Day 22: Thanksgiving

The reason I'm focusing on being thankful.  The reason we registered for wedding china.  :-P The reason we get together as a family every year and gorge ourselves on a giant meal.  I love this holiday, and I am thankful for being given the opportunity to focus on the things I'm thankful for.  It's an extremely helpful exercise for me, and the refocusing has helped tremendously already.

Here are a few photos from the day:

All of us gathered around the table for our T-day Feast

Dad and Poppy in there respective napping positions...  :-P

Thank you mom, dad, Adam, David, and Audy for gathering with us and warming our home with your love.  Reezy and Grandma - we missed you, we love you, and we're glad you had each other for a lovely Thanksgiving at the Mannor!  

Day 21: My Parents

My parents got in tonight and I'm already having fun visiting with them!  They brought delicious wines with them (currently drinking a Castle Rock 2009 Columbia Valley Syrah) and I made Red Curry Chicken over Jasmine Brown Rice for dinner.  It's always nice to play hostess and have them over.  I'm glad I have a good relationship with my parents, and that I actually enjoy spending time with them!

Day 20: My Health

With my new job at Providence came a new choice in healthcare.  I'm now signed up for an HSA that I can contribute pre-tax money into, and Providence contributes incentive bonus money towards as well.  All of my routine exams are covered at 100% by Providence, and anything additional, and/or prescriptions I pay for from my HSA account.  The money in my HSA also rollsover from year to year and throughout my retirement.

I had the option to continue with a traditional healthcare plan, but an HSA was MUCH cheaper for me month by month because I don't have to contribute anything to it if I don't want to, and I think will be cheaper for me in the long run because I don't have any health problems that require me to see a doctor often enough to justify the monthly payment.  Which brings me to what I'm thankful for today - my health.  I hope that if I continue to take care of myself, I'll remain this healthy for a long time.  I know crazy stuff happens and I come down with an awful condition for no reason, but all the more reason to be thankful for my healthy state today.

Day 19: Video Chats

My friend Jeff is attending business school at Dartmouth, so he and his girlfriend Amber moved cross country.  Fortunately, this handy invention called video chatting exists and I get to "hang out" with them for a little "facetime" (depending on which video chatting method you subscribe to.)  It's definitely a step up from talking on the phone, and it makes me feel like they're not so terribly far away after all.  

Day 18: Lazy Sundays

Today wasn't ENTIRELY lazy.  Bryann went to play flag football.  We cleaned and re-organized the office and the spare bedroom a bit.  We took Sammy for a walk to the park and threw the ball around.  But I didn't change out of my pajamas all day...  :-P

 I'm thankful that we're in a position to enjoy a lazy day every now and then.  It's good for my soul.

Day 17: My Fans

Consonare performed it's opening Fall concert at First Congregational tonight, and several of my friends (and even one of Bryann's board game friends!) came to the concert.  I feel so loved when people come to my concerts, I'm so thankful for their support - and the support of others who've attended concerts in the past!

Day 16: Our House Location

I know I wrote about this last year, but I'm still thankful for our house.  I love our home.  It's perfect for us, and as fate would have it, it's in a perfect location for both of our jobs.  Neither of us could have foreseen that we'd both be working on the East side, and our current job location wasn't a purposeful choice.  But I'm just a 10 minute drive from Providence Milwaukie, Bryann is 20 minutes from Oregon City, and neither of us have to fight traffic to get to or from work.