STUFF I'M GRATEFUL FOR

Here, Pink Monkey emulates Janet Jackson in the Rhythm Nation music video.

I keep a gratitude journal by my bed. Right before my head hits the pillow, I jot 10 highlights from the day in a tiny chunky purple spiral notebook I found in a bin at Staples. So I record the items, read a few inspiring lines from a book, and then it's lights out. Ya know what? It's as a good a way as any to end the day.

Here's my gratitude list for this moment:

1. Candy Corn in little cellophane bags: So pretty to look at with its festive fall colors. PLUS it's a vegetable AND a candy!

2. The adorable dog, Eggplant, whose owner Ari (proprietor of an AT&T store on 7th Ave) claims is half-pig, half-dog.

3. The way my husband, Mike, can make inanimate objects - including a Lucy Pez dispenser and a stuffed pink monkey - look absolutely real.

4. The Pay it Forward cycle of small black umbrellas - friends loan them to friends who loan them to friends.

5. The YMCA - wins for best ROI

6. The chalk drawings of two narwhals with speech bubble conversations on the sandwich board outside the Housing Works Book Cafe in SoHo.

7. Bouncy Castles at street fairs

8. Lobbies of hotels and Upper East Side buildings - mini Grand Central Stations and comfy places to sit to watch the world go by

9. The super-satisfied feeling I have after cleaning out a closet or a file drawer

10. Friends who are good telephone conversationalists (e.g. who just focus in on the talk and stop doing other stuff)