Five things Friday

I know my posts on Fridays are usually Gratitude Friday, but my writer's group is now doing a "Five things Friday" exercise, so I thought it might be fun to post those here on some Fridays. The idea behind the exercise is to think about 5 things related to whatever topic is being discussed, and use those as an springboard for ideas to inspire your writing. The topic this week is enjoyment, so here are Five Things that I'm enjoying right now.

1. I already confessed this guilty pleasure to my sister, but I am totally into the Lifetime TV show "Army Wives". I DVR'd all the episodes from the first season a couple of weeks ago during a marathon, and I have been working my way through them over the past several days. I still have a bunch to watch, but they are proving to be a good way to wind down at the end of the day. They are fun and a little over the top in the drama department, but overall, a pretty good 42 minutes of time. Plus, the show takes place on an Army base, so there are lots of clips of hot soldier-types...talk about man-candy. Yummy! Gotta love a man in uniform!

2. I am currently re-reading the Harry Potter series, and am on the third book, "the Prisoner of Azkaban". I loved reading these the first time, but it's good for me to read them now from the perspective of a writer. The plots are so interesting and the creativity of the author is so amazing. There are certain techniques J.K. Rowling uses very effectively that I would not have clued into if I wasn't paying as much attention to the writing as I usually do to the story. It's been a fun way to read them and my plan is to re-read the Ann of Green Gables Series in the same way next.

3. I like a pretty eclectic mix of different music, but I have to say, I have a "summer playlist" on my Ipod that rocks. It has lots of fun, upbeat songs on it from artists like Rhianna, JayZ, Sean Kingston, and Natasha Bedingfield, but it also has Miley Cyrus and Jesse McCartney to fill in on the teenage side and Old school Madonna and Cindy Lauper to round out the mix. It's fun and energetic and I've played it non-stop all week.

4. I've been taking Riley swimming quite a bit lately, and both she and I really enjoy this. We are lucky to live in a place that is very family friendly, and the recreation caters to family activities. We usually go to the community center pool that is not too far from us. It has fun water features, a lazy river, and a really fast water slide. Riley and I went down the slide and I thought she'd be scared but instead she laughed the whole way down and then laughed even more when we both ended up underwater. She's definitely a water bug! I want to encourage her to be active so taking her swimming seems like a great place to start.

5. I have been spring cleaning this week and although it's not exactly fun, I do enjoy the feeling of a clean closet or clutter-free cabinets. It's been a good way to get rid of stuff that I don't really need anymore and to really evaluate where I want to spend my (limited) time and space. I have a couple of rooms left and then I'll be spring cleaned-out for a while.

Well, there you have it. Some things I'm finding enjoyment in this week. What about you? What are you enjoying right now?