Gimme an "O"

I love memes. They are my salvation on days like today. Or most days really. Because I always struggle to find a blog topic. I am not like my daughter. Who can be inspired by anything. Including a walk to the mailbox.

And then last week, I found a great one over at Aubrey's blog. She made a list of ten of her favorite things. But there was a twist. She was assigned the letter "I" for her list. And I was so impressed that she came up with 10 "I" words. But my favorite - ice from Sonic. Oh how I love my Sonic pellet ice. Why can't my Frigidaire make pellet ice?

Anyway...I told Audrey to sign me up. And send me a letter. So, what did she send me? The letter "O."

1. Uh-oh. What does it mean when my first thoughts are firmly entrenched in the gutter. Because there is the BIG O! and ORGAN and ORAL and OBSCENE. And if we are here. Why not add ORGY to the list. Do you think that Julie Andrews will sing a song about my favorite "O" things?

Well, once one's mind is there. It's hard to progress. Because I cannot think of other O words. That could possibly be construed as favorites. I brainstormed. And came up with nothing. Unless you want to count: Outer Mongolia. As opposed to Inner Mongolia. Opium. Opiates. Operation. Opossum. Oprah. Followed quickly by Offensive. Oh...this is not going well.

There is old. Oysters. Ointment. Oil. Obituary. Ogre. Owls. Well. Those might be one of my favorites. Since they eat the evil squirrels in my yard. But the owls have flown away. And I am overrun with squirrels. So. No owls on my favorites list.

What about ogres? Oatmeal. Obscure. Oars. Onions. Obtuse. Ostentatious. Octopus. Octogon.

Okay...I think I have uncluttered my mind. And I might be able to get on track now.

2. ORVILLE Redenbaker microwave popcorn. Yum. Such a good snack. Especially for me. With my love of salt. And crunch. What would we do without Orville. Or the microwave.

3. And now that we have had our snack of popcorn. We really need to balance out that salt with some sugar. And OREOS are just the ticket. One of the simplest of cookies. But oh, so delish. And then at Christmas time. You can find the chocolate covered variety in the stores. And I am still kicking myself for not getting the OREOS of doom at the county fair.

4. How about something healthy? I love ORANGES. Especially clementines. I love ORANGE hard candy. ORANGE life savers. ORANGE starburst. ORANGE and citrus scents. But ORANGE circus peanuts. No thanks. I'll be sure to pass all of those along to Jennifer P. Who thinks that they are a great breakfast food item.

5. And speaking of food. I love to cook. And to use my OVEN. What I'd really love. Is a double oven. Or having Clive OWEN help me in the kitchen. Yeah. That would work, too.

6. Oh. And there is the OCEAN. I love the clear water of the Caribbean. Snorkeling. Swimming. Or the OCEAN at St. George Island. The crash of the waves. The scent of salt in the air. And the sand between my toes. It makes me feel all peaceful. Calm. And happy inside.

7. And while we are at the beach. We could read some books. And one of my favorite series is OUTLANDER by Diana Gabaldon. It was recommended to me by someone in my book club. And it was my first foray into the kingdom of smutty books.

8. And after we have had enough sun. And we venture inside. Let's put in one of my very favorite movies. "O Brother, Where art Thou?" This is a brilliant Coen brothers comedy. And I love homage to Homer's "Odyssey." Love the sepia tones of it. The names. The actors. And then really. What's not to love about George Clooney?

9. And this list would not be complete without mentioning my OFFSPRING. My whirly-girlies. Who make me laugh. Make me proud. And make me want to pull all my hair out.

10. And then. There is you. All of my ONLINE friends. Who I have loved meeting in "real" life. And I can't wait to meet more of you. Ya'll are my sanity. And my OUTLET.

So...what about you? Are you a fan of pellet ice? What are your favorite things that start with "O?" Do you wanna play too? If so, just let me know, and I'll give you a letter!

Have you entered the weekly winners contest yet? You can win a favicon and some Mommy "bidness" cards.

Theme song: Finger Eleven - ONE thing. And if you hang out for a while. You can also hear REM's ORANGE crush; U2's ONE; Bare Naked Ladies' ONE Week; and some songs from the O Brother soundtrack.