7 Quick Takes Vol. 12 (a day late!)

1.

The reason this is late- we moved.  Again.  And not to my MIL’s house as originally planned.  We moved in my childhood home with my parents, sister and brother.  In case you lost count (in Michelle Duggar’s voice) that’s 8 people.  In a 4 bedroom house.  But it’s working.  Hubbs already has a job, I have a job with a home health agency, and I’m going back to school!  In the past 4 years, we’ve come full circle back to where we started.

2.

Speaking of school, I was SO pleasantly surprised that I am still registered at the college (was community, now a 4 year public) because they do lifetime membership; In 1998 I tested into college, and they still honor that (YAY!  no TABE test)  AND my English Composition I as well as my College Algebra classes still count.  I’m most excited about my math requirement counting- in the 13 years I was in school, I made only one “B” EVER in math- and this course was it.

3.

I’ve expanded my writing.  I have a deadline coming up soon for a website I’m going to start writing for.  Once I have my article up (or I’m cleared to say where I’m writing), I’ll post it. AND, my childhood parish that we will be attending has a self-published newspaper, which I signed up for when I “re-registered” this week. I’m excited for these endeavors!

4.

I’m researching having a major in Nursing, a minor in sociology or social work.  I know that’s a lot to bite off having a job, husband and kids, but if I’m aiming, I’d better aim big, right??!!

5.

I haven’t given up derby.  Jacksonville has a big league (WFTDA-sanctioned) with 4 teams… only one of which travels.  So this should be do-able.  And I’d make myself availale to my girls in ACR too… they gave me my start, and I didn’t want to leave them!

6.

It’s interesting learning to cook so that my dad (a heart patient) can eat… it’ll help my husband (and me too, for that matter).  It’s just hard to not default to pasta or something else cheap.

7.

Using shifts at a computer isn’t fun.  But it’s what we have to live with for right now.  That said, I have to go.

New Season.

I’ll be updating soon- recent developments and opportunities and I don’t have time right now to  discuss in depth.

But check my cookery page on here for an experiment I’m waiting to finish in the oven… I’m sure it’ll be UH- Mazingly good.

Quick Takes Vol. 11

 

 

 

1.

It’s been a while.  Update: We’re moving again.  Back into my mother-in-law’s house.  The past couple days have been used by a) work, and b) cleaning out 10 years+ niccotine and dust.  It’s an endeavor, but it will provide us with a place to stay that’s affordable on my meager wage.  It really is a blessing, and I keep reminding myself whenever I want to throw my hands up and cry.

2.

I’ve lost another 2.5lbs!  I’m seeing a difference every day.  It’s amazing what pausing to think about what I’m eating has done to help me.  I need to watch my water consumption though… had some joint issues and back pain that are probably linked to not drinking enough.

3.

I served as an NSO (non-skating official) last weekend at our home bout.  It was exciting to be on the floor… I was scorekeeper, and we switch teams at the end of the first period… I was pretending to be impartial, but I couldn’t help but cheer (inwardly, of course) as one of my Hunnies made a great block or scored major points.

4.

Speaking of Derby- I’m so in love!  Everything I can read about it I do… I’m trying to find a copy of Whip It and a few other derby-oriented movies to watch and satisfy the itch… I’m also gonna skate on my own a bit when we’re settled in MIL’s place.

5.

I still haven’t given up my passion for helping pregnant mamas and their babies.  I worked with an amazing organization in the Tampa Bay area when we lived there, and I’d love to see something like that (or Center for The Childbearing Year, or this one in Chicago).

6.

WE GET TO HAVE A DOG!  I’m so excited!  I almost rejoiced when we moved here and we left our dogs at my MIL’s house (both are now gone) and I didn’t have to clean up after one… but I miss having a 4 footed friend!  We’re definitely going the small/medium dog size (i.e. dachshund or beagle, etc) this time around because a greyhound and a shepherd mix were a bit much with young children and their messes.  We’re looking at rescue… I don’t know if I want a puppy… and it’ll make me feel all warm and fuzzy to have a pet I know I saved from being euthanized.

7.

Please pray for me.  I’m going to approach our pastor about heading up a project to get the parish online.  The school is online, but not the parish.  When I was moving here, there was no online presence for the parish, which is the only Catholic church for 20+ miles… I think it’d be nice to have a place where Parishioners can go to find out news, events, etc for the parish and diocese… my childhood parish and the parish we attended when we were married both have had solid online presence for quite a while now… need to get our parish going too…

Day 4 of the Holy Spirit Novena- Fortitude

Yesterday, the gift of the Holy Spirit was Fortitude.  And what an opportunity to test that gift than yesterday- for me, anyway.  I’m not going to bog down this with the “why” I had such a hard time yesterday, especially because I know my coworkers have Facebook… Anyway, I had a very hard time yesterday.  I came home last night feeling defeated- physically, psychologically, and bodily.  Yesterday felt like the weight of Our Lord’s cross that first time He fell.  That moment that He more than likely thought to Himself- “F-this.  I’m broken.  I’m tired.  I’ll just stay right here because I can’t go on”.  But just as He got up and moved on, completing His journey, so must I.

I cannot quit.  There’s too much riding on this job for me to just quit.  Unfortunately my bosses know that this is too true for many of us at work and seem to take advantage of that truth.  I prayed for a reason to stay and not walk out.  Walking out to my bed, my husband, my children.  Walking out so the pressure could be gone…

Then I had my answer.  A resident of ours had a stroke that left them with paralysis on one side and awful tremors on the other.  Last night for dinner, we had soup.  Connect the dots and figure out how that works with someone in their condition.  So I whispered in their ear “do you want me to help you with the rest of your soup?” to keep them from being embarrassed infront of their table mates.  They turned to me with a face full of frustration and relief at the same time, and said “Yes.  Please”.  So I sat down and fed this resident their soup.  They had soup all over their clothing protector (can’t say bib… this resident and I had a chuckle over that later), and I wanted the resident to have a little more dignity than being covered in food.  Technically we shouldn’t feed residents, as I work in an Assisted Living facility, not Long Term Care.  But I made the decision to feed this resident anyway.

When taking the resident back to their room, the resident put their hand on my arm and said “You were an answer to my prayer- I was praying for someone to help me eat that soup, and thought one of my sons would come in and do it.  But you came and asked me and I just need to let you know what a blessing that was”.  I almost cried.  I almost am right now.

To know that when it comes down to it, I need fortitude to get through the pressures from administration and the politics of a workplace, because my first priority is, and will be, these residents I am entrusted by God and their families to take care of.

Thank you Lord for letting me be the answer to someone’s prayer, and that person, in turn, being the answer to mine.

Holy Spirit Novena 2011

Holy Spirit Novena 2011!

I am joining over 2500 Catholics to pray the Novena to the Holy Spirit this Pentecost. We are trying to get 3,333 people to pray this together!

I’m pretty excited to pray this with so many faithful Catholics around the world and I thought you’d like to join too!

There are thousands of people praying through this novena website and there will be millions praying around the world.

+ Sign up for handy email reminders to get the the novena prayers here: Holy Spirit Novena
+ If you have a website, post about it there!
+ Email your friends and family and get them praying too!

Let’s get all the Catholics we know to pray this novena together to the Holy Spirit!

Quick Takes vol. 10

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.

It’s been quite a while.  My part time job, which I was told when I was hired would only be 50-60  hours a pay period (every two weeks- 25 to 30 hours a week) has been within an 8-hour shift of full time (or better!) consistently since about March.  It’s working as far as making sure we have quality time as a family, and allows me to do a few hobby things, but I’ve neglected this blog.  BAD ERIN!

2.

Speaking of hobbies- number 1:  I have started doing roller derby.  It’s not the WWE on wheels people think about (a la 1970)- it’s a real sport… I haven’t been on skates since I was a teenager, so this has definitely been an eye opener.  I haven’t started playing in bouts yet, but I hope to by the end of the year…  if you have a local league, go check it out!

3.

Hobby #2-  Sewing.  My grandfather was going to donate my grandmother’s sewing machine, and while my mom and dad were up there visiting, mentioned that I’ve started sewing… so I am now in possession of a Janome Master Craft machine.  I took it to a local quilt store, and was embarrassingly suprised that basic servicing is $75.00.  Money we don’t have to spare… so, thank God for YouTube.  I was able to take apart my machine, clean it, oil it and get it working smoothly for $2.99 (the machine oil)!  I’m working on a few pillowcase dresses for Princess and her new BFF, and a few clothing covers (adult bibs) for two of my residents that use them… next is a picture quilt for my grandfather as a thank you, and a few other quilts for family.

4.

I’m seriously considering becoming a direct-entry midwife… meaning I just go to school for midwifery, not nursing.  It’s the area I want to be in, and it could spare me from having to just take an ER or oncology nursing position for months (or years) on end before a L&D/Mother & baby position opens up for me to work at before getting my masters/CNM degree.  The only drawback is that I’d have to start from scratch my own midwifery practice… which means I may go without patients for times… something to think about.

5.

Princess graduated Kindergarten this past week!  You’ll be happy to know I didn’t lose it- but I did have to gulp back the welling in my eyes a few times.  If you’re friends with me on Facebook, the video and pictures are up there.

6.

I’m catching myself saying to people “I love what I do, I hate my job”.  Being a stay/work at home mom for a while made me forget that a lot of people don’t have a work ethic and there’s a lot of people that never left the clique-y hirearchy of  high school… so this is my cross for right now.  To trudge through the office politics and inconsistency and make sure our residents are taken care of.  Priority #1 for me there…

7.

We have a new bishop here in the Diocese of St. Augustine.  He was installed Thursday at one of the former churches I went to when I lived in Jacksonville.  ETWN covered it… I noticed that they used the ending credits for another Bishop’s installation (San Antonio, I believe), but that aside, I was amazed at how big it makes the church look… hubbs said they’re probably using a wide angle lens to capture everything at once, thus making distance a little distorted.

Congratulations Bishop Felipe J. Estevez,  10th bishop of the Diocese of St. Augustine!  You are in my prayers for leadership in this massive diocese.

 

 

 

 

 

7 Quick Takes vol 9

1.  I’m not too proud of how I handled myself last night.   I was approached by a man in the parking lot at work asking to use my cell phone to call his ride because he’s stranded (one of those magazine sales for school thing).  I don’t remember taking my cell phone out, let alone him seeing it, but I told him I didn’t have one (it was 11 o’clock at night and we’re right on a busy street- if he wanted to steal it, he could have gotten away easily).  He then started harassing me saying that he saw it in my hand and that I was a liar.  I walked very quickly into the building, locking the door behind me.  My coworker called the police, as it was shift change and the evening shift was coming off work… the police stated that the man was harassing others in the area all day.  Part of my Lenten plan is to stop thinking the worst of people- in traffic, in public, etc.  I just can’t help thinking- did I lose an opportunity for charity?  I can’t answer that right now- and it bothers me.

2.  On a lighter note- my administrator told me that I am “already spoken very highly of” by our residents, one especially critical of the staff ‘really likes’ me.  That just made my day/week.  It’s validating when you’re in a place that you can ’work’ (no pun) your calling… I just feel like my calling is to take care of my fellow brothers and sisters- up till now it’s been as a stay at home mom, and it’s now grown to encompass taking care of those well seasoned in life…

3.  I’m taking notes on Jennifer Fulweiler’s guest post at Pro Blogger.  I need help staying on track with blogging, and these are some good tips.  Especially when I add on wanting to keep my hobbies of photography, sewing and cooking active… I just need to keep things organized.

4.  I went all out yesterday for St. Pat’s day!  I mean,  lot of people think of this day as a bastardized Americanization of a real holiday, like Cinco de Mayo, Mardi Gras, etc.- an overblown excuse to drink oneself into stupidity in the name of a nationality’s celebration.  I decided to celebrate my family’s (majority) heritage by doing a national flag family tree with DD… we talked a little about each country and she colored their flags.  She has Irish (natch), Scottish, Brittish, German and Scandinavian backgrounds… very fun to answer her questions about who was what nationality. 

5.  Check out the Cookery page on here to see what goodies I made for our holiday!  The stew was an epic fail- very bitter.  But otherwise, yum all around.

6.  I got my review copy of G.K. Chesterton’s Orthodoxy this morning… I can’t wait to delve into it… I’ve heard great things!

7.  I was playing a Dropkick Murphy’s mix on You Tube, and this song is by far my favorite they do… and Hubbs and my 5 year anniversary is coming up in 3 weeks… this song pretty much sums up how I feel about him…

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Anyone know how to embed You Tube videos on free WordPress?  Anyway, the song is called Forever… go give it a listen.