doh je, merci beaucoup, grazie; thank you.

My Thanksgiving was spent at my mother’s house, with my sister, her lover, & my other 2 siblings/doggies, Sam & Selah. The drive there — nearly 2 hours away — was horrendous, thanks to the rain & unnecessary traffic. The whole time I was driving, I wanted to turn back; not just because of the terrible freeway conditions, but because holidays are not my most favorite thing in the world. (I am a regular Apricot Scrooge; I simply loathe holidays.) But, as soon as I arrived at my mom’s house, I felt calm, peaceful & comfortable. & so began my new admiration for holidays & family gatherings.

We laughed, we gossiped; we took lots of pictures & cracked jokes. We cooked & made a horrible mess in the kitchen. My mother always uses her good china for Thanksgiving, so we ate off of Italian plates, which was a wedding present from my grandmother. We ate far too much & sat around with our hands on our tummies, bulging but proud. We played Wii & found out that I am rather good at bowling, & Lover is rather good at boxing. We stayed up late (until about 2am) talking about everything under the sun & eventually fell asleep. For the first time in a while, I felt the serenity of being in my mother & sister’s presence, so strongly that it engulfed me with love & admiration for them both.

What I wore on Thanksgiving: shirt, from Ross; vest & drop crotch pants (!!!), from Target; scarf, from Cali; shoes, from DSW; tights from H&M.

For the first time, though, we didn’t do our tradition, which is to go around the table & say what we’re grateful for for the year of 2008. I feel sad that we forgot to do this (we were obviously having way too much fun) so I’d like to do it here.

I am so thankful for:

• my wonderful, devilishly handsome husband, who makes me smile like no one can.
• my beautiful mother & sister, who remind me of who I am & where I’ve been daily.
• the men in their lives that give them the highest hopes & reasons to keep smiling.
• my Sofie Aiko, who keeps me from feeling the need to have a baby.
• common sense & my budding discretion against irrational thinking.
• my bulging wardrobe; even more so, these amazing drop crotch pants that I’ve been DYING to have for months. Might I add that these pants were under $20 & the very last on Target’s rack. I am so lucky & in love with these pants.
• my husband’s hard work to keep me happy & content.
• music, nonsensical dreams, CSI: Las Vegas, & monkey bread.
• the rain.
• good health, good spirits, & good vegetarian food.
• every single comment I have gotten on this blog (even the not-so-nice ones), as well as every single reader. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.
• my marriage; it’s healthy, it’s strong, & it’s been a beautiful a year with him.