One of my favorite things about winter is that it dulls my need for variety in breakfast food and  I am happy to eat oatmeal every single morning.  Warm, filling, and oh-so-customizable.  On any given day, I may add apple, banana, cinnamon, peanut butter, almond butter, maple syrup, agave nectar and soymilk – or any combination thereof.  My love of oatmeal also reminds me of my grandpa, who always started the day with oatmeal and a grapefruit.  Today, I am grateful for oatmeal,   and….

• Weekly game nights with friends
• The first cross country ski trip to the Arboreteum this year with Diene
• Mindless Christmas movies on tv
• Morning meetings with cool people
• a warm apartment
• a Christmas tree left to decorate
• the fact that Memorial Library allows guests to use its facilities
• making new friends
• Africana and the community it offers
• paychecks and direct deposit
• dreams
• facebook and the stalking of old friends that it normalizes
• the results of hard work reminding me that hard work pays off