Fweeha! A Tag!

Bythelbs did such a fun post that I asked for a letter assignment. The tag is “10 things you like that start with the letter _” and she was kind enough to assign me the letter F.

So, without further ado . . . here are 10 Things I Like That Start With “F”:


1. Family. This one is a total no brainer. My husband and kids are my absolute favorite people in the world. I am constantly, constantly, constantly amazed how lucky I am to have it so good.


2. Friends. A night out with friends once in a while does wonders for me. I love being able to laugh, play, or talk about deep stuff with my friends. And friends with whom you can do all three? Those are the best. And bloggy friends are pretty wonderful, too.


3. Food. Omigosh, I love good food. Notice the qualifier "good." Mac-n-cheese and anything made with disgusting marinara sauce does not count. But our seared tuna with wasabi butter sauce that we had for dinner yesterday? Yeah, that counts.


4. Fish. I love seafood. I love fish. Raw and rolled in seaweed with rice? Even better. Sushi is my favorite food.


5. Friends. This time I mean the TV show. I quote this show all the time. Ask anyone. It's amazing how many things I can relate to a clip of this show. Though this clip doesn't really relate to anything in particular, it's my favorite--David Schwimmer is awesome at slapstick and Joey is hilarious filling out the hospital form:



Wait, I love this scene, too. And I quote this one all the time:



Oh oh. And this one. LOVE when Phoebe goes all ballistic like this:





6. Foreign Films. I should get some kind of bonus for this one. Like in Scattegories. Because I used 2 Fs. But yeah, I like foreign films. I like the music. I like the simple story lines. I like the feel of the films. I like the cinematography. I like the gorgeous views they often have. I like the ambiguous endings. I even like the subtitles. One of my favorite things at BYU was the International Cinema. I have several favorites, most of them French (oooh, another F -- French Foreign Films). Here are some of them:

Jean de Flourette
Manon of the Spring
My Father's Glory
My Mother's Castle


7. Fromage. I love cheese, but especially the French variety. Brie and Camembert are two of my favorite soft, spreadable cheeses. They're particularly delectable with some good accompanying bread. Mmmmmm. My Dad used to eat cheese for dessert--he can do that; he's European. And he is the one who introduced Mark to Queijo Sao Jorge, Mark's favorite sharp cheese. Oh and I love goat cheese, too. Cheese. Cheese is good.


8. Freaks and Geeks. How in the world shows like Full House, Saved by the Bell, and Family Matters ever even air, let alone continue past one season while pure genius like Freaks and Geeks gets inexplicably dropped before it even completed one season is one of the greatest mysteries of the pop culture world. This show had brilliant writers and producers. Unfortunately, this show also had a lousy time slot and poor marketing. This show should've never been canceled. Never. Its cult following is huge (have you seen the show's ranking on IMDB.com?) and it is totally worth owning and watching again and again, especially if you're a child of the 70s and 80s. And that's coming from people who don't generally own a lot of movies or TV shows. This one is a gem. It's like "high school for the rest of us!" The selection of music on this show is nothing short of truly awesome. And every time we watch it (all 18 episodes, *sniff*), I swear I tear up a little at the thought that anyone could be so supremely stupid as to cancel this show. Seriously, that level of moronic ineptitude just makes me sad.


9. Firth, Colin. My dear Mr. Darcy. Oh man, I love Colin Firth! He is one of my favorite actors. His quiet delivery and easy manner make him unable to resist. I've enjoyed everything I've ever watched that has him in it. And when I look at his list on IMDB, I see there's so much I haven't yet seen (how exciting!). With a beard, without a beard, in a suit or just a loose white shirt, it doesn't much matter. There's a reason all women swoon over Mr. Darcy.


10. Feelings. I'm an ENFJ. I'm a person who feels deeply and makes decisions based on feelings and after much thought. I don't make major life decisions lightly. I delve deep. I genuinely feel for people, care about people. And I feel strongly and deeply about many things. And I'm learning how to handle this to help keep depression and anxiety at bay while also living authentically. This has been gruelingly difficult at times and incredibly empowering.

We have a really great book club (about 14 people, men and women) and at a recent meeting we were discussing a character in our book selection for that month. As we were talking about her perspective and approach to life, the Myers-Briggs personality test came up and we all started talking about our various scores on the test. One man in our group mentioned that he leans way more to logic than feelings. He went on to say that he doesn't ever feel really excited and sometimes he thinks he misses out on what that's like, but then he looks at the flip side--he doesn't ever feel very down and he's glad to avoid that.

I'm one of those he describes. I can feel so genuinely giddy and excited that I'm overflowing with happy energy. When I am with those I love, I know what it means to feel "love so much that it hurts." I love fiercely and passionately. But yes, the depths to which I can go have also at times been profoundly intense. My love runs deep. My spirituality is something I constantly hone and daily feel. Fear is scary to me. It's a blessing and a curse. However, I don't know that I'd trade it. It definitely has lead me into what I do professionally--counseling and teaching. I genuinely enjoy people and am totally charged by the energy I feel in both individual and group settings. And it contributes to who I am as a wife, mother, friend . . . I think it's part of why I love to think, to write, to read, to meditate, to live, to love.

Anyway, FUN post. Thanks, lbs! I won't tag anyone either, but if someone would like to do it, let me know in the comments and I'll assign you a letter, too! :)