Looking To 2013

I love the pristine hopefulness of a new year. A New year has so many possibilities, so much potential and a whole 12 months of adventure in it. I shall make plans and enter into the New Year eagerly and energetically.  How will it turn out?  Will the New Year be a disaster, or success, or something in between? I resolve to cling tightly to my personal goals.  I plan to adhere to my healthy eating plan, geared to my issues with blood sugar, and my need to lose weight.  How?  I will combat the feelings of deprivation by pampering … Continue reading

JOY TO THE WORLD! THE LORD IS COME!

JOY TO THE WORLD, THE LORD IS COME, LET EARTH RECEIVE HER KING, LET EVERY HEART PREPARE HIM ROOM AND HEAVEN AND NATURE SING, AND HEAVEN AND NATURE SING, AND HEAVEN AND HEAVEN AND NATURE SING! MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL!! CHRIST IS BORN! GLORIFY HIM! Dear Lord, may all come to Faith in Jesus, conversion in every area of their lives, and growth in virtue so that their work is good, and so that as many as are willing to choose rightly can attain heaven. Thank YOU for making our salvation possible and for the grace to choose right even … Continue reading

Advent Music

I love the periods of penitence and preparation we experience in our Liturgy. This is Advent, and it is a beautiful time of preparation for the celebration of the Birth of Christ. Did you know that Advent music and Christmas music are actually not the same hymns?  Here is one of the beautiful traditional antiphons sung during Advent. and another: Dear Lord, thank You for the beauty in the Liturgy and in the hymns of Your Church. Amen. … Continue reading

Ordinary Goodness: Kitchen Staples

Cooking creatively for flavor while still meeting health based dietary needs can be challenging and fun.  Today, while reading an RV forum, I got to thinking about the food staples in my kitchen and decided to blog about staples: DRIED HERBS AND SPICES: every ethnic group uses its own palate of spices and this alone can make your entire cooking experience shine.I use some mixes for fast convenience but I also have 10-20 individual items I use. Italian Seasoning (no salt), Lemon Pepper seasoning, Garlic pepper seasoning, basil, mint, oregano, garum masala thyme celery seed Salt: course and fine ground, … Continue reading

Thoughts On a Saturday Morning

My heart grieves for the families in CT who have lost loved ones in a senseless shooting at an Elementary school.  There should never be gun free zones because evil will choose those places preferentially.  Teachers and administrators need the means to defend themselves and their students.  It is a horrible tragedy and I pray for all involved. An acquaintance is returning to work, placing her baby in a daycare, and grieving the necessity. This brings home to me how blessed I have been to stay home with my children. Even more, how blessed I am to be free to … Continue reading

Memories of Childhood

Over at A Woman’s Place…Depends On Her Vocation, she posted on the determination of her little one in hunting for the hidden gifts.  This made me smile as I recalled a time my brother and sister and I managed to FIND the Christmas gifts about a week before Christmas. Our Dad had quite the challenge to convince us that because Santa could not possibly get to EVERY house in one night that he often chose some parents to be helpers and take an early delivery of the Santa presents. They were quickly re-hidden and we didn’t see them again until … Continue reading

12-12-12 and Our Lady of Guadalupe

Today is the feast day of Our Lady of Guadalupe who is patroness of the unborn and also the patroness of all the Americas. Today is a really cool date because it is 12/12/12. Today the Pope got going with his new twitter account. I read most of the responses are crass, crude and even obscene. God bless Pope Benedict XVI for his efforts. Dear Lord, thank You for the example of the Virgin Mary; thank You for her prayers for the unborn and for all the Americas. Please help all those who love You to honor Your mother properly. … Continue reading

Advent: Revisiting Our Preparation for Christmas

Fr. Z wrote a post at his blog on how we change and as we change we gain different things from great books. Of Sympathy and Pageant, Of Aging and Refreshing resonated with me and I urge my readers to go, enjoy it. I have re-read many favorite classics over the years and indeed have come to appreciate old favorites more and more as years and experiences grow.  The Liturgical Calendar passes through seasons of the year and we revisit each part of the Gospel story, and many parts of the New and Old Testaments.  This is a blessing which, … Continue reading