My Favorite Things

Here are a top ten of some of my favorite things right now:

10. Eating chocolate chips right out of the bag. We usually buy the really stinkin' huge bags at Sam's Club, let the bag sit in the fridge or freezer, and grab handfuls (and sometimes a cup-full) right out of the bag. The most recent bag I bought is actually "baking chips". They are bigger, and darker. Mmmmmmm. I'm in Heaven. Actually, I'm going to go get a handful, then come back and finish my list.

9. Friends who help out in a crunch. Last week, Ches had a Wind Ensemble concert and I forgot about it (he didn't write it on the calendar!!), so I forgot to get a sitter for the boys. I spent a little time on the phone, just about 3 hours before I needed a sitter, and while the first few people said no ("I'd love to, but I can't! I'm so sorry!" I appreciated their regret, too. So nice), I did find someone. And they said to stay out as late as we wanted, so Ches and I went out to eat together afterward. Just the two of us. That is so rare!

8. Talking on the phone. Yes, I'm a gabber. I love to talk on the phone. I feel lonely otherwise. I'm always calling my sisters or my mom. I'm always calling my sisters-in-law (that would be you, Alyson and Tanya!). I'm always calling my long-distance friends. I love to hear every detail of everything and tell them about my day, my kids, my frustrations, etc. I love it when everyone calls me (which happens a lot, so thank you, guys!!). It makes me feel loved and popular (yes, I'm still in high school brain mode a lot).

7. Post a Secret. I first saw this on Karen's blog links, and now I have to check it out every week. Some make me sad, some make me laugh, some make me think, and a lot make me relate. I want to send one in. I have a couple of ideas, so I will send in my own, but I will never tell anyone I did it. Not even Ches. Well, maybe not Ches. I can't hide things from him very well. I talk too much. I also want the new book that recently came out. The proceeds go to such a good cause, and I just want to be able to look over all these secrets and realize that I'm not alone in my thoughts of so many things!

6. My Crock Pot. I love that I can just put in some food before I eat my lunch, and when Ches walks in the door for dinner, I say, "hey! Dinner's ready! Good timing!" The Crock Pot was a genius of an invention. The best is when you have something like a roast or chili cooking in it, you are gone for most of the day (church or marching band rehearsals are when I use it the most), and you come home and can smell all the yummy smells. Aaahhh, more Heaven for me.

5. Christmas lights. They are just plain beautiful. Some people tend to overdo their yards, so in the day it looks garish,but I still love the lights at night. I love the colors, the twinking, everything! Good thing I live in Reno. I get to see the casinos and have the lovely colors year round! It's great! (And I'm not being sarcastic)

4. Being a sub in a kindergarten class. This is one of the hardest jobs ever (ohmygosh! The energy!!), but being a sub is great. When we lived in Arizona and Ches was doing his student teaching, I was a sub in Mesa. I was having a tough few months as at first I was pregnant (and it was NOT an easy pregnancy), then I had a miscarriage. I felt so horrible and yucky all the time, but when I got to sub with kindergarteners, I felt great. Those are the sweetest kids! They would say things like, "Mrs. Sharp, you are wearing a very pretty dress today." "Mrs. Sharp, I love your hair." "You're my favorite teacher ever, Mrs. Sharp!" and my all-time favorite: "You're the prettiest teacher, Mrs. Sharp." followed by a hug. What little darlings!

3. Kisses. My husband kisses me goodnight every single night, and he kisses me before he leaves every single morning. If he doesn't, then I think our marriage has fallen completely apart and he's leaving me. He knows that (I have mentioned before about how I tend to blow things way out of proportion, right??). I love the kisses because it's just that little thing that reminds me yes, he loves me, even though I'm still asleep in bed and he's off to work or even though we had a huge fight because I didn't do the laundry like I said I would so he has no clean dress pants. He still loves me. Oh, and kisses from my kids... those slobbery, dirty, sticky kisses are the best (when they are from your own kids, anyway).

2. Books! I LOVE to read! A lot! Apparantly, I taught myself to read when I was 3. I don't remember what it was like to not know how to read. It is such an important thing for me. The other night I stayed up until 1:30 am reading because I was so engrossed in my book. That was a big mistake, by the way, since I still had to get up early with the kids and take care of them all day!! Anyrate, tomorrow is library day, and I can't wait to browse for some new books. I just finished reading "Single Wife" by Nina Solomon (I really liked it a lot, so yes, I recommend it), and am currently reading "The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe" to Aiden. What should I get at the library tomorrow? I can't wait!

1. Watching Aiden play when he doesn't know I'm looking. He gets so engrossed in what he is doing, and it's just plain fun to watch. We could probably throw out all of his toys except his Star Wars toys from Burger King and he would never get bored a day in his life. He still plays with his other toys, but not like he does with these. I love all the voices he gives the characters, the conversations they have, and the "action-adventure" scenarios. He gets so into it! What a great imagination he has. When he is pretending to be Spiderman, he moves his body in certain ways that just cracks me up. I can't describe it. He can play by himself so well, and it is truely a fun thing to watch.

I have more favorite things, but I shall save them for another day. I could go on for hours, but my baby just woke up and I should go hold him (that is something for my next favorite things list).