Karen has inspired another post... damn her. She has a great post about the 100 things she loves. In some ways 100 things seems like a lot but I imagine as I approach number 100 I will have to leave a thing or two out of my list… or even go back and replace a not so precious item. Without much further ado and in no particular order are my 100 Favorite Things.
1. Mom, Dad, Dan and Andrew
2. Pretty
3. Grandma Pat, Joan, Patti, UB, Grandma Pepper, Aunt Marrilyn, Aunt Ruth, Uncle Joe, RaryRynn, the Miesens, Meg and the rest of the Chicago crew.
4. The things Joan says, “Welcome to the family!” “Touch ‘em all, Kirby!” “Ya bunch of sluts.” This last one was said to Grandma Pat and me.
5. T-racy and Amy
6. The Queen and Gary and their house in the morning. Sawyer, Luke and Cricket too.
7. Sadie and her smile.
8. The smell of the pear tree by the driveway when it blooms in June.
9. The hammock in Mom and Dad’s backyard.
10. Andrew’s ability to make people as uncomfortable as possible in the most peasant of ways.
11. Dan’s quiet and reserved sense of humor.
12. Talking to strangers.
13. Snuggling with Pretty, Mom and Tracy… not all together, each in their own time and place.
14. Homemade dishrags.
15. Cake.
16. A fresh box of crayons. 8, 16, 24, 48 or 96 boxes.
17. An old, used, loved box of crayons. 8, 16, 24, 48 or 96 boxes.
18. The smell of Quaker Oats factory in Iowa. I roll down the windows of the car and inhale deeply and repeatedly until I am light headed.
19. The smell of Saint Louis in the summer.
20. Grandma Pepper’s garage. Makes me think of Grandpa Stan.
21. Aromatics Elixir.
22. The streets and museums of Paris.
23. Madeline books and her appendix scar.
24. Mall of America.
25. Steak’n’Shake
26. Sharpie Markers, skinny, fat, new is best but old will do.
27. My first graders… oh how my heart misses them!
28. My planner.
29. The house on Howard Street in Winona, MN. The office, the green room, and the basement.
30. The quote book. “Write that down!”
31. Skiing.
32. The dock at Patti and Biff’s… heck, their entire house and yard.
33. Nutella on anything. Bread, crackers, waffles, fingers, and croissants.
34. Hotel Henri in Paris. The rooms and the fantastic smell.
35. When Josh calls me “Brownie.”
36. Harry Potter books. The boa constrictor incident is one of my favorites.
37. Brendan Fraiser in Blast From the Past.
38. The amazing smell of lavender.
39. European jars of Nutella. They’re glass and are perfect for milk and juice once the Nutella is gone.
40. Douglas and Frannie.
41. Lost
42. Fresh flowers.
43. Shoes… especially funky tennis and pretty heels that I absolutely don’t need and will most likely wear only once.
44. I love you goodbye, I love you goodbye, I love you goodbye!
45. Old Navy in Eagan. It’s like a drug.
46. The First 48 on A&E. Way graphic, way interesting.
47. Soduko. I do like 8 of them in one sitting.
48. Dumb and Dumber.
49. Dad, Dan and Andrew playing guitar together.
50. Dancing.
51. The MN Zoo. I like to go the Farm exhibit and see the baby cows. Oh, and the Meek Rats.
52. Late night skiing at Welch and Wild. The sights and sounds are magic to me. The swooshing crunch of the skiers and the creaking and chugging of the chairlift as it rocks up the hill. Dark sky and stars. Silence, singing songs, laughing and cleaning Tracy’s skis off.
53. Big long walks.
54. The way Pretty smells after a shower.
55. Dr.Seuss. The Lorax and Hooray for Diffendoofer Day are my favorites.
56. Josh and his friends share similar mannerisms and phrases. “WANGER!” “Ready? OK!”
57. Kelly Clarkson.
58. Missy and Paul.
59. Corn dogs… the food and the famous softball team. Go Corn Doggies!
60. Mascara and moisturizer.
61. The misfortune of others.
62. Butter. Yum.
63. Grey’s Anatomy
64. Friends… all of my personal friends and the show. “Pi-VOT!”
65. Farting on Tracy.
66. Sleeping in.
67. Blokus, the best game in the world. I’ve even beaten my dad at it!
68. My Madeline music box.
69. The Kmart underwear dancing man from the commercials a number of years ago.
70. Dancing in my underwear.
71. Kandersteg, Switzerland and the Victoria Ritter Hotel. Magic, beauty, wonder and awe.
72. Goat cheese salads in France.
73. My pink Nalgene.
74. Thunder storms that rattle knickknacks and pictures.
75. Peonies and ranunculuses.
76. Dad’s hash browns. I can not for the life of me get them to flip as one whole hash brown when I make them. Dad has a secret… I can’t figure it out!
77. Sand Lot. “Lotioning and oiling, oiling and lotioning. I JUST CAN’T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!”
78. Project Runway. I love Santino’s crazy and amazing creations.
79. Grandma Pat calls her computer mouse a “shoe.”
80. Telling stories. It’s a Loftus thing… tell me to wrap it up if it’s taking too long.
81. Lakeview Drive Inn, Winona, MN. Ummmm, toddy burgers and caramel milkshakes.
82. Chapstic. Daisy Blue Naturals Grapefruit Mint and Bonnie Bell Cotton Candy are the very best.
83. Road Rage… I know this sounds terrible but it’s the only place I really get mad. It’s my time to release pent up anger.
84. Sex and the City. There’s too much to determine any one thing.
85. Memory Rocks. I pick them up when I’ve been on a trip or had a memorable experience. I write on them all teeny tiny with a Sharpie when and where the rock is from.
86. Laughing kids.
87. Pumpkins.
88. Tank, I miss him dearly. I think of him whenever I smell Aqua di Gio and cigarettes.
89. Outback Steak house. Bushman ‘Shrooms, the small Victoria, medium rare, and a cherry lime aid.
90. Live music… Secret Solution, formerly Tagine, formerly Flavor. Jam bands, Dad’s work band.
91. Crocodiles and Steve Irwin. I still want to go to his park and meet him, Terry, Bindi and BobBob someday… I’d like to meet Agro the croc and Douglas the alligator too. Douglas the plant is named after Douglas the alligator.
92. Elmo’s World on Sesame Street. The “Getting Dressed” episode is the best. Elmo wears a kilt and Irish dances while another Elmo, also in a kilt, plays the bagpipes. It’s awesome.
93. Shopping for school supplies.
94. Barnes and Noble. I’m not allowed to enter the children’s department unattended. Large sums of money have been spent.
95. Drop Dead Gorgeous. “I want to buy a big bag of little doughnuts.” “I got some.” “If you catch this in your mouth I’ll give you a prize.” “Mom always cries when she sees a fat lady in a tube top.”
96. The Dakota County Fair.
97. “Why don’t you just write down me for the last three?” asked Josh.
98. Target
99. The Lakeville High School Marching Band! Final Count Down, cadences, the cheers and Mr. Earp yelling.
100. Palm f*ing Sunday!
