The giving of thanks

Thanksgiving is the best weekend of the year. It's also the longest (since Christmas isn't really a weekend). What's not to love about it? You get a much-needed break, you get lots of good food (and pecan pie!), you get to get ready for Christmas, you get to visit with relatives (some of whom are more enjoyable than others--but I think everyone who reads this is on the "more enjoyable" side), you get to see movies, and all sorts of pleasant things!

On Monday, FHE was cancelled, so instead of doing homework (which is what really needed to be done), I went running. It was the first time I'd gone running on 900 East since they finished construction. BYU decided to close East Campus Drive, so now 900 East is a lot busier. They've added an extra stoplight, they've widened the sidewalk, and they've added another turn lane to the intersection at 900 and the road that becomes University Parkway. It means that you have to wait a long time at intersections now. I'm not sure how I feel about that. Especially since it's no longer so easy to drive to, say, the Marriott Center from south campus.

Then on Tuesday I went to my Old English class, and only three of us were there, so class was cancelled. A lot of people in that class are in my corpus linguistics class the hour before, and that class was cancelled, so I guess they didn't think it worth coming. (It isn't the most helpful class.) Then I drove home!

On Wednesday my mom and I went and did errands for Thanksgiving. That afternoon I went running and saw a flock of wild turkeys by the Bountiful golf course. There were probably twenty of them. It was in the low 40s, which is perfect running weather, so my running was super easy. I listened to Thanksgiving music while cleaning and such.

On Thanksgiving, we had a repairman come and remove our swamp cooler. Yes, on Thanksgiving. I went running again, hoping to see turkeys again, but I didn't. That run wasn't as easy (since it had been less than 24 hours since my last one), but I made it. I also helped with the final preparations for Thanksgiving, since it was at our house. The turkeys didn't get done in time, so dinner began as a vegetarian meal. But then the turkeys came out of the oven, and Thanksgiving was complete.

Then Thanksgiving ended, and on Friday the Christmas season began. I started listening to Christmas music. I have over 500 Christmas songs! I have some weird Christmas music, but some of it is quite lovely. I enjoy the Lower Lights' new album, and because I've been listening to Kelly Clarkson's new Christmas album, I had a dream that she was one of my roommates and had served a French-speaking mission. (Surprisingly, that's not the first time I've dreamed she was an RM.)

On Friday my family went and saw Frozen. It was quite good; I think I liked it more than Tangled. It was the second movie I'd seen both this month and this year (the other being Free Birds). I rarely see movies.

I also got a blue poinsettia.

Then Saturday, after putting lights on the Christmas tree, I had to return to Provo. My roommate Scott got a live tree and put it up.

I love  Christmas, but it sometimes makes me feel sad for some reason. Maybe it's because I won't get to relax most of Christmas this year. Maybe it's because I don't get a very long break. Maybe it's because it's getting closer to January. But I will do my best to be happy.