Family.  Check.

Friends.  Check.

Ditto for the good health of the aforementioned and ourselves, of course.

The Pilgrims celebrated a successful harvest... so I suppose I should also be grateful that my "successful harvest" comes courtesy of Kroger's and not the Wampanoag.

Since "gratitude" is a state of mind - a way of living - I've always taken that to mean that we should be thankful for the little everyday things that make us happy - the little pleasures.

So I asked the ladies in the office what they were thankful for this year and it seems we have quite a bit in common.

(Image from LuluLemon.com)

Stretchy-pants and leggings were a very popular answer - Tammy, Cheryl, Lissa, etc.  I think this would be the overwhelming choice as the real "casual Friday" attire.

Food was mentioned - a lot.  Erin listed Taco Tuesdays at Rosa's as being her "most important".

While we haven't had Rosa's for lunch, we do have quite a bit of variety.  Chelair specifically listed Susan as something - someone - she is thankful for.  Actually, she initially said "our wonderful lunchtime catering service".  But that's Stiffy - aka Susan.  She does many wonderful things at Moda - designing the gorgeous kit boxes and quilts, writing patterns and project sheets, and answering inDesign questions from a twit in the office across the hall - but she also keeps us fed by taking orders and making the trip to pick-up lunch.

Outlaw is thankful for Cranberry Salsa - it is the season!

(Image from Mel's Kitchen Cafe.)

With tortilla chips and some sort of cold beverage made with limes.

Central Market.  Whole Foods.  Market Street.  All were mentioned at least once.  (They're all upscale grocery stores in the Dallas area.)

Krispy Kreme?  With a couple of boxes in the sample room going fast, those made the list.  As did Nothing Bundt Cakes -  they've got Joy's number.  Or rather, she's got their number - the address is a Favorite on her phone.

The popularity of stretchy pants is starting to make sense, isn't it?

And cold weather!  Not because anybody really likes the cold, it's that it means coats, sweaters and layers... a lovely cover-up for annual holiday weight gain.

Holly was happy to be out of the office when I asked the question.  A few others avoided the question - lucky them, right?  I cornered Jamie long enough for her to state that she was thankful for "overly bushy bears" and "man buns".  I think everyone was afraid to ask why.

Okay... maybe the girl has a point.

Maybe not.  Do you remember how cute he was on Growing Pains?

My favorite "thankful" is from Ducky.  She's thankful that her four-year old grandson, Kolton, still considers her to be "safe - home" when her older - bigger - grandsons are chasing him while playing tag.  He proclaims "You can not touch me when I'm with Momo!"  She loves the great hugs she gets when they play that game.

I'm betting her grandsons are thankful that their Momo is the sort that has a 9 1/2 foot rubber duck in her yard at Christmas...

Ducky is thankful about it too - she's planning to get the Quack out for the holidays this weekend.

Most of us already knew that Lissa was probably going to mention BitEmoji - she was the first in the office to start having fun with it, and there is a rumor that she's trying to create a BitEmoji family Christmas card.  (An "emoji" is a small digital image or icon used to express an idea, emotion, etc., in electronic communication like texts, e-mails, etc.  Bitmoji is your own personal emoji - a cartoon-like icon/avatar that you create and customize to look like you.  Maybe.)

As she said - "It's my alter ego! And I can change my wardrobe frequently without ever having to do laundry."

A perfect ending!

Happy Thanksgiving!

(We'll be back next week with something a little more serious.)

(Or not.)