These are a Few of my Favorite Things

I keep hearing the song. Although I am not sure what it has to do with Christmas! It makes me thing of The Sound of Music which is definitely NOT a Christmas movie. Although I do love the way the song makes me feel.

This week I have been getting bombarded with "Favorite Things" emails. Oprah, Ellen, Barnes & Noble, Ann Taylor, Groupon. Everyone is sharing their list of favorite things that we should all rush out and buy. Well, that inspired me to make a Favorite Things list of my own, although most of them you can't buy. With that, a list. These are a few of my favorite things (in my best Julie Andrews impersonation!)

1. Christmas lights on other houses. I know I have said it before, but I LOVE our city. I would say that 6 out of 10 homes have Christmas lights on and they are beautiful. It's way more fun to have it dark at 5 pm with all those twinkling lights! Thanks, Highlands Ranch community!
2. XM radio. With 2 Christmas stations to choose from, I can get my favorites by my favorites including The Ray Conniff singers, and Chris can hear Alvin and the Chipmunks and Mariah Carey. Everyone is happy.
   
3. Santa Claus. That's right. I said I am thankful for Santa. He represents the good in all of us and reminds us of the innocence and imagination of our childhood. The sheer joy he brings to kids and the giggles and squeals of happiness and excitement that follow him everywhere. How could you not love the way Santa makes you feel?
4. 24-Hour Fitness and Facebook. Yep, my gym and Facebook. I have a love/hate relationship with both. And I don't love them for what they do for me, I love them for what they are doing for others. Facebook started offering "check-ins" whereby you use your smart phone to check-in with the nearest retailer based on your GPS location. 24-Hour Fitness donates $1 to Kaboom (a non-profit to help build kids playgrounds) for every check-in. That's my incentive. They have donated $6 on my behalf this week. That's awesome!
5. Creativity. But not in an artistic way...I lack that altogether, but I am creative with problem solving, cooking and duct tape. I think I get that from my Grandma Melanie. I don't think of it as a gift until others point out that they would never have thought of that. I am helping a friend create a cookbook so she can survive her allergy diagnosis. I tied my Santa and Reindeer to trees using an old phone cord. Chris didn't get that. He wanted to use curling ribbon. Guess he's never seen a bird build a nest before.
6. Water. I know. It's basic. But without it I suffer from dry skin and chapped lips. Water is cheaper than any lotion, potion or balm to fix the winter flakes.
7. Walgreen's Pharmacy. Weird, I know. But with the help of "my" pharmacist, I finally found an inexpensive daily vitamin that doesn't give me a MASSIVE headache. Something about the fillers and transporters. I don't get it, but whatever. It works! Thanks Dan and Nature Made!
8. Our fireplace. Few things can evoke such simultaneous feelings of calm, love, peace and home as a fire in a fireplace. Even on the worst of days, a fire (of the non-destructive variety) can make me feel whole again.
9. Bobbi Brown Lip Balm with SPF. I know, I know...I already said water. But this stuff is like lip magic in metal tin. An incredible lip moisturizer with SPF and a hint of gloss without being too shiny. Can't. Live. Without. It. It isn't as cheap as Blistex but it lasts a long time and makes a great gift! Right, Mom?!
10. You. I am thankful for you! All 8 of you who read my blog (could be more, but only 8 of you "follow" it.). You keep me positive and always have GREAT feedback. Thank you. There's nothing better than blogging knowing that somebody is reading and actually seeks you out and looks forward to what you have to say.

Cheers!

Best City EVER

Chris and I had no reservations about moving across "town" from a northern suburb of Denver to a southern suburb of Denver. It would have been the equivalent of moving from Mt. Pleasant to Midland (roughly).

And I love it here. I mean REALLY love it here. For a million reasons. Today was my second outdoor run (as I anxiously await fall and days when it's too cold to run outside--I am really done with this heat!) after a month long hiatus. Ok, maybe it was longer than that.

This morning, with a light breeze and a perfect running temperature, I set out to enjoy the crystal blue skies that can only be enjoyed from 5,800 feet above sea level. I was greeted by no fewer than 7 friendly dogs taking their owners for walks followed by human "good morning's" and "how do you like your shoes."

Trail running/walking in Highlands Ranch is apparently also a social event. I saw a mailman riding his bike to work, a local youth minister walking to church with three lunchboxes in his hands (he had repacked them for the kids who forgot them yesterday, I asked), a woman training for the Denver Rock-n-Roll Marathon in 2 weeks stopped to ask me about my shoes (yes, the super awesome Vibram Five Fingers!) and a park ranger who was cleaning up the coyote poop from the path and looking for their dens to make sure they are not posing a threat to the neighborhood.

Several happy wiggles from really cute dogs and even more mini-conversations with my neighbors. I don't know that life in a city can get much better than this. I love this place.