#82- Beaver Tails

I've eaten many an exotic dish, from bison roasts to crocodile nuggets and even ostrich meatballs, but one of the most delicious has got to be beaver tail.

For those not familiar with the famed beaver tails you should know two things: you should get familiar with them fast and don't worry, they aren't actually the tails of real beavers.

Really what they are is dough, stretched out into the shape of a beaver's tail and fried until golden brown and then topped with delicious toppings such as chocolate sauce and bananas or cinnamon and sugar.

So no, they wouldn't be a food featured on Body Break segments (something for those 90s kids), but they are a great bad habit once in a while.

But beaver tails are more than that. They are a Canadian delicacy (Canada: serving up horribly addictive and unhealthy fried food for more than a century). This is usually how it goes with traveling foodies: they flock from all over just to get a taste of the beaver tail, are a little disappointed that it's not real beaver and eventually leave happy with chocolate smeared all over their faces.

Beaver tails are also a staple of one of the greatest events I have ever experienced; skating on the Rideau Canal. Skating on the canal itself is amazing (the largest rink in the world!), but when the wind is blowing and you can't feel your fingers, having a nice warm beaver tail in your hands warms them up quite nicely. And you don't even have to take off your skates.

In short, beaver tails are something to enjoy and to take pride in. They are a Canadian invention, right up there with the zipper, basketball and twelve different ways to say sorry. They are delicious and certainly not nutritious. They are a tradition, a hand warmer, a conversation starter and one of the best possible ways to end off a night out with friends.

So I am grateful for beaver tails. I am grateful that we can honour one of our greatest national animals with its very own food. I am grateful for how good they taste and that I can feel better about eating them after having skated a few kilometres. I am grateful that they are so popular and awesome that the president of the United States came all the way up here just to have one (and do some other diplomatic stuff I guess). And I am grateful that I can say I've had a beaver tail before, because that's something not too many people can admit they've done.

#75- The Penny

It is time to say goodbye to long standing Canadian icon. A constant in this nation since before Confederation. A small token with a powerful symbol. Today the Canadian Mint made their last penny and it's a sad day.

Yes that weird jingle when I walk down the street is from the scores of pennies in my pocket and sure I have mountains of the copper coin stacked all over my room and getting in the way. In short, I, like many in this country, sometimes see pennies as a nuisance, but they've meant something special to me since my five-year-old self was given a handful of shiny cents as my first ever payday.

Since that day when I quickly stuffed the pennies into my Power Rangers wallet, the little coins meant a sense of hope, an opportunity, a door to something new and fascinating. I was finally part of the adult world where I had money, I had responsibility, I had the option of buying the Sour Keys or Fuzzy Peaches or saving up and splurging on an Air Head candy.

And I'm sure everyone remembers how amazing it was to pick up a dropped penny as a kid. The glint of the coin was piece of sunshine in your day, a slice of good luck to hold tight. That's why whenever I see one on the street or the ground I'm tempted to pick it up and relive this childlike sense of wonder, optimism and bliss. But I stop myself, smile and leave it for someone else to experience those feelings (dimes and quarters are another story; hey an unemployed, recent grad has got to eat right?).

I've heard a few of the economic arguments for and against eliminating the penny, but the real pro of having the coin around is to remember these positive feelings that we all lose sight of sometimes as we grow up and see the tough things the world has to offer. It's the opportunity of the penny, the way they can band together to make a difference, what they represent that can teach us a thing or two.

So I am grateful for the penny. I am grateful for the positive way it has made me see the world and for those times when it has meant, quite simply, a small piece of optimism in my day. The penny will no longer be made in Canada, but it will still live on in my memories and scattered around the nooks and crannies of my room.

#59-Canada

Today is one of my favourite days of the year. The day when the country is awash with red and white, when fireworks will dominate the night sky and when the Blue Jays wear those weird, but patriotic red and blue jerseys for their game.

Yes, today is Canada day. The day when we can celebrate all that makes this country great, like the fact that we have our own bacon, our national animal, the beaver, can pretty much take down a whole forest (can a bear, an eagle or a lion do that? I think not) and that we eat so much fruit that we invented basketball just to get rid of the tons of leftover peach baskets that were crowding our homes.

No, Canada isn't perfect. We have our flaws and I find myself frustrated with the nation's politicians or troubled by the mistakes in our past, but what makes this country awesome is that I can sit here and say that I feel this way. Hockey is a spectacular and beautiful sport (and last time I checked we were number 1 in it) and Tim Horton's will always have a special spot in my heart, but the ability to exercise my rights of freedom of speech, freedom of religion, freedom to rant and moan about politicians on a bad day without threats or harm coming to me is one of the best things about the country I am proud to call home.

So I am grateful for Canada. I am grateful for the people that have made this country great. I am grateful for the beauty of the land and of the beauty of the people who inhabit it. I am grateful for the people who came before me, who fought and sacrificed so that I can stand in line and vote, so that I can write how I love Canada and so people can disagree with me about the greatness of this fair land. So on this day I wish that everyone's afternoon is sunny, their beer is cold, their health is good and their Canada day an amazing one.

#48- Free Elections

Today I voted in the federal elections for the second time in my life and as I slipped the piece of paper into the ballot box I felt proud and thankful to be Canadian.

In this election, as in every election I have experienced, there was a lot of mud slinging from each side, every leader trying to convince the public that the other guy or girl was dirtier than them. Those tricks get me quite mad, but none of it mattered at all today as I walked away from the polling station, because, despite the name calling and put downs and conflicting promises, in the end I was able to exercise my right to vote freely.

As I walked down the street to the school near by to cast my vote, I wasn't afraid of being shot at or beat up. As I walked through the doors to the gym to the make shift voting area, I wasn't worried about being threatened or intimidated into voting a certain way. And as I left after choosing a candidate, there was no doubt in my mind that my vote would be counted and my voice would be heard.

The same can't be said in countries around the world. We can see in the media the great thirst people have to participate in politics, to have the democratic opportunity to mark a name on a piece of paper and who are willing to fight for this chance to speak out. We can see this hunger for democracy in our past, when the disenfranchised stood together and made it impossible for those in power to ignore them. We can see this same yearning in the history-making movement in the Middle East in recent months, in the vote mobs across campuses in Canada, in the eyes of senior citizen that stood in front of at the polls.

And all this, having the freedom when others don't, remembering how I got this freedom and using this freedom, make me proud and make me understand that those that fight for this right to vote in free elections are fighting a battle we can all understand on some level.

So I am grateful for free elections. I am grateful I have the opportunity to vote without fear of negative consequences. I am grateful that the outcome will be fair, even if I don't like who may be the next Prime Minister. I am grateful for the people who have given their time to make this election possible, mostly the volunteers, and the people who don't get any recognition or glory at the end, but serve the public nonetheless. And I am grateful for the people who will vote today. So go out and vote, because a vote in the election is a vote for your voice.