Feeling Appreciative For...

- Family and cousins
- Crickets
- Wide parking spaces so I don't cringe every time the kids open a door
- NPR
- Ice
- Drive-thrus
- Target
- Michael's (except for the gaggy cinnamon spice smell)
- $1 = $1
- Cashiers who understand the concept of swiping a credit card and strike up conversation
- No parking in the street, imagine that, hunh
- Strangers who smile at you and talk to you for no reason - Americans really do smile a lot
- Roomy & decently priced hotel rooms that have free internet and a pool
- Neighbors who spontaneously gather in the front yard to chat and joke
- Being recognized by a grade school/high school friend that I haven't seen in YEARS
- Restaurants that are open when you are hungry and serve you in minutes
- Root beer
- The unspoken notion of walking on the same side of the aisle/sidewalk as everyone else going in your same direction. I really like this one because I hate fighting the swarm of people coming at me.
- All new Myth Busters
- Old friends, young and old, who fall right into step

I could probably write a blog on each of these but I won't. To paraphrase Kookie in 77 Sunset Strip, America, you're the ginchiest.

We are feeling jet-lagged today, so we took it easy. We had dinner with the family and had some good cousin time. I am looking forward to seeing the gals for the next two nights, playing tourist with the kids in Baltimore, celebrating a cousin's birthday and doing some major shopping with my Mom and the kids.