I was watching Good Morning America this week, when they had the authors of this book called "It's My Pleasure" on to discuss their book (Maria & Maya Rodale), which led me to create this list... List Girl's Simple Pleasures: 1. Walking to the deli down the street to pick up lunch. 2. Low-riding my pants so that they fall to my hip bone. 3. Wearing snuggly soft sweaters. 4. Online shopping. 5. Finding a good bargain. 6. Learning something new that I didn't know before. 7. Buying books to read. 8. Running at the coast, with the wind on my face, when it's not cold, but not hot. 9. Sitting by the beach, knitting. 10.Laughing with friends. 11.Eating noodle soup on a cold day.

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CD's I've been listening to lately: 1. U2's "How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" This CD is really good, very moving. I listen to it all the time. The first single "Vertigo" is not even one of the best songs on there, even though it is pretty good. My very favorite on the CD is "City of Blinding Lights". The song is very poetic ("Neon heart, day-glo eyes, city lit by fireflies..."), and the sweeping instrumental build-up in the beginning and the modulations several times during the song all make my heart want to sing. I love playing it with my sunroof open, driving down the freeway really fast. "Miracle Drug", "Crumbs From Your Table", and "Yahweh" are all excellent songs. 2. Green Day's "American Idiot" A good disgruntled punk/rock selection... guitar driven rock anthems filled with commentaries of disassociation and dissatisfaction with society and culture. There are two songs on there ("Jesus of Suburbia" and "Homecoming") that are over 9 minutes long, both of them compilations of several short songs with different lyrics and themes, kind of like a rock opera. Most of the songs are fast, guitar-driven songs. The slower song, "Wake Me Up When September Ends", laments the lost of innocence, and is very similar to their hit "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" from their 1997 album "Nimrod". 3. Gwen Stefani's "Love. Angel. Music. Baby." I had read bad reviews of this CD, but it was on sale at Circuit City for $10, so I thought, what the heck, it'll be a $10 experiment. I was pleasantly surprised. It is definitely a high-production album, where the producers of the songs are stars themselves. Gwen teams up with several other stars like Eve, Johnny Vulture, and Andre 3000. There are several hip-hop style songs, but my favorite is "The Real Thing", which is a ballad similar to something Madonna would have sang in the 80's. It's a sweet song celebrating being with someone for a long time, and knowing that they're the real thing. 4. U2's "All That You Can't Leave Behind" I've had this CD for a long time, but I still love it. I can't get over "Beautiful Day" and "Walk On", they both can still perk up my day when I feel down. When I went skydiving I got to pick a song to accompany my video of the dive, and I picked "Beautiful Day". They edited the video so fabulously... right when I jump out of the plane, "it's a beautiful day" played... when I was about to land and I saw the blue skies and green grass, "see the world in green and blue..." played. This album is a classic.

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