List #16: List of Things I Can't Wait to Get Rid of When I Leave

This list was written on March 8, 1994, while I was serving a mission in England. At the time, I had recently transferred to a suburb of Birmingham called Sheldon. I had been on my mission for almost 15 months of my 18-month mission.

1. wax jackets [it's actually waxed jackets, as the outer canvas layer of the jacket is infused with wax to repel the incessant spitting rain of England; it is not a jacket made of wax.]

2. my bike

3. half my skirts

4. some blouses

5. tights

6. elders [I was a little bitter about some things at this point. Really, not all the elders bugged me. Just most of them.]

7. dinner appointments involving blancmange [a horrid, nasty pudding, pronounced "blah-mawnzh'", with that soft French zh sound.]

8. all the junk I've picked up

9. church music [not, of course, hymns or anything -- I was talking about the recorded church music that we were allowed to listen to, like Afterglow. I hate Afterglow with a passion but all my companions seemed to love it.]

10. white pepper

List #15: Stuff I've Done in the Last 24 Hours

1. Did my final preparations for my Gospel Doctrine lesson ("The Field Is White, Already to Harvest")
2. While preparing, I started thinking about what it was like to get my mission call, so I got on YouTube and, lo and behold, there are dozens of videos of prospective missionaries opening their mission calls. It was a lot of fun to watch them, although I don't know any of those kids. Click here to see a typical example.
3. Struggled through Sacrament Meeting with the kids, who were all in a fighting mood today. Five spent the meeting (and the hour after I taught the Gospel Doctrine class) lying on my lap with a fever I hadn't known about before church.
4. Found some eggplant recipes online because Sunflower Farmers Market is having a sale (77 cents each!) and I wanted to try some different recipes.
5. Went to the Draper Utah Temple dedication ceremony at the Stake Center. It was a really good meeting, but as soon as the lights went down (so we could watch the live broadcast from the temple), I started involuntarily dropping off and having these odd little dreams. I caught most of the dedication, though.
6. Last night, Husband and I watched a couple of online episodes of "Legend of the Seeker," which is a fun little show. If you're a Terry Goodkind fan, this show merely gives a nod to the Sword of Truth series, but if you quit obsessing about the differences, it's a fun show.
7. Our hometeachers are here. Off I go.

List #14: Funny Quotes From Movies or TV Shows

These are from movies and TV shows that I have watched. I didn't go to the internet for random quotes. You have to be impressed that I could recall as many of these as I have, as I can think of something and then wonder what that thing was about 5 seconds later.

1. "Radiation has made me an enemy to society, eh." (Strange Brew)
2. "That's what they all say. They all say d'oh." (Chief Wiggum of The Simpsons, when he is arresting Homer. The first time I heard that I think I laughed for half an hour straight. It just struck me as hilarious the way Chief Wiggum said it so calmly.)
3. "Phew! What smells like big business?" (Spongebob in the Spongebob Squarepants episode (I believe it's called "Jellyfish Jam" from Season 1) where the elusive blue jellyfish kidnaps Spongebob in order to expose Mr. Krabs' evil plan. In context, it's a riot.)
4. "I want my two dollars!!" (Classic line from Better Off Dead.)
5. Agent 23: We don't follow the rules then what are we?
The Chief: We're not people who jam staples into other peoples' heads. That's CIA crap. (From Get Smart, the movie)


Sorry, folks. That's all the time I have for now. Add your own favorite funny quotes in the comments.

List #13: Reasons I Skipped a Couple Days of Lists

1. After four of the kids caught the prevailing chest cold, we had four separate asthma emergencies.
2. I spent the nights and days giving kids albuterol nebulizer treatments, forcing a couple of them (Three and Six) to take steroids, and cuddling with Six, who likes nothing better when sick than to make sure I do not leave his side.
3. After the emergency was over (and we didn't end up in the emergency room with anyone, fortunately), the house was in a mess. I couldn't make the kids exert themselves to do their chores while they were coughing and wheezing.
4. I did some necessary house maintainence. Things are now mopped, vacuumed, washed and folded enough to hold back the filth.
5. Because I had the Emergency Preparedness Committee coming over Wednesday night to help me put all the wheat in buckets, I had to wash 100 buckets. I calculated it took me 2 minutes per bucket, and with everything going on, I only managed to wash 40 buckets. In the end, no one showed up. I may have missed the cancellation memo, but it doesn't bother me 'cause I got 40 buckets washed. I wouldn't have taken the time otherwise if I wasn't under a deadline.

List #13A: Other Stuff That Happened
1. Husband wrote another chapter in his book. He's now written 25 chapters. 87,000 words. I'm impressed.
2. Husband found a great place to buy new mattresses, as all the girls have mattresses that are at least 10 years old. Three of them now have lovely new soft mattresses with pillow-tops -- or, in Oldest Child's case, a Tempurpedic -- and Child Two will get hers next week.
3. After talking with my parents, we have arranged to rearrange the household so that we'll only have two children per room. At the moment, we have 5 in one room and 1 in the other. My dad is giving up his office because it's another bedroom. We will re-establish his office in the family room, using the lovely large bookcases (of which we still have 9 in the garage) as walls. Then he has shelf space galore as well as a fairly quiet office. In order to get the bookcases in, we have to bucket and move the wheat, and in order to do that, I have to finish washing all the buckets. I don't need the Emergency Preparedness Committe to fill the buckets, of course, but I'll ask them if they still want to come. The point was to give people a hands-on experience so they know how easy it is to do. The kids are thrilled.
4. The Crispy Black Bean Tacos were such a hit I made them again tonight. So easy. Next time I'm using fish fillets either with or instead of the beans.
5. Child Two announced after she got home from school that her big concert was tonight. I had not received prior notification, of course. That announcement meant rounding up all the kids, washing faces, combing hair, shoes on, rush to the practice and then watch the concert. It went well, but I'm exhausted.
6. Good night.

Thanks, by the way, to Lyn for this idea. We're old friends who hardly ever get to see each other anymore, but today she came over and we talked and laughed while she knitted a sock and I did some half-hearted kitchen cleaning.

List #12: A Recipe

A recipe is a list, right? And since I just had to share the recipe I made tonight, that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. I got this recipe off the internet yesterday while looking for a recipe for brown sugar fudge (I think this recipe was from www.epicurious.com). It's fast, it's easy, and the ingredients are pretty inexpensive (the best price for the feta is at Costco, by the way). Husband made the brown sugar fudge, which was divine.

Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Feta and Cabbage Slaw

Yields: 4
Time: 25 minutes

1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
5 Tbsp olive oil, divided
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 cups coleslaw mix (don't add the sauce!)
2 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup fresh cilantro
4 white or yellow corn tortillas
1/3 cup crumbled feta cheese
Bottled chipotle hot sauce or other hot sauce

Place beans in a small bowl; partially mash. Mix 2 tsp olive oil and the lime juice in medium bowl; add coleslaw, green onions and cilantro and toss to coat. Season slaw with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add tortillas in single layer. Spoon 1/4 of bean mixture onto half of each tortilla; cook 1 minute. fold tacos in half. Cook until golden brown, about 1 minute per side. Fill tacos with feta and add slaw. Pass hot sauce alongside.

Here's how I changed it a little: Firstly, I tripled the recipe for my family. Then, since I hate tasteless beans, I added salt and pepper and more cumin to the mashed black beans until they tasted good. I put about 1 or 2 Tbsp of the bean mixture onto each tortilla before setting it in the hot oil, spreading the beans over one half of the tortilla with a spoon (this kept me from plopping spoonfuls of beans directly into the oil by accident, and it also stretched the beans so I could make about 30 tacos instead of 12). I didn't have any slaw mix, but since I had a cabbage, I just shredded six cups of cabbage. I also added extra cilantro, as I looooove cilantro, and I cheated and used bottled lime juice (I never have much luck juicing limes). Then, since a neighbor had just given me a jar of his special salsa fresca, I set that out to add to the cooked tacos along with the other fillings. Better than a restaurant!

This is great party fare. You could make the tacos ahead of time and keep them warm in a slow oven, covered with foil. Just be sure to make the slaw right before serving, as it will begin to wilt after about 30 minutes.

List #11: Why I Loved Stake Conference Yesterday and Today

1. During both sessions I attended, I managed to snag one of the cushioned chairs in the overflow instead of the the surprisingly uncomfortable chapel pews or the obviously uncomfortable metal folding chairs behind the overflow in the gym. This allowed me to sit for the two two-hour sessions listening quietly and intently to the speakers instead of fighting the urge to stand up and jog in place just to relieve my aching muscles.
2. The Stake President, in a hilarious comparison of our stake to the City of Enoch, claimed that his wife could "post-up" the wife of Enoch. If you knew the Stake President's wife you would have to laugh, for although she is very, very fit and works as a personal trainer, she is the nicest and kindest person.
3. Child Two was pretty upset about having to attend the Youth Session alone on Saturday, as Oldest Child was ill and couldn't go with her. She was late because she didn't want to walk in, and kind of slunk to a row with no one in it. The Second Counselor in the Stake Presidency, seeing this, called her up to the front, introduced her to all the youth, and then made sure she sat next to his daughter, who is her age and in her class at school. It made her feel so welcomed and included.
4. We got to hear from one of the Jordan River Temple presidency (President Vassal) and one of the members of our mission presidency, the Utah Salt Lake City South Mission (President Molford). Both of them spoke powerfully and I felt the spirit very strongly. Pres. Vassal related a story of his family: his 6th great-grandfather had married a woman in France. They had 8 children, all of whom died hearbreakingly within the first two years of life. The eighth child died within just a few hours of birth, followed soon after by her mother. This man remarried and had three more children, the first of whom also died. The next two lived, the son becoming Pres. Vassal's 5th great-grandfather. Pres. Vassal told of going to the temple to seal this family to each other and the joy that he felt as he sat in proxy for his great-grandfathers as they became an eternal family after 200 years, no longer seperated by death. Pres. Molford spoke about the joy of watching others come to a knowledge of their Savior and enter the waters of baptism in order to go to the temple and receive all the saving ordinances.
5. I got to sit next to Husband. That doesn't happen on a Sunday because, as the bishop, he's up on the stand while I'm in the pews with six squirrely children. But today I got to sit next to him and hold his hand through the entire conference. That was reason enough to go. The rest was beautiful gravy.

List #10: Things of Strange Beauty

1. The red, wood-grainy look of beets when you're peeling them.

2. The raw sanding power of a new piece of 5 grit sandpaper on an oribital sander.

3. The first swipe of paint on the wall.

4. Hearing a familiar voice on the phone.

5. Watching a loose dog, happy in its unexpected freedom, sniffing its way down the street.

6. Coming home from work to the smell of freshly-baked chocolate chip cookies (Husband's contribution. When I reminded him that these are things of strange beauty and not obvious beauty, he retorted that it happens so very rarely that it is strange. Touche'.)

7. That feeling of unity that happens in a sports stadium when the spectators all cooperate in crowd-entertaining games.

8. A made bed.

9. The subtle striations of a wasp nest.

10. An old man's bushy eyebrows.