thanks

Is it really Monday ALREADY?

What a great weekend. Gina and I spent Thanksgiving Day at her family's in Astoria. Dinner at Aunt Marcia's and then at Aunt Linda's (I think). Her brother, Wes, left with his cousin, Aaron, after dinner to go deer hunting. He called an hour or so later, very excited. He said he had shot a big buck at 35 yards through the woods. With a bow, this is quite a feat! They came back to the house to get some flashlights and insulated clothes for the tracking adventure that ensued. Usually when you shoot a deer with a bow, they run 30-200 yards before they expire. This ole buck had other plans. After an hour and a half, and 1.5 miles, we found him. What a great first buck for Wes and a Thanksgiving he'll never forget! Gina and I were supposed to meet some friends from Chicago in Peoria that evening, but we didn't get home until 11:30 by the time we got the deer back to the house and cleaned up.

Saturday, we went to my parent's house in Mendota for a second feast. Food was great, as usual. After dinner, we all played "Taboo," the game where you try to get your teammates to guess the word on your card by using any other words except the listed "forbidden words." The funniest moment was when my sister, Jillian, gave the clues, "what someone might call a large woman," followed by "kind of like a desert." What on earth could that be? Obviously, she needs to take a geography class at ISU, because the "Amazon" is as far from a desert as you can get without leaving the planet. funny.

I got some more work done on the thesis as well. The first draft of "chapter 1" is ready to be picked up for editing now and I will have "chapter 2" turned in by the end of the day. I guess being forced to wait until next semester to present and defend is not so bad after all. My stress level had dropped and I've been able to go to the gym a few times.

I've decided to make a conscious decision to be joyful through all of this. If I can't change the situation or the attitudes of others, might as well find the best it!
Happy Monday!