As I sit here thinking about these moments of thanksgiving and the act of sharing them with you on my blog, I realized how much of a blessing it is to be able to express myself through writing.

When I started blogging last summer, I had no idea how long it would last or where it would go. I simply enjoyed typing my thoughts and being able to publish them for others to read. It's really interesting how the different perspectives of my readers affect the meaning of each of my posts. You, my reader, can vary in position from a family member to a friend to a classmate or even a future employer. You could be an acquaintance or someone I know very well. Even if you're a complete stranger, something or someone brought you to my website and blog for you to have a look and read a post or two! Whichever category you may fall into as a reader, thank you! I really appreciate your time spent reading my posts and learning more about me. (:

Jewel's Random TidBits - While Thanksgiving is celebrated on the last Thursday of each November, other countries celebrate giving thanks at other times during the year. Here's a look at how Thanksgiving is celebrated around the World.

If we're going to throw some science into this (and, yes, we are), then we can see how consumption of sweets directly affects us. In short, we have receptors that send signals to our brain when sugary foods are consumed. These signals tell the body that the sugary food was enjoyable and that it would like some more! For this reason, it's extremely important that we try to balance our diet as much as possible. A sweet treat every now and then is great but try not to indulge too often!


Jewel's Random TidBits - Try baking your sweets at home when you can! You'll cut back on a lot of preservatives and added sugars compared to buying your goodies at a store or cafe. You can cut back even more when you bake from scratch as opposed to pre-packaged mixes!

Surprise! :) I'm starting my blog series off on the topic of computer science.

I'm thankful for my mobile computing course.


It's nice to be in a class where my classmates don't rush out of the room as soon as we are dismissed or worse, pack-up and prepare to leave the room before the professor ends the class.

When I planned my initial Fall 2014 schedule back in April, I was so proud and happy that I had managed to avoid scheduling a class on Tuesday/Thursdays. However, when UT's add/drop session opened up and I saw that Elements of Mobile Computing was offered this semester, I knew it was an opportunity I could not pass up. I'm so happy that I registered for this class! In addition to gaining a broad overview of the mobile application development process, I've gained a much deeper appreciation of the people that surround me at UT. Taking courses in the Elements of Computing program has enabled me to meet great professors, such Dr. Dickerson and Dr. Downing, and meet great students across a wide variety of majors.

So that's it for day one, I'm thankful for my mobile computing course. (:

Jewel's Random TidBits - Regardless of what industry you plan to build your career in, programming skills will serve you well. If you have access to an opportunity similar to UT's Elements of Computing program, go for it!

So I had an idea this morning. There are ten days until Thanksgiving and I'm going to blog each day about something I'm thankful for. A list of ten doesn't even scratch the surface of the many blessings I have but I'm excited to share some with you! While the first three or four are immediately apparent, it's going to be a good exercise to think about the not-so-apparent blessings. I encourage you to join me!

Stay tuned!

Jewel's Random TidBits - It's cold in Texas and winter came so suddenly. I didn't even have time to prepare my winter closet (-_-). We get nervous when lows approach the 30s but I saw a weather screenshot this morning showing 10 degrees in Chicago. I'm definitely thankful for Texas' version of winter. (: