It's a Beautiful Life!

Ok, I wasn't sitting down expecting to do a Quick-Takes post, but there are so many things floating around in my head, that it just makes sense!

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Today has been a beautiful day - and I don't mean in the "birds are singing, the sun is shining, the grass is green" sort of way, because - let's face it - it's a foggy, grey, melty, yucky sort of January day when you don't want to see your brown, bedraggled lawn poking up through the quickly diminishing snow.
The day started with morning Mass, followed by the first in a series of 6 classes on Dei Verbum.  Sound boring?  Potentially.  But not.  Did you know that Aristotle and Plato, with just their own powers of reasoning, determined the human soul to be immortal??  I didn't!  (And here's one of a bazillion online articles referencing it.)  It's so beautiful - God gives us so many opportunities and starting points to come to know Him!

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After class I was pondering just how I was going to get the kids home and fed without having to resort to meat-eating at the local Mickey D's (something we try to avoid on Fridays - the meat-eating, not necessarily McD's) when a friend suggesting continuing conversations over a bagel at the cafe nearby.  Bagels, while not the most incredibly ideal nutritional food, work great for Fridays - and even better, my kids will actually eat them! 

(Awesome looking recipe I'd like to try at home - maybe then my little guy wouldn't be constantly begging me to buy more bagels!)

--- 3 ---

We got to talk about the impression that other people "have things together" (whether they do or not) and how each of us have things together in our own special way.  This is something I've been working on lately - with a book that was first introduced to me approximately 7 or 8 years ago, before marriage and children were even on the radar:

 I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to really go through and take this book seriously, working through each chapter - I'm buzzing with excitement about the potential this book has as a tool to take every facet of my life to the next level!  (And I have to say, that whole idea of peacefulness is really attractive with two toddlers around...)

--- 4 ---

After getting the rug-rats into bed for their afternoon nap (fingers crossed and prayers being said that they'll actually stay there and sleep) I jumped onto our new elliptical machine (Merry Christmas!) and survived my 9th workout of the year - and I didn't just survive it!  (Throughout this post you have been witnessing the post-workout adrenaline buzz.)  Now maybe that sounds slightly impressive when you consider it's only the 11th day of the year, but it's really not that incredibly amazing when I admit that each workout lasts all of 15 minutes - but my speed and endurance have substantially improved over these last 11 days, and of that, I am proud.

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I know that part of this improvement is attributable simply to consistency and taking it slowly but surely.  But another part of this I can definitely say is the result of simply changing my mental activity during the workout.  I initially thought, hey, I'll watch a little TV while I exercise, take my mind off it.  But maybe it's better to transform something not incredibly enjoyable into something more, rather just distracting yourself from it until the terrible-ness is over. 

--- 6 ---

That transforming force was:

Five Iron Frenzy!

I've long known that jogging to this music is so much more fun than just slogging along in silence or to something with a more relaxed beat.  This stuff really makes you go!  And it's not just the tempo - for me the lyrics are really captivating and thought-provoking, not to mention empowering!  (How's that for big words and feel-good jargon?)

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My two most favorite tracks:

Dandelions:  pretty much sums up for me how God sees us with all our imperfections and loves us anyway.  Don't know who came up with the animation, but it's perfect!

I don't care what others say, One Girl Army is about Mary!

Here are the lyrics: 

Here lies the old myth,
Breaking the mold with,
Truth to take away the trickery.
Twenty centuries of progress,
Suffer slowly as we regress,
Losing headway to ourselves.

Behold the covers, the sisters, the mothers,
The daughters, and spouses, on the magazines.
Truth has been abused.
How could she fill those shoes?
Propaganda meant to fuel their schemes.

She is strong but never silent,
Sure of where her truth comes from.
One day, one girl army will overcome.

Treading the current, issues at hand,
Shifting, we sway, from justice and then back again.
What we once broke, He has made right,
Lifting her up, giving birth to Jesus Christ.

She is strong but never silent,
Sure of where her strength comes from.
One day, one girl army will overcome.

She is strong but never silent,
Sure of where her strength comes from.
One day, one girl army will overcome.

She is strong but never silent,
Sure of where her strength comes from.
One day, one girl army will overcome. 

Not so much "Quick" - but what a beautiful day!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday: The Quick, Quick (Procrastination) Edition

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Guess what!  I'm a published crochet designer!  Doesn't that sound all fancy?
It's a very simple design for a very simple function that took all of 20 minutes to design and create, and it's published on my very own blog - with a listing on Ravelry.  So, that counts, right?

--- 2 ---

I'm once again blogging when I should be balancing the checkbook, but I tend to get more done on days I blog, so that's my justification.  Somehow I'm more productive when I've contribution something to the wider world.  Sharing is good for you!

--- 3 ---

My parents left this morning after coming about a week ago at VERY short notice.  Fortunately my health issue relapse wasn't as serious or long-lived as last time.  Or maybe we just caught it faster (no more ER visits for me - they don't help!) It's nice to know you have "people" - loved ones who will drop everything to come help you with a house and two crazy kids (i.e. both under 3 and in diapers) when you need them.  Special thanks to both my parents and my in-laws who were all there for us this round and in June when the issue first came up.

--- 4 ---

It's overwhelming trying to get caught up after having "company" for a while - there are so many things that get put off while you're busy enjoying them.  Like the checkbook.

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This "putting things off" was especially extended this time around - we'd only just been getting back into the swing of things from our celebratory Anniversary weekend when I got sick this time.  Happy 4 years together, Honey!

Ok, so this is us on our 3rd Anniversrary...  details.

--- 6 ---

Look how much we've done in those short 4 years: We started a small business, bought a house, had a baby boy, had a baby girl, and paid off all our debts (well, except the mortgage - good-bye student loans!)

Our best accomplishments

 --- 7 ---

 Speaking of things financial - time to battle balance that checkbook.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday: Aftermath of the Early Bird Drug

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Somehow, it's always Friday when I just happen to wake up early.  I wonder, at the end of my blogging "career" just how many of these Quick Takes posts will end up mentioning how I'm usually a night owl and like to sleep in, but just happened to wake up early and stay up this morning.  And how many will end up mentioning that the neighbors are having a garage sale.  But yeah, they do host an inordinate number of garage sales each summer. 

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Speaking of being up early on a Friday and the neighbors having a garage sale, I JUST bestowed the 25-cent Thomas the Tank Engine toy to my delighted little boy this past Tuesday.  Guess it only took 2 months...  And he was only momentarily delighted because it was his consolation prize - literally - as he was undergoing some skin testing to rule out a few additional food allergies.  At least they didn't have to do a blood test.  He's been enjoying it fully since then, so I have no regrets.

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Did I mention I got up early today??  I'm always so excessively energetic when I do that.  I got a whole lot of gardening done this morning between 6 and 8 am, it's not even funny.  Too bad I didn't have an early bird morning two weeks ago when I came into possession of the plants that finally got put into the ground this morning.

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After the productivity explosion came breakfast, and after breakfast, the sloth.  Oh yes, I was busy, but I wasn't getting anything important or Idunno, beneficial to my family accomplished.  I was fighting with Picasa trying to get my blog header in order.  Then, when that was finally a success, I had to revamp my color schemes because my label links disappeared into the new background.  But I do like it - feels a little less rough around the edges. 

--- 5 ---

I told myself I was going to write these Quick Takes as little breaks during my weekly checkbook balancing.  Hmm, maybe I should actually start that...

--- 6 ---

Only 2 Takes left - better get a Silver Lining in here somewhere.  Ah yes, the sale of Mom and Dad's cabin, now finally final.  The cabin on a river with shipping freighters going by, with the gazebo and a pontoon boat moored just offshore - the one place I've stayed that felt peaceful - like a real vacation, regardless of what else was going on.  (Not sure how much the distinct lack of cell phone reception plays into this - perhaps quite a bit.)  It's no longer in their possession, and thus no longer accessible to us for beautiful, quiet, lazy summer weekends away.  But here's the Silver Lining - no more worry over mortgages or maintenance or troublesome neighbors for my parents, and many many happy memories for our family, including first boat rides, babies in life preservers, bonfires, and a gleefully infamous mud-fight along the shore during our courtship (talk about twitterpation!)

--- 7 ---

Time for random adorableness, courtesy of our last (final, never happening again, waah!) trip to the cabin.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday: Veni Sancte Spiritus!

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Maybe I need to rethink the timing of my Quick Takes posts.  The first thing on my mind is always how tired I am, or whether the coffee has kicked in yet, or how strange it is if I'm feeling more awake than usual.  This also leads me to question just how much sleep my body may need to function regularly and what it is I'm doing to short-circuit that.  My 2-year old never wanders around asking for coffee or letting me know just how sleepy he is.  (Wait, he did ask me to "lay down" this morning - which, after some questioning, ultimately translated to wanting to snuggle.)  Maybe it's something in the water.

--- 2 ---

Vaccines have been on my mind a lot lately.  And the last thing I want to do is spark a big online debate/controversy about it (Who am I kidding?  It's not like I have a huge readership!)  But I am trying to get to the bottom of whether or not I think they're safe enough for me to entrust my children's health to.  At one time in my life, it seemed like the only people who didn't have their children vaccinated were a little strange, maybe a little fanatical.  Now the people I meet with this viewpoint don't seem so crazy.  I don't think they changed.  I did.  Now I just need to sort out the facts in my mind and come to a conclusion (with my husband's full cooperation, of course).  The question of morality also comes into play, considering the media in which many vaccines are developed.  Surely this is an issue every pro-lifer must take note of.
It would seem that in a debate like this, there are only a few possibilities.  One or both sides are misinformed, manipulating for the sake of money or power, or the two sides haven't figured out quite where the line is between their belief sets, where maybe both are on to something.  So many sources of information are completely one-sided and sometimes even self-contradictory. 

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I just had to go extract my son (the one who's always asking me to put his sister back down for a nap the very second they're both up in the morning) from the very same Pack'n'Play that his sister was already occupying.  The very same Pack'n'Play that she was admitted to for the sake of happy and separate play space.  Why are toddlers so fickle?!

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Between the vaccine deliberations and our new toothpaste, I can't decide whether I'm getting all crunchy (am I even using the term correctly?) or completely paranoid.  Not that anyone would suggest that a chemical-y lifestyle is ideal, but how far is too far and how much is ok?  For instance, if I really think soda is not good for my body, why am I still drinking the stuff?  What is an opinion worth, if you don't do anything about it in regards to the way you live your life?

--- 5 ---

On the lighter side, I may actually be getting somewhere with my gardening, which has taken over my life since Mother's Day weekend.  That's what happens when your version of celebrating Mother's Day is going plant shopping with your mother and daughter and buying a ton of bare-root plants that you have not yet prepared garden space for.  Hey, it was fun!  And I'm decidedly blessed to have a husband that is ok with me spending so much time on gardening while (sort of) neglecting the inside of the house.  Love you, hubby!

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I love how my son loves books (and he even has good taste!), but if I have to read The Little Engine That Could, or Animal Strike at the Zoo 30 more times today, I may go nuts.  Or at least on strike myself.  It's kind of funny to have conversations (with other adults, that is) that end up with you quoting entire sections of children's stories.  It's almost like a crazy party trick or something, except it leaves your audience a little in question of your sanity.  C'mon, it's impressive, considering half the time I can't remember my own birth-date!  Maybe we can expand my little guys repertoire.  Or if nothing else, we'll just hide the books in question for a few days until he latches on to another title.

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This weekend is Pentecost - come Holy Spirit!  Considering the list above, I have many things to pray to the Spirit and ask for wisdom and peace.  Speaking of, check out Pray More Novenas - we've been doing one to the Holy Spirit that ends tomorrow.  It's a great way to work a few more devotions into your pray life without a lot of advance planning (always great for me)! 

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday: A little cheese with this whine, anyone?

It wasn't my intention to be all whiny and annoying, but I guess that's what happens when you're low on sleep, everyone in the family has had a cold over the past week, and you didn't get to see your Grandma again as a result...

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Babies definitely grow too fast.  Even when they're still "little" they can get so big, and when they're getting "bigger" mine is learning to mobilize WAY too quickly.  But who can tell an almost 8 month old that she's not allowed to start pulling up?  She is not at all satisfied with this whole slow-motion crawling deal.  That was so 2 weeks ago.

--- 2 ---

I am far too easily distracted from normal, everyday duties.  My husband put laundry in the washer yesterday before he left from work.  It took me until mid-afternoon to realize the huge laundry pile from our Mother's Day weekend trip was no longer sitting by the basement door.  And no worries, I did get it into the dryer before it started to get all mildew-y, but this morning my poor husband was digging around for a work shirt, at which point I had to sleepily apologize for not getting the laundry upstairs.  Yeah, still sitting in the dryer.  Poor guy.

--- 3 ---

There has yet to be invented a facial tissue soft enough for babies' noses.  Or maybe babies are genetically predisposed to fighting a nose-wiping tooth and nail.  Either way, in the end, no one's happy but baby's nose is slightly less snotty.  At least my 2-year old is learning to be cooperative on this front.

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I am not the chipper early bird I was last time I wrote a Quick-Takes, but I am still up before at least one of my kids.  (Looking back at that post, I'm now wondering what kind of crazy person wrote it - and if she was on drugs.  And what kind they were.)  He's taken to sleep til nearly 9 o'clock most mornings the last couple of weeks.  At least when we're at home.  Sleeping anywhere else requires earlier wake up times in toddler world.  But still, God Bless You, Dr. Weissbluth!  Forgive me for ever doubting you!  Now you just need to come up with a softer facial tissue, or an extinction program for nose-wiping fits.

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I'm coming to think that "Quick-Takes" is a misnomer.  Nothing is ever quick when you have two munchkins running around.  In fact, this has been interrupted so many times that the munchkinette is already back in bed for nap #1 and the coffee is starting to kick in.

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Bare-root perennials have a startlingly higher survival rate when you get them into the ground right away.  I know, it's amazing, right?  Why couldn't I understand this last year?

Just for fun, I'm going to use #6 for a little bragging about my formerly delinquent magnolia.  Isn't Miss Jane beautiful this year?

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Now it's obvious the coffee is kicking in - and I didn't think caffeine affected me.  Haha!  To end on a cheerier note, the sun is out again today, and we're looking at a third day of gardening this week.  It's amazing how much exercise gardening can be - I feel toned already!  Today, we conquer the new compost bin!  Whee!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday - Inaugural Post!

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Ok, WAY new to this whole Quick Takes Friday thing (though I've enjoyed reading them since I've been regularly reading others' blogs - for all of the last few months). And pretty darn new to this whole blogging thing (think: here comes Angeline's post #5!!!) I've been looking forward to writing my own Quick Takes all week!

--- 2 ---

This is the first morning in I don't know how long that I voluntarily got out of bed before either of my children. Now that's just weird. I think I'm overly excited about the kitchen playset I saw being unloaded into the neighbor's garage last night (garage sale!!!) and want to get a jump on the early morning crowds (in a town of circa 8,000. Right...) I don't even know what time the darn thing starts, so I've been checking out my window every 15 minutes since about 6:45. (Yup, pretty excited - does it show?!)

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This whole morning thing is kind of nice so far, though I'm disappointed to hear my 2 year old whimpering upstairs already. (Hmm, may need to go get him up before the 7 month old is adversely affected.)

--- 4 ---

I've already made coffee, prepared the zucchini and started steaming it for baby's very own custom-made baby food! Yea! There's something about DIY that makes everything better. (As to whether my little darling agrees about the flavor of zucchini, is yet to be seen. But I like it, so I'm sure she will too, right? Right...)

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The sun is brightly shining, and the wind gently rustling through the brand-new leaves on the maples outside (we're a northern crowd, up here!) and it looks like it'll be a gorgeous day! Big plans for getting out of the house, First Friday Mass, and running some errands and provided the sanctity of the nap schedule is respected, it's looking like a wonderful day ahead! (No, I'm not typically this cheery this early - definite night owl - or at least I am when I'm getting enough sleep in general - which has not been for probably about 3 years...) Whee!

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If you've never read Divine Mercy in My Soul by St. Faustina, I HIGHLY recommend it! It's the best romance novel I've ever read (ok, not sure I've read any actual romance novels...) and the best part of all, is it's a story that belongs to each and every one of us! Some of the things Jesus says will have your heart pounding. Go figure, the author of my soul is also the most romantic man on earth! (And in heaven!)

BREAKING NEWS! 

 THE GARAGE SALE HAS BEGUN! 

 (Who starts a garage sale at 7:45 am??) 

BREAKING BREAKING NEWS! 

 THE KITCHEN SET IS OURS! 

(And a Thomas the Tank Engine for 25 cents! My little guy will be so pumped!!! Too bad his birthday isn't for another 7 months... Guess we'll have to hand it over "just because.")

--- 7 ---

Both kids are now up, complete with two poopy diapers and little dude has once again removed all clothing (except his diaper, Thanks be to God!), but it's still looking to be the best day EVER and it's only 8 am. (Maybe there's something to this morning thing. Assuming I'm not falling over tired this afternoon.)

I forgot to drink my coffee.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!