Forty-Two Things, Part Two

There once was a list incomplete,
With trivia it was replete!
This gal sure can chatter, she's mad as a hatter...
But hopefully not indiscrete.

14) I love making multi-step, time consuming desserts like baklava or danish pastry, but making a regular dinner totally stresses me out.

15) Since I have been Reformed (10 years or so) I have never once felt that I wasn't doing enough, or being "good enough" for God to approve of me...but often I feel like I am not doing enough or being "good enough" for other people to approve of me.

16) I own about 225 workout DVDs.


17) When I recently re-watched Dead Poets Society (after 18 years or so) I was surprised how much of a subconscious impact it had on my philosophy of education and childrearing.

18) My kids and I all stay up later and sleep later than I think most people would approve of.


19) For years, I had toast and a cafe latte for breakfast every morning. But in the past few months I have broadened my breakfast horizons, and now it rarely includes toast or coffee.

20) I still think politics and religion are the two most interesting subjects, but I rarely talk about either one anymore.


21) When I die, I want to go to The Body Farm.

22) I don't like dogs. We've tried to have one a few times, but they always last less than 24 hours.

23) One thing I want to get over is feeling like I always have to be "productive".

24) Above my mantelpiece I have this huge painting of two rabbis, and right underneath it is a crucifix made in Rome. There is also a big brass menorah with a wooden egg made in Russia or something, with an iconic-type painting of the Apostle Paul on it...my Jewish and Christian selves live side by side quite peacefully.

25) I am always really thrilled when I read something I wrote in the past, and it affects me like I would want it to affect the reader - if I laugh, or am somehow touched, I know that what I wrote is true in a human sense and also somewhat well-written. I am sorry to say that this is not the majority of my writing, but glad that there have been a few glimmers here and there.

26) One day I would really like to try the experiment in the book Not Buying It, and go an entire year without buying anything truly necessary. One of my biggest struggles is guilt over how discontented I am, despite having just about everything, both financial and otherwise.

27) I am in one of those periods where my mind cannot handle reading anything I haven't read before.

28) In the summer, I have to keep fans going full blast in every room even with the air conditioner running. I feel 10 degrees hotter if I just hear a fan stop running. It takes me at least a week to get used to the eerie silence in the fall when I have to turn them off because it is getting cool.

29) I can't decide whether it would be more frustrating to have more babies (and so have to spend more years being tired and having less time for other pursuits) or sadder not to have them. I'm glad we are letting God decide, since I don't think I could make the decision myself.

30) I sleep with a giant 5 foot-long stuffed catfish.

Stay tuned for the thrilling final installment of Forty-Two Things!