Today's Blog Brought to you by the Letter "R"

Thanks to the Goddess and my inability to focus on those pesky proactive tasks I promised myself I would tackle, enjoy and take satisfaction in this year therefore leading me to find ways to procrastinate, I bring you High Heeled Mama's 10 favorite things that begin with the letter "R."

Without further ado and in no particular order, I present High Heeled Mama's radical rundown of random things that bring her rapture (oh, see what I did there!? This IS fun!):

Rhode Island
It's true. The smallest state in the union is one of my favorite things. Partly because it is so small, partly because of its history, partly because it has so much ocean and water curling up at its feet, but mostly because it was the home of my grandma and grandpa.

My sister and I would spend a couple of weeks each summer at their house when we were kids and I miss it. I miss the carefree way we frittered away time in the water and the sun. I miss the nutter butters in the cookie jar and finding ways to sneak an extra one while Grandma wasn't looking. I miss the shows my sister, cousin and I would put on. I miss the smell of the pond in my hair and the dead-to-the-world sleep that followed a full day in the water. I miss the feel of the nubby coverlet on the bed. I miss the coffee ice cream and how it was a daily staple of our diet while we were there. I miss (as crowded as it could be sometimes) sleeping with my sister. I miss random trips with Grandpa in the car, our legs sticking to the brown vinyl seats of his ancient Chevette, crunching on the hard peppermint candies he always kept in it.

Most of all, I miss my grandparents. I think they would have really enjoyed meeting peanut. I actually had a dream that they did. It was a dream filled with laughter. It is a dream that is so vivid, so realistic, I woke crying and months later it is still as fresh and real to me as our last visit to NC.

Risotto
A good, creamy risotto. A glass of red wine. Mmmmmmmm.

Reading
I was a bookworm growing up, always with my nose in a book. Although real life (and, let's face it, exhaustion) often gets in the way, I'm happiest when I'm devouring a book and have a stack to read following it on my bedside table. I love, love, love a good story, an elegant phrase, snappy dialogue. With my stay-at-home "salary," I've had to give up my book store addiction and have rediscovered the joy of the library. You never know what you are going to come away with. Since the new releases are hard to come by, I have been using my library card to check out writers I may have been reluctant to drop $20 on, rediscover a few classics (both books I read in high school because I had to and want to see if I enjoy any better as an adult and a few of those classics I should have had to read in high school but managed to avoid), and just pick up a random book or two because I like the cover.

Robbins, Tim
One of my favorite actors of all time. He wins this honor for Bull Durham (shot in my home town) and Shawshank Redemption alone. Then there is Mystic River and creepy Arlington Road. Add in his performance in High Fidelity and brief role in Anchorman and I'm in love. I actually saw him in person once - he passed me at the Reston Town Center. Just as handsome, and even taller, in person.

Relatives
I really do love my family. My mom and my sister are my best friends. My dad is everything a dad should be: a confidant, protector, good hugger and extremely sentimental when it comes to his girls. My cousins are a diverse group, spread far and wide, but we always have a good time when we manage to get together (which is not nearly often enough). My aunts and uncles are a strange lot, indeed (I'm not telling them anything they don't already know!), but I know they've got my back and I am honored and blessed to have them in my life. My in-laws are a crazy bunch (again, not telling them anything they don't already know!), but they have given me another family to feel at home in (after all, I'm probably the craziest!).

Rameses
I'm a Tar Heel through and through, so Rameses, and all that is connected to the University of North Carolina, is most certainly on my list of favorite things. I've written about it before, so I won't bore you with the details of my love for this place...just know that it runs deep and it runs Carolina blue.

Rocks
I love rocks - not in a geological sense, science is really lost on me in most of its forms, but in the physical sense. I love the sound of waves crashing on rocks. I love the feel of cool stones. I love to climb on them. I love the rivers they've carved into the hills and mountains of North Carolina and the white water I have been able to raft as a result. I love their risk and the safety they offer. I love that they have been here forever, that they both shape and can be shaped. I love the sound they make when peanut plops stone after stone into the creek at Grandma and Grandpa's house or here at the park across from our house. I love that peanut seems to be as enamored with them as his mama is.

Mama and peanut sharing a love of rocks and water during a Christmas hike.

Roses
Yellow roses, specifically. I know they are the symbol of friendship, but they are my favorites. My Meme (mem-A in the French Canadian tradition) died when I was in the first grade and my memories of her are hazy and disconnected. But I distinctly remember the roses that she grew that lined the back side of her house. My favorites were always the yellow varieties. They smelled the sweetest to me and stood out among the other red flowers. Rose bushes, specifically, always remind me of her. In fact, we have a random wild rose bush (perhaps a single mainstay from a decades old and forgotten garden?) that is growing in our front yard. It's a single stalk, totally out of place with the other landscaping currently there and probably looks like a crazy weed from the street. But I can't bear to part with it. It's this random beauty that blooms a few buds for me every summer and reminds me of a woman I barely knew.

ROFL
No, one of my favorite things is not this crazy computer slang I can't figure out (I'm a Luddite at heart), but I do love laughing so hard I'm snorting, crying and rolling on the floor. Peanut has brought a lot of this crazy, belly laughing into our daily lives and I love him all the more for it. Laughter really is the best medicine for what ails you.

Recalcitrant
I just think this is a great word. There are just some words I inherently like because of the way they sound or what they mean or how they feel in a sentence. Words like delicious or euphoria or haphazard. Recalcitrant is just one of those big words that's fun to use because it's not a word that can come up too often...until you have a toddler and you witness firsthand the definition of recalcitrant about every 10 minutes: "having an obstinately uncooperative attitude toward authority or discipline."

If you'd like to participate as well, leave a comment (make sure I have your email address or email me at highheeledmama at gmail dot com) with your favorite "R" and I'll send you a randomly selected letter so you, too, can get in on the fun! It's just that easy!