And Then I Don't Feel So Bad . . .

My sister-in-law Kimmy inspired me to think a little more positively by listing a few of her "favorite things". So, here are a few of mine!

1. Honestly, my only compensation for no Costco around is Wegmans. I love the place. I love the variety, the quality, and the FANTASTIC service.



2. If you truly know me, you know I would never survive for long without something good to read. Here's what I'm reading right now: "How We Decide" by Jonah Lehrer, "Reading Lolita in Tehran" by Azar Nafisi, "Dandelion Fire" by N.D. Wilson, and "On Food and Cooking" by Harold McGee. I'm always a mystery fan and recently enjoyed this Agatha Christie.



3. The only way to survive the cold here in our poorly-insulated basement has been with my trusty space heater. This one is great because the heater itself does NOT get hot on the outside, so I don't worry about the kids getting burned. I love feeling toasty warm by the heater!



4. I am severely plastic-wrap impaired. It was a major frustration for me, I was always getting it tangled or stuck to itself, it never tore off well, AAAH! Then I discovered Press and Seal Wrap and I will never go back to regular plastic wrap again. Bye-bye frustration!

5. These treadmills have been my salvation this winter. This is Island Health and Fitness (Jake's office is upstairs) and I finally caved and joined a gym for the first time when I pulled a muscle running in single-digit temps. Treadmill running will never be my fav, but I'm so grateful to be able to run, and it's such a nice facility. They also have great child care so dropping off Jack for an hour is not an issue!




6. We LOVE granola at our house. We each have our favorites. This is James' favorite, from Target--Blueberry granola. I couldn't find a picture of my current favorite, but it's also from Target--Pecan Sticky Bun. Jake's favorite vanilla granola comes from the local whole foods bulk section.

7. Has anyone tried Dutch-process cocoa powder? I love it. I just really like that deeper, a little darker chocolate flavor (the spoon on the left is regular cocoa, the one on the right is Dutch-process cocoa). It's a little tough to locate sometimes, but worth it. I'm excited to have finally found this week a source to get mine!

8. I'm a happy subscriber to cooksillustrated.com, my very favorite source for GREAT recipes. They test their recipes, ingredients, and equipment very thoroughly with great results.

9. I am an unabashed chocolate fanatic. I really don't know why you would want to go a day without a little chocolate. It's such tasty stuff.

10. We are really big fans of Aquaphor. It's the greatest stuff. My latest great use: healing up chapped lips, especially on my kids (and that nice red above-the-lip rash!). It also works great for diaper rash, severely dry skin, and finger splits. It's a little pricey but a little bit goes a LONG way.

11. I don't have a picture, but we're so grateful for friends and for people in your life who go above and beyond to help out. A friend from the ward went out of his way to get a plumbing snake, spent two evenings at our house, and got our plugged drain clear. What a blessing!!!

I'd love to see your favorites, too! I went a little crazy, but it's not necessary to post as many as I did! Becky