These are a few of my FAVORITE things!

After lugging myself up a long and tretcherous hillside in Barcelona, Spain (with a heavy, broken-wheeled suitcase in hand, an increasingly dizzying fever, as well as an endlessly-running nose and thick mucousy cough) I sat myself down at a cafe with the most wonderful of views.

Without much money to spare after completing a decent amount of traveling, I treated myself to a cup of coffee while overlooking the coast of Barcelona. It was the most gorgeous day I had seen in a long time(and of course it was my LAST day in the city before returning north) and despite my sweats and regrets of walking in the rain days prior to this one sunny day, I found myself thinking very pleasant thoughts.

Though I had plenty of corrections to complete before going back to work, I took out my journal and began writing. The only thing that came to mind was pure appreciation of the beauty before me, and so I began making a list (I'm quite a "list" person...)

These are a few of my favorite things...
- Enjoying adventure, nature and every moment the way my dog does & in her company.
- Running, walking or sitting in the warm rain on a summer's day
- Great heights with breathtaking views
- Fast-speed movement and heart-stopping rushes of adrenaline
- Wandering around hoping to catch glimpse of some hidden treasure/spontaneous event
- Admiring the look of quaint side-streets, corners, tiny cafes and bars
- Lurking street-performers and talented vagabonds
- The sound of waves crashing, lake waters rippling and rain-drops plunking on a
myriad of surfaces
- Cobblestone walkways, ceramic tiles and old stone walkways, walls and architecture
- Hand-made glass jewelry shimmering in the sunlight
- Giant-glass aquariums (underfoot or over-head, lighted by an unnatural/surreal
luminescence.)
- The much-appreciated sunshine, ripening your cheeks and shoulders on an early-
spring day, imagining it ripening the grapes in the vineyards and strawberries in
the fields
- Hot steaming showers and humid mist and fog
- Smooth marble surfaces, and thick-glass countertops, pleasant to the touch.
- Bubbling fountains of any sort or size
- A heaping glass of velvety full-bodied red wine served in a wide-bellied Bordeaux
wine-glass
- Fresh green salads with farm-fresh goat cheese, strawberries, tomatoes and
cherries sitting atop a pool of sweet balsamic vinegar, olive oil and red wine
dressing.
- Bakery-artisinal baguettes and farm-fresh butter alongide a coffee mixed with farm-
fresh cream.
- Dark chocolate fudge-brownie cake drizzled with english cream, caramel and french-
vanilla ice cream
- Having a full-day ahead of me without plans, demands or expectations
- Placing my winter-hibernating feet for the first time on hot sand or crisp grass.
- Dimly-lit streets, old-fashioned street lamps and long, empty boulevards at night
- Being a stranger, people-watching at bars and cafes from the corner-seat, back
always to the wall
- Friendly, smiling strangers who are spontaneously polite or kind for no reason.
- Glass-lamp lighted rooms, accented by the glow of candle-light and cigar smoke.
- The look of a sailboat or large wooden ship in the distance on the vast blue sea.
- Sitting in front of the campfire, feeling my skin tightening and warming and
cheeks reddening.
- Writing and receiving long, hand-written letters and post-cards from all-over.
- Getting lost without the pressure of being anywhere else & finding my way back,
reminding myself of Seuss' childish wisdom in "Oh! The Places You'll Go!"
- The rush of feeling music and dancing to its melodious rhythm
without thinking, worrying, or trying to move my body in any way.
- Getting slick and sweaty while running, dancing or making love.
- Family-traditions & gatherings as well as ritualized "hellos," "goodbyes,"
"thank you's" and congratulatory, life-celebrations
- Big dinners and bbq fests that continue late into the night, enjoying good food,
drinks, pleasant company and conversation, without the rush of washing dishes,
clearing the table or thinking of being ANYWHERE ELSE or doing ANYTHING ELSE.
- Playing cards, pick-up sports games and having friendly but serious competitions
- Feeling like I REALLY have understood something, someone or some happening
- Expressing myself & FEELING heard & well-understood.
- The first realization that all the trees have reached their full "green potential"
in the summer, or their full autumnal color in October.
- Flowering cherry blossoms, peach trees on walkways and hillsides, and pollen
filling the air, sun filtering throughout
- The romance of fully-grown weeping willows, oaks and platain trees alongside water-
banks, ponds and lush back-yards, reminding myself of "The Giving Tree."
- Exotic and strange cacti, plants and flowers that come from the tropics
- Letting my long hair catch the wind with open windows with loud music blasting
- Comfortable nights on a cozy-couch, and lounging in bed while watching x-amount of
movies with a bowl-full of ice cream or a pack of delicious gummy-bears without
feeling guilty about it.
- Unexpected violent storms and crackling thunder and lightening
- Feeling like I "CAUGHT" a moment in a photograph, or in memory
- Flexible schedules and people!
- Public transport and cleared bike-paths for lonesome meandering :-)
- Canoeing or boating down narrow, calm water-ways
- Taking in a gulp of water and a slice of melon or orange after dreaming about it
on a hot and sticky run
- Freshly-made iced coffee, iced tea and fun coctails in the afternoon
- Unique scarves and sweaters
- Gargoyles
- The scent of cologne on a man
- Feeling accomplished
- Spooning with someone I love (including my dog, Byndee!!!)
- Tickling-sensations anywhere (head, arms, legs, neck, back)
- Deep-tissue massages
- The scent of sweet lilacs, eucalyptus branches and fresh pine