Lots to be grateful for

I'm sitting in my cozy living room next to a roaring fire--next to as in, as physically close as I can get without burning myself--listening to sentimental Christmas music, having enjoyed a liberating day off (photos of the grand hair chop coming soon), thinking of all that I am grateful for.

I'm grateful that I can end sentences with prepositions without feeling guilty. Breaking some rules is fun.

I'm thankful for the life that B and I have built. I can honestly say that I have the life I always wanted and worked toward--and it's better than I ever imagined. B is the yin to my yang, the woof to my meow, my perfect match. I love our home, and every day I count my luck that he willingly goes along with my crazy ideas, from redecorating our bathroom around a sink (a sink!) to satisfying nearly every travel whim to shopping as often as I want (trust me--it's often).

I'm grateful that we're both employed heading into difficult economic times and that we would be ok financially for a reasonable amount of time if we weren't. I'm thankful that I don't know how much value I've lost in my 401k and IRA accounts and that I have enough working years to make up for the loss. I'm proud that B and I created a budget that works for us and that we generally stick to it...most of the time.

I'm grateful for our excellent health. I'm thankful that we can buy fresh food and that starting next summer, all of our veggies and meat will be locally grown. I'm so glad that I now eat tomatoes--they are amazing. How did I live so long without them...

I'm grateful that we can travel as much as we do. We're creating memories and also sharing a little of ourselves with the people we meet. In spite of my lacking linguistic skills, I hope we're representing our country well. I'm thankful that memories of our trips are sprinkled throughout our home, from a Venetian mask to French prints on the wall to our Provencal bedspread. I hope we have many more trips in our future.

I'm grateful for the people closest to us--family, friends, and coworkers--people to celebrate with, laugh with, and enjoy life with. Life is better when you spend it with people that you love.

Sorry, but sentimentality got the better of me. Happy holidays, and I hope that you have lots to be grateful for.