My Favorite Things

Wow, so this is exciting, it's the first time I've been tagged for a meme!!! Mrs. C. over at Next to Heaven tagged me to participate in My Favorite Things. Thank you!

So here goes....

Rules:

1. Mention the person who nominated you. Mrs. C over at Next to Heaven, make sure to visit!

2. List six unimportant things that make you happy.
- Books. To me, they're very important, but to a lot of people they're just some paper with words on them. I have loved to read from a very early age, and if anything, my love for reading has grown over the years. I love the ability a book gives you to walk in someone else's shoes, to see other worlds you would have never been exposed to. Okay, that was a totally geeky answer, but I'm serious - I l-o-v-e reading.
- Baking. I'm sure you could have figured that one out if you've read my blog for any period of time. I love to bake. Partly, because I love to eat what results. But also because I love creating something. Baking is so very precise; if you mis-measure something, you're going to wind up with something totally different, but that's one of the things I like about it.
- Shopping. This made me more happy back when I worked and brought in the lion's share of the family money, but even now, I enjoy grocery shopping (I know, total dork alert). I also have almost even learned to appreciate window shopping. I am much more likely nowadays to be able to walk through the mall without purchasing a thing than I used to be, but I still have a good time. Unless I go into Williams-Sonoma and spot my coveted super-hardcore Kitchen Aid stand mixer. Then I get sad.
- VH-1's reality television shows. Pathetic, I know, but VH-1 sucks me in time after time. First there was "Flavor of Love"...then "I Love New York"...and then "Rock of Love"...and now, one of the rejects of "Rock of Love" has gotten her own show, "Daisy of Love." You thought the others were trashy? No, no, this one positively takes the cake. If you enjoy watching a good trashy reality show, I highly recommend checking this one out, because it sets a new standard for trashy reality shows. Do I learn anything from these shows? No, not really, but they're fun to watch.
- My iPod. It's funny, but I don't think I could live without it. I know I did before, but now, having all 30 thousand songs I own at my fingertips all at once is so cool. I can wind up hearing a song from "The Muppet Movie" followed by an 80's hair band. I mean, it's the ultimate mix tape. Love, love that iPod.
- Showering by myself. I think most moms can relate to this, but since I'm a stay-at-home mom, I don't get a ton of alone time. Lately, I've taken to waking up at the ungodly hour of 5:30 just to get some time alone to write in my journal and get cleaned up for the day. It seems like if I don't do it then, it doesn't happen, because my shower is quite loud, and I always worry it will wake Baby up if he's napping. When he was smaller, I'd bring him into the bathroom with me for my showers. We have an infant-to-toddler rocker that we can strap him into, it has a toy bar and all, and that used to entertain him. Now, he'd much rather be running around like a wild child than sitting in that chair, even if I give him one of his favorite stuffed animals and a book, so he makes this little whimpering, threatening-to-cry noises while I shower if he's in there with me. So I really enjoy when I get the peace and quiet a shower by myself brings.

3. Tag six blogs, state the rules and notify them with a small comment on their blog.
This was a tough decision, by the way, because there are lots of blogs I really, really like.
- Sunday Baker
- Java Cupcake
- One Bored Mommy
- Real Mom Kitchen
- Writer Mom at Home
- Girl in the Glasses