Thankful

Happy Thanksgiving! It sort of feels weird to be getting ready for Christmas without the milestone of Thanksgiving, but I am uncomfortably full after having just eaten a HUGE sandwich from a Christmas market by my school...so it sort of feels like Thanksgiving in that sense.

Here is my list of random things that I am thankful for in no particular order:
1. the sheer amount of cheese that is consumed in this country
2. baguettes
3. nutella
4. crepes
5. people who appreciate food just as much as I do
6. dayquil and nyquil...I caught whatever cold Louis had because he was sick yesterday and was attached to my hip all afternoon.
7. my French family...they have been so welcoming and helpful to me and I know my experience has been as good as it has been because of them.
8. my real family...let's get real: I have the best parents, brother, and extended family in the world (no comment on the cats). They are all smart, funny, have good hair, and are successful in whatever they do. I also feel pretty lucky that my parents let me go to boarding school at the age of 14, move to Seattle at 18 and move to Paris at 20. I'm honestly not sure who got the better end of the deal...me and Wes for getting to live in Europe (just to clarify France > Russia) or mom and dad for getting to come visit.
9. my Culver family...you people are amazing. It doesn't matter if we weren't in the same class or weren't close during high school....as long as we are wearing the same ring, we are family. I could go on forever about Culver and how it made me the person I am today but if you've got a ring, you know exactly what I am talking about and if you don't then ask me or anyone else for stories and we will go on for hours and you will get annoyed by the 4th hour but you will also be very jealous.
10. Seattle...I am so thankful for the people I've met in this amazing city. Roommates, classmates, people in my cohort, teachers and coworkers...you are all appreciated. You were always there when I needed to vent or cry or share stories or laughs. You made me work harder, think deeper and learn more than I ever thought possible. I can't wait to get back to all of you and to the coffee shops.
11. which reminds me...Starbucks
12. the people who got me out of the metro doors
13. the lady at Gap in Pentagon City who returned my wallet to me when I left it on a stack of shirts
14. the French for teaching me how to truly live life
15. Live Love Flow and their amazing staff and clients for making me fall in love with yoga and for giving me the opportunity to teach spin to the hardest working people in Seattle
16. Shaina Lampton for introducing me to spinning and also making me fall in love with it enough to become an instructor
17. being an American
18. health
19. happiness
20. life

The list could go on but those are the first things I think of when I think about what I'm thankful for. And as cheesy as it always sounded to me when I was growing up, it is so important to think about everything we do have in life. I know I don't do it enough. So be thankful whether you're in America or not. It matters.

Have a fantastic turkey day everyone!