I am thankful for...

...BYU 33-Utah 31. What a game! What a last-second thrill! What a win! Wahoo!!!

...all the people linked at the left (and others) who occasionally drop in to read my musings and often add their two cents. I appreciate that your blogs can make me both laugh and cry. I am sobered, amused, entertained, educated and enlightened by reading your posts. Thank you!

...new friends--and the looks I get when I tell people I'm going to go hang out with a bunch of people I met on the Internet.

...lianne for discovering my inner purple. And for creating a fresh new look that addresses another favorite obsession of mine.

...a husband who taught me to notice and appreciate the simple things, who is an involved father and who treats me as an equal and lets me be who I am even if it's not exactly what he expected.

...kids who don't try to pretend I'm not their mom or hide and pretend they're not actually with me when we go out in public.

...hugs.

...that I overcame a number of my biggest fears and flew to Finland this fall for the trip of a lifetime.

...a roof over my head--even if the part over the garage leaks a bit.

...good food to eat. An abundance I often take for granted, but do realize is not similarly enjoyed by a good part of the world's population.

...warm clothes in the winter. Central air and a good furnace. Shoes on my feet. Quilts throughout the house. All the comforts of home. Even if it is a bit lived in.

...a good job working with good people. They make it worth it to show up for another day's labor.

...bek, whom I want to be just like whenever I grow up because she inspired me to become a kinder, gentler blogger with this (sorry Ashton).

...great neighbors, most excellent friends, amazing sister-friends.

...the arts of reading a well-written book or engaging a well-turned phrase.

...the presence and beauty of the mountains.

...a sense of belonging and of connectedness to family and to friends--whom I consider family.

...that I am capable of making a passably delicious Thanksgiving dinner. Thanks, of course, to recipes handed down by family and friends.

...all those summers of my youth during which an entire week was devoted to baking pies for the annual Scandinavian Festival. I used to think I didn't have any talents, but now I think if it were written on my tombstone, "She baked a mighty fine pie," I could possibly rest in peace under that.

...each new day that allows me another chance to grow up a little bit, at least try to be a better person, and hope for a simple opportunity to brighten someone's day or make the world a little better place.

...a national holiday that reminds us to be mindful of blessings we should be thankful for year 'round.

...the simple way having a heart full of gratitude serves a dual purpose of both wrapping up the fall harvest and ushering in the Christmas season.

Of course there's much, much more, but I need to go start the pies.

So what's on your list?