Sometimes I like to focus all my attention on just one of my favorite [right now!] things per post, but I’m starting to accrue a list that’s just too long and there’s lots of little things I want to share with you all. Soooo, here we go!

First up: why, oh WHY did we wait so long to purchase a Roku Box? We’ve been cable-less for almost two years now. That means basic channels only. After Sophia was born and I really started focusing on my business and Mike on his MBA, we just realized we weren’t watching 100+ dollars of cable each month. It wasn’t even a fraction of that. The final straw came one day when we sat down together to channel surf and we landed on a movie we’d both seen at least twice. We were just wasting our time sitting in front of this box. So we cut the ties. And haven’t looked back. It’s been awesome! But we have missed certain things – like John Stewart and Steven Colbert. And oh HGTV and Food Network – *sigh* – how I miss you. We could always plug a laptop into the TV and catch up on certain things via Hulu, but that requires time, effort, etc. It wasn’t easy. Finally last month with some credit card points (love those!) we ordered a Roku box. So simple and such an amazing and cheap solution. You initially hook it up, it finds your wireless internet and connects you to Hulu, Netflix, Pandora, Amazon and a TON of other streaming services. And for you Angry Bird addicts, yes you can play that on your TV. Who needs to record something when I can just pull the show up on Hulu and watch it anytime I want? It is such a great solution for us. And Hulu Plus (which yes, you’re sort of forced to purchase if you want TV shows) has a library that goes waaaay back. All episodes of My So Called Life? At your disposal. The A Team? Yup, sadly.

Can we talk for a minute about Toddler Mumbles? Because that’s what I’m calling this next favorite thing. Someday, probably soon, these will totally embarrass me and come at completely the wrong time. But lately they’ve had me laughing so hard. Because like it or not, Sophia actually listens to what we say. I mean, she doesn’t always listen TO us, but she is listening. Example – she and I were at the chiropractor the other day and she’s getting really good at letting me go first and then it’s her turn. She gets really excited and hops on up to the table. But in the process of climbing the table, she mumbles to no one in particular “You’re making me nuts!”. My chiropractor didn’t know whether to laugh or be totally shocked (and possibly judgemental?he doesn’t have kids). I giggled and kind of shrugged. OK – I don’t say this to her. I promise! Later that night I recounted the story to Mike and laughed again at how I had no idea where she picked that phrase up. Then I went to get something out of my bedroom and tripped over my two dogs who happened to be running after each other below my feet. And then I said it. I never tell Sophia she’s making me nuts, but I probably tell that to the dogs about five times a day. HA!

I love to read. Usually I’m pretty good about reading for pleasure only before I fall asleep for 30 minutes or so, but occasionally I’ll get so absorbed in a book that I block out life and just need to get through it. This is at its worst when I discover a whole series. Because I can’t stop. It’s like a drug. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has done this to me recently. I read this book about a month ago, and just a few days ago on vacation I took up the second book, The Girl Who Played with Fire. I finished it in three days. When I was in the middle of the first book, I shamefully admit to popping in a Dora DVD just so I could sit with Sophia on the couch and read. I’m not usually a mystery fan but these books are perfectly paced and are pretty well written. I love trying to keep track of all the names and places and things going on. My poor husband though has to deal with a fairly neglected laundry pile and toys that aren’t always picked up. And me reading during commercial breaks of the show Parenthood. I’m about to start the last book in the trilogy though and am kind of glad to be done with it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m looking forward to reading it, but my poor neglected family will probably be glad to have me back after it’s over.

Carbs. Gluten. Bread. I love it. Shamelessly. There are many things we eat gluten free because I do believe it is healthier, but homemade bread just isn’t one of them. A couple of Christmases ago, my parents bought us a bread maker. For an entire year we bought only a handful of loaves of bread. I now keep one store-bought loaf in the freezer for an emergency sandwich here and there, but primarily it’s all about the homemade bread. Have you ever smelled fresh bread baking throughout your entire house? We wake up to it at least once a week. I load the ingredients before I go to bed, set the timer and voila – perfectly golden brown french bread at 7am. Or whole wheat granola with flax seeds (pictured). And every Friday in our house is pizza night. And I make the dough right in the bread machine. When it’s done, all I have to do is roll it out and add toppings. I actually need to experiment with different types of bread more now that we have our established favorites. But the cook book that comes with it has a TON of different recipes from cinnamon raisin to asiago cheese to gluten free. I’m so obsessed with it that we recently took a mini vacation with friends to a cabin in northern Arizona. And I brought my bread machine.