List #192: Romance for Your Ears

I'm not the first person you should go to for romantic advice. When I love (or really like) someone, I do romantic gestures on a small scale not a big one. There will be no jet-painted letters in the sky if you date me, but instead, you might your favorite candy waiting for you by the computer in the morning. Or little hand-made cards with inside jokes. Or a note in your messenger bag. Or something small I haven't even thought of yet because I don't know it until I get to know who I love (or really like).

But I wanted a little romance sprinkled here this week. So I went ahead and asked Twitter for their favorites. This is what they answered.

Quite honestly, Twitter did a better job at naming numerous romance songs than I could have. I tend to lean towards the songs that make you cry. Not that there aren't a few on this list, some of the suggestions are definitely ones that might remind you of a heartbreak or two. 

And if you really want to hear some of my own romantic favorites you can listen here, or here or even here. 

So dear readers, what did the Internet miss? Leave your comments about Twitter's picks, my picks, and your own picks. Let's spread a little love this week. 

List #191: What Happens on Lesser Nights

After a weekend getaway with friends and a tight budget, a girl might find herself with more evenings at home. February doesn't make too many nights that aren't cold and blanketed with snow. So a girl might discover that she puts on pajamas before seven o'clock and orders pizza by the slice. All of those things are good things. (As long as they are dished out in small portions, of course.)

And when those events due give a girl a night home alone, here are some things she might do:

• Attempt to clean all of the things, but end up only washing dishes and a few of the things.
• Dream up her dream bedroom, but comes back down to reality after a look at her bank account balance.
• Offer advice to young women whose shoes she was once in, wonder deeply if the advice will even matter.
• Read.
• Get sucked into Homeland from episode one, and immediately sink into her couch and waste many hours on a marathon.
• Send emails.
• Make her bed with clean sheets, and then proceed to rumple them all up.
• Practice yoga on her living room floor, in hopes of easing the aches in her back. 
• Wish that instead of yoga, someone was there to give her a massage.
• Iron clothes.
• Find her cat equally cute and equally annoying, with the balance just about to tip over to either side at any given moment.
• Check Facebook.
• Send friends play-by-plays of her Homeland watching experience. No spoilers, of course. Only those who've seen it before.
• Tweet to gather inspiration for a future blog post that's been brewing.
• Contemplate filing her taxes, but then realize she left important paperwork on her desk.
• Text.

There's a slight chance I may have done all of that tonight. What do you do on the lesser nights, dear readers? 

List #190: You Could be My Valentine, and I Could Be Your Long-Lost Gal

I'm off on Valentine's Day this year. Well, off in the evening. But I don't have plans. At least not yet. Actually, realistic me is pretty much set in coming home and ordering Chinese food for one and soaking in a long hot bath.

The tiny side of me that is romantic, mixed with the large part of me that is hopeful, still holds on to the idea that it might include a grand gesture, a surprise package, or a dinner, and maybe some cupcakes.

Someone once told me to write down what I want out of a man. And I've never publicly written specifics here, because I don't want to come off too picky or too demanding. But just for today, here's some things I'd be very happy about from a Valentine. Keep in mind, Valentine's Day is suppose to be a fun holiday. So I don't have any deal breakers below. Think of them as more like little quirks and occasional habits. I'm serious about them all, but all to varying degrees.

A Lovely Valentine would be someone:

• To watch Penguins games with in the middle of the week. He must be willing to shout at the television with me and laugh when I tell him the story of how I once wished Pascal Dupuis Merry Christmas.
• Who doesn't mind cooking. Fancy dinners, sure. But I'd love to come home to a perfectly grilled cheese stuffed with pickles. And then he'd let me pick up dessert or indulge my yearly craving of root beer floats.
• Can drop Ron Swanson quotations in times of need. And totally be up for multiple viewings of Parks and Recreation. 
• Brings a glass of water for me to bed. No ice. And doesn't get mad when it takes a few days (or maybe even a week) for that glass to make its way back to the sink.
• Isn't afraid to pin a girl against the wall and give her the best kiss of her life. 
• Wants to meet my friends. And makes them laugh at least twice in one night.
• Sends me a text before lunch time and wants to hear my voice at night.
• Lets me put my head on his chest and my arm on his shoulder.
• Wants to share secrets with me. And knows that I'll keep them locked away for as long as needed.
• Understands that I will probably cry, a lot. But finds it charming. And knows that I'd let him cry too.
• Wants to play True American until the wee hours of a Saturday night.
• Will belt out lyrics to songs in the kitchen. Loudly. With or without me. But probably with me.

So what do you think, dear readers? There is a little more than two weeks left to make it happen. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. And if you know anyone who might be interested, please feel free to give them a referral. And in the meantime, what makes your valentine a lovely thing? 

List #189: A Few Songs That Have Been Getting Me Through January

Bruno Mars ~ Locked Out of Heaven
When I want to dance. Or think about dancing. And just forget for a few minutes that I'm solo and stressed to the max.

Matt Nathanson ~ Romeo and Juliet
Because this cover is the best of this song. And reminds me that no one has to be perfect. And neither does love.

Taylor Swift ~ That song where she keeps repeating trouble
I think I hear this song anytime I listen to Top 40 radio. Which isn't a lot. I would not click play on this video unless you want to see Ms. Swift in a bad wig looking like she's on drugs in some weird video prologue. For the record, I don't really like this song but I find myself singing it often.

Imagine Dragons ~ It's Time

Secretly I listen to this song when I'm the only librarian in the office and need a little motivation to get through the day. It makes me wonder what it's like to be a Mormon rocker and has me curious about missions that take me to middle America. I haven't even given the rest of this album a chance. But I'll happily sing this song loudly. 

I don't even know what these songs say about me. Because I don't really think they say much. Pretty much an accurate description of this January, really. Perhaps I should just stick to the book I'm reading and the strange, lucid dreams I've been dreaming.  Sometimes this month has felt like a weird one, folks. 

What's been on your 

List #188: Things That Feel Like Home

• Dinner with an old friend on a snowy winter night.
• Conversations that lapse into the serious with someone who doesn't mind watching you cry.
• Warm blankets that you've had for years.
• Every time you talk to your mom on the phone.
• A funny text from your dad on your way to work.
• Visiting a new city and feeling like a part of yourself has always been waiting for you there.
• An old song that you haven't heard in years.
• The feeling you get when you first put on pajamas.
• A steamy bath.
• Running into the person you used to love.
• Soup.
• Great big hugs.
• Windy nights when you have nowhere to be.
• Cards from relatives sent in the honest-to-goodness mail.
• A book that tells its tale slowly.
• Tea in the morning.
• Quiet in a dark room.

I've been thinking a lot about home comforts this week, dear readers. So what about you. What feels like home to you? 

List #187: Reasons Why I Love the Obamas

Happy Inauguration Day!

Of course I voted for Barack Obama, I don't hide my political leanings too much.

And today I was happy to have the morning off (even on MLK Day, this public librarian worked) so that I could watch the inaugural ceremonies.

So, I give a few good reasons why I love the Obamas. Without being too political.

• The way President Obama delivers speeches with measured pauses and sincere words.
• His snark in press conferences.
• Michelle Obama's infectious smile.
• The amount that they value education.
• Their vocal stance on gay marriage.
• How empathically they talk about women's rights.
• All of Michelle Obama's clothes.
• Obviously, Bo.
• The way President Obama tries to make it clear that not all of the solutions are easy ones.
• Hard, tireless, and stressful work. That they keep on keepin' on.
• Their children just seem like adorable, smart, funny girls.
• That Michelle's mother lives with them at The White House.
• The way they keep their daughters in-line and out of the public eye.
• How when they talk about the people of our country, you can tell that they deeply care.
• When they hug people.
• The way they kiss.

I can only hope for 4-years of continued hard work from our First Family. I hope for peace, and parties bridging their gaps. I hope that when President Obama leaves office four years from now, we're all bit better off than we sit here today.

And for myself, a single, liberal democratic woman, that one day a love like theirs walks into my life. And we can serenade each other to Al Green, laugh, and look fantastic in formal wear. 

Letter #52: On Future Sundays

One Sunday night, somewhere in the future, you'll be here. One of us will cook pasta for dinner and the other will wash the dishes when we are finished. Two glasses of wine. And we'll eat properly at the table, instead of in front of the television.

And when it grows dark, we'll take the couch. We'll share the spot and you'll let my feet burrow under your bottom to keep them warm. We'll watch hockey, or football, and we'll both pay attention. But we'll both understand when either one of us grabs a book, or our computer, and starts reading something else to scatter our attention.

The Sunday blues know how to find us. And surely we'll complain about work, talk about stress, and tell each other that it will all be okay. We'll believe each other with wavering degrees of success as we pop popcorn for an evening snack.

You'll laugh at me when I get up to iron Monday's outfit. And hang it from the back out of our bedroom door. Because I like to be prepared for the morning, and you like to push my buttons. But the joke will be on you when, you have to get up earlier than me.

And when it's finally time to shuffle ourselves to bed, you'll close the blinds, shut the door tight, and completely understand when I put a blanket over my eyes.