My 7 Favorites

Since apparently these lists of favorites don’t include people, I will leave them out. This is probably a good thing because people might fill my whole list otherwise.

Doing things well
This precludes everything. If I can do something well, it becomes my favorite, either temporarily or long term. And if I do that same thing at another time and it doesn’t meet or exceed my expectations, I don’t like it. Call me a perfectionist, but I love doing things well. Isn’t there a quote like “Anything worth doing is worth doing well.” It’s something like that. That’s probably the unconscious motto to my life. I want to do things well, and when I can, I’m happy.

Warm Things
This one is true especially when I am cold, which is frequently. Some of my favorite warm things are cozy sweatshirts, hot tubs, slippers, soft blankets, warm husbands to cuddle with, hot cocoa, puppies, just a little bit of time basking in the sunlight, my bed, fresh baked bread… this list could go on and on.

Lindstrom
Alisha has Lake Tahoe, I have Lindstrom. My grandparents own a cottage on a lake in Minnesota which has long been the refuge of every one of their children and grandchildren for pleasure, good company, but foremost for relaxation. Being there is almost like a drug. It’s completely addictive. It has the power to make you believe you don’t have a care in the world.

Good Music
I can completely lose myself to good music, it doesn’t matter the genre. My love if it can border on obsession. I crave certain songs. When I’m listening to a particularly great song, I stop everything I’m doing and revel in the chord progression, the lyrics, the passion, the excitement. Sometimes I sing with it, sometimes I dance. It can get to the point where I’m annoyed if someone tries to talk to me during one of these trances. A few of my current favorites include: Gladys Knight’s “Midnight Train to Georgia,” Ella Fitzgerald’s “Blue Skies” from her album Pure Ella, Mika’s “Grace Kelly,” Coldplay’s “Shiver,” and Piano Concerto No. 1 in B flat minor by Tchaikovsky.

A good yoga class
Normally it’s better when I’m not teaching it so I can focus on my breathing, but I’ve had several really good classes that I’ve taught, too.

Learning
Sometimes I feel like a fish out of water because I’m not in school anymore. I have a question and the only way to answer it accurately is to research it, right? I rent books and books on random topics of the week, month, day… whatever catches my fancy. I’ve even found myself outlining essays on my topics. I’m currently enthralled with political topics. I’m reading George Washington’s biography “His Excellency,” and a textbook about the constitution, and I’m writing an essay (yes, I’ve actually started it, but my chances of finishing it are probably slim since there is no point to it but my own entertainment) about generational apathy, specifically in voting and political involvement. Yes, I’m a nerd.

Cooking
Some people eat to live, and some people live to eat. I’m one of the latter. There is so much junk out there that really doesn’t taste good. Cooking my own fresh food has become a favorite thing of mine. Sometimes I lose a little motivation when I don’t cook things well (see number 1), but I keep trying.

Comments on my blog
I know this is number 8, but I had to include this. Sometimes I write blogs just to see how many comments I can get. Our record number of comments was on one of those blogs back in December. Remember the discussion about Hollywood couple nicknames? If I have continual access to the internet after I write a blog, I check hourly to see if anyone has read it yet. Comments make me feel like people care! I’m not a very good commenter, but I’m so happy when I get them. Thank you all for your comments!

So those are my seven favorites. Now I want to hear the seven favorites of Kristen, Nettie, and Brianne, when you have time.