A list.



My brother and sister in law are moving. So to alleviate some stress out of their life, last week I got to hang out with this crazy cat:



I love this sequence. It’s when he realizes that the stick he is playing with was used as a bon-fire tool and has ash all over it.

Waving stick in the air.

Seeing something dark on the end of it.

"What is this dark stuff on my hands?"

"I don't like this dark stuff on my hands!"

"Help, please, B!!"

"Listening" for the garbage truck.

Watching for the garbage truck. One of us is serious...

Finally seeing the truck!!! Huzzah!

I just can’t get enough of that kid.

But, I also can’t get enough of cooking shows. So whenever he was napping, that’s what I was doing.

Hey, I don’t have cable. It’s a treat. : )

On one of the shows I took in last week the chef was talking about, and cooking, all of her favorite things. As I was watching I realized that all of her favorite things are not my favorite things. Like chocolate. I am more of a take-it-or-leave-it kind of girl when it comes to that and I know that about myself. But what I was surprised about was that I couldn’t come up with a list of my favorite things quick as a flash. And I thought I needed to be able to do that.

So while I was not watching cooking shows, that’s what I was doing: figuring out all of my favorite things.

And since one chef told hers, I am going to tell you mine.

Not because I think you care (why would you care?), but because I think I should just put this in writing somewhere (and this is where I write).

If knowing my favorite things interests you, continue on, good man (or woman)! If it doesn’t, then yes, you may be excused from the table (did anybody else’s mother have to say that before dinner could be over for you?!?).

A note before I begin: The obvious givens of life, like Jesus, my family, best friends, half-and-half, and Josh Groban are not listed. Because they are obvious givens. (Florence and the Machine, Michael Buble, jazz, Tony Bennett, Claude Debussy, The Civil Wars, and John Mark McMillan are also not listed, because those are also obvious givens.)

 

Drum roll, please. In no particular order.

1.       My morning coffee ritual.

-          This is almost vital to my life. And not just because it involves coffee. No. This is where I sit and pray and read my Bible and journal and get myself all back to center every morning. If this doesn’t happen, I get crabby. And more snobby than I normally am, which is no bueno.

2.       Cooking.

-          Goodness sakes, I love the kitchen! If I cannot cook for myself and for the people I love, gracing them with sustenance and edible goodness, I feel like I am a terrible failure at life. It’s true. I have a theology about food. And I dream about kitchen floor plans and lists of pantry essentials. And savory foods that involve the fat from cows.

3.       Creating/Projects

-          I can’t control myself. I get all of these free catalogs in the mail from really neat stores and rip out all the pages I like and figure out how to make it from salvage/ Goodwill/ curbside finds. “I will not pay money for a lampshade!!!” is a statement I have uttered way too many times…

4.       Being active.

-          Be it biking, running, walking, steps, Richard Simmons VHS, kick-boxing, pilates, I don’t discriminate. I just can’t get enough of it.

5.       Boots, dresses, and big jewelry.

-          Because I can’t differentiate between the three, seeing that I wear almost exclusively these articles only, this is pretty much “my uniform,” a package deal, if you will; to me they all go together.

6.       The country.

-          I cannot stress enough how much my heart loves wide open spaces. Or the woods. Or fields. Or just anywhere there aren’t other people…. Cities make me feel claustrophobic, and kind of like an imposter. I feel like everyone is staring at me and knows I am not from there and they are not fooled by my dresses and boots and big jewelry.

7.       Clean bathrooms.

-          Listen, the only thing in the bathroom that should trigger my gag reflex is a toothbrush gone rogue, capiche?

8.       Hotels.

-          They just make me excited all over! I grew up traveling, so I think it’s in my blood. And…my family is not one to camp…so it was hotels for us.

9.       Sunsets.

-          I can’t see one of these beauties and not think, “So that’s where pink comes from.”

10.   Driving.

-          Bring me the horizon. I love everything about it.

11.   Airports.

-          I don’t even have to be the one flying anywhere!  All the people watching, diesel fumes, long lines. I think it’s just great.

So there you have it. A little bit more into my brain.