GO Fun Friday Catch Up Post Book Meme Tag

Okay, so I am both slow and innatentive (just ask mrangelmeg and he will concurr). I was tagged last Friday by Rufus over at Korrektiv for this meme. The funny thing is I have been seeing this one all over the net all week and wishing I would get tagged for it and darned if I wasn't already tagged and just wasn't observant enough to see the tag in the first place.

Here are the rules:

1. Pick up the nearest book (of at least 123 pages).
2. Open the book to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people.

The book I am currently reading and thoroughly enjoying (and would heartily recommend) is: I Shouldn't Even Be Doing This! by Mr Bob Newhart. More than a memoir, this has snippets of some of his best bits and both onstage and backstage stories that will have you laughing out loud (so be careful where you choose to read it, as I learned when I was reading it in the waiting room at saintly daughter's neurologist's office and burst out laughing unexpectedly, scaring a poor older couple nearly to death).

page 123 sentences 5 - 8: (he is talking about the birth of his children) I am adding sentence five for contextual purposes.

Back then in the sixties, fathers waited in the fathers' room. It's sort of a torture chamber they devised to drive the fathers nuts while their wives are having the babies. There was one guy in there whose wife had already given birth so he was superior to everyone else. He was chewing on a cigar and gloating.

I want to tag some of my new friends from Catholic Mothers Online :

Louise at A Time to Keep

Jean at Catholic Fire

Amy at Knit Together in Love

Alexis at Love Life

JennD at My Musing. . .

Pax

A New Day

Last Night the nice man at the Computer Shop called and said that they had found the problem with my computer. After trying to make it crash for about half a day with no luck they began running a diagnostic on the component parts and found that one of the RAM sticks is faulty so they removed it. The good news is the fix will only cost $49. The even better news is that the computer is still under extended warranty and Dell should cover the RAM stick so I should be able to get it replace by Dell (hopefully they will just send the stick and let mrangelmeg put it in and not make me send the whole computer to them).

So, since the puter has two gig of ram I should be able to do just about everything I need to do on the one gig that is working properly until I get the other stick. I am so happy that I will be back on my own computer in just a few hours that I could get misty.

I am off in just a few for a visit with my personal trainer and then I will pick up my computer and take it to the nearest wifi hotspot and give it a test drive while I am waiting to pick up the Saintly daughter from school because there won't be time to come all the way home in between.

Things are looking up today after yesterday. Maybe I will actually get some writing done while I am at the coffee shop. That is my goal anyway, to write an essay for Helium, and maybe even write another chapter of the book in progress.

I love Thursdays.
Pax

This Just Wasn't My Morning

So I got up Early and got ready to take Daughter to school and go to Mass. First the garage door was frozen to the ground and wouldn't open, then the passenger front tire was low. I stopped at the gas station to put air in the tire but the valve on the pump was broken and all I ended up doing was taking even more air out of the already low tire. I was so scared of driving on it that I drove back to the house and made mrangelmeg take daughter to school.

This just isn't my day.

I went out and fed the puppy her morning meal and found that she had chewed a hole in her (pretty expensive) thermal blanket we just bought to keep her warm this winter. I had velcroed it to the floor of her dog house but she ripped it right out the first day. Now there are little pieces of the foil liner all over out there. I am so glad that she is an out door dog with all of the things she tears up.

Then, I remembered that I don't even have my computer. It has been crashing on average about twice a day so I finally took it to the shop yesterday and the nice man there said it would be at least three and probably five days before I could have it back. Five days without my computer! That will be like five days with my arm tied behind my back. I can't even sync my IPod and get new podcasts for five days! It wasn't until I was driving away from the shop that it ocurred to me that I hadn't done a sync that monring. ARGH!

Thanks to mrangelmeg, who graciously got my tire aired back up, I am not stuck here in the house all day -- and I will get a few loads of laundry done that would not have gotten done had I gone to morning mass. And I do have access to my son's computer when no one else is around (which is for about an hour a day). So I suppose even though things aren't going the way I would have liked them to go, all is not lost.

I just have to see the good in the day.

Pax

Now There is a Bumper Sticker that will Scare Hillary

Check Out this Post

I agree wholeheartedly. If they come out with this bumper sticker I would put one on my car. I don't even care that mrangelmeg drives my car when we take the whole gang to Church on Sundays. He is comfortable enough with his manhood to drive a car that proclaimed that sentiment.

Pax

GO New Media Monday (another reason I love YouTube)

Hitler: Bloodthristy Dictator, Diehard Coyboys Fan!

I want to share this with you all but I can't in good conscience embed the video on my site because of the questionable language. (This is decidedly rated R, but is very funny.)

This clip is a German movie about Hitler with the subtitles rewritten so reflect his displeasure at the Dallas Cowboys playoffs performance.

I was laughing so hard at some points I had to watch it twice through to make sure I caught a few of the jokes.

I hope you like it too.

Pax

My Evenings Aren't My Own

So mrangelmeg has a huge paper due tomorrow for his Law and Public Affairs class and has been practically living at the office so that he can work with limited distractions to get it finished on time. I have been taking over the homefront duties, which include taking the angelbaby to her sports practices (Fencing on Mondays and Volleyball on Tuesdays and Thursdays).

Anyone who knows me very well knows that once I hit the house at about 3:30 in the afternoon I am ready to hunker down for the evening and hibernate away till the next day. I absolutely loathe getting out in the night to drive because I have such poor night vision. I really can't stand going outside in biting winter cold because it hurts my skin not to mention makes it impossible for me to breathe. But I know that mrangelmeg really needs to be where he is right now, so I am willing to do what needs to be done to keep the family running smoothly so that he doesn't have to worry about us.

Besides, he will be off on his TDY assignments soon and will be gone for weeks at a time, so I had better get used to having to be the one who runs the kids around in the evening. I will be the single parent while he is off on matters of national security, or whatever it is he does for a living (believe me if he told me I would die of boredom).

Anyway, I have to leave in a few minutes to take the angelbaby to a volleyball practice. Hmm maybe I will take along a good book to read while she is practicing.

Pax

GO Two-fer What I'm Writing Wednesday and Theology Thursday Rolled Into One

On Wednesday my lovely 18 year old daughter had a seizure at school. She hasn't had a seizure since she was 13 years old, when she was diagnosed with epilepsy so we were a bit shocked by this turn of events, but after a visit to her Neurologist, we may have a reason for this and it may be an isolated incident. Just to be safe though, she is being placed back on a maintenance dose of epilepsy meds for the time being and we are praying that she has no more problems.

Because having to deal with her problem threw off my schedule for the day I am combining my two topic lines for Wednesday and Thursday and I am going to feature one of my articles from Helium.com as the GO Theology Thursday blog entry.

I want to emphasize for those of you who might be wondering why someone who just completed a degree in Theology would write an essay on the Eucharist in this simple language that when I write for Helium I try to write with the intention of making my essays understandable to anyone who has never in their lives even entered a Catholic Church. I try to explain Catholic doctrine and practices in as simple a language as I can. I think I did a very nice job in this particular essay on the topic of Eucharist and its meaning to mankind.

I hope you enjoy it.

Pax

GO Training Tuesday

I had my first day with my trainer today. If any of you have had the experience of seeing the woman trainer from Biggest Loser who has a website and constantly screams at the people on that show when they don't perform to her satisfaction, my trainer is her polar opposite.

My trainer, Dee, is the mildest mannered woman who explains each exercise and exactly what muscle groups it is targeting (we train all six of the major muscle groups each day that we do strength training). She makes sure that it is an exercise that I am comfortable with -- in fact we tried out three different machines for abdominals before we chose the one I will be using, just to be sure I was totally comfortable.

Dee wants me to do some form of aerobic exercise every day, and her regimen of strength training every other day ( a minimum of three days a week). I have to chart my progress on a form that is there at the Y, so that each week when we meet she will be able to see what I have been doing and then when we are together we can readjust the weights and resistances as needed.

I am so happy with this relationship. I feel as though I got a great workout. While my arthritic joints are a bit sore, I expected that to happen, so I just took a bit more of my extra medicine tonight and plan to put on some Biofreeze when I get home for the evening.

I feel great, I have an exercise program that I can stick to and a trainer that I really like.

God is good, all the time.

Pax

GO What I'm Writing Wednesday

I started working on a novel last summer about a woman who receives locutions from the Blessed Mother and the impact they have on her family, and others who are drawn to her because of them. This is the introduction from my still unfinished novel:

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It was a beautiful soothing voice that interrupted her morning prayers that morning in early (MONTH). She was compelled to listen:

“My darling daughter, do not be afraid. I come to you this morning because your country is in great peril; the world is in great peril. Someone is needed to bring a message of hope to this world and My Son has chosen you to be His messenger.

“You are a mother who has born great pain; because of your scars you show great compassion for others. This gift will be greatly needed in the future that is to come. Much will be asked of you in the next few years, but I will be with you to guide you and together we will show your country, and the world how to avert this great peril through prayer and fasting.

“I will come to you again in a fortnight. In the meantime continue to pray my beloved rosary as you do and seek confession of your sins and the strength of daily Communion. These are practices that please My Son. He loves you and I love you as the Father loves you. May the Peace of God Father Son and Holy Spirit rest upon you. “

Felicity Germain lay in bed blinking back tears of joy her rosary pressed to her cheek, then suddenly she sat bolt upright. Did she just imagine the voice she had heard? If it had been her imagination why could she remember every word so very clearly? Was she going off her rocker? She scratched her slightly graying hair and swung her feet to the floor. She could here the sounds of Art and the kids preparing breakfast, as they always did while she finished her morning prayers.

She reached for her journal and wrote down exactly what the voice had said, word for word, just in case. When she had finished she replaced her rosary and journal on the headboard and stood up to begin her day. As she stood up she noticed that the room was filled with the overwhelming and unmistakable scent of roses.

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I may be biased, but I thought it did a pretty good job of setting up the situation and making the reader want to know more. Heck I want to know more about this woman, and what kind of peril the country is in. I want to know what kind of pain caused her to have so much compassion for others. I love writing. It lets you explore so many things.

Pax

GO Training Tuesday

So I registered for my personal trainer last week and I have yet to hear back from anyone at the YMCA where they happily took my money and had me fill out scads of paperwork. I am sure they are trying to decide if I am worth the potential risk of a lawsuit should anything happen to me during my training even though I had to sign something saying that I would not hold them accountable if I died trying to get fit.

I guess if I don't hear something by Thursday of this week I will give them a call and see what is holding up the process. I want to get started and am terrified that I will do more harm than good if I try to do it on my own.

I am trying to get better sleep and eat more protein and less junk. I don't know how successful I am being, but at least I am trying to do something while I wait. I am planning to go to Mass tonight and then stop in at the visitation for a man from the parish who died (I knew his kids from my youth ministry days way back when). I will say an extra prayer for my intention of getting on track physically and maybe even go walk a mile after morning mass tomorrow.

Pax

How Much Righteous Indignation do you get . . .

before it becomes the mortal sin of Anger?

I am just wondering because something happened this evening that has me boiling over. My mom has been falling a lot lately because the Alzheimer's disease is affecting her peripheral vision and her ability to judge distances. Twice in the last week she has fallen and hit her head.

It is the policy of the nursing home that when she falls and hits her head they have to send her to the emergency room of the local hospital which is about a five minute ambulance ride down the road. Tonight she fell and hit the back of her head and raised a pretty big goose egg (that is the technical term, don'tcha know), so the nurse on her wing at the home thought they would probably have to do a cat scan when she got to the hospital to make sure there wasn't a concussion, especially because she can barely respond to verbal questions on a good day.

Well, it turns out that when she got to the ER the Dr. didn't even let the Paramedics unstrap her from their gurney, they just asked if she had lost consciousness and when the paramedics said no the Dr. sent her back to the nursing home without even treating her.

I am livid! Would he have been that callous if that had been his mother? Was he having a bad day? What could have possessed him to be that unfeeling? I just hope, for his sake (and for mom's) that mom doesn't end up with a closed head hematoma, or a broken rib or something else he didn't take the time or energy to look for.

Sheesh! All I have to say is Karma is a bitch, and he will get his someday.

Mom is back at the nursing home where the staff loves her and will watch over her carefully for the next 72 hours to make sure that she doesn't have any ill effects from her fall. I have left instructions for the Dr. to at least try mom out on a walker; with the help of the physical therapy staff there she just might catch on that using a walker will help her balance better (at least it can't hurt to try).

And I am going to say some extra prayers of blessing for the Dr. that that I have been cursing for the last hour. Please join me, he may need them.

Pax

GO New Media Monday

So you all know how much I love my iPod. I have found that I am absolutely addicted to podcasts and at one time was subscribed to way too many. Now I have paired it down to ones that I actually listen to on a regular basis, and get something from.

In searching the SQPN website the other day I discovered that you can actually get the Daily Mass as a video podcast download. How cool is that? If you know you won't be able to get to mass you can download it to your mobile device and take it with you. This Mass is from Boston and the quality of the video and audio is amazing.

I used to teach the kids in my religion classes that the cool thing about being Catholic was that somewhere in the world there was a mass going on 24 hours a day. Now in this amazing age the mass is a close as your iPod, on demand. If you can't get to the Mass you can take it with you. I love this.

Pax

Getting Organized Around Here

For those of you not in the know, January happens to be National Get Organized Month.

In the spirit of getting organized I have decided to do some organizing around here.

This year I am instituting special blogging days to try to write more intentionally.
My New GO (Get Organized) schedule will be:

New Media Monday: I will explore new podcasts and innovations in new media that I have come across

Training Tuesdays: These will be stories and tips from my training experience now that I have a personal trainer.

What I am writing Wednesday: I will share a little snippet of the fiction I am working on, or a link to my latest Helium essay that I have up.

Theology Thursday: I will be reinstituting my angelmeg's theology lesson of the week from way back in the early days.

Fun Fridays: This will be the day for games, meme's quizzes and jokes.

The weekends will be free for whatever, and If I have a burning need to blog about something I may break the pattern to for newsblogs at anytime. And I haven't given up on my Mental Pause Moments.


This will be a great year, I can tell.



Pax

That Defense didnt deserve a win

The Colts played their final game in the RCA Dome today. The got beaten by the Chargers in a game where almost every break went their way. Unfortunately the Colts defense just didn't have what it took to keep the Chargers out of the end zone!

I hate to say it, but maybe Mark's dream will come true. I do know that I won't be watching when it happens.

Pax

The Spirituality of Needlework

I have taken up knitting and crocheting. I may have blogged about it before but over the past few years I have actually created a few things, like scarves that people can actually wear in public without shame. Who Knew?

I took it up because someone told me that it was a good exercise to stimulate the brain, and I am always looking for things to keep my brain nimble. I don't want to end up like my mom in that sad purgatory on earth of Alzheimer's disease.

What I have found about knitting that I never would have imagined is that there is a great spiritual element to knitting and crocheting, actually to needlework in general. I believe it probably has to do with the creative aspect of the endeavor, but there is something more.

While I am working on a piece I am slowed down. I am usually in one place, not frantically on-the-go. And while i do have to concentrate on the pattern to some extent, I do have time for quiet meditation. Sometimes I pray for the person to whom I am intending to give the item I am working on, sometimes I think about those who labored to create the yarns that I am working with. Sometimes my meditations are about things that have nothing to do with the work at hand.

Regardless, I am always very peaceful when I am at my knitting (I will stay with that word since I am presently working on a knitted shawl). Even when I make a mistake and have to unravel the work I have done I never seem to feel frustration. I just think about the joy I will feel at getting it right the next time.

When I complete a piece I marvel at the patience and skill that went into the work. I feel blessed that God was with me as I worked. Then I begin to plan for my next project, trying to find something that will be just a bit more challenging than the one I did before.

I have truly found a hobby that brings me great peace, serenity and joy; all spiritual gifts.

Want to join my Crafting Circle?

Pax

He's Back!

After a blog break Matthew Lickona is back at the helm of God'sbody. And not a moment too soon for those of us in the blogosphere who had nowhere to turn for our daily fix or were wondering how his pledge was going.

Seriously, I for one am glad that he is back at the keyboard. He makes me laugh, me makes me cry, he moves me. Wander over there and check it out for yourself.

Pax

Meme with no name

Thanks to Adoro te Devote and my IPod and Cell Phone I got tagged (and have something to do while I am waiting for a return call)

1. Do you wear a name tag at work? Work? I don't work anymore and no one here at home needs me to wear a nametag anymore. But when I volunteer at the Media Center at the angelbaby's elementary school I am required to wear a name tag for security purposes.

2. What kind of car do you drive? 1998 Ford Taurus Wagon (She be stylin') It is paid for and gets fairly good mileage. I like it just fine and when we have to take the whole family somewhere we all actually fit.

3. What do you order when you go to Taco Bell? I don't eat at Taco Bell

4. Have you ever had a garage sale? We had a huge one in the old house that made tons of money and we bought the kids savings bonds with the money. We had one in this house and I don't think we even made back the cost of the ad in the paper. I think it has something to do with living so far out of town.

5. What color is your iPod? white, I have had it a year and can't imagine how I ever got along without it, I fall asleep to it and I use it as a devotional and portable library not to mention all my music and comedy CD's in one place.

6. What kind of dog do you have? Chocolate Lab mixed breed pup we rescued last summer, we love her, so long as she stays outside.

7. What's for dinner tonight? I have to decide right now? I usually decide that about an hour before I start cooking, or more accurately I usually start asking the kids "Someone tell me what to cook for dinner, please?"

8. What is the last alcoholic beverage you had? A really bad glass of sangria the other night with dinnner

9. Stupidest thing you ever did with your cell phone? I had to have my phone replaced and even when I begged them not to they sent me a picture phone. I am constantly accidently taking pictures with it because I don't know how to disable the camera.

10. Last time you were sick? During the writing of my finals for Gradual School and over Thanksgiving. I had Bronchitis really bad. In fact I was so sick it took two rounds of Antibiotics to kill the bugs

11. How long is your hair? just to my chin, I am trying to grow it out so that it is all one length and shoulder length (I have had bangs for years.). We shall see.

12. Are you happy right now? I have a contentment and a joy that will never be taken away from me. Happiness is fleeting and determined by so many external things that one cannot control. This sounds so phenomenological, and existential and philosophical already. Yes.

13. What did you say last? I will wait at home for your return call. ( to the voice mail of the person I am trying to contact, and why I am playing around on the computer waiting for a return call)

14. Who came over last? A week ago we had some family friends over for dinner to watch the Colts game. What a great time that was even though the game was kind of predictable for the end of the season when they were resting the first string. Great fun for our friends though because they were from Tennessee originally so the fact that the Titans won was a plus.

15. Do you drink beer? Used to like beer and love Killians Red Ale, but ever since my wheat allergies I have had a really hard time digesting it. More's the pity

16. Have your brothers or sisters ever told you that you were adopted? Constantly, My oldest sister tells me all the time that she is the only true child and the rest of us were all adopted. (there are nine of us all told). My next older brother told me one St. Nicholas Eve that I wasn't going to get any presents in my shoe because I was adopted and St. Nicholas only sent gifts to real family members.

17. What is your favorite key chain on your keys? I have (I am not making this up) a key to heaven. I am counting on it opening the lock when I get there.

18. What did you get for graduation? mrangelmeg just gave me a day at the Spaah(masage, facial mani, pedi and lunch) for passing my Gradual School finals. I consider that a graduation gift even though I got it for Christmas. I plan to get my official Grad School class ring as my other Graduation gift.

19. Whats in your pocket? change, for some reason there is always change in my pockets. It is kind of nice when I put my coat on after not wearing it for months and reach in the pockets and find money, but I don't ever remember putting it there in the first place.

20. Who introduced you to Dane Cook? my 21 year old daughter, she thinks he is hilarious, I hope is so last year.

21. Has someone ever made you a Build-A-Bear? the angelbaby has one that she made at a Cardinals game. I don't have one, nor do I want one. But if someone wanted to make me a Hannah Moostanna, now you're talking

22. What DVD is in your DVD player? The last thing I watched was season two of Joan of Arcadia

23. What's something fun you did today? Listened to Bob and Tom on the radio while I drove #3 Daughter to school this morning. Always makes me laugh out loud.

24. Who is/was the principal of your high school? E.V Halt, very old school

25. Has your house ever been TP'd? Nope.

26.What do you think of when you hear the word "meow"? Super Troopers If that doesn't make any sense to you, you HAVE to see this movie.

27. What are you listening to right now? Daily Breakfast Podcast with Fr. Roderick

28. Drinking? Decaf Coffee

29. What is your favorite aisle at Wal-Mart? Duh Chocolate

30. When is your mom's birthday? May 20th

31. When is your birthday? March 17. and if you have read my blog before you know how I feel about sharing my birthday with every drunk on the planet!


32. What's the area code for your cell phone? I would tell you, but then I would have to shoot you. Sorry.


33. Where did you buy the shirt you're wearing now? I believe I got it back when I used to shop at Target, I think I bought it on sale for $1.98

34. Is there anything hanging from your rear view mirror? A rosary

35. How many states in the US have you been to? I would be easier to list the ones I have never been in, I think more than half.

36. What kind of milk do you drink? White, Chocolate Cow's?

37. What are you going to do after this? Hopefully talk on the phone, then go to the gym to set up a personal trainer for the new year.

38. Who was the last person you went shopping with? My daughters and I went shopping for a few things the other day, nothing special. I think we went to Walmart.

39. What is your favorite fruit? anything as long as it is fresh

40. What about your favorite dessert? Chocolate, sadly because of my allergies I can't eat any dessert that has flour in it so I am very limited. I make a really good wheat free cheesecake and a pretty good wheat free turtle brownie

41. What is something you need to go shopping for? I hate to shop, so I only go when I absolutely have to go. I do have to go to the online pharmacy site and re-order perscriptions for family members this week because we have run out. Woo that will be fun.

43. What kind of car does one of your siblings drive? Ford SUV, She just got a new car after driving an old van for years and years (even longer than I drove my old van)

44. Do you like pickles? yes bot sweet and sour and I love bread and butter flavor the best but no one else in my family likes them

45. How about olives? Yes both green and black

46. What is your favorite kind of gum? pepermint flavored sugar free and I only chew it when I drive. It is an obsession with me to chew gum when I drive. If I don't have gum in the car I have to stop and buy some.

47. What is your favorite kind of juice? Simply Limeade

48. Do you have any tan lines? In the summer my most noticeable tan line is the one from my watch (on my wrist) because I never take my watch off even in the sun. I don't try to tan though so any tan I get is purely accidental

49. What hospital were you born in? St Anthony's Hospital, Rock Island IL, it no longer exists as a hospital

I tag anyone who wants to waste some time.

My Love of Quotes . . .

must have gotten around last year because I got two awesome Christmas gifts based upon the concept of making sure I had plenty of quotes at hand at a moments notice.

One of the gifts is a Daily Calendar of Chocolate quotes. Each day has a different quote about chocolate (or the love of Chocolate). I suppose the fact that I am a true died-in-the-wool Chocolatarian had nothing at all to do with my friend thinking that would be a gift I would love. So far in the 8 days of this year my favorite quote has been:

I often lie awake at night wondering if in this huge and

mysterious universe there might planets

with nicer chocolate than ours. - anonymous

The other gift is a little packet of cards called Pocket Notes which have quotes on just about every topic one might imagine. The reason my friend gave me this was that during our gradual school classes I have a tendency to write little sayings on post-it notes to share with everyone around me. She said when she saw this little packet of quotes in the store it just put her in mind of me. Of course there aren't near as many snarky quotes in the little packet as there are on my post-its, but that is to be expected. I was doing mine to keep from going insane in philosophy class after all.

So far my favorite quote from this little packet has been:

You don't get harmony when everybody sings the same note. D Floyd

So, now that I have these awesome gifts, I may from time to time have to share them with you all. Does that constitute a warning or an invitation, you be the judge.

Pax

I Wondered What Happened to All That Money

I have noticed a change in the calibre of those wonderful emails that I have been receiving lately. They used to say that I had received a bequest, or that someone needed help getting money out of some African corporation. Now they are all about winning a British Lottery prize of hundreds of thousands, no even millions of Great Britain Pounds. (the exact wording in more than one email)

Now I don't know about any of you, but I for one didn't fall for this old dodge, because I saw the movie. I know the real value of the Pound after the conversion, in fact that scene in the bedroom where they are using them (pound notes) as wallpaper is one of my favorites in the film. If you haven't seen this movie I highly recommend it as not only very funny but great family entertainment and a lot of great information about Catholic Saints.

Anyway, if anyone tries to offer you British Pounds, tell them no thanks but you already have nicely decorated walls.

And that is Angelmeg's global economic lesson for January.

Pax

Patron Saints for the Year

Tonight at Youth Mass they handed out Patron Saints for the Year:

Actually we reached into a jar and "allowed a saint to choose us for the year".

I was chosen by an old friend. This is going to be an interesting year. I am hoping that he chose me because I am supposed to pray for a bunch of heretics and non believers and not because I am going to be losing a lot of stuff (least of all my marbles!).

An even funnier thing happened when # 3 daughter reached in and chose a saint for mrangelmeg. We wrote his name on the slip before I looked to see who had chosen him for the year. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. You see he was chosen by well, here she is. If you know me, you too will understand why this is a laugh riot, those of you who don't know me; trust me this is way too funny not to have been sent down from the beatific vision -- you just can't make this stuff up!!!)

Pax

Time to Do Something

So yesterday we went to the Y. I haven't been in a really long time. My feeble excuse has been that I have been so busy with finishing the darn Gradual School degree that I just didn't have time.

In the meantime my old nemesis Arthur has mounted a full scale invasion. In my short workout yesterday I found that his forces has marshaled troops in my right shoulder and left hip, two new spots.

I tried to get as much done as I had before, but I was afraid of really doing some damage because I'm not sure how to use certain equipment correctly.

So, I have decided that I need to stop thinking about this and do it right. I looked at the bulletin board that introduced all of the trainers available for hire and there is one that is working on a PhD in Physical Therapy. I think I will go in there on Tuesday and see if I can get him to take me on as a client. That way I can explain to him that not only do I have to deal with arthritis, but I also have the issues with my lack of an ACL in my left knee, and make sure that when I am doing the exercises and using the equipment I am actually doing good, not harm.

I am tired of not being in shape, and I want to get into shape before mrangelmeg and I go on our anniversary trip this summer, so if I get started this winter I should have plenty of time to see some good results before summer.

Wish me luck, even with the best trainer in the world it will still be up to me to do the hard work.

Hey, stop laughing, it could happen.

Pax

Come and you will see . . .

Today's Gospel reading was the story of the followers of John the Baptist when they first encounter Jesus. (John 1:35-39) After John points out Jesus, the apostles approach him and ask "where is it that you reside?" To this Jesus answers "Come and you will see . . ."

Our Associate Pastor's homily began by cautioning us that the first reading which states that those who belong to God do not sin was the goal and not the rule, and we should all be seeking to reach that goal of not sinning, but in actuality we all fall short of that goal all the time. But each time we fall, Jesus is there to reach out to us and ask us to "come and see" where he resides. Father then challenged us to then reflect on where Jesus has been leading us to see "where it is that He resides." in our lives in the here and now. It is all I have been thinking about since I left mass this morning.

When I ask Jesus where he resides and I hear Him say Come and you will see . .

I am led to the nursing home where my mother and the others in her situation live who can no longer care for themselves, but still have much to give this world. Even though they don't know or remember those of us who visit them there, they are happy to see us and we are blessed by having spent time with them. This is a place where Jesus resides.

In the experience of my friend John and others who are living with cancer and other life threatening illnesses, and find grace and peace in their experience. Here too, Jesus resides.

In the heart of my patient and loving husband, whose steadfast faith has always been a beacon for me and is truly the spiritual head of our household. Here as well, Jesus resides.

In the community of friends I have found through my gradual school, who have given me such unconditional support and prayers as I have learned to deal with my mother's disease and the legal and medical issues that are involved in placing a parent in a nursing home. In that totally engulfing sense of community, there too Jesus resides.

In the smiles of children (our house was filled with children on Sunday when we had family friends over and their daughter brought her three young sons.) What a joy to have so much energy surrounding us. There too is a place where Jesus resides.

In the wisdom of dedicated priests who offer their lives in service to the community of faith, even those who don't realize it, there too, Jesus resides.

I am blessed to be awakened to this idea because now I truly do see God in all things.

Pax

Lazy New Year's Day

So we woke up for New Year's Day Mass for the Solemnity of Mary, where it was a totally angelmeg family affair on the altar at Church (mrangelmeg was Lector, the angelbaby served and I was Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion).

After Mass we came back to a lunch of sandwiches and chips and watched a bit of the Rose Parade (the only parade I really like to watch). Then we participated in another of our angelmeg family traditions: the New Year's Day Nap!

Now we are awake and thinking about which fast food place will be the most likely candidate for our dinner business. I love our lazy holiday traditions.

Here is hoping all of you have safe and wonderful 2008's

Pax