Favorites Are My Favorite! (1,000th Post!)

Welcome to my *1,000TH BLOG POST*!!! And what could be more fitting than a big list of favorites, inspired by my friend, Emily, and her friend, Lara, whom I actually do know, b/c she spoke at one of our MOPS meetings when we lived in Chicago! ♥ Check out Lara's post on the importance of knowing yourself. Self-admittedly, I don't really have a problem in this department. Lists of favorites are one of my favorites!!! (Can that be "a thing"? :-P :-D) I think it's because we've moved around so much in my adult life; always having to start over from scratch and make new friends has forced me to be clear about who I am & what I like, and I've always been very open with sharing these preferences, b/c 1) I'm a total ENFP extrovert, and 2) I feel like I can make deeper connections more quickly when I do share all of me ASAP. That's been key, when I've only had on average ~1.5 years in each of our last 4 states before moving, again. That said, we are STAYING PUT IN TEXAS!!!!! :-D But that doesn't change that I'm an open-book, oversharer who loooooves favorite lists, so the people I want to connect with can know me more genuinely.

Beginning this list has me feeling like Buddy the Elf: when he talks to his Gimbel's manager, "I just like to smile! Smiling's my favorite!" When he answers the phone, "Buddy the Elf, what's your favorite color?" ;-)

*MY* favorite color: purple

Favorite obsession: monograms (I will "sBs" *anything*!!!!!!!)

Favorite sport: football (Washington Redskins NFL, fantasy with my family, local & hometown high school, our youth football team - my husband is the head coach, my son plays, I'm the cheer coach, & my daughter cheers = ultimate family time!!!)

Favorite travel: EUROPE!!! It breaks my heart that it's been 11 whole years since we last went to Italy, and my year living in Germany was one of the most important of my life!!! I absolutely cannot get back there soon enough.

Favorite drinks: bubble tea (what is it? my fave place to get it!) and chai lattes

Favorite bubble tea order: almond milk tea with tapioca & agar jelly

Favorite Starbucks order: "venti 7-pump no-water chai latte" (yes, hot year-round) [no water = all milk as the liquid; 7 pumps of chai concentrate = makes it super ginger spicy]

Favorite way to treat myself: bubble tea or Sbux (honestly, either of these teas ALWAYS makes EVERYTHING BETTER!!!)

Favorite season: when we were in exile up north, it was summer; but in the South, it's fall - I CANNOT STAND weather under 68°F, but Southern fall is still safe temp-wise, and it heralds football season & pumpkins

Favorite way to plan my day: around what I'm eating next (I. Love. Food. I cannot comprehend people who say, "Oh, I just forgot to eat!" What?!?!?)

Favorite way to relax after kids go to bed: watch TV - I loooove TV!!! Esp. reality competitions like MasterChef, SYTYCD, Amazing Race, etc.

Favorite music in the car: Christian on Air1 and the news in Germany via my phone app at the top of the hour (No, not Zumba music - maybe b/c Zumba is "work"?)

Favorite date nights: out to the movies where you order & eat dinner in your seat (fave here: Alamo Drafthouse)

Favorite movie genre: World War II (I also love Southern, football, & mafia movies; but WWII will hook me every time.)

Favorite ice cream: chocolate malt (Blue Bell Malt Shoppe or Guernsey Choco Malt Chip)

Favorite makeup: brown eyeliner (it's the only makeup I wear every day)

Favorite finish: as much shine, shimmer, glitz, & glitter as possible!!!!!

Favorite metallic: yellow gold

Favorite clothing brand: Lilly Pulitzer

Favorite hair care: Moroccan Oil

Favorite outdoor activity: cheering football games

Favorite weather: violent thunderstorms (obviously I don't want anyone hurt or anything damaged, but I can't get enough of big, booming storms!!!)

Favorite flavor profile: salty-sweet (teriyaki, sweet barbeque, kettle corn, salted caramel, mango salsa, etc.)

Favorite crafting tool: Silhouette (I'm crafty with a computer, but that's IT. *Not* super crafty otherwise. To be honest, Pinterest & "DIY fun" kind of stress me out.)

Favorite brand of nail polish: Gelish

Favorite friend interaction: getting Sbux or bubble tea & chatting for hours (better than going to someone's house: if it's your house, I feel like I need to bring something for us to eat; if it's mine, I have to clean; Sbux = can't lose! ;-) This is a change from when I had children home during the day = houses were better then.)

Favorite place to be: beach

Favorite workout recovery: sitting in the hot tub + letting the jets massage my muscles, and sitting in the steam room

Favorite pet: beagle - we are just beagle people!

Favorite pizza: either pineapple or fresh mozzarella di bufala

Favorite shoes: Crocs sandals (no! not ones with holes!!!)

Favorite books: not many. I'm not gonna lie: I don't often enjoy leisure reading books, & I'm over feeling sheepish about it. ;-) Two faves, though: The Help and Sarah's Key

Other favorites that don’t necessarily have a category:

Singing on Praise Team in church on Sunday mornings

Singing tight alto harmonies

Yin Yoga

Grocery shopping (I know it's many friends' *LEAST* enjoyable chore; but I loooooove it! Shopping with a purpose for my favorite items = win/win!)

Vibrant purple/pink/orange sunsets

Photography (if I didn't get a pic, did it really happen? :-D ;-)) And in the same vein...

Documentation (blogging, digital scrapbooking, FB - I'm a great personal historian! ;-))

Southernness (perhaps having to live several years of out the South has made my Southern pride even more zealous?)

Teaching Zumba = getting paid to DANCE & improve others' quality of life!!!

Coaching cheer

Being a leader

Being on stage

Festivals

Funky fusion food & flavors (but no seafood)


So just as I love sharing my faves, so that my friends can honestly know me, I want to genuinely know YOU, too!!! Leave your faves in a comment here or share in your own blog post!