What I Like

Backpacks. I love staring at them, wearing them, using them and then setting them aside to rot in my closet. I have obsessive "gear" tendencies.

Swimming. It is hard. Refreshing. And silent. You can lose yourself in the water and often only think of swimming; nothing else.

Sunshine. One of the drawbacks of Alaska. Sunshine feeds me. And yet I am as pasty pale as a piece of wonder bread.

Maps. I love maps. Plain and simple. I dream of visiting th countries marked on them. Especially the ones nobody knows about. Like Baffin Island, South Georgia, Zambia and Djibouti, and Estonia. I dare you to find all of those on the map.

Captain America. Whats not to like?

Books. One of the reasons I was born in the 20th century. I need books. I cherish them. I have dozens of them begging to be read. Someday... (I really don't like that word.)

Clean Rooms. Cleanliness is super important to me. I take showers daily, clean my room every morning around 11 and like to clean bathrooms. Yeah. :P

Cool Gear. (See Backpacks.) I looooove gear. Clothing, helmets, accessories, shoes, harnesses... etc. REI.com, Promotive and Backcountry are some of my favorite websites.

Music. It heals us. Evokes emotion. Makes us smile or feel pain. We sing along regardless of our music ability and music is one of the most telling signs of whether a people are free or not. Think communist. and 18th and 19th century American Slaves.

Smiles. :) Dont they make you happy too?

When girls wear their hair up. Okay. This is obvious. Along with the thought of her wearing an old tshirt of mine. And walking around barefoot without makeup on. Pretty much makes me go all twitterpated when I think of it.

Meditation. Since when do only hippies and asians meditate?? Get with it people! This is one of the most underused forms of spiritual renewal and understanding. Westerners dont need more religion. They need more spirituality.

Honest, real life prayer. This one is pretty personal but... I think you get the gist of why I cherish it so much.

Day Dreaming. Where would the world be if we didn't day dream?

Studying of simpler times (i.e the past) Dont the 50's make you smile? Obviously our perception of reality is skewed when we think of the past as perfect but... Life has gotten so terrible of recent that its nice to look back at happier/simpler times.

Writing letters to my future children. Again. Fairly personal but... I cried when I lost my journal containing such letters. I dont journal much (Something I truly regret) but I do want to have something to share with my children in 15 years or so.

Liquid soap. Bar soap is nasty. Nuff said. :)

My buff. I wear this thing when Im in an outdoorsy mood. Around my right wrist. If you're an E2 or ENinja... youll know what Im talking about.

Baby pictures. (And babies in general) They make the world a better place.

My students at WI. Okay... Ill leave a whole post to devote to these special guys. They are hard working and dedicated. And honest. And I am privileged to work with the future of Williamsburg Academy.

Enders Game. Ive read it 7 times. The first time, I was 11. I cant describe exactly why I love this book so much. Its just... My classic.

Reading from my replica "first edition" Book of Mormon. It feels like the story. You don't get stuck on tracking how much you've read. You just read until you're done reading. It builds my testimony and gives me chills to think of how much sacrifice was endured because of this book and for me and my children.

Temples.

Toes. I will never understand this. But something about peoples toes tell a story. I realized earlier today that my toes are sorta... webbed. Maybe everyones are?? *shrugs*

Random hugs. Im not a huggy person but... I like hugs. Especially random ones that dont belong. Even if they take me off guard.

Bob. My stuffed animal dog from when I was 5.

Notebooks. Oh I love notebooks.

Space. Ive always wanted to stand on the moon. Everything is silent and the worries of the world seem insignificant when you back up that far.

Scuba Diving. Ive done it twice. Both times in pools. It was incredible and shocking when I went under for the first time and I took a breath.

Airplanes. A tube with a wings and a tail. They race down a runway and.... whoosh. They are in the sky. Never ceases to amaze me.

Wildlife. I miss seeing it so much in Alaska.

Hard work. I love that feeling you get when you take a shower after a hard days work. Its so satisfying.

On that thought, I love showers.

I like stalking people. Before you freak... look at it my way. I like human beings. They are fascinating to me. I love looking into their eyes and seeing their souls. I love trying to think up their stories. And I especially love just finding random people and discovering their stories.

Clean sheets and snuggling under a heavy blanket. I love heavy blankets. They make me feel secure. (One of the reason I miss Alaska. Heavy Blankets dont work in Florida.)

Okay. Heres the last one. Vanilla. I love Vanilla. Especially when girls smell like it. And I put vanilla in my orange juice. And my french toast. And I smell it randomly. The best Vanilla comes from Mexico.