These are a few of my favorite things

There's a great movie out there called The Sound of Music.  Odds are, if you were ever a 7 year old girl, or the brother or father of a 7 year old girl, you've maybe seen this movie a time or two, or several hundred.

There's a scene in the movie where the Von Trapp children get scared of a (spoiler alert) thunderstorm and Fraulein Marie sings a song to them about how remembering your favorite things can help you not be scared.

I'm really not scared of anything right now, except the remote possibility that I could get thrown into a Cuban jail in a few weeks if I say the wrong thing while in Havana, but I have been thinking about a few of my favorite things anyway, so that when the dog does bark and the bee does sting and Fidel's minions do lock me away, I'll be ready with my thoughts about my favorite things and all will be well again.

I have a lot of favorite things.  Please note that these are only a smathering of them.

• the color pink. If I could get away with wearing it everyday, I would.
• shoes. I've bought three pairs in the last 24 hours. I *needed* each pair, really I did.
• God.  This should go without saying, and really He should be above both the color pink and shoes on this list, because He is in real life.  I've been thinking a lot this week about how His kindness leads me to repentance.  He is KIND to me and it makes me want to be kind to others. I fail at this more than I succeed, but even in that, God is kind to me.
• the tv show Touch. Mostly I'm glad to see that Jack Bauer has finally settled down and is raising a child with special needs. I think it's put him more in touch with his emotional side, but he still has plenty of opportunity to run around a big city, convince police officers to let him into buildings where he doesn't belong, and say the phrase "damnit" whenever possible. I also love the idea that we're all somehow connected to each other. I'm going to watch another riveting episode on Hulu as soon as I'm done writing this blog.
• Speaking of Jack Bauer and The Sound of Music, I love this picture that Alex made for me and Erika when I told him that I thought it would be awesome if Jack Bauer was in The Sound of Music.  Ask yourself, "How does Jack Bauer solve a problem like Maria?"  Like this.

• Finally, brand new to the list of favorite things as of today, is this SONG, which is amazing.  It's shocking to me on a number of levels that I hadn't heard this song before Jen told me about it yesterday and I listened to it today.  Never mind that I have a friend who loves Five Iron Frenzy and knows that Canada is my heart's home.  I will not hold it against him for not telling me about this song, and he can take comfort in being anonymously mentioned in my blog yet again.  Oh Canada, where the yaks can run free.  Enjoy.

What are your favorite things?  Do tell.