Updates: Thesis and Thanksgiving

Have I told you yet that I'm ready to defend my thesis? Yep, finished the last draft a couple of weeks ago and have since been trying to get the professors on my committee to agree on two hours that will work for everyone. Nothing yet. I'm starting to get that anxious feeling. I've never been all that comfortable with the unknown, and not having a date to look forward to and prepare for is really getting to me!!! I'd defend tomorrow if I could, but I really doubt that will happen :(Anyway, Thanksgiving was wonderful this year! My in-laws, my parents, and my sister's family all gathered around a HUGE feast. It was great having everyone together; I think every time we gather this way, we all get more and more comfortable. Everything went smoothly- well, almost everything...except for the spill I took while walking Tanner.It all started a few weekends ago at the half marathon Travis and I ran. The day after the marathon, my left foot hurt every time I stepped down on it. After a week of moaning and complaining, I went to the doc who said it was only tendinitis. His advice was do some stretches, take some ibuprofen, and wear stiff shoes. So for the last week I've been wearing my old, beat-up Danskos because they are the stiffest shoes I own that still allow me to crouch down and work with children. Fast forward to Thanksgiving...Between dinner and dessert, a bunch of us took the dogs out for walk(me in my Danskos instead of running shoes, of course). It was probably only 6:00pm or so, but it was pitch black. Everything was going fine until we rounded a corner and Tanner pulled to my right. I took a step to follow him and apparently stepped off the "curb" (these mountain roads don't have real curbs, they are just layers of asphalt over silt and gravel, with dirt ditches on the sides for drainage). Needless to say, my middle name being Grace and all, I totally rolled my ankle and fell down. Don't worry! It wasn't the ankle on my tendinitis foot, it was the ankle on the other foot; the same ankle I sprained last year while crossing the street in Santa Cruz...yes, crossing the street. How? Stepped in a hole while wearing my *surprise* Danskos!!! Yes, so back to Thanksgiving, I was sitting in the dirt, saying "Damn!" when my mom came over and asked if I was okay. I got up and shook my ankle out; we laughed about how I now have to alternate my limps between both feet, and then I touched my knee...Yep, a nice big rip in my BRAND NEW black pants that I bought for work and threw in my bag at the last minute. That totally put me over the edge and I wanted to cry. I was so mad that I ripped my pants. Such a Margo-thing to do. So we finished our walk and when we got inside the cabin, I examined the hole- only to discover that I have blood running down my leg. I totally scraped my knee up. Are you kidding me?! I haven't had a bloody knee since high school. LAME. So here I am, almost a week later, with a big scab and bruise on my knee. So lady-like, isn't it? *sigh* Some things never change, right Mom? :)I hope everyone else had a nice holiday.P.S. Congratulations Sarah and Mike! I can't wait to meet Reese!