Some of My Favorite Things

I did this last year - commenting on those new products or items I found that I especially liked. It's a random list, let me warn you....

1. The "TOBI" Steamer. John and I admit to being very "obsessive" about not having wrinkled clothing. No, it doesn't go so far as "pressed undergarments", but I can't guarantee that sweats and pajamas are immune from the iron. Part of this is due to having way too small of space for our over-abundance of clothing. Another part is my laundry habits lacking a bit to be desired, in that the dry clothes get thrown in a bin and I sort them from one big pile. So, when John and I just happened to be in the same room when the "Tobi" infomercial came on, we were hooked. We went ahead and ordered it, and have used the ironing board perhaps just once since then. It's not a perfect system, but it is a lot faster than ironing, never ruins clothes, and allows us to get everything done from our room, vs. having to go into the living room area where we used to store our ironing board.

2. The TWILIGHT series by Stephenie Meyer. Yes, some of you commented that you saw those books in the spa picture we took. I know, it's against the grain of my normally very conservative, very Christian fiction choices. However, I was a bit curious as to what the fuss was about, and with both of Jodi and Stephie's urging, gave it a try. Talk about escape.... I appreciate that there is a good sense of right and wrong, evil and good - and even moral choices and decisions. It's a book rich in relationships - very romantic, and full of the sorts of feelings most anyone can relate to, despite a very "fantasy" undertone. However, despite the obvious issues with that, the mythology and fantasy isn't so overdone that it overpowers the real issues the books are presenting. I finished the fourth book - 755 pages - on Sunday, and have had the characters still lingering in my mind, as familiar friends that I feel like I've had to say good-bye to. It was a super fun escape for me, perfect for this time of year....

3. Oregon Chai Tea. Mix it with a little sugar free vanilla creamer, water, and milk - and yummy, a super cozy drink without the aftertaste that cocoa often leaves behind for me.

4. Milk Duds. This year I realized that if you eat those simultaneously with popcorn it tastes like carmel corn in your mouth - especially wonderful in movie theaters....

5. Wii Fit. I've obviously eluded to this repetitively, so you can gather I like it A LOT! I've actually stopped using the scales and have just stepped on to my friendly (kind of, but also kind of a nag) Wii Fit buddy... who tells me my BMI and records my progress and celebrates with me when I reach a certain time amount every day. I've loved feeling my ab and rear end muscles hurt in bizarre ways as I realize they've been strengthened by my playing. I'm hooked!

6. Fred Meyer's Premium brand of ice cream - particularly chocolate chip mint and chocolate chip cookie dough. I'm very picky about my ice cream -and even pickier about "chip" ice creams - I like the slivered/shaved chips, not the chunks - and this stuff is darn close to perfection. When the Riley family came over, I used the "Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookie" recipe from the back of the Butter-Flavored Crisco cubes (my personal favorite - practically fool-proof) and pressed part of the batter into a 9x13 pan. I baked it until it looked done and then let it cool. I then put the chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream on top - shaved some chocolate on top of that - and there you go, one of my favorite treats. (We also topped it with homemade hot fudge sauce and whip cream - I mean, if you are going to indulge.....).

7. Pantene Pro-V Restoratives Frizz Control Ultra Smoothing Balm. I have super dry hair - yes, a full week of not washing it would result in a head full of product, but still no naturally produced greasiness. It's a curse and a blessing - but this product certainly helps with the negative aspects. I actually straight iron strips of hair and then apply this straight to it. It really helps.

8. Yaz Birth Control and Erythromycin-Benzoyl Peroxide Topical Gel. For YEARS I've struggled with both adult (hormone-related) acne and a very sore chest area for about a third of every month. My wonderful doctor put me on YAZ, which ELIMINATED the breast pain completely (Wow!!!!), and it combined with the above mentioned gel is making the acne better. This gel, without insurance runs over a hundred dollars, but because it went generic recently, my insurance allows it only to run $10 for me. What a deal! It's great to feel like I'm finally seeing some improvements.....

I'll come back and add more things as I think of them, but that's probably plenty of random-ness for now.....!