The Supportive Wife . . .

goes to basketball games.



Today we are going to watch Ohio State pulverize (who are we kidding) play his beloved Hoosiers .





Even when we sit in the nosebleed section because her husband, while he is a rabid fan of the team since he was a little kid (Heck, he is even named for someone who played on the 1953 championship team who played high school ball with his dad in Tell City IN), is too cheap to buy tickets anywhere except the extremely economical cheep ticket section.



So while we will be technically "at" the game, we would have a better chance of seeing it if we had stayed home to watch it on TV.



But then we wouldn't be able to cheer for them in person, and eat concession stand food and be in a huge crowd and all the other things that go along with going to a Big Ten Basketball game.



So, here I am, going to the game with mrangelmeg, the angelbaby and middle daughter. I am sure we will have a great time. Mrangelmeg has already taught a great cheer to the angelbaby about refs doing domestic chores with vacuum cleaners. (just in case).



I am so excited, and supportive, can you tell?



Pax

Uncluttering

So I decided to unclutter my workspace today. I am hoping that if I unclutter my workspace it might unclutter my thinking by default.




Okay, now that the laughing has died down I will continue.


Seriously, my desk is in the bedroom and because of the space crunch there is only a minimal distance between the edge of the desk and the edge of the bed on my side. When I get up in the middle of the night, as I have been known to do because of insomnia, I take my life into my hands just trying to navigate around the bed to the door of the bedroom or the bathroom.

So I started with all the accumulation of pillows and blankets (and assorted other things I have managed to shove into my corner of the bedroom, and then worked toward the desk. Now I am working on the desktop. I am really pleased with how merciless I am being with myself in terms of what I "need to keep" on my desktop and what I can either put away somewhere else or what I can just toss out all together.

Next I am going to work on clearing out the boxes I have stuffed into our closet in the thought that I would get around to them "soon". I have a box of pictures that need to be scanned into the computer that aren't going to get scanned in the next four or five months, so they can go somewhere else. I have a box of stuff from my office which I had stashed away below my clothes but moved when I set up my yarn stash last fall. Then there are three suitcases (we have traveled a bit recently, so maybe we should find a way to store those in the closet. . . nah the laundry room is close enough, just been too lazy to drag them downstairs. After that I will just have to organize my shoes and pick up a little garbage off the floor and the closet will be clean.

If after all that organizing my thoughts aren't less cluttered I will at least have a nice clean bedroom, and fewer bruises on my shins. Better get back to work before I lose my nerve.

Pax

Don't Have Time To See A Whole Movie?

Is your life so busy that you just don't have time to see that movie that you have always wanted to see? Well this website I found takes the stress out of that decision by condensing the plot line of most movies down to less than a minute.

It is just the thing for the harried Twenty-first Century person.

This is the explanation directly from their start page:

Let's face it. There's a lot of movies out there and very little time
to watch them in. Well sit back and relax, because your troubles are solved! We
here at Movie-A-Minute have come up with a solution. We've taken several classic
and contemporary movies and extracted the important stuff, cutting out all the
filler. (You'd be surprised how much filler there is sometimes.) With our
ultra-condensed versions of your favorite films, you can experience whole movies
in just one minute! As an added bonus, Movie-A-Minute protects against torture
by bad movies -- if you don't have to sit through them, well, you don't have to
sit through them.

"That's nice," you say, "but I don't believe you." Yah
hah, skeptical soul! We've got our collection of ultra-condensed movies right
here! We've got everything from Gone With the Wind to Die Hard! See for
yourself!

Movie-a-Minute

Browse the titles and select your choice, click on the one you want and within a minute you will get the gist of the movie.

Personally I think Taxi Driver gets props for being short and poetic.



For some people (like mrangelmeg most of the time) that is about all he needs of most movies, unless it is a comedy or has Clint Eastwood or is about World War II -- Kelly's Heroes (which wasn't on their list by the way) is one he would probably recommend that you watch the whole movie.



Anyway, have a fun Friday.

Pax

Do You Dream in Color?

I do. I dream in the most vivid colors.

Last night the colors were on a computer video screen and were vibrant reds and greens and blues,in replicated bitmap animation ( or whatever you call it-- a computer person I am not) pictures. It was more like 64 bit animation of the old TRON movie variety than something more sophisticated, but the colors were stunning.

I can't remember much about the dream because mrangelmeg's cell phone rang and woke me up. I tried to piece it together, but all I could remember was the vivid colors on the computer screen.

Pax

The Dumb Ox . . .

Who changed the World!

Today we celebrate the Feast Day of St. Thomas Aquinas whose nick name among the men he attended college classes with was "the dumb ox" both for his size and for the labored way in which he thought out each statement before he made them.

Can you imagine what our faith or the world for that matter would be like without the legacy that this "dumb ox" left behind? Not only his catechetical legacy but his spiritual one as well.

We should all be so deliberate in choosing our words, I think.

Happy Feast Day to Thomas.

Happy Feast Day to us all.

Pax

Snow Day!

There was a Winter Storm Warning last night before we went to bed, so we knew it would probably be pretty "white" when we got up this morning. Most of the surrounding school corporations had already decided to cancel school "just in case" but our corporation got burned a few years back making judgements based upon weather predictions and then having the front move past us and the kids got a day off when the roads were passable and they could have been in school.

So we had to wait till sometime either late last night or early this morning for our corporation to determine that schools would either delay or close. They are closed. As is the college where our sweet older daughter has her class today so she is home awaiting an email from her professor to see if she has extra homework from the missed class.

Since our driveway (1/8th of a mile winding upwards toward the highway) was practically impassable even for mrangelmeg's four-wheel-drive jeep yesterday son-and-heir had to call into his work and tell them that he couldn't make it. They were quite nice about it. He had to call in again today though because even mrangelmeg's jeep won't get up the drive today until they shovel a pathway.

Even mrangelmeg got a snow day today. The Military Base where he works was closed down by order of the Captain and everyone was told to stay home via email. Those who did brave the roads and make it in were sent home (I suppose).

So, we have some digging out to do, but nowhere that we need to go so no hurry really before tomorrow. I am sure the kids will be out sledding on the front hills of the property before too long, but they will probably wait till after it stops snowing, which it hasn't yet this morning.

My fervent hope is that this is the big snowfall of the winter, and once this goes away, spring comes really quickly because you all know how much I love winter (NOT!).

Pax

Mystic Monday: Dag Hammarskjold Part II

Today dear children I bring you another visit with our friend Dag Hammarskjold whom we met earlier.

His journal Markings has become one of my favorite places to find fodder for Lectio, or just to sit with and read a few pages right before bedtime. In it you can see a man who was working out his salvation with fear and trembling. (Phil 2:12)

Here are two passages I particularly like that seem almost appropriate to the Conversion of Paul which we celebrated yesterday in the lectionary:

So, once again you chose for yourself-and opened the door to
chaos. The chaos you become whenever God's hand does not rest upon your
head.
He who has once been under God's hand, has lost his innocence: only he feels the full explosive force of destruction which is released by a moment's surrender to temptation.
But when his attention is directed beyond and above, how strong he is , with the strength of God who is within him because he is in God. Strong and free, because his self no longer exists.

How would the moral sense of Reason--and of Society-have evolved
without the martyrs to the faith? Indeed how could this moral sense
have escaped withering away, had it not constantly been watered by the
feeder-stream of power that issues from those who have forgotten themselves in
God? The rope over the abyss is held taut by those who, faithful to a
faith which is the perpetual ultimate sacrifice, give it anchorage in
Heaven.
Those whose souls are married to God have been declared the salt of the earth--woe betide them if the salt should lose its savor.

So true that our freedom lies in God. We must be willing to stay true to faith and reason and stand up for what we know to be right even when Society tells us that we are in the wrong camp. I hope someday to be counted among those who have "forgotten themselves in God". To me that would be a fine epitaph.

Pax

My Tax Dollars are Paying for What? Where?

President Obama has authorized the expenditure of American Tax Dollars to fund abortions for women in other countries!

Mr President I think this is an abhorent action on your part and I repudiate this decision.


I will pray for you to see the inherant evil of your actions.

And this is just your first week in office.

Pax

Why Don't We Steal Away?

Mrangelmeg and I are making a break for it.



I have packed the freezer with pizzas, expecting the kids to fend for themselves tonight, and we are taking off this afternoon for a little overnight adventure. We are heading south-east to the Buckeye State to meet up with some friends in Cincinatti for a Jazz Concert this evening.



We are going to a place called the Blue Wisp to hear one of my favorite Saxaphonists: Ron Jones. We have heard him live before at least once down in Louisville back when the Jazz Factory was still open (moment of revered silence please).



Mrangelmeg isn't much of a fan of Jazz, but he loves the company (me, and the couple we are meeting up with) so he is willingly going along with us. Ron Jones plays enough standards mixed in with his more jazzy stuff so that mrangelmeg doesn't feel like he hasn't got a clue what he is listening to all the time.

I am really excited. With mrangelmeg's travel schedule it seems like we are ships passing in the night. We are here but so much of the time is spent sleeping or taking care of necessary stuff that we really don't have much time to just focus on each other. Getting away like this, even just overnight, will give us some time to just be about us for a whole day. Sometimes a marriage needs that kind of maintenance.

Pax

Quick Auto Update

So my wonderful mechanic got the new transmission put in and was testing it out when the check engine light came on, so he checked around and found that I have a oxygen intake problem as well and wanted to fix that too before he turned the car back over to me so that it will run smoothly for a good long time. The extra work will only cost a few hundred more, and he can do it this morning.

I really like him for that. He never wants to charge us too much, but he also wants to make sure that everything that should be done gets done while he still has the car in his shop (saving another diagnostic fee).

I feel very safe when he has taken care of my car, and I know he only charges for what absolutely has to be done.

What is that line about the two most important men in a woman's life besides her husband are a her plumber and mechanic (I guess they don't have to be men anymore, but in my case they do both happen to be men, and are both honest and reliable and I wouldn't trust my car or pipes to anyone else.)

Pax

The car should be done today.

Transportation Update

My vehicle did in fact have a transmission failure. It will be an expensive fix, but thankfully we have the funds to cover the fix, because the alternative is having to purchase another vehicle large enough for the entire family to ride in all at the same time (a seven passenger car) which would be much more than we can afford with two girls in college, and the angelbaby entering private school next fall for middle school.

So after having to share a car with son-and-heir for a week, which he has done very graciously I might add, I should have my car back on Monday. Our only mishap was on Tuesday when I went to my internship in Indy and forgot to give him the key. He had to take a taxi to work and that cost him a pretty penny because we live outside the city limits and taxi rates are determined from the city center and not by the length of the ride (we only live five miles from where he works). He could have taken a Greyhound to Florida for a little less I fear.

I am sure son-and -heir will be happy as a clam to be back in his own car. I know I will be glad to be back in mine. I miss my stash of gum something fierce!!!

Pax

Choose LIfe!

Today marks the sad anniversary of the signing of the bill which allowed for millions of pre-born children to be murdered in the name of convenience, and many of those deaths were funded by the federal government in "women's health clinics".

It is fact that many women who make the desperate choice of abortion end up with psychological and medical issues later in life that must be dealt with, but there is no federally funded program to assist them when these issues arise.

Every American has the right to life, it is one of the rights we were granted in our constitution. To have an supreme court decision that takes away one of the basic rights so callously, and now to have a president who will do everything in his power to erode even further the tenuous right of life that every human being deserves is a frightening aspect.

I have made it a commitment to pray each and every day for the unborn, and to stand up for what I believe, by telling the truth behind the removal of restriction to "safe legal abortions which will put low income women at risk because a non skilled person will be allowed to perform what ammounts to a surgical procedure; or to uncover the lie of embryonic stem cell research, which has never helped anyone while stem cells grown from adult cells or autologous transplants have had tremendous success.

I also feel that everyone should know that the so called Fredom of Choice Act will make it impossible for Catholic hospitals, or doctors of any religious denomination who disagree with abortion to refuse to administer them on religious grounds. Where is the ACLU in this fight, isn't this a freedom of speech issue, isn't this a freedom of conscience issue? Should anyone be forced to perform a procedure if they fundamentally disagree with it on religious grounds. Would we force a vegetarian to work in a meat packing plant? Where is the difference?

Life is too precious to be played with in such a callous manner.

Pax

16 Quirky Things Meme

Hal tagged me a while back with this and I am just now getting around to sitting down to think of things to write. It isn't that I can't think of 16 quirky things about myself to tell you all, it is more a case of the fact that most of you know me pretty well, and finding things you didn't already know took some thinking.

I am doing this today because I have a writing assignment due tomorrow and . . .

1) while I love to write, and hope someday to be a well known, published writer who can actually say she makes money from what she writes; when it comes to homework I will do just about anything, even housework to avoid writing.

2) I am the borg child (seven of nine -- get it?) in my family. I have four older sisters and two older brothers (making me seventh, ) and a younger sister and younger brother. We are all still alive, and while we don't see each other all that often I think we all still care deeply about each other.

3) I am a font of useless knowledge, which makes me a great team member when you are playing trivial pursuit or you need a phone-a-friend on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. I attribute it to having insomnia and spending a lot of time reading or watching late night television.

4)A very good friend of mine was murdered when I was 12 years old. They never found his killer. I still have dreams about him to this day.

5) I lived in Hawaii for the summer when I was 15. My mom took us there the year after my dad died. It was a great experience and an extreme culture shock at the same time.

6) I received a Manager's letter in Wrestling from South my Senior Year. I was supposed to be a Cheer Leader, but somehow I got roped into keeping the book for the team at the meets. My book was more accurate than the scorer's table at a few of the early meets, so the coach made sit at the scorer's table and called me the Statistician and gave me a Letter for my trouble. My only regert is I never got to be in the locker room for the weigh-ins.

7) I am an introvert, and painfully shy. This will surprise a lot of people because I have forced myself to be outgoing especially since high school. I try really hard to include everyone because I know how much it hurts to feel left out.

8) I used to sing in a Jazz Acapella group. I really miss it.

9) I love ideas much more than details, which will explain why my house is usuallly a mess, and my husband is very detail oriented. Without him I would be totally lost.

10) I was engaged to mrangelmeg one month after our first date.

11) I have always wanted to try an open mike night in a comedy club.

12) I don't like to watch sports on television except good golfers and the Colts. I really don't like basketball, and can't stand auto racing.

13) I have never learned another language, much to my dismay.

14) I keep a basket with chocolates in it right beside my bed. I am a chocolatarian, it is a lifestyle choice, not an addiction.

15) I fall asleep listening to music every night.

16) I hate to cook, but have a few dishes that I know I can cook well for when company comes. If it weren't for microwaves and crock pots, my poor kids would starve.

Pax

Mystic Monday

Today dear children we take a trip to the 12 Century where we meet Aelred of Rievaulx a Cistercian monk and Abbot.

His most well known work was on Spiritual Friendship and has been published in English.

The quote today is on the importance of having a spiritual director, or barring that, someone in whom you can confide when your spiritual journey takes you to places you cannot navigate without help:

A man is to be compared too a beast if he has no one to rejoice with him in adversity, no one to whom to unburden his mind if any annoyance crosses his path or with whom to share some unusually sublime or illuminating inspiration . . . He is entirely alone who is without a friend.

But what happiness, what security, what joy to have someone to whom you dare to speak on terms of equality as to another self; one to whom you can unblushingly make known what progress you have made in the spiritual life; one to whom you can entrust all the secrets of your heart; one before whom you can place all your plans.

Pax

In Honor of EAP's Birthday

and mourning the loss last night . . .

The Ravens? Nevermore!






h/t to Paul via Facebook.

Pax

I Have a Dream . . .

That someday children will be judged by the content of their character and not by the color of their skin. That wasn't what this woman had in mind. She wanted to decide which children should be allowed to be born.







Please write to your Members of Congress and Senators and ask them to vote against the so called Fredom of Choice Act.

If this bill passes it will take away many of the protections that are now in place that keep women safe if they make the desperate choice to have a "safe and legal abortion". Among the things this bill would do is allow for non-doctors to perform abortions in so called "medical clinics; remove parental consent statutes which allow for parents to be in control of the medical procedures done on their minor children; and allow for the inhuman practice of late term partial birth abortions througout the last trimester, even when a child would have a viable chance at life outside of the womb.

How Bout Those Last Seven Minutes

I have discovered a way that I can scare up enough interest in the NFL playoffs. I just have to find something else to do until there is only seven minutes left to go in the game and then watch till the end of the game.

The last seven minutes of the Eagles Cardinals game was really pretty exciting, (sorry Mat -- my younger brother lives in Philly). I know my brother-in-law and my niece who are Cardinals fans from Phoenix are pretty happy.

I can wait until the last seven minutes of the Ravens Steelers game and do the same thing. Woo Hoo!

Then on Superbowl Sunday I can watch the commercials and skip the football until the last seven minutes, which will keep me safely away from having to watch "the Boss" at halftime (which I was so not looking forward to watching).

I can sit through seven minutes of just about any football game.

Pax

They Should Change the Name of This Thing . . .

From Wii Fit to Wii Fun!

picture credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/katy_am/2321575943/

We have had ours for three days and we have thoroughly enjoyed it. It has been especially eye opening for me. I knew from my time in therapy (really scary flash back of graston knives and bruised thigh *shudder*) that I was off balance -- placing more weight on my right leg than on my left -- but this Wii Fit board graphs all that out for me and keeps track of my progress toward getting my balance back into alignment and strengthening my left side so that I will be equally as strong on both sides.

The strength training and yoga are good for me, but the aerobic and balance exercises are the real fun. I love the boxing and step aerobics. I even love the skiing (because I would never have the nerve to really ski with my bad knees) although I totally vacuum at ski jumping and usually end up a huge snow ball at the end of the ski jump because I don't extend my knees at the right moment.

The time really flies when I am playing with this thing and the motivation to "play" is a lot easier to work up (even to do the short running in place stints) than any other type of home workout I have ever attempted. I suppose only time will tell if I can sustain the motivation in the long run, but since the fit board tracks my daily progress on a screen that happily I am the only one that can access because it is password protected, I can keep a daily progress of my weight and BMI as I am slimming down (I hope).

Now I just have to come up with a meal plan that takes into account all of my allergies and allows me to eat a well rounded diet that is satisfying. A tall order I am sure. I suppose I should go back to low carb, I felt healthiest when I was eating a low carb diet, and considering I am allergic to so many grains it makes good sense.

Anyway, I just wanted to share my new fun toy with all of you. If you already have a Wii, this little addition is well worth the expense.

Pax

A Little Parental Pride

The angelbaby was in a contest to design a web page describing the accomplishments of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in a way that would educate other children about what his mission was and what his impact on other generations was.

I think she did a really great job, but she didn't even get an honorable mention in corporation wide contest. She was pretty crushed.

If you want to see her website you can see it here. Click the links at the bottom of the home page and see what you think.

Perhaps her problem was she didn't use a lot of color, and she expected kids her own age (elementary school) to actually read his entire speech. Who knows about these things. Or perhaps it is her too rosy view of how much things have changed (which I find refreshing, and probably a direct result of how we have raised her and not because she doesn't understand what life is really like "in the real world").

Oh well, I think she is over the hurt by now. I just wonder if the corporation couldn't have given every child who submitted an entry an honorable mention just for taking the time. It seems like they were forgetting a bit of what Dr. King was trying to preach.

Pax

Somebody Likes Me!

I unexpectedly got an award today.

My blog has been given The Lemonade Award by Ironic Catholic:

"The Lemonade Award is given to 10 others who show good attitude (the good kind!) or gratitude."

I strive to live with a good attitude, and gratitude, because nobody likes a sour puss (as my mom used to always say when I was growing up). I guess it shows in my writing.

Now I get to pick ten other blogs that I think deserve this award.

The problem is IC used up some of the ones I would have chosen, so I am going to have to really think about this one.

1. Suzanne for sure

2. Alexa

3. Rosemary at A Catholic Mother's Thoughts

4. Mimi at Bigger than a Breadbox

5. Deacon John's Homilies at the Speakin' Deacon

6. Ebeth at A Catholic Mom Climbing the Pillars

7. Karen at Some Have Hats

8. Chased by Children

9. Say Anything

10. and last but not least Hal at A Wildcat in Hoosierville

Okay guys, pay this one forward and let others know that you appreciate their good attitude.

Pax

The View from my Kitchen Window

Welcome to winter!

Pax

Just the Good Part?

women playing with fake babies? spending thousands of dollars on something called Reborns? This all sounds like something out of a science fiction novel, but no this is really happening.

Women of a certain age and obviously socioeconomic level have begun to take up a new "hobby" called Reborns. These are almost realistic baby dolls that they can "mother".

There is something slightly creapy about this that I just can't grasp and I think it is in the statement from one of the women that goes:

"What's so wonderful about Reborns is that, um, they're forever babies," said Moore, who has grown children and grandchildren. "There's no college tuition, no dirty diapers... just the good part of motherhood," she added.

I remember saying once that there is nothing nicer than holding a newborn, and if someone could come up with a doll that felt as warm and smelled as nice they could rake in the bucks, but I think this trend is way too far out there. These women take their Reborns on day trips to the park for heaven sake!! There has to be something psychologically wrong with that.

You can read the entire story here (oh and don't forget to watch the even creapier video).

h/t to Korrectiv for the link.

Pax

A Reflective Week

This has been an interesting week for me. It was the first week of my new semester in my Spiritual Direction Internship. This semester "the gloves come off" so to speak and we actually have to begin to perform the task of spiritual direction in a very structured and supervised environment directing our fellow classmates.

This semester also the topics go even deeper into the realm of spirituality; for instance the first topic on Tuesday was Spirituality and Social Justice. For three hours we delved into the true biblical meaning of justice and how counter-cultural it is to contemporary societies meaning of justice in many ways. It was an intense morning to say the least.

I volunteered to be a Guinea pig directee for the first session of Spiritual direction in our afternoon session. One of our instructors was the Director, and was showing the other classmates how to conduct a direction session. I was told to come prepared with a topic to discuss, so I had been thinking over the weekend about something that I have been trying to figure out for a while. I didn't expect much, since the session was only going to be 20 minutes long, but what happened was an extremely intense spiritual experience in which I was able to unpack not only why I have been struggling with this issue, but also to explore an even deeper understanding of how I see God and God's love and care for me.

By the end of the time I had laughed and cried and found a resolution to my dilemma that will keep me in a volunteer ministry that I love doing but that had been causing me great distress for quite some time, because I am doing it for the right reason, and my human, faulty gift to that ministry is worth giving.

Then yesterday as the angelbaby and I were driving to school, the car transmission went out and we got stranded on the side of the road in the freezing cold. As we were sitting there assessing our situation the angelbaby was trying to find something to be optimistic about and realized that had the car gone out earlier in the week mrangelmeg would have still been away on his work trip and not blessedly a local call away to handle calling for son-and-heir to come pick us up, and a tow truck to pick up the car and tow it to the shop.

I am constantly amazed at how many faith lessons I learn from my youngest child. We still don't know the extent of the car's problems, and may have to make a decision as to whether it is even worth it to sink a bunch of money into a 10 year old car, but we at least have son-and-heir's car to share for a few days and the girls all have Martin Luther King Jr Day off on Monday.

After sitting here this morning and reflecting on my week, I have come to realize that God carefully orders our steps. I am so blessed that I have this family that is filled with people who are so willing to pitch in and get the job done.

Next week it is my turn to be Spiritual Director for the first time. I have no illusions that I will be as masterful as my instructor was, but if I learned anything from my session of direction this week it is that anything worth doing is worth beginning poorly because you can't begin to improve unless you begin.

Pax

Puzzle Sharing Time

Over the New Year's Holiday we decided to put together a jigsaw puzzle as a family activity. This was one we had gotten as a gift from mrangelmeg's cousin a few year's back, and had never gotten around to doing so we set it out on a card table in the dining room and worked on it over the next few days until we got it finished.

Mrangelmeg did quite a bit of the work on it, but I did my share, and the angelbaby did quite a bit of piecing in heads of birds and wings and such around the puzzle. Even the two middle daughter's helped, so it was practically a family affair, except for son and heir, but puzzles just aren't his thing.

We enjoyed that one so much that we got another one out today and are going to do it. It may take a while longer, there are 1000 pieces to the new puzzle, and the pieces are much smaller. It is a Mary Poppin's painting by Peter Ellenshaw. I will post a picture of it when we get it completed.

h/t to Suzanne for the idea of sharing my puzzle picture.

Pax

Now That's What I Call Taking Care of the Whole Patient

Monroe Hospital, the new for profit hospital not five miles from our house has had a really tragic situation happen with their phone listing in the recently printed and distributed phone books.

It appears that one of the main access numbers for the hospitals was misprinted in the local phone book, and the number that is there will actually link the caller to a phone-sex line.

Read the entire story here.

Mrangelmeg says they should just change their slogan to:

Monroe Hospital: We put the Ho in Holistic Medicine!

Pax

Reality Check

A sweet little fourth grader here at school just brought a book on the Beatles up to the check out desk. She was all excited and wanted to check it out because (and I am not making this up) "her Papaw' just loves that band best of all."


The librarian and I sat in stunned silence as I checked the book out, then we looked at each other and both blurted out at the same instant "Okay, I feel really old!"

Then we broke down into paroxysms of laughter that pretty much scared the rest of the kids in the library.

Granted I was four the year the Beatles came to this country and twelve the year they broke up, but her statement was a total reality check.

Pax

I Hope So!

Your Word is "Hope"

You see life as an opportunity for learning, growth, and bringing out the best in others. No matter how bad things get, you always have at least a glimmer of optimism. You are accepting and forgiving. You encourage those who have wronged you to turn over a new leaf. And while there is a lot of ugliness in the world, you believe that almost no one is beyond redemption.

What's Your Word?

The End of an Era

He Coached our team with dignity and grace, and when he chose to leave he did it the same way. Tony Dungy, coach of the Indianapolis Colts announced yesterday that he will step down as head coach effective immediately. He did so with tears in his eyes, showing just how much affection he has had for the boys in Indianapolis.

Beginning next season our new head coach will be Jim Caldwell, who has been with Dungy for nearly eight years as part of the coaching staff at Indianapolis and knows the team really well. He has been carefully groomed for the job.

He has really big shoes to fill, but he has learned from one of the best. And I may be biased but even with the really rocky season we had this year, he had a great group of guys playing for him.

Pax

Mystic Monday

Today dear children our quote comes from The Cloud of Unknowing.

This work, by an anonymous 14th century British author, has some of the most beautiful imagery of God, but is extremely hard to read if you try to read it for comprehension. (at least that has been my experience). The first two or three times I tried to read The Cloud of Unknowing I got completely lost in the images. Perhaps I just wasn't ready for it yet.

A Jesuit priest who used to work in our diocese would say just that, I wasn't ready to understand it before and that is why I struggled so when I tried before.

Anyway the section I have chosen to share with you is one that I think everyone can enjoy and gain something from without having to sit with for long, or can sit with for a day and really pull it apart and go much more deeply if one chooses.

Be attentive to time and the way you spend it. Nothing is more
precious. This is evident when you recall that in one tiny moment heaven may be
gained or lost. God, the master of time, never gives the future. He gives only
the present moment by moment. . .

If you are really interested in this book, here is the online downloadable version from CCEL.

Christian Classics Ethereal Library is a great online resource for public domain Christian classics. Bookmark the site for use later.

Pax

Unexpected Movie Recommendation

Mrangelmeg and I went to see a movie this afternoon, and since I got to pick the last one we saw, he got to pick this one (usually how we roll.) He chose Gran Torino, the new Clint Eastwood flick.

I went not expecting much; I like Clint Eastwood, but I usually have problems with his movies. I find them to be much to violent, or too harshly opinionated, or too preachy.

I loved this movie. I can't recommend it highly enough. It was violent and opinionated and preachy, but it was also an amazing story of worlds colliding when one lonely old man, who just wants to be left alone comes into contact with his spirited young Hmong neighbor and her brother who is searching for purpose in life.

The characters were powerful, and well drawn. They were played pitch perfect in every case, even the young priest was played well. While the script did take a few liberties with Catholic liturgical practices for the sake of story, I can forgive them that because it really doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things.

Again, this movie is well worth the price of a theater ticket and I think will be in the running for multiple Oscars. Incidentally the music was beautifully subtle, yet stunningly appropriate, and was composed by Kyle Eastwood (Clint's son).

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Pax

Interpretation of Dreams

I dreamed about my mother last night, not once but twice -- two distinctive dreams about mom in a slightly more communicative state than she is in at this point in her disease.

In the first dream she was trying to tell me something, but each time she kept slipping and thinking I was a friend from her high school days. She would then begin to talk about her brother Chuck (Charley Boy she called him, when they were in high school). I couldn't seem to get her back into the present moment. It was shortly after that that I woke up from that dream.

In the second dream her sister Louise was still alive and very vibrant (which she was almost right up until she died at about age 90) and had come to see mom, but mom was very confused. Louise seemed to think that all mom needed was more exercise, to get out of the house more (mom had become very house bound near the end because of her fear of her bladder control issues). I was walking outside with mom and we kept meeting people that she knew, and she was pretending that she still remembered who they were, but she didn't actually remember any of them, and then I woke up from that dream.

It bothers me a little that I dreamed about mom twice in one night, and both dreams involved her dead siblings. Do these dreams have some underlying meaning or am I just beginning to grieve that she is the only one left of her three siblings (and their spouses for that matter)? After I woke up from the second dream I was so rattled that I couldn't get back to sleep.

Maybe, this is all just part of the process of my saying goodbye to mom. After all Alzheimer's disease is called "the Long Goodbye". In my dreams I actually get to talk to her again, even for a little while. I would give just about anything to have one more conversation with her.

Pax

I Finished it.

I finished my sweater on Wednesday and wore it on Thursday. The buttonholes were the biggest worry because I was sure I would have them all over the place and never get them spaced correctly. I sat with the problem for an entire day totally terrified to begin, but then I just thought of it as a math problem (and those of you who know me know that I really hate math -- so I just got through it as quickly and non mathematically as I could).

I got out a piece of graph paper (in this case the graph paper from the blotter on the desk in the office) and graphed out the number of stitches available for the eight buttonholes, then I set the two on either end and divided the remaining number of stitches evenly between the other six buttonholes. I then placed those on the graph with an equal number of stitches between them (because of the math) and made sure it worked out evenly). It took two tries to get it exactly right, but it worked!!!

So all I had to do after knitting the button holes was go back and sew the buttons on the opposite side exactly under the buttonholes on the buttonhole side.

It was really easy once I got over my trepidation that I might do it wrong.

I got so many compliments from people on my sweater, especially when they found out that I had made it myself.

I even have enough of that beautiful yarn left over to make a matching scarf and hat to go with it. I am working on those now.

Pax

Full of Fun Friday: Fear Has a Name . . .

Did you ever wonder if that fear that you have been harboring since childhood had a clinical name? (No only you would think that way angelmeg) Well thanks to the amazing Internet you can now find out that your irrational fear of vegetables is called Lachanophobia.

Or when you break into a cold sweat every time you think about clowns you are actually suffering from Coulrophobia (not irrational at all if you ask me).

You can read the rest of the list right here on the Phobia Guide.


Pick out one that you think is ridiculous, funny or just downright spooky, and mention it in the comment box (if you dare . . . if you can't you might be suffering from Cenophobia, the fear of new ideas.)

Pax

First (and Last) Things

Richard John Neuhaus died today.

What more fitting way to memorialize him than to post a link to an article of his from First Things about, what else, death.

Born Toward Dying


Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord.

Pax

There but for the Grace of God . . .

I woke up this morning to a little snow on the ground and a two hour delay for school. Since I hadn't done Wacky Wednesday yesterday I thought I would stumble around a bit on the internet and find something to post and this is the first image I came across, (my comment in the headder completely applies):




Wherever this is, may God have mercy on these poor people!!!

Pax

I've seen 133!

SUPPOSEDLY if you've seen over 85 movies, you have no life. Mark the ones you've seen. There are 219 movies on this list. Copy this list, go to your own blog . Then, put x's next to the movies you've seen, add them up, change the header adding your number





(x ) Rocky Horror Picture Show

(x) Grease

(x) Pirates of the Caribbean

(x) Pirates of the Caribbean 2: Dead Man's Chest

(x) Boondock Saints

(x) Fight Club

( ) Starsky and Hutch

(x) Neverending Story

(x ) Blazing Saddles

( ) Universal Soldier

(x) Lemony Snicket: A Series Of Unfortunate Events

( ) Along Came Polly

( ) Joe Dirt

(x) KING KONG TOTAL SO FAR 1o

(x) A Cinderella Story

( ) The Terminal

(x) The Lizzie McGuire Movie

( ) Passport to Paris

(x) Dumb & Dumber

( ) Dumber & Dumberer

(x) Final Destination

( ) Final Destination 2

( ) Final Destination 3

(x) Halloween

(x) The Ring

( ) The Ring 2

( ) Surviving X-MAS

(x) Flubber

(x) Harold & Kumar Go To White Castle

( ) Practical Magic

(x ) Chicago

( ) Ghost Ship

( ) From Hell

( ) Hellboy

( ) Secret Window

(x) I Am Sam

(x ) The Whole Nine Yards TOTAL SO FAR 20

( ) The Whole Ten YardsTotal

(x ) The Day After Tomorrow

(x ) Child's Play

( ) Seed of Chucky

(x ) Bride of Chucky

(x ) Ten Things I Hate About You

( ) Just Married

(x ) Gothika

(x ) Nightmare on Elm Street

(x ) Sixteen Candles\

(x) Remember the Titans

(x ) Coach Carter

( ) The Grudge

( ) The Grudge 2

(x ) The Mask

( ) Son Of The Mask

(x ) Bad Boys

( ) Bad Boys 2

( ) Joy Ride

( ) Lucky Number Sleven

(x) Ocean's Eleven TOTAL SO FAR 30

(x) Ocean's Twelve

(x) Bourne Identity

(x) Bourne Supremacy

( ) Lone Star

(x ) Bedazzled

( ) Predator I

( ) Predator II

( ) The Fog

(x) Ice Age

( ) Ice Age 2: The Meltdown

( ) Curious George

(x) Independence Day

(x ) Cujo

( ) A Bronx Tale

( ) Darkness Falls

(x ) Christine

(x) ET

(x ) Children of the Corn TOTAL SO FAR 40

( ) My Bosses Daughter

(x ) Maid in Manhattan

( ) War of the Worlds

(x) Rush Hour

(x) Rush Hour 2

( ) Best Bet

(x) How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days

(x ) She's All That

(x ) Calendar Girls

(x ) Sideways

(x ) Mars Attacks

(x ) Event Horizon

(x ) Ever After TOTAL SO FAR 50

(x) Wizard of Oz

(x) Forrest Gump

(x ) Big Trouble in Little China

(x) The Terminator

(x) The Terminator 2

(x) The Terminator 3

(x) X-Men

(x ) X2

(x ) X-3

(x) Spider-Man TOTAL SO FAR 60

(x ) Spider-Man 2

(x ) Sky High

( ) Jeepers Creepers

( ) Jeepers Creepers 2

(x ) Catch Me If You Can

(x) The Little Mermaid

(x) Freaky Friday

(x ) Reign of Fire

(x ) The Skulls

(x ) Cruel Intentions

( ) Cruel Intentions 2

( ) The Hot Chick

(x) Shrek

() Shrek 2

(x ) Swimfan TOTAL SO FAR 70

(x) Miracle on 34th street

(x ) Old School

(x) The Notebook

(x ) K-Pax

(x ) Kippendorf's Tribe

(x ) A Walk to Remember

(x) Ice Castles

( ) Boogeyman

(x ) The 40-year-old-virgin

(x ) Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring

(x ) Lord of the Rings The Two Towers TOTAL SO FAR 80

( x) Lord of the Rings Return Of the King

(x) Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

(x) Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

(x) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

() Baseketball

( ) Hostel

(x ) Waiting for Guffman

( ) House of 1000 Corpses

( ) Devils Rejects

(x ) Elf

(x ) Highlander

(x ) Mothman Prophecies

(x ) American History X

( ) Three

( ) The Jacket

( ) Kung Fu Hustle

( ) Shaolin Soccer

() Night Watch

(x) Monsters Inc. TOTAL SO FAR 90

(x ) Titanic

(x) Monty Python and the Holy Grail

(x ) Shaun Of the Dead

(x ) Willard

( ) High Tension

(x ) Club Dread

( ) Hulk

(x ) Dawn Of the Dead

(x) Hook

(x) Chronicle Of Narnia The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe

(x ) 28 days later

( ) Orgazmo

(x) Phantasm TOTAL SO FAR 100

(x ) Waterworld

(x ) Kill Bill vol 1

(x ) Kill Bill vol 2

( ) Mortal Kombat

( ) Wolf Creek

(x ) Kingdom of Heaven

( ) the Hills Have Eyes

( ) I Spit on Your Grave aka the Day of the Woman

(x ) The Last House on the Left

( ) Re-Animator

(x ) Army of Darkness

(x ) Star Wars Ep. I The Phantom Menace

(x ) Star Wars Ep. II Attack of the Clones

(x ) Star Wars Ep. III Revenge of the Sith

(x ) Star Wars Ep. IV A New Hope TOTAL SO FAR 110

(x ) Star Wars Ep. V The Empire Strikes Back

(x ) Star Wars Ep. VI Return of the Jedi

( ) Ewoks Caravan Of Courage

(x ) Ewoks The Battle For Endor

(x) The Matrix

(x) The Matrix Reloaded

(x ) The Matrix Revolutions

( ) Animatrix

(x ) Evil Dead

( ) Evil Dead 2

( ) Team America: World Police

(x ) Red Dragon

(x ) Silence of the Lambs

( ) Hannibal

( ) Battle Royale

( ) Battle Royale 2

(x ) Brazil TOTAL SO FAR 120

(x ) Contact

(x ) Cube

(x ) Dr. Strangelove

( ) Enlightenment Guaranteed

( ) Four Rooms

(x ) Memento

( ) Pi

(x ) Requiem for a Dream

(x ) Pulp Fiction

(x ) Reservoir Dogs

( ) Run Lola Run

( ) Russian Ark

(x ) Serenity

( ) Sin City

( ) Snatch

( ) Spider

(x ) The Sixth Sense

(x) The Village TOTAL SO FAR 130

(x) Waking Life

( ) Zatoichi

( ) Ikiru

(x) The Seven Samurai

(x) Brick


( ) Akira
Grand Total Wasted Life 133 Movies



Pax

Mystic Monday: Beatrijs of Nazareth

Today dear children my thoughts have turned to love, and so I bring you a medieval mystic from Belgium who called herself Beatrijs of Nazareth (1200 - 1266).


She wrote her best known work, a treatise "On Seven Ways of Divine Love" in 1236.

I give you an excerpt here for your consideration, but enjoin you to take some time to read the entire short work, because it is beautiful and very thought provoking. Loves like this, I wish to know in all their intimacy.


The Soul is given a second way of love. Sometimes she serves the Lord for nothing, only from love, without reason or reward, even of mercy or bliss. A noble Lady may serve her Lord out of great love, without seeking reward, simply taking pleasure in being allowed to serve Him. In the same way, the Soul may simply desire to be loyal, to serve Love with love, without measure, beyond thought of measure, exceeding every human idea and reason.

This Soul may be burning with bright desire. She may find that her labours are simple and her misfortunes easy to bear: she may be happy even in melancholy. With her whole being she may desire to give great pleasure. Then she will find pleasure in being able to give pleasure to the Lord, to have Love use her, to aid and to honour Love.

Pax