Celebrate The Small Things -- March 31

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  The brainchild of Viklit, Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

Today I'm celebrating...

• I recently found a discontinued nail polish that I have been in search of for more than a year now. I was beyond excited to stumble across it in my local Walgreens. It really is the little things that make me happy. (Edit to add: if anyone has this polish, Sally Hansen Pacific Blue, and it's collecting dust in your house, I will happily take it off your hands!)

• Last week my husband asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday. There is a Pilgrim Virgin statue of Fatima that has been making its way around the U.S. Last week it was visiting my diocese, so for my birthday my husband took me to the next county over to attend mass at the parish that was hosting it for the night. It was a Korean Catholic parish, and the entire mass was said in Korean. But the cool thing about Catholic mass (yes, I just described mass as cool) is that it's the same no matter where you are, or what language it's in. So while we didn't understand a word that was spoken, we were able to follow along. It really was an amazing experience! For more information on the Pilgrim statue click here.

• My puppy and best friend, Emmie. I just love her to pieces. Last week we celebrated her 2nd "Gotcha Day" with us. March, with it's temperature swings, has been rough on my body. Emmie keeps me company on my bad flare up days, and always manages to put a smile on my face to cheer me up.

What are you celebrating?

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, Lexa @ Lexa Cain for more information.  And don't forget to visit her awesome co-hosts:   LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge and Tonja Drecker @Kidbits Blog

I have an instagram! If anyone is looking for more pictures of Emmie, head on over there and give me a follow @thecyborgmom

Celebrate The Small Things -- Dec 5

It's Friday and I'm Celebrating The Small Things!  Celebrate The Small Things is a weekly celebration where some bloggers have decided to post about something worth celebrating...no matter how big or small it is.

This week I'm celebrating:

• My finger is finally feeling better.  I have arthritis in my hands (I have arthritis everywhere) and my thumb joint decided to flare up a couple of weeks ago.  It swelled and hurt like a mofo.  I saw the doctor yesterday and he prescribed an individually made splint that I have to wear for the next few weeks.  Luckily, it's not too much of a hindrance, although I'm not quite convinced it's going to help...it doesn't look like much!

 

Apologies to everyone for my lack of visiting and hopping around.  It's been super hard to type, and typing with my super slow left hand has been driving me crazy!

• Our family is also celebrating my daughter's confirmation this Saturday!  This means that she will receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit and be considered an adult in the eyes of the church.  We are very proud of her!

Happy Weekend!  

What are you celebrating? 

If you'd like to Celebrate The Small Things, visit our wonderful host, VikLit @ Scribblings of an Aspiring Author for more information.  And don't forget to check out her co-hosts:  Diana Wilder, LG Keltner @ Writing Off the Edge, Katie @ TheCyborgMom, and CaffeMaggieato @ mscoffeehouse

 

Six Word Saturday -- August 16

It's Six Word Saturday time...

Used advent candles on birthday cake.

Yup, yesterday was my daughter's birthday and when the time came for doing the cake, we couldn't find any birthday candles.  So we improvised and used advent candles.  The benefits of being Catholic :)

Six Word Saturday is hosted by Call Me Kate at Show My Face.  If you'd like to join in on the fun, then describe your life (or something) in a phrase using just six words and comment down below!

My Babies Aren't Babies Anymore

Geez...I've been so emotional lately!  Really struggling with depression these last few weeks because of all my medical crap.  And today in church I was almost in tears watching all the little kids process to bring flowers to the Blessed Mother (it's a Catholic thing).  The year my daughter made communion, she was asked to crown the BM, and that's all I could think of today in church!  Maybe I was just missing her because she's been gone this weekend for a tournament, but I think it has more to do with the fact that my babies aren't babies anymore.  DD is a teenager (just barely at 13, but definitely if you're judging on attitude!) and going into high school in just a few short months.  And DS, who is my baby of babies, is going into middle school next year.  I'm having a real hard time with them growing up.  And with both of them moving up in schools at the same time...seems like too much for this mama to handle. 

Is this normal?  What am I going to do when they start leaving for college?  I'm already an emotional wreck!  Somebody please tell me this will get better.  They're only 13 and 10 for goodness sakes! 

My girl, crowning the Blessed Mother

How To Keep Busy While Recovering: Pray

How appropriate that my letter for P happens to be for prayer...and is scheduled to fall on Good Friday.

I will be posting two letters on Thursday, April 17 because April 18 is Good Friday.  As a practicing Catholic, I try not to do much on Good Friday.  It's a day of prayer and reflection, and one of the few days that Catholics are asked to fast (I don't fast because I'm hypoglycemic and get sick if I do).

After my second ankle surgery, I asked if I could see a priest while I was in the hospital.  I wish I remembered his name, because he was a truly nice man to speak with.  He offered me confession and afterward I was given communion.  It was a little spiritual boost for me...something that my soul was thirsty for.

Prayer has gotten me through a lot of tough times in my life and this past year has been no different.  There are times that I need to calm myself...either because I have anxiety, or depression, or pain.  At these times I take out my rosary beads and pray.  It's a form of meditation for me.

Do you have certain prayers or meditation techniques that help you get through hard times?

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For a click-able list of all 26 How to Keep Busy While Recovering posts, click here.

How Much Money Is In My Swear Jar?

Since giving up swearing for Lent almost two weeks ago, things are going pretty well.  I have less than $10 in the swear jar so far...I'd say that's pretty good!  I have noticed that I think about cursing a lot more that I thought I did.  And the dialog in my head is pretty bad...I don't know if that's because I can't freely express myself, or if I always think this way...probably the latter...and I'm just noticing it now.

So what have my worst offenders been?  Well, I can't actually say, or write them here (those were the rules per my kiddos), but I can tell you that none of those offenses were f-bombs...I'm very proud of that!  Actually, all of them have been minor offenses, in my opinion...words that I use instead of using harsh f-bomb language.

Other than my language getting cleaned up, having extra money to donate to the church, and...you know...sacrificing for Jesus and all...other than that...a great benefit has been the joy my children have found in all of this.  They enjoy coming home to find more money in the jar and think it's funny that I'm being "punished" in some way by the swear jar.  Why is that? 

How are you doing on your Lenten promises?  Have you given something up or are you doing something extra instead?

I Find Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing

It's amazing how many of my friends and family don't have faith in me.  Unfrackingbelievable!  One of my family members actually said that cursing is my “natural language”.  Made me sound like a darned cave man!

Yes, it's been hard...I'm actually thinking about cursing a lot more since giving it up.  (You can read about me giving up cursing here.)  Like, in my head, I have a lot of bad language going on.  A LOT.  It's like if someone tells you to not think about something...first thing you do is think about it.  That's what the past two days have been like.

Many people actually told me to choose something else to give up.  Whaatt???  Since when do we just give up on something because it's difficult?  Come on people!  Yes, it's been hard and I'm struggling, but have a little faith in me.  I can do this.  I've been through worse.

And if I slip up...well, it's the thought that counts, right?  I'm trying my best!  In soliciting for suggestions on appropriate punishments for slipping up, one friend suggested $1 per offense.  This is reasonable, although I may have to hit the bank for some singles.  Of course, my son thinks the amount should be $5 per offense, but I just don't think that's very reasonable.  I slipped up twice on day one.  If I continue at that rate, I'd owe $450!  I'm just not made of that kind of money.

Anyone else find that their stubborn streak actually works as an advantage for them?  Without my stubbornness, there's no way I could get through the next few weeks!

Picture courtesy of Pixabay.com

I'm Giving Up Cursing For Lent

For those of you who don't know me, I'm a practicing Catholic.  And today is Ash Wednesday--the first day of Lent.  For the past few days, I've been discussing with my children the idea that we should be giving something up, or doing something extra for Lent.  Being that last night was Fat Tuesday (for non-Catholics: you eat it up and enjoy because Ash Wednesday is a day of fasting and reflection), we discussed, as a family, what sacrifices we would be making during Lent.

My husband is giving up caffeine...which means his morning coffee.  He does this every year so I wasn't surprised.  My daughter said she was going to give up gum.  Usually, I try to do something extra...like go to daily mass at least once a week, say the rosary, be nice to people I don't particularly like (that was a hard one).  But this year I decided to go old school and give something up.  And as I was sitting there with my kids, a light bulb went off...I decided to give up cursing.

Yes, you read that right. I'm going to stop cursing.

Cursing, cussing, swearing, using foul language...basically I can't be a potty mouth for the next 45 days.  Yes, I counted.  The good news is that once Easter rolls around I can go back to my salty language :)

When I told the kids last night about my decision to give up cursing, they laughed at me.  And I mostly keep it clean around them!  There was that week a few months ago when we almost died while in the car...and they heard some pretty colorful language out of my mouth...and I may have made some hand gestures to go along with the language...but, in my defense, we seriously were almost crushed by a tractor trailer...and they are old enough to know not to repeat me.

After they finished laughing at me, my kids gave me some guidelines...helpful little munchkins they are.  Not only am I not allowed to use the obvious foul language (the f-word, the b-word, etc), I'm also not allowed to use words like H-E-double hockey sticks.  Seriously with this???  To me, that's a “good” four letter word!  Plus, there is to be no cursing on facebook or my blog.  I was told that I can't even curse when I'm alone because “God will know”.

So, will this no-cursing be the end of me?  Will I be able to hold out?  I really need to find some interesting, and acceptable, substitute language.  If you have any suggestions on Lent-friendly word substitutes, please leave them in the comments section below.  I'm a former New Yorker...with an Italian background...I need to express myself somehow!

Without my big fat potty mouth, I feel like I've given up my superpower or something.  What have I done?

PS...My son wants to give up farting in his sister's face for Lent.  My intention of telling him that he needed to pick something appropriate came out all wrong.  What came out instead was, “You can't give that up for Lent”.  He smiled and laughed.