Everyone is thankful for friends and family and health and stuff like that. Here are some non-obvious things that I am thankful for because they make life easier or more comfortable or simply bring me enjoyment:

* Public Libraries
* Hanging file folders
* Online banking and bill paying
* Ziplock bags
* Down comforters
* Crossword puzzles
* Hand-me-down furniture
* My own washer and dryer
* Space heaters
* Disposable cleaning wipes (I know, but they're so convenient!)
* TiVo
* Safety pins
* Excel
* Chai with sugar and milk
* Fizzy water

It looks like New York is happening. On dates around December 6.

And that is as planned as the whole thing gets so far. I have no plane tickets. I have no place to stay. I have no plans of things to do. But I'm going and I'll be watching a show Dec. 6. (That is assuming there is still a show since there were strike things happening with stagehands last I checked. The show I won tickets to is still going. As of now. I'm not sure why they aren't included in the strike, so I have no idea how stable that condition is.)

So, suggestions? What should I do? What must I see? Where must I go? If they could be semi-budget conscious suggestions, that would be best.

When I was younger, I used to split a Carl's Jr. fried zucchini with my mom and consume lots of diet coke for an after school snack on Fridays. Right after that I went straight to gymnastics and worked out for 4.5 hours. No problemo.

Nowadays I carefully time my pre-workout snacks. I eat something light 2.5 - 3 hours before I head to the gym. Any earlier and I'm hungry. Any later and whatever I eat sits in my stomach making me uncomfortable.

Saddest of all? In my youth that 4.5 hour workout included fancy skills including flips and twists and everything. Now my workout is 1.5 hours and includes cartwheels. Maybe a few handsprings on the tumble track (like a trampoline).

I'm not sure I'm 100% behind this whole "getting older" thing. It beats the alternative, but there is room for improvement.

Topic for today: TV shows, part the second

Gossip Girl - I will admit that I both watched and enjoyed The O.C. Probably because I was invested in several of the characters. That has not happened so far in watching Gossip Girl. Not that I dislike all the characters, but even the "likable" ones haven't drawn me in much yet. I'll give it time, but this is another one that I allow to languish a bit on the TiVo before I watch it. Maybe I'm simply not their target audience. 5 out of 10.

Private Practice - The Grey's spin off. Where Addison turns from a strong, smart, sure-of-herself surgeon to a whiny, relationship-obsessed shadow of her former self. I'm not the first to say it. I actually like the show, but not as much as earlier seasons of Grey's. And Addison, who was one of my favorite people before, is not so much my favorite on this show. 7 out of 10.

Life - I enjoy the ongoing story (who set up Crewes to go to jail in the first place) and so far even the case-of-the-weeks have been decent. I've read of people trying to say Crewes is like House which is not something I see. Sometimes quirky, sure. Occasionally a little vague. But not rude or egocentric and all that. 6.5 out of 10.

Big Shots - I'm pretty sure this is now permanently off the air. Oh was it bad. Mysoginistic. So... it's perfectly fine for one of the male leads to cheat on his wife, but when a different wife cheats on her husband - the horrors! The "look at how girly we're being" jokes. A couple of the characters/storylines (Duncan/Lisbeth/Cameron/Terrence) were drawing me in towards the end. But I don't think the show could have been saved. Which pains me as it was a weekly dose of Michael Vartan on my TV screen. 2 out of 10.

Women's Murder Club - I like this show more than I expected to. It is yet another crime-solving show. And there are a lot of those. This one is not too terribly different from the others but I like the characters and it's an easy, fun, lightweight show. And I have a soft spot for Rob Estes from way back in his Silk Stocking days (which I used to sneak up to watch as it was on past my bedtime). 6.5 out of 10.

Topic for today: TV shows, part the first

I watch a lot of TV now. Lots. I added quite a few of the new ones to my TiVo line up. What with the strike many won't survive. But as of now anyway...

Bionic Woman - I am not normally into sci-fi, but I love Heroes, so I thought I'd try this out. It is kind of blah for me - not great, not terrible. I'll keep watching it because it's conveniently recorded. But if it disappears, I will be ok with that. 4 out of 10.

Chuck - I like this one! And not just because Chuck attended my alma mater. Though that doesn't hurt... I like the characters (except Morgan who is annoying, not even humorous, just flat out annoying). It's fun. Light. The episode quality has been variable, but I would definitely like this one to stick around a bit. 8 out of 10.

Journeyman - I have liked time travel shows in the past (so maybe I like *some* sci-fi) Voyagers, Quantum Leap, etc. all held my interest. There are some interesting differences from those previous shows - the main character keeps jumping back to his "home" time period and his abilities cause some interesting problems in his family and work life. This is well done for the most part, but not must-see-TV. 6 out of 10.

Aliens in America - It's on the TiVo because Luke (from GG) is on it. And it is still there because I have been too lazy to remove it. It is occasionally funny. The general plot is: American teen and Muslim exchange student are facing a situation or an issue, American teen wants to deal in one way, exchange student wants to deal a different way, American teen does it his way, messes up, apologizes to the exchange student because his way was best all along. I think I just don't like sit coms any more. I used to. In high school. Not so much now. (Although Samantha Who? is good, but I can't watch now because there is a time conflict and I was watching the episodes online and now I refuse to do so while the WGA strike is going on.) 3 out of 10.

Pushing Daisies - I like the stylized look of the show. I like most of the characters. The narration occasionally bugs. Kristin Chenowith singing is great! The pacing, however, is crazy-making. Too slow. I only watch this when I've cleared other shows off the playlist. 5 out of 10.

That is it for this part. More tomorrow.

Let it be noted that I, officially, suck at this "every day" thing.

So now my goal is "much more often than normal and approaching 'every day' asymptotically."

The post I would have written Saturday, had I been near a computer:

I love this group of women. We see each other all together once a year for this retreat weekend. Some of them I see *only* on this one weekend (some have moved out of the area since we started our annual get-away). But I feel right at home with all of them. We come, we share where we are with no holds barred, and this group - they listen. They just listen and hug and commiserate and congratulate and most of all, they care.

(Here my writing veered off into stuff I won't be sharing publically since it involved things told in confidence. That is another aspect that I love about this group - we don't gossip.)