Giving Thanks where Thanks are Due.

Thanks to all of you who still read this newsletter. I know I haven't been entirely consistent, but that's due to my personal evolution into "what's next" for Courtney. I'm still working on it, but a few of the key areas where I've been focusing my attentions are:

* Volunteering time as a mentor to Futures For Children, which improves quality of education for American Indian Children through mentoring and training. Mentorship/Sponsorship encourages American Indian children to stay in school and graduate through one-to-one mentoring. Considering all that we've taken from the American Indians, it a small gesture that can have big repercussions. Education is a major key to liberation from modern day enslavements.

I also have signed up to be a Big Sister with the Big Brothers Big Sisters program. Another way for me to give back--to give kindness, attention and a friendship to another child who wants and needs it.

Tomorrow (Wednesday, 11/23) I'll be with some friends cooking hundreds of Thanksgiving dinners for the homeless.

Personally, I am thankful my family is alive, even if they've been displaced by Hurricane Katrina. I am thankful that we are close and that I have the knowledge and creativity to continue forging a new life and career for myself.

And now...here are some juicy tidbits to savor over the long weekend....