To Love

I ran across this quote awhile ago, and it got me thinking.

Proactive people show you what they love, what they want, what they purpose, and what they stand for. These people are very different from those who are known by what they hate, what they don't like, what they stand against, and what they will not do...

This got me thinking because I know people like that--people of whom I can only identify those things they don't like. Those things that bother them. What they don't want, don't enjoy, or don't love.

It's like when I realized I couldn't eat gluten contaminated items any more. I had two ways of looking at the situation:

1. The huge long list of things I couldn't eat any more.
2. The huge long list of things I can eat (or would be able to eat with a little bit of research and experimentation).

So I got to thinking about all the things I do love because I want to be a person who is known for their love and passion in life, not as a pure pessimist (into which hole I can definitely fall at times).

So here you have a random and very incomplete list of loves--very Sound of Music-esque I'm afraid.

1. the ocean
2. the ocean on New Years Eve, particularly when you're around a bunch of hotels so you can see their incredible firework displays and, if you're particularly lucky, the algae that glows in the water
3. puppy dogs
4. cats sitting on the side of the road, watching where you're going, but who are to busy (or snobby) to stop and talk
5. Carmina Burana
6. The adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia from the ballet Spartacus
7. the balcony scene adagio from Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.
8. keowneow gaiyang gap somtam (sticky rice, barbecue chicken, and green papaya salad)
9. Thai food of all sorts
10. Naan (Indian bread)
11. The overpowering, hit you in the face feeling of heat upon walking out of the airport when you first land in Bangkok
12. The scene of mint, lime, and cinnamon. Not all together.
13. dark chocolate
14. freshly made brownies smothered in vanilla ice-cream
15. sitting and listening to my dad read the Christmas story on Christmas day
16. playing games with my family
17. being silly with my family
18. dancing
19. lazing with my baby sis
20. cuddling while watching a movie
21. monsoon season
22. snow that is deep enough to go take a fun walk or play in and that stays white
23. roses
24. orchids
25. beautiful gardens
26. sunshine
27. houses with lots of big windows
28. wood floors
29. fireplaces
30. pianos
31. playing the piano
32. going to the symphony
33. getting mail
34. getting emails (not junk mail)
35. babies
36. being pregnant!
37. pillow-top mattresses
38. traveling/vacations to new places
39. going to England
40. going (hiking, wandering, just being in) to the Lake District
41. the smell of new books
42. new spiral-bound journals
43. going out on a date that requires dressing up
44. changing into sweats and other comfy clothes after being dressed up
45. talking until the wee hours of the morning with my husband
46. watching Chris when he's being silly trying to cheer me up
47. the smell of clean laundry
48. the fluffy feel of towels hot from the dryer
49. being read to
50. reading a well-loved book that I've devoured countless times before and will do so countless times more
51. reading a brand new book from an author I love
52. reading a new book from an author I want to explore
53. reading in general
54. writing blogs
55. lolcats
56. Audrey Hepburn
57. classic movies like Gone With the Wind and Casablanca
58. classic musicals like Fiddler on the Roof and
59. having a sparkling clean house
60. lazy Saturdays with nothing to do
61. getting together with friends
62. editing something and making it better than it was
63. cooking and baking
64. trying (and succeeding) at new recipes
65. discovering how to make one of my favorite foods GF
66. riding a bike
67. riding a horse
68. jet skiing
69. snow mobiling
70. hot tubs
71. long, hot baths
72. blue eyes
73. dark red hair
74. stretching
75. road trips—when I get to drive
76. seeing cardinals, especially in the middle of winter
77. being barefoot
78. wearing boots
79. dangly earrings
80. getting a hug
81. discovering someone reads my blog
82. thrift store shopping
83. garage sale-ing
84. doing my budget and having it come out even without a fuss
85. finding an unexpected check or money
86. amazon.com
87. Pandora.com
88. hotair.com
89. an empty ballet studio with only a barre, a mirror, a wooden floor, and me
90. holding hands with my husband
91. distracting Chris when he’s trying to do homework or play a video game, he gets so cute when he’s trying to concentrate and ignore me and failing utterly
92. really good salads
93. going to a park
94. going to historic places (when I know the history)
95. going out for dinner or staying somewhere nice and pretending to be rich and have money to blow (ignoring the coupon or the discounted room that we snagged!)
96. realizing that I don’t have to be rich to be content
97. my wedding ring
98. talking for hours with a good friend
99. eating fruit
100. drinking water
101. being old enough to not be too old for good children’s authors like A.A. Milne, Beatrix Potter, and Michael Bond
102. taking pictures
103. candles
104. Christmas lights
105. popping the bubbles on bubble wrap
106. making soap bubbles
     

OK, I think that’s enough for now. Might come back and add more to that list when I have time.