Feeding Frenzy Wednesday (?) VI

OK, so it doesn't have the same ring as Feeding Frenzy Friday, but I thought I'd post this week's item early since on Friday and Saturday it'll be more difficult to do anything about it.  I'll probably do the same again next week.  This week's items are cake mixes (and icing to go with them).

Facebooking the First Christmas

This was a neat video I found on Facebook.  One of the people who commented on it said that they cried watching it.  I was thinking "sure, whatever..."  Then I watched it.  I didn't cry, but I definitely got goosebumps (and on a different day, maybe I would have teared up a bit).  Enjoy!

Feeding Frenzy Friday V

The Feeding Frenzy Friday item for this week is soup crackers (saltines, oyster crackers, etc.).  To learn more about this, click here and have a blessed Friday!

A Giveaway for the Girls

I follow the blog, It's OK to be WEIRD.  Sweet Mummy posted a giveaway yesterday that I'd love to win...one Purse Perfector (winner's choice of color).  You can see the details here.  I've always loved large purses, but I rarely own one because I can't keep it organized.  This is just what I need!  Even if you are too late to enter the giveaway yourself, she has written up a great review.

Not Even a Taste!

In my post about Catholic (Christian) Morality, I mentioned that I struggle somewhat with my weight.  I always have...mostly due to my love of chocolate and that my #1 leisure time activity is reading (you don't burn a lot of calories turning pages).  However, my weight has gone up more, recently, than ever before.  I spent several years teaching part time at 2-4 different schools to make my hours (and my checks) add up to a full time job. Those were years I spent just surviving. I'd spend the weekend trying to get ready for the next week (but usually only getting as far as Wednesday), then Monday through Wednesday evenings getting ready for Thursday and Thursday night scrambling to get ready for Friday. Saturday would roll around and I'd start all over again. I didn't have time to take care of myself and my weight reflects that. Now that I've been teaching at just one school for over a year, I've decided it's time to get serious about getting back to the weight I was at when I graduated college (or a little less).  I firmly believe that I need to take better care of my body. 

So, with this new resolve, I created a profile at http://www.myfitnesspal.com/.  It's a free calorie counter in which I can keep track of the foods that I eat and the exercise I get.  I'm sure it's not perfect, but I haven't had any trouble finding the foods I ate today or the exercise I wanted to log.  You'll notice that I've added a ticker at the bottom of my blog's home page that shows how far I am in my weight loss (right now it show 0, but I'm looking forward to making it move).  The nice thing is that I don't just have to count walking or weight lifting as exercise to earn calories...I can even earn positive calories for playing my flute or time spent cooking.  It's also a bit of social networking because members are encouraged to friend each other for support.  If this sounds like something that would help you, feel free to look me up when you join.  My username is monsmusic.

One way I know I must be serious is that I just spent an hour in the kitchen chopping Twix candy bars up and making some bars to take to a cookie exchange and ALL of the leftovers are still downstairs in the kitchen.  I didn't even have a taste.

Amazing

I work with this amazing lady named Jeanne.  She accompanies my school church choir and plays for our concerts.  Last Lent, she was diagnosed with cancer.  She allowed Father to perform the Sacrament of Healing (Anointing of the Sick) for her during a school Mass despite her concern about how it might affect the kids' faith if she died of her cancer.  She took about six weeks off after surgery but continued to play for us through her chemo.  On her first day back, the student body all wore yellow shirts (the color associated with cancer research) in her honor.  Shortly after that, she gave a reflection on her faith experience with cancer.  She brought a stuffed frog and told the students that it reminded her that she must Fully Rely On God.  She was given a clean bill of health in June.  Then, just before Thanksgiving, she pulled me aside after our school's Thanksgiving Mass to tell me that her cancer was back and this time it was deemed terminal.  The doctors are giving her months.  Today at Mass, she and Father broke the news to the student body and Father gave her the Anointing of the Sick again.  She pulled out her frog and told the kids that she had an amazing summer that she wouldn't have had without their prayers, but "you can't pray someone alive forever, you know."  She told them she was a bit apprehensive because she didn't know exactly how it would go, but she trusted that it would be wonderful and that she was truly looking forward to heaven.  I was, fortunately, not the only one crying.  She is one amazing lady and I can only pray that when it is my time to die, I can show as much courage and teach as many kids about faith as she is doing now.  Please pray for us all.

Is It Wrong to Love a Pair of Boots?

(Note: I was not given any sort of compensation for this review.)

I think I would be considered a "loyal consumer."  When I get good service and good products from a store or brand, I tend to return to them almost obsessively.  For instance, I am a Land's End girl.  I got a Land's End coat for Christmas 4 years ago when I started to have to do recess duty at one of my schools and love it (there are times I find myself looking forward to cold weather so I can get my coat out again!).  Land's End Trekker Shoes (especially this style) are my favorite shoes.  I wear them until snow hits the ground (and sticks).  Therefore, when I needed new boots for this winter, the first place I looked was LandsEnd.com.  However, I had something very specific in mind and didn't find what I was looking for there.  I need boots that are tall, waterproof and at least moderately warm.  Last year, when we got 20+ inches of snow dumped on us in one day, I was leaving my blue jeans outside my boots to try to keep snow from getting down into them.  My feet ended up wet and cold anyway, since the water resistance had worn off (or just couldn't handle what the weather was throwing at it).  Eventually, I found these boots made by L.L. Bean.  I thought they looked like exactly what I needed.  Most of the reviews were good, I decided to go for it.  That decision was made just in the nick of time...they arrived last Wednesday, we got our first "sticking" snow of the season Thursday, and our first blizzard Saturday and Sunday.  Here are the positives about these boots:

• They are tall.  I can even make them taller by unfolding the cuff at the top and tying the lace at the front.  They don't come up to my knees or anything, but they were plenty tall to deal with shoveling the 10.5 inches of snow we got on Saturday.
• They are warm.  I wore a pair of thick socks and the boots for shoveling and my feet did not get at all cold.  That's important to me, because I don't wear thick socks to work and I don't want to have to bring an extra pair (I'm already carrying my shoes) in order to not freeze.
• They are waterproof.  The shoe part of the boots (about up to the ankle) is rubber.  Unless I'm walking through a flood, my feet won't get wet.
• There are good treads on the bottom.  I feel like as long as I'm walking on snow I have decent footing.  Not much helps on ice, short of cleats.

These boots are not for everyone:

• My mom tried them on and found them uncomfortably tight.  She does usually wear a wide shoe (I don't).  She felt, even with a larger size, that she wouldn't have enough room to be comfortable.
• You can definitely feel where the rubber shoe ends and the fabric upper begins.  This might bother some people though I have not found it troublesome.
• There is not a lot of arch support.  If I was going to be using the boots for a long period of time, I'd put an insert in them to help.

Why a Blog?

To be honest, I still occasionally ask myself why I started a blog.  I have not always kept a diary.  I do not have the ambition to become a writer.  I do not even really feel the need to have a hundred "followers" of my blog.  (Though I will admit to checking my stats occasionally to see if anyone has checked it out lately.  My favorite thing is to see where those who have looked at it are from...I had 10 views from Russia last week!) 

The idea came to me when I was trying to write a letter to Rachel.  She's a former band student (still a current private student) of mine who asked me to be her Confirmation sponsor.  All sponsors were asked to write a letter for their candidates to read at their retreat.  I sat down to write the letter and got stuck.  So I did what many of us do so readily these days...I Googled "tips for writing a letter to a Confirmation candidate" and I found this blog entry.  It was incredibly helpful and all that I needed to get started.  Looking around that blog I found a link to St. Blog's Parish and I discovered that there are actually a lot of Catholic bloggers out there.  I got the itch to do a little blogging myself.  I got this blog set up rather quickly and posted my first entry on Nov. 11.  The rest is in my archives.  For other thoughts on why I'm working on this blog, check out this post from a couple of weeks ago.

On a side note, there are some young teens in my life who are having a hard time (some as a result of life and some as a result of bad choices).  Please pray. 

Feeding Frenzy Friday IV

The Feeding Frenzy Friday item for this week is Cream of Wheat...not very exciting, but nice to eat warm on a cold winter day!

Our Lady of Good Help

You may have heard in the news that yesterday, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Bishop Ricken, of the Diocese of Green Bay gave official approval of the Marian apparitions at the shrine of Our Lady of Good Help in Wisconsin.  He stated, “I declare with moral certainty and in accord with the norms of the Church that the events, apparitions and locutions given to Adele Brise in October of 1859 do exhibit the substance of supernatural character, and I do hereby approve these apparitions as worthy of belief (although not obligatory) by the Christian faithful.” 

As a part of earning my Marian Medal for Girl Scouts in middle school, I visited the shrine with my troop.  It's really a neat place and I've wanted to get back there for ages.  That's something that definitely rose high on my "to-do" list yesterday...maybe a Sunday drive after the New Year...

Anyway, if you want the full story, check out these links:

The news story posted by CatholicCulture.org: http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=8505

The official web site of the Shrine of Our Lady of Good Help:
http://www.shrineofourladyofgoodhelp.com/index.html

A Picture is Worth...

I should get to bed, so how about a wordless Wednesday...

Theology of the Body for Beginners ~ My Thoughts

Yesterday, I finished reading Theology of the Body for Beginners by Christopher West.  I have to admit that there really weren't any major surprises for me.  The thoughts and ideas presented and the topics covered in the book were much what I expected them to be.  That is not, however, to say that I didn't learn anything.

The main idea of Pope John Paul II's Theology of the Body is that sexual union is sacred and meant to be shared between husband and wife, joined by the sacrament of marriage in a way that reflects God's "free, total, faithful, fruitful love."  It is a sacrament in itself...a physical symbol of something invisible - the union of Christ and His Church.

In this context, TOB covers the ideas of chastity, marital sex, pre-marital sex, and contraceptives.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) is frequently referenced.  The insights offered in this work are incredible and the book is well-written and easy to read.  I highly recommend it to anyone, but especially if you've ever wondered why the Church takes the stance it does on these topics.

Sundays

"Remember to keep holy the sabbath day.  Six days you may labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord, your God.  No work may be done then either by you, or your son or daughter, or your male or female slave, or your beast, or by the alien who lives with you.  In six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea and all that is in them; but on the seventh day he rested.  That is why the Lord has blessed the sabbath day and made it holy."  ~Exodus 20:8-11

"Sunday, the "Lord's Day," is the principal day for the celebration of the Eucharist because it is the day of the Resurrection.  It is the pre-eminent day of the liturgical assembly, the day of the Christian family, and the day of joy and rest from work.  Sunday is the 'foundation and kernel of the whole liturgical year."  ~CCC, no. 1193, citing SC no. 106

"The Biblical Sabbath is not primarily a day of rules and prohibitions...the Sabbath was given to us as a gift, not as a penalty.  The people to whom it was first given had grown up as slaves in Egypt.  God said to them 'When you were slaves, someone else owned your time.  You could do only what they told you to do.  Now that you're free, you can use your time for your own purposes.'  That is why, to this day, 3000 years after the event, a Jewish family welcoming the Sabbath, refers to it as 'a reminder of our liberation from Egyptian slavery.'  Animals are controlled by time...Human beings, and only human beings control time...If during the week, a man or woman is bound to a schedule, if our lives are ruled by the clock so that we are not free to do what we want, when we want to, the Sabbath, whether observed on Saturday, Sunday, or even on a weekday for those who have to work weekends, is a day to replenish our souls by being free to do those things that identify us as human.  It is a time for family, for reading, and, of course, for worship, another uniquely human activity." ~Rabbi Harold Kushner, The Lord is My Shepherd.

For most of my life, Sunday has been the day I go to Mass and then go back to my normal life.  In the culture we live in it is rarely practical and occasionally not even possible to take Sunday as a "day of rest."  However, after living several years during which I never stopped running...very nearly to the point of collapse, I was listening to an audio book - The Lord is My Shepherd read by the author, Rabbi Harold Kushner.  I was out for a walk when I heard the part I quoted above (it's much longer but I couldn't quote the whole thing here...the rest of the book is definitely something I'll cover in another post; there was a lot of great stuff in it).  I could even tell you exactly what street I was on as the ideas sunk in.  The bit about the need for time for God to replenish our souls spoke to me so completely that I knew I had to try harder to find time for daily quiet prayer and to do more than just make sure I could check off my "obligation" of a Sunday Mass.

As I stated above, this is not always practical or possible, but at the very least, I try to take more time on Sunday (if I can't take the whole day) for extra prayer, Bible study, reading and other refreshing pursuits.  I am still a person who likes lists, however, so here is my list of things to try to accomplish on a Sunday:

• Read an extra chapter from whatever Book of the Bible I'm working on.  Normally I read one section of a chapter each morning and evening...Sundays I do that and then also another full chapter.
• Read (or listen to) a chapter from another book on the topic of faith.  Examples are The Lord is My Shepherd and Theology of the Body for Beginners.
• Spend at least 30 minutes in service to my parents...this can be helping with whatever they are trying to accomplish that day, a couple of extra loads of laundry, or whatever I think might be useful.
• Write in my prayer journal.
• Spend some time quilting, reading, and catching up on the blogs I've gotten behind on.

 It truly is amazing the difference I see in my weeks when I can spend more time observing the Sabbath as a Holy Day.

Fruits of the Spirit: Always in Season

At the beginning of the school-year, it was announced that the school's Faith Focus was going to be the Fruits of the Holy Spirit.  We are focusing on one each month as a school (in prayer during announcements, at school Masses, and in the classrooms).  Teachers were asked to post the Fruits of the Spirit somewhere in their classrooms.  I'd already finished my bulletin boards by then, so I had some trouble figuring out where I was going to put them, but I found a tree that fit just great above my prayer table.  It came with green leaves and leaves in fall colors.  I started it out with green leaves and slowly changed them over to fall.  Then as fall started to feel more like winter, I took the leaves off.  At that point, I was thinking it looked kind of dumb...a tree that looked dead with a whole bunch of different fruit.  That's when I came up with the "tag line" that I put on the trunk:

I decided to put up a few snowflakes every time it snows until spring when I'll switch them out for the green leaves again.  December's Fruit is Patience, which is why there are currently 3 pears on the tree.  I put one of each on the tree to begin with and then as each month rolls around, I put 3 of that Fruit on the tree to show what we are focusing on.  At that point, they get a quote from scripture pertaining to that Fruit of the Spirit.

I'm very happy with it now...for a long time I felt like it looked like an afterthought in the room, but now it looks a little more like it belongs.

Feeding Frenzy Friday III

OK, so I know I promised some pictures from my classroom a couple of days ago...the end of the week kind of got away from me.  I'll do it when I get home...I promise!

The Feeding Frenzy Friday item of the week is breakfast cereal.