The Simple Woman's Daybook - August 1st Edition

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Monday, August 1st

Outside my window... the sun beats down with an unmerciful heat 

I am thinking... how little summer is left, but how horrible hot it still is.

I am thankful... that I am being blessed with another grandchild, due March 2017.

I am wearing... denim shorts and a teal, short-sleeved knit shirt.

I am creating... "catio" for a cat that was dumped on our property about a month ago.  

I am wondering... how long it will be for my car to be repaired at the body shop.  It was not placed on the lift or jack correctly, as my front tires were being replaced, causing quite a bit of damage to the bottom of my driver's side door and undercarriage.

I am reading... See You in Heaven: A Short Biography and Writings of Rosie Gil, and Mother Angelica Her Grand Silence: The Last Years and Living Legacy.

I am hoping... Still hoping I can get back on track with my exercising and low carb, low sugar way of eating.  

I am learning... to try and find the joy in each day.

On our property...

In my kitchen... thin sliced all natural chicken breasts, pan fried in coconut oil and seasoned with Penzey's Fajita Seasoning.

In the homeschool room... 16 year old son still working away on his high school subjects.  His favourites are History, Logic, and Religion.  He is attending a Bible Study, one night a week, and an Apologetics class one night a month.  He also goes to Eucharistic Adoration for an hour each week with other students in our Catholic homeschool group.  He is now also trained as an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion, in addition to being an Altar Server and Usher.  He is also involved with the Columbian Squires at our parish.

A favorite quote for today... Criticism of others is thus an oblique form of self-commendation.  We think we make the picture hang straight on our wall by telling our neighbors that all his pictures are crooked. ~Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Seven Words of Jesus and Mary: Lessons from Cana and Calvary

A peek into one of my days... this past weekend my son participated in the Archdiocesan Youth Conference (AYC), and came away from it saying it was so amazing and that he felt so blessed to have been able to go.  Since we had to go downtown to pick him up from the conference, we attended Mass at Holy Rosary, which was beautiful as always.  Fr. Chris' Homily was very good.  I enjoy it anytime we can attend Mass there.

One of my favorite things... Seeing my daughter blossom as a wife and mother (expecting blessing #2 March 2017).

Postscript...

Poetictouch
To me how sweet the whispering winds,
The woods again how sweet,
To find the peace which freedom finds,
And from the world retreat.
~ John Clare

The Simple Woman's Daybook - April 25th Edition

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Monday, April 25th

Outside my window... an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day! 

I am thinking... how sad I still am after one of my beloved Basset Hounds died this week, very unexpectedly.

I am thankful... all the horrible thunderstorms and flooding seem to be over.  Our house was not flooded, but so many people I know had their homes or cars flooded or damaged.

I am wearing... denim capri pants and a red short-sleeved knit shirt.

I am creating... a quiet, comfortable place to read.  

I am wondering... if this week is going to be as busy as it looks on the calendar.

I am reading... Praying with Mother Angelica: Meditations on the Rosary, the Way of the Cross, and Other Prayers.  I'm also doing a book study of Walking with Purpose online with some other Catholic ladies on Facebook.

I am hoping... I can get back on track with my exercising and low carb, low sugar way of eating.  

I am learning... to try not to stress about everything.

On our property... 

In my kitchen... The Rueben Enchiladas tasted delicious, but the presentation was horrible.  It seems the recommended 5-7 minutes of boiling the cabbage leaves was a bit too long.  I was left with drastically over-cooked cabbage leaves that were just disintegrating as I tried to roll the meat mixture in them.  It's definitely worth doing again, but I'll just barely boil the leaves next time.

In the homeschool room... 16 year old son still working away on his high school subjects.  His favourites are History, Logic, and Religion.   He is also keeping up with his Boy Scout Merit Badges for his Eagle Scout Bronze Palm.  He is trying to attend another Bible Study, when his Scout meetings don't interfere.  He also goes to Eucharistic Adoration for an hour each week with other students in our Catholic homeschool group.  He is also involved with the Columbian Squires at our parish.

A favorite quote for today... Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.  ~Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta

A peek into one of my days... yesterday my hubby had a training session with his fellow Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion regarding a few changes that were made.  Our son had his last LifeTeen LifeNight for this school year.  It was a bittersweet time for him, as one of his best friends is graduating this year and going away to university.  Thankfully he'll only be 1 1/2 hours away, so he'll be home visiting fairly often. 

One of my favorite things... listening to the birds singing outside of my window.

From the board room...
Mother Angelica quote

Postscript...

Poetictouch

Talk what you please of future spring

And sun-warmed sweet tomorrow:

Stripped bare of hope and everything,

No more to laugh, no more to sing,

I sit alone with sorrow.

~ Christina Rossetti

     

The Simple Woman's Daybook - April 11th Edition

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... Monday, Monday...

Outside my window... the day started out with a light rain, then the sun came out and it was beautiful, then the sky darkened, the light rain came back and it cooled-off quit a bit.  I also heard some beautiful birdsong, which I always love.  

I am thinking... that I hope my recipe for Reuben Enchildas turns out as good as they looked on the recipe page.  It's tough to pull cabbage leaves apart without them tearing.

I am thankful... that the book I ordered, Walking with Purpose, finally arrived.  It seems the post office wanted to hang-on to it for a while.  My husband joked that they were reading it first.

I am wearing... denim shorts and a teal blouse.

I am creating... a more organized computer area and work space.  

I am wondering... if I can make it through my 2-mile aerobic walking DVD this week.  I've been consistently doing the 1-mile DVD, and know I need to do more, but I'm not sure I can do it yet.

I am reading... I just started Praying with Mother Angelica: Meditations on the Rosary, the Way of the Cross, and Other Prayers.  Walking with Purpose just arrived, and I'm looking forward to starting the book study on that.  I'm excited that I finally found the Facebook group that was doing it, thanks to another mom's help.

I am hoping... my son-in-love's dental appointment goes well tomorrow.  Please pray for him.  He is having four fillings done, and has so much more work to be done at future appointments.  

I am learning... how to find ways to eat low carb/low sugar and not be hungry all the time.

In my garden... no true garden, but I'm enjoying seeing flowers blooming around our property.  

In my kitchen... I have corned beef cooking in the crockpot, and once that's done it'll be turned into Rueben Enchiladas.

In the homeschool room... 16 year old son still working away on his high school subjects.  His favourites are History, Logic, and Religion.   He is also keeping up with his Boy Scout Merit Badges for his Eagle Scout Bronze Palm.

A favorite quote for today... The loveliest masterpiece of the heart of God is the heart of a Mother.  ~St. Therese of Lisieux

A peek into one of my days... yesterday was a fairly quiet day.  We had a nice breakfast, went to Mass, then just relaxed. 

One of my favorite things... is listening to music.  I have very eclectic musical tastes.  You never know what you'll walk in and find me listening to.

From the board room...

Bates and Anna, Downton Abbey

Post Script

Poetictouch
O my lovely Mary Green
The richest flower o' May
On thy bonny face is seen
Which love winna take away.
~ John Clare

     

The Simple Woman's Daybook - April 4th Edition

The Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today... a slow day today, as my hubby had the day off.

Outside my window... an absolutely gorgeous, warm sunny day.

I am thinking... how glad I am that the sun is shining and the pollen seems to be easing up, after the gloomy wet and cool weather.

I am thankful... my family, my home, and my slow and steady success in becoming more healthy and fit.

I am wearing... denim shorts, a green polka-dot short-sleeved shirt, and barefoot.

I am creating... trying to create a nice place to read.  I lost my recliner a few years ago, and I've never been able to find a comfortable spot to read ever since.  

I am wondering... if I'll ever be able to get a good night's sleep again.  I am up and down many times during the night, when I finally can go to bed (try not to keep hubby up, so I wait until I'm really tired feeling).  Seems 50 was a huge hit to my sleep habits.

I am reading... looking forward to reading two books I've ordered:  Praying with Mother Angelica and Walking with Purpose.  I order Walking with Purpose for a Catholic book study, but now I can't which Facebook page was doing the study, so if any of you know, please let me know.

I am hoping... my hubby's root canal goes well Wednesday.  Please pray that it does.  We've had some problems with the dental work he's had over the last year holding-up.  

I am learning... how important healthy eating and staying fit can affect how you feel and how your health is.  I especially found out how quickly sodas can affect the body.  I still slip-up occasionally, but I'm light years ahead of where I was.

In my garden... haven't had a garden in several years, but would love to start one.

In my kitchen... I have two recipes, with all the ingredients, that I need to do this week:  Reuben Enchiladas and Zucchini Tots (not in the same meal).

In the homeschool room... 16 year old son working away on his high school subjects.  His favourites are History, Logic, and Religion.   He is also keeping up with his Boy Scout Merit Badges for his Eagle Scout Bronze Palm.

A favorite quote for today... Show me your hands. Do they have scars from giving?  Show me your feet.  Are they wounded in service?  Show me your heart.  Have you left a place for Divine Love?  ~Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen

A peek into one of my days... yesterday, it was the Feast of Divine Mercy.  I slept-in late, ate breakfast that hubby had prepared, then off to the Feast of Divine Mercy celebration at 3:00pm.  We went to LifeTeen Mass afterwards.  We needed a couple of things from the store that couldn't wait, so we drove out to a new HEB (Texas grocery store) and took our time going through it.  We finally returned home around 11pm. 

One of my favorite things... sitting at my desk with the window open, listening to all the sounds of Spring.  There are so many birds chirping, and you can occasionally hear our neighbors cows or donkey.

From the board room..

.

Post Script

Poetictouch
Deep in their roots, all flowers keep the light.
~ Theodore Roethke

     

La Salette Journey: The Diocese of Worcester promotes angry dissident ...

This is horrible.  What were they thinking, having this woman as a speaker?  We need to quit giving these dissident women in the Church a platform in which to spread their agenda.  Please read and pass along, and if you're in this Diocese, please make your opinion known to those that have the power to stop this kind of thing.  If this woman does not like the Catholic Church, and what it has stood for for two thousand years, then she is more than welcome to leave.  No one is forcing her to stay, but if she is choosing to stay, then she needs to actually BE Catholic, and quit railing against the hierarchy of the Church, and spreading her hate and New Age garbage.

La Salette Journey: The Diocese of Worcester promotes angry dissident ...: In a previous post , I noted how The Catholic Free Press is once again promoting Sister Joyce Rupp, a dissident religious who rails against ...

Happy Girl

What a blessing it is that my daughter is finding happiness and joy in her days again!  Something so simple as having someone willing to spend time with her, care about her, and just have fun.  

I don't know if the person knows how much it all means to her, but I hope they do.  She keeps waiting for something bad to happen, and for it all to come crashing down.  She thinks either their parents will find some fault with her and end up hating her, or that the person she is hanging-out with will get mad at her and not want to spend time with her anymore.  I keep reassuring her that that will not happen, but when it's happened so many times before, I understand it's hard not to let those feelings creep in.

She is off to have an exciting Saturday, and I pray that it's as fun as all the other times she has had.

At the zoo on her 16th birthday

Georgetown Scandal

Please follow the link below, read, and sign the petition.  These "Catholic" institutions need to stop inviting pro-abortion politicians, etc. to their campuses to speak.  If they are to call themselves "Catholic", then they must start BEING Catholic.  You can't have it both ways.  

Georgetown Scandal

Case of the "blahs"

Ugh!  Not liking this new Blogger set-up very much.  I'm not sure I'm going to "connect" my Blogger profiles and my Google+ profiles just yet.  For one, I'm not sure what all is going to disappear from here if I do that.  They made a big point to tell you to "copy" everything from your Blogger profile over to your Google+ profile before you switched.  I guess I'm old and just don't like change much.

I'm sitting here this evening just feeling very melancholy, very "bleh".  I'm just so tired.  Tired of what you say?  Just tired of everything having to be a fight.  Tired of every time I think we might be getting just a "teensy" bit ahead on things, something comes along unexpected and slams us right back to where we were, or even further back.  It's just beating me down.  

I feel so bad feeling this way too, because I have friends who are in much, much more difficult circumstances than we are (health, finances, etc.).  I guess it's just because this has been going on for so very long, and I just don't see an end to it in sight.  

I have a daughter who will be 18 in less than two years.  We can't help her go to college, if she even wanted to do that.  It concerns me that maybe her lack of wanting to go is due to our not being able to help her, and how adamant she is about not taking on any debt for schooling.  We can't even help her get into any technical training program or anything either.  We are in that horrible place of making just enough not to qualify for any kind of aid, but not enough to pay for any of it ourselves.  She wants a job so badly, but we live in a place that doesn't have many opportunities, and it's a lot of gas to get her to even the closest places to us, eating-up more of our money, or all of the money she would be making.  She would love to someday have a car of her own, but who knows when that will happen?  We can't afford to get her one, and since jobs are hard to find, it will probably be a long while before has anywhere near enough to buy one herself.  We're not talking flashy cars either, just an economical car that is safe and mechanically sound.  I don't even want to contemplate a wedding.  I so want her to have a nice, beautiful wedding, but even the most simple of weddings seems so out of reach, even if the possibility is at least 2 or more years away.

Both of my children need orthodontic work, my son much more than my daughter.  Hers is very minor, mainly cosmetic, and she has never once asked or complained.  My son is in dire need of them though.  Yes, we have insurance, but that pays just a very, very small drop in the bucket towards that on each of them.  My son may need speech therapy after the orthodontic work as well.  He's had a speech problem for years, but the thought is that it is due to his teeth being so misaligned.  

Our house is falling down around us, at least it seems that way.  We try to fix one problem, then another one crops-up.  Our septic system has been failing for the last several years, and we've now been told it could be thousands just to repair it, over $10,000 for a new system.  Neither is an option, so we continue to try to limp it along.  I don't even want to know if the roof is in need of replacement or not.  There are no holes, so that is a blessing.  The house needs painting in the worst sort of way though, and there is probably a lot of rotten wood in places.  There is virtually no insulation in the house, particularly the attic, so in the winter we lose heat through the roof and in the summer the house bakes and the poor A/C struggles to cool the house.  Not helping that is the old single-pane windows that leak too.  The doors are crooked too, and that causes cool air to leak out in summer and cold air to pour in in the winter.  We literally keep our thermostat at 85 in the summer during the day, 78-80 at night, and in the winter a constant 60 degrees, all this to just try to keep the electric bill from creeping too high.  Thankfully we didn't have much of a winter this year.  That was a blessing.  The summer is heating up quickly though, so we will see.  We are praying it is not a horribly, horribly hot and dry summer like it was last year.

If you've made it this far, I'm sorry if I'm coming across as whining and complaining.  I just had to get all of this off my chest.  Things just build up.  I know we will be okay, as I said, I know there are those that are much worse off than we are, and they are making it.  I just continue to pray and turn it over to the Lord, but I'm human, and sometimes I just falter.  

If any of you would feel led to pray for us, I'd would very much appreciate it.  If you can, just leave a quick note that you are.  That would be a great encouragement.  Thanks!

Here's a picture of a beautiful flower we had growing shortly after we moved in here, over 6 years ago.

Here's one of our little tree frog friends too.  I'm not sure how he ended up on one of our gates, but we helped him off of it after taking this pic.

The Spring Daybook Edition

The Spring Daybook Edition

Outside my window... beautiful, glorious sunshine and warmth!

I am thinking... of all the things that need to be done around here.  There's never a shortage of things to do!

I am thankful... for a dear friend of mine, who made it possible for my husband to make it to the funeral of one of his best friend's dad.

In the kitchen... salmon croquettes tonight, since it's Lent and it's Friday. ;)  We're also getting everything all prepared for yummy corned beef and cabbage to go into the slow cooker in the morning, for our dinner tomorrow night! :D

I am wearing... short-sleeved knit shirt and stretchy denim shorts, no shoes.

I am wondering... when I'm ever going to get used to this time change. 

I am reading... Bringing Lent Home with Mother Teresa: Prayers, Reflections, and Activities for Families by Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

I am hoping... to get back to exercising.  I have let that go way too long!  

I am looking forward to... more lovely spring weather!

I am learning... to let go of things.  It's extremely hard for me, but I really need to do this.

Around the house... lots of projects, de-cluttering, and general tidying up for springtime.

I am pondering... all the books I have sitting here waiting to be read, and how I'm going to get them all read.

A favorite quote for today... "Simply believing in the existence of God is not exactly what I would call a commitment. After all, even the devil believes that God exists!  Believing has to change the way we live." ~Mother Angelica

One of my favorite things... having the windows open, a gentle breeze blowing the curtains, and listening to all the wonderful sounds of the birds and animals outside.

A few plans for the rest of the week... preparing for Mass on Sunday, and getting a good start on next week.

My daughter at her 16th birthday party, at the home of a dear friend of mine.

My son, at one of his favorite restaurants. 

Daughter feeding one of the Lories at the zoo.

The Garden in Winter

The Garden in Winter 

by Lucy Maud Montgomery

Frosty-white and cold it lies 

Underneath the fretful skies; 

Snowflakes flutter where the red 

Banners of the poppies spread, 

And the drifts are wide and deep 

Where the lilies fell asleep. 

But the sunsets o'er it throw 

Flame-like splendor, lucent glow, 

And the moonshine makes it gleam 

Like a wonderland of dream, 

And the sharp winds all the day 

Pipe and whistle shrilly gay. 

Safe beneath the snowdrifts lie 

Rainbow buds of by-and-by; 

In the long, sweet days of spring 

Music of bluebells shall ring, 

And its faintly golden cup 

Many a primrose will hold up. 

Though the winds are keen and chill 

Roses' hearts are beating still, 

And the garden tranquilly 

Dreams of happy hours to be­

In the summer days of blue 

All its dreamings will come true.