Thanks For Everything (Nov 22)

• Thanksgiving was a great day (again) this year :) I stayed at Mom's on Thanksgiving Eve, so I woke up (albeit an hour late) to watch the parade. Collin, Ben, Erin and I made awesome hand turkeys from Mom's scrapbooking paper/supplies. We had yummy cinnamon sugar frosted scones, plus coffee and eggs for breakfast. And we finished up by semi-watching the dog show. OH and we sneaked outside as much as possible to enjoy the SIXTY degree weather! After all that, Collin, Erin, Ben and I headed to Dad and Barbara's. They were still in the midst of some very yummy-smelling cooking when we arrived, so we snacked on cheese, crackers and fruit and toasted being together :) Then we taught Erin and Michael to play Fluxx (their response? "This is an...interesting game.") and convinced Ben to play a few rounds of Peanuts with us, while watching some football games (I wasn't allowed to watch the parade replay :( ). Around 6:00, dinner was ready! There were SO many lovely dishes! (Barbara said she felt bad, when she saw all of our food and thought about the people who had so little.) Let's see, we had turkey, corned beef, tofurkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, macaroni and cheese, a cold rice salad, rolls, stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, asparagus and several kinds of wine. Whew! It was all fantastic and we slowly made our way through everything - and then seconds. After we finished eating, the kids were responsible for clean-up. We did pretty well! Collin and Ben cleared off the dishes, I filled the dishwasher and then Alex and I took turns handwashing the big stuff while Erin cleaned the stove/counters/etc. We kept ourselves out of a turkey stupor with coffee and a cleaning version of "Be A Man". It was awesome :) And when we finished, it didn't look like anyone had cooked! (Unless you looked in the fridge, and saw all the leftovers.) After that, we all squeezed into the living room to finish the Thanksgiving episodes of Friends we'd been watching ("The One Where Ross Got High", "The One With All The Thanksgivings" and "The One With The Football") - and after a while, we took a break for pumpkin, key lime and oatmeal-chocolate-chip pies. We started "Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version)" together but everyone had to leave partway through - it's okay though...I finished it after everyone had left/gone to bed :D Like I said, it was a great day :)
• In addition to listing my awesome day, I also wanted to make a list of what I'm thankful for:
• My job at Towsley - there are a lot of people who don't have jobs as good as mine, but there are also a lot of teachers there that drive a LOT farther than me and have to make a lot more sacrifices to work there.
• My job with WAY - I'm really getting to know my Researchers and a couple of them truly amaze me with their positivity, resilience and determination.
• My job at Farmington - as always, even through the tough and frustrating times.
• My kitty.
• Food :)
• Peace, however temporary, in Israel. And for the Egyptian president - as long as he pulls his act together.
• The ability/opportunity to vote.
• Being a Methodist.
• The privilege to watch movies, get on Facebook, write my blog, etc. with the internet/TV.
• Friends around the state (especially) who love me and are willing to shelter and feed me.
• The ability I have (and have honed) to accept the hospitality of my friends and family.
• My family - and the time I've been able to spend with them lately, especially Erin.
• Most of all, my friends. I'm so lucky to have so many amazing people surrounding me, whether in MI or around the world. And I would be nothing without my BFFs, roommates and camp people. They are my family and I love them quite as much :)