The One With The Challenge: 20 Of My Favorite Things

I feel like Julie Andrews...these are a few of my favorite things!

I have not thought of these beforehand because I figured it would be interesting to see what just pops into my head at random. The real challenge is either going to be limiting it to 20 things or struggling to come up with all 20. I have a feeling it may be the former.

So here it goes...in no particular order, just how they come to me...

1. iPod: Seriously, what did I do before this was invented? I was always one to be making mix tapes, recording things off the TV with a huge boombox held up to the speakers so the idea of creating playlists is so incredible. I love music and used those archaic ways to make it accessible to me. Now create a device that holds thousands of songs (and I do have thousands on mine) that can be brought up in a blink of an eye? And you can play it in your house, on head phones and in your car? I'm in heaven! Plus, my iPod has helped me out in many a karaoke jam when I just can't quite remember how a song goes.

2. The Internet: Another thing I can't imagine living without. It is difficult for me to remember a time I couldn't hop online to check out a fact or look up something on a whim. The Internet is really an amazing thing and has made life so much easier. That can be a downfall too I realize but mostly a good thing. Also, it brought me into the world of blogging which led to me making friends with some of the most amazing people I have ever known. I will be eternally grateful for that.

3. The Twilight Series: This book series started me reading again and I can't thank it enough. Yes I read books here or there but I had lost my zest for really READING. My best friend had given me Twilight for my birthday one year. I didn't pick it up until the following January and boy do I ever kick myself for not reading it sooner. The series is second to only the Harry Potter books as my most favorite reads ever.

4. Chocolate, most specifically anything by Godiva and Ghirardelli: I am a proud chocoholic and these two companies are my heroes. We visited the Ghirardelli factory in San Francisco and I thought I had found my Mecca. So much chocolate and not enough room on my thighs. God forbid I am ever told I can't eat chocolate, I do believe I would rather suffer unthinkable pain than give up my one true comfort.

5. Halloween: Maybe because this holiday falls two days after my birthday or because it revolves around lots of my #4 favorite thing. I just know I love the idea of dressing up as something special and going out and having fun. In recent years, with no children to bring trick-or-treating and having to work on this special day it has not been as festive as in years past. But as soon as we have a child old enough to adore this holiday as much as I do I am going to be all over celebrating it up right again.

6. Musicals/Broadway: As explained on Challenge Day One I love music. I also love theatre and have acted a lot in my past. Musicals are something I started in when I was young and never got tired of. I love the idea of breaking into song to explain a feeling or a special moment. I know others find that corny but to me it expresses exactly how I feel inside at times. If I could burst into song and dance whenever I wanted I think I would be a lot happier. Les Miserables, Phantom, Miss Saigon, Wicked, Rent, Spring Awakening, Legally Blonde...I could go on and on about how much I love them and sing their songs.

7. Glee: Carrying over from #6, this show depicts exactly what I was talking about. The ability to live your life with song and dance expressing your feelings. Plus, I can relate to the kids in this show having been a theatre/musical geek all throughout my school career. The performances are awesome but I also love the quieter moments when they use song to paint a picture that is better told through music than just words.

8. Vampires: You knew this one was coming. I have had a love (obsession) with vampires ever since I read Dracula at a pretty young age. Then it was The Lost Boys and Monster Squad, Buffy and Angel that sparked my love for these seductive but deadly creatures of the night. If it has vampires in it, chances are I have read it or seen it. Twilight and other vampire book series helped rekindle this adoration but The Vampire Diaries is fastly moving into the top spot of my vampire addiction needs.

9. Bread and Cheese: I can't live without them as evidence of my fling with Atkin's before our wedding that turned me into a bread devouring machine as soon as that wedding dress was off. And I can't get enough of them as the same Atkin's diet let me eat as much cheese I could get my hands on. It still wasn't enough.

10. Caffeine: In keeping with the food theme here for a second, perhaps it is because I haven't had any, or at least not nearly as much as I used to, in a really long time. Caffeine and I are dear friends and my struggle to stop having it (even with the elimination of soda and coffee, see addiction with chocolate above) is proving to be futile. I love Pepsi and Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts and even McDonald's coffee. I love tea and ice tea and hot chocolate and all other sorts of jolt inducing drinks. The first few days after not having caffeine are always tough, proving I may be a little bit too much dependent.

11. Karaoke: Hey, have I mentioned I love music and I like to sing? I think I have once or twice... Karaoke, how people anywhere can butcher songs we love. But to me it is a fun way to spend an evening with friends. Cheering each other on, doing songs you never in a million years would sing and supporting others for their bravery of just getting up there (believe me, I know a lot of people who WOULD NEVER.) I love it! Plus it gives me an opportunity to blow people out of the water who have never heard me sing before and have no idea I can carry a tune adequately. I'm not saying I'm fantastic, I am horribly out of practice, but people have low expectations at karaoke and I always manage to surprise someone.

12. Hot Male Actors: I was going to list a few people but then the list got too long so I decided to make them their own category. I appreciate good acting. Even more I appreciate good acting that comes in a very drool-inducing package. I am not ashamed to admit I like looking at hot men, preferably shirtless. I am a heterosexual female after all and hot men are, well...HOT! It never fails when someone I, uh, admire comes on the screen I will start a "take it off" chant. Charming loves it. (I can say that because he makes me rewind the Tivo for every SINGLE Victoria's Secret commercial that we blow past while watching shows. We love each other and can appreciate our mutual need to see hot ass occasionally.) Some samples...Alexander Skarsgard, Joseph Fiennes, Paul Wesley, Ian Somerhalder, Alex O'Loughlin, Joe Manganiello, Ryan Reynolds, Zac Efron, Matthew Morrison, Taylor Lautner.....I'm sorry, what was I writing about? I got distracted...

13. Laughing: I don't do it nearly enough but I love how it makes me feel.

14: Reading: I love how reading a good book can take me into another world, often places I wish I could be. Books are amazing things and I love how they can bring people together for discussions and recommendations. Nothing pleases me more than telling someone about an amazing book and having them read it and fall in love with it too.

15: Sleep: I don't get nearly enough but I do love it so. I could sleep all day if allowed. My husband marvels at my ability to fall asleep anywhere and for hours on end. When I got back from France I slept for 27 hours straight. My mom had to hold a mirror under my nose to make sure I was still breathing. Sleep is good! Makes me worry for the days when we have a baby and sleeping in becomes a thing of the past.

16. Movies: As with reading, a good movie can suck you in and transport you to a world unlike your own. It is the ultimate escape and something I love to indulge in. I used to love to go out to see a movie but noisy rude people have ruined that experience for me. Besides, our setup at home is practically as good as any in a movie theatre. If we had the room I would have one whole wall be the TV a la Barney Stinson.

17. Comfortable Jeans: These are almost impossible to find but when you do they are the most fabulous things in the world. Nothing fits like the perfect jean. I have mourned over the loss of the perfect pair many a time. Putting to rest a pair of perfect jeans means many endless shopping days in too tiny fitting rooms, pulling and pushing, sitting and squatting and testing out pair after pair. Some are too tight, others show too much in back. Some you can't sit in and others bag in the crotch. It is often a fruitless search, but every once and a while you find that one pair that fits every curve and weave and don't feel like jeans at all and the heavens open up and sing. My worry is one day I'll never be able to find a pair of jeans I love anymore and will be forced to wear sweatpants for the rest of my life.

18. Wii: I grew up with video games. Atari and then Nintendo. I spent long hours playing Frogger and Pitfall, then graduated to Super Mario Bros. and Tetris. They were fun to play with a group or on your own. Years went by and I did play a video game for quite a long time. Then I went to my best friend's house and discovered a system call The Wii. I was amazed! How far games have come. I love how freeing not having a wired controller is and how the Wii makes you get up and move. I am sure the Kinect is even better but I have not played that yet. I am a Wii girl through and through and really love how much fun it is to play in a huge group. I love Wii Sports and Sports Resort, Wario World and Ravin' Rabbids. But my absolute favorite is Rock Band. I would play Rock Band day in and day out if I could. Feeling like a true musician is such a high. Those people did a fabulous job creating an experience most of us have dreamed about since we were young. Being in a rock band.

19. Kitties: I love all cats, have always had cats in my life. Throughout the years I have had some spectacular cats as my companions. But none of them compare to Portia and Nerissa. These cats are one in a million. There will never be another pair like our girls. They are most certainly OUR cats and I can't imagine our life without them. Charming and I had a discussion the other day where I voiced a fear of a child of ours being allergic to our cats. He very quickly responded, "Well, we would have to figure out something because they are our children too and they came first." Not sure if that means we would get rid of the kid, but I like his way of thinking about our furry children as always a part of our family.

20. My Husband: The love of my life. My one and only. I don't know what I did to deserve a man as amazing and loving and devoted as him but I plan on thanking God when I meet him some day that He brought us together. As a woman who never in a million years thought I would find someone to put up with all of, well, ME, and had never imagined I would get married, Charming is the best thing that has ever happened to me and I love him with all of my heart. He is my most favorite thing EVER.

And on that sappy note, I'm done!