My 100 Things

I haven’t been blogging long, a mere six months, but I have some fairly faithful commenters and I like to think of them as friends.  One of those friends is Caroline, from Totally Caroline.  A few weeks ago she posted a list of 100 things that she loved.  Many of her readers created their own lists thanks to her inspiration.  So, in no particular order I give you my own list of 100 things that I love. Caroline, this list took many days of thought to compile!

1. My kids
2. My dogs
3. Vodka
4. The beach
5. Fruity frozen margaritas
6. My Freedom song list
7. Hockey- I can’t skate and I am clueless when it comes to most of the rules (I think I understand offsides) but I love this game.  I don’t watch it on TV but I would go to the rink and watch any time I was asked.
8. My friends
9. The smell of lilacs- I’m only sorry that their blooming period seems to be so short.
10. My family- my mom and my brother and sister-in-law have been so supportive throughout all of this and I love being an aunt.
11. Traveling- I think this one is more in my mind than anything. I have traveled quite a bit through the US, and by travel I mean driving and visiting various sites on our travels.  I’ve only been out of the US three times- twice to Canada and once to Puerto Rico and two of the American Virgin Islands.  Of course, I’m not really sure those even count since they are US territories.  Yet I love the idea of traveling and would love to visit Australia, Ireland, Scotland, Greece, and Italy to name a few.
12. Laughing- I love a man with a great sense of humor.  I like to laugh.  I love watching comedians.
13. Chips and salsa
14. Lemurs- they are so cute.  Sometimes I wish I were a zookeeper just so I could work with the lemurs.
15. Wine- hmmmm…. you’d think I was an alcoholic by this list.  The reality is I rarely drink anymore.  I have nothing against it.  In fact I frequently have said I really should drink more.  But I don’t.  I’ll admit this as well:  I like sweet wine!  Oh, I know, it’s the in thing to go on and on about red wines; it’s so much more adult than Moscato or fruit infused wine.  You know what?  I don’t care.  I love Moscato and there is a vineyard close to where we’re moving that makes an amazing cherry wine.  Every now and then I’ll come across a great red wine but it never fails that I don’t get the name of it and then I’m off searching for another two years.
16. I love the smell in the air after it rains in the Blue Ridge mountains.  It brings up memories of my childhood and the summers I would spend with my Mamaw. It is  a distinct aroma and it makes me happy each and every time I get to experience it.
17. The Stephanie Plum series of books by Janet Evanovich
18. Alexander Skaarsgard- and by love I mean lust.  He is a beautiful, beautiful man.
19. Fondue
20. The movie The Princess Bride- I do not think that word means what you think it means.
21. Driving in a car, blasting music and singing songs by One Direction with my daughter- it could be any song really but I always like it when it’s a song that I wouldn’t necessarily be into if not for her.
22. Having interesting conversations with my kids
23. Homecoming videos of soldiers returning from deployment
24. Rocking babies to sleep
25. Crab legs
26. My DVR- I know I criticize CF for all of his TV watching but hear me out.  First, I don’t neglect my kids in favor of watching TV.  Secondly, I can go days without watching anything.  I love my DVR for exactly that reason.  I hate commercials and rarely watch anything in real time.  I’ll pause a show for 20 minutes just so I can fast forward through the commercials.  That’s why I love my DVR.  I can watch when I want and don’t have to sit through ads.
27. Bubble baths
28. Spinach, mushroom and bacon omelets with Swiss cheese
29. Gymnastics- Those girls are amazing!  The things they can get their bodies to do. They are typically tiny little girls but they are so strong and incredibly tough.
30. Corny jokes
31. Acting- I was voted Best Actress my senior year of high school.  I loved doing theater and I have thought about trying to return to it now that my kids are older.
32. Christmas
33. Sweet tea- I don’t like it too sweet and usually have it cut half and half in restaurants, but I make some pretty perfect sweet tea at home and I could drink a gallon a day.
34. Soups on a chilly day
35. A good fire whether it’s in the fireplace or a fire pit
36. Making memories with my friends and family
37. My crockpots
38. Cooking
39. Pandas- they look adorable, too.  I love the videos on Facebook where they’re getting into everything and driving their poor caretaker crazy.
40. Writing- I’ve written short stories since I was in 4th or 5th grade.
41. Rainy days, especially if I don’t have to be out in it
42. Shark movies- I do not like horror movies at.all but I can watch shark movies all day long.
43. Having everyone in my family together- I love the chaos, the mess, the camaraderie, the noise.  I find it blissful.
44. Going to the movies by myself- I don’t have to consult anyone on what movie to see; no one tries to take my popcorn.  I don’t like going to dinner by myself and I’m not sure I would like to vacation by myself but I do love going to the movies all alone. To be clear, I enjoy going with others as well, but for me there’s something special about going into that darkened theater all by myself.
45. Popcorn- I like both the air popped popcorn I pop at home, covered in butter, and movie theater popcorn.  I’ve been known to frequent a movie theater based upon the quality of their popcorn.  Back out west there was a theater chain that offered a refillable mug.  You purchased it for something like $12 and then could fill it up every time you watched a movie for $1.  They even offered a movie card where you could gain rewards- free tickets, small popcorn, drinks, candy, etc.  They had terrible popcorn though.  I started going to the other theater chain because they had excellent popcorn even though they didn’t offer rewards and their refills were $3.
46. Skinny dipping- I haven’t done it in years but I love it.  Maybe I’ll get my pool cleaned out and go a few times before I move.
47. San Diego- we’ve gone multiple times for gymnastics meets.  I might not like it if I had to live there but it’s one of my favorite places to visit.
48. History- the historical kind, not mine.
49. Memphis- one of my all time favorite cities.  I’ve seen many of the tourist sites: Graceland (like 6 times- long story), Mud Island (one of my favorites), Beale Street, the Memphis zoo, Pink Palace, Hunt-Phelan Home (this one was shut down over 15 yeas ago), St. Jude’s Hospital, wineries, the Peabody Hotel and the famous Peabody ducks.
50. Candy crush
51. Phase 10
52. Diet Coke- I know it’s bad for me but it’s so good!  I remember spending a few weeks one summer in NYC when they were debuting it.
53. Buffy the Vampire Slayer- one of my favorite TV shows!
54. Polar bears
55. Fall- I love everything associated with it: Halloween, cooler weather, soup, apple picking, caramel apples, cider, sweatshirts, a new school year, football games, tailgating
56. Pinterest
57. Trying new recipes
58. Hammocks
59. The movie Thelma & Louise
60. Caramel vodka mixed with apple cider
61. Great pizza
62. Wings- I like the regular hot wings you usually order at restaurants but I’m addicted to the Asian Zing blend at Buffalo Wild Wings.
63. Pickles- I like regular dill pickles and I love fried dill pickles dipped in Ranch dressing
64. The movie The Sure Thing
65. Gazing up into a star filled sky and pondering the universe
66. Chocolate covered strawberries
67. I love that every morning when she comes upstairs my daughter cries, “Mama!” and comes and gives me a big hug.
68. My cell phone
69. Hot chocolate with tons of marshmallows
70. Fancy gourmet caramel apples- my favorite is a caramel apple that is then dipped in chocolate.
71. The fact that my son, at age 14, will still kiss and hug me even in front of his friends
72. Earl Grey tea
73. Cheesecake
74. I love it when my daughter’s friends hang out at the house even when she’s not home because they like being around me.
75. Creamer in my coffee
76. Falling asleep watching TV even when I tell myself I’m only resting my eyes
77. Cute shoes
78. The Cheesecake Factory and their Chicken Madeira
79. Baby clothes, especially baby shoes.  There is just something so sweet and adorable about all those miniature bathing suits, sandals, boots, etc.
80. My Keurig- I know that coffee snobs think they’re horrible, both for the environment and for the quality of coffee they produce, but I love the ease of mine.  Plus, I don’t drink a lot of coffee so it doesn’t make sense to make an entire pot.
81. Sudoku
82. Cleaning out ears- I know it’s weird and disgusting but I can’t help it.  I cannot resist a waxy ear; I have to clean it out.  My poor dogs don’t escape my prying Q-tips either.
83. Similarly I love peeling people after a sunburn.  Let’s just go ahead and put these two in the category of weird and disgusting compulsions I have.  I’m fine with that.  I own it.
84. Pineapple- I love it fresh and I love it grilled.
85. The feeling you get when you have a clean house (I don’t know this feeling much anymore since having children 16 years ago)
86. Dennis Miller- I have always loved his humor and once got to see a taping of his late night show.
87. Running- I don’t do it anymore but I liked it when I was doing it.  I started off with the Couch to 5K program and always marveled at how the first week I could barely run the required 60 or 90 seconds and by the 10th week I was running 3 miles.  One day I’d like to run a marathon, especially because CF always told me it would be too hard for me.
88. Chai tea
89. Real butter
90. Butterflies in your stomach when you meet someone incredible
91. Cruises
92. The smell of suntan lotion
93. ID TV
94. The Scrambler at amusement parks
95. Hanging out at the water park all day underneath an umbrella, reading a book
96. Looking at old pictures of my kids and of my younger years
97. A great pair of sunglasses- I feel like I have a large head so it’s difficult to find sunglasses that I can wear that remain comfortable for long periods of time.  I find the best deals at Forever 21 and Charming Charlie’s.  They have comfortable sunglasses at great prices.
98. My church- I’m really going to miss it when we leave.
99. High school football games- I’m going to miss that when we move, too.  Rock Star’s first year we attended one game.  Last year I went to almost all the home games to watch her cheer, and even went to one away game with her because her boyfriend played.  This coming year I’m sure I would have been there for every home game because Rock Star would have been cheering and Picasso would have been playing in the marching band.
100. My grandmother’s beef and noodles over mashed potatoes plus her green beans and strawberry shortcake- my favorite meal.