t h a n k f u l (times 5)

I'm not ungrateful, just really busy, but I'm five days behind on gratitude so here's a list of five things I'm grateful for. Sorry for the gratitude overload. In no particular order... 1) GAS PRICES...Holy crappoly I paid $1.41 for 88 octane gas (that is usually considered mid-grade) this weekend when I was in Idaho. For some reason I think gas is cheaper in Idaho (probably because everything is better in ID) so I haven't seen prices that low in Utah, but hey, anything under 2 bucks is good as far as I'm concerned. So yay for China and India (and everybody else) cutting back on fuel usage big time. We need to get those guys to always cut back. 2) THE AWESOME NEW TREADMILLS WITH INDIVIDUAL TVs THEY JUST GOT AT MY GYM!...So now I can channel surf while working out. And since I don't have cable at home I now no longer will miss out on watching shows such as: Pregnant and Paralyzed, Mermaid Girl, shows about dwarfs, shows about fat people, shows where trashy people yell at each other, shows where people yell at each other while cooking, some wedding show with a host who looks like Sloth from the Goonies, cheesy Telenovelas (Soaps) in Spanish, ETC! I flipped through the channels a couple of times before I realized that watching Seinfield, Simpsons and Everybody Loves Raymond was my best bet for not feeling more stupid and sad for Americans everywhere then I did before starting my workout. SERIOUSLY, what is wrong with TV these days? But hey, I'm super grateful for the individual TVs on the treadmills. 3) I'M GRATEFUL THAT THIS WEEKEND I WAS ABLE TO GET 3 OF THE 10 SUITCASES WE ARE TAKING TO MY PARENTS IN BRAZIL PACKED. Yay for me! This weekend I was thinking about how much fun it is to bring my parents stuff from the US and how much easier it is to shop for my parents for Christmas now that literally to them a can of Campbell's Tomato Soup could be a legitimate and appreciated stocking stuffer...and I started to wonder why it seems so much fun to pack all this stuff for them (even though I'm super busy and stressed with school, work, finding a new place to live, finding a new job, etc.) And then I realized...in some way taking stuff to my parents in Brazil feels almost like sneaking contraband to someone in prison and sneaking equals exciting. No offense to Brazil or anything but life there is different and they are missing a lot of staple foods, like chocolate chips for example. And although I can't change the reality my parents being in Brazil for 2 and a half more years it sort of feels like sneaking them contraband in the form of peanut butter, root beer extract, taco seasoning, marshmallows, cheddar cheese, and American candy, is the best thing I can do to help make their stay more comfortable and fun. 4) IDAHO. Need I say more? Okay, I will. I LOVE Idaho. I went there this weekend to visit Lee, Kim, Russ, my Grandma and others, and let me just tell you...the second I crossed over the border the headache I'd had for the past week went away, I suddenly stopped grinding my teeth, I felt excited about life, etc! In Idaho I have: no job, no school, no stress, no hate (just love and peace), lots of family...it is wonderful! I'm just a different person when I'm in ID. Oh how I miss it. And now thanks to number 1 on today's gratitude list I'll be able to afford to go to ID a whole lot more! Yay for recessions! 5) THOSE NEW PEPPERCORN RANCH SUNCHIPS. They are delicious. Basically it is like Cool Ranch Doritos breeds with Original (plain) Sunchips and now we have one more yummy snack.