I wasn't sure I'd ever use them again once I moved across the street from work, but got my money's worth out of them again last December.

12. Line dancing. Finally, something that'll get me out of the house on Friday night! I don't even know the names of all the dances I've learned, but I'm having a great time and learning more every week.

13. Elliptical machines in the workout room. They're my favorite cardio to do, and now that they're in the fitness room in my apartment complex I actually visit the place once in a while :)


Happy Thanksgiving and best wishes to all!!