I Am Thankful

Okay, this is going to be corny. It just is. So, if you're not in the mood to hear it just go to another blog now. I'm feeling mighty thankful today and I don't feel like hiding it!

Yesterday was my 35th birthday and it happened to fall on Thanksgiving. When people realized it was my birthday, and that I would be cooking for 11 people, I got a lot of "Oh, that sucks!" and "Dude... I can't believe you have to do all that work on your birthday!" Well, I have to say, spending my birthday cooking for my family, eating with them, laughing with them... It was the best day I could have asked for.

Russ and I got up around 9:00 and spent most of the day preparing food. He took breaks to watch the Lions game, and I took breaks to field birthday calls, but we worked hard. I love cooking with Russ. We make a pretty damn good team. At four o'clock, everyone showed up as we were putting turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, deviled eggs, white-trash crab salad, green bean casserole, biscuits, and gravy on the table. My sister-in-law brought the yams (amazing!) and my mom brought a family tradition we call carrot pudding. It was a pretty great meal, if I do say so myself.

By 8:00, we were all full and exhausted and, when everyone left, Russ and I sat back on the couch feeling pretty great.

Then! Then! We had friends come over around 10PM, after their Thanksgivings were over. It was impromptu and unexpected and wonderful. We picked at some leftovers and laughed a lot at our Thanksgiving stories. I even texted with another close friend who was already heading home and too tired to come by. Our friends left around midnight and Russ and I collapsed.

When I woke up this morning I was overwhelmed and overcome with emotion. I am so very fortunate. I have amazing people in my life. I can't even explain to you the amount of love I feel for my friends and my family. This morning I shared leftover recipes and Thanksgiving stories with another friend of mine. It seems silly, but it meant a lot to me.

I think we are all judged by our looks, our successes, our houses and cars... But when I think about the people I love and who love me back... I truly feel like the most blessed person alive. And I am thankful.

Sky Miles

A couple of days ago I got an email from Delta saying my Sky Miles were expiring in December. I have a lot of miles from traveling back and forth to Atlanta when I was on "Dinner and a Movie". I actually have enough for a free round trip to Europe, or two round trip tickets anywhere in the states. That's cool.

Anyway, my miles were going to expire unless there was some "activity in my account". Funny... That's always been a euphemism for sex in my house. "Hey honey, I'm totally in the mood for some activity in my account", or "I can't have any activity in my account. It's that time of the month."

So, I just spent an HOUR trying to figure out what to buy from one of Delta's retail partners just so I could hold on to those miles for another two years. I ended up getting a 12 ounce bag of Holiday Blend coffee and a travel mug from Java City. I figure we buy coffee all the time anyway, and I could always use an extra travel mug. With shipping and tax it ended up being 23 dollars. I guess that's worth it to fly for free!

I just thought it was funny that I had to shop to keep my points. Now that I see it written down, it's not that funny. Remind me not to bring this up at the next dinner party I'm invited to.