Thanksgiving.

I'm exhausted. Part of this is because I was 'Skyping' Chris until like 1 am (my time, I'm not a very nice girlfriend) and then woke up at like 9 for family breakfast. Plus I ate tons of turkey. Not really helpful.

Today was great though. Skyrim, college football, beach, body boarding (caught some SICK waves), hot tub, beach football, and lots of delicious food. Mmmmmm.

So, it's a little cliche, but here's a list of things I'm grateful for, the important stuff at the top but not in any particular order.

I am grateful for Chris. Not only does he make me happy, but he makes me feel important/wanted/needed/desirable. He has restored my faith in finding a guy as diverse as I am. Even when he posts things on Facebook that make me mildly unhappy, I'm still pretty crazy about him. I'm thankful that he cares enough about me to help me work through my insecurities and get to a place where I can accept compliments and believe him when he tells me he loves me. (He hasn't yet, and it'll be awhile. That's fine. But it's probably going to happen eventually.) I'm grateful that I found him, and most especially grateful that he cares about me as much as I care about him.

I am (obviously) grateful for my family. Even when they drive me crazy, I still love them. I've interacted with enough people in the universe to be very glad that I have as good of a family dynamic as I do. I love them, they love me, and even when tempers run high, things never go terribly awry.

I am grateful for my unendingly forgiving parents. I know I stress them out, and yet they still love me  without pause.

I am grateful for my (admittedly very few) true and lasting friends. Scooley, Bruce, Christel...

I am grateful for my wonderful roommates.

I'm definitely grateful for all of my friends, old and new. I could list them, but that would seem... lame.

I'm grateful for my coworkers and classmates, who make my days brighter.

I'm grateful for the technology that allows me to communicate with the people I love even when I can't be with them. Texting, Gchat, Facebook.

I'm grateful that I've been provided with a car that allows me to go wherever I want to go, whenever I want - yes, most specifically Salt Lake, but also my work.

I'm super grateful that I have a (mostly) perfect body. I may not take the best care of it, but it does pretty much everything I ask of it, and most of that it does very well. Harder, better, faster, stronger - that will come with time.

I'm grateful for Hannah's mission. If she hadn't gone, I never would've met Chris, and even if I had somehow, he probably would've been married to her. I owe her the best guy I've ever dated.

I'm grateful for my passion. Without it, I never would've made it to where I am.

I'm grateful for the Gospel, the Church, and BYU. I don't think I need to go into any sort of detail on this.

I'm grateful that I've never had the misfortune of getting rejected from a job that I truly, legitimately wanted. I've always had wonderful employers, and they have always been gracious enough to give me jobs when I wanted them. Jim, Gardner, Jerry - thank you from the bottom of my heart. I will love you men forever.

I'm grateful for snow. It makes me happy, and has provided me with what I hope will be a fantastic job, as well as a lifelong passion.

I'm grateful to live in Utah. Some people don't much care for the state, but I am deeply in love with it. It is truly a playground!

I'm grateful for music. How boring life would be without it! Music says what I need when words escape me.

I'm grateful for perspective.

I'm super grateful to you, the readers of my blog! Even though this blog is pretty much completely for myself, I love knowing that you enjoy it.

I'm grateful that today isn't the only day I can express gratitude for all that I've been blessed with, because one day is not enough!

So, in the spirit of this lovely day, what are YOU grateful for?

Defensive.

So, today Chris and I were having this conversation about Mitsubishi, and we got on the subject of how we deal with people who mess with us. He generally tends to go the 'mind-ninja' route (yikes, remind me NEVER to get on his bad side) while I tend to be the "I am going to punch your face until it doesn't look like a face anymore" type.

But seriously. For me it was more of a continued realization of how defensive/protective I am of the people I care about. A brief example, somebody close to my dad recently took advantage of him and his goodness. I won't go into detail, but I am still completely FURIOUS. When I think about it, I literally have to unclench my fists and jaw. And the worst part? I am completely HELPLESS. Which infuriates me even more. Seriously, it makes me blood literally boil. I'm not Polynesian, but you know how when you piss off a Poly they get that scary glint in their eyes and you know you'd better run the heck away before they kill you? Yeah, that's one bit of Poly I have. If you mess with 'my people' enough, I WILL want to kill you. And when I have my concealed carry permit... I might just bust a cap in your knee.

Another example. Some friends of my roommate just totally betrayed her. I am livid. I know of them, and I seriously want to just go deck them in the faces. I know it's irrational, but I am fiercely loyal, and fiercely protective. YOU DO NOT MESS WITH MY FRIENDS. Or most especially, my family.

At Aspen Grove this summer, we had this little running joke of 'who would you want to fight/not want to fight?' Three guesses who was at the top of every girl's list, and admittedly a couple of guys'. I probably don't even need to tell you the sense of pride that fills me with. At the same time though, I do worry about my 'intimidation' factor. I've been told by many people that I'm intimidating, especially to guys. I try not to be, I'm really not a scary person. Until you mess with my friends/family or do something really idiotic/fury inducing, there's not anything to be afraid of.

Honestly though, it takes a lot to make me REALLY mad. I'm pretty easily irritated; it's something I've been trying to work on, and my bluntness can occasionally come across as sharpness/anger. But to get me truly, blood boiling, IMMA KILL YOU mad? It's legitimately difficult.

I guess what I mean by telling you all this, is that if you're one of those people I would consider a friend, know that when things go wrong, I've got your back. Unless getting your back means I go to prison. Which, for hopefully understandable reasons, you can understand.

On a different note! You know that stupid pickup line "Are you tired? 'Cuz you've been runnin' through my mind all day"? It's kind of actually super accurate. Haha, I'm funny, huh. But seriously, my cheeks are legitimately tired from smiling so much (I can't help it!) and my brain is just like... yeah. Chris and I have been talking so much, it's a little ridiculous. We only stop to sleep. Or when we're in class. It's crazy, there's just always SO MUCH to talk about! It's kind of crazy for me. I mean, I LOVE to talk, it's ridiculous, but I don't think I've ever had such great conversation that lasts. It's just so... great. My dear FHE sister and friend Amanda said she "has a hunch" about us. I try not to think about that. It's still way too early for ANYTHING, we're not even dating yet! But we do get along really well, and we've been talking quite a bit for more than a month. Plus, two dates and planned third date = promising. :) Trying to stay calm. Getting my hopes up hasn't tended to end well. But I know I like him, and I'm pretty sure it's mutual. Ah! I like being twitterpated.

Last note! My new helmet/goggles came today, HOLY FLY.

Typical mirror pic, yeah, I know. But seriously, for like the first time in my life, I'm going to be the one with the "cool, new, hot" gear. Do you have any idea how stoked I am about that? Smith Pro Deal, you are on the top of my list forEVER. Too bad I only got you once in my life. :( Totally worth it though. Freakishly worth it. Ahhhh I'm so stoked.