Oh it's all just so Sheenazing!

Downton! Oh it was so good. But you know what was better?

Sherlock!  Travis and I cracked up through most of it. I looooved when John and Sherlock were playing the "Who am I?" game with the names on their foreheads. So funny. I was honestly a little bit disappointed in last week's episode - even though it was good, maybe my expectations were too high? - but this week's made up for it and then some.

I am Sher locked.

Finally, Monday is the last day to vote for the Sheenazing Awards. Go vote for your favorite bloggers and maybe find a couple new blogs to add to your list.

Winners will be announced Wednesday.

7 quick takes

1 - I heard of this guy yesterday and I am in love.  Love Love Love.  That's the name of another one of his songs that's also super good.

2 - Like you, I am also eagerly awaiting the next season of Downton Abbey.  (Unless you're my friend Lisa who somehow got her hands on some illegal downloads or something.)  But I just want to point out that Masterpiece Theatre is doing it exactly right with another show as well.  If you haven't watched Sherlock you need to start now.  It is seriously so great.

In honor of my love for Sherlock I give you this:

3 - Let's do High/Lows for the week.  For me, the High was napping, tied with doing puzzles with the older two kids.  The Low was cleaning poop off the sofa.  Your turn!

4 - When I have nightmares they frequently take place in the same location - this big, old mansion with gorgeous, wide, wooden stairs and rooms with lots of windows.  It is older and unkept and it feels like there's something evil there.  I might not dream about it for months but then it will show up again, or at least a close variation of it, and I'll be reminded of how I've "been there" before.

Does anyone else ever have this happen?

5 - If you like Cardinal Dolan &/or Bishop Jenky &/or Venerable Fulton Sheen I want you to go to Bishop Jenky's blog and watch this great video of Dolan and Jenky joking about all the chins they have and speaking about Sheen's cause.  It's really funny and full of personality.  It makes me happy to be Catholic.

6 - Also, here's a little something I don't understand.  Why do women post pictures of "dreamy" guys on Pinterest?  I was going to say something but then I saw this and pinned it.

Except I would end it by saying, "Out of respect for your husband, your marriage, and Jesus Christ, I encourage you to delete it." instead of the "Just saying."

7 - Someone tell my 2 year old that 5:25 is not a good time to wake up.  Please and thank you.

Seven Shows to Watch on Netflix

Travis and I are always tired at the end of the day and the one thing we want to do after the kids are in bed is to sit and barely think about anything.

So of course we watch tv.

A couple weeks ago I suggested the movie Chef, which I really enjoyed, but I've actually been compiling a list for a few months of shows and movies I have enjoyed and wanted to suggest to you. These aren't reviews and I obviously don't know exactly what you are sensitive to and how sensitive you are to it, and keep as a frame of reference that a short list of my favorite movies / shows are:

3:10 to Yuma
Sherlock
Jane Austen novel adaptations
Doctor Who
Life
Friday Night Lights
Silver Linings Playbook
The Walking Dead

So westerns, period pieces, zombies, crazy people, BBC stuff, Riggins, and a zen guy who loves fruit.

Not your cup of tea? Then you can probably safely pass these all up.

Sound good?  Then let's get started!

I didn't like the novel Jane Eyre when I read it in high school and I've never cared about any of the film adaptations I've watched before but this one was perfect. The spooky parts were spooky, the writing was fabulous, the locales were perfect, and the acting was superb. Michael Fassbender's portrayal of Mr. Rochester made me finally understand the character. Mia Wasikowska was perfectly perfect. And the moors were great. (I've watched it about three times in as many months.)

I am a sucker for a good Jane Austen period piece movie and this baby delivered. Death Comes to Pemberley was better than the novel, I thought. Matthew Rhys was an excellent Mr. Darcy. Clara, I mean Jenna Coleman was perfect as Lydia. And I love Anna Maxwell Martin and she did a wonderful job as Mrs. Elizabeth Darcy. (She's also really great in The Bletchley Circle, which is also on Netflix, fyi.) The story is a great who-dunnit but is even better because I love the Darcys and good manners.

Turn. Oh dang. We just plowed through the first season of this AMC show and we loved it. It takes place during the American Revolutionary War and it's really cleverly written and very interesting. The character Anna Strong drives me crazy, but I love Caleb Brewster so it kind of balances out. The main character in the show is Abraham Woodhull and he's not perfect though he is very well acted by Jamie Bell (who plays St. John Rivers in Jane Eyre). I also really like how they use a lot of music in the show - songs that are appropriate to the period are often sung or performed, but the theme song sounds a lot like The Walking Dead, as a complete aside.

Broadchurch is probably not for everyone. It takes place in a small coastal town in Britain and centers around the death of a boy and the investigation that follows. I didn't predict any of the twists and I found it to be well written and well acted. It was a bit suspenseful, but not too much so (too much suspense gives me nightmares), and another great who-dunnit. Also, David Tennant is the lead so a big yay for Doctor Who fans everywhere. If you have watched The Bletchley Circle and you enjoyed it I do think you'll enjoy this one.

If you liked Broadchurch then you'll like Hinterland. This show a lot like Wallander or even Sherlock at its more intense moments, except this show is a bit creepy and makes Wales seems really, really creepy. I loved it. It's intense, smart, edgy, and its characters have a lot of back-story and dimension. Great writing and wonderful acting.

(Okay, totally cheating and throwing this in here. If you like mysteries / detective shows that aren't as flashy as Law & Order and you like westerns, but not so much these Brit shows I'm telling you about then you should watch Longmire. Travis and I both enjoyed it. A lot.)

And now for something totally different: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. For very different reasons than Hinterland  this show is not going to be for everybody but I thought it was hilarious. The theme song has been stuck in my head for over a week now. The show is almost silly, the characters are kooky, and the cultural jokes are often spot-on and really funny. The show pokes fun at everyone, which I appreciated, so no one can feel like they're being ganged up on, and overall I think the show just exists to make us laugh. If you liked 30 Rock you will enjoy this.

I love Good Eats because it combines useful information, delicious food and drink, and campy humor. This is a show I think the whole family can watch and everyone will enjoy - science, humor, recipes, history - it's all there!



Okay, another cheat:

Begin Again was on Netflix for awhile but is no longer so you'll have to go to your local video store to find this one, which is what we did because I was binging my way through Doctor Who for the third time while it was online. Travis picked this one up and brought it home to me after a long rough day, thinking it looked like a movie I would like. He was right.

The movie is about a singer-songwriter (Kiera Knightley) whose musician boyfriend (Adam Levine) breaks up with her, leaving her stranded and alone in New York City. She finds her friend (James Corden) which leads to a washed-up producer (Mark Ruffalo) hearing her perform. And in between it all some really wonderful things are said and the right people end up with the right people and I just really enjoyed it.


Okay. Enough. Thank you so much to Kelly for hosting the link-up. Have a great weekend, everyone!

7 quick takes

1 - I need something beautiful, so we're going to listen to this song.
I look at the people around me and I wonder what we are all doing.  What in the world have we done, and what are we going to do?  For weeks now I have been heavy hearted.  I walk around feeling discouraged most of the time and occasionally even abandoned.  I am trying to choose hope.  I know that sometimes in life we have only hope or despair.  The two are laid out before us, ours for the taking.  I have tried to hope.  But I am tired and I feel defeated, worn down, and alone and so sometimes it is hard to hope.

2 - Sorry to start out on such a sour note.  If I've been grumpy about you putting up your Christmas tree last week maybe now you understand my scrougeyness.  Now that Thanksgiving is officially done with I am much more tolerable of Christmas music and merriment, though I'm not really "feeling it".  (I read the article "An Advent Plan for a Non-People Person" and laughed a little and nodded my head a whole lot.)  I am ready for Advent, though.  I am asking God to give me a fruitful Advent and then a joyful Christmas. 

3 - On a happy note, the song above is called "Grace's Waltz" and it was written by Fernando Ortega in honor of his grandmother Grace, which is sweet and lovely.  The first time I heard it I was enchanted and I swore I would walk down the aisle to it when I got married.  I did, and it was perfect.

4 - On Wednesday I was able to attend the funeral of a wonderful woman, whom I had the pleasure to call Grandma Ba.  She wasn't my grandmother, but my friend Sarah's.  My first day of high school I met Sarah - our lockers were next to each other - and we have been friends ever since.  Sarah is great about sharing her family with her friends and so I got to know Grandma Ba fairly well over the years.  She was kind, funny, and so proud to be Swedish. 

At the funeral we sang the hymn "This Is My Father's World."

Sarah and I actually sang this song in our high school choir and I've always loved it.  The last verse always brings a tear to my eye but in the context of Grandma Ba's funeral - well, let's just say there was more than one tear!

This is my Father's world. 
O let me ne'er forget
that though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet. 
This is my Father's world: 
why should my heart be sad? 
The Lord is King; let the heavens ring! 
God reigns; let the earth be glad!

5 - Thanksgiving.  I took pictures to join Grace's link-up.  I took pictures to post of our awesome food.  And then I forgot the camera at my mom's house.  oops.
I wore jeans, a muted magenta top with cloth roses around the neckline, and a grey cardigan with small white dots.  I looked cute.

6 - I have a goal of getting Resa to take a bottle by December 14th so I can see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

Oh seriously.  You can call me a nerd and I won't care.  WHOA buddy!  I am excited!  I really, really loved reading the book, and as a fan of Peter Jackson's "The Lord of the Rings" I am certain that this will be visually beautiful and intelligently done. 

Did you know Benedict Cumberbatch (he plays Sherlock on the BBC series that I love!) is in it? 

So is Martin Freeman, of course (Watson from BBC's Sherlock), and for some reason I have a small, silly crush on that man. 

(Okay, I know the reason.  It's because he always plays a kind man.  I like kind men.  But don't tell Travis about this crush because then he will tease me to no end.)  And James Nesbitt is also in the movie and I love him!  Okay, enough rambling.  I'm happy.  I'm looking forward to it.  The end.

Okay, ps. I told Travis.  He made fun of me.

7 - Here's a couple of recipes I tried recently and they were all hits.
Sweet and sour chicken.  I didn't use the eggs because JF is allergic but the cornstarch was enough.  They were great and everyone asked for more, and more.
Sweet dinner rolls.  I tried these last year for Thanksgiving and they were so popular I brought them back for Christmas.  Bread machine friendly recipe, but it can easily be made "the old fashioned way."

Have a good weekend, and thanks to Jen for hosting!

10 Shows to Love on Netflix

Snow day? Sick day? Introvert-post-social-function-recovery day? Wanting a show to watch, episode after episode? Or maybe you're just looking for a new show to enjoy a little at a time, not something to binge on in one day.

Whatever your reason, if you're looking for some good television viewing here my top ten picks, all of which are available for streaming from Netflix.

(Disclaimer: Some of the shows have mild language, some scantily clad women, some guns. I don't know what will offend you or be fine by you but I am definitely not encouraging you to sit down with the whole family and a bowl of popcorn before you preview them for your kids.)

Life

Detective Charlie Crews was framed for murder, spent several years in jail, and was then exonerated. After prison Charlie gets a whole lot of money and his job back, where he begins to investigate who framed him and why. The show is told a bit like a documentary, especially in the beginning as they are establishing Crews' back story. The things I love about this show: how quirky and funny it is. While in prison Charlie missed some advancements in technology (like phones have cameras), he really missed fresh fruit, and he picked up Zen thinking to help him cope. I'm not sure why this show was cancelled - it's so good! - but the writers saw it coming and were able to wrap the show up nicely by the end of the second season.

White Collar

Smart, witty, beautiful: this show is really different than a lot of television. White Collar follows Neal Caffrey, a con artist who does white collar crimes like art and bond forgery, as he works off the remainder of his prison sentence by serving as a consultant to Peter Burke, the head of the FBI's white collar division in New York City. Things I like about this show: the characters are all smart and are pursuing important pieces of art, history, and culture. (I know that sounds snooty but you'll like it too.) Peter and his wife have a really great marriage. Also, Tiffani Thiesen stars in it and that makes me happy to see "Kelly Kapowski" again. The best part about the show: MOZZIE! 

The Walking Dead

Zombie apocylpse, at it's best. The Walking Dead is based on the graphic novels by the same name. It follows police officer Rick Grimes and the band of survivors as they try to find a safe place to live and try to thrive in a world filled with the living dead. The show is gory, scary, and gruesome and, speaking as a parent, the premise is 100% horrifying. The first time I watched the show I literally watched through my fingers as I covered my eyes with my hands. The show is interesting and really well done. It's scary but it's worth the lack of sleep.

Friday Night Lights

"Clear eyes, full hearts can't lose." Okay, really I never know what Coach Taylor is talking about when he says that but I was never an athlete. Yet I still love this show. Despite the fact that it's about high schoolers and some of the characters are just annoying (Jason, Lyla, Julie). Reasons to love it: Coach and Tammi Taylor's relationship, Tammi Taylor, Landry, Seracen, Seracen's grandma, football. It's a sweet show about relationships, small town life, and how sports can build community.

Lost

A plane crashes on a mysterious island and the survivors try to figure out what the heck is going on. You try to figure out what is going on. And then it ends and you're still trying to figure it out. But just enjoy the ride. There's so many interesting, likeable characters and I found myself really invested in what happened to them. The other nice thing about Lost is that so many of its actors have gone on to star in other shows. I love flipping on the tv and bumping in to an old friend from the island.

Sherlock

A modern retelling of Sir Arthur Connan Doyle's classics, which I've never read so I have no idea if they "get it right" and quite frankly I don't care. Sherlock is brilliant. Each episode is movie length and those 90 minutes are filled with excellent writing, clever characters, fantastic dialogue, and British accents. What is not to love?! And please allow me to go on record and state that I love Molly Hooper.

Jericho

If you're looking for a more family friendly end of the world type show this is it. Jericho isn't a very slick show, it's simple and sweet, though, and a nice watch. It takes place in a small town that remained safe from a series of nuclear bombs that took out all major US cities. It's borders on cheesy from time to time but, quite frankly, I'd prefer some more cheesy, sentimental, "we'll-pull-through-it-together" type shows. Some books are "light reading" - this is "light viewing."

Freaks and Geeks

Freaks and Geeks just might have been the perfect show about teenagers ever. It's the most real account of high school and adolescence I've ever seen and watching it is like looking at old pictures from my family album. I appreciated Lindsey and Millie's friendship, Mr. and Mrs. Wier's marriage, how the show talks about sex, and Bill's peanut allergies. It's funny, sweet, and really well done. The only problem with the show is that there just one season. And how it ends (What the heck, Lindsey?!?). So two. There's two problems. But that's not bad for tv!

Doctor Who

The Doctor is an alien, of the Time Lord race, who travels through all of space and time in his Tardis - a spaceship that is disguised as a blue, British police box. He travels with companions and they go about saving the day. Also, he can regenerate so start with the 9th Doctor (I know, living mannequins, but it gets so much better.) and hold on to your hat. The show is a little silly, a little goofy, a little sentimental, and a lot of fun. Watch it and finally get all the jokes about Whovians, bow ties being cool, things being fantastic, and not blinking. Allons-y!

The Chicago Code

The Chicago Code follows a small group of police officers as they work to bring down the most powerful and corrupt city alderman. Good writing, good acting, and a really good story - my husband and I are still unsure why this show was cancelled. If you usually like cop shows then you should definitely watch it. If you don't usually "do" cop shows you should still give it a try, especially if you love Chicago.



So there you go. My ten favorite series, all available for streaming on Netflix.
Did I pick your favorites? Did I overlook any? I'd love to hear about your faves in the comment box.

And happy viewing!

Five Favorites

Many thanks to Hallie for hosting!

1 - Benedryl

Because sometimes, while you're showering, your highly allergic boy will - for some god forsaken reason! - get into the fridge, find the bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, dump it all over the dining room, kitchen, and even track it into the living room. He won't ingest it (big shout out to J's guardian angel for that one because that would have ended in vomit and probably another epi pen / er adventure) but he will get the oil or residue or whatever on his hand, rub his eye, and break out like crazy.

That picture is 5 minutes after a large dose of Benedryl. Eye is less swollen, red skin and hives have gone away, snot needs to be wiped. But the poor little poor is still smiling and saying "eese".


2 - When the back of my hips do not hurt from the sharp and horrible pain of the sciatic nerve. So like those 30 minutes that are sprinkled through each 24 hour period - those are my favorite 30 minutes each day.


3 - Series 1 & 2 of Sherlock are available for streaming on Netflix.

I do not love that I'll have to wait until 2014 to watch Series 3, but at least I've got 1 and 2 any time I want.


4 - When my husband calls me from work. I love it. I love him, I love that he's checking in on things, I love that he's thinking of us, I love talking to him, I just love it.

Unless he's calling to tell me he's gonna be late. But otherwise I love it.


5 - My birthday girl.

Every day for a year she's been making up for the fact that she weighed 11lbs 9.5oz when she was born.


Dear Lord Jesus, please please please please please make the baby in my womb have as sweet a disposition and be as good of a sleeper and not have any allergies just like her big sister Resa.

Eight Images That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About This Blog

Jennifer Fulwiler posted a hilarious list of the ten images that best represent her blog and what she writes about. She encouraged other bloggers to do the same. 

Challenge happily accepted.

I went through the pictures from ye olde blog and found the ones I thought were the best representations of what I write about. So here goes...

{ a good example of this sentimentality }

{ read this }

{ this and this are my two faves on this topic }

{ Not necessarily the ones above, but I do get geeky about things. Like Lost, Doctor Who, and Sherlock.}

{ Peter Mark }

 { Most related post }

{ zombies in general }

{ and I love it and hate it }

Jen was right, it was a lot of fun to do this post. Let me know in the combox if you wrote one too.

Because I love you

and because I am Sher Locked

(get it?)

I wanted to share this with you:

The Personal Blog of Dr. John H. Watson

You have to read the comments on the post "The Woman" - they're hilarious!

Okay, I have to go now and tend to my home and children. Enjoy, you lovers of Sherlock!

Seven Quick Takes

1 - As I was making the Google Doc for the Sheenazing Awards Nominations I couldn't help but sing this song. I know the song is about a broken heart (country music and all) but some of the lyrics still fit, right? ;)

Anyways, nominations will close later today (probably around 9pm) for the Sheenazing Awards. Originally voting was supposed to begin on Monday but I'm going to move that to Wednesday. That will give me more time to focus on taking care of JF, contact all the nominees, and make up the ballot.

Since the whole thing is just for a bunch of fun I'm not gonna stress about it.


2 - On to an update on JF. As of 10pm Thursday JF was doing great. THANK YOU for your prayers! Really, really, truly, completely. At some point Friday we will get results from the MRI (which should show a normal brain) but it may take a little bit longer to get the results from the spinal tap thingy. So it'll be another day and night and maybe day of the hospital for JF.

But power of prayer, guys, power of prayer. Shortly after I posted my prayer request yesterday I headed out to the hospital to find my poor little man flipping out. For over 2 hours he cried and screamed and fought and begged for food, water, and to leave. And then he just fell asleep on my lap and napped for most of the rest of the afternoon. When he woke up after his MRI he looked at Travis, pointed at some blocks, and started building and crashing them down.


3 - Some awesome links you should check out:
Kelly wrote the most hilarious post about the past winners of the Sheenazing Awards.
Kendra was featured on the Today Show website. How cool is that?!
Jenna did a short series of vlogs on how to begin embroidering and then a follow up post on how to transfer patterns. Maybe that's how I'll spend my February, learning to embroider.


4 - How's this for cute:
Ben: (sweetly) How about a kiss?
L: (cheerfully) Um, no thanks.

L: Ben, I folded these [towels] all by myself.
Ben: L! I'm so proud of you!


5 - I have finally gotten Travis to watch (and love!) Doctor Who with me. Right now we're on the Pompeii episode. In one little room you've got Mosley from Downton Abbey, the cabbie from Sherlock, and Doctors number 10 and 12. What a wonderful British tv moment.
Do you think it's because the island country is so small?
That's not supposed to be insulting.


6 - I am not yet tired of hearing the song Roar by Katy Perry. This slightly surprises me every time it comes on the radio.

7 - My mom got all the girls in my family boots for Christmas. I don't know where they came from since she ordered them all online but I love them. I am especially in love with my galoshes. Check out those bling buttons on the top! As I would say, "Too cute to boot!" which I say because I'm a dork. But a dork with fantastic boots.

Five Favourite Things from the Interwebs

Many thanks to Christy for hosting this week!

1 - This video from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. I love his ragtime covers of songs!




2 - The following links, which were all really, really good:
Surviving and Thriving by Rachel at Testosterhome
Outside the Box: 66 Things to Give Up or Do for Lent by Kendra at Catholic All Year
Stages of Edel Gathering Acceptance and Denial by Molly at Molly Makes Do
What Love Looks Like by Calah at Barefoot and Pregnant
Why I Rarely Post Baby Bump Photos by Jessica at Housewifespice
The Catholic Subculture Is Cooler Than You Think by Christy (our host this week) at Fountains of Home
The One that Got Away by Heather at Mama Knows, Honeychild
Half Bear, Half Man, Half Dad, Two-Thirds Catholic, All Bad at Fractions by Daniel at Daniel Bearman Stewart (aka, Haley's husband)
Tour of the NICU by Beth at A Mom's Life



3 - Endevour

There's the movie and the series. Both are done by Masterpiece and both are good. If you like Sherlock then you'll enjoy Endevour. (Both can also be streamed on Netflix.)



4 - Inside Out Carrot Cake Cupcakes

After I saw this on Pinterest I went immediately to my fridge and shook my fist an the memory of using up the last of my cream cheese. Next week I am making these babies for my mom group. You can get the recipe here.



5 - Our family's favorite pizza recipe:

It makes a delicious, thick crust pizza pie.

You can find my recipe here.

iTunes, Zombies, and 27 weeks: 7QT

1 - Let's start things off with a little Matt Maher, shall we? I love me some Matt Maher music and this song is a really powerful one for me. It's true that I'm a sucker for a good crescendo-ing bridge but this song is more than that, too.


2 - So the big news at my house is that The Visitation Project is now available on iTunes. This is kinda crazy to me because... it's iTunes, which is like legit and it's where people go for podcasts and now I'm there with Heather and Rebecca.  You can search for us and everything! Isn't that crazy? Here's what we look like when you find us:

3 - In other news around the house, we are getting really pumped because Marie Miller is coming to town!  She'll be performing at a couple of local schools and hold a family friendly concert in the evening. I know I have some local readers so if you're in the area and want to come, well you should because I promise you she is an amazing performer.

4 - So there's a couple of things I would love to see, one of them in theatres now and others coming soon enough.
The Martian
Sherlock Special
Mockingjay Part 2
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

What's looking good to you? Anything I'm missing on this list?


5 - And speaking of zombies, Travis and I are finishing up the latest season of The Walking Dead on Netflix. (Like literally, I'm watching the season finale as I type) I've always followed Cari's recap posts on the current season for two reasons:
#1 so I stay up to date on what's happening.
#2 I need all the surprises taken away so I don't have nightmares.
Don't you just love it when Morgan says, "Because all life is precious, Daryl." Love.


6 - I'm 27 weeks pregnant, you guys. Twenty-seven weeks. That's almost 30 weeks, and 30 weeks is almost 40 weeks, and 40 weeks is baby-birthing time. This kind of math is making me nervous.


7 - In case you didn't know, Kelly has some great stuff going on to celebrate Seven Quick Takes. There's a few gift packages you could win (and one of them includes a Basic blog consultation from me). Since Kelly is the one who is keeping this 7QT party going do stop on over and give her some love: comment, link-up, you know. :)

7QTs about the Christmas spirit and duct tape

1 – L had her school Christmas concert earlier this week. The seventh graders always learn to sign a couple of songs in ASL instead of singing them. "Hey Moon" by Sidewalk Prophets was one of the songs they signed and it was beautiful. I thought I'd share it here because I really enjoyed it.

This is my super cropped photo so I don't show anyone else's kid's face. But I still wanted to share it because L is holding her candy cane the right way. She had told me that morning that she was nervous because during the "J is for Jesus" part of their "Candy Cane Song" she held her candy cane so it made a J for her, not the people watching. Right before she went on stage I even prayed to her Guardian Angel and asked that he make sure she did it the right way. After the concert we both celebrated she had gotten it right. She was so proud and so was I. 

2 – They other day at my mom group someone mentioned how expensive bras can be. I piped up in agreement and mentioned that my bra's underwire had just started poking out and was hurting me. "I wonder if I can duct tape it?"

My friend Jen - without being the teeniest bit condescending even though she could have because, seriously? Duct tape, Bonnie? - said, "Why don't you just stitch it up?" 

Since the rest of the bra is in really great shape I saved myself $60 or a a trashy duct taped bra and stitched those suckers back into place like a real domesticated lady, which I am actually, obviously not.

3 – The Feast Days. On Monday I spent a lot of time gazing at this image.

(The Sisters of Our Lady of the Mississippi Abbey sell it.)

There's so much I love about this image: the shame in Eve’s face and the love in Mary’s, the way Mary holds Eve’s hand on her womb, like she's saying, “He’s kicking; here, feel. He will make all things news. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
We also ate rice krispie treats for dessert, after the kids did fairly well at the 6pm Mass. Fr. Julius said they were good, though, and so that was good enough for me. I'm not sure who started the tradition of white food on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, but it sounded like a great reason to have rice krispie treats. 

On Tuesday the Church celebrated St. Juan Diego but in our home we celebrated Venerable Fulton J. Sheen who died on December 9^th 35 years ago. L and Ben took chocolate chip cookies to school to celebrate; JF took rice krispie treats. At our moms group we ate tortilla chips and Old EL PASO salsa since Sheen was born in El Paso, Illinois. For dinner we had a hearty Midwestern meal of venison meatloaf, smashed sweet potatoes, biscuits, green beans.

Tonight we were hoping to have some friends over for a mini fiesta in honor of Our Lady of Guadalupe but then poor Resa got sick. She doesn't look very sick, does she?

So we'll be having beans and rice for dinner and drink Mexican hot chocolate all by ourselves. Then we'll pray a rosary in Spanish. I’m just dreaming, we won't pray a rosary, let alone in Spanish.

Saturday we’ll possibly have Santa Lucia rolls for breakfast and then head out for a tree farm. We’ll put up our tree and then possibly drive around, looking at Christmas lights.

4 – Usually we put up our tree on Guadete Sunday but this year I’ll be speaking in Park Forest, Illinois that day. If any of you guys live in the south suburbs of Chicago it would be great if you could join me at St. Mary’s Parish in Park Forest on Sunday at 2pm. I think they’re having light refreshments afterwards and Travis and our friend Mia will be with me so there's three more good reasons to come! I'm pretty excited because we get to have lunch with our favorite bread makers ever – the Marconis!

And hey! If you read the blog and will be there let me know. Leave a comment here or on FB so I can be on the look out for you. :)

5 - So my friend Katie is amazing. Her cousin sent her a picture of a silly Christmas hairdo and dared Katie to wear it to work one day. Katie, who works at a Catholic school, said No. Her cousin came back and said she'd make a donation to charity if Katie did it. 

As Sherlock would say, "The game is on!"

Katie opened it up and said that anyone who made a donation to her parish's St. Vincent de Paul food pantry (money or canned goods) could make a request. I asked for gaudy earrings.

In the end she raised $327 and a box of canned goods. Here's the hairdo that started it all

And here's the whole look.

I am so impressed with Katie and her humility, generosity, and good spirit. I'm pretty sure that I'm too vain to look this ridiculous. 

6 - Last night we were driving and the kids wanted to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. So I started singing, "Rudolph the red nosed reindeer had a very shiny nose..." and then L cut me off.

L: We need to start at the beginning.
Me: This is the beginning.
L: Not in my book.

Travis and I laughed, even harder because she meant what she said. She has a book with Christmas carol lyrics and that begins the song with the list of reindeer names.


7 - I know I already posted pictures of my mantel but I wasn't very happy with it so it got  a little make over. The nativity that sat there was moved to the bookshelf in the living room and the one that was on the bookshelf in the living room was moved to our home altar in the dining room.

Then I tucked some garland behind the stocking holders and ran some pretty star lights through it. I added some silver ornaments that were used to decorate for my December wedding 8 years ago.

Then in the void above I started taping up Christmas cards. So far I've got three from family members, two from blogger friends, one from a woman I've been friends with since kindergarten, one from a friend at my old parish, and two from friends at my new parish. I hope it grows!

I love it. By next year I hope to have a large white frame, probably made from scrap lumber, that has twine or lights running the length of it in 3 rows, which I'll hang the cards from. Something like this.



Thank you, Kelly, for hosting!