Favorite thing...why

[Jennifer5]

(I hope this is a fun thread... I'm asking different question hoping we can all learn a little about each other because of the anwsers...anyway...)

Of all the things you do in daily life what would be your favorite part of the day? Of any family traditions, whether it is something you've done since you were little or something you started what is your favorite? Whst is one thing in/about your life that no matter how bad things got you would never trade?

[SolInvictus]

Fav. part of the day? The afternoon as its lunch time & allows time for brief relaxation esp. during a stressful work day.

Fav. thing to do? Spiritually speaking, I enjoy Easter morning services as they are peaceful & tranquil. Sedar, or Passover, as celebrated in the Christian calendar, is also a fun time as it honors the Jewish traditions within Christianity.

In the general sense, I enjoy teaching & helping the handicapped. Its a way to give back to society & helping those who cannot defend themselves.
I also love shopping for clothes, going to concerts/operas, nature hikes, listening to music on CD player, watching tv/movies, and being with friends.

[Zerbie]

Fav part of the day: easy, morning yoga practice. I have a room in our house dedicated to it - was designed to be a separate dining room, so has doors to the kitchen and family room, but is set apart and faces the front porch, so it's set up to be a special place just for yoga, meditation, contemplation, reading "spiritual" lit. . .stuff like that. I usually spend about an hour in there every morning doing whatever I feel like.


Tradition-type stuff: hubby and I like to dye Easter eggs every spring, then hide them from one another. Like 5 year olds. Tremendous fun!

Other stuff: singing. Completely engaging to work on vocal technique, being as surrendered and free as possible. When it "clicks" you are in another place and you never know when or how your singing touches someone in that vulnerable emotional place deep inside.

[pnggrad79]

My favorite things:

1. Taking a nap on Sunday afternoon with my wife.
2. Watching "Gone With the Wind" for the 1000th time.
3. Being with my wife.
4. Laughing with my two daughters, who are very funny, witty, and adorable.
5. Summer time
6. Key West, Florida
7. Waikiki Beach, Hawaii
8. Albuquerque/Santa Fe, New Mexico
9. My nephew's giggle, when I flip him over my head.
10. Dr. Pepper
11. My kids at school, who are smart, funny and get my stupid jokes.

[Shep]

Well there are lots of things that I have enjoyed through my life that because of the AIDS virus have stopped, but I still keep plugging along.
I really enjoyed mountain climbing, and although I've only climbed a few mountains (no not Everest) it was great.
I also liked traveling. I wanted to make it to all 50 states but only made it to 30, down to Mexico, up to Canada, and across the ocean to Portugal, Madeira and the Azores (where my paternal grandparents were from).
Doing things with my partner is good for me also, like last year we built a deck off the sunporch. It took a while but it was fun. Also like building little things in my workshop.
But I guess my favorite thing is taking care of our 2 dogs, and I especially like to prepare their meals and watch them eat with such enthusiasm. They are so friendly and lovable, and even if I leave to go to the store for 5 minutes, they make such a fuss over me when I get back like I've been gone for days. (even my partner doesn't make such a fuss over me LOL).
Anyway it's such a joy to have them in our lives, and I can't imagine why anyone wouldn't want a dog or 2 in their life. We got them at an animal shelter, which I believe is the best place to find a dog or cat. (Click on my name, go into my profile, and you will see their pic)

[morningrob]

Walking through the woods to work. Woods may be too big for this patch of trees, but there is a bunch of trees together. YOu never know what you may see- one day I came across a dear hanging out.

[NonLemming]

Morning coffee and crossword puzzles.

Spiritually, early AM on Sunday AMs. I consider every day above ground t be a spiritual day, but Sunday is just a great morning for reflection for me.

[Zerbie]

Shep - your dogs are beautiful!! And is that the new porch?

Morningrob - how wonderful you walk through a grove of trees every morning! Thanks for mentioning that - I'll add trees to my list of faves, absolutely! OT: I smile every time I see your screen name, there's something sweet about it. Maybe because I like the morning, too.

PNG - New Mexico is great. Isn't Santa Fe gorgeous! Have you ever been to Taos? I once had a chance to spend a measly 15 minutes there. . .seemed like it would suit my personality very much.

Hey Sol - I forgot to ask you, do you have a favorite opera?

Edited to say: Jennifer - we're waiting for your answers too, ya know. (-;

[schoolboi]

Of all the things you do in daily life what would be your favorite part of the day?

Right before I fall asleep I lay in bed with my dog Korma and we talk and snuggle.

Of any family traditions, whether it is something you've done since you were little or something you started what is your favorite?

This really is not a tradition, but my family is very loud and boisterous in public place especially restaurants. I love it.

What is one thing in/about your life that no matter how bad things got you would never trade?

I would never trade my childhood or my Pentecostal upbringing. I love being gay! I wouldn’t change that for the world.

[pnggrad79]

Zerbie,

I love New Mexico!!!!! I have been to Taos several times. I went skiing there and visited the Pueblo. Cool, cool. Loved every minute of it.

[Shep]

Thanks Zerbie, No, that is the old porch from when we lived in the city. I was going to put a pic of the new deck in here somehow but I have no idea how to do it. (see what happens when you get old) I don't even remember how I got the dogs pic into my profile.
I have never been to New Mexico, but I did spend 2 weeks next door in Arizona, and had a great time. Some friends from Tucson brought me everywhere from Nogales, Mexico to the Grand Canyon. I was amazed at the Meteor Crater. I walked around the circumfrence of the rim. ( took almost 2 hrs.) My friends got mad at me because they didn't want to wait around, but I figured I might not ever get there again so I was going to enjoy it. If you've never been there and you have the chance to, go and see it, it's amazing. http://www.meteorcrater.com/

[Zerbie]

Well PNG and Shep - for someone who adores humidity and hates it dry, I sure do enjoy the beauty of the desert southwest. Oddly, I live here in Arizona, too! But I haven't been to the meteor crater yet - that will be a local Must Do. Visited the big hole in the ground of course, shortly after moving here. What I enjoy is that we live within view of several mountains, being in the Phoenix valley, and when I step outside of my house, I can see the reddish mountains rising in the distance while strolling around the neighborhood.

Shep - I thought it was a good guess that might be the new porch, oh well. Don't feel bad about the techonological woes. I'm not very computer literate either - but I made it here! The only reason I even had an avatar to upload was, friends sent me the link to make the cartoon picture, and my husband had to save it and upload it FOR me, or else I wouldn't have one! I have a real photo of me somewhere on the computer but I don't know how to get it here. Feh, whaddaya gonna do? I'm more old-fashioned than computer savvy.

[NonLemming]

Zerbie, you MUST go to Meteor Crater. I went there before the GC and it really put a lot of things in perspective. Like the age of Earth, our short time on it as a species, etc. You'll love it, I hope.

[SolInvictus]

Fav. operas are Carmen, Madame Butterfly, and La Boheme. I like tragic operas: not sure why, but I do.

In musicals, I love Phantom of the Opera.

[Zerbie]

Hey, Not A Lemming, thanx, I'll put Meteor Crater on the list of local hopefuls right alongside getting to the Phoenix Zoo and Botanical Gardens and taking in some (non operatic) theater.

Sol: Carmen was the first opera I really got acquainted with when I was very young! An early fave! I wanted to sing the part of Carmen, of course, but that's so wrong for me it's not even funny. I've done both Butterfly and Boheme (just chorus in Butterfly, but Musetta in Boheme was my first full-length opera role). Boheme is one of my long-running favorites, impossible to get tired of. My favorite moments in Boheme are the duet after Mimi and Rodolfo have just met (O soave fanciulla, at the end of Act I), and pretty much all of Act III, from Mimi's entrance through the end of the quartet.

My other operatic favs are Otello (a perfect opera!!! incredible music and requires a tenor with a majestic voice, like Del Monaco or Vickers), and Rigoletto. Well, most Verdi actually! But especially Rigoletto and Otello. Heartbreaking the way those men destroy the very things they love most! And if you aren't familiar with Un ballo in maschera, check it out - the heart-wrenching aria in there is Eri Tu, when Renato believes (wrongly) that his best friend has been bedding his wife. Another tragic ending.

And my favorite opera to sing in is Richard Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos. If you know that opera, you know why I chose my screen name.

[Jennifer5]

Of all the things you do in daily life what would be your favorite part of the day?
I would say those few minutes when i'm supposed to be going to bed, but instead I'm sitting by my mom just talking to her. At that time in the evening neither of us are really worried about anything. We can just be together.

Of any family traditions, whether it is something you've done since you were little or something you started what is your favorite?
Christmas. Every Christmas my mom does this huge thing. Christmas eve, we have a buffet and open presents. Christmas day, when we get up we open stockings and spend time together until the turkey is ready, then we enjoy a big turkey dinner(yes, even though turkey is for thanksgiving we do it for both.) Plus my grandpa's birthday is Christmas day, so it's a double celebration. Then my brother's birthday is the day after christmas, so for his birthday we always have left-overs and just enjoy it by being together as a whole family.
What is one thing in/about your life that no matter how bad things got you would never trade?
My family. No matter what I think about, even though this maybe different because I'm younger, no matter what, I don't know what I would do without them. I think there must be something deep inside everyone that needs to know they have some one who they love and loves them. So no matter what, I would ever give up my family.

[Shep]

Hey Zerbie,
I figured out how to change the pic in my profile. If you go there now you will see a pic of the new deck we built and part of our backyard. Let me know that you have seen it because I want to put my dog's pic back in there.

[Zerbie]

Shep, I don't see it!

[Shep]

Hmmmmm. See what I mean. I see it on my computer, but I guess I messed up somehow. I'll try again.

[Shep]

Zerbie: I tried it again and again and it keeps saying "upload failed" Don't know why, but I put back the dogs pic, let me know if you can see it in my profile.
Jamie: If you are reading this do you know what I'm doing wrong? I'm going to try the pet photo thing sometime this afternoon.