Taking a hiatus!

Hi all! I was doing so well keeping up with a post for every week in the liturgical year, but all good things inevitably come to an end. 😂 My life right now is just not conducive to weekly blogging. It's all good stuff, but with my son starting college in the fall and other needs of my family, and me having a new job within my academic library world, I'm at full capacity. We're all doing GREAT though, and continuing on in our Byzantine rite journey. I'll check back in with updates when I can!

Thanksgiving, Advent 2021 begins, and lots of puppy snuggles...

 Hello everyone, and happy Advent 2021! I always LOVE and look forward to this season and a fresh start to our liturgical year, and this year, I have a brand new Advent wreath and candles! 🙌

Wreath is from Vermont Christmas Company

Our old one was porcelain, and various nativity scene members had lost limbs over time, so I thought the time was nigh to procure a new one. I did keep the centerpiece with the white candle for Christmas day from that set though, I always loved that, and don't see it in most Advent wreaths!

Besides decorating for Advent, we spent a lot of time just hanging out together and having fun cozy time over the long Thanksgiving holiday weekend. 🥰

Matching family and doggie jammies are from Muk Luks :)

Because who doesn't want to match their dog, am I right? :-0 Of course, I also did a little Black Friday shopping, one of my favorite pasttimes. ;-) And look what just came from Sock Religious!

3 Wisemen socks

I also have nativity socks and liturgical year black dress socks on the way. 😎 Definitely check out their seasonal offerings, such fun! And new cozy socks were especially helpful this week, when I was laid up for a few days:

Lots of knitting, Barney snuggling, and binge watching of Holiday Baking Championship on The Food Network. 😂 It was all quite delightful. 

How is your Advent starting out, everyone? So far, I'm keeping up with devotional reading and absolutely loving it!

A very Catholic Hallowtide, as we move closer to Advent...

Happy Friday everybody! My crazy teaching schedule is finally winding down (I had classes all morning and afternoon last Friday, hence my lack of posting) and I have to say that I am very relieved. I love teaching, but the intensity of the schedule tends to tire me out after a spell. I have just 3 classes to go early next week, and then I have a break until the spring semester. Really looking forward to that, and to the upcoming holiday time! 

In the land of the Catholic Librarian household, we had a lovely Halloween weekend!

*just tried to find a pumpkin emoji, but apparently Blogger doesn't have one :-0*

This is our first Halloween with Barney, and we were so excited to share it with him! He really got into the Halloween spirit:

Can't you tell by the look on his face? ;-) That's just his Always Face though, our Barney is a very serious dog, even when he's really happy! See?

We didn't take him out trick or treating, he stayed home and hung out with Mike and Henry dispersing candy. I went out with Anne, and also her good friend Ruby. It was lovely seeing the girls have such a good time together!

Mike and I did dress up, but not on Halloween proper, we did the night before for a party we attended. 

I don't think we look that much different than our usual selves, but we had fun. 😂

For my part, I *really* enjoyed praying Morning and Evening Prayer starting on Halloween night for the Hallowtide celebrations. Shauna'h talks about this in her blog post here, and I joined her Instagram Live sessions whenever I could to pray along, or caught the replay whenever I couldn't. I absolutely loved learning more about the ancient prayers and traditions of these 3 days (beginning on the vigil of the feast of All Saints, and going all the way through the feast of All Souls), and I prayed the Office for the Dead for the very first time! It was all so soothing and lovely, and it motivated me to start really making plans for Advent! Speaking of Advent...

I need a new wreath. This is an issue of critical importance to my life. 😆 Advent traditions are some of my favorite of the entire year! Do you have an Advent wreath that you love? All links welcome in the comments! In the coming weeks as we get closer to the feast of Christ the King, we can make some additional Advent plans together!

Returning to the NY Sheep & Wool Festival, and some life chaos...

Happy Friday everyone! It's been a few weeks since I was last with you, owing to the chaos that has been my life these past few weeks. :-0 And it continues, in that I have taught 17 classes this week, and while next week is a bit better, chaos is still reigning! BUT, I am *so happy* to be back to teaching classes in-person, and I will definitely take a bit of happy busyness. It makes me feel useful. :-)

But last Friday I simply ran out of time, as I was traveling to the NY Sheep & Wool Festival in the Hudson Valley, NY, and it was a *delight*. I thought I'd provide a little chronicle!

This festival is held every year (with the exception of last year, of course!) at the Dutchess County Fairgrounds, in Rhinebec, NY:

I have to admit, I got a bit teared up when I arrived. The last time I was in Rhinebeck, it was October 2018. I didn't go in 2019 owing to some dance commitments that fall, and of course in 2020 it was held only virtually. I felt like it was something really special to be there again in person with a wonderful group of other crafters and their loved ones. *heart*

My first purchase of the day happened pretty quickly. 😂Some gorgeous fall colors from Cozy Color Works!

Besides yarn, I always love seeking out cute stuffies and other gifts at this festival!

This guy simply insisted on hopping into my bag of purchases!

I always get the kids alpaca fiber socks, and they LOVE them! This year, Anne got a cat design, and Henry got snow monsters:

And seriously with these Christmas ornaments, how could you resist?

There are also cute animal exhibts at the festival, including this dog frisbee show organized by a local animal rescue:

And of course, so many cute sheep and lambs 😍

I'd like the lamb on the far right, please!

Before the day was out, I also acquired this gorgeous yarn gradient set with beads, to make a cathedral inspired shawl:

And during breaks, I was working on my September National Parks Hat, inspired by Mesa Verde!

I had SUCH a lovely time! I was with my friend Stacy, and we just spent the entire trip enjoying each other's company, knitting, and watching Halloween baking shows in our down time. I cannot WAIT to go back!

How has your October been going, dear reader? I'm starting to plan for Advent, how about you?! 😎

Crafty updates, and book club voting still open!

 Hi all! So, last Saturday, I was wrapping up the online fitness class I take on those mornings, shutting down my laptop, when suddenly I had a thought...

"What day is it?! Wait, I just did body sculpt, it's Saturday. Did I post on the blog yesterday? Was yesterday Friday?! Yes, I *think* it was Friday. But...NO I DID NOT POST ON THE BLOG YESTERDAY, UGH!"

😂

As is the pandemic norm, keeping track of the days of the week is just not a *thing* right now. Additionally, last Friday, Anne was sick and stayed home from school, so I was all thrown off, home and taking care of here when I had originally planned to go into the office. Getting a transition routine up and running, with being back in the office two days a week, has certainly been a challenge as it's such a big change, and things are just still so wonky with pretty much everything. We're getting there! So I thought we could have a bit of a two-week-in-review post today. First, let's talk books!

Summer Book Club! I've gotten a few votes for St. Francis of Assisi, and a few people who mentioned that they would be happy to read about any of the saints, but there's still time to cast your vote! We'll read one of Louis de Wohl's historical fiction novels based on the lives of the saints. Just leave a comment on the post with your choice!

I've started a new non-fiction selection that Mike got me for Mother's Day...

...about the code breakers in World War II. I love it so far! I'm trying to do less mindless scrolling on my phone these days, especially before bed, and more reading of actual books. For my fiction option, I'm currently reading the latest in the Amish Candy Shop series:

Loving it! This is one of my very favorite cozy fiction authors. I've also been knitting, and finished up the April National Parks hat, this one themed on Death Valley in the springtime:

Death Valley, by Kristen Ashbaugh-Helmreich

I'm also knitting a cabled bag, which is definitely in a very wonky stage right now!

Quin Cabled Bag pattern is free!

And in news unrelated to literally anything else, I got another ear piercing, this time a cartilage piercing called a Daith piercing, and I absolutely love it (if pictures of ears gross you out, keep scrolling!): 

I just needed a little something different to keep my spirits refreshed. I love ear piercings, I think they're so beautiful!

All right, that's my update! Everyone in the family is doing well, and we're all looking forward to school wrapping up and experiencing the summer! How are you doing?! Don't forget to let me know your Summer Book Club selection in the comments if you haven't done so already!

Of rancid refrigerators, and Summer Book Club?

Hello all, and TGIF! For the first time since mid-March 2020 I am IN MY OFFICE, and boy has it been...interesting. 😂 To be honest, I am thrilled to be back, I am a creature of routine, and thus it feels so incredibly good to have a sense of purpose to my mornings again: to get dressed, put on makeup, drive in while listening to podcasts, and come to do work in my office. I'm coming in two days a week right now, and that'll increase as the spring and summer wear on, til fall semester classes start when I'll be back full time and teaching in person again.

😎

I can't wait! But I tell you, that first day back was incredibly strange. My office was frozen in time from March 2020, and that wasn't a pleasant place to be, to be sure. My wall clock was dead, pictures had fallen off my fall and were just lying on the ground for months, the calendar was trapped on that terrible month, and my mini fridge...

😱😷

Whoa boy, that was rough. :-0 There was a full container of what used to be Half & Half for my coffee. And 3 ziploc baggies full of things that I could not discern. 

*hurls*

It was pretty traumatic, let me tell you. :-0 The dash to the trash can commenced forthwith. But at the same time, it felt so cathartic to get rid of that stuff and put fresh new things in their place. My clock has a new battery, I put up a new 2021 calendar, the old planners are now all recycled...it was good, very good. I'm feeling more and more back to my old self every day.

In other news, I'm thinking ahead to the summer, and I'd love to host a Summer Book Club! It wouldn't have to be every week, we could take our time and maybe shoot for twice a month. But I'd love to read another Louis de Wohl historical saint fiction novel. What do you think? We have options for:

St. Thomas Aquinas

St. Benedict

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Francis Xavier

St. Helena

St. Joan of Arc

Vote in the comments if you'd like to participate!

A Cozy Indoor Packing List for the weeks ahead...

Welcome back, friends, to our final installment in Fun Friday (taking next Friday off from blogging to spend Black Friday shopping online with my family, hee hee), but I have to admit, it doesn't feel like a very fun day, does it? Things are worsening here, as they are worldwide, and I have a feeling that it's going to be a very long winter, sadly. On top of that, I barely have reason to leave the house much right now given the public health guidelines, and that's only going to worsen in the coming weeks, so I'm doing my best to emotionally manage it. And so I thought today's installment of Fun Friday could be a focus on ways to make our indoor time super cozy and delightful. I've been working on building up our supplies this week myself, and thought I would share. :)

1.) Books - Because of course, right? This *is* a librarian's blog, after all. Load up, my friends! Visit your local bookshop if you are able, or otherwise order some titles in print or digital. I think we can all agree that complete escapism is absolutely essential right now. :-0 For my part, I'm currently reading the lovely Amish Christmas at North Star:

Quick blurb:

One night four lives entered the world by the hands of an Amish midwife, just outside North Star, Pennsylvania.

Rebekah’s Babies, as they are called, are now grown adults and in four heartwarming novellas each young person experiences a journey of discovery, a possibility of love, and the wonder of Christmas...

I also have this on my bookshelf from last Christmas, and am planning to pull it out!

2.) Puzzle Books - While shopping with Anne earlier in the week at our local Dollar Tree, I happened upon a display of word finds. Hark. Word finds? I LOVE WORD FINDS! And I haven't worked on any in like, 25 years. :-0 And these were winter and Christmas themed. This isn't the one I bought, but akin to this one:

I bought both a winter themed one and a Christmas one. I love simple ways to occupy my mind like these. I also kind of like picture mazes, but I restrained myself on that one. 😁 Ultimate Dot to Dot books are another great idea!

3.) Jigsaw puzzles - Continuing the puzzle theme, a Facebook sponsored ad read my mind (creepy!) and got me thinking about jigsaw puzzles. Both of my kids loved puzzles when they were little, and although I'm not particularly good at them (500 pieces is a challenge for me, 1000 pretty much impossible!) I truly enjoy working on them. I purchased this one, and it is a DELIGHT. The entire family is enjoying working on it. And because none of us are particularly adept puzzle solvers, the joy just keeps giving, because it's still not completed yet, LOL! Each day, a few of us head over to it to slide in some pieces.

I put in an order for some Christmas puzzles too, excited for those to arrive!

4.) Hand Crafts - You all know that I love my knitting and crocheting, and indeed, I've enjoyed the big yearly yarn sale over at Knit Picks and We Crochet this year more than ever. But I also espied some new hand crafts that I thought would be fun to try, and thought maybe Anne and I could try them together. I ordered a punch needle kit, and I have to say that I am very intrigued. I am not familiar with this craft at all, and can't wait to learn about it! I purchased this one:

I see that it's now out of stock temporarily, but they have other kits as well! And they also have embroidery kits, which Anne is interested in. I have my eye on this fall leaf one:

Trying something new has me all atwitter with excitement. And it's much needed, for sure!

5.) Flavored hot cocoa - Doing our grocery shopping this week, I saw a collection of flavored hot chocolates packaged together, and quickly snapped it up for the kids. This one had peppermint, mocha, Irish Cream and Salted Caramel. When the weather gets cold, I have the urge to fire up the kettle. I like tea, and the kids love hot cocoa. Which reminds me! Celestial Seasonings has their holiday collection teas in stock, and they are THE BEST:

Nutcracker Sweet is my favorite tea of all time, I drink it year round. The kids are favoring Sugar Cookie Sleigh Ride, and the pumpkin tea was delightful all October long. Oh it makes me so happy to even think about fun hot beverages!

All right, that is my list for bringing home the cozy. Have anything to add to the list? I'd love for you to leave your ideas in the comments!

In a sea of online classes, a bit of happiness emerges...

Happy Friday everyone! This is the end of my busy stretch of teaching, and I have to say the result is a bit different than I expected. And shockingly...it's in a good way!

As I've mentioned before, working from home, and the way that the pandemic has oblitered my former happy life and routine has wrecked a bit of havoc on my mental health. I know that I'm not the only one in this boat, and so we've all just been coping as best we can. In terms of work, I miss my colleagues, I miss the students, I miss my office, I miss the contened hustle and bustle of the campus and the library.  I was not looking foward to teaching solely online.

BUT, I will say that I'm pleasantly surprised by how it all went now that I'm nearly at the end of this very busy two week stretch. The format does have some challenges, to be sure, and I maintain that it is incredibly difficult to connect with people via a screen, and impossible when they do not turn on their cameras (which is their right to do, to be sure). Overall though, despite expecting to feel overwhelmed and stiff from sitting in front of my laptop and teaching all of these assumedly demoralizing classes online, I found that I was...happy. Tired, but energized. I felt busy, but useful. This is the most like my old self I have felt since March. I'd still rather teach in person, but this exceeded my expectations (which were admittedly low, LOL!). And I got to watch Hallmark Channel during my short breaks between sessions, so win/win/

Going into the winter, at least where I live, which has a cold climate, I'm not dreading the long term work from home model like I was before. It feels a bit cozier to be inside and spending less time by myself with the weather turning. I'll take any little bit of hopefulness that I can get, so I'm pleased with this!

In novena news, I finished up the John Paul II novena (and I'm actually sneaking in St. Jude, I just can't help myself!), and tomorrow we will begin the Novena for the Holy Souls in Purgatory! If you'd like to join in, I created a page for it on the blog. :-)

How are you doing this week, dear reader? Are you looking forward to Halloween and the feasts of All Saints/All Souls? Also, feel free to leave novena intentions in the comments!

New routines, prayer, and identity during the pandemic...

 As I was reflecting on what to write about this week, I realized that on this blog I have barely mentioned the word 'pandemic.' I have alluded to it, obviously, because how could one not? But it's as if speaking the word brings fresh pain into my already battered being. I haven't even created a topical label for it on the blog, because I honestly don't want to be able to go back and filter posts for this topic in the future! Sometimes, I wish that I could erase this entire year from my memory.

Every person on the planet has been affected by the pandemic in different ways, and I am no exception. I'm very grateful that no one I know has become sick, but that definitely does not mean that one has been left unscathed by this global tragedy. For me, the biggest toll has been my emotional and mental health from the isolation, and my concern for my kids, who both showed signs of depression before going back to school this fall. I'm happy to say that they're both doing a lot better, and I'm doing a bit better too, although no where near my usual happy self. But it's improving!

One thing that has been absolutely debilitating to me with my personality is losing my daily routine, in which I found so much comfort. And it's not coming back anytime soon, as I mentioned last week. It may be close to a year before I'm back on campus and in my office. But what I've been trying to do of late is to carve out a new routine for myself for the time being, and that's been a bit easier with my kids being back in school. This is actually my topic in my Catholic Mom piece for October, which will come out early next week, so keep your eyes peeled! :)

One of the ways that I've been trying to carve new rituals is with prayer. I used to always pray the rosary in the car on my commute into work (half on the way in, and finishing up on the ride home), and now I'm working in my kitchen. I could pray the rosary on my lunch break while I sit on the couch, but that just doesn't hold the same appeal to me. Now that I'm working from home, I'm driving my son into school at 8 every morning. With the weather getting cooler, I've taken to going out a few minutes early to warm the car in the driveway for a few minutes before he's going to be ready to come out. One morning, I took my rosary out of it's case and started praying one as I backed the car down out of the garage and waited for Henry. Then I continued as I drove home after dropping him off. It's not a long ride, but I still got though the opening prayers and a full decade by time I pulled back into our driveway. Getting started like this then motivates me to seek out other opportunities during the day to sneak in decades, like if I have to drive to dance later (we're back in person, horray!). I may or may not finish an entire rosary, but I still count this as a huge win, and it's doing wonders for my contentedness level. 

The other prayer routine I've developed lately is novenas using the Pray app, and as I'm sure you've noticed, I've been praying a lot more novenas than usual! But the push notifications from the app are lending a serene feel to my mornings when I see that little cross icon come up and I pray the daily prayers. It's giving some much needed structure to my prayer life, and solace to my days. Right now, I'm praying the St. Teresa of Avila novena, and St. John Paul II starts Tuesday with the page up and ready on the blog!

My intentions for the St. Teresa novena relate to peace and patience with work for the next two weeks, as I'm entering our busy teaching season, and it's all virtual this semester, which I find very challenging. So I'm just going to take it one day at a time! Teaching, in my experience, is a bit like performing, and I love performing. All of that, for the time being, is online only, and this has definitely contributed to my malaise these long seven months. There is no energy, no connection with your audience, when you're online. But it's temporary, and I'm just trying to get through it while doing the best I can with it. 

After my teachinig is done, I'm going to focus back on dance more, which I'm excited about. I feel like the changes that the pandemic has wrought has made me feel like some alternate version of Tiffany, and not my real self. I'm certain a lot of you feel that way, too. I miss my old life, my old self. The older I've gotten, I've actually enjoyed my life more, and have more confidence in myself. Since March though, that has all been missing, and I've been struggling big time. I'm trying to climb back into my old identity, but it hasn't been easy. Starting a new dance project will definitely help out with that, and I'll devote an entire post to that in a few weeks. :)

How is everyone's novenas going? Have you struggled with lack of routine since the pandemic started? I'd love to hear from you in the comments. *heart*

St. Jerome novena starts Monday! And a few other prayerful life musings...

 

Hello friends and happy Friday! I'm so excited that we're starting our first community novena of the fall/winter season this year with St. Jerome on Monday! All of the deets and prayers are in the special page that I created for the novena, also linked at the top of the blog (desktop) or as an option on the drop down menu (mobile). St. Jerome is the patron saint of librarians and biblical scholars, and is also a great patron for students. If you have any special intentions that you would like the community to pray for, please leave them in the comments! :-)

For my part, I've been doing a lot of praying for my kids as their first full week of school wraps up. So far so good, but it's early days yet, for sure. Anne, in particular, seems SO HAPPY to be back to school, and she really loves her teacher and classroom this year. I don't even know how she's in 4th grade, as she still seems like my little baby to me. 😢 But during the spring and summer after everything shut down, I have never seen Anne so distressed and downright lethargic. And for a 9 year old, that is very worrying. Now, she gets up in the mornings very content and ready to get on with her day, whereas before she was sleeping way too much, and just languishing on the couch in her free time. With both Mike and I working from home, it was difficult to divide our time between attending to those reponsibilities, and also trying to keep the kids engaged and off of their electronic devices. It was such a nightmare, it's hard for me to even think back on it now. Needless to say, I'm so happy to see her thriving again! And Henry seems content, too, albeit in a quieter way, as teenagers are wont to do. He had an easier time adjusting to remote school back in the spring, as would be expected given the difference in their ages. But still, he's up and ready to head to school in the mornings now, in a good mood. It's heartwarming to see. 

In other big news, I am back to IN PERSON dance class again, after 6 months of online only, and I cannot fully express how good it feels. I'm grateful that I got to continue my training and learning in the midst of the nightmare that was the lockdown, plus I got to study with some internationally known instructors that I normally would not have been able to access due to geographic location. So those things were good, but still, it was *not the same* and there can be no meaningful level of correction in a group online-only setting. Not to mention how much I missed my troupemates and dancey friends. The disruption to normal socializing that this virus has wrought has been brutal for my mental and emotional health, as I'm sure it has for everyone. So I'm very, very happy to be getting back into a dance routine that involves rehearsing in the physical studio! 

Performing is still pretty unknown right now, which is an enormous bummer. As I've gotten older, I have come to treasure performing as an important part of my identity. I've been in some online shows, and while I'm SO grateful for those opportunities, those are also not the same as performing in front of a live audience. There is no energy to feed off of, no connection to make with other humans while you dance. I'm hoping small parties will be happening again soon, but the restaurant scene has just been hit so hard by all of this, I don't know when that will come back. The capacity limits plus the money they have lost make that unlikely for quite some time. We'll see, I suppose, I'm just trying to think positive. And we support our local restaurants with takeout orders every single week!

How is everyone else doing this week? It does actually feel like a new leaf is turning over this fall, yes, even in the midst of our larger global situation. What new things are you embarking on this September? :-) And don't forget to leave prayer intentions in the comments! 

Christmas in July crafting begins, and preparation for the changes at mass...

Happy July everyone, and I hope that the new month is starting off well for you! Given our current situation, I see the start of a new month as an opportunity for a fresh beginning, and for new hope. It will also herald the return to mass for our family, which I'll circle back to.

Late June/early July always means that I start to think about crafting holiday gifts, and this year is no exception. If anything, being home more amidst the pandemic means that I'm thinking about crafting even more than usual! :-0 My current goal is to finish things that I have in progress so that I can begin working on a gift list. That means the Journey shawl that I've mentioned here a few times. And it is nearly done, save for a few ends to weave in, and blocking!

Pattern is The Journey via Expression Fiber Arts, yarn is the Journey Hues kit in Alpaca Silk DK  

Very pleased with this! I used nearly all of my yarn, so just fyi to make sure you get gauge if you decide to make this. ;-) It's *very* warm, a definite late fall/winter wear in terms of use. But so soft and cuddly to wrap in. As I was binding off, I was marveling at how large it was once it was freed from the needles!

I'm also finishing up a pair of socks for myself, and as soon as I finsh those, I plan to cast on for these:

Custom dyed NFL themed yarn in Pittsburgh Steelers and Buffalo Bills colors for Mike, Henry and my dad. And so the gift knitting will begin!

Thus, we have socks. Those are on the gift list. Also, my mother-in-law asked for a cotton top that I have the yarn for and will cast on soon. I have a cabled cardigan for Mike that is partially complete and has been in my in-progress pile for something like 5 years. 😂 It's just a big undertaking, I tell you! And I'd like to make a few cowls for my grandmother and aunts that see on Christmas eve each year. So that's...3 pairs of socks. 1 top. 1 complicated cardigan. :-0 And 3 cowls. That's mangeable. I think? I'll post updates throughout the summer and fall!

One thing that made me smile this week:

I saw this series of seasonal songbird quilted totes in Anne's monthly issue of Birds & Blooms magazine. Yes, my 9 year old has a print magazine subscription, her mother is a librarian, after all. She and I absolutely love birds. So I went to the Bradford Exchange website and signed up to recive all 4. The first one came this week, and I have to say that I love it, and the quality is high. It's well made and thick, has a zip top and interior pockets, and has a detachable bird house charm. Only problem is that the price I thought was for the entire series of 4, is for a single bag. 😂 I could just keep this one and cancel the subscription for the rest, but to be honest, I think I'm going to keep the subscription. I need more smiles these days, and the size is perfect to tote my kntting and/or work supplies around in. So I can look forward to receiving a new bag every 2 months! The one above is the spring edition, and I'll receive summer in late August. :)

And so the other thing on my mind these days is returning to mass. I'll be honest, I'm trepidatious, because the sheer volume of restrictions and full on prohibition on socializing and interacting while at the church really depresses me. I understand, mostly, it seems to me that a lot of this is common sense, and as adults that have been living through this the past 3.5 months, we could be trusted to do the right thing without quite so much structure, but it is what it is. I did wonder if I should wait a few weeks before going back (the dispensation is in place for the indefinite future) just to give things time to settle in a bit, as I'm sure the first few weeks will be the most awkward with everyone getting used to it. But then I reflected on the fact that I haven't received the sacraments since mid-March, and told myself to stop being so stubborn. :-0 So, as requested by the parish, I emailed in my intention to attend the vigil mass, and we'll see how it goes! I'm sure it will be fine. Jesus is there, after all, and that's all that matters.

*group hug*

And I'm so excited to bust out my new missal!

St. Paul Daily Missal

How are you all doing this early July weekend? We started chatting last week about returning to mass, which I really enjoyed. If anyone has updates about their parish, I'd love to hear about it!

Winter Wellness Series #2 - Fitness!

Happy Friday everyone, and welcome back for week 2 in our Winter Wellness series! Today we are talking about exercise and fitness!

*streamers!*

What I'd like to do is chat about our workouts or other ideas to stay active, and then talk about how the rest of the month will run here on the blog in terms of topics. Sound like a plan? :-)

So, I'm a pretty physically active person, but I have a confession: I hate gyms, and I also hate running. These are, of course, two big ways in which many people work out and stay active. 😂 Here, though, is something that I think is of utmost importance - when it comes to exercise, you should do what you know you will do. In other words, there's no use in trying to force yourself to do something that you loathe and have little chance of following through with longterm. If you like to take walks, you should do that, and challenge yourself to up your game a bit by adding distance and more challenging hiking paths. If you enjoy dancing, you chould try a Zumba class or other dance fitness. If you're not usually very active, try some different things to ferret out what you like best!

I really do hate running, btw. I hate how long it takes to build up endurance, and I hate the constant risk of injury doing something that I don't like doing anyway! If I get injured dancing, well, at least I'm doing what I love. :-) When I have tried running in the past, I would dread doing it, get frustrated when all of my hard word would get derailed by a single cold or something that kept me from running for a short stretch, and eventually I'd give up in a huff. This is what we don't want, for sure!

While it's true that I don't like the gym, I do like group fitness classes (which are often offered at gyms, I will grant). I love the community spirit, it keeps me motivated, and I so prefer a class format to lifting weights or toiling away on a treadmill (again with the running). I am a huge fan of Zumba dance fitness, and have a class in my regular rotation. I also take Piyo two times per week, which I LOVE. This is a yoga/Pilates fusion that works your entire body with your own natural resistance (no weights involved), and it is amazing and you will SWEAT! I've been wanting to challenge myself to try new things, and so this winter I have also added in a HIIT class (high intensity interval training). While it's not love like with the other ones (exercises involving running *snort* and jumping are not the best fit for this body with a bladder that has experienced multiple pregnancies 😨) the instructor is amazing and incorporates strength training with hand weights, and that part I do like!

In addition to specifically fitness classes, I also dance two times per week, and I walk when I can with friends or my husband. :-) Check out your town's community education class schedule, there are often new things to try in there in terms of dance, martial arts and other types of fitness classes. It's a great way to find new things, and try them out for a manageable and limited time frame so that you can see if if you like them! Community ed. is actually how I first discovered belly dance!

Planning a fitness routine is key, in my experience. For me, the best time to work out is during my lunch break at the campus gym/recreation center. For a lot of people, that time is right after work. Again, it just should be a time that is convenient for you, that you know you can stick to with some regularity. For walks, those are in the evening or on the weekends if I have Mike with me. Whatever works!

I also think a lot depends on what your goals are. Working with a personal trainer can really aid in establishing and working towards these, and that's something I'm interested in trying! If you're looking to build muscle and tone up, they will likely suggest a different track for you than for someone who is looking to lose a set amount of weight. I'm in my 40's, and looking to build muscle and generally get in the best shape of my life. I'm excited. 😁

So I'm going to keep trying new classes where I can, and look into the personal training thing. It's good to have goals, and to encourage each other!

What are your fitness goals? I'd love to hear about them! Next week, we're going to wrap up the wellness series with a talk about water intake, protein shakes, and anything else I can think of that we haven't covered already. ;-) Then the week after that is just before Ash Wednesday, so we'll be doing some Lent planning, can't wait! 😀

Winter Wellness Series #1 - Meal planning and prep...

Happy Friday everyone! Last week we had a fun chat about wellness goals for the year, and I was inspired to start a series to run for the end of January and into February on related topics. Here we have our first official post in the series, and today we're tackling meal planning and prep!

*praise hands*

Caveat: I don't have a background in nutrition, or any experience with specialized eating needs involving allergies or other food sensitivities. I'm just going to lay out what works for me, and new things I'd like to try. Obviously, we are all different, and what works for one will not work for all! But I think that sharing experiences provides ideas and inspriation in any number of ways, and that that is always a good thing. :-) With that said, let's get started!

Whenever I come to a place wherein I want to increase my overall physical health, the first thing I do is examine the fuel that I'm providing my body. If I'm not feeling as good as I have in the past, it's often because I'm not balancing my eating as well as I used to, and in my case, that *always* comes from a lack of planning.

When I meal plan, I provide structure for balanced family dinners, but also for the lunches I pack to take to work, because I use the leftovers as my lunch 90% of the time. For lunches, here's the key: put the leftovers you plan to use for this purpose into convenient to carry, lunch-sized containers RIGHT AWAY, as you're cleaning up from dinner that night. If you don't, the chances of you using your awesome leftovers become significantly reduced. Ask me how I know this. ;-)

If we don't have leftovers for lunch, I'll pack a salad, or what I call An Assortment, which is usually cheese, crackers, fruit, and whatever else I can scavenge from our fridge and cupboards. Having this Plan A and B for lunches helps me to feel organized, and to be better about planning dinners. And planning dinners is ever so important to our physical health goals. Here's how I do it:

Magnetic dry erase menu

Yep, I am a nerd, and I use a dry erase board. You can see that Anne has penned her very own meal ideas in the Groceries section of the board. ;-) I am a huge fan of this system, and have been doing it for years. When I slack off, things go bad quickly. This particular type of menu requires liquid chalk markers, not traditional dry erase, and I get those easily on Amazon:

Liquid chalk markers available from Amazon

I plan the meals over the weekend, usually Saturday or Sunday morning, for the entire week ahead. Sometimes, things don't work out as planned (we don't have enough leftovers on a day I have planned leftovers for dinner, or we're missing a key ingredient for a meal that I thought we had), and so I'll just shuffle things around, or add something new in mid-week, no biggie. The key is not to be too hard on yourself. We all try to be organized, and sometimes things don't work out as planned. We try again!

I meal plan using a variety of sources. I have a cookbook collection that I love, and I'll select things out of there. When I pick something, I add it to the menu, and I also added needed groceries to our grocery list. This cuts down on the Missing Key Ingredients, although it isn't 100% fullproof. ;-) One of my favorite series of cookbooks is 100 Days of Real Food:

I highly recommend the 100 Days of Real Food blog and cookbook series!

I also have a slew of recipes that I print out from blogs, or recipes that someone gave to me, and I keep these in folders divided into meal categories. You can really tell that a librarian is in charge of this operation, yes? :-0 These are usually family favorites, and I'll try to insert one of those into the weekly menu alongside the inevitable healthy, vegetable-laden new things that I'd like to try, but that the children will hate. ;-)

I also use recipes from a service that I subscribe to called Prep Dish. Prep Dish is an awesome company, owned and operated by a professional chef, that provides you with weekly meal plans, shopping list, and a plan for prepping the food for the entire week, so that each weekday your work to prepare the meals is minimal. The meal plans focus on a gluten free situation, or a Paleo eating philosophy, neither of which totally apply to me, *however* the meal plans are based on using whole, fresh produce, meat and fish (if you're a vegetarian, could easily eliminate these), and are just generally very healthy and flavorful. I use the Paleo recipes, and am always finding new ideas, seasonings, cooking methods, and general inspiration from them to try new things. I personally do not do all of the advance prep, but this is obviously another fantastic idea that you might want to try! I also don't use every meal idea on the weekly plan, but each week will simply select a few to try. Even though I'm not using all of the capabilities that this service provides, I still consider it VERY worth it to have built-in seasonal, healthy ideas every single week! I am an annual premium subscriber, and consider this an essential renewal every year.

Another recipe source for me is our local CSA (community support agriculture, a farm share of local fruits and vegetables, essentially), and this gets into an important point about meal planning: having fresh and healthy food in the house means that you are much more likely to use it in your meals, or snack on it when you feel hungry between meals. We have an awesome CSA that provides recipes for the produce that is included in that week's box, and they deliver it right to our door. They also have a webstore wherein you can add in a slew of other locally made goods such as dairy products, meat and fish, pasta, bread, jams and jellies, pickles, etc. I'm often adding yogurt and granola to my order, and sometimes chocolate milk that my children devour like they've never seen liquid before. I find having fresh fruit and veggies essential to my lunch options too, so if I'm out of leftovers, I'll cut up carrots, toss whatever fruit we have in there, etc.

I LOVE belonging to a CSA. I spend a little more than if I purchased the items at the grocery store, but the convenience, and the fact that we're supporting local farmers, makes it so worth it to me. Ours even runs all winter with root vegetables and hydroponic lettuce and tomatoes!

So for meal planning, that's all I got. :-0 I don't track what I eat, even if I'm trying to lose a few pounds, I just try to focus on balancing my meals with lots of healthy, whole food, and to not snack between meals aside from fruit or vegetables, and a protein, if needed. I know that a lot of people swear by tracking their food, so this might be something that works for you! I know there are tons of great apps for that out there now.

To me, it is SO, so essential that we enjoy our food, and have a healthy relationship with food. We shouldn't deny ourselves less healthy food that we enjoy, we can just try to control our portions of it and balance it out with healthier options. And sometimes if that doesn't happen, it's ok. We should treat ourselves sometimes, and be kind to ourselves. The fruits and veggies will be waiting for us Monday morning. ;-)

What are your meal planning ideas and/or system? Do you have tips that have worked for you in terms of healthy eating? I'd love to accrue some new ideas!

Is it time for a change?

So, I've been going through some stuff. Nothing serious, but I've been under some stress since this past fall. Mostly, it's related to my kids, and the anxiety I've been experiencing from the changes in their lives as they both get older. Having my son start high school has been the greatest crisis in my life as a parent since dealing with epic sleep deprivation, postpartum depression, and temper tantrums from the infant and toddler years. I'm prone to anxiety by nature, and this ramped it up to a degree that for the first time, I've sought out a licensed therapist to help me to cope with it all better. That's a good thing, and it's helping, and I'm grateful for that. Overall though, I've noticed something about myself: my sense of self is much more defined than it's ever been, and my perspectives have shifted a bit. That comes from age and experience, I suppose. But I'm much more aware now of the things and people in my life that I treasure, and simultaneously I'm also much more aware of my own mortality. My birthday is coming up next moth, and well, YOU KNOW. I'm pretty sure this is the very definition of a midlife crisis. :-0

I have this increased sense of carpe diem, like now is the time to really savor my relationships and experiences, and really challenge myself within the hobbies and avocations that I enjoy. That's all good stuff, what I worry about is this deeper sense within me of: "But what is it all for? What is the ultimate purpose of pursuing this?"

Now granted, some of those are easy. Spirituality-wise, I know what the goal is, and am always working on that. Check. Relationships are the same. We want loving, happy, healthy relationships for obvious reasons. But other stuff is tougher. Dancing is my greatest creative endeavor, and I'm definitely going through a Midlife Dance Crisis. ;-) What do I want from dance, ultimately? Am I achieving that? Honestly, I don't know.

The other thing is this blog. I've been writing here, and sharing with you, for a long time, over 10 years now. And...why am I doing it? I was struck recently that blogging isn't exactly the "in thing" anymore. I've always written because I enjoy it (same goes for dancing, truly), and that's reason enough, to be sure. But midlife crises involve DEEP PURPOSES, know what I'm sayin'? Some weeks it's a challenge to come up with an idea for a post. And our community is small (but mighty!) so I do wonder to myself if it's time to try something new. Is blogging really the best way to achieve my goal to write for enjoyment anymore?

Another reason that I started this blog was to share my faith. I still enjoy doing that quite a bit. I write for Catholic Mom on a monthly basis, and I have to admit that I love writing those pieces because it's only every 30 days. Each one feels like a fresh new opportunity to share something interesting about my faith life because it's been a whole month since I last penned one. I write multiple Gospel Reflections for them each year too, and adore working on those, because they really challenge me to dig into the scriptures and discern how they apply in my own life. I also love the Facebook group related to this blog that I manage. Our weekly prayer threads, posts on interesting Catholic gifts or stories, the novenas, LOVE that stuff. Because it's low key and spontaneous, and also because there's a fuller sense of community there. I also truly enjoyed writing my book in the scripture study series put together by my friend Allison, because I had the opportunity to collaborate with a duet of lovely women and really extend myself creatively in the process. So I share my faith in these other ways, and wish to continue doing so.

So what does this all mean in terms of this blog? I don't know, lol! I would love to hear from YOU. Do you still find it meaningful to follow this blog and read my posts on a regular basis? I write about an eclectic mix of topics: religious faith; crafts; family; fitness; belly dancing; books and podcasts; random weird stuff that happens to me. I mean...:-0 What do you think?!

I don't really have any notion of alternatives. Perhaps a change of style, in which this were a website with a blog feature that I update when inspired? A website that is curated with ways to easily navigate into posts on the varied topics that I tend to write about?

I'm all ears. But I do feel like this blog needs some TLC. I think I've been going through the motions with it for quite some time because I'm very commitment oriented, and I'm also quite averse to change. This blog has always treated me well, and I'd hate to give it up. It's definitely one of my babies, and I love the people I've met through it (you!). But it doesn't feel right to keep doing something the exact same way just because that's the way you've always done it, especially when the platform doesn't feel as inspired as it used to.

All thoughts quite welcome in the comments! :-)

Adventures in new school routines and last minute restaurant dancing...

Well, it may not be pretty, but I'm makin' it. 😂 The weeks are long right now, but we're getting there. Let's settle in for a drink!

I've lived through another week, which these days, is an enormous accomplishment. I feel like this each day lately when I get up in the morning:

Life is a marathon right now, but I'm trying to sprint through each day. I'm getting there, but each evening when I am trying to keep my eyes open before collapsing into bed I am very aware that I am trying to do too much and that I cannot keep up this pace forever. But in the short term, until the competition finals are over, I'm not really sure what else to do. So I'm hanging on for dear life and doing the best I can.

Henry is loving his new high school. I'm quite shocked at how he's clearly acclimated already and thriving. We're still figuring out how we're getting him to and from school each day, since he starts and finishes at completely different times from Anne, but we'll get there. We live close enough that he always has the option to walk/bike, which is absolutely clutch. 

As for Anne, things are still a struggle. She has not acclimated to her new class, and is not thriving in any way. I'm anxious to talk to her teacher, but unfortunately, her teacher's mom passed away this week, and so there has been a substitute. Therefore (quite understandably) it's going to be awhile before I'll be able to get a sense of how she's doing when she's actually at school. I just know that at home, she's been quite unhappy and down about school. Mike and I are both, consequently, quite anxious about all of this. It's been challenging, for sure.

My car goes in to be repaired on Monday, thankfully. But my litany of other appointments remain, and I'm just balancing them all in the short term as best I can. My classes are finally all scheduled, so that's something.

In my dance world, it's been complete and total chaos. :-0 I've been preparing for the competition, and my troupe is preparing for a hafla that is coming up in just a few weeks, but everything is on hold at the studio right now because one of our instructors is getting married this weekend. And in the midst of all this, I've had several paid gigs. I hadn't had a paid gig since New Year's Eve, and now I've had 2 in the past 3 weeks. 😳 And it's great, don't get me wrong. But it's been so stressful at a time when I've had so much else going on, I can hardly think straight.

Last week, my instructor and main dancing partner in gigging situations messaged me to see if I was available to dance at the grand re-opening of a restaurant we frequently dance at on New Year's Eve. They had had a fire, and had been closed for 5 months. They wanted to hire us to dance, but the re-opening was in 3 days.

😬

Now, here's the thing: we're belly dancers. We improvise for a living. I can put together a set list and dance to it with 5 minutes of notice. But emotionally, paying gigs take a lot out of me. You're in costume and performing to the utmost of your ability for anywhere from 12-20+ minutes, and it's exhausting. Restaurant sets are usually 20 minutes for us, and we each dance 2 or 3. It takes a lot of physical stamina and emotional well being. And the emotional thing has been a bit low of late. :-0

But this is a great restaurant, a great opportunity, and great extra pay. So we agreed to do it.

That Friday found me applying stage makeup as Mike and the kids ripped up carpets in the upstairs hallway, remember that? I'm stepping over staples and disintegrated carpet pad as I frantically race around looking for my 4D mascara and extra facial glitter. Claire and I arrive at 5 pm for a 4 hour stretch of waiting amongst straw wrappers and sugar packets, interspersed with 20 minute sets of dancing. This restaurant is lovely, but their sound system is not the best, and stress abounded with getting the music to play loudly, all while people keep coming up to ask me if I can seat them at a table. :-0 It's always a little wacky at these adventures. I will also say that it adds an element of interest to improvisational dancing when you don't even remember what you put on your set list. :-0

But it went great, and I went home a limp noodle after a very long day. I don't know how much longer I can keep up this pace, but I have to until September 22nd. Then I can start worry about my crazy teaching load (5 classes that next day alone) and the hafla that I don't even know the dance for yet. 😂I don't know, I guess we'll figure it all out! But I have to admit, I don't like things to be *quite* this exciting all at the same time!

What's new with you as September reaches it's mid point?

It's a planning frenzy for this organization nerd...

Happy almost-summer everyone! It *finally* feels like spring here in WNY, just in time for summer, yay. :-0 But it's been lovely, truly, albeit a bit rainy. But we need the rain for the flowers and plants to grow, yes?

I have an organizational topic for us to share today, and although that may sound totally uninspiring, I have to tell you that the excitement of all of this has taken over my life, and I'm not being sarcastic. 😂 I've *really* enjoyed my foray into the previously unknown-to-me paper planner world, and picking something out for myself. Yes, I still use a paper planner. Although I do use the Google Calendar on my phone, I still thrive only when having something physical to look at when planning my days and weeks. I'm also a daily to-do list maker, and I love the ease of keeping all of that in one place.

This all got started because I forgot to put my order in during the pre-order phase for a new Blessed Is She planner, which is what I've been using for the past 2 years. That is a fantastic planner. Since I missed the pre-order, I thought to myself: "maybe I'll take a look at what else is out there." Well.

*falls down YouTube rabbit hole*

I had no idea that there were planner launches twice per year (fall and spring), planner conferences, and people who make planning and decorating their planners with stickers a full blown hobby. Scrapbooking is certainly a hobby, and this seems to be an offshoot of that, so it makes sense, but I had just never thought about it before. Although I don't see myself taking up the scrapbooking path, I'm quite fascinated by those who do. And there are so many planner options! Layouts, daily/weekly/monthly options, vertical vs. horizontal, to-do list placement, meal planning opportunities...my head was spinning, but after my first lunchtime YouTube marathon, I felt all invigorated.

Let's do this! :-0

I knew that what I was looking for was a planner with an hourly layout for each day (I absolutely NEED this for my sanity with my crazy, always evolving teaching schedule each fall and spring semester, but also to keep track of meeting times, appointments, and other good stuff like that) but I also like to see the entire week in one shot. This is apparently called a weekly planner with hourly layout (who knew?) and they're actually not as prevalent as I thought.

Weekly planner with hourly layout

Before I fell down the YouTube rabbit hole I was looking on Amazon, and almost none of the ones I found had this sort of layout. The big planner companies (that I didn't even know existed prior to this little adventure) all do, but I had to know the name for what I was looking for. Once I got that figured out, the video watching continued in earnest, and I eagerly lapped up videos of women unboxing their new planners (which is definitely a THING, believe you me), as apparently I was just in time for the nationwide academic year planner launch. I prefer academic year planners, to be sure. As a person who went to school for many, many years, they are uber comforting to me, like a solid old friend, and as I now work on a college campus, the academic option that begins in July or August each year works perfectly for me. I found that there were all these planner companies with enthusiastic followers filming videos on how awesome their planners are, and I admit it, I got caught up in Planner Frenzy. :-0 I'm telling you, I really had fun with this. Happy Planner, Emily Ley Simplified Planners, Inkwell Press, Plum Paper...my head was spinning with all of the customization options, and all of the beautiful planner covers. I had no idea that I could become so overwhelmed picking out a planner. 😂

I ended up ordering an Erin Condren Life Planner, which is apparently the Cadillac of planners. I chose the academic year start, hourly layout, a neutral/pastel color scheme for the interior, and I customized my outside cover. It just arrived yesterday, and I'm kind of in love with it:

😍

This planner is the cutest size ever (7x9), has a SUPER sturdy laminated cover and awesome, indestructible gigantic coil that this company is known for, absolutely gorgeous, thick paper that pens do not bleed through, and I just CAN'T EVEN with how much I love it. I have my beloved hourly spread for each week, to-do list area for each day PLUS one on the side where I can put weekly tasks that don't need to be done on a specific day, note and goal pages for each month, a cover with fall leaves that is absolute perfection, and it even has my name on it. 😍 I mean, I LOVE it. It comes with pockets, a separate perpetual calendar to keep track of birthdays and holidays, and a snap-in ruler to keep your place. I also purchased a separate snappy-in thing (this is called a DASHBOARD, I feel so fancy and planner savvy 😎) that lays out meal planning for an entire week, with grocery list on the back, and it's WET ERASE (sorry to keep shouting, but this is all just so INGENIUS) so that it won't smudge, and some wet erase markers. I am in NERD HEAVEN, I cannot even tell you. It does come with a few seasonal stickers, and so I went wild last night applying them to their correct holidays and occasions. I don't even recognize myself anymore. 😂

Cute extra pouch I bought to keep all my pens, markers, and other planner supplies in

I have been really enjoying this, for sure, and I'm all motivated to keep better track not only of my own stuff, but appointments and other commitments for the kids (which grow and grow the older they get, it seems) that we usually only keep on the family monthly calendar in the kitchen. But then...sometimes I forget about those things, and you know, I need to ferry them there, so I need to know those things! I'm slowly filling in my calendar for July and August with Anne's Girl Scout camp dates, Henry's high school work study schedule, basketball camp, and altar serving dates. It's definitely a calming experience for me, and is helping me to not feel like I may cry all the time with all of the changes happening right now in our lives.

How do you keep track of your daily and weekly schedules? Do you use a paper planner or another system? If so, you KNOW I want to know what type of planner you have, what features you like about it, and photos would be even better. 😍 Post in the comments!