Lists

It seems that these days I need a list just to function in a nominally productive manner. To be honest, maybe “a list” is an understatement; I need many lists to successfully get through any given day - grocery list, chore list, reading list, to-do list for school, home maintenance list, errand list - and the lists go on . . . Without my lists, something gets forgotten. It’s OK if that overlooked item is something like dusting the door jambs or sweeping the garage; but if it is forgetting the dog food, cat food, or toilet paper at the grocery store life can be pretty miserable on many different levels!

I mentioned my “bucket list” a few posts ago. I have never written this list down. This allows for it to ebb and flow as life goes on. Some of the items that made the list at age 25 have fallen off while others have been added only recently. (Getting stoned has been there a while and will probably remain for the foreseeable future.)

Another list that has become important in my life is the “We List”. A year and a half ago while Weber and I were in Vermont on our honeymoon, we sat down one afternoon and made a list of things that we wanted to do. We arbitrarily began our list by numbering a page from 1 to 50. We managed to get 30 things written down before deciding that the list was long enough. Revisiting this list several times in the last eighteen months, I have realized that our “We List” is not a bucket list; it is not a list of things that we want to do at least once before we die. Rather, it is a list of things that we want to do in an effort to create our life together.

Some of the things on our list include:

• drink more tea
• read more
• keep the house clean
• go for walks with the dogs
• write and draw regularly (lesson plans and doodling don’t count)
• take advantage of local attractions, festivals, concerts, etc.
• buy and eat locally
• try at least one new recipe a week

As you can see, most of these items are ongoing; the truth is that they require creating and establishing new habits. Since so much was new in our world when we married, new habits were fairly easy to create because there were not a lot of old ones that needed to be broken. We have been successful in adopting many of the practices on our list. Some we have not yet managed to incorporate into our daily lives and a few seem not so important at this point.

Since for nearly a year we have had neither a complete nor a functional kitchen, the list’s items that centered around food and meals were virtually ignored. Now, though the kitchen is still not complete, it is fully functional with regard to appliances, countertops, and running water. (We still have no usable storage space under the counters.) We can now work on No. 21 on our list, “try at least one new recipe a week.”

Right now, as of January 16, 2012, I am way ahead of the game on this one because a) I have not started school yet and have time to cook and b) I got several cookbooks for Christmas. This is one of them -

- recommended by Offspring No. 1. It is full of yummy, healthy, and relatively easy to prepare recipes. I like it because it uses food combinations that I wouldn’t think of myself.

Last night I made Heidi Swanson’s yogurt biscuits. These are the best biscuits I have ever had. That is saying a lot considering biscuits are a food group in and of themselves here in Texas. Though there are many other awesome recipes in this cookbook, it is worth the cost just for the biscuit recipe!

Tonight we had quinoa patties. I may never eat hash browns again.

If you want to peruse some of Heidi Swanson’s recipes before you buy this cookbook, which I know you will want to do, check out her “recipe journal” at www.101cookbooks.com. You can start your own list of recipes to try.

Happy cooking and healthy eating to each of you!