Wednesday, November 21st, 2012
Central Park East - 7:25am

A good morning it is indeed!  This morning we extended our walk by about a half a mile - making our round trip about 4 miles each morning.  This is a big deal - I've been thinking about how I could extend this walk while avoiding having to put them back on leash or be too near cars/streets/cyclists.  It was great :)  I'm leaving work after lunch today so I can come home and make my vegetarian Thanksgiving main dish to bring along to Brian's Mom's house.  We are leaving to go home to Chatham tonight after Brian gets home from work.  I was dreading going to Penn Station to get NJ Transit tonight.  It will be an absolute madhouse - not to mention we'll have bags, 2 dogs, food, a whiskey cake, and whatever else.  Our friend Brendan actually volunteered to drive into the city from Chatham, pick us up, and drive us back.  Seriously.  Such a nice thing to do.  We are actually running a 5k Turkey Trot with him tomorrow morning. 

I'm pretty proud of this fellow - when he got out of his last relationship, he was a bit of a mess.  However - in the wake of that emotional disaster - he chose to change his life.  He stopped smoking cold turkey, stopped drinking completely, and started running.  It's now been over 2 months since he had a cigarette (after having been a smoker a long time), or a drink, and he's now running 5k's and about 10 miles per week. 

Aside from that, I know what I'm thankful for this Thanksgiving!  I'm thankful that my little sister chose to work so hard for the past 2 years!  Her good choices, smarts, discipline, and perseverance have now opened the door to NYU school of nursing.  She found out yesterday that she was accepted into her #1 choice and the #21 best nursing school in the country (by US News & World Report).  I could not be more happy that she's coming to this city and that she's a model for the idea that if you work hard and keep your eye on the prize, you can get exactly what you want.  Congratulations to Sarah!! 

Happy Thanksgiving to all of the family I won't be seeing for these holidays - Mom & Dad, Sarah, Nan, Aunt Lisa & Uncle Jim, Chris & Dan, Grandma Clark, Uncle Keith & Aunt Jeanne, Christopher, Ruth & Randy, Britt, Carly, Tyler, Roberta, Helen, and Andrew. 

I wish I could be with all of you! 

Carpe diem

J