Liebster Award

Not sure its actually an award, but I will indulge by dear friend Cristina.

1. Where do you live? And why do you live there?
We live in Carlisle, PA. My husband is from here and had the job. His parents live close so it makes life a little easier when we want to get away so we have someone to watch the menagerie of animals here. 


2. What are you currently watching and/or reading?
I am reading My Life with the Saints by James Martin SJ. It is very good and I'm enjoying this Lenten read. 


And Twenty Things Adopted Kids Wish Their Adoptive Parents Knew. Very enlightening. So much I didn't even think of when discerning adoption.


I also just finished Father Elijah. Wow. Very, very good. There were some scenes beyond my comprehension but overall an excellent read by an excellent writer.



3. What kind of Catholic are you: cradle, or convert? (Or considering?)
Cradle. I don't ever remember not going to mass *almost* every week. My family was very active at our local parish and I went to a *Catholic* university. 


4. Can you point to one moment or experience that made you a practicing Catholic? (Or want to be?)
I attended a TEC (Teens Encounter Christ) weekend my senior year of high school that was very powerful. But really it was when I was on my Cursillio weekend in August of 2006 that I was struck my God's immense love for me and that I wasn't really doing my part. 


5. How many pairs of shoes do you own?
Probably 10-15 but I wear the same 2 or 3. I tried to donate the shoes I wore for my wedding and my friend saw this and said, "You are donating your wedding shoes?!?!??!" So back in the closet they went. 

6. Are you a good dancer?
Not really. I was in 2 musicals in high school and took ballroom dancing lessons with DH when we were engaged. But I don't think that qualifies me as "good."


7. Who usually drives, you or your husband?
My husband. Even though I can be rather critical. It seems to me that he drives slower when we late and I said this recently and when I was driving Little E somewhere recently she informed me that it felt like I was driving slow. Go figure. 


8. What's your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?
Christmas. We go to family friends' on Christmas Eve and either go to midnight mass or 10 AM Christmas Day. I bake cinnamon rolls (that another friend gifts us) in the morning and we open gifts after mass. We have my DH's family over for dinner and open gifts with them. Usually the next weekend, we travel 3 hours to visit my family and have another gift opening fest. It.is.fun. 


9. Which is correct? Left or right?

I don't really care as long as it isn't empty. 

10. Do you have any scars?

One on the palm of my hand from when I fell onto a heat vent on New Years Eve (no, I wasn't drinking) and had to get about 5 stitches. My dad was annoyed that he had to leave the party at our house to take me to the ER. I was a senior in high school. 

11. What's the most famous thing you've ever done?

Not really much of anything. I have run a few community 5K and 10K races. Our high school girls soccer team was #1  in the nation (ranking by USA Today) my freshman year. I wrote a couple Letters to the Editor in 2011. So, nothing famous. 

Thanks, Cristina!

I'm tagging Sew and Mrs. Mike. 

What's Been Going On Around Here

Not much. :)

You know...just some painting projects.

And some updates to our foyer. We have lived here for over 7 years and never painted our front hallway, it was time. But when your husband is extremely tall, he builds things from his perspective. The coat hooks are about 6 ft from the floor and he tried to build a bench with cubbies but that was 24 inches tall. It needed to be at least 12 inches. Oh well! He did fix the bench.

And...we are in the middle of getting our home study paperwork together. So exciting! We are working with an agency in our state that only does domestic infant adoptions. We feel that will fit our family the best at this time. So...if you have any leads for a birth-mother, please send them our way. We should be home study ready by May.

I Completed a Sprint Triathlon

With a lot of improvement to make! I came in dead last. LOL! But at least I finished.

The indoor sprint triathlon was at our local YMCA where Little E and I go frequently. It has been saving us from cabin fever and winter boredom. The race was all indoor, first 800 yds (about 1/2 mile) in the pool, 12 miles on an indoor spin bike and 3.1 miles on a treadmill. I have wanted to complete one for awhile, having had some friends complete them. So in the fall, I printed off a training schedule and read a book. I tried to swim, bike and run a few times each every week. Some weeks were good, others not so good.

The day of the race, we went to mass as usual but it did go over a little bit. My start time for my heat had been moved up 30 minutes so we were rushing. And that morning my DH's battery was dead so we only had 1 car. So DH and Little E had to take me to the Y. I was quite nervous to get started. Luckily, our transition times were not counted in the overall race times.

I arrived at the Y, signed in, got my t-shirt, and changed into my gear. Once I was at the pool, I started to get a little nervous. There was a family of 4 in my heat and another experienced triathlete, I called him Mr. Triathlon. DH and Little E watched this portion of the race. This was so helpful to see them on the side of the pool cheering my on! I did pretty well on this portion and actually was the second one out of the pool and beat Mr. Triathlete out of the pool with a time of 14 minutes or so.

That is where my good luck ended.

I dried off and headed to the spin bike room. Thankfully, before the race I had adjusted my bike and just jumped on and started. I had trained on a different type of stationary bike but had taken one spin class earlier this month. I just got on the bike and started spinning. When another triathlete got on the bike next to me, I realized that my RPM's where much slower than him. I was kind of gauging that I would finish the 12 miles in about 48 minutes. But when I saw him spinning faster, I tried to go a little faster. I was getting tired and thinking, "What the heck am I doing?" But I keep on spinning. I finished this portion in 44 minutes and also drank about 16 ounces of my homemade Gatorade. I headed down to the treadmills. I thought I was doing well because there were still some other triathletes still spinning.

Once I got on the treadmill, I set my speed for about 12 minutes miles which is actually adventurous for me. I kept that pace for about 1 mile and had to go slower. Man, was I tired and thirsty. Mr Triathlete and a couple other racers were already pounding away on their treadmills. I saw the others come down and get on their treadmills. I had to keep going slower to catch my breath and tried to drink more water. Then Mr. Triathlete was done and started a whole other workout on the treadmill. I was still plodding along now I think I was down to like 14 minute miles and thinking, "UGH, would this ever be over?" Then I stopped sweating and was thinking, "This is it! I might have to just stop." But, then I only had about 1/3 mile to go. So I speed back up to my original speed and finished. Not strong, but I finished. The run took me over 39 minutes, slow for me, but I finished. I sat on the ledge and drank about 32 ounces of water and Mr Triathlete decided he was done with his second run and we chatted a bit. He is a seasoned triathlete and works out up to 3 hours a day. We discussed other local races and training regimes. It was good talk and I was so happy to chat since I don't think that I could have used my legs for awhile.

I was so thirsty! The dehydration really worried me so I kept drinking water and I think I drank at least a gallon that evening. DH and Little E picked me up from the Y since they had to leave about 10 minutes into my bike portion so Little E could nap. I was so happy to see them! And I'm not gonna lie, I was super happy to head to the Italian restaurant to eat. I was so hungry! I think I said to DH a couple times during dinner, "This is the best food I have ever eaten!"

I'm not sure if I will do another triathlon. If I do, I definitely need to train harder especially in the biking and running. When I told DH this, he said, "It did seem like everyone else's legs were going much faster than yours on the bike." Ah, the truth is good for my soul. In fact, this whole race was good for increasing my humility. But it was also good for me to pursue perseverance in a physical way. I think that I really was only able to finish by the grace of God.

(I apologize for not having any pictures of this race. You aren't missing much, it wasn't pretty!)

What I Read in 2013

Linking up with Carrots for Michaelmas

Ahh...2013. I really didn't have a plan of what I would have liked to read in 2013, I just read what I want and what interests me at the time. Maybe this year I should make some sort of a plan? At least, I would like to read more fiction.

I read some good spiritual books this year. My favorite was the Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur. She greatly inspired me to look at everyday sufferings and trials as a way to bring me closer to the Lord.

This year I have been looking into homeschooling more and read some books to get my mind wrapped around it. The Little Way of Homeschooling helped me to realize that I will need a little more structure than the "Unschooling" way. I liked The Well-Trained Mind. It was organized well and helped me to understand the Classical approach a little better.

I am a little bit of a sucker for health/self-help books. The Perfect 10 Diet makes sense to me but is difficult to implement for this carb/bread lover. And I am never more organized than when I started any organizing book. Not sure why I bother. The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training was very helpful for me to understand the basics of training and I did sign up for my first sprint triathlon at the end of January.

Here's the whole list. Enjoy! And Happy New Year!

Erin's bookshelf: 2013

The Dialogue of St. Catherine Of Siena: A Conversation with God on Living Your Spiritual Life to the Fullest

by St. Catherine of Siena

tagged: 2013

The Way of Perfection

by Teresa of Ávila

tagged: 2013

Privilege of Being a Woman

by Alice von Hildebrand

tagged: 2013

The Secret Diary of Elisabeth Leseur: The Woman Whose Goodness Changed Her Husband from Atheist to Priest

by Elisabeth Leseur

tagged: 2013

Building Catholic Family Traditions: The Spirituality of St. John of the Cross

by Thomas Paul Thigpen

tagged: 2013

Live More, Want Less: 52 Ways to Find Order in Your Life

by Mary Carlomagno

tagged: 2013

Rediscovering Catholicism Journeying Toward Our Spiritual North Star

by Matthew Kelly

tagged: 2013

Adopting In America: How To Adopt Within One Year

by Randall B. Hicks

tagged: 2013

A Little Way of Homeschooling

by Suzie Andres

tagged: 2013

What Your Preschooler Needs to Know: Read-Alouds to Get Ready for Kindergarten

by E.D. Hirsch Jr.

tagged: 2013

A Holy Life: The Writings of St. Bernadette of Lourdes

by Patricia A. McEachern

tagged: 2013

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathalon Training

by Steve Katai

tagged: 2013

Dave Ramsey's Complete Guide to Money: The Handbook of Financial Peace University

by Dave Ramsey

tagged: 2013

Designing Your Own Classical Curriculum: A Guide to Catholic Home Education

by Laura M. Berquist

tagged: 2013

The Soul of Elizabeth Ann Seton

by Joseph I Dirvin

tagged: 2013

The Perfect 10 Diet

by Michael Aziz

tagged: 2013

Adrenal Fatigue: The 21st Century Stress Syndrome

by James L. Wilson

tagged: 2013

Winning the Discipline Debates: Dr. Ray Coaches Parents to Make Discipline Less Frequent, Less Frustrating, and More Consistent

by Ray Guarendi

tagged: 2013

Teach Your Child to Behave: Disciplining with Love, from 2 to 8 Years

by Charles E. Schaefer

tagged: 2013

Reflections on the Nativity

Nativity painted by DH's maternal grandmother.

This Advent has been quite fruitful and rather well, revealing. The night prayer and daily examination has been really good for my soul as is the monthly confession. The revealing part is that I could probably go to confession weekly. Do I need the grace! I have been working hard on preparing my heart for the Christ child but it just feels so sinful and unworthy. But the Feast of the Nativity isn't about me, it's about Him.

While at my adoration hour, I read the Nativity reflection in the book, Rosary: Mysteries, Meditations, and the Telling of the Beads by Kevin Orlin Johnson, PhD. The reflection is an historical, sociological, cultural and spiritual review. Many things I didn't know, like Christmas wasn't celebrated until after 650 AD and even then it wasn't a major holiday. There were many reasons for this such as paganism being more popular than Christianity and the Christians had to wait to place Christmas at the proper time in the calendar year so it wouldn't get lost among the other pagan holidays. So, we have much to be thankful for in terms of being about the celebrate Christian feasts in the world today.

The major point by the author is that the Nativity shows us how marvelous God is and how much He loves us, to send us His only Son. God followed the natural order of the Earth, bringing His Son to us via the womb of a real human woman. He did breathe life into that womb, but He was brought into the world by natural means, "and he arrived as what is the most beautiful and fragile in human life, a baby, so that we would not be dazzled by His splendor but move to love Him." Yes, moved to love Him. There is something so beautiful, vulnerable, and lovable about a baby. How truly amazing that God came to us as something so easy to love. God's natural order is full of splendor and awe. And that I try not to question and just respect. So, like Mary I strive to love Christ and be completely open to His will for my life.

May God spread great blessings on you and your families this Christmas.

Pre-Advent Quick Takes (A Day Late)

1. This year for Advent we are doing some traditions newly started last year and some old ones. Using the St. Andrew Novena, advent wreath, advent calendar, and some Saintly celebrations are all in order. 
2. I bought a calendar to put on the fridge so we can both look at it and see what is coming up instead of having it on our computers. We put on when we are decorating the house & tree, when get-togethers are happening, daily mass, and cards go out.  I hope this helps! 
3. Liturgical New Year Resolutions: I have been told by 2 priests to get to confession more often so there it is. It is on the calendar for the whole year. Also, I am trying my best to pray an evening prayer with an examination of conscience so I can remember my sins more clearly, another suggestion from the priest. 
4. Trip out West: We flew to Seattle as a family last week. It was a fabulous trip and we had a great time. We saw many sights there, the Space Needle, Pike Place Market, Aquarium, the Zoo and a dear priestly friend. But, we were so happy to be home. 
5. Heroic Husband: When were were leaving Seattle, we were trying to get through security and I couldn't find my wallet. I was sweating profusely and on the verge of tears and my husband swooped in with quick thinking and quick feet. He ran back to the rental agency (including taking a shuttle) and found my wallet. We were both feverishly praying to St. Anthony and my wallet was found, we got through security and got right on the plane. The kicker was the plane had to sit at the gate because the president's plane was leaving at the same time. Oh well!
6. We had a quiet Thanksgiving due to the recent travel and jet lag. Very few sides, a quiet day, and yummy turkey were all on the menu. Probably my most relaxing Thanksgiving, ever.
7. Little E decided she wanted to potty train on our trip. She went almost everywhere we went, on the plane, at the aquarium, etc. Some say you should stay home for a week, not us, we need a cross country trip! The challenge is now to keep up with it since it isn't quite as fun to just go at home. ;)

{CWA} A Link Up

Thanking God for…
The gift of my daughter and husband.

 Looking out my window…
The fall breeze is beautiful rustling the leaves.

I am praying…
For so many...friends with chronic medical conditions, friends newly pregnant, a good and holy bishop for our diocese and a for a newly ordained priest in our diocese that died a couple weeks ago.

I am pondering…
Our new zero balanced budget. (I know, so exciting.) But its working so far.

I am reading…
The Soul of Saint Elizabeth Seton
The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training
The Complete Guide to Money

I am (should be) creating…
A saint costume for my daughter (and one for me and my DH).

I’m learning…
To be patient (but not very well).

In the kitchen…
I have more peppers and tomatoes to do something with but I am just.so.tired.of.preserving.

Around the house…
Cleaning up for a group meeting I am having here tonight.

I’m wearing…
Gray leggings, a black cotton dress and cardigan.

I’m Listening to
Sesame Street in the living room and those rustling leaves.

Look what I found…
A Catholic program for managing money

I am looking forward to…
Tonight's meeting, another Wednesday date with my DH, and our rosary group on Saturday night.

A favorite quote for today…
Not a quote but a poem:

Try Try Again

by T. H. Palmer

'Tis a lesson you should heed, If at first you don't succeed, Try, try again; Then your courage should appear, For if you will persevere, You will conquer, never fear Try, try again; Once or twice, though you should fail, If you would at last prevail, Try, try again; If we strive, 'tis no disgrace Though we do not win the race; What should you do in the case? Try, try again If you find your task is hard, Time will bring you your reward, Try, try again All that other folks can do, Why, with patience, should not you? Only keep this rule in view: Try, try again.

The week ahead…
Meeting tonight, library tomorrow, friend visit Wednesday and Friday.

Captured…