Copycat

My favorite morning radio station did a series this week where each day they each listed their five favorite things. It's such a broad topic: your five favorite things - with no rules or exclusions. Five things that make your life easier, more enjoyable or that just make you thank God you are alive. After listening to their individual lists, I started thinking what my favorite five would be. It's really harder than it seems...picking out THE top five things that you couldn't live without (or maybe you could but wouldn't want to, but that's beside the point). So, after a long weekend of thinking, I present:

My Five Favorite Things:

1. Diet Pepsi - there is really nothing more refreshing than an ice-cold, straight from the fountain, giant, 44 ounce cup of Diet Pepsi. Partner it with microwave popcorn, a sub sandwich or anything greasy and there's really nothing more refreshing. This is the only thing I've ever admitted to being addicted to - and NO!...Diet Coke is not an acceptable alternative. In my younger days, I really can't even tell you how much Diet Pepsi I would consume in a day, but I'm proud to say that in my older, more intelligent days I cut back to 3-4 a week. Not too shabby for an addict, I'd say.

2. Mid-November to Christmas - There is always a day in November when I wake up and realize that it's officially the holiday season. It's usually just before Thanksgiving when all of the Halloween goodies have been devoured, decorations have been stored away and I start thinking about Thanksgiving turkey, Christmas trees, putting up the lights, holiday shopping and the snow. Aaaaah, the snow. Something in the cold, crisp air just makes this time of year so special and I'm in a constant good mood from morning til' night. I spend a lot of my time in the kitchen, baking special treats and trying new holiday recipes to share with friends and family. When the snow falls, sledding adventures at Cherry Hill are a must and if you don't build a snowman in your front yard, well then you're just a Scrooge. When the shopping is all done, my baking supplies are empty and it's time to wake up and see what Santa brought us, I find myself more excited to spend a day back at home than any other day of the year. When Christmas day comes to the end, my whole family sits there with giant, stuffed bellies, horribly cheesy Christmas sweaters and tired, sleepy eyes in front of the fireplace, and I can never help but think, "I can't wait for Christmas next year."

3. Target - Now, I can't say that I'm proud to have a big box, corporate giant on my list of favorite things, but when I was thinking of my list, Target popped into my head too many times to ignore. Going to Target, for me, is one of the places I love to go when I want to go shopping but don't quite know what I am looking for. To guys, this sounds ridiculous, but for all my women confidants out there, you know what I'm talking about. First, I love the dollar section that they implemented not too long ago. A small section of the store dedicated to crap that you surely don't need but pick up and say, "awww, how cuUTE!" Marketing genius #1: present items at the beginning of the shopping trip that are cheap, perceivably useful, and so darn cute that sucker shoppers like me can't resist. Second, their home section has increased in quality and selection by 10-fold in the last couple of years. Knick knacks, wall art, clocks, kitchen appliances, gadgets, lamps, furniture...you name it, they've got it. Marketing genius #2: display kitchen necessities in the middle of all the household decorative items so as to draw in sucker shoppers like me. Third, the place is never crowded (with the exception of holiday shopping). I don't know if this is because the store is laid out so nicely or that I just shop at not-so-popular hours of the day, but I love going there and not having to worry about getting stuck in the middle of the aisle because there are people at either end debating which of the 500 varieties of shampoo to invest in. Marketing genius #3: encourage movement throughout the aisles - I have no idea how they do it, but it works.

4. Love Actually - The minute I saw this movie, I thought to myself, "if I ever make a list of my five favorite things, this will be on it." Okay, that might be a stretch, but this is definitely my most favorite movie of all time. I very rarely watch movies over and over again, but this is one that always calls out to me when I'm trying to think of a feel good movie to dive into with cozy pajamas and a bowl of popcorn. It brings out every single emotion I never knew I had. Every time I watch it, I get excited for what's coming next - even though I know exactly what it is. I can relate to almost every character and for those that I don't, I know that at some point in my life, I will. An added bonus: the soundtrack is amazing.

5. Google - How terribly, terribly cliche of me. But honestly, it would be a lie if I didn't include Google in my top five. I use it, on average, about 50 gazillion times a day and it always ... ALWAYS gets me what I want. Whether it be lyrics to a song, a cheesy image to use in my ever-so-popular blog (ha), directions to "that one place on that one street", or insight as to exactly how old John McCain's wife really is, Google is there for me, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. I remember when I first started tossing the phrase "just Google it" around my workplace and people thought I was crazy. Boy, did I prove them wrong. I totally credit Google for much of my success at work - getting me to the websites and forums I need to answer my questions about InDesign, answering stupid adult questions that I'm too embarrassed to ask (get your mind out of the gutter) and helping me find the resources I need to do the work that my boss thinks I can do. I rarely say "no" anymore because I know Google will help me find the ways. I would be totally lost without it, which is humiliating to admit - but it's true and that's all there is to it.

So there you have it - 5 things that I can't live without. Okay, so perhaps I could do without some of them, but I'm fully convinced that if I couldn't sit in front of my computer and Google my name in various forms with an ice-cold Diet Pepsi in my hand, my life would never be the same.