7QT - cupcakes, good news, book club, soccer, & back at mama's

This is a great example of what country music is supposed to be: a story, mama, southern hospitality, a little bit of twang, beer,


2 - June is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Christ. I made some red velvet cupcakes for our mom group last week because even though I had missed the official feast day it's still June! So it looks like I didn't forget! Yay! The good news is you've still got time, too. Oh, the mercy of God.

They were easy to make, too! I bought a big jar of cream cheese frosting and reserved a bit. After I placed a strawberry slice on each cupcake I colored the remaining frosting pink and added it to a baggie with it's corner cut off. Then I piped on the "fire" coming out of the top of the "heart." I added some blue and yellow food coloring to the pink frosting, making a light brown frosting and then piped on the "crown of thorns."

Cute and delicious.


3 - Auntie Leila has a new post this week with some parenting tips for handling a difficult five year old. I like Leila's writing in that the proof is in the pudding - her kids turned out well, she has some real wisdom, and what she's saying makes sense. But oh it does not make me feel better. I'm already exhausted and now she's telling me to work harder! To do more! She's supposed to be telling me to take a nap!

Auntie Leila, you're killing me! I don't want you to tell me to swim, that I can do it, that this is the way to do it. I feel like I'm drowning here and I want you to throw me a donut float and pull me through the lazy river.


4 - I hope you heard the really great news about my son JF, his alleged miracle, and Venerable Sheen's cause for canonization! I wrote a bit about it here, reminding people of one very important detail.


5 - Last night I had a Something Other Than God book club.

 It had been a very bad, very long, horrible day and ending it with a group of my friends was so good. My husband gifted us with a quiet house by caring for the kids and so we were able to drink our SOTG cocktails and non-alcoholic sangrias, enjoy a bite of strawberry pretzel salad, and discuss our faith, Jen and Joe's conversion, and Tupac Shakur.

It was GREAT. It was also the first time I've been part of a book club that wasn't also a Bible study. Gosh, I really liked it.


6 - Kendra's comments on the World Cup are hilarious and spot on. You should read them. My favorite piece on soccer and the World Cup is still Joel Stein's from 2002. It's called "The Rest of the World Cup" and it's hilarious.


7 - Just a reminder that I'm doing some traveling this summer and speaking about JF, Venerable Sheen, and the alleged miracle. I'll be at:
 Theology on Tap in Indianapolis this coming Wednesday, June 25th.
St. Ignatius Loyola Catholic Church following the 5:15pm Mass on Sunday, July 27th in Spring, TX.
Theology on Tap with the Lake County, IL YAM on Monday, August 4th.

If you're in the area I'd love to meet you!