101 Things For Which I Am Thankful

…you can never end a sentence with a preposition…

Anyway, yesterday’s post about #Tweetsgiving got me thinking about what else I am celebrating this week.  I decided to make a list of 101 things I will think about as I chomp on turkey and stuffing this time tomorrow.  As it turns out, making this list wasn’t as difficult as I thought:

My family, my friends, my job + coworkers, my health, my incredible education, freedom, our military and all they do to keep us safe- past, present, and future, Loyola University Maryland (my alma mater), traveling, color, food, BCBG Max Azria, water, Corona, Adobe Creative Suite, digital cameras, digital everything, pencils, markers, crayons, Trader Joe’s, Wegman’s, Barnes and Noble, Twitter, Facebook, black & white, turkey, celebrations, learning, writing, fall, spring, the Jersey Shore, summertime, Europe, opportunities to do anything I want, my iPhone, Apple Inc., music of all kinds, the 35+ year long career of Bruce Springsteen, Fools & Horses, A Cool Stick, Baltimore, The Evergreen, Peppermint Mochas from Starbucks, Wawa, the color purple (the color, not the screenplay), watercolor paints, Germany/Italy/Poland (my heritages), history and everything it taught us, Christmas, Atlantic City, New Jersey, animals, acoustic guitars, pink pens, pictures, iPhoto, New York City, creativity, friendship, love, weddings, dresses, cooking, fitness, salad, pears, dried cranberries, sweet potatoes, steak, snowflakes, my Jeepie, gondolas, children, shopping (it’s my cardio), Pinkberry, electric guitars, rock ‘n roll, jazz, Broadway, weekends, Thanksgiving, my MacBook Pro, Paris (the city), fashion, trees and everything else found in nature, movies, porkroll, rain boots, piano, NFL, PHILADELPHIA EAGLES, the Rockettes, graphic design, blogs, compassion, advertising, my iPod, life

So, not as difficult as I thought.  FYI, the picture is of me and my 11 year old bro playing with iPhoto.  What a way to spend a Sunday evening :)

How long would it take you to make a list this long?  Would you be able to come up with at least 101 things for which you are thankful?  More than 101?

What are you Tweeting for #Tweetsgiving?

#Tweetsgiving has to be the coolest topic on Twitter I have seen to date.

With the celebration of Thanksgiving (the start of the kick-ass food season, as I like to call it…) mere days away, the trending topics of Thanksgiving and #Tweetsgiving show me just how grateful and gracious the Twitter world is- through Twibbons, Tweetups, and more.

#Tweetsgiving doesn’t start until 12 today, but it got me thinking about things for which I am thankful.  Of course, I can list the very obvious: my health, my job, my family + friends, my diploma, the long weekend, etc.  But what’s the fun in being obvious?

A beautiful tree in my town

So let’s try to dig a little deeper.  What else am I thankful for?  Trader Joe’s curry chicken salad and all of its goodies, the beautiful piano intro of “Backstreets” and all [good] music in general, the radiant colors of nature in the fall, social media and all of its daily entertainment [what would I do without status updates and trending topics?], my best friend’s bachelorette party in Atlantic City a few weekends away [hey, I need a get-away!] and her fiancé and her brother [both in our military, her brother stationed at Ft. Hood and her fiancé in Iraq] both serving our country, both safe and sound.  I am thankful for wonderful coworkers and all the food they bring into the office.  I am thankful for Macy’s and their Turkey Day Parade- the musical performances, the Rockettes, and the floats.  See which ones have been especially memorable over the past 80 years here.  If this doesn’t get you in the mood for Thanksgiving, I don’t know what will…

Mostly, I am thankful for the opportunity to have secured a job 4 months after graduating, in this economy, and actually be doing what I studied in college.  And all of this while working for a non-profit, using the compassion and commitment to social justice taught at Loyola.  Woohoo Jesuits.

Ok, so most of those were sappy and expected.  My bad.

In the wise words of Sally Brown, Charlie Brown’s blonde little sister, “Anyway, why should I give thanks on Thanksgiving? What have I got to be thankful for? All it does is make more work for us at school.”

While it does make for more work in school, it’s still something to think about.  In this time of economic turmoil (among other things), what are you thankful for this season?