A few of my favorite things...
On Valentine's Day a friend posted about a few things that she loves. I thought it was a fun idea (yup, stealing all your ideas Erin) and although Valentine's Day is now a thing of the past I still want to share a few of mine...
I love this site. I keep up with all the new pictures via the RSS feed...seeing there is a new post makes for sunny moments in each day! T.J. keeps telling me to put some of my own up. I need to get on that.
Groceries delivered to my door. With T.J. and I both working, grocery shopping is a bit of a pain. I like AmazonFresh over Safeway.com because they have a pre-dawn delivery option. If you order by midnight you can have your groceries by 6 a.m. the next morning -- and if you spent $25 the delivery is free (you have to spend $50 for free regular daytime delivery during a 1-hour time slot). Everything comes in sealed bins and the items that need to be refrigerated are packed with ice packs. The only downsides are that they currently only service certain areas (I signed up a few months before they started servicing my neighborhood) and that you have to watch prices as some things are a little more pricey than you would find normally.
This Plaisirs Nature Peach Shower Gel is available from Yves Rocher and smells just like a fresh peach. So yummy! (Just don't eat it.) There is also a lotion available but I haven't yet tried it out.
TV shows on DVD. No commercials. No waiting for the next episode in the season. Need I say more? I also appreciate the networks that make current episodes available online. Most of them still break for commercials but I can handle a 30 second break when I have the option to walk away and not worry about missing any of the episode. Who needs cable anyway?
Pepperidge Farm Mint Brussels® Cookies. "Lacey-thin, crispy cookies encircle a layer of smooth, luxurious, dark chocolate and cool, mint crème." Seriously. Delightful. Just be careful--WAY to easy to eat the whole bag.
Hi, my name is Lisa. ("Hi, Lisa.") And I'm totally addicted to Google! The people at Google are so inventive and everything is always done well. See all the above logos? I know, it is a lot of Google--but I use all of those. Gmail changed my life. I love being able to tag all my email. Google Calendar has been a handy way to keep track of everything from appointments and bills to anniversaries and birthdays. Plus, you have the ability to create multiple calendars and then share whichever ones you want with whomever you want. I use Google Docs for my to-do lists (I'm a chronic list maker), as a online personal journal, to share ongoing documents with friends (for instance, I created one for my friend Tressa and I to track how much we are spending on our Europe trip). iGoogle is just fun. I love the theme options (for instance, one changes depending on the weather in whatever location you choose) and it is a handy way to have quick access to email and has lots of entertaining add-ons. Google Reader is simply amazing. With a glance I can see who has updated their blogs, what the current news is, if there is a new icanhascheezburger picture...so many of my favorite sites have RSS feeds and now I actually have a chance to keep up with all of them! Google's Picasa can scan your computer, find all images and videos and then sorts them for you. You can edit pictures, reorganize and even click a button to upload specific pictures or a whole album to the online picture service of your choice. Google Earth is a fun toy--this is the one Google service I listed that I don't use often but it amazes me whenever I do. T.J. just introduced me to Google SketchUp. Seriously, give it a try. Very nifty!
Books are yet another addiction. I love the smell of books and the way they look stacked every which way. Especially older books. Sadly, I haven't been reading as much the last few years and this annoys and distresses me. I'm attempting to remedy that this year and so far I'm doing pretty well and getting back into the literary world has been really enjoyable. I just finished reading the first three books of the Twilight Saga by Stephenie Meyer (recommended by youngest sister who is a huge fan) and while they were definitely aimed at a teenage audience I really enjoyed them (vampires and werewolves FTW). Now I'm picking up where I left off on the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin with book four, A Feast for Crows. Hurrah for reading!
I was first introduced to Tim's Cascade Sytle Jalapeño Potato Chips my freshman year of college. T.J. and some of his friends liked to buy these and a bag of Tim's Sea Salt & Vinegar chips and mix them in a bowl--something about the element of surprise. While I wouldn't recommend this tactic I do love the Jalapeño chips on their own. My favorite way to eat them is with some non-fat cream cheese. Mmmmm.
It is sort of like Netflix for CDs but you get to keep the CDs. You create a queue of CDs and each month you receive the CD on the top of your queue and they charge your account $6.99. Plus, as a subscriber, you can buy CDs at any time for $6.99 each with free shipping. They don't have everything but they certainly have a lot! I've been a subscriber since October 2005 (back then it was only $5.99 a CD). I love getting CDs in the mail every month!
Pandora. Create a station (or stations) with your favorite artists and discover new ones with similar styles. Check it out. You won't regret it!
Okay. My list kept growing and I'm pulling the plug! What are some of your favorite things?