Who doesn’t love a countdown? Whether it’s a Top 100 or Top 10, they are addictive little pieces of easily digestible culture (just ask VH-1). The speed-read list format, the readily accessible variety of information – the possibility for affirmation or disagreement, and, of course – the desire to see WHAT WILL BE #1?!?
So – love it or hate it – agree, disagree, or experience ennui – what follows shall be lists of Top 10’s that appeal to me. (Check out that rhyming awesomeness!)
TOP 10’s:
10 things I love at Trader Joe’s
10. They have mini shopping carts to keep Miss A busy.
9. They have balloons to keep Miss A happy.
8. Miss A’s favorite white cheddar puffed corn snack.
7. Funky beers like apricot ale.
6. 3 buck Chuck (the husband buys it by the case).
5. Scrumptious little loaves of pretzel bread (reminds me of the bread served at a little restaurant we went to in downtown Gettysburg).
4. Trail mix with chunks of chocolate and yummy yummy dried cherries (a “health” food, but I try not to look at how many calories are in a serving, especially since the serving is the size of my thumb).
3. Organic Low Sugar Strawberry and Apricot Preserves.
2. Cheese. Lots and lots of fun and different cheese.
1. Asiago Peppercorn Sourdough Bread (toasted with a bit of butter, I can eat it as a meal for breakfast, lunch or dinner).
10 Things I Don’t Need But Always Seem to Can’t Help But Buy More Of
Decorative throw pillows…I lust for expensive luxurious fabrics…but settle for what’s on sale at Kohl’s…for now.
Dishware: teacups, coffee mugs, wine glasses
Picture Frames…I type this, knowing I have at least 2 boxes of frames in my basement, yet planning a trip to Hobby Lobby this week for more…
Purses…here, at least I will sometimes purge – either giving them to my daughter for dress-up or throwing them in the garage sale pile. And I’m not talking about Coach here (I will never understand why someone would pay that kind of money for something that holds your stuff) I buy my purses at the Circle store.
Craft Supplies (scrapbook paper, crayons, funky scissors) I have markers and what not exploding out of every crevice of my house. But those multi-packs of colorful Sharpies…they call to me.
Holiday decor (themed towels, pottery, etc)
Cute little tins to keep stuff in
Folders and Notebooks (you never know when you need one!)
BabyLegs (I think it might be an addiction)
Top 10 Songs I Like to Listen to While Doing Yoga
Water’s Wide – 7Nations
Time after Time – The Eva Cassidy re-make
Jamaica Inn – Tori Amos
Just about anything from the AfroCelts
Holiday Songs You Would Hear Most Often on MY Christmas Radio Station:
10. A.J. ‘s personal favorite :Feliz Navidad (though when she sings it, it’s not quite in Spanish or English)
9. A.J.’s other favorite: The Chipmunks Hula Hoop Song…old or new; they are both a holiday staple.
8. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by BareNaked Ladies and Sara McLachlan
7. The Rebel Jesus by Seven Nations
6. Christmas Wrapping by the Waitresses
5. The 12 Pains Of Christmas (year after year I still laugh at the angry man stringing up his lights and the, um, fruity gentleman sending Christmas Cards…”I don’t even KNOW half these people!”)
4. Rocking Around the Christmas Tree by Brenda Lee (though I guess there’s a Hannah Montana version out there somwhere…I haven’t been brave enough to search it out yet)
2. Trans Siberian Orchestra’s mix of Pachelbel Canon in D
1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas (the ultimate classic Judy Garland version, or the awesomely jazzy Diana Krall version)
10 Holiday Songs You Would NEVER Hear on Radio Johnson
10. Bruce Springsteen’s hoarse hollering “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (with that creepy Santa chuckle in the background)
9. Anything by Jessica Simpson.
8. All the various versions of “Baby It’s Cold Outside.” The dude wants some action, we get it.
7. Any song Natalie Cole ruins. Your Dad did it right, if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it.
6. Gloria Estefan “Christmas Through Your Eyes” or “This Christmas.” I don’t inherently dislike Senora Estefan…but something about how her holiday songs sound just really irritates me.
5. The one that starts with the refrain “Sleigh Ride! Sleigh Ride!” and just sounds like some awful mall music. If you have heard it, you know the one I mean.
4. The one with lots of happy famous people doing “Do They Know It’s Christmas After All” What a self-absorbed presumptuous question! All those poor kids in Africa who don’t get snow and aren’t Christian. Hey Bono, do you know it’s Incwala after all?
3. John Lennon’s “So This is Christmas.” I like idea of the song, and I really enjoy Sarah McLachlan’s version…but when Yoko and the kiddie choir kick in, so does my gag reflex.
2. Paul McCartney’s “Simply Having A Wonderful Christmas Time.”
It makes my husband suicidal.
1. That ridiculous song about the kid who wants to buy shoes for his Mama so she can be pretty when she meets Jesus. There is so much wrong with the whole concept of this song, that I better not get started. Ok, I can’t help myself…HE’S THE FREAKING SON OF GOD HE DOESN’T CARE WHAT YOUR SHOES LOOK LIKE (also, does your soul even wear clothes?). IF YOUR MOTHER IS DYING OF CANCER WHY ARE YOU AT THE FREAKIN MALL!?!
And really, it takes you listening to the kid sing in Chicken-Soup-for-the-Soul-esque bad poetry for 5 minutes before you finally give him the money to pay for the shoes?!?
Favorite Sounds – Things that Make my Ears (and soul) Happy
10. Boots crunching in fresh snow
9. Diana Krall’s throaty jazz (when accompanied by wine and moonlight)
8. A thunderstorm (well, I used to really enjoy this – until I became a homeowner and dreaded the threat of leaks/floods/etc)
7. Celtic fiddles and pipes
6. A train far off enough to be a lulling rhythm in the distance
5. A crackling fire
4. Waves crashing against the shore (even if it’s just Lake Michigan)
3. A wind chime’s gentle melody
2. Wind blowing through crisping leaves on autumn trees
1. The carefree happy laughter of my girls
Favorite Classic Movies
10. I can’t think of what to put here, but I have never seen Casablanca, or anything with Garbo or Bacall in it…I don’t have any Bette on here either – need to watch some more old movies!
9. Wuthering Heights (though Ralph Fiennes makes brooding look sexy in the newer one, to me, Olivier was and always will be the embodiment of Heathcliff).
8. Pride and Prejudice (the recent version can’t hold a candle to the 1940 adaptation with Greer Garson and, sigh, Laurence Olivier.)
7. The Crimson Pirate (my 5th grade teacher brought this in for us to watch as a treat, and I fell in love with Burt Lancaster’s hunky tanned chestiness…even with the striped gauchos.)
6. Captain Blood (forget about Johny Depp; Errol Flynn can swash my buckle anytime)
5. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (I think what I love most about this film is the music, but the story is wonderful too.)
4. Gone With the Wind (hella long, yes – but worth it! Once went to see it in the theatre when they did a special re-release…only time I experienced an intermission at a MOVIE…yep, me and all the old people playing hooky from the nursing home.)
3. Robin Hood (Errol Flynn of course, that Costner catastrophe isn’t even worth mentioning)
2. It Happened One Night (the first movie to clean house at the Oscars)
1. Bringing Up Baby (Hepburn and Grant in a delightful mess of a love story with a leopard)
Things to Do as A Mom with 2 Hours All to Herself
10. Run errands without hauling a child in and out of car, cart, and bathroom.
9. Go to the library and leisurely stroll the aisles in the adult fiction section without the constant leg-pulling, I wanna go play nagging, when can we go home whining, hiding behind shelves heart-attacks that are usually part of the library experience.
8. Get a manicure/pedicure. Or a massage. Anything that involves the word “Pamper” and it’s not referring to a box of diapers.
7. Enjoy some crafty hobby without getting the supplies broken, trampled, tossed around, or discarded in favor of play-do time.
6. Take a nature walk without hearing the words: “tired,” “hungry,” or “home.”
5. Eat lunch in a restaurant and have nothing spilled on you, dropped on the floor, or thrown across the room.
4. Finish a workout from start to finish with no time-outs in which you have to stop, gasping for breath, to: get a drink, put on a movie, or check out the successful work on the potty, then resuming workout and almost killing yourself in the attempt to jump your pulse back up to where it had been.
3. Watch t.v. – and it can be a BBC Jane Austen movie, or a talk show – but no one is there to wail “Boring!” or beg for something that has an inquisitive monkey, kleptomaniac fox, or a talking pants-wearing sponge.
2. Read a book – anywhere in the house you feel like – undisturbed.
1. Sleep.
Top 10 Annoying Things About Being A Woman
10. Trying to peel off a sweaty sports bra.
9. Pantyhose.
8. Any and everything done in the pursuit of removing leg hair.
7. Underwire bras – the wire never stays under; this sadistic piece of clothing chooses to pop up and out often – stabbing the wearer fiercely and frequently.
6. Men look great as they age-wrinkles and grey hair add character. Not so for women…so, so, not so.
5. The futility of ever finding just the right pair of jeans (that don’t cost too much.)
4. PMS
3. Cellulite
2. Your period (which always comes on that get-away weekend)
1. Childbirth(yeah, motherhood is great, but seriously – the whole process – not my favorite!)
10 Things My Husband Can Do To Be Even More Wonderful
10. Never leave dirty dishes in the sink for me to find when I come home (especially when the dishwasher has room!)
9. Leave a light on for me when I’m out late.
8. Buy me flowers for no reason – I’m not talking expensive bouquets every Friday, but a pretty bunch once a month would be great.
7. Empty his laundry hamper more often.
6. Plan surprise date nights.
5. Take the initiative to fix stuff around the house (small things – I’m not expecting him to turn into Bob Vila here).
4. Set a romantic mood more often (I’m easy to please – candles, soft music…)
3. Hmmm…he really is quite wonderful already, so it is hard to think of ten things…
2. Clean his hair out of the shower. And while he’s at it, wipe the shower down.
1. Edited for TMI.
10 Things My Husband Does That Make Him So Wonderful
10. He irons his own clothes.
9. He will occasionally load or empty the dishwasher – WITHOUT BEING ASKED TO!
8. He makes a great stir fry.
7. He rubs my back, massages my temples, and combs out my wet hair for me.
6. He often surprises me with cards just to say he loves me.
5. He plays with our daughter everyday, and enjoys taking her to story time.
4. He tells my daughter and me how much he loves us, and how beautiful we are each and everyday – usually several times a day.
3. He lets me know how much he appreciates all I do, from a simple dinner to raising our daughter – he always thanks me for my efforts.
2. He’d rather hang out at home with me than be out with the guys…usually…unless it’s football season.
1. Too personal to say.
Melonie Johnson 