Love you, Shann, and am praying for you. Words do hurt and it's hard to not let them ring in your head over and over again. (((hugs)))
We had a nice Thanksgiving. I came home from work and prepped the stuffing and stuffed the turkey, then made cranberry sauce. Since I was sleeping, Ryan stuck the bird in the oven by noon and then added potatoes at 3. He got me up at 5, and I had him pull out the juices and I made gravy on the stovetop, and let it simmer while he carved the turkey and I had a shower. By the time I was ready, dinner was too! We watched the Charlie Brown Thanksgiving special on Netflix, which was cute, then went to the theatre to see Catching Fire, which was sold out, but we had bought tickets on Fandango Tuesday. I liked it better than The Hunger Games, mostly because it dealt with the underlying resistance to tyranny. I've never read the books, so the movies are quite fun for me. Then we came home for pumpkin pie and Doctor Who (we're re-watching the new series).
Amy, there is a site where you can watch both Season 7 and the 50th Anniversary Special, so text me if you're interested. We loved the special, too. Ryan watched it streaming on some site live, but I was sleeping, so we watched it the next day. I won't spoil it for anyone who hasn't seen it yet. There's also a hilarious mini-special by the older Doctors posted on the BBC site, Pup. You would get a kick out of it for sure.
Barb, I'm glad you renewed. I had debated this year, too, since I hardly am writing at all for fun, but the benefits of being a part of this community definitely outweigh the $10/month. I missed you at the Fair this year by one day, but maybe we can coordinate meeting at the Renaissance Fair next April. We had a lot of fun last year, so we're planning on it again.
Sigh. Just one more night off before my class starts up again. Gotta get some good sleep, especially since it's sick season and everyone is spreading their germs.

Amy, I used to get flu shots every year from the time I was 10 years old. Then three years ago I stopped, and coincidentally I didn't get sick multiple times that winter. And every year since. I had started to question the validity of the vaccine, but the physical evidence really clinched it for me. I just dose up heavy on vitamins, sleep long hours, and wash my hands diligently to avoid catching the bugs. We eat a mostly organic diet, and I've been sick even less since eliminating dairy. I wouldn't recommend refusing the vaccine to everyone, but for a healthy young individual like myself who takes care to boost my own immune system, it works. Plus I'm more likely safer for myself and my patients if I'm wearing a mask. Less likely to catch and spread bugs in general. As long as I'm allowed to wear a mask and refuse, I will...my other reasons stem from my strong belief in patient choice. I believe in all patients' rights to refuse treatment, including myself. If they start requiring it as a mandatory condition of employment, I'll look into preservative free or nasal vaccines, but I will be highly vocal about being forced to inject toxic substances into my body against my will. There are far more adverse reactions to the vaccine than actual "prevention" of flu, if you do the research. The vaccine should be recommended only for those with weakened immune systems; injecting healthy individuals does little to stop the spread of flu and results in terrible adverse reactions for some people, many of which are life-threatening or life-long problems. The government often won't acknowledge the reactions as related to the injection, so if it happens to you, you're pretty much suffering on your own. That's not a risk I'll take willingly.
Sorry. Off my soapbox. I've got a few of them, so don't get me going.

Incidentally, a high percentage of my coworkers have had bad reactions to the flu vaccine this year in particular (most are giving in because they don't want to wear the mask), and just in the last week we've had a lot of sick calls. I'm probably fighting something off, or it's allergies, but I'm definitely well enough to work still.
It's raining heavy out there right now. I definitely prefer this kind of rain to Seattle drizzle. But we'll be heading home for Christmas in a month, so I'm sure I'll get my fill. Hard to believe the year is almost over. Feels like it flew by!