Favorite Things

My friend, Deanna, tagged me for this meme: Favorite Things. I'm a little late posting this. It's been sitting in draft since May. I've been a bit of a absentee blogger lately.

These are the rules:
1. Mentioned who tagged you.
2. List six unimportant things that make you happy.
3. Tag six more blogs, then go and comment on their blogs. Let them know that have been challenged, and invite them to play along.

Here are 6 unimportant things that make me happy:

1. Coffeehouses - I do love a rich mug of Mocha topped with whipped cream or a tall Cappuccino with tons of froth. However, more that the coffee, I love the coffeehouse. The atmosphere...the aroma of beans being roasted, the heat from my mug warming my hands, the sound of beans being ground and froth being whipped, the eclectic mix of people to watch... it's a fantastic sensory experience!

My favorite coffeehouses are those that are in beautiful old buildings that formerly had a different life. I love to visit my favorite coffeehouse here in town that used to be a Pure Oil Gas Station. Growing up in town, I remember it being a barber shop. In a time when perfectly good buildings are demolished to make way for yet another building, I appreciate owners that can find new life in old buildings preserving the history of a community.

2. The Beach - Here I go with another sensory experience that makes me happy, but it does. Sand between my toes, the sound of the waves and the gulls, the sun on my face and the wind tangling my hair... all things that make me happy.

When the weather is warm enough, swimming brings me a lot of joy. My parents have always said that my brother and I should have been born fish. We love the water so!

3. Baby parts (particularly fingers and toes) - Oh, tiny babies are so perfect. Their tiny features all smooched up in baby pudge! I love ((LOVE)) baby parts.

While the fingers and toes are my favorite to examine, my favorite to squeeze is their chunky little thighs! Growing up, our family referred to this region as "hunkers." My two year old gets a daily dose of "hunker" squeezing along with his crazy momma's daily proclamation, "O-o-oh, I just love your hunkers!" Weird. I know.

4. The County Fair - Actually, any local community event makes me happy but I particularly love the fair. All of the learning opportunities for city kids to learn about agriculture are right there for them. Where else are us city slickers going to get up close an personal with a goat?

In addition to the agricultural aspect of the fair, I have a few other fair favorites: Cotton Candy, the Ferris Wheel, and the Demolition Derby. Did I ever mention that I competed in the Demolition Derby with my then future hubby as my passenger? We lost in our first round but you'd have thought we won. When the last car was left standing, instead of exiting as disgraced losers, we jumped up on top of our crumpled car and hooted and hollered as if we had won. Indeed we had, for simply being in the midst of all those crashing cars was enough of a prize for me - a happy memory!

5. Jody Rocks- Ya, I know, I rock! Hehe. Traveling as a family in the big ole' station wagon from South Dakota to Florida, I got to see a lot out the backseat windows. As we would travel that long road to Grandma and Grandpa's house, my favorite view, for as long as I can remember, are the walls of rocks that have been cut to make way for the road to come through. They tower above the road making a beautiful display for traveling families with curious kids passing through.

I'm not sure who coined the phrase, but whenever anyone in my family sees the rocks, they exclaim, "Look, Jody Rocks!" To which I reply, "Ya, I know!" Even my husband now graciously plays along and refers to them in the lingo. Jody Rocks are a part of our family vocabulary and the sight of them does indeed bring me joy. Joy in the sight but also in the family memories that they evoke!

6. Children's Books- I've always liked to read and I've always been surrounded by a bunch of avid readers. My mom and both of my brothers are reading freaks and a good friend of mine is now falling into that category too. Compared to those four, I don't read much at all yet, I still really enjoy a good book.

My favorites are Children's books. I took a Kiddy Lit class in college with a friend who was an elementary education major as well. In that class, I was introduced to so many wonderful novels and picture books that I did not know had existed. This friend and I spent tons of time that should have been spent on our college studies at Borders, searching out great Children's books. We convinced ourselves that we were going there to better prepare ourselves for our future teaching years but the reality is that we both found great pleasure in searching for authentic literature in that Border's children's department.

I am currently challenging myself to read all of the Newberry winners. I have had a lot of fun doing this. I had already read many of them but I am rereading some and also enjoying ones that I had never read before. My favorite Newberry book has always been Bridge to Terabithia but I recently read A Single Shard and absolutely loved the book. I would love to have every Newberry book in my home collection. Reading and collecting them has been fun but I still have quite a long way to go!

So, there you go, 6 unimportant things that make me happy.

There are so many great blogs out there. I'm not sure who to tag. So, if you're reading this and want to play along, consider yourself tagged!