"10 Favorite Things"

My friend Heather does this "10 Favorite Things" post on her blog every once in a while and I think it is really fun! So, I am stealing her idea and letting you all know what 10 of my favorite things are right now. Hope you enjoy and I would love to hear about your fave things!

#1: Sunshine!!!
We have been seeing a lot more of the sun recently and boy does it do wonders. It is like an instant mood brightner :) I love the way it shines into the apartment in the morning and afternoon, it is so refreshing and energizing.

#2: My new laptop computer
I really enjoy having my own laptop to use around the house and I love that it is small and portable. It is an Eee PC by Asus and it is 10 inches with a full sized keyboard. It has such a long battery life (10.5 hours) that I rarely have to worry about running out. It is perfect for traveling, too. It fits right in my big purse and fits nicely on the seat back trays on airplanes. It does everything I need it to... word processing, pictures, wireless internet, ect... hey, maybe I should go into sales?? Seriously though, I am really enjoying it!

#3: "Core Secrets" workout DVD's
So, this is the first thing I ever purchased from an info-mercial (you can also find it online)!! I wasn't sure about it at first, but I wanted to try something involving an exercise ball and a friend of mine had it, so I gave it a shot. Now I am so glad that I did because it has become one of my favorite forms of exercise apart from walking. I love that balancing on the ball forces you to always be engaging your "core" muscles and I REALLY enjoy using the weights and the ball together. I bought the ball and the introductory DVD together for about $25, I think, and I signed up to have 2 new DVD's sent to me every other month. Now I have about 9 different DVD's total and I love that I can rotate through them and not get bored. Plus, I like rotating through the upper body, lower body and total body workouts throughout the week so that I am working something different every time. This is the one workout video series that i have actually enjoyed enough to stick with it, that alone makes me love it :)

#4: Our new cell phones
So, a few weeks ago, my phone just up-and-died one day! It was fine and then it wasn't, which is something I have heard is common with Motorola phones, but it worked really well up to that point! Anyway, we were 2 months from the end of our contract anyway, so we went and got new phones for both of us. We got the Samsung Gravity 2. First of all, I liked the color choices. I also really liked the fact that it has a full keyboard... that was definately a requirement for my new phone, since I struggle with texting and was getting really frustrated trying to text all the time. I LOVE having a keyboard, it it 90% easier for me to text with it. The one thing I was worried about with getting a new phone was having to figure out how to use said phone! But, I have been pleasantly surprised by how user-friendly they are. All-in-all I am very pleased with the change and am liking my new phone enough to put it in my top ten things I'm enjoying right now.

#5: My new coffee press!!
For Christmas, my brother-in-law, Nate, got me a stainless steel insulated coffee press for a gift. Man, I have been loving it! The coffee actually has better taste and texture when made in a press rather than a coffee machine. The difference amazes me. Plus, I find it to be a lot simpler to use, especially since i am the only coffee lover in the house. It is way easier to make a small amount at one time in a press. It is just like making loos-leaf tea. Anyway, I have been enjoying my morning coffee even more than usual, so thank you Nate, for my awesome gift!

#6: My two-year planner
When I was in Spokane last summer, I went to a card shop with my Grandma Rima and we found these purse-sized planners, like the ones you see at office supply stores all the time, except this one was a 2 year planner instead of a one year planner! So, we both got one and I am just loving mine. I showed it to my friend Heather, and she liked it so much that she made me pick one up for her the next time I was in Spokane. It is just a small, you could say inconsequential, thing but I love it!!


#7: TV time with my Honey
Matt and I enjoy watching TV together. On a typical evening he will come home from work, I will have dinner ready or we will make it together, we will sit down and eat, talk about our days and whatever else is on our minds, run errands or what-have-you and then we will end our evening sitting on the couch together, watching a show or two. I love having that time at the end of the night where we are together, relaxing and unwinding. It is nice to de-stress together :)

#8: Thai Beef Salad
Recently, after my pregnancy, Matt and I started weight watchers together. We don't go to the meetings or anything, we just bought a starter kit on Amazon.com and keep track of our "points" throughout the day and week. So, that has spurred us into finding new and fun recipes that are healthy and well-rounded. That search lead me to the book "Healthy Appetite" by Ellie Krieger, where I found this recipe:

Thai Beef Salad:
1 lb top round London broil or flank steak, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick (we use whatever kind of steak we have on-hand)
3 Tbs fresh lime juice (we sub lemon)
3 Tbs low sodium soy sauce
3 Tbs canola oil (we sun veggie on occasion)
2 Tbs firmly packed brown sugar
1 clove garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
1 1/4 tsp red curry paste or chili-garlic sauce (we sub red pepper flakes)
1/2 head torn red leaf lettuce (about 5 C lightly packed)
3 shallots, thinly sliced, about 1/2 C (we sub onion)
1/2 C coarsely chopped fresh cilantro (we sub 1 Tbs dried)
1 C fresh basil leaves, sliced into ribbons (we sub dried)

place meat in resealable bag. In med bowl, combine lime juice, soy sauce, oil, brown sugar, garlic, ginger, curry paste. Pour half the mixture over the meat in the bag, seal tightly and marinate in the fridge 2 hours or up to 24hrs. Reserve rest for dressing salad.

cook meat to desired doneness, toss salad with onions and reserved dressing. Divide onto 2-4 plates and top with meat.

We have fallen in love with this salad! We love the rich flavor and the simplicity of throwing it together. Serve it with some whole grain bread and a cup of milk and it is a tasty and filling meal. We usually only marinate it for 2 or 3 hours and we have even done it as little as 20 minutes. But, it is always good.

#9: "Tabletalk"
Since the end of January I have been meeting with a Christian counselor at my church, Canyon Hills Community Church in Bothell, and she introduced me to this small magazine-like publication called "Tabletalk". It comes out once a month and has articles by christian writers in it, usually all focusing around a certain topic for that month, and at the back it has daily devotionals. I love the articles, they are very insightful and well written. I also find the devotionals to be laid out in a very practical and do-able fashion. Anyway, I am learning a lot and really enjoying my time spent reading this and digging into the word.

#10: My Cats!
Last but not least! Actually, I am pretty sure my cats would always make my top ten favorite things :) I love having pets, always have and I just get so much enjoyment out of having them around. Oliver and Riley are always doing things to make me laugh and I never tire of the kitty cuddles. They have such cute little personalities. They have also been enjoying the increased amounts of sunshine we have been getting. Whenever the blinds are open you are sure to find them in front of the slider door, checking things out and lounging in the sunshine!