The "B's" of Me

My good friend Julie at Trials and Tribulations recently did a very cool meme (that happened to be passed on to her by my good friend Elaine at the Miss Elaine-ous Life). I love a good meme now and then and it’s been a while, so I said I’d love to play along.

Julie bestowed upon me the letter B, and my job is to tell you 10 of my favorite things that begin with this letter. Without further ado, here they are, in no particular order:

1. Blogging and the blogosphere! Since deciding to start my blog and then finding that there were actually people out there who liked it enough to read it and keep coming back, I have found some wonderful people I truly consider friends. Some of you I even “talk to” on a daily basis! I know non-bloggers don’t quite get it, but there is something so wonderful about this bond of people I have connected with. Although sometimes life slows me down a bit, reading, writing, and commenting, as well as keeping up with the lives of all my blogging buddies has become a very important part of my day! Of course, I also love the endless opportunities to shamelessly brag about my little munchkin affectionately known around here as the Mad Hatter, and I do find writing rather therapeutic.

2. Boggle. In this day and age of Facebook, I’ll call it Scramble, but really it’s the same. Yes, I am a total word nerd. I have a good eye, love to play against others, love to play ladder mode – you name it. Yes, I’m a bit obsessed with Boggle/Scramble, but I feel like it wakes my brain up and keeps me on my toes. If you’re on FB and want to play, let me know!

3. Boston. One of my favorite cities, probably due to the fact that within an hour, I can be transported from suburbia to a life filled with fabulous food, culture, shopping, hotels, theater, and did I mention food and shopping? DH and I LOVE to go away on overnights to Boston. We did it far more frequently before the arrival of the MH (I wouldn’t trade that for a thing!), so it’s even more of a treat when my fabulous parents take the MH overnight and we sneak away for a little R&R (which I like to think of as rest and re-connection). We love to leave early Saturday morning, do some shopping, check in at the Westin in Copley Plaza, eat in the North End, go to Mike’s (I would drive to Boston JUST to go to Mike’s any day!), shop around, sleep in, brunch. You name it. I am counting the days until the overnight we have planned at the end of February. For Hanukkah, my amazing and extremely generous brother gifted us with tickets to Dirty Dancing (the play! Which I had no idea existed!). We instantly decided to make a weekend of it, and we are so excited! Let me tell you – nobody will be putting this Mommy in the corner! You’re more likely to catch me dancing in the aisles for most of the show with DH slouching in his chair praying no one realizes I belong to him.

4. Barbie. Specifically Barbie Diamond Castle, the movie. The MH LOVES anything Barbie. Which means that she will momentarily detach herself from me and play with her various dolls and accessories. I love watching her use her little imagination to make them talk to each other and play, and must admit that I also love “playing Barbies” with her, just like when I was a little girl. As for Barbie Diamond Castle – the movie seriously has magical powers. The MH sits still for NOTHING. We have yet to sit through an entire movie –ever. However, the movie consists of music (one of the things that rules her world), princesses, and puppies. It holds her attention for a full hour and 20 minutes, which ROCKS. MY. WORLD. And, the theme song (sung by none other than Katherine McPhee) is rather catchy and I love to belt it out at the top of my lungs in the midst of a mommy/daughter sing-along. Or alone in the shower.

5. Bars. Any kind. Chocolate, Fiber One, energy. Most importantly the kind that serve alcohol.

6. Best Life Week on Oprah. It was two weeks ago, and it has been life changing. DH read about it and we decided to DVR it and watch together every night. We’ve decided that 2009 is our year to focus on us, our health, and positive change. For those of you who did not see this awesome week of tv, each episode focused on a specific aspect of life. There was health and diet, spirituality (I skipped that one), finance, and my personal favorite – sex. In the past when I’ve been ready to make positive changes in my life, specifically regarding my health, DH has not. Now, we are a team. We have a plan. We are eating so many more meals at home. Healthy, delicious meals. Working on getting active. 2009 is going to be our year – for better health, bettering our financial situation, and really getting back to what connects us as a unit.

7. Books. I love to read. Whether it’s reading children’s books to the Mad Hatter, reading trashy gossip mags, reading chick-lit, or reading what I consider to be “worthy” literature (read: novels and memoirs where you actually need to look up words that are new to you; books that really make you stop and think, and provoke the use of a little brain power). And while I’m on this one, I must add Facebook. Although it is by no means a book, it does contain the word, and I am self-admittedly a total Facebook addict. It’s like a vortex – it sucks you in and I find it nearly impossible to get myself back out.

8. Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream. OK, any ice cream (but I needed a “B”). I love the Coney Island one with chocolate covered peanuts and pieces of waffle cone. Also a fan of Chubby Hubby (sweetie, I mean the ice cream!). My plans for 2009 do not mean that I plan on giving up any ice cream. I will be relying on my dear friend Edy, and all of her slow-churned specialties to help me get my fix. And I can’t wait to see what the special edition American Idol flavors will be this year! Right now, we’re loving Take the Cake in this house!

9. Black. Love the color. Black shoes. Black patent leather. Black clothes (I must own at least 1o or more pairs of black pants). Perfect little black dresses. My kitchen is black and white. My kitchen and hallway floor is black and white tile. The kitchen was not my doing, it was like this when we bought our house, but it was definitely a draw factor. I would never go so far as to paint any walls black, but I do love black.

10. Bath and Body Works. It’s a sad sign when you haven’t been your “regular” store for over 6 months since you’ve been recovering from major back surgery and the manager hears your voice from the back room she’s in and comes out screaming your name in excitement. Yes, Linda the manager and I are BBWBFFs. I am in love with the foaming antibacterial soaps. Nothing makes me happier than buying 60 bottles when they have the once in a blue moon 5 for $10 sale. I do not exaggerate. I love their body washes, creams, Wallflowers, linen sprays, candles, everything. The only thing I don’t love is their forever imminent discontinuation of a product that becomes my fave. However, after a brief mourning period I’m usually fine. This slight inconvenience is a more than acceptable tradeoff for the fact that twice a year they have a ginormous sale with up to 75% of tons of items, with the main reason for the most of sale being re-branding. So it's the same exact product with the older label. Do you see a problem with that? I most certainly do not (DH may or may not have a small issue with the fact that I need to buy 10 bottles of lotion because they were on sale for 97 cents).

Phew! This was a much longer and more challenging meme than I am used to, but I must say I enjoyed it! And if you’re still with me, I hope you enjoyed learning some new things about me. And I applaud you with another B – you’re a true BBF (bloggy best friend)!

If you are up for the fun, challenge, and opportunity to share some new stuff about you, let me know and I’ll send you a letter to use. I promise, it won’t be X or Z!