Giving Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving!

With Thanksgiving tomorrow, naturally I've been reflecting on what I'm thankful for and how lucky of a girl I really I am. And since you all know how much I LOVE to make lists...I thought I'd make a list of the top 10 things I'm grateful for. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

1. Family - I hear so many people complain of "having" to spend the holidays with family. Driving or flying from this place to that and eating more than one Thanksgiving turkey (the outrage!) but I look forward to these busy (sometimes hectic) days. To see my siblings, parents, cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents is a special experience that I treasure deeply. I live pretty far away from my East Coast fam and don't get to see my Wyoming kin too often either so whether I'm looking over the Rocky Mountains with my dad, sis and brother or toasting wine with my cousins in Jersey, every time I get to spend with my family is truly, truly special. Also, I couldn't ask for a better person to share my life, adventures and future with than the spouse :)

2. My Friends - My friends are the most hilarious, entertaining, talented and caring people I've ever met! I am so very lucky to be surrounded by a group of people that I've known since high school, befriended in college and met in recent years.

3. Pugs - Specifically, Barley. Need I say more than show you this photo? How could you not be thankful for this sweet animal (er...plant)!??

4. Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers - I absolutely adore RCPM (especially Jim....guitar players...get me every time). Catching every concert possible on the Front Range, I attempt to meet the band every time and surprisingly they've started to remember me! (Uh, oh....here comes that crazy girl Steve Larson* warned us about). I LOVE them and if you don't know them, GO HERE to give a listen. You're Welcome.

*steve larson is their ex-guitarist

5. The FC - Rated as Money magazine's 6th Best Town to Live in, helping earn the Front Range the "Napa Valley of Beers" status, a ten minute drive to the Rocky Mountains, and a plethora of local restaurants.....it just doesn't get better than Fort Collins. I'm so grateful to live in this town. In what other town could you take your dog for a run....to a microbrewery!? (The FC is also rated in the Top 10 Active Towns to live in, has been high-ranked on the Most Pet-Friendly cities in recent years AND....AND we're the home of Odell & New Belgium Breweries).

6. Christmas - From November 1 to December 25th, I'll be the jolliest a**hole this side of the nuthouse :)

7. My Health - Recently, I've become much more appreciative of my health, something I've taken for granted in the past. As 30 quickly approaches and I start to snap, crackle and pop with every limb movement, I'm reminded to be thankful for a body that allows me to push myself to pretty extreme physical limits, learn to golf with my spouse and lets me dance, dance, dance to Ke$ha (alone, when no one is watching).

8. My Job - In these tough economic times, everyone should be thankful if they are employed! I can say I'm truly thankful for my job!! They send me awesome places like Vegas, Boston and other great locations and I get to meet and work with a lot of great people! Also, without my job I couldn't have the home I live in, enjoy all the great food I am lucky enough to get to eat (and pad myself with) and all the other things I enjoy and am so very, very thankful for.

9. Food, Coffee & Red Wine. I LOVE to eat! Who doesn't right? Between the Food Network, my spouse's culinary wizardry, the Kilted Pig, my own kitchen adventures and all of the amazing restaurants I get to go to....my world is literally controlled by what, when and where I get to eat. Add a cup of joe in the morning and good glass of red wine in the evening and that pretty much sums up what I think about all day (good thing I've got #7 to work it all off).

10. YOU!!! Blog readers, I appreciate you visiting my page, reading my sometimes incoherent ramblings and supporting me with your comments and continued visits.

Thank you & Happy Thanksgiving!!!