{"id":1249,"date":"2019-11-26T02:28:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-26T02:28:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2019-11-26T02:28:50","modified_gmt":"2019-11-26T02:28:50","slug":"counting-my-blessings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/?p=1249","title":{"rendered":"Counting My Blessings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When it comes to holiday traditions, one of my favorites has always been taking the time to reflect on what I have to be thankful for. My gratitude cup continues to overflow from a long list of blessings old and new. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m thankful for something that\u2019s very easy to take for granted \u2013 my health. Good health, my late mom used to say, is most important; with it, all things are possible and without it, nothing else matters. Physically, mentally and emotionally, I\u2019ve never felt better. Deeply grateful for the pep in my step and peace in my heart.

This year, I\u2019m especially thankful for the power of entertainment to forge soul stirring bonds. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
With my BFF Lisa (behind me) and our fellow Santa Barbara Reunion Cruisers<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Thirty-two years ago, the witty, Emmy Award-winning soap opera Santa Barbara<\/em> introduced me to my Colorado-based best friend Lisa. Earlier this month, Lisa and I joined dozens of fans from around the world for a Santa Barbara Reunion Cruise to the Bahamas with six cast members from our beloved show. The instant ease and camaraderie we all shared was magical, just like what I\u2019ve experienced year after year on The 80\u2019s Cruise. There\u2019s an immediate, unspoken kinship that happens when meeting people whose hearts have been moved by the same TV, movies or music that have touched yours. I have never appreciated this beautiful dynamic more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking of connections, I\u2019m thankful for technology that brings me closer to loved ones both near and far. While it must be said that you can have too much of a good thing (I\u2019m looking at you<\/em>, people who use speakerphone in public), it makes all the difference to have ways of narrowing geographical distance. From Facebook video calls with my Florida born and bred boyfriend Steve to Whats App chats with dear friends in Australia and France, I treasure being able to stay in touch beyond email and texting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m thankful for my beloved pup Benji. In addition to being playful, affectionate and irresistibly adorable, this lovebug is also completely unflappable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Most easygoing, adorable travel companion ever. Even the TSA loves Benji! <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Twelve-hour travel day stuck at Chicago\u2019s O\u2019Hare Airport because of a blizzard? No problem. Jolting fender bender in a cab followed by an emergency room crowded with cops and screaming patients? Not even so much as a whimper from my little guy. To say that Benji is a huge emotional support and source of strength for me is an understatement. Adopting him is the best decision I\u2019ve ever made. We rescued each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last but most definitely not least, I\u2019m thankful for Steve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
All smiles with the love of my life<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Over the last nine months, he has showed me what it means to be a true partner and made me happier than I ever thought was possible. Because of him, this is the first holiday season in over 20 years that I\u2019m genuinely excited about. Looking forward to the many more beautiful firsts we have ahead of us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Thanksgiving all!<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When it comes to holiday traditions, one of my favorites has always been taking the time to reflect on what I have to be thankful for. My gratitude cup continues to overflow from a long list of blessings… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"New Blog Post: Counting my blessings this holiday season","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[181,288,267,88,40,194],"tags":[289,279,168,278],"class_list":["post-1249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-adopting-a-pet","category-best-friends","category-finding-love","category-holiday-season","category-travel","category-traveling-with-a-pet","tag-health-and-wellbeing","tag-santa-barbara","tag-the-80s-cruise","tag-theme-cruises"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4J0fq-k9","jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1249"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1268,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions\/1268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.newyorkcitygal.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}