Thanks; Giving

I won't front, I stole that title from an email a new friend sent to invite everyone over for Thanksgiving.

But I love it. It shined (shone?) a new light on those two words: Thanks. Giving. Thanks-and-giving. Thanks-for-giving. Giving Thanks. Thankful to Give. All kinds of ways to interpret those two words with the addition of that rascal semicolon!

In the spirit of my favorite holiday, I've taken up my second annual #EllenThanks Instagram campaign. Last year I knocked it out of the park, posting something every day from Nov. 1st to 30th (check out #EllenThanks2014).

I am already late out of the gate, but I think it's even more important to complete this year than last year. Last year I felt #EllenThanks helped me appreciate the every-day things I might have been taking for granted. This year, in the calm of finally feeling settled, I find myself hyper-focused on documenting what's different, or what's difficult (or what's downright demoralizing in international news).

This year, I need it to help me refocus on the positive. The amazingness that comes with living in a new city. 

For starters, I'm pumped to have already gathered a solid foundation of friends. And I'm definitely glad to be here with my husband-slash-roommate-slash-financial advisor-slash-technical director. And I'm amazingly thankful to be traveling in a digital age where I can talk to and listen to and look at my favorite people for the low-low price of a latte.

(For the record, I have to buy a latte to feel good about using the Internet at the cafe around the corner. It's just the rule, I didn't make it. What's that? Yes, of course I *have* to go to a cafe. Stop giving me that look. Stop it. Staaaaahp.)

And I'm also thankful for the littlest things, like finding ice — beautiful, crushed, unlimited ice — at Nando's. And leaves changing color. And avocados. All things that have broken through metaphoric and literal grey days.


And, I'm thankful for you (my people!) and for this blog at all. I've turned to writing often (albeit sporadically) in life, and I'm thankful to have the opportunity to dedicate the time I've always thought I'd like to dedicate. So far, that's proving to be true.

What are you thankful for?