I came across this article on a friend's facebook page.
Seriously?! Breastfeeding is "creepy"?! WTF is wrong with people? It's a boob. They are not "fun bags". Why would you even refer to your breast as a fun bag? Whoever wrote the "creepy" article really needs to get her head examined and figure out what problem she has with her view of her own sexuality.
Recently, a breastfeeding discussion crept up on another blog I read. The big question was "Should women cover up when nursing in public?". Anyone who reads my blog on a regular basis knows I am all for breastfeeding.
I made the comment that I never, ever, ever cover up when nursing. I got a little backlash for that. Things like, "why wouldn't you cover up?" and "there's no reason NOT to cover up".
Instead of keeping that discussion going on forever in my friend's blog comments, I think I will make my position very clear here.
****A woman should breastfeed in whatever way makes her comfortable.*****
That's it. Bottom line. Whatever makes you more likely to breastfeed anywhere your baby needs/wants (they are the same thing when your child is a baby, needs and wants) to - do it.
If you are more comfortable covered up in public, cover up. If you are more comfortable not covering up, then don't. It's about your comfort feeding your baby. It is not about anyone else, what anyone else thinks (myself included), and what anyone else's ideas are. It is about you feeding your baby. The end.
I know women who would feel totally weird having other people watch them breastfeed. I also know some women who would feel like they were drawing waaaaay too much attention to themselves and the feeding by throwing a blanket over the whole thing.
Personally, I don't cover up. It's more attention getting for me to cover up than to just feed the baby. And to be honest, I need to see my baby and my breast in order for her/him to get a good latch and for me to know that they are not suffocating under my rather large mammaries. I actually have to hold the breast off of their nose or they can't breathe.
But really, how much breast is exposed when you nurse? Once your baby is latched on there is hardly anything there anyway. The nipple and areola are completely in their mouth and your shirt is pretty much covering the rest of your boob. (Yes, I use the very un-feminist word "boob" in my house. Sue me.)
I have heard from many, many people "reasons" why I and other women should cover up. We're "creating sin in the minds of men and boys". We have a "responsibility to be modest".
Bull. I have a responsibility to feed my child. I am not "whipping out my boob" or my "fun bags" to do a lap dance or get men turned on. And I have issue with the term "whipping it out". What exactly is that? Does anyone actually do that? That phrase would imply to me that there was some kind of fast movement about it and that I was shaking it all over for everyone to see. Lemme tell you, there ain't nothing fast about unhooking/unclipping a nursing bra and then trying to pull up your shirt in one motion. It's not whipping, and it's not sexy. It just is what it is.
One of the commenters over at the other blog said (and I quote, emphasis mine) "I am not a modest person. ...... BUT I do not want to see it, and it does make me nauseous." Really? You admit to NOT being modest (and I have ventured over to her blog in the past....and nope, she ain't modest one bit in her choice of clothing) but you have a problem with breastfeeding?
People use band-aids and string together in an outfit and call it a "bathing suit" BUT I (and others) should feel dirty or immodest because we are feeding our children fully clothed? Get over yourself. I show less skin breastfeeding than a lot of women (and girls too) do going to the store.
So again, if YOU WANT TO COVER UP you should. But you shouldn't do it because you feel guilty or dirty or someone tells you that you should.
If YOU DON'T WANT TO COVER UP, then don't.
No one, especially another mother, should tell any other woman what the "right" way to nurse is. The right way is whatever way makes it most comfortable for YOU.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
And She's Gone
I am feeling a little down. My best knitting buddy ever just moved a few hours north of where I live.
I miss her. I miss talking yarn and projects. I miss having her visit. I miss our kids playing together while we looked at new things to knit online.
I miss just chatting up everyday stuff with her.
*sigh*
I do get to see her again this weekend. She is driving down specifically to see the new "Twilight" movie, Eclipse, with me on Saturday. I am really looking forward to it. I hope she is too. Well, I know she's looking forward to the movie. I hope she's as happy to see me as I will be to see her.
She called today and I had to tell her I would call her back b/c we had company. I totally forgot, and now I feel like a schmuck. She has no internet and no friend's in the new little town she's in.
Maybe I'll have to drive up and see her sometime soon.
I miss her. I miss talking yarn and projects. I miss having her visit. I miss our kids playing together while we looked at new things to knit online.
I miss just chatting up everyday stuff with her.
*sigh*
I do get to see her again this weekend. She is driving down specifically to see the new "Twilight" movie, Eclipse, with me on Saturday. I am really looking forward to it. I hope she is too. Well, I know she's looking forward to the movie. I hope she's as happy to see me as I will be to see her.
She called today and I had to tell her I would call her back b/c we had company. I totally forgot, and now I feel like a schmuck. She has no internet and no friend's in the new little town she's in.
Maybe I'll have to drive up and see her sometime soon.
Not feeling up to posting....
But here's some gratuitous knitting pictures and updates anyway.
Remember the "possessed" yarn? I am making some socks from it. I had originally started this sock on 9 inch circular needles. Today I switched to some DPN (double point needles) and I knit 2 inches of length pretty fast. On the circs I had done 1 inch in about 3 weeks.
I don't hate the circ needles....but the knitting does seem faster on the DPN. It's just a PITA to keep changing needles.
I do love the yarn though. It's very soft and quite pretty.
I finished the Lakehouse Longies. (More pictures and notes at the ravelry link to the left.) They turned out really nice. Technically, I am still "finishing" them, because the I-cord is not done yet. You can see it in the right side of this picture, being knit. But it's almost done.
I do think they are very boy colored.....but I am going to hang onto them until I have the physical evidence in my hands that this baby is indeed a girl. Just in case.
This is a nice picture without the flash. It kind of shows the colors better. I don't know. It's lots of blue with some teal, and a little orange.
I did seed stitch cuffs this time around. The longies are a size medium, so I thought it would be nice if I could roll the cuffs up. I also wanted a "gender neutral" style cuff....in case I gift them to a friend with a boy.
I think this last picture shows the color of the yarn the best. See that I-cord...still coming along. I know it takes forever to knit an I-cord. I have a friend who always crochets her cords. But the I-cord is just sooo good looking. I have to knit them.
Remember the "possessed" yarn? I am making some socks from it. I had originally started this sock on 9 inch circular needles. Today I switched to some DPN (double point needles) and I knit 2 inches of length pretty fast. On the circs I had done 1 inch in about 3 weeks.
I don't hate the circ needles....but the knitting does seem faster on the DPN. It's just a PITA to keep changing needles.
I do love the yarn though. It's very soft and quite pretty.
I finished the Lakehouse Longies. (More pictures and notes at the ravelry link to the left.) They turned out really nice. Technically, I am still "finishing" them, because the I-cord is not done yet. You can see it in the right side of this picture, being knit. But it's almost done.
I do think they are very boy colored.....but I am going to hang onto them until I have the physical evidence in my hands that this baby is indeed a girl. Just in case.
This is a nice picture without the flash. It kind of shows the colors better. I don't know. It's lots of blue with some teal, and a little orange. 
I did seed stitch cuffs this time around. The longies are a size medium, so I thought it would be nice if I could roll the cuffs up. I also wanted a "gender neutral" style cuff....in case I gift them to a friend with a boy.
I think this last picture shows the color of the yarn the best. See that I-cord...still coming along. I know it takes forever to knit an I-cord. I have a friend who always crochets her cords. But the I-cord is just sooo good looking. I have to knit them.
I really do like these. Now the question is "What to knit next??". I have yarn for LOTS more longies. I want to do a top-down baby sweater. I am still knitting those socks. I need to embellish the Cutie Girlie Longies. I have yarn for pink/purple longies, rainbow/teal longies, red/gold longies, blue longies, green longies......I can't decide. Then there's the question - do I use the rainbow yarn I have left over to trim a pair of purple longies or use it for teal longies (as I just mentioned). A friend of mine had a baby a few weeks ago....should I knit her something?
So many decisions. So much yarn. What do you think?
Saturday, June 26, 2010
And now for something completely different......
Don't you just love it when bloggers go from "super-serious" posts to something totally frivolous??
Well, that's what I am doing.
I have a little confession to make.
I have some embarrassing, teenager-ish things I am doing (and have been doing) this week.
*sigh* Here it goes:
1. I bought both Taylor Swift CD's. And I like them.
Don't laugh.
2. I re-read the 3rd and 4th books (in 2 days no less) of the Twilight Saga, in preparation for the 3rd movie release (Eclipse) next week.
Yes, I said re-read. Like, I have read them before and they are so good I read them again. And I own them. Really.
Stop laughing.
3. I have already made plans as to exactly which day in the week next week I can get away from my children to go and see said movie.
It comes out on Wednesday. I have to wait until Saturday.
The fact that I am actually seeing the movie in theatres is a really big deal because I NEVER see movies in the theatre. Too expensive. Too many people. And I have too many little kids to get away.
However, I am making it happen here.
Wow. I feel much better putting that out there publicly. I promise to talk more about why I like Twilight so much later. 'Nother post. 'Nother day.
I have been so obsessed reading those books again I actually put down the knitting.
Seriously. What's wrong with me? But that's all done now. Back to the crack.
Well, that's what I am doing.
I have a little confession to make.
I have some embarrassing, teenager-ish things I am doing (and have been doing) this week.
*sigh* Here it goes:
1. I bought both Taylor Swift CD's. And I like them.
Don't laugh.
2. I re-read the 3rd and 4th books (in 2 days no less) of the Twilight Saga, in preparation for the 3rd movie release (Eclipse) next week.
Yes, I said re-read. Like, I have read them before and they are so good I read them again. And I own them. Really.
Stop laughing.
3. I have already made plans as to exactly which day in the week next week I can get away from my children to go and see said movie.
It comes out on Wednesday. I have to wait until Saturday.
The fact that I am actually seeing the movie in theatres is a really big deal because I NEVER see movies in the theatre. Too expensive. Too many people. And I have too many little kids to get away.
However, I am making it happen here.
Wow. I feel much better putting that out there publicly. I promise to talk more about why I like Twilight so much later. 'Nother post. 'Nother day.
I have been so obsessed reading those books again I actually put down the knitting.
Seriously. What's wrong with me? But that's all done now. Back to the crack.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Problem With Prayer - Next
So, you ask after reading that last entry, where's the problem??
Well, the years have certainly gotten better and deepened my faith. My husband even found God again after abandoning him so many years ago (years before we met, when his problems that ultimately led to our problems began). My husband was a cradle Catholic who just dropped the Faith when it couldn't help him overcome his "stuff". Shortly after I was confirmed, he went to Confession for the first time in over 20 years (!!) and began going to Mass regularly and receiving the Eucharist.
My children have all been baptised. My son received his First Holy Communion about a month after I was confirmed and loves to serve at the alter during Mass. My husband still needs to be confirmed, but we'll just keep praying on that one, shall we? Ok.
So, as wonderful as this new found Faith is, as great as the Church is, as much as I love Jesus with all my heart......I still have a hard time with prayer.
I believe every single Truth the Church teaches and I believe the infallibility of the Pope to lead us. I believe this is the One True Church left to us by Christ himself.
Here's where I end up in problems (I hope this doesn't seem silly, or petty, or weird, or, or, whatever. It's just how it is in my head).
God is all-knowing, omniscient, and omnipresent, everywhere. I believe this.
What does God need me to ask for that He doesn't already know? He knows everything that has every happened, is happening, and ever will happen. How is my teeny little human prayer going to change that? He already knows if it's going to "work out" or not. He already knows what the outcome is. He had already seen it happen. Does my prayer really make a difference?
Please don't think this keeps me from praying all the time or in every instance. It just, well, it hinders my prayer.
Someone says to me, "Please pray for my brother. He's in the hospital with an illness and we want him to get better." I can't figure out what to pray. I know that he is either going to get better because God already planned it that way, or he is not going to get better because that is God's plan. I usually just pray, "Thy Will be done."
Another instance where I feel hindered is when I have my own needs to pray about. Forget that completely. I can usually argue in my head and end up not praying anything because HE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR ME, even if I don't like it.
Part of my problem too, I know, is that I grew up knowing I didn't deserve anything. I deserved nothing good. Nothing happy. I was not good enough to ask for things and I wasn't good enough to have anything good happen to me anyway. (Thanks Mom & Dad!!)
Then I feel guilty. Guilty for not praying. Guilty for not doing what I should be.
I can usually pray when those prayers are the kind that revere Him or Mary. I have no problem with the Hail Mary, the Our Father.
It's the petitions I have a problem with. I feel guilty not praying, then I feel guilty asking for what I need. Like my needs matter to anyone, let alone Him. Then I feel bad for thinking that.
It's an endless circle I let myself get caught up in. Again, not that I never pray....I just have problems sometimes.
I remind myself that it is OK not to "feel" anything with prayer. I do not believe that Faith is directly connected to "feelings". I know that I usually need it the most when I "feel" nothing. I still go to Mass when I feel nothing. I still say the prayers. I still live my vocation. I have learned that "feelings"/emotions are not what we base our lives and our Faith on.
My faith is firmly rooted in belief. My marriage in firmly rooted in vows. I know that I will not always "feel" love for my husband in the lovey-dovey, teenager, hormone-crazed way I did when we first me (not that I was a teenager when we met, just using it as a descriptor). That doesn't mean there is no love, or that the love is meaningless. Love is shown in many ways, by living my vocation and he living his.
The same applies to my faith. I don't always "feel" the presence of God in my life. But I know He's there. I know He carries me when I am down. I know He is with me in my joys. I believe He won't abandon me. I believe He wants happiness for me. I believe He will help me, in ways I may not understand at times, to become a better disciple, a better mom, a better wife. I believe He wants me to pick up His Cross with Him and Carry It. I know that struggle is part of this life and will help purify me for the next. I don't always "feel" these things, I just know them.
I try to apply the same to praying. I don't feel like it. I don't usually feel anything profound. But I know I should.
*sigh* So that's it. I have problems praying. I don't do it enough, and I don't exactly get the point ('cause He's all-knowing). Anyone else have this problem?
Well, the years have certainly gotten better and deepened my faith. My husband even found God again after abandoning him so many years ago (years before we met, when his problems that ultimately led to our problems began). My husband was a cradle Catholic who just dropped the Faith when it couldn't help him overcome his "stuff". Shortly after I was confirmed, he went to Confession for the first time in over 20 years (!!) and began going to Mass regularly and receiving the Eucharist.
My children have all been baptised. My son received his First Holy Communion about a month after I was confirmed and loves to serve at the alter during Mass. My husband still needs to be confirmed, but we'll just keep praying on that one, shall we? Ok.
So, as wonderful as this new found Faith is, as great as the Church is, as much as I love Jesus with all my heart......I still have a hard time with prayer.
I believe every single Truth the Church teaches and I believe the infallibility of the Pope to lead us. I believe this is the One True Church left to us by Christ himself.
Here's where I end up in problems (I hope this doesn't seem silly, or petty, or weird, or, or, whatever. It's just how it is in my head).
God is all-knowing, omniscient, and omnipresent, everywhere. I believe this.
What does God need me to ask for that He doesn't already know? He knows everything that has every happened, is happening, and ever will happen. How is my teeny little human prayer going to change that? He already knows if it's going to "work out" or not. He already knows what the outcome is. He had already seen it happen. Does my prayer really make a difference?
Please don't think this keeps me from praying all the time or in every instance. It just, well, it hinders my prayer.
Someone says to me, "Please pray for my brother. He's in the hospital with an illness and we want him to get better." I can't figure out what to pray. I know that he is either going to get better because God already planned it that way, or he is not going to get better because that is God's plan. I usually just pray, "Thy Will be done."
Another instance where I feel hindered is when I have my own needs to pray about. Forget that completely. I can usually argue in my head and end up not praying anything because HE ALREADY KNOWS WHAT IS BEST FOR ME, even if I don't like it.
Part of my problem too, I know, is that I grew up knowing I didn't deserve anything. I deserved nothing good. Nothing happy. I was not good enough to ask for things and I wasn't good enough to have anything good happen to me anyway. (Thanks Mom & Dad!!)
Then I feel guilty. Guilty for not praying. Guilty for not doing what I should be.
I can usually pray when those prayers are the kind that revere Him or Mary. I have no problem with the Hail Mary, the Our Father.
It's the petitions I have a problem with. I feel guilty not praying, then I feel guilty asking for what I need. Like my needs matter to anyone, let alone Him. Then I feel bad for thinking that.
It's an endless circle I let myself get caught up in. Again, not that I never pray....I just have problems sometimes.
I remind myself that it is OK not to "feel" anything with prayer. I do not believe that Faith is directly connected to "feelings". I know that I usually need it the most when I "feel" nothing. I still go to Mass when I feel nothing. I still say the prayers. I still live my vocation. I have learned that "feelings"/emotions are not what we base our lives and our Faith on.
My faith is firmly rooted in belief. My marriage in firmly rooted in vows. I know that I will not always "feel" love for my husband in the lovey-dovey, teenager, hormone-crazed way I did when we first me (not that I was a teenager when we met, just using it as a descriptor). That doesn't mean there is no love, or that the love is meaningless. Love is shown in many ways, by living my vocation and he living his.
The same applies to my faith. I don't always "feel" the presence of God in my life. But I know He's there. I know He carries me when I am down. I know He is with me in my joys. I believe He won't abandon me. I believe He wants happiness for me. I believe He will help me, in ways I may not understand at times, to become a better disciple, a better mom, a better wife. I believe He wants me to pick up His Cross with Him and Carry It. I know that struggle is part of this life and will help purify me for the next. I don't always "feel" these things, I just know them.
I try to apply the same to praying. I don't feel like it. I don't usually feel anything profound. But I know I should.
*sigh* So that's it. I have problems praying. I don't do it enough, and I don't exactly get the point ('cause He's all-knowing). Anyone else have this problem?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Problem With Prayer - Intro
A while back I promised a post with this topic. I am not exactly in the same place I was that day....but I am going to try and get the gist of this off my mind.
As mentioned many times previously on the blog, I am new to faith. Not that I never had any before, I just had a very undefined view of God and my place in the whole spectrum of things. I believed in God, but not going to church. I wasn't anti-church, I just didn't go. I wasn't Protestant or Catholic, or "Non-Denominational Christian". I was just me.
Now that I have Faith, the true Faith, everything is a little different, but some things are the same. I don't take the Lord's name in vain nearly as much as I used to (it's something I take with me to Confession everysingletime, but it's getting better). I still have a hard time with prayer.
When I was a little kid, I used to "say my prayers" before bedtime. My dad (on some non-drunk night I am sure) taught us to say the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer and to say "God Bless.......(fill-in-the-blank)". I always felt guilty only asking God to bless the people I knew and cared about. So I devised a system to cover everyone at least once and then those I cared about a little bit more. It makes me laugh to think about it now. I would ask God to bless everyone in the whole world, then everyone who knew someone I knew, then everyone I knew, then everyone I knew and liked, then everyone I was related to, then my favorite relatives, then my mom, dad, and brother. Seems a little overkill and silly to me now. But to my little kid OCD brain it made sense.
My journey into the Faith began with a fall. My marriage was crumbling right before me and I had no idea what to do or how to hold on. My husband came to me one day and told me he didn't love me anymore. I had no idea what to do or where to go with the grief, sadness, disbelief, hurt, and anger I felt. I have serious abandonment issues as it is (my parents kind of sucked, I'll get to that in some other post) and this was the ONE person who had promised never to hurt me or leave me. And here he was, doing both.
I cried. I nursed my baby and cried. I couldn't do anything. I fed the kids. I fed me. I had no one to talk to. It took months before he actually got the truth out - and then I was even more crushed. I had no idea how we were supposed to fix this, IF we were supposed to fix it, how I would live without him, how I would survive mentally, emotionally, and even financially (yes, money crossed my mind, what can I say? I had just recently embraced being a SAHM and given up working).
We had just bought a new house (new to us) and I had heavily lied to get the loan approved. We moved from a big city where I had friends to a little hick-town where my husband's ex-wife lived (to make it easier to get the shared kids to school when I had a newborn). I had just pulled my kid out of public school in the middle of the year to homeschool him permanently (although we couldn't convince the ex to let the other kids out). I hardly knew anyone. Anyone, that is, except the mom of a friend of my son's who had just pulled her kids out of public school and inspired me to do the same.
I had been able to empty everything out to my BFF who lived farther away, but there was little comfort she was able to give me other than an ear to scream and cry to and a pair of arms to hold me when I visited her to cry.
The mom in town had something I didn't have. I remember the first time I talked to her about homeschooling and why would she do that? She said, "Well, we're very Catholic." Hmmm. I just thought the school sucked ass (sorry to be so blunt). I was very casual and said, "Oh, I find God out in the woods when I sit and listen while I'm hunting." I am a little embarrassed I said this now. Actually, I stole those words from my husband because I didn't really have any words for that comment.
Once we were both new homeschoolers living a block away from each other, we started talking a lot more. She could tell something was up. I cried all the time. I didn't want to be home. I'm pretty sure I was eating all the food in her house. She asked if she could do anything. Nope. She said, "You should talk to my friend, Fr. Eric." I said, "I am not Catholic." She said, "He doesn't care. He's my friend. We grew up together. He can help you."
I went to see Fr. Eric. He is, and remains, the most awesome priest I have every met. He GOT IT. He seriously got it, right away. He got my problems, my marriage, everything. He saw that all was not lost and told me God had a plan and wanted my marriage to survive. He looked at the little girl nursing at my breast and told me God obviously blessed our marriage with her and wanted us to stay together.
He gave me a rosary he acquired in the Holy Land that had been blessed by the Pope and taught me the prayers for it. He also gave me a couple of other books which, out of respect to my husband and our privacy, I am not going to share the names of, but they specifically gave me information about what I was going through. Who knew Catholics (and priests!) were so knowledgeable in this area. Ha!
I left his office thinking "Why isn't everyone Catholic? This priest is awesome." Of course, I met some other priests since then and realize that this particular man has a gift and I thank God he chose to share it with the Church. (Note here: I am not saying that this is the only good priest out there or that all other priests are mediocre. Not at all. Fr. Eric is just something special you don't see everyday.)
My new neighbor and homeschooling pal had a few more things to say to me in the coming weeks. "You should come to Mass." "Um, seriously, I am not Catholic." "Doesn't matter. You should just come." And I did.
In the nights where I couldn't sleep after I learned the truth from my husband, the Rosary was my only comfort to quiet the visions in my head causing me such grief. I prayed the Rosary until I fell asleep everynight for probably 3 months. I didn't know much about meditating on the mysteries or the Gospel....I just knew the Hail Mary's, Our Father's, and Glory Be's. I said them over and over and prayed for the images to go away.
I kept going to Mass too. Sometimes I would just sit in the narthex with my nursing baby and cry while my son sat with my friend's family.
I met with Fr. Eric again and cried there some more.
Somewhere in the next 6 months, things got a little better. I still don't know exactly what changed or how it happened (yes there was counseling, and talking, and seeing this priest, and a bunch of other stuff....but really, I can't tell you how it all worked anymore). Somewhere though, I was Catholic.
This was what I had always been searching for. Someone who would love me unconditionally. Someone who did love me and had loved me. Someone who knew me and still loved me. Someone who would never leave me. Somewhere I belonged. Truth. Love. Peace. I found them all with God.
I made the decision to join the Church at Easter. I prepared. I read. I prayed. I kept going to Mass.
My husband couldn't believe that out of "all the religions out there" I had to pick Catholicism. My BFF couldn't believe it either, but she was just happy God was part of the picture now.
We conceived another child in Dec 2007. Yet more proof that God wanted my marriage to survive.
I was confirmed at the Easter Vigil in 2008.
You are probably wondering, just as I am right now, how this all relates into a "problem with prayer". I am getting there. I certainly didn't think I'd go to all this detail (even though I have skipped A LOT of the details to shorten this up) about finding faith and my marriage issues, but apparently I needed to get it out. I am cutting this post short here and will resume (hopefully I'll start typing it right after this) with another post explaining the problem. I figured for you to get where I was coming from you needed/deserved a little background.
As mentioned many times previously on the blog, I am new to faith. Not that I never had any before, I just had a very undefined view of God and my place in the whole spectrum of things. I believed in God, but not going to church. I wasn't anti-church, I just didn't go. I wasn't Protestant or Catholic, or "Non-Denominational Christian". I was just me.
Now that I have Faith, the true Faith, everything is a little different, but some things are the same. I don't take the Lord's name in vain nearly as much as I used to (it's something I take with me to Confession everysingletime, but it's getting better). I still have a hard time with prayer.
When I was a little kid, I used to "say my prayers" before bedtime. My dad (on some non-drunk night I am sure) taught us to say the "Now I lay me down to sleep" prayer and to say "God Bless.......(fill-in-the-blank)". I always felt guilty only asking God to bless the people I knew and cared about. So I devised a system to cover everyone at least once and then those I cared about a little bit more. It makes me laugh to think about it now. I would ask God to bless everyone in the whole world, then everyone who knew someone I knew, then everyone I knew, then everyone I knew and liked, then everyone I was related to, then my favorite relatives, then my mom, dad, and brother. Seems a little overkill and silly to me now. But to my little kid OCD brain it made sense.
My journey into the Faith began with a fall. My marriage was crumbling right before me and I had no idea what to do or how to hold on. My husband came to me one day and told me he didn't love me anymore. I had no idea what to do or where to go with the grief, sadness, disbelief, hurt, and anger I felt. I have serious abandonment issues as it is (my parents kind of sucked, I'll get to that in some other post) and this was the ONE person who had promised never to hurt me or leave me. And here he was, doing both.
I cried. I nursed my baby and cried. I couldn't do anything. I fed the kids. I fed me. I had no one to talk to. It took months before he actually got the truth out - and then I was even more crushed. I had no idea how we were supposed to fix this, IF we were supposed to fix it, how I would live without him, how I would survive mentally, emotionally, and even financially (yes, money crossed my mind, what can I say? I had just recently embraced being a SAHM and given up working).
We had just bought a new house (new to us) and I had heavily lied to get the loan approved. We moved from a big city where I had friends to a little hick-town where my husband's ex-wife lived (to make it easier to get the shared kids to school when I had a newborn). I had just pulled my kid out of public school in the middle of the year to homeschool him permanently (although we couldn't convince the ex to let the other kids out). I hardly knew anyone. Anyone, that is, except the mom of a friend of my son's who had just pulled her kids out of public school and inspired me to do the same.
I had been able to empty everything out to my BFF who lived farther away, but there was little comfort she was able to give me other than an ear to scream and cry to and a pair of arms to hold me when I visited her to cry.
The mom in town had something I didn't have. I remember the first time I talked to her about homeschooling and why would she do that? She said, "Well, we're very Catholic." Hmmm. I just thought the school sucked ass (sorry to be so blunt). I was very casual and said, "Oh, I find God out in the woods when I sit and listen while I'm hunting." I am a little embarrassed I said this now. Actually, I stole those words from my husband because I didn't really have any words for that comment.
Once we were both new homeschoolers living a block away from each other, we started talking a lot more. She could tell something was up. I cried all the time. I didn't want to be home. I'm pretty sure I was eating all the food in her house. She asked if she could do anything. Nope. She said, "You should talk to my friend, Fr. Eric." I said, "I am not Catholic." She said, "He doesn't care. He's my friend. We grew up together. He can help you."
I went to see Fr. Eric. He is, and remains, the most awesome priest I have every met. He GOT IT. He seriously got it, right away. He got my problems, my marriage, everything. He saw that all was not lost and told me God had a plan and wanted my marriage to survive. He looked at the little girl nursing at my breast and told me God obviously blessed our marriage with her and wanted us to stay together.
He gave me a rosary he acquired in the Holy Land that had been blessed by the Pope and taught me the prayers for it. He also gave me a couple of other books which, out of respect to my husband and our privacy, I am not going to share the names of, but they specifically gave me information about what I was going through. Who knew Catholics (and priests!) were so knowledgeable in this area. Ha!
I left his office thinking "Why isn't everyone Catholic? This priest is awesome." Of course, I met some other priests since then and realize that this particular man has a gift and I thank God he chose to share it with the Church. (Note here: I am not saying that this is the only good priest out there or that all other priests are mediocre. Not at all. Fr. Eric is just something special you don't see everyday.)
My new neighbor and homeschooling pal had a few more things to say to me in the coming weeks. "You should come to Mass." "Um, seriously, I am not Catholic." "Doesn't matter. You should just come." And I did.
In the nights where I couldn't sleep after I learned the truth from my husband, the Rosary was my only comfort to quiet the visions in my head causing me such grief. I prayed the Rosary until I fell asleep everynight for probably 3 months. I didn't know much about meditating on the mysteries or the Gospel....I just knew the Hail Mary's, Our Father's, and Glory Be's. I said them over and over and prayed for the images to go away.
I kept going to Mass too. Sometimes I would just sit in the narthex with my nursing baby and cry while my son sat with my friend's family.
I met with Fr. Eric again and cried there some more.
Somewhere in the next 6 months, things got a little better. I still don't know exactly what changed or how it happened (yes there was counseling, and talking, and seeing this priest, and a bunch of other stuff....but really, I can't tell you how it all worked anymore). Somewhere though, I was Catholic.
This was what I had always been searching for. Someone who would love me unconditionally. Someone who did love me and had loved me. Someone who knew me and still loved me. Someone who would never leave me. Somewhere I belonged. Truth. Love. Peace. I found them all with God.
I made the decision to join the Church at Easter. I prepared. I read. I prayed. I kept going to Mass.
My husband couldn't believe that out of "all the religions out there" I had to pick Catholicism. My BFF couldn't believe it either, but she was just happy God was part of the picture now.
We conceived another child in Dec 2007. Yet more proof that God wanted my marriage to survive.
I was confirmed at the Easter Vigil in 2008.
You are probably wondering, just as I am right now, how this all relates into a "problem with prayer". I am getting there. I certainly didn't think I'd go to all this detail (even though I have skipped A LOT of the details to shorten this up) about finding faith and my marriage issues, but apparently I needed to get it out. I am cutting this post short here and will resume (hopefully I'll start typing it right after this) with another post explaining the problem. I figured for you to get where I was coming from you needed/deserved a little background.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Joy
Some swimming pictures from our week at Grandma's pool:
The same Flower....Daddy in the water.
Self portrait: Lovey and I. Turned out not so bad too!
And our SumSum helping Dad out with the little ones. Don't get too many pictures of her.
Dad and Lovey...looking very cute.
And my silly Lovey with Flower in the background.
The same Flower....Daddy in the water.
Self portrait: Lovey and I. Turned out not so bad too!
And our SumSum helping Dad out with the little ones. Don't get too many pictures of her.
And now....off to write more posts, probably with less pictures. It took 7 minutes to load these 5!
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Playing Catch-Up
After a busy week with family, many (MANY) late nights, and zippo for sleep.....I am playing catch-up this week.
Catch up on laundry. Dishes. Food that went bad (I hate that. Don't you?) while I spent most of the week at my mom's house. Catch up on blogs (haven't read much). Catch up on my blog. Update Ravelry (ok, I did that...check my new project here). Balance the checkbook (am I the last person in the world who still writes checks?). Catch up my brain.
I feel totally lost and out of it. My body hurts from all the driving (and we won't be doing that again any time soon.....like I will put my foot down if anyone else comes to visit.....more on that later). Pregnancy and 3+ hours in a car everyday do not mesh well.
I didn't accomplish much last week. But it was fun and nice to see my aunt. I love her. I miss her sooooo much. I wish she lived closer. I would see her every week if I could. She is so great with my kids - happy just being with them, laughing with them, and watching them play. It's always amazing to me the different people that can come out of the same upbringing (same parents). She is so different from her sisters.
I will be back to bloggy soon. I have lots on my mind and I need to declutter it. I have been having fun reading a few blogs here and there the last few days on my phone. I can't wait to
"catch up" with what you've all been up to.
Catch up on laundry. Dishes. Food that went bad (I hate that. Don't you?) while I spent most of the week at my mom's house. Catch up on blogs (haven't read much). Catch up on my blog. Update Ravelry (ok, I did that...check my new project here). Balance the checkbook (am I the last person in the world who still writes checks?). Catch up my brain.
I feel totally lost and out of it. My body hurts from all the driving (and we won't be doing that again any time soon.....like I will put my foot down if anyone else comes to visit.....more on that later). Pregnancy and 3+ hours in a car everyday do not mesh well.
I didn't accomplish much last week. But it was fun and nice to see my aunt. I love her. I miss her sooooo much. I wish she lived closer. I would see her every week if I could. She is so great with my kids - happy just being with them, laughing with them, and watching them play. It's always amazing to me the different people that can come out of the same upbringing (same parents). She is so different from her sisters.
I will be back to bloggy soon. I have lots on my mind and I need to declutter it. I have been having fun reading a few blogs here and there the last few days on my phone. I can't wait to
"catch up" with what you've all been up to.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
New Friends
I love when technology can be used for good. I have met many "cyber" friends that I would not otherwise know. People that I may have a very common bond with and those that I have only a few common threads with. I love all of you that I have met here.
Sometimes living out here in the boonies makes me feel very disconnected from people. Having this cyberworld is like a little reprieve on those days where I wonder if anyone is listening, if there is anyone to talk to.
I've met wonderful Catholic moms, knitters, knitting moms, and blogging daddies. I have found laughter, joy, sorrow, happiness, craftiness, and comfort among these pages and those of others. I am very thankful for the readers here and the privilege of reading your blogs.
Every now and then, someone (or sometwo, or somethree) calls me a friend and it makes my heart leap. Thanks so much for coming back each and every time you do!!
Sometimes living out here in the boonies makes me feel very disconnected from people. Having this cyberworld is like a little reprieve on those days where I wonder if anyone is listening, if there is anyone to talk to.
I've met wonderful Catholic moms, knitters, knitting moms, and blogging daddies. I have found laughter, joy, sorrow, happiness, craftiness, and comfort among these pages and those of others. I am very thankful for the readers here and the privilege of reading your blogs.
Every now and then, someone (or sometwo, or somethree) calls me a friend and it makes my heart leap. Thanks so much for coming back each and every time you do!!
Monday, June 14, 2010
Blogging will be light......
.....if at all.
We have family coming to visit. My Aunt and Uncle and Grandpa.
I haven't seen them in about 2 years. In the past we had visited them every year for our family reunion. But then I started having babies in August, right around family reunion weekend, and we had to go every other year. Then last year my husband just didn't have the vacation time. Needless to say, we are very excited they are coming.
It is the first time they'll be visiting with Lovey (for my grandpa for sure.....maybe my Aunt has seen him in person, but I don't think so). They are staying through Saturday. I assure you I'll probably be reading your blogs, but you may not see much here. (Although I am working on a few posts today that I will auto-set to post in the next couple of days...as long as the kids manage for the next 1/2 hour or so.)
Happy Knitting and God Bless!!
We have family coming to visit. My Aunt and Uncle and Grandpa.
I haven't seen them in about 2 years. In the past we had visited them every year for our family reunion. But then I started having babies in August, right around family reunion weekend, and we had to go every other year. Then last year my husband just didn't have the vacation time. Needless to say, we are very excited they are coming.
It is the first time they'll be visiting with Lovey (for my grandpa for sure.....maybe my Aunt has seen him in person, but I don't think so). They are staying through Saturday. I assure you I'll probably be reading your blogs, but you may not see much here. (Although I am working on a few posts today that I will auto-set to post in the next couple of days...as long as the kids manage for the next 1/2 hour or so.)
Happy Knitting and God Bless!!
New FO - Cutie Longies
(Busy weekend with no posts. Sorry!)
I just finished weaving in the ends on these longies and HAD to show you!!
Only one picture here (because they take forever to load!). You can see more over on my project page.
I had so much fun with these. I haven't knit any longies/shorties since Lovey was about 6 months old. They knit up sooo fast, especially now that my knitting skills have improved. It's amazing how much a year's worth of practice can really speed up your knitting.
I am calling these "done", but I have every intention of embellishing them with something very girly. If they were in a "gender neutral" colorway, I might not. But as they are very obviously dark purple and pink I think they need a very obvious girly embellishment.....like a flower? Or heart? Or pink stars? We'll see.
And the yarn! Oh the yarn! I love this Malabrigo. It almost looks navy in the pictures. I assure you it is not. It is a deep, vibrant violet. I love it.
What are you knitting?
I just finished weaving in the ends on these longies and HAD to show you!!
Only one picture here (because they take forever to load!). You can see more over on my project page.
I had so much fun with these. I haven't knit any longies/shorties since Lovey was about 6 months old. They knit up sooo fast, especially now that my knitting skills have improved. It's amazing how much a year's worth of practice can really speed up your knitting.
I am calling these "done", but I have every intention of embellishing them with something very girly. If they were in a "gender neutral" colorway, I might not. But as they are very obviously dark purple and pink I think they need a very obvious girly embellishment.....like a flower? Or heart? Or pink stars? We'll see.
And the yarn! Oh the yarn! I love this Malabrigo. It almost looks navy in the pictures. I assure you it is not. It is a deep, vibrant violet. I love it.
What are you knitting?
Friday, June 11, 2010
Grueling Homeschooling
My husband has had the last 3 days off. He and the boy have been working outside making our "lawn" (read the 3 acres closest to the house) look pretty. It's been nice.
Today, dad is back to work for his 3 day weekend. And we are getting schoolwork done. Why, you ask, are we still doing school in June and on the weekend? Let's start at the beginning.
At the beginning of the 2008 "school year" (August/September) I had a baby. We tried getting a lot of work done in the summer while it was hot and unbearable to be outside BEFORE the baby came. It didn't work really well. Once little Lovey was here, we took a nice long break. My husband also started his current job about a month after Lovey was born. Between adjusting to my husband's new job (and schedule, low man on the totem pole got the night shift for 6 months) our "nice long break" lasted until January.
I figured, "Hey, we'll just school all through summer to make up for all that time off." That didn't happen either. We ended up deciding to sell our house (still for sale BTW) to move closer to my husband's job. We moved in the summer, further putting off "catching up" with school.
We got settled in the new house and finally got around to our work (still from the previous year).......and then we conceived again. I am pretty useless, other than growing a baby, in the first few months of pregnancy. As I have said before, it gets so bad that I am literally surprised that I am still alive once all the sickness is gone. I drop weight. I lie around. Nothing gets done.
And here we are.
I feel better, so we've been really kicking butt with the school work for the past few weeks. We ARE going to finish this math book, and the grammar, and then I am just not going to worry anymore. My boy is a good reader. The last time I checked, he was like 4 grades above whatever grade he was in. And when I had to start pulling his face out of books to get him to do his chores, or go to bed, I pretty much stopped worrying about reading and reading comprehension.
So, on the docket this weekend (daily) is: Math, Grammar, Wordly Wise, Snake Report editing.
I AM going to IGNORE my knitting everyday until the school work is done. I AM. Even though I just started the cutest pair of longies ever and they are almost done. I have the will power to act like they just aren't sitting there, calling to me.
And as far as the school work goes, the boy is going to get this done ASAP. We've been doing about 3 pages (front & back) out of the math book everyday. Same with the grammar, etc. Once we are caught up, we're just going to "skip" the grade we're missing and move along. (Although I should mention we are changing math curriculums, so this works fine there as the "next" math book in the new series covers the grade we're missing and the next one, woo hoo.)
I am already getting homeschooling catalogs in the mail and am getting totally excited to order new books. Does this happen to anyone else? The Catholic Heritage one always gets me. Seton too, even though we use very little of their stuff b/c it's very "worksheet" orientated and that just doesn't work for my boy (he'd go crazy if there was that much "paperwork" everyday).
So I sit and dream of more school books, dream of my yarn, and help him figure out 18/3. Good day.
What's your summer turning into?
Today, dad is back to work for his 3 day weekend. And we are getting schoolwork done. Why, you ask, are we still doing school in June and on the weekend? Let's start at the beginning.
At the beginning of the 2008 "school year" (August/September) I had a baby. We tried getting a lot of work done in the summer while it was hot and unbearable to be outside BEFORE the baby came. It didn't work really well. Once little Lovey was here, we took a nice long break. My husband also started his current job about a month after Lovey was born. Between adjusting to my husband's new job (and schedule, low man on the totem pole got the night shift for 6 months) our "nice long break" lasted until January.
I figured, "Hey, we'll just school all through summer to make up for all that time off." That didn't happen either. We ended up deciding to sell our house (still for sale BTW) to move closer to my husband's job. We moved in the summer, further putting off "catching up" with school.
We got settled in the new house and finally got around to our work (still from the previous year).......and then we conceived again. I am pretty useless, other than growing a baby, in the first few months of pregnancy. As I have said before, it gets so bad that I am literally surprised that I am still alive once all the sickness is gone. I drop weight. I lie around. Nothing gets done.
And here we are.
I feel better, so we've been really kicking butt with the school work for the past few weeks. We ARE going to finish this math book, and the grammar, and then I am just not going to worry anymore. My boy is a good reader. The last time I checked, he was like 4 grades above whatever grade he was in. And when I had to start pulling his face out of books to get him to do his chores, or go to bed, I pretty much stopped worrying about reading and reading comprehension.
So, on the docket this weekend (daily) is: Math, Grammar, Wordly Wise, Snake Report editing.
I AM going to IGNORE my knitting everyday until the school work is done. I AM. Even though I just started the cutest pair of longies ever and they are almost done. I have the will power to act like they just aren't sitting there, calling to me.
And as far as the school work goes, the boy is going to get this done ASAP. We've been doing about 3 pages (front & back) out of the math book everyday. Same with the grammar, etc. Once we are caught up, we're just going to "skip" the grade we're missing and move along. (Although I should mention we are changing math curriculums, so this works fine there as the "next" math book in the new series covers the grade we're missing and the next one, woo hoo.)
I am already getting homeschooling catalogs in the mail and am getting totally excited to order new books. Does this happen to anyone else? The Catholic Heritage one always gets me. Seton too, even though we use very little of their stuff b/c it's very "worksheet" orientated and that just doesn't work for my boy (he'd go crazy if there was that much "paperwork" everyday).
So I sit and dream of more school books, dream of my yarn, and help him figure out 18/3. Good day.
What's your summer turning into?
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Random Thursday, Mostly Knitting Edition...some other stuff
I bought some yarn off a fellow raveler recently. I got a bag of Malabrigo scraps (to make scrappies of course (that's scrappy longies)), a bag of sock yarn scraps (um? baby booties, etc), and a skein of Malabrigo Sock in colorway Solis.
It arrived, and it is beautiful of course. But it smells. Bad. By bad, I mean not bad like fish or rotten eggs. I mean like heavily perfumed or febreezed (however you spell febreeze). It smells like she had some air freshener right in her yarn storage. All the yarn has this heavy, heavy scent on it. I am sure it will wash out in blocking. But it's obnoxious.
~~~~~~
I decided to wind up and knit the Malabrigo Sock yarn.
I realize now why it was discounted by this woman. The yarn is possessed. Really.
I had my husband and son help me wind. My hubby played the swift and Wobbs held the ball winder (because hubby didn't want to get out of his chair and their was no table near it to put the wonder on).
As soon as I unwrapped the skein, I could see the yarn was tangled. We carried on anyway. About 3/4 of the way through I had to grab the other end of the yarn and start untangling it back to the end that was wound up. It took us an hour.
Then, since the skein looked pretty bad I thought I would rewind it. I've done this with other skeins. No biggie. Just set the skein down, pull the middle out, and start winding it again. Right??
Wrong.
The skein FLEW OFF THE BALL WINDER. Twice. Now I had 3 little saggy balls of yarn connected by strings to one another, with tangles, again.
An hour later all was well. I started a pair of socks. I hope they do not start on fire while I am wearing them. I think I will block them in Holy Water.
~~~~~~
I am using my 9 inch circular needles for the socks. So far so good. Let's see if they cramp up my hands or if I like them after 6 inches of knitting 3x3 rib.
~~~~~~
Crocheted Baby Blanket is finished. I had just enough yarn to finish it. It was promptly picked up by my 3 year old daughter and wrapped around one of her babies. Problem solved.
~~~~~~
While I was at a friend's house yesterday my husband moved the twin bed from the kids' room into our room. Yes!! Finally. I have been bugging him to do this forever. My daughter slept in her own bed (in my room, but whatever) last night. Woo Hoo!! My 1 year old boy slept there too for about 1/2 the night. Pretty good. It was at least long enough that my husband and I were able to enjoy some "quality time" alone, in our own bed. Good enough for me!
I do have to admit, it was weird having all that space in the bed. I am sure I'll get used to it just in time for the arrival of my new baby. (And I missed my little boy! I am glad he came over later.)
~~~~~~
I loved all the comments on the movie reviews. I don't know if I'll be doing any more in the future. Those two movies were just on my mind to say something about, don't know why.
~~~~~~
Will Steve just get back from college already so that we don't have to deal with Joe anymore?? Really. Can't stand Joe.
~~~~~~
And, the best news EVER! Look what I got in the mail from EatSleepKnit:
It's all Malabrigo! I got 2 skeins of Cactus Flower (lighter pink in the picture, although it is by no means light, it's very vibrant pink!), 3 skeins of Purple Mystery, which is a wonderful jewel-tone purple, and 6 skeins of Geranio, the really deep toned pink in the picture. I love them all and they coordinate beautifully with each other.
Plans are for longies, a sweater, a couple of hats, and misc. baby items with this yarn. I may also squeeze out a toddler sweater of the Geranio for my (big) little girl. I can't wait to knit with this yarn. I wound up 2 of the Geranio, 2 Purple Mystery, and 1 Cactus Flower yesterday at a friend's house. No possessed yarn here (and it doesn't smell!!).
It arrived, and it is beautiful of course. But it smells. Bad. By bad, I mean not bad like fish or rotten eggs. I mean like heavily perfumed or febreezed (however you spell febreeze). It smells like she had some air freshener right in her yarn storage. All the yarn has this heavy, heavy scent on it. I am sure it will wash out in blocking. But it's obnoxious.
~~~~~~
I decided to wind up and knit the Malabrigo Sock yarn.
I realize now why it was discounted by this woman. The yarn is possessed. Really.
I had my husband and son help me wind. My hubby played the swift and Wobbs held the ball winder (because hubby didn't want to get out of his chair and their was no table near it to put the wonder on).
As soon as I unwrapped the skein, I could see the yarn was tangled. We carried on anyway. About 3/4 of the way through I had to grab the other end of the yarn and start untangling it back to the end that was wound up. It took us an hour.
Then, since the skein looked pretty bad I thought I would rewind it. I've done this with other skeins. No biggie. Just set the skein down, pull the middle out, and start winding it again. Right??
Wrong.
The skein FLEW OFF THE BALL WINDER. Twice. Now I had 3 little saggy balls of yarn connected by strings to one another, with tangles, again.
An hour later all was well. I started a pair of socks. I hope they do not start on fire while I am wearing them. I think I will block them in Holy Water.
~~~~~~
I am using my 9 inch circular needles for the socks. So far so good. Let's see if they cramp up my hands or if I like them after 6 inches of knitting 3x3 rib.
~~~~~~
Crocheted Baby Blanket is finished. I had just enough yarn to finish it. It was promptly picked up by my 3 year old daughter and wrapped around one of her babies. Problem solved.
~~~~~~
While I was at a friend's house yesterday my husband moved the twin bed from the kids' room into our room. Yes!! Finally. I have been bugging him to do this forever. My daughter slept in her own bed (in my room, but whatever) last night. Woo Hoo!! My 1 year old boy slept there too for about 1/2 the night. Pretty good. It was at least long enough that my husband and I were able to enjoy some "quality time" alone, in our own bed. Good enough for me!
I do have to admit, it was weird having all that space in the bed. I am sure I'll get used to it just in time for the arrival of my new baby. (And I missed my little boy! I am glad he came over later.)
~~~~~~
I loved all the comments on the movie reviews. I don't know if I'll be doing any more in the future. Those two movies were just on my mind to say something about, don't know why.
~~~~~~
Will Steve just get back from college already so that we don't have to deal with Joe anymore?? Really. Can't stand Joe.
~~~~~~
And, the best news EVER! Look what I got in the mail from EatSleepKnit:
It's all Malabrigo! I got 2 skeins of Cactus Flower (lighter pink in the picture, although it is by no means light, it's very vibrant pink!), 3 skeins of Purple Mystery, which is a wonderful jewel-tone purple, and 6 skeins of Geranio, the really deep toned pink in the picture. I love them all and they coordinate beautifully with each other.
Plans are for longies, a sweater, a couple of hats, and misc. baby items with this yarn. I may also squeeze out a toddler sweater of the Geranio for my (big) little girl. I can't wait to knit with this yarn. I wound up 2 of the Geranio, 2 Purple Mystery, and 1 Cactus Flower yesterday at a friend's house. No possessed yarn here (and it doesn't smell!!).
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Movie Review - Taken
(*Image is at the bottom of the post so there will actually be formatting.*)
Wow. What can I say. I read a review of this movie over at Hands to War a while ago. I thought, "Hmm. Sounds like something the hubby and I would enjoy." And then I put it out of my mind.
He then heard about it somewhere and decided we had to buy it. We have small children, so he got to watch it way before I did.
Finally, it was my turn. Great film. Real stuff. Being married to a cop makes me look at the world a little differently. I realize (spoiler here.......close your eyes or go to the next paragraph if you don't want to hear this....not that it will ruin the movie if you do, it won't) the only reason he finds his daughter at the end of the movie is because we movie-goers like a "happy" ending. In real life, she'd be gone.
Basic synopsis: Ex-FBI agent dad has an ex-wife who is an idiot, especially when it comes to limits and boundaries with their daughter (hmmm, sounds familiar in my life). Daughter and ex-wife convince him to give consent for her to go overseas, sans-parents, and she is "Taken". Kidnapped by a women-trafficking group of slimeballs.
He goes to get her. You see some messed-up stuff. The movie is full of action, and is entertaining. It's also a little bit real, like too real I'm sure for some people. I wish we could get my husband's ex-wife to watch it. You see what happens to these girls when they are taken. Where the end up. How they are used. Sold. Addicted to drugs so they'll do whatever they're told.
I am sure it sounds a little weird hearing me call this a "great film". It was great. Liam Neeson is awesome. The realness of this movie is awesome. The fact that he finds her is awesome. I have actually watched it like 3 times in the last month.
I think every parent, especially if you are not really sure why you should monitor when/where/who/what your kids go/do/see/in person/or on the internet, needs to see this movie. It's a lot different when you know what kind of stuff is out there.
I know there are some people who would say (like the ex) "That's just a movie. That stuff doesn't really happen." Lemme tell you.....it does. All the time. One minute your little girl is online talking to a new "friend", the next she is meeting her "friend" at McDonald's, next minute she's gone. Sorry to get a little in-yo-face and personal here.....I just wish with all my heart that this kind of message would get through to someone (in particular).
Bottom line:
Good movie. Great even.
NOT appropriate for children. (Unless you have a college or maybe HS-aged kid who wants to tour Europe alone. Show 'em this.)
No nudity (just so you know...I don't even like to see nudity as an adult, so if you don't either, you won't find any here even with the serious content)
Lots of action (entertaining for the men, and me too)
Liam Neeson (need I say more?)
(Ok, more) Worth a viewing.
I hope I don't seem to "off the deep end" for some of you with this. It was just a good flick and I wanted to share.
Wow. What can I say. I read a review of this movie over at Hands to War a while ago. I thought, "Hmm. Sounds like something the hubby and I would enjoy." And then I put it out of my mind.
He then heard about it somewhere and decided we had to buy it. We have small children, so he got to watch it way before I did.
Finally, it was my turn. Great film. Real stuff. Being married to a cop makes me look at the world a little differently. I realize (spoiler here.......close your eyes or go to the next paragraph if you don't want to hear this....not that it will ruin the movie if you do, it won't) the only reason he finds his daughter at the end of the movie is because we movie-goers like a "happy" ending. In real life, she'd be gone.
Basic synopsis: Ex-FBI agent dad has an ex-wife who is an idiot, especially when it comes to limits and boundaries with their daughter (hmmm, sounds familiar in my life). Daughter and ex-wife convince him to give consent for her to go overseas, sans-parents, and she is "Taken". Kidnapped by a women-trafficking group of slimeballs.
He goes to get her. You see some messed-up stuff. The movie is full of action, and is entertaining. It's also a little bit real, like too real I'm sure for some people. I wish we could get my husband's ex-wife to watch it. You see what happens to these girls when they are taken. Where the end up. How they are used. Sold. Addicted to drugs so they'll do whatever they're told.
I am sure it sounds a little weird hearing me call this a "great film". It was great. Liam Neeson is awesome. The realness of this movie is awesome. The fact that he finds her is awesome. I have actually watched it like 3 times in the last month.
I think every parent, especially if you are not really sure why you should monitor when/where/who/what your kids go/do/see/in person/or on the internet, needs to see this movie. It's a lot different when you know what kind of stuff is out there.
I know there are some people who would say (like the ex) "That's just a movie. That stuff doesn't really happen." Lemme tell you.....it does. All the time. One minute your little girl is online talking to a new "friend", the next she is meeting her "friend" at McDonald's, next minute she's gone. Sorry to get a little in-yo-face and personal here.....I just wish with all my heart that this kind of message would get through to someone (in particular).
Bottom line:
Good movie. Great even.
NOT appropriate for children. (Unless you have a college or maybe HS-aged kid who wants to tour Europe alone. Show 'em this.)
No nudity (just so you know...I don't even like to see nudity as an adult, so if you don't either, you won't find any here even with the serious content)
Lots of action (entertaining for the men, and me too)
Liam Neeson (need I say more?)
(Ok, more) Worth a viewing.
I hope I don't seem to "off the deep end" for some of you with this. It was just a good flick and I wanted to share.
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
8 Years In the Making......
We moved last summer to this new home in the boonies. Obviously, I am still not totally "unpacked".
I did, however, find a surprise buried deep down in a box that I was going through this week.
I started this baby blanket when my eldest was 2. He's 10 now, so that's a long time ago. We weren't sure we'd ever conceive a child together (he had a vasectomy while in his previous marriage) and I wasn't sure I'd ever finish it (the blanket). But, I really wanted a baby, so I started the blanket. (Just an FYI, for new readers....we have now conceived 3 babies post-vasectomy reversal. They do work. And God is soooooooo good.)
It's crochet (hate), acrylic (double hate), and I am pretty sure I bought the materials, including hook, pattern, and yarn, at Walmart. Uh-huh.
But, seriously. It's almost "done". It just needs a border. (Ok, the pattern calls for 118 rows, and I figured out which row I'm on (there are 6 that repeat, oh look parenthesis inside of parenthesis, cool) and it's about 84....so I just decided to get to row 6 and start the border).
It's big enough. It's some baby sport weight yarn in a pastel varigated (blue dominant, because I love(d) blue). It's not the *worst* yarn I've everknit crocheted with (hey, at least it's not BlackRed Heart), but after using natural fibers it just feels....um....fake. I even took it out of it's "store bought center-pull skein" and wound it up on my ball winder thinking it might be less offensive if it at least *looked* like regular yarn.
I am happy to be finishing it though. It feels good to get things done. I am also very amazed at how fast the yarn is getting used up. I knew crochet takes more yardage than knitting but I wasn't prepared for this. When I wound up the skein I thought for sure, "I am going to have a TON of this stuff left. Maybe I'll make a February Baby Sweater and give it to some non-knitting mom." That is not going to happen.
Even so, I have to find someone who wants the blanket. I thought about having a "leave me a comment and you can win the blanket" contest, but most of my crafty readers are knitters like myself who use good yarn. ;) (And it's just not quite done, yet.) You can check it out on Ravelry here.
I did, however, find a surprise buried deep down in a box that I was going through this week.
I started this baby blanket when my eldest was 2. He's 10 now, so that's a long time ago. We weren't sure we'd ever conceive a child together (he had a vasectomy while in his previous marriage) and I wasn't sure I'd ever finish it (the blanket). But, I really wanted a baby, so I started the blanket. (Just an FYI, for new readers....we have now conceived 3 babies post-vasectomy reversal. They do work. And God is soooooooo good.)
It's crochet (hate), acrylic (double hate), and I am pretty sure I bought the materials, including hook, pattern, and yarn, at Walmart. Uh-huh.
But, seriously. It's almost "done". It just needs a border. (Ok, the pattern calls for 118 rows, and I figured out which row I'm on (there are 6 that repeat, oh look parenthesis inside of parenthesis, cool) and it's about 84....so I just decided to get to row 6 and start the border).
It's big enough. It's some baby sport weight yarn in a pastel varigated (blue dominant, because I love(d) blue). It's not the *worst* yarn I've ever
I am happy to be finishing it though. It feels good to get things done. I am also very amazed at how fast the yarn is getting used up. I knew crochet takes more yardage than knitting but I wasn't prepared for this. When I wound up the skein I thought for sure, "I am going to have a TON of this stuff left. Maybe I'll make a February Baby Sweater and give it to some non-knitting mom." That is not going to happen.
Even so, I have to find someone who wants the blanket. I thought about having a "leave me a comment and you can win the blanket" contest, but most of my crafty readers are knitters like myself who use good yarn. ;) (And it's just not quite done, yet.) You can check it out on Ravelry here.
Monday, June 7, 2010
Updated Blog List
I was (finally) able to update my blog list. Unfortunately, Blogger cut me off before I could finish. For now you have "Keeping Me Sane Blogs," "Knitting Blogs," and "Bat Shit Crazy Blogs."
Still need to get "Man Blogs" and "Catholic Blogs" up. It will not let me update anymore. Being picky I guess. So if you don't see yourself here....it's coming.
I realize some of you fall into more than one catagory. I just put you were it means most to me. A couple of you "keeping me sane" are (obviously) also Catholic moms and/or knitters. But really, you're keeping me sane!!
And, a hat tip to two of my favorite "new" blogs that I have been reading for about a month now:
Wool and Chocolate
Become What You Are
Your comments are keeping me writing ladies! Thanks
Still need to get "Man Blogs" and "Catholic Blogs" up. It will not let me update anymore. Being picky I guess. So if you don't see yourself here....it's coming.
I realize some of you fall into more than one catagory. I just put you were it means most to me. A couple of you "keeping me sane" are (obviously) also Catholic moms and/or knitters. But really, you're keeping me sane!!
And, a hat tip to two of my favorite "new" blogs that I have been reading for about a month now:
Wool and Chocolate
Become What You Are
Your comments are keeping me writing ladies! Thanks
I Need A Chick
This is what I told my husband yesterday in the midst of an angry breakdown. I just need a chick to talk to.
It wasn't that he wasn't good enough. He's just not a woman (thank God!). And there was no one to talk to. And I fell apart.
My BFF (ha! I love using "in" language) has breast cancer. Not that that particular problem would keep us from talking, she actually has relatives visiting and I just don't want to bother her. And I have to mention the cancer because I am concerned I will lose her. There. I said it.
My other friend never seems to be able to talk when I call.
My best knitting buddy ever is moving in two weeks 2 1/2 hours north of my house. Craptacular.
We went to Mass at a parish closer to our house this weekend. 20 minutes to the church vs. 1 1/2 hours to our regular parish. It was awful. Let me elaborate:
How many EMC do you need when there are only 100 people in attendance (they had 8!!)?
Why were the EMC's consuming the host at the same time as the priest did (yes, he actually handed it out to them before he consumed it himself)?
Why didn't we sing the "Alleluia" before the Gospel? Or any of the other things we normally sing at a Sunday Mass (all were spoken, like a weekday Mass)?
We were out of there in thirty minutes. 3-0. On The Feast Day of Corpus Christi.
I left wondering if I attended a valid Mass. I also was so very distracted by the lack of reverence that I found myself unable to really participate in the Mass. I prayed afterward, in front of the Tabernacle, and asked Jesus to forgive me for being distracted and to forgive those in the parish for their disrespect. I asked him to help me be closer to him even when I don't "feel" like I am.
And then I had the shittiest day ever.
I got in a big pissing match with my husband over his attention to our biological children vs his biological children. I was very much picking a fight for I-don't-know-why. Then I tried to call somebody to just get it off my chest and there was no one.
My pelvis was heavy and hurting all day. I tried really hard to talk to my husband (when there wasn't any women available) about this and he just said, "Well duh. You're pregnant." I KNOW I"M PREGNANT. HELLO! I just needed to talk to someone (a chick, a mom) who would understand that even though I was very much excited for this new life within me, it still sucks feeling like your insides are going to fall out your bottom all day. It sucks having another human have the hiccups near your butt. Your butt shouldn't be shaking from the inside. Seriously.
I ended up driving into the big city anyway later that evening to get groceries. I calmed down. There was still no one to talk to. I tried calling my husband. And get this, he said "For someone who has so much Faith, maybe you should just let Him take care of it for a while." Can you believe it?! The nerve. Oh wait a minute. He was totally right. So I stopped trying to call every (three people) person I could and just sat in the quiet. It wasn't working. So I put on Relevant Radio (do they have that where you are? Awesome, Catholic radio). That was better.
There are still issues, and for some reason I am not sleeping at night. But the anger is out of me.
And now, to back-track a little, what do I do about the Mass? Do you just go somewhere else (I will)? Am I supposed to say something? Do I call the priest and (respectfully) ask him about my concerns? Do I write him a letter about my experience? Do I write to the Bishop (who is at my regular parish)? As a "young" Catholic, I am a little lost about what would be appropriate. I just thought the whole thing was weird (and distracting) (and irreverent). My husband thought it was just different and thinks I need to let it go.
Sorry not to have a point here.....I just needed to vent and ramble. Thanks. Sometimes I just need a chick. Which is why I have bloggers (ok, I know at least one of you is a guy, my apologies). My husband actually asked me the other night why I have so many blogs bookmarked on my phone. It's because I love you guys. You keep me sane.
It wasn't that he wasn't good enough. He's just not a woman (thank God!). And there was no one to talk to. And I fell apart.
My BFF (ha! I love using "in" language) has breast cancer. Not that that particular problem would keep us from talking, she actually has relatives visiting and I just don't want to bother her. And I have to mention the cancer because I am concerned I will lose her. There. I said it.
My other friend never seems to be able to talk when I call.
My best knitting buddy ever is moving in two weeks 2 1/2 hours north of my house. Craptacular.
We went to Mass at a parish closer to our house this weekend. 20 minutes to the church vs. 1 1/2 hours to our regular parish. It was awful. Let me elaborate:
How many EMC do you need when there are only 100 people in attendance (they had 8!!)?
Why were the EMC's consuming the host at the same time as the priest did (yes, he actually handed it out to them before he consumed it himself)?
Why didn't we sing the "Alleluia" before the Gospel? Or any of the other things we normally sing at a Sunday Mass (all were spoken, like a weekday Mass)?
We were out of there in thirty minutes. 3-0. On The Feast Day of Corpus Christi.
I left wondering if I attended a valid Mass. I also was so very distracted by the lack of reverence that I found myself unable to really participate in the Mass. I prayed afterward, in front of the Tabernacle, and asked Jesus to forgive me for being distracted and to forgive those in the parish for their disrespect. I asked him to help me be closer to him even when I don't "feel" like I am.
And then I had the shittiest day ever.
I got in a big pissing match with my husband over his attention to our biological children vs his biological children. I was very much picking a fight for I-don't-know-why. Then I tried to call somebody to just get it off my chest and there was no one.
My pelvis was heavy and hurting all day. I tried really hard to talk to my husband (when there wasn't any women available) about this and he just said, "Well duh. You're pregnant." I KNOW I"M PREGNANT. HELLO! I just needed to talk to someone (a chick, a mom) who would understand that even though I was very much excited for this new life within me, it still sucks feeling like your insides are going to fall out your bottom all day. It sucks having another human have the hiccups near your butt. Your butt shouldn't be shaking from the inside. Seriously.
I ended up driving into the big city anyway later that evening to get groceries. I calmed down. There was still no one to talk to. I tried calling my husband. And get this, he said "For someone who has so much Faith, maybe you should just let Him take care of it for a while." Can you believe it?! The nerve. Oh wait a minute. He was totally right. So I stopped trying to call every (three people) person I could and just sat in the quiet. It wasn't working. So I put on Relevant Radio (do they have that where you are? Awesome, Catholic radio). That was better.
There are still issues, and for some reason I am not sleeping at night. But the anger is out of me.
And now, to back-track a little, what do I do about the Mass? Do you just go somewhere else (I will)? Am I supposed to say something? Do I call the priest and (respectfully) ask him about my concerns? Do I write him a letter about my experience? Do I write to the Bishop (who is at my regular parish)? As a "young" Catholic, I am a little lost about what would be appropriate. I just thought the whole thing was weird (and distracting) (and irreverent). My husband thought it was just different and thinks I need to let it go.
Sorry not to have a point here.....I just needed to vent and ramble. Thanks. Sometimes I just need a chick. Which is why I have bloggers (ok, I know at least one of you is a guy, my apologies). My husband actually asked me the other night why I have so many blogs bookmarked on my phone. It's because I love you guys. You keep me sane.
Movie Review - Avatar
(Formatting may not work here...sorry.)
This is something new. I don't usually "review" movies on ye old blog, but hey I can do what I want.
I had read some really bad reviews about this movie. I won't link to any of them, because I can't remember exactly where I read them and that would take a really, really long time with my slow internet. Essentially most of the reviews that I read in Christian/Catholic media labeled this movie as "anti-Christian" and "anti-military". One article I read went pretty in depth about how this movie was aimed at our youth to turn them from God to "Mother Earth" and paint the United States Military as the "Evil Force" ruling us all. I decided I wasn't going to see it.
Months later, there was a preview for it on one of the movies we did own (I can't remember which one). Wobbers "just had to see" this movie. "Mom, it looks soooooooo cool!" I was like "sure, whatever". He tried to get me to buy it. He tried to get his grandma(s) to buy it (I informed them not to).
Finally, another Catholic blogger reviewed it on her blog and I decided maybe it wasn't so bad. She said "appropriate for teens, beautiful scenery, entertaining". Ok. But I still ain't buying it.
So I told Wobbs he could request it from the library. "That'll take forever Mom!!" And it did. But this week, it was our turn with the movie.
Here's what I think:
The movie was loooooooong. Really long.
The scenery was beautiful. Really, really pretty and very exciting to look at.
The story was entertaining, if not predictable.
I didn't really get a "turn from God to Mother Earth" vibe from this movie. There was some tree-hugging kind of crap talk going on, but it didn't seem like indoctrination to me. I just took it as "in this future fantasy world, these aliens feel attuned to the world around them, ok fine, nice story".
I also didn't really feel like the movie was "anit-military". Yes, the "bad guys" are the US Marines, particularly one giant a-hole commander. But I didn't feel like it was trying to push on the viewers that the military in general is bad or sucks. I just felt like it was showing me that in particular this certain commander was a giant jerk and cared about nothing but whatever his "commands" are and what gets him money.
Actually, speaking of money.....one of the characters in the movie talk about how this mineral they want to mine from the alien planet is worth about $20million/kilo. But they never talk about why they need it, or why the military is involved, or who makes the money, the government (?) or some private company (?). There are a lot of unanswered questions about the state of Earth in this futuristic world. Is just the United States interested in this mission? Is the whole planet falling apart and we need this stuff? What gives?
Obviously, James Cameron isn't really happy with the state of America right now. Maybe he wanted to push this through to us with this movie. I don't know. But I really found the movie non-offensive and just an entertaining story. It wasn't "the best movie I've ever seen", but it was good. (I don't know that as a parent I would invest 3 hours into watching it again. I just don't have that kind of time.)
Wobbers says, "It's was totally awesome!! It was the best movie I've ever seen. It's my new favorite movie."
It is rated PG-13 for "intense epic battle sequences and warfare, sensuality, language, and some smoking".
Yes to epic battle sequences and warfare. Sensuality? There's a kissing scene and then the aliens "mate", but the camera fades for that. Language....hmmm. Maybe some swearing, but swearing doesn't always catch my radar (too ingrained into everyday language for me to notice, sad I know). Smoking....yes. There is a character who smokes. Not sure why that affects the rating but I guess it does.
Very, very beautiful looking planet they created. Neat animals you'd never imagine. Ok for big kids. :)
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Critters Come to Us (In which my readers may immediately close their browser window)
My son, while taking his dog outside for his morning "empty", came inside with this:
A hognose snake. How much excitement this little creature caused my boy!! He thought it was the coolest thing that ever happened. Of course he tried to convince me we should keep it. Ha! Not in this life buddy. We took pictures and released it back into the wild as we had a very busy morning (I believe it was Sunday That Dad Works, so I was trying to get everyone to Mass alone. Fun.)
Later, we looked at the pictures and then looked him up online to see what kind of snake he was. We thought he was 2 other species before we decided on the hognose variety. Wobbers was retelling how the snake kept "playing dead" and we found that amongst the description of this snake, so there it is.
Of course I, being the wonderous homeschooling mom I am, immediately assigned him a report on said hognose snake. Ain't that great?
And a day or two before that.....one of these was "taking a nap" in our gazebo.
I have no idea what kind or type of bat it was/is, but I was pretty darn happy to see it there. Bats eat bugs. And we have a lot of those out here in the boonies.
A hognose snake. How much excitement this little creature caused my boy!! He thought it was the coolest thing that ever happened. Of course he tried to convince me we should keep it. Ha! Not in this life buddy. We took pictures and released it back into the wild as we had a very busy morning (I believe it was Sunday That Dad Works, so I was trying to get everyone to Mass alone. Fun.)
Later, we looked at the pictures and then looked him up online to see what kind of snake he was. We thought he was 2 other species before we decided on the hognose variety. Wobbers was retelling how the snake kept "playing dead" and we found that amongst the description of this snake, so there it is.
Of course I, being the wonderous homeschooling mom I am, immediately assigned him a report on said hognose snake. Ain't that great?
And a day or two before that.....one of these was "taking a nap" in our gazebo.
I have no idea what kind or type of bat it was/is, but I was pretty darn happy to see it there. Bats eat bugs. And we have a lot of those out here in the boonies. 
Saturday, June 5, 2010
I Have No Will Power
I just bought more yarn. Pink yarn. Can you think of a reason I might buy pink yarn? At least I will finally have something I am excited to knit.
As a result of my efforts this year, I have "earned" the above badge - and a $20 gift certificate. Which will be used to buy purple yarn (probably this week).
Honey, for the 1st time ever, I am handing control of the checkbook over to you. ;)
As a result of my efforts this year, I have "earned" the above badge - and a $20 gift certificate. Which will be used to buy purple yarn (probably this week).Honey, for the 1st time ever, I am handing control of the checkbook over to you. ;)
Knitting Block Party
I finally finished the Nutmeg Sweater. It is a cute, wee little baby kimono made out of Madelinetosh Tosh Merino (a 1-ply supersoft 100% merino wool yarn, very similar to Malabrigo) in Nutmeg and trimmed with Scarlett. Clicking on that link will take you to my Ravelry project page. Here is a picture of it when I was done knitting it. (Look down).
Technically, it still needs a button, button-loop, and some i-cord ties to told it shut. But I did block it. While I was at it, I blocked a bunch of other FO's (that's Finished Objects for you non-knitters, to whom I profusely appoligize for all the knitting content on this blog).
I blocked not only the Nutmeg Sweater, but the Wonderful Wallaby in Malabrigo in colorway "Buscando Azul", a very pretty blue. You can also see my September Surprise jacket here in Malabrigo in colorway "Amoroso". I made a matching 2x2 ribbed hat out of the same yarn.
The Wallaby is the prettiest thing I have knit yet. I still have 3 more skeins of that yarn (ok, like 3.5) and I am trying to decide if I should knit another one (original plan) or make a Tomten Jacket from Knitting w/o Tears. Both cute ideas.
I like all of the knitwear much more since it's been blocked. Blocking, for non-knitters, is where you wet soak an item (usually with some wool wash, NOT Woolite), roll out the water in a towel, then manuever it into it's finished shape. It evens out stitches and usually makes the whole thing drape and wear better. I forgot how blocking "stretches" the knitting a little. The baby surprise jacket is a little bigger now, which I like.
It feels good to have officially "finished" at least one of these. :) The surprise jacket and nutmeg sweater still need buttons. But other than that, they're done!!
Technically, it still needs a button, button-loop, and some i-cord ties to told it shut. But I did block it. While I was at it, I blocked a bunch of other FO's (that's Finished Objects for you non-knitters, to whom I profusely appoligize for all the knitting content on this blog).
I blocked not only the Nutmeg Sweater, but the Wonderful Wallaby in Malabrigo in colorway "Buscando Azul", a very pretty blue. You can also see my September Surprise jacket here in Malabrigo in colorway "Amoroso". I made a matching 2x2 ribbed hat out of the same yarn.
The Wallaby is the prettiest thing I have knit yet. I still have 3 more skeins of that yarn (ok, like 3.5) and I am trying to decide if I should knit another one (original plan) or make a Tomten Jacket from Knitting w/o Tears. Both cute ideas.
I like all of the knitwear much more since it's been blocked. Blocking, for non-knitters, is where you wet soak an item (usually with some wool wash, NOT Woolite), roll out the water in a towel, then manuever it into it's finished shape. It evens out stitches and usually makes the whole thing drape and wear better. I forgot how blocking "stretches" the knitting a little. The baby surprise jacket is a little bigger now, which I like.
It feels good to have officially "finished" at least one of these. :) The surprise jacket and nutmeg sweater still need buttons. But other than that, they're done!!Friday, June 4, 2010
I Love My Husband
My husband was doing some "leveling" of our yard today with the skidsteer.
The mailman apparently dropped off a package to my husband while he was driving said heavy machinery. (WTF? Is the mailman stupid??)
And I just got a call from my husband telling me there is a package of yarn at the end of our (mud and gravel) driveway.
And it's been raining all morning.
*sigh*
The mailman apparently dropped off a package to my husband while he was driving said heavy machinery. (WTF? Is the mailman stupid??)
And I just got a call from my husband telling me there is a package of yarn at the end of our (mud and gravel) driveway.
And it's been raining all morning.
*sigh*
Homeschooling has been heavy....
so blogging has been light.
I appoligize to my "check-in everyday" crowd.
Up and coming this week on ye ol' blog:
Movie Reviews, "Avatar" and "Taken"
Critter Visit Us
Knitting Block Party
The 8-yrs-waiting FO
Problems with Prayer
Can I really help lead a homeschool group?
Stay tuned.....
I appoligize to my "check-in everyday" crowd.
Up and coming this week on ye ol' blog:
Movie Reviews, "Avatar" and "Taken"
Critter Visit Us
Knitting Block Party
The 8-yrs-waiting FO
Problems with Prayer
Can I really help lead a homeschool group?
Stay tuned.....
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