It took me a while to realize that I needed a prompt for my next post. That said, I will share my favorite B things.
1. Bath and Body Works. I love anything and everything from this shop. If I ever needed a side job, this would be the first place I'd look. I have a collection of their products which increase my daily quality of living. My two favorite sales each year are their semi-annual events. I use their paper bags over and over again to carry my lunch to and from work. I'll have to take a picture of my lotion collection, because I don't even know how many I have. At my desk at work I have Tropical Passion Fruit, and Mango Mandarin. In my purse, I carry a small tube of Sensual Amber anti-bacterial lotion. On the bookshelf beside my bed I have a bunch of different scents, because let's face it: A girls got to have options. Right now my favorite smell is Dancing Waters. But I'm also crazy about Magnolia Blossom. I love the wall flower plug-in's, the hand soap, body wash, Mentha lip tint...pretty much I'm a fanatic. And I like it that way. If any of you love Bath and body Works as much as I do, what's your favorite scent?
2. Bananas. I like Bananas, but I'm picky about them. I don't like them too ripe, and I don't like them mixed with strawberries. I don't like mixing Bananas with berries, or ice cream or anything like that, but I'll eat it in fruit salad, and I love Banana bread/muffins/pancakes. Weird? Maybe.
3. Babies. I love babies, and right now pretty much I just love other peoples babies, but someday, not too many years from now, I'll have my own babies to love. They'll have big dark eyes and lots and lots of dark brown hair. I know I'll love it.
4. Books. I love finding a book that I can escape with. A book that sucks you right in, and makes you lose track of time. I don't always stretch my reading comfort zone, but it's something I should work on. I love good books like that, but then I always feel like I should pace myself for fear it's going to be over and done with too quickly. I also love children's picture books and chapter books. Some of my favorites today are books that I read in my childhood.
5. Baking. I love mixing ingredients, trying new recipes, experimenting a little, and seeing the end result. Sometimes things flop, but other times they work out. I recently discovered that my pumpkin chip muffins need oil. The applesauce substitute that I tried definitely didn't work. Someday I want to try to make Bagels...which brings me to #6.
6. Bagels. I practically lived off of bagels during high school. Specifically Bagel Brother's Cheese Bagels. I loved them, and haven't had one since I graduated. It may be time to find the nearest Bagel Brother's and have a delicious memory.
7. Breakfast. I happen to be married to one of those people who doesn't eat breakfast, but I'm convinced that if he had been raised in my home he wouldn't feel this way. I think it's one of the most uncomfortable things to start the day without a breakfast. Growing up, my dad would have breakfast ready each day of the week. Monday's we'd get waffles- not the icky Belgian kind, but the traditional skinny waffles. Tuesday we had a choice between oatmeal or cereal. It seemed like torture to have to eat oatmeal when I was little, but now I enjoy it. Wednesday we were treated to pancakes, fresh off the griddle (chocolate chip was my favorite). Thursdays were cold cereal days and for some reason, this seemed like a treat at the time. Now I'd give almost anything to have a breakfast menu like I grew up with. As is, I eat cereal pretty much every morning. If I'm really feeling ambitious, or have extra time I'll add some breakfast sausage or an English muffin to mix it up. On Friday we'd get French Toast, and Saturday was rather unpredictable. Some mornings we'd have scrambled eggs with coffee cake, or he would try a new pancake recipe, or something else entirely different or unheard of. My dad like to try new things, and he was an expert in the breakfast variety. Pretty much I was spoiled with the best dad a girl could ask for.
8. Bunnies. When I was a small child, I wanted a pet rabbit. More than anything. I remember in first grade a classmate brought her rabbit for show and tell, and from then on, I knew I needed a bunny of my own. My parents didn't think that a young child needed such a high maintenance pet, so they told me to wait until I was older. For my eighth birthday (which was conveniently close to Easter) we went to a small bunny farm, and I got to choose whichever bunny I wanted. I found a small female cream bunny with brown spots. She was beautiful, and I loved her and named her butter cup. I really ought to hook up our scanner, and post some pictures to go along with this.
9. Boats. I used to get allergy shots in high school, and the doctor's magazine selection was really slim. If I didn't have homework to work on, I browse through Yachting Magazine. I loved looking at pictures of boats with all the amenities. Some of these boats were multiple stories high, and had crazy luxurious features and cost millions of dollars. In high school I had great plans of being independently wealthy when I grew up, and one of the things on my list was a personal yacht. I realize it's a little impractical to have a yacht, but I still think it would be fun. Someday I'd like to take a chartered yacht trip through the remote islands of the South Pacific. I think I'd love traveling this way, and it would be a fun adventure...and a little more reasonable than actually owning a yacht. I had been saving my spare change for this vacation for most of my growing up years, but during our broke married year at BYU-I, most of that change went to laundry and date nights (by date night, I mean we cashed in the dimes and got half price drinks at sonic during happy hour...yum!). One of my favorite summer activities is to walk around the water front and look at boats. Daniel and I love to do this in Gig Harbor with his parents, cause his dad gets so excited and can tell you all sorts of fun facts about boats.
10. Barbeque's. One of the things I love most about summer are BBQ's. I love summer food, especially things cooked on the grill. I love BBQ hamburgers, grilled chicken, steak, pretty much anything. Even hot dogs become more edible when grilled outside. I also love the fresh fruit that goes with a BBQ.
11. Blankets. I love to be cuddled up with a blanket. If I'm at home, and I'm sitting, you bet there's a blanket over me. While this does allow us to save money on our heating bill, it's also so much more comfy. I have a fairly good blanket collection with hand made quilts, fleeces, and throws. I love the variety, and the different warmth factors associated with each blanket. Even during the summer, I like to have a blanket near by. I even have one tucked away at my desk, in case I need one at work.
12. Blistex. One of my addictions is chapstick. I have to put it on before I go to sleep each night, and I have to keep one in my purse. Believe it or not I've cut back a lot, probably because I no longer live in the frigid dessert of Idaho. My favorite Blistex is the light green "herbal answer".
The end. Stay tuned for the letter C.
This is the back side of the blanket. At the time I had it draped over the shower curtain rod, and I was trying to beat off the wet paper. In case this ever happens to anyone out there, this worked for the most part. Then I put it in the dryer, took it out every 10-15 minutes and shook it outside like a parachute. It took quite a while, and a lot of work, but my quilt is as good as new, and there was no lasting damage...just a lot of laughs.
Last but not least, here is the most recent picture of us. A couple sundays ago, I noticed we were particularly matchey, so I had my parents take some pictures of us. I don't love getting my picture taken, but seeing as most of our pictures that we have are wedding/engagement, I figured we might as well give it a shot. Here we are:
I hope you enjoyed this picture post...I'll work on using more pictures, they are kind of fun.