20 Things I can't live without

Holy smokes... I found this in my draft folder and it's almost a year old! I thought I should post it before I forget about it again.

Here are my 20 things (in no particular order)...

1. My Family - Well, duh. I've got a great guy, sweet, amazing daughter and a neurotic, but pretty cool dog. 'Nuff said.

2. My Birkenstocks - Birks are to me what flip flops are to most other people. I have a huge aversion to things between my toes, so flip flops are a no go for me. But I have been wearing Birks since I was 15. In fact, I had the same pair for 15 years! They travelled through Europe, down to SF and over to Texas with me. I still have them, although I don't wear them anymore.

3. Sleep - Without it I am a monster. I don't get enough of it anymore, so there's your answer as to why I'm so difficult.

4. Target - Ahhhh, the first store name Elise ever learned to say. She can spot a Target store from miles away and asks me at least three times a week if we can go to Target. I have no idea why. The sight of red stickers excites me.

5. The Amazing Race - I'm betting I really could live without watching this show, but it's the only way I'll ever get to travel to Mongolia and watch someone eat yak balls. Plus, you know... Phil.

6. Tyleonl PM/Advil PM/Benedryl - You'd think that someone who isn't getting enough sleep would be able to fall asleep pretty easily, wouldn't you? Unfortunately, my brain has a hard time shutting off at night. A lot of it has to do with diabetes, and I tend to over analyze Elise's numbers. I don't take something every night, but sometimes a girl needs a little help getting to where she wants to go.

7. My faith - Life has been a wild ride so far, and my life changed for the better almost 9 years ago. Major props to God on that one. You can't see me right now, but I'm pointing skywards a la any movie star or pro athlete who has just won an award/hit a home run/scored a touchdown etc. No I'm not, because that would just make me look like an idiot.

8. Hockey and my Vancouver Canucks - You know I'm Canadian, right? I play Air hockey, Ball hockey, Barn Hockey, Bubble Hockey, Field hockey, Floor hockey, Ice hockey, Kitchen hockey, Road hockey, Roller hockey, Table hockey, Twist hockey And I play hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey, hockey all the time! Take shots! Any good Canadian will be able to tell you what all the nonsense means.

9. The written word - I am somewhat of a word junkie. When I was younger, I always had to be reading something. Even if I was sitting at the table eating breakfast, I would grab the cereal box and read every word on it; english and french. That's why I knew how to say, "no sugar added" in french before I ever started school. Now I don't have much time to read, but losing myself in a book is a great way to escape the stresses of life.

10. Really great music - I know everyone has differing opinions on what "really great" means, but for me it means not listening to screaming/shrieking/noise, someone caterwauling about their pick-up breaking down, or some idiot talking about hos and droning on in a language that might sound like english if your IQ was about 20. Also the Christmas Shoes song. Because it really, really sucks.

11. My body pillow - I became seriously addicted to this when I was pregnant with Elise. Now I can't sleep right if I don't have an extra-long bag of cotton to snuggle up to (who says I'm not romantic?)

12. My quilt - I love my quilt and I hate sleeping without it. I quasi-made it. By that I mean I chose the material, measured it, cut it and had every intention of sewing it, but ran out of time. So I pleaded with my friend Gabi to finish it off for me. It's a rag quilt and it's purple and oh-so pretty.

13. A hot shower - I get cold easily and I hate to smell. 'Nuff said.

14. My D-Mommas - oh how I love these women! They are there for me like nobody else can be. We have plans to meet one day in real life, but for now I just have to be content that they live in my computer.

15. Nap time - Well, Elise's nap time. Still working on finding the time for me.

16. Fun socks - I really have no fashion sense, nor do I really care that plaid is all the rage right now (did I wake up in the early 90s or something? Shouldn't I be in math class right now? I loooooove Nirvana - wait, no I don't. See #10). But I do love fun socks. With multi-coloured stripes, or sparkles, or funky designs... I love them all (remember, this was written almost a year ago... when plaid WAS in).

17. A good conditioner - Have you seen my hair? I mean, really seen it? You can't miss it. It's red, and big, and long, and my God there is a lot of it. I probably shed enough hair everyday to give someone a whole new head of hair. And to tame the wild beast that sits upon my head I need a really good, moisturizing conditioner. It needs to smell nice, too.

18. Laughter - I love humour, laughing and making others laugh. A good laugh can be as cathartic as a good cry. Lucky for me I live with two pretty funny people and a mildly amusing dog.

19. The word miscellaneous - I'm a pretty organized person. A place for everything and everything in its place, I say. But what bugs the poop outta me are those things that don't fit anywhere. For example, Elise has a bunch of storage drawers for her toys, and those drawers have labels. And those toys are stored by category. Except we have a whole slew of toys that don't fit any category and hence must be stored in the "miscellaneous" drawer. I have miscellaneous folders, envelopes, cupboards, bins, shelves... ahhh, miscellaneous. It does my anal-retentive heart good.

20. My blog - Because where else would I be able to put all the crap that clogs up my brain?

Aaaaaaand fin. Aren't you glad you wasted 10 minutes of your life reading all that?