Favorite Things



I have been meaning to post a couple of blurbs about some of my favorite things. I love it when others share cool stuff they find or places they have visited. A lot of your personality is revealed in your likes and dislikes - including a few things you may not have realized about yourself!

Satellite Radio: I received a Sirius satellite radio for my birthday and love it! There are not a lot of radio stations here at the top of the Continental Divide, and none of them come in very clear. I am a person who likes many different types of music depending upon my mood and what I am doing. Satellite radio has all manner of music, comedy, talk, kids programming and sports. I am not really into sports, so I do not listen to those channels. And, apparently, one of my least favorite things, Howard Stern, has his own channel or something. I do not exactly know - and nor will I! My point is that this little gizmo has almost everything your little ears would want to hear and I love it.

The Darcy Saga: Those of you who know me well are already aware that I am a huge Jane Austen fan. I have read all of her books and enjoyed them all. Pride and Prejudice has always been one of my favorite books and so when the 2005 movie starring Keira Knightly was released, I really enjoyed that as well. The Darcy Saga is a fan written story or fanfic that picks up on the end of that movie and continues the story. It is clean, well researched and written by an author who has a very descriptive style and has striven to keep Darcy and Elizabeth true to character as portrayed in the 2005 movie. It is wonderful and not at all graphic - though there are 'grown up situations' as this is the story of a married couple. You will find a link to the Darcy Saga site in the Other Places of Interest section on this page. Check it out!

The 2006 Ford Mustang: Possibly the best gift I ever received was this little beauty! Yep! That's right - my husband gave me one of these for Mother's Day and I absolutely love it. It is a dream to drive and has a high 'cool factor'. Mine looks just like this:
Unfortunately, I cannot drive it all the time. I have a 'real life' rig for everday, but I love seeing my car parked in the garage. It gives a sense of freedom to know it is there. I lost a bit of myself when I had kids - a bit which I gladly gave up - but that car gives me just a bit of that back.

Outlander Bookclub and Podcast: Diana Gabaldon fans are a very dedicated and plugged in bunch. There are many online discussion groups whose soul purpose is to discuss the lives and events of Jamie and Claire. If you have never read the Outlander series, please consider it. It is a wonderfully sweeping epic story steeped in history and adventure. Right up my alley. This particular discussion group is a podcast as well. You e-mail in your answers to a series of questions posed by the moderator/operator, Christa. I was a bit apprehensive at first but decided to participate and I am really enjoying it. I was afraid that I would make an idiot of myself and almost did not send that first e-mail. Having said that, you have to step out of your comfort zone now and then, so I went ahead and sent my responses. Christa has used many of my responses in her podcasts so far. I have been very surprised and humbled by that. If you are looking for a fun way to enjoy a good book, give this a try! There is a link to this book club in the Places of Interest section as well.

Beauty and the Geek: This is the third season of this television show. I admit that I have not a clue why I love this show so much, but it is the one television show that I never miss. The idea is that you put geeky guys in a house with beautiful girls and give them tasks to perform. The girls learn that geeky guys are actually just like any other guy and the guys learn how to actually interact with members of the opposite sex. It is a really funny show but also a very human show. You get to see how giving or how shallow someone can really be. A person who has always relied on their looks to get them what they want doesn't stand a chance. A person who has hidden behind their brain is forced to step out of their cubical a bit. The producers of the show call it a social experiment and I agree with that. My only wish is that next season, assuming there will be one, is that the beauties are the guys and the geeks are the girls. Mix it up a bit!

Wikipedia: Everyone knows about wikipedia - and if you don't, you are missing out. There is a ton of information there. It is a wonderful resource that I use all the time.

Expedia.com: I love Expedia! This is the best travel site in my opinion. I recently booked a trip from Montana to Raleigh, North Carolina for six people. Two people are departing from a different airport, two people are kids and we will need a rental car when we get there. I managed to book all of that myself in about 15 or 20 minutes (after getting my ducks in a row before hand) and did not have to wait around all day playing phone tag with a travel agent or worse yet, drag my two kidlets to the travel agency and watch as the whole office was messed up by two bored kids! LOL I highly advise the use of a travel agent for foreign travel or trips with several stops though. This is pretty straight forward and I have been to North Carolina more than a few times so I went ahead and booked this trip for myself. You have to know what you want though - it can be pricey to change stuff if you make a mistake

shutterfly.com: This is a convenient and fast way to upload, share and order prints of your digital photographs. My favorite part is the online photo albums that you can make and send. I also use the photo ordering service they offer. I can upload, edit and order stuff at my own convenience and it comes to me in the mail. Love that!

So, what about all of you? And comments on the above things? Do you have any favorite things of your own?