the best things

have you ever thought about the valuables you would want to have with you if you were stuck on a deserted island and could only bring 10 things with you?

- would you choose your most precious irreplaceable items?
- would you choose things that you don't own now but would like to someday own? - would you choose the best things you have ever owned?

i'd like to focus on the best things i have ever owned. these are things that have enabled me to have an easier, happier, healthier life.

i have broken them down into the following groups: bought, gifts and honorable mentions. what are some of the best things you have ever owned and why?

bought:

-macbook - it has offered me a way to stay connected to the internet even on the road and when there is no electricity at home. during the ice storm in december 2007 in oklahoma, most of my city went without electricity for a couple of weeks. i would take my laptop to work (thank you, generator) to charge it and go to a local wifi hotspot (one of few places with electricity) to get online. at night, we could watch movies on my laptop for about 2 hours before the battery died. but it kept us entertained during those 2 weeks of cold darkness.

-crock pot - it's made home cooking easier and yummier. i can now just dump all of the dinner ingredients into the crock pot in the morning before work and dinner will be ready when i come home in the afternoon/evening.

-my car - it's a junker. during the 3 years that i've owned it, it has never had a stereo or heat/ac, but i only really drove it to and from work (3 miles round trip). i've had new tires put on it and a few repairs here and there, but it was $1,200 well spent on the car. it also miraculously got me to my new city of spokane (almost 1,800 miles away from oklahoma).

-my dog - she's been my best friend when no one else was around. she's always there when i get home from work to greet me excitedly. she offers hours upon hours of amusement. and she has given me more responsibility.

-bicycle - it's been a means of transportation and exercise. during the couple of times that my car has broken down, my bicycle was very handy to have to get to and from work. i also really enjoy just joy riding my bike with my boyfriend.

-books - i only buy a new book maybe once a year. the rest of the time i swap books through paperbackswap.com or buy them used at thrift stores. if i had not started reading again, there is no telling where i would be at in life right now. reading helps me to escape reality for a little while. it also stimulates my thoughts and ideas.




gifts:

-yarn and knitting needles - my boyfriend's mom taught me how to knit. now i can make nice scarves of my own and for others for really cheap. it also helps to relax me. so i guess it was not so much the yarn and needles, but the skill of knitting that i am proud to have.

-popcorn popper - my boyfriend bought me this for christmas. he probably didn't realize it at the time, but the popcorn popper has quickly grown into one of my favorite possessions. it offers me a cheap healthy snack alternative to cookies and cupcakes.

honorable mentions:

- ipod touch - this is a new purchase that i felt guilty about buying at first. i still don't know if i can justify spending so much money on it. but it has been a helpful tool to keep me organized with calendars (work schedules, birthdays, when things go on sale) and notepads to keep my to-do lists, grocery shopping list, etc. i have recently started listening to audiobooks while at work or walking because it sometimes actually puts me in a better mood than music does. the ipod touch has helped me keep several audiobooks organized into playlists for my own personal use. the wifi connection is also good to use while i am at work in order to check bus schedules and bank statements.

- stand mixer - i bought a cheap hamilton beach mixer at black friday 2007 and i used it probably at least every other day for the first month after it's purchase. all the mixer really did for me was allowed me to mix foods faster than i could by hand and allowed me the ability of hands-free mixing so that i could dump in ingredients without much hassle. i did get my money's worth thats for sure, even though my stand mixer usage has decreased.