Thursday, February 28, 2013

Day ??--Powder Room Redo

What day am I on again?

Today I finally started to prime the walls in the powder room.  I was gung-ho come 9am.  I threw Matthew in front of the XBox (I know, bad mommy), got my supplies out, took my last sip of coffee, and off I went.

I forgot what a joy it is to paint.

*Laying the tarp down but having no luck with it staying in place.

*Trying to find the tool to open the can with. 

*Realizing I forgot to grab a stir stick at the store.

*Not having a step ladder.



















*Priming over an area I didn't sand down properly.

*Being unable to disconnect the light fixture and getting paint on it.

*Nearly breaking my back almost falling off the folding chair.

 I'm really looking forward to putting on the second coat of primer tomorrow.  It is really a gift to paint, being lost in my own thoughts.




Wednesday, February 27, 2013

My New Purse

You mean you actually read that title and clicked to read more??  Wow!  That's love.  Or boredom.  One or the other.

I am one who truly believes a girl should get a new purse with every season.

I don't, mind you; but I still believe it.

I haven't treated myself in a couple of years and my last one was from Payless--half off--cost me $6 and I loved it.

















A few weeks ago I was browsing and found this cutie.


























Not sure how I expected to go from large to small, but cleaning out my old one seemed like a good place to start.



The pile on the right is trash!   Please tell me I'm not the only one.



















It was hard, and my wallet takes up half of the inside, but it will work...



























....at least until next season :)




Monday, February 25, 2013

Negative Thoughts

I have a hidden talent.  Want to know what it is?

Beating myself up.

I am really good at it.

I can get really down on myself.  It happens a lot.  It doesn't take much for me to feel like a complete failure.  Most of the time it can be something really small to get me going.

- Forgetting to throw in laundry,  leaving a kid without sweatpants for gym class.

- Forgetting to thaw the meat I planned to use for dinner.

- Forgetting a birthday.

( Hmm, that's a lot of forgetting....maybe I should take some ginkgo biloba)

Anyhow, once something like this happens, my entire mood can change.  After that, I could take every aspect of my life and tell you how I'm failing at it.  I usually don't speak it out loud, but the conversations that take place between me, myself, and I can get really ugly.

One saving grace that really helps me is Contemporary Christian music.  Every song speaks to me.  Those radio stations are so "positive and uplifting" that you can't help but feel special just because you are a child of God.  

That's it.

I don't have to do anything else to make me special.

Of course, the Bible can be another source to help see me through times like this.  John 3:16 comes to mind, but I'm not too familiar with bible verses due to the fact I'm Catholic.

(that was a joke--sort of).

The point I am trying to make is, even with all the stuff that can make me feel inferior, I am still special, full of worth, and loved.  And so are you.  Yes, YOU!

Remember a few weeks ago I spoke about a personal nudge from God?  That time when a stranger suggested I read the Divine Mercy Chaplet?  Well, guess how many times I've said that prayer since?

Zero. Not one time.

I have visions of God in Heaven throwing His hands up and saying, "Well, I've done all I could do; I give up on this one."

But He doesn't.

And that's good to know.







Saturday, February 23, 2013

Motto

When you don't have anything to blog about, change your layout and background.

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

A Sick One

Tommy is home sick today with the stomach virus.


Because a traveling husband and a sick momma doesn't mix, I'm trying to master the art of cuddling and care-taking in 15 second increments.  That's about as long as I can hold my breath.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Everyday Happenings

Last week I went to Matthew's preschool for a Valentine party.  Here's a snippet.




Mary received a bigger violin and case from her music teacher.  Finally she can fit in her full sized, green bow that she got for Christmas.


Matthew loves Berenstein Bear books.  It doesn't happen often, but when he sits down on his own and starts reading, it makes my heart smile.


Friday night I had dinner with the Sexy Six.  We had lots of laughs, as usual.


Me and Gene Kelly.  He's sooo dreamy.
Tricia, Peggy, Mary Alice, Rose, Marianne, and me.


I've been asked a few times when Day 3 of the Powder Room redo is coming.  Well, it's been a slow process for sure.  Days 1 & 2 here and here.

We've had issues with size of vanities, finding flooring, needing a custom toilet, and so on.  Our vanity is in.  Want to see a picture?

Isn't it pretty?

But for now, this is what the room looks like.

I'm hoping to give myself a quick course on spackling this week and get the painting process going.
Wish me luck.




Friday, February 15, 2013

Scenes From Valentine's Day

 
My Taste-Tester
After school treats
Valentines from Dad to his girls



French Silk Chocolate Pie



French Silk Chocolate Pie Recipe:

*  9" pie crust, baked unfilled for 9-11 minutes at 400.  Cool.
*  3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
*  3/4 cup butter, softened
*  1 cup sugar
*  1 1/2 tsp vanilla
*  3 large eggs

In small saucepan over low heat, melt chocolate.

In large bowl, cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating until light and fluffy.  Blend in cooled chocolate and vanilla.

Add eggs one at a time, beating at medium speed 5 minutes after each addition!

Pour into cooled baked crust.

Refrigerate about 4 hours before serving.

Serve with whipped cream!




Bill's mom gave me this recipe and it is so easy.

Go ahead and make it this weekend.  You won't be sorry.




Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Wine And Food Pairing

Our friends John and Mary invited us to their home for their 4th Annual Wine and Food Pairing.  Bill and I, along with 7 other couples from our family prayer group had a fun time.

John and Mary, with son Andy


John and Mary are the best cooks I know and they are wine connoisseurs. (thank you spell-check).  They spoil us rotten every year and we love it!

To see last year's wine and food pairing, click here. 

Saturday, February 9, 2013

A Concert And A Sacrament

We had some special goings-on here this week.

Mary Kate took part in the All City Orchestra Concert.  Certain children from the different middle schools in the district are asked to be a part of this event.  Two days this week I drove Mary to one of the area middle schools early in the morning.  She spent about 4 hours there practicing with her school and 3 other middle school orchestras.  By the end of the second day, the entire group had practiced 15 songs.  They put on a wonderful concert Wednesday night.  It is amazing to see.  They sounded great.

We are so proud of her!

Thursday night Tommy had his First Reconciliation.



 He was so mad at me for making him wear a suit jacket.  His arguing me was beneficial because up until that point he had "nothing to confess."

We were crunched for time so I made him eat dinner like this.

Grandmom's chicken stew AND her apron.
Seeing him waiting in line near the confessional and watching him breathe a big sigh of relief when he walked out made me want to run up and hug him.  Then watching him kneel on the altar to say his penance made me want to cry.  He looked so handsome and adorable.

Nice job Tom.  We are so proud of you.


Tuesday, February 5, 2013

Valentine Ideas

I saw this idea for Valentine's last year on the 320 Sycamore Blog from this post.

First you take a picture of your child with his fist out, like this:


Add some text,  put two little holes around the fist, add a lolli, and voila'!


This cracks me up.

Remember the the iPhone Valentine that I did last year?




If you do these, remember that you have to use Brach's brand sweethearts.  Here is the link to the free printable from Living Locurto.

Please Note**Brach's seems to have changed the size of their boxes this year; at least the ones I can find.  If I find boxes that fit, I will post that here.

***I found them!!  I had given up, but in  my area I found them at Redner's grocery store.  Walmart carried a smaller kind that had the name Brach's in little letters.  Just make sure it's a 1oz box and it looks like this:

This will fit the free printable perfectly. 
  

Have fun!

Friday, February 1, 2013

Jesus In Disguise?

This morning was the first Friday of the month.  My parish has Eucharistic Adoration on those days.  After I dropped Matt off at school, I headed over to my church.  I wasn't really "in the mood" to pray, so I brought a book with me.

Once inside, I said hello to Jesus, mentioned a few intentions, and started praying the rosary.  I don't know about you and your experience with Adoration, but my mind wanders.  Like crazy.  I think about what I'm going to do after I leave, what to have for dinner, and how certain people annoy me.

Nice.

After a few minutes I kept hearing what sounded like two people talking to each other.  I tried to ignore it, figuring it wouldn't go on for long.  But it didn't stop.  The longer it lasted, the more annoyed I became.  Didn't they know I was trying to determine if the ground beef I had in the fridge was still usable?   I mean, I feel badly when my jacket rustles when I walk in.  Who did they think they were making so much noise?

I recited my rosary....grumpily, in my head, without making a sound.

About the time I reached the Fifth Joyful Mystery is when I realized the loud whispers were coming from one person.  It was the lady in the pew in front and to the right of me.  I was able to watch her inconspicuously.

At times I would hear words like "my niece",  "Jesus", "Love you".  It was someone's deep conversation with Jesus that was causing me my negative attitude.  (Actually, I think I walked in with one.)

I went from being annoyed to being jealous.  I want that.  I want that intimate relationship with the Lord.  I looked down at my rosary guide.

The Fifth Joyful Mystery....The Finding in the Temple.  

Fruit of the Mystery:  JOY In Finding Jesus. 

 I would say my faith was at it's strongest back in 2008.  Bill and I had attended our parish retreat and my faith was strengthened tremendously.  One of my daily prayers back then was the Divine Mercy Chaplet.  I prayed and watched it every day at 3 o'clock for months on EWTN.  You could say it was then that I reached my peak in the Joy department.  But like many things I start, I stopped this routine.  Since then, I have never been able to get back to that height.

Today after I left the chapel, I stopped across the hall to visit the parish library.  A man who had been in the chapel came in right behind me.  He made small talk and then suggested, out of the blue, for me to take a pamphlet on the Divine Mercy Chaplet.

Wow.  Through my grumpiness in that chapel, God read my heart.  He knew what I wanted (and needed) after seeing that woman.  He sent that man into the library for me. (By the way, he didn't look at anything in the library and left as quickly as he came in)

I think I just got my very own personal nudge from God.  What do you think?