Being Thankful: Day Ten

I just started reading To Kill a Mockingbird for the first time. Shocking, I know, but I never had to read it for school, so I'm reading it for a book club instead. I'm only about 100 pages in (even though I have to finish by Saturday), but I already love it. Scout is simply awesome. I'm excited to read the rest and get to the really good parts of the story.

I have been reading for as long as I can remember. When I was little, I would sleep with books instead of with stuffed animals. I started reading adult novels of 700+ pages when I was nine or ten. I've always had a special interest in words and language and books. I've wanted to be a writer since I was seven, and that's still a goal I want to achieve someday. I'm hoping that at some point in my life I'll find enough inspiration to write a novel.

So today, I'm thankful for books. I'm thankful for brilliant authors who formulate fantastic ideas and turn them into beautiful literature. I'm thankful for snowy, cold weather that makes me want to just curl up under the blankets on the couch with a cup of cider and a good book. I'm thankful for my forever-long to-read list that keeps growing no matter how many books I read. I'm thankful for the books I love so much that I read them over and over again without getting tired of them. It's amazing what those who are proficient in the English language can do.

Being Thankful: Day Nine

Nothing in particular really jumped out at me as something to be thankful for today, but I did think a lot about my nieces and nephews. All of my siblings are married, and they all have kids, and thanks to that, I have nine nieces and nephews. Nine awesome kids who, despite being crazy at times, are the best kids in the world. They are the cutest nieces and nephews you will ever find anywhere, no contest.

I absolutely love being an aunt. I love playing with the little ones (and the not so little ones—my oldest niece is fourteen now). When I'm down, I know that I can go visit one of my siblings and their kids will brighten my day. There's nothing like having a three-year-old (or two-year-old, or seven-year-old, or five-year-old) yell, "Aunt Lindy!" and run to give me a giant hug. I don't think there is anything better than that in the world.

So today I'm thankful for Amanda, Will, Dalton, Isabella, Aiden, Adeline, Penelope, Ethan, and Chloe because they are the best nieces and nephews an aunt could ask for.

Being Thankful: Day Eight

Tonight was the ward talent show/Thanksgiving dinner. I like talent shows, and I'm one of those people who always signs up to do something. (No, I'm not trying to show off, I just like having an excuse to sing something that's not a church song.) For this talent show, I figured out "Come Home" by OneRepublic on the piano and sang it. It was the first time that I had ever figured a song out just by chords and not by reading the music. I must say that I was pretty proud of myself because it sounded all right. People seemed to like it, even though I messed up.

So today, I'm thankful for my talents. I'm thankful that I have a visible talent that I can share and that people enjoy hearing. I'm not terribly confident in many things, but I am confident in my singing voice, and I'm very thankful for that. I love singing, and I love that I'm good at it. It's nice when something you love doing coincides with something you're good at.

And now, at the risk of seeming presumptuous, I'm going to post the video of me singing at the talent show tonight. Enjoy.

Being Thankful: Day Seven

Fast Sundays always make me think about my testimony. I didn't actually bear my testimony today, but listening to everyone else's testimonies made me think about what I believe in. And the complete truth is that I believe in the Gospel. I believe that Jesus Christ is my Savior and that I have a Heavenly Father. I believe that my Savior died for me so that I can use the gift of the Atonement to become perfect like Christ is perfect. I believe that my Heavenly Father knows who I am individually. He knows my name, and He has a plan for me. Joseph Smith was a prophet who translated the Book of Mormon by the power of God. I believe that Thomas S. Monson is a prophet today and that he receives revelation from God to guide and direct The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in modern times.

This only scratches the surface of what I believe and why I believe it. I have had countless witnesses that the church I belong to is Christ's church, and I never plan on straying from that. Not ever. I couldn't find so much happiness anywhere else. Following the commandments and trying to be like my Savior bring me peace and happiness. I am so immensely thankful for the surety of my testimony and for wonderful parents who helped me gain that testimony while I was young. The foundation they laid for me has only gotten stronger as I have gotten older, and I can't say enough how thankful I am for that.

Being Thankful: Day Six

It is November, so it's officially time to go on snow alert in Utah. The snow could dump on us at any time (which is possible for next week), so any nice days we have left can't be taken for granted. Today, I'm thankful for the absolutely gorgeous day it was. It was an absolutely perfect day weather-wise. I went to the BYU game wearing capris. Yes, capris, on November 6. Since when does that ever happen? It was actually almost too warm at the game. My brother got a bit of a sunburn. It was fantastic.

Since it's supposed to drop down into the 40s and possibly give us some snow next week, I'm going to be thankful for the beautiful weather while it lasts. I am also thankful for a BYU beat-down of UNLV. It was about time BYU put more than 30 points up on the board (55–7 was the final). It gives me hope for a bowl game.

Being Thankful: Day Five

Today I'm thankful for sports. Odd, it's true, but I like sports. A lot. And I like that I like sports because it gives me something else to enjoy, something else to get excited about. I spent my Friday evening watching a Jazz game. Sure, they lost, which sucks, but I still enjoyed watching it. And tomorrow I'm going to go to Lavell Edwards Stadium and (hopefully) watch BYU beat UNLV, and I'm excited about it. Then next Friday I'm going to the BYU basketball home opener, which should be SWEET because the Cougs have a chance to be ridiculously (and I mean ridiculously) good this year.

I know I'm a weird girl, that I'm out of the ordinary because I go out of my way to watch sporting events, whether I'm alone or with other people. But I've been watching sports my whole life, and it's fun to be competitive. I'm thankful that I have something that I can do with my dad and my brothers. I go get pedicures with the girls and watch sports with the guys. It's fun to have two such different sides to me.

Being Thankful: Day Four

At work today, our HR director emailed everyone a list of all the days off for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. Six days off in seven weeks. Fantastic.

I've always loved getting days off work. I mean, really, who doesn't? But until this year, I always just got the day off, and I'd have to make up the hours the rest of the week if I wanted the pay. (I'm not sure why I'm explaining this . . . it's not exactly an unknown thing.) Now that I'm full time, I get paid for those holidays. So this year I'll get paid to pig out on Thanksgiving and to spend time with my family on Christmas. I know this isn't a foreign thing to most people, but this is the first time I've been paid for holidays. And it's awesome. And I'm really thankful for it.