25.

going shopping when I'm supposed to be working.
pining after Zooey Deschanel's bangs, makeup, wardrobe, and general adorableness.

24.

Advil.
getting a haircut.
green paint.
Advil.
when my darling comes home.

23.

being a redhead.
"I wanna take a ride on your disco stick."
having guy friends who let me put eyeliner on them.
going "out out" for the first time in six months, and wondering why we don't do it every weekend.

22.

finding some way to make the worst meeting in history a somewhat productive experience (by blocking it out and writing a draft of my first blog posting).

21.

Successful homemade bread (even if it took 25 minutes of kneading and the return of the tendonitis in my wrists).
Liz LEMON!

20.

catching up on posts.
when my friends have really good ideas that really work and really help people.

19.

finally sending in my Pratt application!
sharing my life goals with my brother, and knowing that he'll be excited about them no matter how many times they change.
discovering the best and easiest tomato sauce ever.
trusting inherently that Deb will not lead my dinner astray.

18.

holidays.
Laura Linney.
leftovers.

17.

Forgiving myself for falling behind on my goal.
a clean apartment.
Shrimp Tchefuncte à la Palace Café, also known as heaven on a plate.
putting enough poppy seeds in the lemon cake to ensure we would fail any drug test administered to us in the next month.
deciding to start hyperlinking my posts.
Sundays, when a holiday follows.

16.

E.T., specifically:
when Gertie sees E.T. for the first time and E.T. runs screaming across the room with his arms straight up in the air.
when Gertie dresses E.T. like a lady and says "I taught him how to talk. He can talk now."
when Elliott and E.T. fly for the first time.
when Elliott thinks E.T. is dead and says "I'll believe in you all my life."
when E.T. comes back to life and Elliott has to zip him back in the bag while he's saying "E.T.E.T.E.T." over and over again.
when the "bike gang" starts up.
when the "bike gang" lands in the woods in a row.
when E.T. hugs Elliott good-bye and grasps at the back of Elliott's red sweatshirt with his long alien fingers.

15.

"sick days."
windows open in January.

14.

cotton candy sunsets.
Amy Piper (again).

13.

Red beans and rice, and that is all.

12.

Amy Piper.
"Sloan County Courthouse! How can I hep you!"

11.

Leaving work early.
Talking about things that matter to people who care.
Miep Gies.
Alton Brown's 'happy' red beans and rice.

10.

Photoshop success (after a lot of photography failures).

9.

actually believing that I have a talent for art.
"this place is fucked!"
chicken and dumplings coming to fruition.
a boyfriend who puts up with eating at 10 pm.

8.

heat.
my warm bed.
a warm body to share my warm bed.
memories of the Cold Hole and the Sand Bar.
snow flurries that look like glitter in the sunlight.
sore muscles.
the Sam Wells interview in the last issue of Jottings.
smittenkitchen.com
the prospect of chicken and dumplings.
ALAVGSNSC, Ethiopian edition.

7.

discovering I don't suck at zumba.
the laser song.
heavy cream.
a boyfriend who puts up with eating at 9:45 pm.

6.

laughing about how much I suck at step class.
living across the street from the best French onion soup in the city.

5.

the chair of the Art Education department at Pratt.
Professor Brodeur.
confidence.
the Family Wash.
Aiko.

4.

the little waitresses at Chinatown.
going on dates.

3.

coming home.

2.

Ignatius J. Reilly.
laughing seagulls.
seeing Claire at the Sundial.
pirate graveyards.
last sunset of vacation.
"Until at last, I threw down my enemy and smote his ruin upon the mountainside."

1.

13...12...11...Happy New Year!
les adolescents francais.
"that's what she said."
CoCo.
rain at the beach.
Julia Child.
the prospect of boeuf bourguignon.
inspiration to write.
"well I was sitting on a fence post, chewin' my bubble gum (chomp chomp chomp chomp)..."