Ten Things I Still Love

Back in May of 2009 I wrote this post called Ten Things I Love. I've reprinted the basics here with an update. I still love all ten, but some for different reasons.

1. Wednesdays. I love Wednesdays. I think it's because I associate that day with pleasant things. For instance, I schedule my monthly massage on a Wednesday. And another thing, I never have to cook dinner on a Wednesday because my husband grabs a sandwich before he leaves to play bridge. On Wednesdays, I know I still have three more days to accomplish great things before the week is gone and lost forever.

Nothing has changed here. I still love Wednesdays for all the same reasons.

2. My monthly massage. I used to get a sixty-minute massage. That expanded to seventy-five. Now I'm up to ninety minutes. Not only is it relaxing, but it helps relieve the aches and pains that result from too many hours at the computer.

I've dropped back to a regular seventy-five minutes, but sometimes (like around the holidays or my birthday) I schedule two massages in one month. I'm such a glutton for pleasure.

3. Television. I'm one of those strange people who love TV and isn't afraid to admit it. I enjoy Survivor and American Idol and Amazing Race and Dancing With the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance and Big Brother. My favorite dramas are 24 and The Mentalist and Medium and Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters. I love Desperate Housewives.

I still love television, but 24 and Medium are gone. I was into some new cop shows last season but half of those were cancelled. Newer favorites are Memphis Beat with Jason Lee (from My Name is Earl) and another is Combat Hospital. And the new season of Anthony Bourdain "No Reservations" has begun. Love that one.

4. Pumpkin scones from Starbucks. The calories don't count, because I eat it with a venti nonfat latte. I only have the scone once a month. It can't hurt me.

I'm sure I still love these scones, but I went on a 30-day no scone challenge that won't be over until August 10th. So far, so good. Now I crave biscotti instead of scones. :)

5. Plain nonfat yogurt and frozen blueberries sprinkled with granola (preferably a low fat and very crunchy granola). I have this for lunch almost every day.

I still love this concoction but haven't had it lately. Now that I've been reminded, I think I'll have it for lunch. Or maybe I'll skip the granola and mix a blueberry-yogurt smoothie in the blender. It's going to be hot today, so that should be a cool and tasty treat.

6. Movies. I haven't been to a movie in a theater in ages. I use Netflix. But I've had the urge to see a big screen showing lately, so I'm trying to decide between Star Trek and Angels and Demons. I even tossed out the question on Twitter this morning. Which one should I see? Kerrie Flanagan of Northern Colorado Writers blogged about Angels and Demons in The Writing Bug and gave it a thumbs down. Anyone else?

I still get Netflix and am watching the mini-series Rome. I also watched Fair Game which was pretty interesting. I'm still thinking about this new pricing scheme and whether I need to cut something out or not. So far I still get three DVDs and access to a whole list of instant movies I can access through my television set or computer. The last movie I saw in a theater was at the end of last year -- the True Grit remake.

7. Reading, especially mysteries from my favorite authors. I'll name Craig Johnson and William Kent Krueger here, but my list of preferred mystery writers is about ten miles long.

The list is now eleven miles long.

8. Chocolate. I like Lindt 85% cocoa dark chocolate. I can't keep it in the house all the time because...well, you know.

I do keep a stash in the house all the time now but restrict myself to one square of chocolate a day. Yesterday at Walgreens they had both the 85% and the 90% on sale so I bought six bars. That ought to hold me for a few weeks.

9. Wine. Hogue Gewurztraminer is my favorite white.

Still true.

10. Farmer's Markets. I'm delighted it's market season again. I usually visit one market on Saturday morning and another one on Sunday afternoon. I stroll the circuit of booths at least twice, once to survey and once to buy. The highlight of the season: peaches from Colorado's western slope.

Also still true. This weekend I'm on a mission to price honey by the pound (because I want to try making mead) and to locate chocolate peanut butter (so I can try that ice cream recipe from Foodie Road Show I linked to earlier in the week).

It seems quite a few things I love are edible. I can live with that. I can still live with that.