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Don't ask about the title of this particular entry because it has nothing to do with what I am going to write about. It's weird because that title suddenly popped into my head as I was about to start blogging, and of course I had to use it. Don't ask me why. It's probably from the mix of cranberry compote and burned cheesecake residue that I've inhaled tonight. I did some cooking this evening in preparation for tomorrow's thanksgiving dinner. It will just be one of my roommates and I tomorrow evening, but afterwards we will be joining other friends for desert and games. Hence the cheesecake. Well, kind of burnt chocolate chip cheesecake but only a little bit on the sides. The burnt aroma was due to the drips from the cheescake onto the bottom of the oven. Now I know it sounds pretty sad that it will just be my roommate and I for thanksgiving dinner. But this is with good reason. I mean, it's not like there was a lack of invites for Thanksgiving dinner. Seeing that my roommate, let's call her Irish Girl, and I are both aliens in a foreign country (me being from Canada and she, hailing from Northern Ireland), our families are obviously thousands of miles away from us and so clearly there have been quite a few invites. But here's the thing. Thanksgiving dinner has got to be one of our most favorite meals ever and I absolutely enjoy preparing the meal. So tomorrow we plan to spend a better part of the morning/early afternoon cooking and in between the meal preparations, I will most likely be working on the quilt that I plan to give my mom for Christmas (yeah, it'll be my granny moment for the day). A friend from Delaware will be dropping by in the early afternoon and like I shared earlier, in the evening it's game night and desert at my other Northern Irish friends' place. It's interesting because I, as a Canadian citizen obviously living in the USA, will be celebrating this American Holiday amongst other foreign nationals. How ironic is that? I missed Canadian thanksgiving this past October (like I've missed it over the last 5 years) and so I aim to make up for it with tomorrow's holiday. :)

Although I am thankful on a daily basis for what God has blessed me with, in lieu of Thanksgiving, allow me to reflect upon those that I am thankful for.

I am thankful for God's unfailing love and forgiving spirit. Even though I act like a bumbling idiot and can be an embarrassment to Him, I am in perpetual awe of God's consistent and abiding love.

I am thankful for my parents. They have got to be one of my biggest cheerleaders. I don't know where I would be without their love and support.

I am thankful for my brother. *GASP* Did I actually just say that out loud? Even though there are times when he can grate on my last nerve with his chauvinistic tendencies, he is still a great brother.

I am thankful for all the opportunities and doors that God has opened up to me, thus allowing me to have a myriad of enriching experiences.

I am thankful for laughter......"God has brought me laughter, and anyone who hears about this will laugh with me." Gen. 21:6

I am thankful for my best Czech friend, who has seen me through the best of times and the worst of times over the last 12 years.

I am thankful for my roommates of five years. Whom I first saw as strangers and now regard as sisters.

I am thankful for the short drive/train ride out to NYC, where I can hop on the subway to the East Side, satiate myself with frozen hot chocolate at Serendipity3 and then go running at Central Park to burn off all the calories from the frozen hot chocolate I ingested. :-D

I am thankful for the trials and tribulations, and for the hurts and fears, because they have all made me a better person, strengthening my faith in the One who carried me through it all.

I am thankful for this job that God has placed me in. Even with its ups and downs, I believe that God is preparing me for an even higher calling.

And lastly, I am thankful for life, for this trajectory that God is guiding me through and for choosing me to be His.

Happy Thanksgiving to all and may your hearts be filled gratitude during this holiday season with the many blessings and lessons brought before you in this past year.

God Bless you all!