The 7th Annual Gratitude List

Let’s get ready to show gratituuuuuuude! Thanksgiving was (checks watch) 9 days ago, which puts us right on schedule for a perfectly timed gratitude post, based on the elaborate set of rules we agreed upon last year.

Doing an annual gratitude list is a little like that I’m Going On a Picnic game where you have to remember all the things everyone else said they were bringing to the picnic and the list gets increasingly long and the items on said list get more and more ridiculous. It’ll be no shock to anyone that I suck at that game. So in the spirit of being gentle on ourselves, I’m not gonna play it. I’ll try to come up with fresh things I’m grateful for and my dedicated readers (bless you, Lindsay) may notice some overlaps. And as tradition dictates, we’ll pretend I posted this in a timely manner. Doubling down on self-gentleness, aw yeah.

Here are a bunch of (maybe) new things I’m feeling all the thanky feels for:

Our family photographer – Okay, she’s not the Pete Souza to my Obama, but Jennifer Waddell does take our family photos every year and when I saw she’s patient, I mean she’s like Michael Bluth putting up with the rest of the Bluth family. My kids are never as moody/emotional as they are at our annual photoshoot, when one comment by me can send them into an emotional tailspin worthy of a real housewife reunion. The dogs are alternately panting out of anxiety or slowly falling out of our arms as we try to fake smile for extended periods of time, and each family member alternates when they decide it’s a great time to make a derp face. But somehow, every year, Jennifer manages to get a photo where we all look passably good.

Vitabath bath and shower gelée – despite my friend Jessi’s hilarious essay about hating baths which I think of every time I make the world’s saddest soup of myself, I love baths. My mom used to use this, specifically the “spring green” one, when I was a kid. It smells so good and reminds me of her and childhood and I love it. Also, I’m sure you noticed, it’s a gelée, so, well, bonus points for the dope name. Plebes use bubble bath; classy ladies use gelée. Classy high five, Mom!

Cheese. – Have I discovered a new cheese since last year’s list? No, but I may have eaten so much Vermont Cremont that I have to pump the brakes some. We had some underecognized Comté cheese on our charcuterie board on Thanksgiving and it is 100% gratitude worthy. It’s the gelée of cheeses.

My run coaches – yup, I’m so hardcore I have two. Just kidding, I’m just lucky enough to have discovered this program taught by my longtime bootcamp instructor and friend, Diane, who brought in my other longtime friend Barb, to help coach a couple years ago. So, now I have the benefit of sounding like a professional runner and having two completely awesome friends who help guide my running, i.e. tell me how much to run when, which is a must-have for someone who will do the bare minimum sans guidance.

Audiobooks – I’m mildly addicted to audiobooks. I read good books and listen to trash romance books. Sometimes I listen to highbrow romance like Emily Henry and sometimes I listen to trashier romance like a series I just finished about Hades and Persephone, which combines my two loves of Greek mythology and romance novels. Some good, “real” books I’ve read recently and recommend are Chain-Gang All-Stars, Hello Beautiful, and Pachinko.

Wegman’s value bouquet – remember my #1 cleaning rule? Well, if you don’t, it’s to buy yourself flowers, and Wegman’s has a “value bouquet” which is $8.99 and lasts about a week if I remember to refill the water*, so that’s a pretty good deal.

*I don’t, but it’s still a pretty good deal.

Tony’s Chocolonely milk caramel sea salt chocolate – I imagine this is what Willy Wonka’s chocolate tastes like. It’s as if a magic chocolatier figured out a new way to make chocolate taste better. Life-changingly good. Also, they’re 100% exploitation free, so your only guilt about eating it non-stop will be the binge eating and since there are worse vices like meth or undercutting poor farmers to get your dirty Big Chocolate chocolate, let us have this.

Puzzles – My love for puzzles is approximately equal to Matty’s hatred of my puzzle table, which I leave propped up as an eye sore in our living room. This love/hate is so powerful, that I swear he almost cried tears of joy when I recently packed up my puzzle table because I knew I’d be out of town most of the month. It was the equivalent of Matty telling me he’d had a cheese cave installed in our home for me. (Matty, if you’re reading this, great gift idea!)

Riz and Patrick and Dee – who send me cute and/or funny* Instagram posts (*mostly, Dee is on notice sometimes) on the regular.

Taylor and Travis’s romance – I don’t care what the haters (cough, cough, Matty) say, I think their love story is re-al.

Aftershokz bone conduction headphones – I forgive your embarrassing spelling, Aftershokz, because you allow me to listen to Britney Spears, The Woman In Me while I ignore my family.

My family’s wonton recipe (and the fried wontons we make with the leftovers) – BETTER THAN NACHOS.

Camp chairs – we go to a LOT of soccer and baseball games (and hockey, but it’s irrelevant here) and these chairs are a godsend. Added bonus: one time I did the @prideofgypsies one-handed chair unfold and I’ve never felt cooler.

Lasagna – we only had five people for Thanksgiving and we don’t like turkey that much, especially white meat turkey. And with just five people, that’s a lot of leftover white meat turkey to deal with. But leftover lasagna? I’ll eat that any/every day. Also, side note, I invented a new pasta, which is taking cooked lasagna noodles and shredding them vertically.

Hazel’s passion for organization – Want a more aesthetic spice drawer/closet/bathroom/side closet? My girl’s your girl. She will make you a plan, gleefully shop at HomeGoods or other TJX affiliates with you for organizers, and best of all, do the actual work for you. She’s like my very own influencer but without the annoying up speak.

George’s easily-won admiration – Recently, I split an english muffin in half for him and he said in awe, “Why are you so good at everything?” Just as there’s no harsher burn then the ones your kids give you, there’s no ego boost like your own children.

The Bruins – I was late in life discovering hockey. My parents used to watch the Bruins, and besides the power play music and the fun announcers, I don’t remember much. I was probably organizing my sticker collection or reading Piers Anthony books instead of paying attention. But now that I actually understand hockey since both kids play, and I can get mad about bullshit interference/hooking calls, I enjoy it much more. It’s the best sport because it’s got the fast-paced action of soccer or basketball, plus frequent fisticuffs, plus the added skill required to do it all on skates. Also, NHL players are my boy bands, and I get crushes on them like a teenage girl. Still heartbroken that Tyler Bertuzzi and his adorable tooth gap got traded to the Maple Leafs. Oh Canada indeed.

Biscoff cookies – I’ve been flying more lately for work and I’m constantly floored by the chasmic gap between the savory and sweet snack options. Pretzels are pretty much the worst possible savory snack and Biscoff are a top tier cookie. If we were to pick a savory snack equivalent to Biscoff, it would probably be Vickie’s Sea Salt & Vinegar chips or Sun Chips, but I have to remember, this is a gratitude post, not a Festivus post, so let’s just say Biscoff, 10/10. One time I saw someone had left their (sealed) Biscoff cookies on their airplane seat, and I TOOK THEM AND PUT THEM IN MY BAG. That’s how good they are.

Naps – god I love naps. I’m both an awesome and terrible napper in that I can fall asleep anywhere, anytime, but post-nap, I’m a horrible monster who just wants to sleep forever. Just because I’m *good* at naps, doesn’t mean I look good napping, which my family likes to prove by taking deeply unflattering photos of me while I nap. Remind me of this at Festivus.

People who subscribe to and/or comment on my blog – I love you, always forever.