I’ve been thankful lately.  Thankful for my home.  Thankful for my family.  Thankful for all the “things” I’ve been blessed with.  Thankful for the knowledge that while I may appreciate those “things,” I would still have a happy and blessed life without them.  Thankful for our health.  Thankful for the weather.  Thankful.

I’ve decided to start a weekly post of the things I’m thankful for, as well as a few things I’m not-so-much thankful for.  Enjoy…

*TRADER JOE’S. I went public with my love affair for TJ’s a long time ago, but I swear, every time I leave that place I have a smile on my face.  Between the fresh, inexpensive organic produce, the incredible bran muffins with only 5 (all healthy) ingredients and no preservatives (tres tasty,) the abundance of healthy prepared foods that I can whip up in a pinch, and the $5/bottle Shiraz that is so good it’s being raved about on wine blogs, I am in heaven there.  Top it off with tasty samples of food, chocolates, coffees, wines, and cheeses every day and a friendly, knowledgeable staff that greets me with a geniune smile and gives my kid a ginger or whole wheat cookie and a sticker “just because he’s cute and he deserves it,” and I’m a fan for life.  I walk away feeling like I’ve made healthy choices for my family, underpaid while doing so, and was treated like a queen.  Can I get an amen?!?

*APPLE.  The fruit and the store, both yes.  This weekend we had some good friends visit us from DC and of course we ended up at everyone’s favorite outdoor mall, Short Pump.  We quickly navigated to the Apple store, where we played with iPads and MacPro’s, while visions of QuadCores danced in Hub’s head.  I am a PC-to-Mac convert as of 2007, and I could NEVER go back.  The high quality and reliability of the products, the intuitive operating systems, the amazing support, and the cool, laid back staff is a huge hit with me.  I frequently hear people say “why would you pay almost twice as much for a Mac?”  All I can say is that I didn’t get it, until I owned one.  Think about how many converts there are like me, and then consider whether you’ve ever met anyone that was a mac user (owned and used one for at least a year) who switched to PC…I’ve never met a single one.  It’s like those old bumper stickers that said “It’s a jeep thing, you wouldn’t understand.”  It’s totally a Mac thing.

*THE COOL SIDE OF THE PILLOW.  Laugh all you want…but when you wake up at 3am tomorrow feeling just the tiniest bit warm under the covers, few things in life feel better than flipping your pillow over to get that nice, cool sensation on your neck.  Makes me want to take a nap just thinking about it..

*VERIZON NOT CARRYING THE IPHONE.  While we’re on the subject of Apple…I have to know, why can’t those kids and Verizon play nicely and get together?  I have been waiting for the past 2 years for Verizon (and Apple) to get on the ball and make this happen,, and it’s getting a little ridiculous.  I long for the iPhone.  Hubs has one for work, and how I love it so.  I have an iPod Touch, which is similar, only no phone, and I absolutely love that device.  I use it as a PDA,, but it vexes me to no end that I have to carry both that AND my stinking phone with me everywhere…why can’t they be one in the same?  Before you go sending me messages about whose fault it is that they won’t work together, or how great your Blackberry is (yours must be the only good one they made) or how you get fine coverage with your crappy AT&T, just know YOU CAN’T FOOL ME!  AT&T stinks, and so does the Blackberry.  If Steve Jobs and Mr. Verizon CEO are reading this (and I’m sure they are) let me share a little tip that maybe you’re missing…Quality Snobs are Quality Snobs.  Period.  I pay more for Apple products because I am a Quality Snob.  In that same regard, I spend more on my cell plan because once again, I’m a Quality Snob and Verizon is absolutely the most reliable carrier there is.  I refuse to own a fun, sexy little cell phone that only makes clear calls about 70% of the time.  Sorry, not good enough.  Now, Steve and Mr. V: I’ve heard the rumors, let’s get to work and make this happen!

*TWITTER.  Simply put, I feel like I’m about 90 when I get on Twitter.  I haven’t the foggiest clue what is taking place on that website.  All the @so-and-so’s and crazy lingo, not to mention the teenager-texting-abbreviations like using “4″ for “for” and “bcs” for “because”…seriously people!  Kudos to you, Twitter, for making me feel like the oldest and least-cool person alive.

I hope you all have a dandy weekend!  Hugs!

~Jewels