Thanks, November

I've been a lazy blogger this month, so to make up for it, here's an extra special edition of my monthly thanks, with 30 reasons I'm thankful this month.

Thanks, November...

1. For soup and chili weather
2. For beautiful fall weddings (2 this month!)
3. For the flaming autumn trees, lighting up my commute with gorgeous, fiery hues.
4. For a loving church family.
5. For a loving blood family.
6. For the loving family I married into.
7. For kittens on Thanksgiving Day
8. For that last, rich drop of concentrated chocolate syrup at the bottom of a salted caramel mocha.
9. For fleece-lined tights
10. For 9 lbs and several inches lost with 21-day fix
11. For newly strengthened muscles
12. For coffee with fresh, homemade whipped cream
13. For leftover pie for breakfast
14. For wonderful, thanks-enhancing reading material -- especially, this year, for One-thousand gifts reminding me of the power of Eucharisteo
15. For the blog of awesome things
16. For Taylor Swift, singing me through the traffic all month long
17. For cozy plaid flannel
18. For oversized scarves and sweaters
19. For all the amazing female musicians I got to see at DBU's music business showcase this month. (Not that the men weren't also good, it's just that there was a much larger percentage of women at this thing playing a much broader range of instruments than I usually see in the live music world.) I was proud -- way to represent, ladies!
20. A husband who makes eggnog lattes and brings them to me in bed. (No, this is not a fantasy wish-list; this really happened :))
21. For the film Babette's Feast, which I finally watched this month. For its beautiful reflections on the healing power of art and food and community; for its affirmation of stunning grace in the midst of the mundane
22. For leaves falling all around me, streaking through sunlight, landing in my hair
23. For green bean casserole, turkey, dressing, gravy, and holiday goodies of all sorts
24. For cats purring on my stomach
25. For the internet, which contains secrets to much happiness, like this recipe for cranberry bliss bars that I used this Thanksgiving
26. For delicious, filtered water, on demand
27. For the plant that I transplanted to a new pot and moved indoors on the night before the temperatures dropped. I thought it was dead, but after I transplanted it, new bright green shoots began sprouting up almost the next day.
28. For a fresh haul from the bookstore
29. For crossing items off the to-do lit
30. For the start of Advent.