Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Ten of My Favorites on Tuesday

I thought I would mix it up a little and give you ten of my current favorite things.

1. Coffee--This is always one of my favorites. I have coffee every morning. Every. Morning. If I ever get through all the steps of the sugar addict diet, I will have to give this up. Thankfully, I'm still working on step one. (In case you're wondering, step one is to eat breakfast with protein every day. Too bad step one isn't drink two cups of coffee every morning, 'cause I'd be the queen of step one.)

2. Chris Rice--I have been a Chris Rice fan since his first album (which is still my favorite) but after his second and third CDs, I stopped buying. Why? I don't know. I think I got distracted by other artists. Oh, and I was poor and had no money to buy CDs. But recently, I have been discovering his music that I've missed out on. In my humble opinion, (which, as my father-in-law is apt to say, I value greatly) Chris Rice is one of the best songwriters of our time. His melodies are often beautiful and his lyrics...don't get me started! If you haven't heard any of his recent stuff, maybe you should check them out. That brings me to my #3...

3. The Library--I heart the library. Seriously. You can get all kinds of stuff at the library--books, music, movies. And I love the request system. Plus, if I want to search for something, I don't have to write it down and then remember when I'm at the library and trying to keep my two-year old from talking loudly, which in the silence of the library sounds like screaming bloody murder. No, I can just get on the computer and look up whatever I want at home. And when it's ready, they email me and let me know. They also email me three days before I have something due. Aren't they thoughtful? They also have a great children's area with puzzles, toys, and computers. Anna loves the computers, which can sometimes lead to some...unpleasantness when it's time to go. But she usually does OK. Oh, did I mention that the library is right across the street from our neighborhood? Does it get any better?

4. Naptime--Yes, I admit I look forward to Anna's naptime every day. I need a break from her two-ness. Thank God she's a sweet and loving child, in addition to being extraordinarily independent and stubborn. As my friend Stacy said, she's a little bit of me (sweet) and a little bit of Brandon (stubborn). (If you know me and are laughing right now, shame on you!) Stacy is a great photographer, which brings me to #5...

5. Photography--My new love. Every since I got my DSLR, I have been learning and getting more excited about what I can do. And excited because I've been able to develop my own style. And now even more excited because of the start of my business. Things are still slow, but you don't build Rome in a day. Right? Do you want to see some of my new business cards? You do? Great! I'm really pleased with how they turned out! You can't tell from the photos (I am not a product photographer!) but the color is amazing.



6. Sesame Street Old School--Nostalgia in a box. I'm not sure, but I think I might be enjoying these DVDs more than Anna. Seeing the episodes I grew up with has brought back so many childhood memories. Nearly every clip is familiar--Anna is probably tired of hearing me say "I remember that!" I totally recommend these DVDs to any child of the 70's or 80's, especially if you now have a kid who watches Sesame Street and you can't stand "Elmo's World." Seriously, they really don't make 'em like they used to. The old episodes seem more educational, really teaching (via repetition) letters and numbers. Anna seems much more interested in the old school episodes than she does in today's show. Actually, the beginning of the DVD says that they are for adults and may not meet the needs of today's preschool child. Right...
(By the way, we checked these out from the library and they were in the children's section.)

7. Podcasts--I subscribe to a few podcasts on iTunes. My favorites are the Relevant Podcast and the Mars Hill sermons. Humor and hermeneutics. Relevant Magazine is the brain-child of fellow ORU alumnus, Cameron Strang. I don't know him (although I think he was possibly the student body president my freshman year--can anyone confirm?), but I really enjoy the podcast, which is like a weekly update on music, movies, and current events. It's funny. Podcasts are a great substitute for adult conversation, which I don't get too much of these days.

8. Sabrina--The remake with Harrison Ford and Julia Ormond. This is, without a doubt, my favorite movie. I have seen it so many times that I know almost all of the dialogue. There's just something I love about Sabrina's transformation from awkward girl to beautiful woman and Linus' simultaneous self-awakening. Oh, and the romance. Gotta love the romance.

9. Mister Salty 100 Calorie Packs--I love chocolate covered pretzels. I love that these are prepackaged so that I can't overdo it. Unlike when I get the chocolate covered pretzels in the bulk bag from Sweet Factory and they taste so good that I don't stop until I'm full, which is entirely too many chocolate covered pretzels for one girl to eat. I like these so much, I wish I had some right now. But I ate the last pack a couple nights ago. It was delicious.

10. Sleep--OK, so it's 11:50 pm (Monday night) as I'm writing this and I'm tired. I need to take advantage of this feeling and go to bed before my body gets a second wind. Maybe it's because I'm getting older (no jokes, please), but I occasionally have trouble getting to sleep, and sometimes don't sleep well. So when I do get to sleep, I enjoy it. I'm a happier, more cheerful person when I'm well-rested. And so is everyone around me--happier and more cheerful, that is.

Those are my ten current favorites. You would be surprised how hard it was for me to come up with all that stuff. What about you? What are some of your favorite things right now?

2 comments:

Jana Swartwood said...

Cameron was editor of The Oracle our freshman year. I don't think he was ever SA president, but he was still pretty well known on campus.

Christie said...

YES! Now that you say that, I totally remember.