HeartBoner: 2009

Bean, for her baking skills, wardrobe sharing skills, extremely dry sense of humor, for her fresh and simple outlook on life, for picking up the phone at any hour and making me feel sane, her great facial expressions, for always watching The H---- with me, and for her willingness to play chess at any moment.

Liz, for always being the funniest person I've ever known, for always letting me play with her hair because she knows I'm jealous, for all the clinique samples she used to give me, for teaching me how make-up is done, for telling me straight, for being there when I had to cry, for her black girl side, and for her very sound advice.

Mom, for working in the kitchen all day to prepare a beautiful feast for all of us, for always being a total goof-ball, her serious dance moves, for her big brown eyes, for her kind heart, for saying my name like I'm a treasure, for laughing when I cross the line.

Dad, for teaching us what true love is, showing us, by example, how a gentleman should treat a lady, working to always put a cozy roof over our heads and delicious food in our bellies, for his quotable quotes, for taking me to countless Yankees games growing up, for all the daddy-daughter dates, for making me feel like a beautiful and intelligent person.

Dave, Colleen, Austyn, Kody, for holdin' it down in OR, for visiting us, for your relaxed West Coast humor, for your calm sensitivity, for being there for each other and us.

Nina, Alessandra and Lael, for being the best dance partners ever, noticing and complimenting my new buys : ), for helping me through the hardest year of my life, the special cards, gifts and muffins they decorated my desk with on my birthday, for listening to me when I needed to talk it out.

Corey, for loving me unconditionally, for playing with my hair, for always looking deep into my eyes and making me feel weak in the knees, for listening and understanding, for his sense of humor which has made me cry tears of joy many times, for all the dinners, little gifts, kind words and sweet gestures, for taking me to beautiful places, for his cozy room which has become our nest, for his collection of Legos, for being such a bright light in my life, and for Snooks Eaglin.

Grandma, for being the coolest woman around, for her fabulous fashion sense, for her warm home where we have gathered on so many occasions.

My Aunts, Uncles and cousins, for making me feel self- confident in all that I do, for all the fun parties and holidays, for their love.

I am also thankful for all the fun little treasures I've collected throughout the years, the fire place which is crackling right now, my ever-growing collection of boots, all my wonderful childhood memories, 28 years of good health, hands that are nimble, an imagination that has carried me through a very colorful life, my taste buds, Sunday nights, cute feet, dark hair, a beating heart, Dad's pointless facts, the millions of questions that will never be answered about outer space, the cloud couch, my camera, music that has moved me, books that have challenged me, writers, painters and musicians that have inspired me, strangers that smile, good ol' reliable (my car), God, ever changing clouds, purple and orange sunsets, fat little chirping birds, kind people, new friends, colorful paints, new paint brushes, having money for bills, sushi and Christmas presents, Jack and his adorable face, for all the times he cuddled with me when I felt lonely, for being able to maintain Christmas spirit amidst all the commercialism, the smell and sound of the beach, and so so so so much more.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! (the three people that look at my blog) I love you with all my heart!