ThankYouVeryMuch :0)

it's that time of year again-we're saturated with christmas & overSpending---&wallace&gromit is still in the theatre!! i am writing a small list of thanks for all those who stood by my side this past year. your support& hugs has made Huge difference in my life..

a special woman that showed me that emotional/psychological abuse is debilitating/destructive. learning to trust my intuition, and set boundaries. who taught me how look @ things from another perspective, for letting me cry, for letting breathe& teaching me that love is about trust not about consequences & jumpingthrough rings of fire & living by excuses.

author of : why does he do that? reading it was an epiphany to learn that what i lived through for so long was not in my head; it was painfully real.

my friend in albany who has been in my life for the past 10 years; and who fills me in on the life of a happily married man. what would i do without his phone calls of support and funny jokes, and men that are lemons i mean rotten chicken.

my rebound lover, a beautiful, emotional and sweet man i am grateful after my sexdrive went cold. taught me intimacy. thanks for wallace&gromit. for telling me to not stop fighting, for believing in me. i will always love you-and those deep/intimate stares we shared when i made christmas cards over steeming cups of joe. naked dinners& 3 hours in bed on the weekends. :0*

robinHood& the crew of the trabant in Udistrict, they make a great cup of coffee-for laughter, cointreau laced chocolate& those beautiful orange couches. what a great reminder of how much i don't miss college-but i want to go back. really i do.

for all the women i met in walks of life that taught me that change may be the hardest homework we get. for helping me acknowledge the abuse i justified as love. for teaching me that one fall morning that i never loved him, i loved an aspect of someone that was never there-abuse is not love.

a man that is like a father to me, who gave a hope last winter when i thought there was none to have. for his support and trust in me and this amazing year, when he could have walked away. he has been a great pillar of strength and hope.

for my parents for supporting me through the past year-acknowledgement i got @ the summer's birthday party was wonderful, listening even when what i say is difficult and hard to hear. being proud of who i am now. i am truly grateful.

my old family friend in NYC who stepped up when i got sick over lunch, who mothered me and showed concern. all the people that i had the great luck to meet and love on the eastcoast-for telling me where to find bagels on a sunday afternoon.

brain surgeons and the crew on mondays-who have given me their shoulders, hugs and laughter. obey the ways of the ball, you must bowl young darf vader is cleans the mind and soothes the soul. when jet lagged bowling is good-(177 points good.)

4th of july fireworks, that was honest with me and himself to say that starting line still scared him-he had an adorable accent; thanks for almost being the RealThing. i needed a warm up. my friends who dragged me to rooftop parties with great views, on artwalks & to the movies.

(a small token of thanks to the former crew of hines coffee in eastlake, i miss ugly green couch terribly, children laughing & playing on saturday mornings, roastings, cuppings and all things coffee-i thought i already knew, not.)

an italian go-getter and writer/poet who i will miss come next year, as she is leaving me for real gelato, cappuccinos made dry. who's ability to mock poor kissing, bad poetry and our x's with flair and panache. she knows how to make me laugh..i will miss you.

for all the could've beens that have drifted in/out my life this year, a misfit, a lemon and a mistake i wish i could take back. tallJoe for just being there this spring; thanks for the crystalmethod show.

bierstuben in roosevelt: the adorable marine wildlife on the plasma screen after close, spooling massiveAttack, my favorite chair@ the bar. you guys make the best martini's& pretzels.

zoka all locations for making abFab cup of joe no place can match, for hearts in my coffee on days when i have really needed them, & silly/desperate pickup lines that will oneday make it into books. (what would we girls do, if we couldn't make fun of the lemons.)

thursdays @ tost-one word: marmalade. one word: community, one word: love. you're beautiful, and you truly know how to rock a thursday night. now i can do it guilt free...

my grandmother for flying me chocolate from 3000 miles away, for her wisdom and her heart; i can't wait to go fishing with you next year!! my aunts and uncles in sweden who surprised me jetlagged and kept the laughter & conversation going even when i felt like i had flown in on a red eye. for mc claus & the gang that i got to catch up with when i was home, who saw that i have grown into a woman(who made fun of my teenage angst, asked for couches months in advance and shared a part of their day with me.)

my dad for believing in my company, my goals with it and for giving a new way to look how far how i have come. i am almost @ quarterly tax time(really excited..)

for anyone who has done me a favor, stepped up when i least expected it-or just been there on the other end of the line when i called. if i had hugs for all of you i would give them on Thanksgiving. thanks for not doubting when it was what i was best @. welcoming me back where i thought i was lost,for greeting me with a smile and pat on the back as if no time had gone by @ all. for re-teaching me that sex/love sometime do mix & forgiveness can be hardest thing to accept when it comes without strings. ThankYou.

(now go eat that ham/turkey/quail thing-just make sure you sit @ the grownUps table, and no whining over the pumpkin pie unless you made it yourself. for those in the know, glogg party is sameTime different station. now pass out doing whatever it is you do in Thanksgiving, hope to hug you all soon.)