Top Ten Tuesday - Thankful/Thanksgiving Freebie

 

Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme hosted by Jana @ That Artsy Reader Girl. Top Ten Tuesday was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish in June of 2010 and was moved to That Artsy Reader Girl in January of 2018. It was born of a love of lists, a love of books, and a desire to bring bookish friends together.

There are truly so many things I am thankful for this season! I am grateful for the simple things that are sometimes taken for granted!

1. I'm so thankful for my loving husband, and wonderful family and friends! My circle of family and friends may be small, but I am grateful for the kind, compassionate, and fun loving people in my life. It's about the quality of the relationships I have with others that matter to me most.

2. Nutritious food/meals! Many people across the nation and around the world live without enough food to eat. I am thankful that I am able to donate to my local foodbank periodically to help provide nutritious meals for others in need. I am also grateful that I able to eat nutritious meals (often organic) and that this year, our Thanksgiving meal will be prepared and delivered to our home. So, no time spent cooking or after meal cleanup this year! Instead, I can enjoy quality time with loved ones.

3. I am thankful, blessed, and grateful to have my other basic needs met like access to health insurance/healthcare, shelter, working vehicle, and so on.

4. I am grateful to have a new vehicle as of a week and a half ago! After 17 years, it was time to retire our 2007 Toyota Prius... Our Toyota Prius was still in really good working order and served us well, but it was time to buy a new vehicle. My husband and I couldn't pass up taking advantage of the zero percent financing for 36 months on a new 2025 vehicle.

5. I'm grateful for the vacations my husband and I have taken this year. We spent a week in Miranda, California in the heart of the Avenue of the Giants/Humboldt Redwoods State Park for my husband's birthday earlier this year. We had an absolute blast spending time in nature, time away from city life and walking the numerous trails. We also spent a long weekend in Kentfield, California for our anniversary and enjoyed our time at Muir Woods National Monument. Both places offered the much needed opportunity to spend time in nature and forest bathing. If you haven't visited either Muir Woods National Monument or Avenue of the Giants/Humboldt Redwoods State Park, then by all means make the visit. It's so worth it!

Me and the Hubster enjoying The Avenue of the Giants. September 2024.

6. I had a skin cancer screening with a dermatologist earlier this year due to a suspicious looking red lesion on my lower leg. A biopsy determined that I had squamous cell carcinoma in situ, which was the very early stages of skin cancer. I went on to have Mohs Microsurgery to remove the lesion at the end of September and all traces of the squamous cell carcinoma in situ were removed during the Mohs Microsurgery. Healing has been super slow due to the location and size of the surgical site. I am finally beginning to feel better and am thankful that the squamous cell carcinoma in situ was caught and removed early.

7. I've exceeded my reading goals for 2024!! I've read so many wonderful books so far this year. I am hoping to read another five to six books before the year is over. It will be difficult narrowing down my top ten favorite books at the end of the year.

8. I am an avid book lover. Who isn't a book lover if they're an avid reader and also a book blogger? I have acquired more books to read in various formats than I could probably ever finish reading before this lifetime is completed. I wouldn't consider this a bad thing... I love being surrounded by books.

9. I love the book blogging community and am ever so grateful for all of you who follow my blog and leave me comments.

10. Lastly, I am grateful for all of the virtual author events I've attended this year, all of the Little Free Libraries I have found this year, all of the amazing authors who've churned out the books we've all loved reading, and lastly, to the indie bookstores that make book buying fun!

What are you grateful for this year?