Ergo, I present to you my current top TEN favorites. Of any genre.
10. Lord of the Rings. I realize it's pretty far behind the times because the LOTR craze happened about five years ago. Before the trilogy was very recently crowned as movie event of the decade, however, I developed an itch to watch them over again and Mark and I began with the extended version (four hours) of The Fellowship of the Ring. It took us two nights, we took a couple nights off to build our anticipation, then dove into The Two Towers, extended version, also over the course of 2 nights. Just finished and we're heading toward number 3, The Return of the King, on Saturday. I can't wait. I almost whisper with anticipation even though I have seen all three movies at least twice and know the end! I wonder how it feels for Orlando and Vigo to know that their trophy performance, most likely of their life, is already finished.
9. Google Chrome. I didn't know what it was either, until I called Apple because Dora (my beloved MacBook) was trudging terribly slow from webpage to webpage on Safari, Apple's own browser. The gentleman techie told me, without telling me, that I should try Google Chrome, a browser created by Google. Of course I downloaded it. Of course it's superior to Safari, Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox. Of course Google, once again, proves its capacity to slowly but surely take over planet Earth.
8. Pop music. Seriously. It started when I went home for Christmas and my brother, yes, my 18-year-old brother made me listen to Lady Gaga and Chris Brown and that girl that sings "Tic Toc." And ever since I've been home I can't quit listening to all this stuff. And now I've got "Empire State of Mind" constantly in my head. I don't want to be a pop head, but I can't help it.
7. Editing The Peach Street Girls. Writing the novel was very fun and very emotional and very difficult. It also very much made me question my life calling to be a writer. I dreaded the editing process even more, however, based on the things I've heard from people who have attempted to write a book and, furthermore, make it fly. But, to my delightful surprise, editing is quite fun. Step one: Read the entire book aloud and make notes in the margins each time a sentence is written poorly, you think you must have been sleeping when you wrote, or there is no direction. Also make notes of brilliant lines and hilarious moments. I don't know step two because I'm still on step one.
6. Real Simple Magazine. This is a refreshed favorite because Real Simple is my favorite magazine, but my sister and brother in law gave me a YEAR LONG SUBSCRIPTION for Christmas. The magazine doesn't fit through the brass mail slot on the old wooden door of my apartment so the mail lady leaves it propped against the door. I come home, once a month now, to a smiling Real Simple calling out for me to flip through it ten times or more. The magazine is precisely what it claims: simple articles, stories, recipes, new uses for old things, pictures... delightfully thick pages to flip through and read. No junk. I love it.
5. Our new original oil canvas. That's right, Mark and I have purchased a 2 foot by 3 foot oil canvas of a landscape in Tuscany that resembles about a dozen places I used to ride past on the bus while living in Siena. Once a year in January there is a Starving Artists painting sale where nothing costs over $59. Fabulous. That's where we got it and it is gorgeous.
4. Edamame. That is, soy beans. I almost hate to admit that I have fallen victim to the very granola, very hippie protein source. It just feels too... earthy. I don't know why I feel the need to avoid this rap... like it'll make me suddenly turn vegetarian or something. But here's the truth: Edamame is delicious and filling and perfect for a salad. It's healthy and packed with nutrients and you can buy a bag of the frozen, shelled soy beans for $2.79 at Harris Teeter.
3. My new, way too expensive but absolutely worth it, Citizens of Humanity bootcut jeans. I was not a supporter of astronomically priced designer jeans... until I put a pair on my body. I hate shopping for jeans because they usually don't fit just right and, if they do, then they stretch or shrink once you leave the store. However, after saving up for SIX MONTHS I finally bought my perfect jeans. And they are. Perfect. I know they cost too much, dad, but it was worth it.
2. The moment Mark gets home from work. For so long our work schedules were all kinds of chaos and half the time I didn't even see him get home from the restaurant. But now, when he gets home between 6 and 7 o'clock and I hear that key in the door and I see that devilishly good-looking man I love walking up the narrow steps to our little apartment in his pleated khaki pants and that button up shirt, with his brief case and his dear, dear smile, it makes me know I am going to be happy for the rest of our lives.
1. OmmWriter. Sounds like some kind of Buddhism/Etherial writer thing, but it isn't. It's the best thing that's happened to my writing life in a long time. Please click to find out: www.ommwriter.com
