[W] My Favorite Things (a la Oprah)

Oprah puts favorite things in her magazine all the time -- and while they are generally cool, they also tend to cost, like, a zillion dollars for a bottle of diamond flaked nail polish or some such nonsense. In any case, I still like the idea, and so here are some of my favorite things at the moment:

1. Vinegar. It's a miracle liquid. Me and vinegar are like that guy in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" and Windex. I truly believe there's nothing vinegar can't do. TIP: pour a "glug" of vinegar in your dishwasher at any point during the cycle. Our dishes have never been so sparkly.
2. The library. I currently have 65 items checked out from the local library. I am not exaggerating. And, even more miraculously, my current fine is only $4!
   
3. The "Juno" soundtrack. It takes me to a happy, folksy place. I especially love the first song. Today I sat at a stop light and sang along even though there was a weird homeless guy with a dog begging for money right outside my window. That's how happy the soundtrack makes me.
4. Kashi Go Lean Crunch + Golden Grahams + raspberries + blackberries + strawberries + blueberries + 1% organic milk. Add in a glass of Naked O.J. watered down a bit and a multivitamin, and you're looking at my favorite breakfast ever. Well -- maybe second favorite breakfast, after some good, thick, meaty bacon. I do love the bacon.
5. Henry's and Costco. Henry's is local. They have, as my hip and uuber trendy nanny would say, hella produce for hella cheap. Costco has hella produce too, but you better be hungry for a lot of whatever you buy. Luckily J. and I can team up and demolish a big flat of berries in no time flat.
6. "Hints from Heloise." For one thing, she introduced me to the miracle exlir that is vinegar. For another, she finally stopped publishing letters in the vein of "how to get books you loan back from your friends." I mean, seriously folks, we all know that once you loan a book, it's gone for good. If you get it back, it's a fluke. And she's a cool biker chick. Not your mama's Heloise!
7. "Dear Abby." If I can start my day with a good bowl of cereal and some quiet time to read Heloise and Abby, I am a happy woman. Abby gives good, succinct advice. Also, at least once a week, she addresses an issue that is deliciously entertaining. Of course, there are the weighty topics too.
8. Oh dear! To think I almost left out "Miss Manners!" She knows how one ought to properly handle any conceivable social situation and she shares her tips with with irreverence and wit. Wonderful.
   
9. It's becoming clear that I should have just included The Newspaper in my list. Specifically, the fluffy parts of the newspaper. I like to skim the hard news, but I love the currents section most of all. Get Fuzzy, Pooch Cafe, the New York Times crossword (early in the week only!), Sudoku, Sunday Target ads, coupons... oh how I love the newspaper!
10. House. The TV show. For one thing, it's got Hugh Laurie. For another thing, it's got Robert Sean Leonard! And those of us who loved Dead Poets Society with a fanaticism that today's teen girls reserve for Twilight swoon.

-W