things to be thankful for

1. cookbooks
2. hot baths when i feel sick or run down
3. my unwavering sense of self, even if the world sometimes acts like it wants me to forget it
4. eclairs
5. being in america
6. newly shaved legs (they just feel nice)
7. the first snow
8. creamy coffee
9. the time i had to spend with my dad
10. cuddles
11. spring
12. nonfat frozen yogurt (this is a big one)
13. my senses
14. my health and your health too
15. the right to vote
16. being able to travel
17. my vocal training and ability
18. the u.s. postal service
19. family
20. running water
21. the fireplace on a cold night
22. not having to worry about getting blown up when i walk out the door
23. dark chocolate!
24. postcards
25. maple syrup... thank you sweet trees!
26. the east coast in the fall- the bright colors of the leaves
27. musicmusicmusic
28. my pets- they keep me happy and sane and make me laugh
29. love
30. being born in a first world country... it ain’t always perfect, but we’ve got a 31. lot to be thankful for
32. the ocean
33. ice cream
34. opportunity
35. you
36. books - its the only way i can fall asleep at night
37. my strong legs...they take me from point a to point b, allow me to run like the wind, spin like i invented the damn class, jump rope without tripping, dance the best i can...among other things that are probably not appropriate for a public forum such as this
38. growing up in the mountains
39. not having to have back surgery
40. feeling the sand between my toes
41. my doggies, and the fact my mother did not give the younger of the two back after a week, like she threatened to do (bella was a bit of a difficult pup).
42. post-its
43. clean water, green trees
44. my cousin becky
45. clean air and water
46. buttonwood syrah rose
47. only non-crippling allergies
48. learning
49. my brand-new apartment room and apartment-mates; i could not be happier
50. personal growth
51. the ability to let go of things that are no longer serving me
52. being indecisive because there are too many things to love
53. delicious food made by hand
54. one word: sofia
55. cuddles with pets
56. flip flops- the really worn in kind
57. top chef
58. friends who are awesome
59. TV on DVD
60. generosity
61. trees!!! how else would we breath?
62. the people at mac tech support who give you two free calls. i just used one.
63. loved ones
64. that feeling when the sun warms you
65. my ability to do anything i set out to do
66. the polaroid camera
67. self magazine. hell, magazines in general
68. a warm bed and a nice place to live
69. my voice teacher
70. chamomile
71. e-projects
72. excedrin
73. sutton
74. my best friends, emily and pat
75. a job, even though i don’t like it
76. him
77. honesty
78. the fact that there are no longer no-smoking sections in most resturants, since smoking is banned there to begin with
79. fuzzy slippers for when i get home from a day of wearing heels
80. alisal ranch
81. never having to be hungry
82. my new york city
83. mittens
84. my career and where it is going
85. a body that allows me freedom of movement
86. the gloaming
87. good fortune
88. lists
89. twilight- when the sun is pink and orange
90. every single day

list by: ashley, other ashley, becky, hannah, katie, maura and pete
photo by ashley

places you'd like to go (and why)

1. tonga (because we learned about it in 6th grade social studies)
2. cuba (for more coffee)
3. savannah, GA (midnight in the garden of good and evil, mansions)
4. taj mahal (because that place is big. seriously big)
5. atlanta (because I want to go to the aquarium and see the world's largest oil painting)
6. wales (because i read too many king arthur books)
7. the moon (because it's made of cheese)
8. india (because of the smell of spices; fabrics; temples; food; COLOR)
9. timbuktu (because it would be fun to say you’ve been there)
10. christ the redeemer statue, brazil (because jesus! that thing is big!)
11. the burgess shale fossil beds
12. china (great wall; food/spices; Buddhist temples; red/gold/communism; maybe I’ll see a phoenix)
13. all the u.s. national parks (because i love national parks)
14. petra, jordan (just google it. you’ll see.)
15. hawaii (to see volcanoes)
16. poland (because they're my people and i want to learn polish)
17. greece (because maybe I’ll develop a golden tan and a love for olives?)
18. colorado (colo-fucking-rado)
19. mont saint-michel (because i’ve spent a bunch of time in france but never made it to mont saint-michel)
20. russian (because it is the birthplace of my love)
21. victoria falls (waterfalls are awesome)
22. death valley (because it is an extreme)
23. the amazon rainforest (i went near here - the headwaters of the amazon - and already it was awesome. swimming with piranhas, making yucca bread, and avoiding the sink because a scorpion seems to have set up home there - what could be better?)
24. denali (because i was supposed to go there once but i got the flu really bad and had to stay in bed)
25. alberta and saskatchewan (because of the prairies)
26. a giant dance club (to dance)
27. prince edward island (because i didn't take enough pictures the one time i went there)
28. the north & south poles (again with the silly photo shoots, i’ve seen a photo of my friend’s grandfather standing on his head at the south pole (like he was holding up the world). if it can make an old man stand on his head, i need to go. plus - penguins and polar bears, oh my!)
29. new zealand (because it looks so beautiful)
30. fore street (because it is supposed to be the best)
31. cairo to see the pyramids (because it's the only wonder of the ancient world you can still see!)
32. soda springs, idaho (because of the oregon trail)
33. the great wall of china (it didn’t make the original 7 wonders, but i hear it is still pretty awesome)
34. vienna, austria (because that is where my family is from)spain (eating dinner at 11, siestas, paella, wine/sangria…)
35. prince edward island (because that's where anne of green gables lived)
36. bisbee, arizona (because even though i was just there, i didn't see it during the day)
37. fridgehednge (because thats amazing)
38. south of france (lavender, herbs de province)
39. alaska (because its wildness)
40. a haunted castle in ireland (ideally with central heating)
41. cuba (castro and organic farming)
42. the grand canyon (because it’s lame not to go to an amazing place in your own country)
43. nyc (because i have only been there twice and there is so much more to do)
44. scotland (for my family history and haggis)
45. redding, ca (to see the sundial bridge)
46. antartica (it is very far and very cold)
47. la (to visit jana once she is settled, because i have never been there either and it's la!)
48. anywhere i haven't been (because exploring sets my blood on fire)
49. drive cross country (because i’m amazed at how many born again christians there are in the rest of the us)
50. paris, especially with a love (because i love paris, and to be in love in paris must be amazing)
51. the prime meridian & the equator or both at once in a boat! (i spent 45 minutes trying to find a toilet on the equator, only to find out that it still spins. standing on geographical landmarks always leads to silly photo shoots)
52. monument valley, utah & arizona (because of john wayne)
53. ocean pizza in saco (because it's extremely good pizza, but who ever goes to saco?)
54. sweden (because kirsten was my favorite american girl)
55. stonehenge (the touristy part of this is supposed to be pretty lame, but still - how the hell did they build it? )
56. the science museum at harvard (to see the glass flowers exhibit)
57. uruguay (because of its amazing architecture)
58. the leaning tower of piza (because i want to take a photo from a distance looking like i’m holding it up)
59. san francisco (to visit anne and because the first time i went i didn't like it that much, and i want to give it another try)
60. the galapagos islands (i got to spend a week here in college, and i could spend another year there if i had the chance. every moment you see something amazing. swimming with penguins and sea lions, watching albatross take off, and laughing at the word boobie no matter how many times you hear it)
61. the whitney (to see the permanent calder exhibit)
62. austin, texas (because of south by southwest)
63. newfoundland (puffins!)
64. mt everest (let’s face it, i’m never really going to hike it, but still...)
65. new zealand (because i have heard from everyone i know that has been there that they never wanted to leave. and that it is the most beautiful place ever. i must go and see for myself. yes.)
66. greensboro, nc (to go to jan's diner)
67. the great barrier reef (because it's a snorkeler’s dream)
68. iceland (because of otherworldly landscapes)
69. louisville (to see my family and show jon around and go to my favorite restaurant)
70. mount fuji (are there really vending machines on top?)
71. switzerland (because it's nuetral, has lots of chocolate and reminds me of maria vontrapp)
72. italy, especially tuscany (because i need to experience food in the way that elizabeth gilbert did in eat, pray, love. also, i would really love to see olive and grape harvest, and see how
73. pompeii (as a roman history dork i feel like i’ve seen the place in so many text books, and in an awesome exhibit at the field museum in chicago that i’ve got to go to the real place)
74. south dakota (because of the badlands and laura ingalls wilder)
75. olive oil and wine are made. i hope that means i get to stomy grapes in bare feet - which has always been a romantic notion of mine ever since i saw that i love lucy episode!)
76. st. john, in february (to visit daisy and swim in the ocean and get a tan)
77. the cenote at xpu-ha, mexico (because it was my very favorite snorkeling experience even and i have always wanted to go back)
78. boston (to go shopping at h&m)
79. all of the natural wonders of the world (because they must all be amazing)
80. arabica (to get a latte with a heart)


list by: becky, darcy, hannah, kentucky, leah, lauren and maggie
photo by becky

pet peeves

1. people who are negative or pessimistic all the time
2. pompous people
3. silent treatment
4. whistling
5. men who ogle or whistle at women who walk down the street
6. when people argue for the sake of arguing
7. slow walkers who take up the whole sidewalk
8. people who are idiots
9. driving through red lights
10. people who will write something borderline mean, but then follow it up with a smiley face :)
11. when someone throws something in the trash when it could obviously be recycled and there's a recycling bin nearby
12. making me talk to your boyfriend who i have never actually met when i call you on the phone, saying something like, "oh here - talk to [---]"
13. certain mispronunciations such as saying nucular (noo-cue-lur) instead of nuclear (noo-clee-ur) and fustrated (fuss-tray-ted) instead of frustrated (frus-tray-ted) etc.
14. people who don't recycle
15. people who eat with their mouths open
16. people who don't vote and then complain about the results
17. when food tastes like stale refrigerator or freezer
18. shoe stores that don't carry size 11 (womens)
19. pretension
20. people that salt their food before they taste it
21. fundamentalists
22. chronic exaggeration
23 .credit card minimums
24. those people at work who you see everyday for a year, but who will still not even smile at you, let alone say hi
25. driving while text messaging
26. when shoe salespeople look at me like i'm a freak when i ask if they have "this in a size 11?"
27. the misuse of "myself"
28. people who act like jerks
29. people who have to stop and coo over every single dog/baby on the sidewalk
30. irregradless
31. people who only get in touch with you when they want something from you
32. smoking/leaving your car running at the GAS STATION PUMP
33. answering your cell phone and having a drawn out conversation with the person on 34. it when you're supposed to be hanging out with me and i'm sitting right next to you
35. having my feet hurt from shoes that are oh-so-cute (but too painful to keep)
36. saying things like "lol" out loud in real life without any sense of irony
37. people that say they don't like a certain food before they try it, and refuse to eat it
38. bad drivers
39. the use of redundant statements like ATM Machine or PIN Number
40. using metallic utensils on teflon cookware
41. using the word "gay" to mean "lame"
42. lack of responsibility/accountability
43. people who don't return phone calls
44. poor communication, followed by blaming others
45. judgmental people who make their judgmental-ness obvious
46. singing along with the music when you don't actually know the words and therefore just sort of mumble through them
47. being called a party pooper just because you don't want to do something
48. music or tv being not loud enough to hear completely yet not muted
49. people who don't wash their hands after using the bathroom
50. guilt trips
51. unsalted butter
52. slow drivers when I'm in a hurry
53. chronic lateness
54. pickled things that contain no vinegar
55. giant suvs
56. when people from the United States visit foreign countries and don't even attempt the language
57. indecision
58. grammatical errors, like mixing up your and you're, or their and there, or misplaced quotation marks/apostrophes
59. upspeaking at the end of every phrase
60. closed-mindedness
61. when people stand right in the doorway to smoke, and you have to walk through smoke curtains to get in
62. when people are negative or pessimistic all the time
63. when people wear so much perfume/cologne that it sticks around in elevators after they've left
64. native New Englanders that don't root for New England sports teams
65. conservatives, republicans and reactionaries
66. poor-quality chocolate...the kind that is like eating sweetened wax
67. when other drivers don't turn off their blinkers and i have to drive behind them, watching the light blink for no reason
68. when people don't try new things (foods especially), or not being able to try them myself
69. people who clear their throats in a particularly disgusting and nauseating way in public on a regular basis, like the lady who sits next to me at work
70. thinking that moving to los angeles will somehow make you a more interesting person than you were when you lived in minneapolis/des moines/woonsocket, when actually you will always be lame regardless of your location
71. when people refuse to even attempt creativity because of fear of failure (ie. singing, dancing, cooking, any form of art)
72. people who eat with their mouths only slightly open and therefore cannot believe you or apparently don't hear it themselves
73. people who play their music too loud in their cars - to the point that it makes your car vibrate and/or drowns out your music

list by: alyce, ashley, becky, deirdre, hannah, kentucky, maggie, and pete