I just realized that I let my 48th birthday pass without my new tradition of listing the things I’m grateful for. So almost a month late, but here it goes.

1. Whopper burgers
2. The fact that I actually enjoy running on the treadmill now
3. Drew Barrymore
4. Holiday music
5. Snow
6. Mediterranean food, but mostly falafel
7. My green crossover bag that we named Bellybag
8. Blankies
9. Anti-anxiety medication
10. My black old navy sweatpants
11. Cheesecake
12. GAP socks
13. The Beastie Boys
14. Pizza delivery on a Friday night after a long day and an even longer drive home
15. Seat warmers
16. Audio books
17. Christmas lights
18. “The Middle” by Jimmy Eat World
19. My new pillow that’s the perfectly equal amounts of flatness & support
20. Breathing in cold, crisp, fresh air after being in a stuffy building for too long
21. Finding the perfect BECSPK in Charlotte. Comparable to the ones I’d get at Lane’s deli on Long Island back in the day. You Long Island food snobs will say no way, but that’s why I posted a pic* And the reason I have pictures is because I was sending them to PJ to brag and make him jealous. He was.
22. Being gifted my parents’ nativity set
23. Laughter
24. People who make me laugh
25. Arizona green tea with honey
26. My phone
27. The free New York Times games that go along with Wordle. Connections in particular
28. Now that I let my hair air-dry all the time, I have actual curls 😍
29. The crazy dreams I have most nights
30. Headphones
31. Great memories
32. Little baskets of candy around the office that I scavenge like a sneaky mouse when I get a chocolate craving
33. The Howard Stern Show and other people who “get it”
34. Helpful people
35. Thoughtful people
36. Snail mail that’s not bills or advertisements
37. Seeing a package on my doorstep
38. Strawberry cream cheese from the bagel store
39. Cold days
40. Cozy houses
41. My newfound carpentry skills
42. Automatic can openers
43. Oxyclean powder – that stuff is straight magic for getting out stains
44. My Dyson vacuum. This one sounds so snobby because people love to brag about having a Dyson (sad & dumb, but true) but it really is the best vacuum out there. It’s expensive – I paid like $500 for the first one, but that thing lasted about 15 years. I’d probably still have it if I washed the filters on a regular basis but I didn’t. We got a Shark after it died and it did not compare AT ALL. PJ said I ruined it by vacuuming up all my construction debris but he doesn’t know anything because I’m pretty much the only one who vacuums in this house. We got another Dyson and I’m in nerdy cleaning Heaven once again.
45. Random hugs from my boys
46. Mad Men
47. The Sopranos
48. The show Succession. Holy crap it’s good. And only 4 seasons so there’s no chance of jumping the shark. I wouldn’t mind a Roman Roy spin-off though.

Here’s to another great year ♥️