Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by The Broke and The Bookish! This week’s topic is gratitude, and I have a lot to be thankful for. Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays…it’s about food, and family, and really taking time to take stock of your life and realize how much is good, even if there’s also stuff that’s less good. This Thursday, we’ll be heading over to my in-laws house and celebrating with them and their extended group of friends…the wine flows freely and it’s good people, so we always have a lot of fun! Things I’m thankful for this year:

My husband: Getting the cheesy stuff out of the way first. I’m grateful for him in my life because he’s the actual best, and also that he’s officially my husband and that means the wedding is over, because planning that was one of the most stressful experiences I’ve ever had (I’d happily take another bar exam before planning another wedding).

Our family: Between my wonderful in-laws and my own adored and missed mom, dad, sister and brother-in-law, I’m fortunate to have so many great people in my life that I love and love me.

My besties: Kailey and Crystal are the best friends a girl could ask for…the kinds of friends that have been there for you since elementary school are the kind you cherish. Our trips are the weekend I look forward to the most every year!

Stanley: Getting our little pugling almost a year ago now was the best thing. He is just a constant source of delight and love.

My health: Apart from a recent unpleasant seasonal flu and my hormonal migraines, I haven’t had a major health issue since my gallbladder removal in 2014. I am very, very fortunate that this is the case, many others aren’t so lucky.

Having a good job: I have work that I find fulfilling, and my coworkers are all people I enjoy and respect. That hasn’t always been the case for me and I’m so glad that it is now.

Reproductive freedom: The development of birth control options means that women can take ownership of our lives and careers without having to constantly worry that we might become pregnant before we want to (if indeed, we want to at all). This is no small feat, when you look at the course of human history, and recent political realities have reminded me how lucky I am that this is the case.

The ability to vote: Speaking of recent political realities…I can feel however I want about the outcome of this year’s election (spoiler alert: I do not feel good), but the fact remains that I was able to go to the ballot box and have my say. This wasn’t always the case for lady people, so I am grateful to the suffragettes for their work securing the vote for women.

Books: Cliche, I know, but I am constantly grateful that my mother instilled a love of reading and appreciation for the power of the written word in me when I was little. Through books, I get to explore the past, the future, and the incredible variety of experiences that constitute being human.

Living in a post-paper map world: This last one is a little flippant, I know, but I am actually constantly, consciously glad that I live in a world where my awfulness with directions doesn’t keep me from getting where I’m going without getting horribly lost all the time.

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly linkup of book bloggers hosted by The Broke and The Bookish! This week’s post: ten things about me! Which is fun and I’m really looking forward to reading everyone else’s. I suspect it’s not just me who doesn’t always click over to the “About” page on most blogs, so the lives of my fellow book bloggers outside of just reading are largely a mystery to me. There are several of you out there who do post some personal content, and I’m toying with the idea of doing the same eventually (some sort of monthly wrap-up?). We’ll see. Anyways, here are ten things about me, Gabby, the reader behind 500 Books!

I’m a newlywed: I just got married a little less than a month ago to the man I’ve been with for nearly four years and while wedding planning was one of the least pleasant experiences I’ve been through, we had a super fun wedding and I’m really glad to be married.

I used to be a lawyer: I’ve mentioned in a few of my posts that I went to law school, and I practiced in Michigan for about a year and a half. Being a lawyer had been my lifelong dream, until I started actually being one and quickly realized it was not a good match for my anxiety-prone temperament. I’ve been out for four years now and moving on was 100% the right choice for me.

I’ve lived in three different states: Not just three different states, but in three different regions of the country. I was born and raised and went to college in Michigan, then spent three years in Alabama for law school, and I’ve been out in Nevada since 2012. I will forever be a Michigander at heart and be homesick for my mitten-shaped home, but Nevada is where Drew and I plan to stay.

I have terrible handwriting: It’s legible, but most people think it’s a man’s handwriting. It’s cramped and kind of messy and tends to list upwards if I’m writing on a completely blank sheet. I’m glad we mostly type on screens these days.

I hate condiments: Yes, all of them. I don’t even like dressing on my salad most of the time. I’ve got a lot of weird food things, this is just one of the weirdest.

I’m a lifelong insomniac: It’s gotten a little better as I’ve aged, but I have a really hard time falling asleep generally. I actually do quite a lot of my reading before bed because it’s one of the most effective ways for me to wind down. But mostly I’m a natural night owl in a world where my job starts at 830 am. I spend weekends sleeping in to catch up.

I love t-rexes: I am obsessed, y’all. Several adorn my office and my coffee mugs. And my favorite thing I did on my honeymoon? Visiting Sue at the Field Museum! That wedding cake with the t-rex toppers up there? Mine!

I have clinodactyly: Which just means that my little fingers curve in towards my ring fingers. It doesn’t necessarily mean anything on its own (though it is associated with several genetic conditions, including Down’s and some forms of dwarfism), it’s just a neat and weird little quirk. My grandmother on my dad’s side had it as well, but not as strong as mine is.

I pole dance: I’ve been doing this off and on for about 2 years, but only consistently for the past six months or so. It’s fantastic exercise, and anyone can do it…albeit at different paces. There are girls who have started long after I did that can do stuff I can’t even contemplate, but it’s super fun and I’m learning at my own pace.

I’ve been a vegetarian since I was 15: Over half my life now! I gave up red meat around 14 and all meat a year later. No, I don’t eat seafood, and I hate that people who do call themselves vegetarians. Sea creatures are animals too. The first year is the hardest, so many family holidays revolve around meat. Once you realize it can be done, getting through them without partaking in the main course, it’s much easier. I’m not a proselytizing vegetarian though, whether anyone else eats meat (like my rabid carnivore husband) bothers me not in the least.