It's a Thin Line...

I recently felt the highly original urge to compile a list of things I love and hate. Of course, it goes without saying that I love my children and hate human trafficking. I love my husband and hate Todd Akin.

But those things are obvious and not very interesting. (Nor may be the following list that I am nonetheless sharing with you.) What I am aiming for, here, are the subtleties of day-to-day life that annoy and invigorate us all. Please feel free to add your input.

I HATE…

1. Making small talk with the mailman (though he is very nice)
2. Untangling the earbuds to my iPod shuffle
3. Backward compliments/forward insults, such as the one I recently received: “Wow! I’ve never seen you in makeup before.”
4. Picking out rice kernels my 2-year-old dropped into the slatted, vintage theater chair that I wisely purchased and stupidly put at my kitchen table
5. Reading that the alcohol content of the craft beer I just drank was 9.5 percent
6. The port-a-potty lines at the beginning of the Broad Street Run
7. When people observe that my 2-year-old “really needs a nap”
8. When my 5-year-old son issues one-word whines: “Juice.” “Tired.” “Hungry.”
9. People who don’t follow rules, especially ones related to carpool line circulation
10. When my kids are asleep early, but I’m already caught up on all things “Real Housewives”
11. When my own sweat leaks into my iPod shuffle and shuts it down mid-run
12. Having to bum baby wipes off a total stranger
13. When my husband lowballs his ETA
14. When my daughter complains that her brother’s feet are getting into her hair
15. Wiping down machines after a workout
16. When people don’t wipe down their machines after a workout
17. When my kids vomit
18. When my dog eats too much grass and vomits in the middle of the night
19. When I vomit
20. The way Terry Gross answers her own questions
21. Seeing my friend’s au pair in a bikini
22. When an editor tells me to find an Easter bunny to interview
23. Seeing drunk pictures of minors I know on Facebook
24. Squirrels in my roof
25. Having to pay an exterminator to catch squirrels in my roof
26. Having to pay a roofer to fix damage squirrels did to my roof
27. When kids don't say "thank you"
28. When my husband leaves little diagrams of basketball plays on Post-it notes on the kitchen counter
29. When my kids share Bible stories they learned at preschool

I LOVE...

1. Catching Taylor Swift on “Ellen” during a midday workout at the gym
2. All things Taylor Swift
3. All things Ellen
4. Watching my kids sleep
5. When my husband says something funny – and quotable
6. Having a beer with my husband and friends at the end of the Broad Street Run
7. When my twins are cracking up and I don’t know why
8. “The Big Chill” soundtrack
9. Early “Absolutely Fabulous”
10. When my kids are asleep early and I’m behind in “Real Housewives of New York City”
11. Buying my kids new sneakers
12. Buying myself new Asics
13. When my husband unexpectedly walks in at 5:30 p.m.
14. “Moves Like Jagger”
15. When there’s no spray bottle on the hook at the gym, so I don’t have to wipe down my machine
16. When my husband, in-laws, and/or babysitter get all of my 2-year-old’s soiled diapers for the day
17. “Walk off the Earth’s” YouTube cover of Gotye’s “Somebody That I Used to Know”
18. When my 2-year-old says, “Ok, mama.”
19. That tropical storm/hurricane Isaac is heading toward Tampa – and the RNC
20. Terry Gross’ guests
21. Seeing my kids in their bathing suits
22. Finding an Easter bunny at a mall to interview
23. Seeing drunk pictures of friends on Facebook
24. When my twins are playing a game that involves hurling a hula hoop across the yard
25. “NewsRadio” before Phil Hartman died
26. The “Joans”: Joan Rivers, Joan Didion
27. When my kids say "thank you"
28. I know I would love “Forbrydelsen” – the original, Danish show AMC spun off of for “The Killing” – but I can’t seem to get it, anywhere. Can anyone help?
29. Dancing with my 2-year-old to Salt-N-Pepa’s “Push It” at Bed Bath & Beyond