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Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Simple Woman's Daybook




Peggy hosts this meme each week. Read other Daybooks HERE.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...it's a dark, cool, Sunday evening

I am thinking...of how nice it will be to snuggle under my covers in just a couple hours

I am thankful...for evening reading time w/ Casinodad; even if one of us goes to sleep before the other, it's comforting while the other is reading

From the learning rooms...helping The Princess learn to read while The Prophet & The Archangel study the United States

From the kitchen...stuffed shells & crescent rolls w/ Tastefully Simple's Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto for dinner tonight & cheesy chicken casserole tomorrow night

I am wearing...black lounge pants, a coral t-shirt, & my black zip-up hoodie/sweat jacket

I am creating...(attempting to create) a peaceful environment. We are continuing to keep a candle lit on the stove & will be playing relaxing music throughout the day, as well as a decade of the rosary nightly; on the creative side...I made three Angry Birds costumes this weekend for the boys

I am going...crazy - care to join me? LOL!

I am reading...Voyage of the Dawn Treader by C.S. Lewis (read aloud for the munchkins & one of my favorites from the series), Sometimes God Has a Kid's Face by Sr. Mary Rose McGeady, & Women in Church History: 21 Stories for 21 Centuries by Joanne Turpin.

I am hoping...for an end to abortion & greater respect for life at ALL stages (conception to natural death)

I am hearing...the munchkins eating their bedtime snack & socializing w/ each other

Around the house...it's in pretty good shape, I've been trying to stay on top of things

One of my favorite things...listening when The Prophet & The Saint play together - it is so cute to see the oldest taking time w/ the youngest

A few plans for the rest of the week...Trick or Treat tomorrow night, school, "Mom Therapy," planning, cleaning/organizing, spending time w/ family

Here is a picture or two I am sharing...This morning, we woke up once again to frost. As we were getting ready to leave for church, I happened to glance at our holly bushes next to the garage. They were beautiful w/ the frost-tipped leaves & red berries starting to appear.


Thursday, October 27, 2011

Small Successes

Sherry, at Chocolate for Your Brain, hosts Small Successes each Thursday. Check it out to see others' successes & share your own. Recognizing the small things we accomplish each week helps us realize that even when it doesn't seem like it, we are getting things done!

1) Cleaned & dusted two areas in our family room that were in desperate need of dusting...the nook over the fireplace & the shelves which house all our Catholic books.

2) Let go of meal planning & let The Prophet make one up for the next couple of weeks. He did a great job & even though we needed to tweak a few things a bit due to what we actually had on hand, we've stuck w/ it.

3) I did a ton of filing at work on Sat. I usually have about a 2 in. stack of papers that need to be filed in my manager's office. However, the past month or so, there hasn't been much, but there were some stacks another employee put in there. We didn't know what to do w/ them, so we just left them...until Sat. when I went in & saw a note that they WERE for filing. You know those boxes that hold reams of paper? Well, this one was overfilled & papers stood about a foot higher. But I persevered & got it all filed!

NEW FEATURE: Add a goal for the upcoming week & report the results in the next round of Small Successes.

Last Week's Goal...I'd like to get my clothes closet in our bedroom cleaned out. (The munchkins came down w/ the first round of colds, so I didn't get to the closet this past week.)

This Week's Goal...Try again - I'd like to get my clothes closet in our bedroom cleaned out.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Wordless Wednesday - October Skies (2nd Post Today)





Tuesday, October 25, 2011

A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings

My dear blogging friend, Judy, over at A Thankful Woman's Book of Blessings, hosts this meme every Wednesday. Simply list five things (or a prayer or any thoughts) for which you are truly thankful this week. Voicing my thanks helps put my life in perspective & realize that, no matter how bad things might be, there is still MUCH good surrounding me.

Well, it looks like my focus this week is on books & music...definitely two things I am VERY thankful for!

1) I am thankful for evening reading time w/ Casinodad. Now that he is on a regular work schedule, we've gotten into a nice routine. After the last of the munchkins go to bed, we also go up & read for a while. We've never been able to do this before & it makes for a relaxing end to a long day.

2) I'm thankful for books, especially the fact that I can have more than one going at time. I usually have at least two that I'm in the process of reading, as long as they are different genres. That way, I can pick up a novel if I need something light or educational/spiritual for something that requires more concentration.

3) Speaking of books, I'm thankful Judy's book, I Surrender, is now available. I am so excited for Judy & can't wait to order my copy!

4) I'm thankful for Robert & Robin Kochis, a Catholic couple who has put together a bunch of CDs of Catholic music. I have The Complete Rosary, in which he sings Marian hymns in between the decades of the Rosary & The Best of Robert & Robin Kochis, relaxing hymns which the munchkins listen to at bedtime.

5) I'm thankful for the beauty of Catholic music. I'm from the post-Vatican II generation, so I grew up w/ a lot of the more contemporary songs (Be Not Afraid, On Eagle's Wings, Like a Shepherd). But, at the same time, I love the beauty of the traditional hymns, too (Immaculate Mary, Come Holy Ghost, Crown Him with Many Crowns). The way I see it, I get the best of both worlds when it comes to Catholic music!

"Tuesday's Ten" - Ten Vacations I've Been On

When I was growing up, we tried to take a family vacation just about every year. Sometimes it was a big trip, other times not, but always w/in driving distance. (HandyGramps doesn't fly!) We got to see a lot growing up...including HandyGramps driving temper (LOL!)

Nowadays, we try to take vacations w/ the munchkins, but it can be tough financially w/ gas prices, hotel stays, six mouths to feed, admission prices to various places, etc.

Here are ten vacations I've taken in my life (in no particular order)...

1) Pittsburgh, PA - One spring in the mid 80s, my dad's cousin was graduating from high school. He is also her godfather, so we took a trip to Pittsburgh. I made a new friend w/ a little girl in their neighborhood & we were pen-pals for a while afterwards. (This was in the days before Facebook & other social networking sites!) The one thing that really stands out to me is that there was a tornado warning while we were there...which was not a usual occurrence due to all their hills.

2) Trip out west to Colorado, California, Arizona, & other states we drove through - After I graduated from high school, we took our last family vacation...three weeks in a minivan out west. We spent the first week at a condo in Colorado where my sister & I liked to pretend to play tennis, but actually watch some cute guys playing on another court! From there we went to California to visit relatives & Disneyland (where we ran into a couple from our church & also had arrangements to meet up w/ a former associate pastor). Also on this trip, we saw snow in the mountains (the 1st time we'd seen snow in summer), got rained on my 1st time driving through the desert, stood at Four Corners where four states come together, & much more. It wasn't always pleasant (a-hem...sibling bickering, Universal Studios!) but I've taken many good memories from that trip.

3) Las Vegas NV & Disneyworld, FL (back-to-back familiarization trips) I used to be a travel agent & we would get to go on trips to help us sell them to our clients. At the end of April, I left for Vegas where it was about 104 degrees. The day after I got home, I flew to Florida where it was in the upper 60s/low 70s. What a difference in temperatures! This was when I was about eight weeks pregnant w/ The Prophet. Thankfully, I never had any morning sickness w/ his pregnancy, otherwise these two trips would have been extremely tough!

4) Niagara Falls & Stella Niagara - Another family trip when I was younger...my dad's cousin was taking her vows to become a Franciscan sister at Stella Niagara in NY. While there, we took a couple trips across the border to Niagara Falls in Canada, each time getting the same grumpy border guard!

5) Wisconsin - Over the years, I've been to Wisconsin numerous times to visit family & friends. I've also gone to beautiful Door County a couple of times. One place we visited is Peshtigo Fire Museum, dedicated to a fire that happened at the same time as the Great Chicago Fire. This fire took more lives than Chicago's but didn't get as much attention because it was such a small town. One belief is that both fires were caused by asteroids hitting the earth...not Mrs. Murphy's cow in Chicago as many believe.

6) Mackinac Island, MI - One of my most favorite movies is Somewhere in Time w/ Christopher Reeve & Jane Seymour. It takes place on this beautiful, automobile-free island in northern Michigan. Casinodad & I went before we had children. We toured the Grand Hotel, took a horse drawn carriage ride, had an antique wedding photo made, visited Fort Mackinac, & ate lots of delicious fudge. We're hoping to go back for our 15th or 20th anniversary to stay in the Grand Hotel.

7) Bahamas - This was where we spent our honeymoon & where Casinodad got bitten by the great casino bug! Our resort had a casino where we spent a couple of our evenings. The first time he played one of the dollar slot machines, he put in a dollar & won $100. A waitress told him if he'd put in $3, he would have won $300! Besides the casino, we also took a dolphin excursion where we could get in the water w/ them & pet them. I still remember how silky their skin felt.

8) Washington DC - One of our choir trips in college was to Washington DC. Here, we had the opportunity to sing in the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. We were told that we'd have a chance to come back later in our trip to tour the shrine, however, time ran out. I was very disappointed & look forward to the day I can go back.

9) Myrtle Beach, SC - Our church youth group took a couple of trips here, renting a condo a couple of blocks from the beach. We would hold lip-syncing contests, swim in the ocean & condo pool, walk to the Boardwalk, & just have lots of fun. One of my favorite parts of the trip was going to those recording studios to make our own audio tape recordings. As a big group, we also made our own video singing to We Are the World.

10) Salzburg, Austria - I spent three months of my college senior year studying music in Hungary. Over Thanksgiving weekend, a friend & I went to Salzburg. Highlights of this trip include: PB&J on the train for our Thanksgiving dinner, shopping in the Christmas market (dipping my own candles, listening to traveling musicians, looking for an affordable cuckoo clock, & more), taking the Sound of Music movie tour (a bus tour that takes you through places the movie was filmed, even up into the mountains to the church they were married in), & visiting all the beautiful cathedrals. Salzburg is one of my most favorite places!

Sunday, October 23, 2011

The Simple Woman's Daybook




Peggy hosts this meme each week. Read other Daybooks HERE.

FOR TODAY
Outside my window...it's a dark, Sunday evening.

I am thinking...of how wonderful it was to do a decade of the rosary & our evening prayers together. We'd gotten out of the habit of family prayers (yes, I know...shame on us!), so tonight we started up again & everyone cooperated.

I am thankful...for my SIL offering to take The Archangel overnight Friday. She tries to do that w/ each of the munchkins every so often & it was his turn. He had a great time!

From the learning rooms...helping The Princess learn to read while The Prophet & The Archangel study the United States; I really need to be working on lesson plans for the week, but here I am on the computer!

From the kitchen...I need to get our weekly meal plan in order for this week. Tonight was just chicken nuggets & fries...nothing too exciting!

I am wearing...my flannel, red plaid nightgown

I am creating...(attempting to create) a peaceful environment. We are continuing to keep a candle lit on the stove & will be playing relaxing music throughout the day.

I am going...to work on lesson plans this evening

I am reading...Of Thee I Zing by Laura Ingraham w/ Raymond Arroyo (a humorous, yet VERY true commentary on the decline of our culture) & Women in Church History: 21 Stories for 21 Centuries by Joanne Turpin.

I am hoping...STILL, that we will someday feel at peace in making decisions regarding The Archangel's care w/ his ADHD, aggression/anger issues, & now it seems he has Tourette Syndrome, too.

I am hearing...The Saint coughing & whining (he caught a cold this weekend), Casinodad getting his bedtime snack, the occasional turn of a page while the munchkins are reading

Around the house...it's in pretty good shape, I've been trying to stay on top of things

One of my favorite things...great deals on books! Our local Goodwill store has books for 49 cents. Today I bought three (one on virtues for children, Mark Twain's The Prince & the Pauper, & Sometimes God Has a Kid's Face by Sr. Mary Rose McGeady) - it's a great place to stock our home library w/ classics & children's books

A few plans for the rest of the week...school, "Mom Therapy," planning, cleaning/organizing, spending time w/ family

Here is a picture or two I am sharing...We went to visit Casinodad's dad & aunt about a month ago (they live about 3 hours north of us). A big draw to the trip is going to a local Chinese buffet. This is The Saint helping Grandpa to the buffet tables!