There Goes Mom of the Year for This Year

So I can't be here this weekend for my daughter's graduation ceremony because I have to go to my first Ancient Philosophy class (the first of my final two classes of my Masters Program) in Indianapolis this weekend and I will be in class when she is crossing the stage to receive her diploma. Philosophy not being my strong suit, I am probably going to be where I need to be, but I feel really as though I am leaving her without a mom for her big day.

So I was trying to be "the mom" today and decided that I would iron all the creases out of her graduation gown. I should have just left it alone, or sent it over to my mother-in-law, which was my first thought, because you see, I am only remotely acquainted with the workings of an iron in the first place. This gown that she has received to wear on Saturday is made from some fabric that is decidedly not of a natural fiber and even though I had the iron on what I thought was a low setting, and the first two passes went well, there is a nice little burn mark in the front of her gown.

*sigh*

After cursing a blue streak that would have made George Carlin proud, I unplugged the iron, and sprayed the entire gown with wrinkle reducer, which has had no effect whatsoever except to make the gown soggy. Not a single wrinkle has budged.

We thought of swapping her gown out for her brother's , he graduated a few years ago and wore the same color. The only problem is, he is about five inches taller than she is, and it would look pretty obviously as though she were wearing someone else's gown. My daughter has inspected the damage and really doesn't seem to have a problem with it at all, but I am still a bit freaked out at how stupid I could have been for not thinking to put a towel down over the stupid gown before I started to press it.

My only saving grace is that the scorch mark is in the fold on the front and isn't quite noticeable when the gown hangs properly. I will just have to hope that my daughter keeps her hands in front of her chest for most of the ceremony, and no one will notice.

In my own clumsy way I have made it possible for me to be "there" with her at the ceremony. LOL At least in the spirit of my crappy ironing abilities.

Pax

That Would Mean I Would Have to, Like Actually Do Stuff

You Are Not Destined to Rule the World

You are destined for something else... Like inventing a new type of cupcake. You just don't have the stomach for brutality. But watch out - because many people do!

Are You Destined For World Domination?

This is probably pretty accurate, the less activity in my life the better.

h/t to IC who will be absent for the summer, please come back to us, please!!!


Pax

When Animals Attack

I have mentioned before that I love the Bob & Tom Radio Program and listen to it every morning as I drive the angelkids to school or run errands or sadly as I drive to morning mass (which probably isn't the best way to prepare for divine liturgy, if you have ever heard some of the comedy they do on Bob and Tom).

One of their weekly guests is a comedian named Tim Bedore who does a spot every Tuesday called Vague But True with Tim Bedore where he rants about whatever happens to be on his mind. He does this by phone-line from his home in Minnesota. Often, lately the topic has been "The vast animal conspiracy" Like this one. Mr Bedore believes that animals are actually conspiring against humans and their recent aggressive behavior that has been related in print and video media is proof of this. People send him stuff all the time about animals attacking unsuspecting joggers or picnickers or hikers or campers and he adds these stories to his long list of paranoiac rants about how animals are banding together to embarrass as many humans as possible.

Well here at the angelmeg household we may (or may not) have a story for Mr Bedore. Since last Thursday we have had an adolescent cardinal trying to peck his way through our front door window glass. He is relentless.

We have a beautiful front door with side panel windows on either side that are the height of the door. The stupid (or evil, you be the judge) bird sits on the railing of our porch and dive bombs the side windows and the front door repeatedly trying to get in. Or, we probably suspect, trying to attack his reflection in the glass.

For four days now he has been counting coup. We have tried taping pictures of hawks onto the glass. Our autistic daughter read about this online and thought it might work so she drew, colored, cut out and taped up three hawk pictures onto the glass. This had no effect whatsoever on the stupid (or evil) bird. The attacks are still coming.

Whenever we go out onto the porch the bird will fly away, but as soon as we come back into the house it comes right back and begins the barrage. Not even the rain has stopped it. So long as it isn't pouring down, the silly bird is out there pecking away.

If anyone has other ideas, short of completely covering the window and doors with paint, we are game. We really don't want the stupid (or evil) little thing to get hurt, we just want him to stop pecking at our window before he drives us crazy.

Pax

Rainy Sunday Random Ten

1. House at Pooh Corner - Loggins & Messina - The Best of Friends
2. Nice Work if You Can Get It - Fred Astaire - An Evening With Fred Astaire
3. Can't Stop This Thing We Started - Bryan Adams - So Far So Good
4. Done Laid Around (AKA Gotta Travel On) Harry Belafonte - Very Best of Harry Belafonte
5. Knights in White Satin - The Moody Blues - This is the Moody Blues
6. I Don't Wanna Lose You - Santana Featuring Los Lobos - All That I Am
7. Runaway - Me First and the Gimmie Gimmies - Blow in the Wind
8. Crying, Waiting, Hoping - Buddy Holly - The Buddy Holly Collection
9. The Morning Comes - Smash Mouth - Astro Lounge
10. Can't Stop Falling Into Love - Cheap Trick - The Authorized Greatest Hits


Comments: Can't stop losing this thing I've laid around at pooh corner crying, waiting and hoping for the knights in white satin to work up to losing you but the morning comes and I gotta travel on. Whew I'm exhauseted just listening.

Pax

Show Us Your Veil

I have found that I am not the only one :

Who has felt so small before the almighty that she wanted to cover her head with a veil.

Who wanted to add a simple chapel veil over her hair to church or adoration, but felt too shy, or that she might be drawing the wrong kind of attention to herself if she did.


There has been an ongoing discussion of just this topic in the Catholic blogosphere among women who wish to wear a veil for the right reasons. As Coffee Wife at the Walled Garden states:

-Wearing a religious hat/veil does not "save" you.-Wearing a hat/veil does not make you better then anyone else.

-Wearing a hat/veil is not a status symbol of any kind.Wearing a hat, veil or other kind of head covering is a beautiful expression of one's femininity and every woman should be free to do so without scorn or public humiliation.

Head coverings of all types have been worn for thousands of years - so why should any woman be made to feel like a freak if she attends Mass in a veil, wears a beautiful flowery hat to town, ties a scarf over her hair or wears a head covering for religious purposes?

Read the Rest Here.

Here are some thoughts from Kitchen Madonna

Another viewpoint from Michelle at Rosetta Stone

I say all of us should just get together and start wearing them. If we all do it it becomes a movement. It isn't just one woman here or there trying to be "holier than thou" it is each of us trying to be as holy as we can. If wearing a head covering helps us to feel more humble in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament (and He is Really and Substantially Present every time we set foot in a Church with a Tabernacle) then why should we feel ashamed for doing what we feel called to do.

I will if you will.

Pax

Senioritis Meme

My brother tagged me when he saw me at my nephew's graduation Saturday:

Fill this out about your SENIOR year of high school! The longer ago it was, the more fun the answers will be.


1. Who was your best friend?

We moved to the town where I went to High School when I was a sophomore. It was a very tense time for me because I was a painfully shy girl who had just recently lost her father to cancer and was moving to a place where she knew absolutely no one and had no family connections out side of her mother and siblings. The place where we moved was one of those places where if you didn't live there from the day you were born you really didn't belong, so I just didn't quite fit. I had fairly good grades, but wasn't quite the top of a very big class (I was 105 in a class of 706 kids the cutoff for National Honor Society was 100.) I had some acquaintances but very few friends. My two best friends in High School didn't go to my school. I knew them through the city-wide Catholic Youth Group. Debbie Hanley graduated from the Catholic school a year early because they closed the doors and our senior year she was already taking her freshman year at Indiana State University. Caroline Kunkler had gone to the Catholic school as well, but when it closed she finished her senior year at the other public High School in town. At school I hung around with, well I was pretty much a loner.

2.What sports did you play?
Freshman Year, before we left Illinois, I had been on the track team of my middle school and had intended to run track for the high school team. I was actually a pretty fair high jumper at the time. I injured my knee (the first of a long line of knee injuries) in the spring of that year and didn't even get up the courage to try again until my junior year when I actually was shocked that I made the team as a high jumper and hurdler. Three weeks before our first meet I re-injured the very same knee, and my dreams of finally finding a place where I belonged at that school were sadly dashed for good. I have always had knee trouble in both knees to this day and have had to have surgery on both repeatedly.

3. What kind of car did you drive?
I never drove in high school. I got my license when I was 17, but I hated to drive, I mean it made me physically sick to be behind the wheel of a car. I successfully avoided ever having to drive a car well into adulthood. I began driving when my oldest daughter started kindergarten. Even then the act of driving would nauseate me. Now I drive hundreds of miles a week without even blinking an eye.

4. It's Friday night, where were you?
If I wasn't scooping Ice Cream at Baskin Robbins (the one by the ISU Campus, which sadly isn't there anymore, it is now a Jimmy John's franchise) I would be out getting pizza with a gang of friends from the CYO group.

5. Were you a party animal?
I drank in high school, I know that will probably come as a surprise to my siblings, they thought I was a goody goody. I tried pot, but it made me sick so I never used it again. I avoided illegal drugs, mostly because none of my friends did them. We went to parties and drank. My friends had parents that allowed drinking in their homes where they could control the level of alcohol consumption. I never lied to my mom about drinking when I was a senior in high school. If I was going out to a party I told her exactly where I was going and whose parents were going to be chaperoning, and when I was going to be home. I think she let me do all the stuff I did because I didn't lie. Once I even stayed out all night at a guys house, because the girl who drove was too drunk to drive us home and the house we were at was way the heck out in the boonies of northern Vigo County. I called mom in the middle of the night to let her know what was going on, and told her that the guy's dad was going to let us spend the night at his house and mom was fine with it, I didn't get in any trouble at all. We got home the next day around ten or eleven in the morning, hung over, but safe.

6. Were you considered a flirt?
I was way way too shy in High School to be a flirt. I could barely speak to guys let alone flirt with them. I went on a total of one date the entire time I was in high school and the guy, Mark, and I both agreed at the end of the night that it had been a miserable failure. That experience put me off dating well into college.

7. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir?
Old wound here: played the flute in middle school, so I signed up for band when I registered for the school when we moved there in the fall of my sophomore year. In the fall, of course it was marching band. I worked my tail off every day to get caught up learning the stuff that all the other kids had learned at band camp and before school had started and by the second football game I was marching in the halftime shows like the rest of the band. The first nine weeks I got a C in the class. When I asked the instructor why I had gotten a C he informed me that that was the best grade I could get since I hadn't been to band camp, never mind that I hadn't even been living in Indiana (let alone been in the continental United States as we were still in Hawaii) when they were all at band camp. He would not be swayed and my grade stood, thus ruining my GPA and my academic standing for the rest of high school (See question #1) I stuck around that entire year, went to Band Camp the next summer and worked my tail off the next fall only to find out that the best you could get without being a section leader was a B-. I finally said Adios to band and quit my Junior year and joined Drama class. I do not regret it to this day except that I quit playing flute for about 20 years as well. But, now I am playing the flute again, so I guess I am healing finally.

8. Were you a nerd?
I took accelerated Math classes because I had been on the accelerated track since 7th grade. So I guess in terms of that you could call me a nerd. I loved Geometry, mostly because it had very few numbers. I would have hated Algebra II except Mr Miller was an amazing teacher. I had him again for Calculus only because there were so many kids my Senior year who wanted to take Calculus that they had to split the class into two sections and he chose me for his section (we had 8 kids in our class, it was awesome.) I hated Calculus and probably should have flunked, but Mr. Miller gave me points for being brave enough to attempt problems even when I got them wrong. His methodology helped everyone to learn something, even the denser of us.

10. Can you sing the fight song?
I know it was based on the Ohio State Fight Song. I am sure that if I thought about it long enough I could probably come up with the words. In marching band we scripted the word South, just like Ohio State's Ohio, with the tubas going out to cross the t. That was really cool I thought.

11. Who were your favorite teachers?
Mr. Miller, from #9. He was awesome, He would regale us with stories from his days as a student at Rose Polly, (AKA Rose-Hulman before Anton Hulman gave them all the dough). He had some really great stories. He was a gifted teacher.

Mr Moon. He was an English teacher who treated his class like a college course in literature. In fact he called his class Reading for College. He taught critical reading skills and good essay techniques, but his methodology was learning by doing. You were expected to do the dang work, no excuses. I actually saw him bean a kid in the back row who had fallen asleep during a discussion of William Faulkner with a chalkboard eraser from his desk without missing a beat of his lecture. When the kid fell over, and got back into his seat, Mr Moon said, between sentences, "Nice of you to rejoin the class Mr. Jones. Faulkner's use of run on sentences was deliberate . . . " The entire class lost it, we laughed for the next ten minutes until the bell rang. If he had done that today he probably would have been brought up on charges of child abuse. Back then he demanded respect and just about everyone gave him that respect. I tell you what, that Jones kid never fell asleep in class again.

12. Where did you sit during lunch?
There was a table of kids from the CYO group that sat together, I usually sat there. After I ate I went outside to have a cigarette before my next class. Yes, I know you are all horrified that I was a smoker. I actually started smoking in Junior High School, just after my dad got sick (He taught at my school so I am really sure I never would have tried to smoke at school while he was still there). After he had taken his leave of absence I used to sneak off with my friends to a place outside the fence and smoke cigarettes in 8th and 9th grade. In High School I smoked more often because I could afford to buy cigarettes (those great after school jobs) by senior year in high school even my mom knew I smoked. We smoked those long feminist cigarettes -- not the 100's but the 120's, menthol of course , they looked like little cigarillos. It makes me cringe now to think if it. I can't for the life of me remember the name of those things.

13.What was your school's full name?
Terre Haute South Vigo High School, There was also a Terre Haute North Vigo High School and a Terre Haute West Vigo High School. For short we called ourselves North, South, and West Vigo (go figure those people from West Terre Haute had to be different) Three Gargantuan Monstrosities of consolidation, horrible as learning environments go, classes were always too big, lots of kids got lost in the shuffle.

14. School mascot?
We were the South Braves. Our Mascot was a proud Indian Chief who did a war dance at half times of football and basketball games in full ultra suede costume and head dress. I am sure that they have retired him by now, but there was a huge competition among the boys at the school to see who would get to be the Brave each year. My senior year it was Bill Reiley, a friend of mine and a very nice guy.

5. Did you go to Prom?
Only had one date in high school and it wasn't to prom. I was way too shy to ask a guy, and nobody asked me, so I didn't go to any dances that involved asking a date.

16. If you could go back and do it over, would you?
Not for any amount of money or any other reason whatsoever. I was pretty miserable in High School. People kept saying that the high school years were going to be the most memorable years of our lives and all I could think back then was I hope the hell not because I would hate to think this is as good as it gets. My life has been so much better every year since high school that I have no reason whatsoever to want to go back to that time or place.

7. What do you remember most about graduation?
It was long and boring, (707 graduates, too many speeches) and they took 20 extra minutes of my graduation to give a sports award to a kid Cam Cameron who happened to go to my high school, but wasn't even going to graduate until the next year, which made my graduation even that much longer. I also remember that my little sister was sick and in the hospital so I was really worried about her health and my mom almost didn't make it to my graduation because Jeanne was so sick, and I would have rather just skipped the whole thing only you couldn't get your diploma unless you went through the ceremony, so I was stuck there. I guess what I remember most was wishing the whole time that I wasn't there.

18. What was your favorite class?
Reading for College because Mr Moon made you feel like you were already a college student. He expected you to do the work and challenged you to attempt to move outside your comfort zone in terms of what you would read and what you liked. I read more good books for his class that year. In one grading period I read probably fifteen books that had been published just that year. They were amazing; some of them I loved, some I hated, some I still don't think I understand, but back in the fall of 1977 the fact that a high school teacher allowed me to give him my opinion of a work and would engage me in a dialogue about the work, which meant that he had read it, was really cool to me.

19. Where were you on senior skip day?
I don't think there was an organized Senior Skip Day, if there was, I wasn't enough in the know to know about it. Too shy.

20. Were you in any clubs?
Chess Club, and Scribblers both sponsored by Mr. Moon

Scribblers was for writers; back then I wrote a lot of really bad free verse. We mostly just sat around Mr Moon's classroom and talked about books. Sometimes we read our stuff to each other.

Chess Club was the most popular club in the school. The cafeteria was full of kids who actually played chess for the entire club time. Mr Moon actually played a really mean game of chess.

21. Where did you go most often for lunch?
We had "closed lunch" which means you weren't allowed to go off campus. Most of the time I ate ala carte because the plate lunch stunk. There were a few things in the ala carte line that were actually non-gag-producing and the chocolate shake-like substance that they offered was tolerable. The rest of the time I brought a bag lunch from home. Occasionally, we would sneak off campus for fast food. One time when we had sneaked off campus we were heading back toward school and thought for sure we had been nabbed because we were staring straight into the car of the school Secretary just across the parking lot from us. We just sat there frozen, not sure what to do, when who should get into her car but the principal himself (there were rumors all over school that they were having an affair) She said something to him, he ducked down in the front seat and they drove off really quickly. Needless to say, we weren't called onto the carpet for being off campus that particular lunch hour.

23. What did you do after graduation?
The night of graduation our class had a party at a local hotel. There was so much destruction that we all had to pitch in to pay a huge damage fee. Good times.

After that I went on to college at ISU (with a semester at Ferris State in Big Rapids MI) then back to finish up at ISU where I met mrangelmeg my second senior year. After graduation from college mrangelmeg and I got married and it took 23 years to get me back in a classroom to begin my Masters.

24. When did you graduate?
1978

25. Who was your senior prom date?
didn't go

26. Will you go to your next reunion/ which one will it be?
I went to my 25th a few years ago and I actually had a pretty good time, though I thought that some of the same cliques were still active after 25 years. I might go back to another one. To be honest we had more fun at mrangelmeg's high school reunion than we had at mine. If his class ever gets it together enough to have another reunion I would rather go to his than mine.


27. Who was your homeroom teacher?
I can't remember his name, it was some shop teacher. We had a great homeroom though. We had some fun people in there and they made boring home room worth having to sit through.

28. Who will repost this after you?
I don't know, but this was a lot of fun to do.

29. Who was your highschool sweetheart?
I was so shy in high school that I hardly even talked to guys. I had one date, as I said before with Mark LaFrance, which was a disaster. I had a few crushes, but nothing ever went beyond the crush stage.

30. Do you still talk to people from high school?
Nobody. I moved away and have no contact whatsoever with anyone from high school. Interestingly, Chris, the sister of my friend Caroline from #1 is a member of my parish here in town, but I rarely ever talk to Chris. When my oldest daughter went to ISU she ran into a woman who worked at a CVS who recognized her because she looked like me, it was someone I had known in high school. Those kinds of connections are funny but tenuous.


This has been fun and in some ways cathartic to do. I want to tag

Suzanne and Kitchen Madonna and Paul. I also want to tag mrangelmeg I promise to post his on my blog if he email's his answers to me.

My New Reality Show Osession

I should preface this post with My name is angelmeg and I am a reality show junkie.

I love to watch reality television. Sometimes it is the best thing that is on and sometimes it is like watching a train wreck, you just can't turn away. I will also admit that I haven't watched a Survivor episode or Big Brother since, well, ever.

I will also admit that I am not a big fan of American Idol. I realized this year that all of the singers that I like from the AI ranks were never ones that actually won. (You Go Carrie Unerwood and Chris Daughtry). I did watch Dancing With the Stars, and I absolutely loved Top Chef and plan to watch the new Miami episodes that will begin in a few weeks.

Last Summer my kids were enthralled with So You Think You Can Dance. They watched every episode and were so caught up in whether Benjie was better off if he won and was offered the job with Celine Dion or lost and dodged that particular bullet, (In case you weren't a fan he actually won the show, but chose not to take the wonderful offer of a spot dancing with Celine, and has been dancing in other shows and videos since his win -- oldest daughter is a fan of his
MySpace page and keeps up with his movements) .

My other favorite show is Ace of Cakes on the Food Network. I just love to watch them create those amazing cakes. I would love the thought of an actual Charm City Cake for my Gradual School Graduation Party (As If they only delivered to the wiles of southern Indiana!)


Our newest obsession as of last week is the new Fox show On the Lot on Mondays and Thursdays. This show allows aspiring filmmakers a chance to battle it out for a spot with the Spielberg organization for a year. So far we have had a great time watching the ups and downs of these would be directors. Some of the short films they created for the Boot Camp were pretty amazing. Our favorite was Time Out.

Reality TV is a bit of a crap shoot, sometimes it is as fun a watching paint dry. Sometimes you wonder why anyone would want to be on a reality show. Most of the time it at least beats watching reruns.

Pax

Human Rights has a New "Voice"

This is a powerful video by a woman with Autism Spectrum Disorder. I have two children who fall under the umbrella of this disorder. While neither of my children are this severe, there are times when both of my children have been judged because they are "different". This video is an amazing attempt to show that every human being has the right to be treated with justice and equality.





h/t to Rotating Chaos for the link.

Pax

Golf: The Walk you Love to Hate

Mrangelmeg convinced me to dust (and there was a whole lot of dust) off my golf bag and join him and the angelbaby for a round of golf at the local Par 3 course on Sunday.

It has been at least two years, probably closer to three since the last time I have played any golf at all (including Putt-Putt). We first went to the driving range to hit buckets of balls. I was so rusty, but after a bit at least I was hitting the ball fairly straight (well, fairly to the right, but the ball was moving away from my club which is always good.)

When we got to the course I played with consistent inconsistency for the first four holes. I shot a 10 on the first hole and a 5 on the second, then a 9 on the third, and a 5 on the fourth. After that I played a much better round; shooting 5,6,5,4, over the next four holes and I even shot par on the final hole.

I was so pleased with the way I played (after the third hole anyway). I really could use some work on my short game, well actually I could really use a short game; but that has never stopped most of the men I know who play golf for fun, so why should it stop me?

I really like this little course, it is short enough to make you feel like you are doing a good job, and plays really fast even when there is a crowd. I think I will play out there a lot this summer to get my confidence back up. Then who knows, I might even try to play in a league or something.

Pax

Twenty-Four Years of Bliss

Today is the anniversary of the day mrangelmeg and I took our vows before God and the representative of the Church that sealed our vocation as husband and wife.

We celebrated by exchanging cards and gifts of chocolate (that is the traditional gift in our house) and we went out for lunch, because mrangelmeg is on his way out of town for the week on a business trip. This is probably the only anniversary we have ever had to spend apart in the entire 24 years of our marriage.

I think that each year we have been married our relationship has grown in ways that we would have never imagined when we were first married. We understand each other so much more than we did when we were younger, and we have lived through adversity and success.

I wouldn't say that we think alike now, because I will never understand why he drinks Mountain Dew or likes Country Music, (although I do like Keith Urban), but those are the things that make him the man that I love.

I hope that we have many more years together, so that I can explore all the other intricacies of his character, and grow to love him even more. And besides, in just 26 short years we have a date for dinner with the Archbishop of our Diocese (He honors every married couple in the diocese who have been married for at least 50 years with a Mass and Dinner) so we have that as a goal.

Pax

Home: Worn Out and Worried

Our Third Daughter came home from her trip to New Orleans with her school class. She had a wonderful time, but she had an unexpected thing happen on Friday night or early Saturday Morning; she lost her wallet. We aren't so concerned about the rather large sum of money that she had left over from her trip, but she had all of her Identification, including her YMCA card and her Library card and our Insurance card in that thing.

We have searched through every inch of her suitcase and backpack and didn't find anything. Tomorrow we are going to see if they will let us check the tent they were sleeping in again, just to see if it might not have gotten folded up in the tent accidentally.

Please say a quick prayer to St. Anthony that it turns up somehow.

If this is the worst thing that comes out of the whole trip we are lucky. Everything she lost can be replaced, and the money was just that, only money. She is home, safe and sound, and she had a great learning experience on her trip.

Pax

Sunday IPod Random Ten

Today instead of just giving you a random playlist I will give you a Meme of randomness thanks to a stolen tag from Paul Stokell a fellow Meinrad person who now lives in OK.


The Rules: Set your iPod or media player/program of choice to shuffle and answer each question with the song that comes up. Then repost the answers in a note of your own. No Cheating!

--- How do you feel right now:
Can't Stop This Thing we Started (Bryan Adams - So Far So Good)

--- When you get older your life will be:
Words of Love (Buddy Holly - Gold; Disc 1)

--- Your angry song is:
Danse Russe From Swan Lake (by Peter Ilyich Tchiakovsky with Joshua Bell on Violin - Classical Styles, Classical Sounds)

--- Your love song is:
Best of My Love (Eagles -Their Greatest Hits Volume I)

--- Your happy song is:
Baby Won't You Come Out Tonight (Buddy Holly - Gold Disc 1)

--- How you feel about your husband

You Were On My Mind (We Five - Billboard Top Pop Hits 1965)

--- What your husband thinks about you:
I'll be There For You (Bon Jovi - Crossroads)

--- What your style says about you:
Let's See Action (The Who featuring Eddie Vedder - Live at the Royal Albert Hall Disc 2)

--- How is your love life:

You Have Lived (Don McLean -American Pie and Other Hits)

And I am adding One to make it an even Ten:

What Your Kids think of you:

Bouncing off the Ceiling (A Ragamuffin Band - Prayers of a Ragamuffing Band)

This was much fun, and except for Swan lake pretty close to spot on, (We love Joshua Bell so He shows up on my IPod Playlist quite a bit. I often wonder just how random the shuffle function really is when two songs from the same disc show up on a list of ten songs though? -- see older and happy above.

Pax

My Future Son-In-Law Captain Mal Cutie - Pie

This one is for my daughter who went to see waitress with me. He was one of the best parts of the movie; sort of sweet and dorky in a very romantic way. (reminded me a bit of mragelmeg in the baking scene in the kitchen).




In case you don't get the Captian Mal reference it is from Firefly which was the series he was in a few years ago on Fox, that was when she fell in love with him the first time.

You can check out his other work here.

Pax

A Good Day!

Yesterday was a good day. I wanted to spend a few moments this morning writing down my thoughts so that I don't forget how blessed I am.


1) I got a call from third daughter's school (she is away on a mission trip with 9 other high school age kids helping to rebuild a house in New Orleans this week). The school secretary said that word from the work site is that the kids are all learning a great deal and things are going very well. Daughter couldn't find her cell phone before she left so we have only heard from her once all week. we miss her terribly.)

2) The School Secretary also personally invited us to the School Awards Night next week because Third Daughter is going to receive awards (note the plural)! Mom couldn't be more pleased with how well daughter is doing at this school. Sadly mrangelmeg will be flying back from a very long grueling business trip that day and have to miss the festivities.

3) Second Daughter stayed after school to finish up a Computer Graphics assignment and was exactly where we had asked her to be exactly when we had arranged to meet her to be picked up. This is a very huge thing for her because she is High Functioning Autistic, and has a tendency to wander and lose track of time. Yesterday was all good.

4) Son remembered to stop by Grandma's house after work to mow the lawn, even though she had called to tell us that she didn't think the grass was long enough to need a mow. Grandma lives all by herself in what has become a not so pleasant part of town, so I am sure that she loved the company. Son is becoming more and more responsible as he grows into adulthood. This is very nice to see.

5) First Daughter and I drove to Indy (she drove I just went along for the ride, I hate to drive in Indy-rush-hour traffic) to see an advance screening of a new movie Waitress starring Kerri Russell and Nathan Fillion. We met one of my best friends from my Gradual School program who works and lives in Indy and she came to the movie with us. The movie was funny, and touching, (the morality was way off base, but once I let go of moral judgements I really liked it). I am still puzzled over the why of one plot point, but I may never figure that one out. I would highly recommend this movie to anyone who wants to see something that will make you laugh out loud. It did that, all the way through.

6) When we got back at midnight, mrangelmeg was still up and we had a chance to talk, he had had a pretty good day and with Friday being the last day of his one and (thankfully) only Gradual School Economics class, things will be much better for him after class today. Well, and after he completes and returns his final too.

7) I have completed four chapters of the book I started writing. It is really funny; I thought I had the entire story plotted out in my head, and then yesterday as I was writing a new scene the action took an unexpected twist that will bring a very interesting nuance to the plot. This development brings so many new shades of color to the characters and how they will interact, and how the story will develop that I actually can't wait to find out what will happen next.

My only sadness is that in my rush to get everything in order so that I could go to Indy yesterday I completely forgot that I had planned to call our retired pastor and make lunch plans one day this week. I am horrible. I really want to go out to lunch with him but in my excitement about writing every day (some days I am at it till noon or later) I just completely forgot him. Oh well, maybe I will call him on Monday and make plans for next week while mrangelmeg is out of town.

Pax

Me Me Meme

Since Mark Mossa SJ (Soon to be Mr. Deacon Mark Mossa SJ; October 6, 2007. Woo Hoo!) didn't tag anyone on this meme I will take the tag. I am done writing for today anyway:


1. Male or Female: female

2. Married or Single (or religious):

Very Married in fact our 24th anniversary is Monday May 21, 2007

3. Dream vacation:

Ireland is the top of my list of places I would love to see before I die. Realistically anywhere I can be with mrangelmeg and the kids and not do housework is a dream vacation (in which case mrangelmeg might argue that I have been on a rather extended vacation right here at home regarding housework)

4. Birthplace: Rock Island, Illinois

5. Area I live in currently:

Bloomington, Indiana I am only a small h hoosier though because I wasn't born in Indiana. If you know anyone from Indiana you will understand what that means.

6. Someone you wish you could meet:

Tomie dePaola I have always loved his books and would love to sit down with him and ask him tons of questions about his writing process and inspiration and faith.

7.Biggest "pet-peeve":

Shows like Entertainment Weekly, Extra, Showbiz Tonight and any other television or print media that fills young people's heads with the idea that the likes of Paris Hilton and Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears are women they should try to emulate

9. Favorite Saint (besides the Blessed Mother):

are you trying to torture me again?

Today? I am really loving Lucy of Syracuse patroness of writers and eye trouble because my eyes have been aching all morning and I had a particularly difficult time in my writing process. I have been begging her for inspiration.

10. Favorite sport that you play:

Uhm, is people watching a sport? I suppose I can count ballroom dancing in this category, although we aren't in a class at this exact moment so I am not practicing.

Favorite Sport to watch:

Colts Football, and Golf on Television occasionally mrangelmeg can convince me to watch a Cardinals game with him

11. Favorite food:

duh Chocolate; I am a chocolatarian.

12. Tridentine or Novus Ordo:

Either if it is done reverently and everyone is allowed to participate. I don't like to be a "guest" at liturgy.

13. Would you (or are you) home school or public school:

Public School because it was the best choice at the time for the needs of my kids. I prayed about home schooling one of our daughters but really felt called not to do it.

14. How many kids do you have:

Five: one boy 22 and four girls 20, 18, 17 and almost 11 all still living at home. We promised in our wedding vows that we would accept children graciously as gifts from God. We never thought it meant we had to keep them with us FOREVER!

15.Ever been in an auto accident:

Four: Once I hit a deer, One hit and run by a drunk driver no damage to me, minor damage to my car. Once I hit a Mercedes in a parking lot because it was parked where it shouldn't have been parked no damage to my car $68 bucks damage to her car. and once a kid in a truck hit me and totaled my car. I have never been injured though praise God.

16.Ever seen a pope in person:

sadly, no

17.Languages that you know fluently:

English, though I am working on Spanish via podcast

18.Last movie you saw in theatres:

The Last Mimzy with my kids.

19. Next one you are planning on seeing:

Oldest daughter and a dear friend of mine are going to a special screening of Waitress Thursday Night. We can't wait, we are expecting a really great movie and some nice swag too.

20.Favorite Blog:

This week I have been

reading Korrektiv because of the Summer Reading Club: Lost in the Cosmos by Walker Percy, there is still time to join us if you want.

Checking Bedrest Boutique because Ashley hit 100 days Woo Hoo for baby Hershey and mommy.

Rejoicing with Mark and IC on their great news.

Sadly pining for CatholicNews.org MIA since last summer's baby break.


21.Your thoughts on Barney, the Easter bunny, and Santa Clause:

Barney: No comment, my kids liked him for a while but thankfully have way outgrown that stage.

Easter Bunny and Santa: At our house the kids take turns being the Easter Bunny and St Nick (for St Nicholas Day December 6th). This has solved so many problems, I have never had to have the teary eyed discussion about the non-existence of an icon, and I don't have to do all the work anymore. I firmly believe in Santa, he just happens to have red hair and drive a jeep, just like mrangelmeg.


If Suzanne wants to play along I tag her.

Pax

Starbucks' Anti-God Coffee Cup

Okay, I was a bit upset with their liberal leaning public service, but this has gone too far.

I am with the woman in the story. When I go in to Starbucks on Friday mornings for a cup of coffee I don't want religious debate, I just want a cup of coffee.

If Starbucks can't give me a cup of coffee free of anti-God sentiment I will have to take my business somewhere else. Besides who in their right mind wants debate with their morning coffee? Not me!



h/t to Karen Hall for the link.

Pax

Why, With God's Help, I Will Live and Die a Catholic

A Quote from Walter Burghardt, S.J in Tell the Next Generation:


In the course of half a century, I have seen more Catholic corruption than you have read of. I have tasted it. I have been reasonably corrupt myself. And yet I joy in this Church—this living, pulsing, sinning people of God, love it with a crucifying passion. Why? For all the Catholic hate, I experience here a community of love. For all the institutional idiocy, I find here a tradition of reason. For all the individual repressions, I breathe here an air of freedom. For all the fear of sex, I discover here the redemption of my body. In an age so inhuman, I touch here the tears of compassion. In a world so grim and humorless, I share here rich joy and laughter. In the midst of death I hear an incomparable stress on life. For all the apparent absence of God, I sense here the real presence of Christ.

Angelmeg's comment: I have been hurt by the self righteous and the well meaning and those who had no idea that their actions were hurting me. I have left in disgust because I didn't like what I thought the Church had become, and each time I come back because it is only in this community of faith that I am uniquely and completely the person that God created me to be.

h/t to Deacon John for the quote.

Pax

Lazy Sunday Played on Monday

My Random Ten from Yesterday will have to be posted today because I just forgot to get around to it.


I was in a Jazz mood yesterday, so I listened to my all Jazz playlist if you don't like that tough cookies:

1) Drunk Daddy - Cherry Poppin' Daddys
2) Get to Gettin' - Nat King Cole
3) Tea For Two - Big Band Swing
4) All These Things - Harry Connick Jr.
5) She Comes from Somewhere - Chris Botti
6) Naima - John Coletrane
7) Move - Miles Davis
8) For All We Know - Rosemary Clooney
9) Pitchin' up a Boogie - Nat King Cole
10) A Nightingale Sang in Berkely Square - Everett Greene

I'm shocked that there weren't more duplicates of other artists in the ten, I have tons of Harry Connick and Nat King Cole and am getting quite a bit of Chris Botti in my collection.

Pax

National Wear an Apron Day

Remember Ladies (and Gents) today is National Wear an Apron Day.


Don your best Apron and proudly wear it where everyone can see you. I plan to do so.

Now, what goes with purple checks?

Pax

the Almost 75 Year Old Irresistible Force

So yesterday at Graduation I barely stepped out of the auditorium and who should I run into but one of my professors. His name is Fr. Damien Dietlien OSB. He is 74 years old and is an Old Testament Scholar who has forgotten more scripture than most knowledgeable people will ever know in their lifetimes. He amazes me with his command of languages and nuances of textual criticism and he is constantly reading the newest literature, so he always knows what is going on.

Anyway, Damo (which is what we all affectionately call him) asked me if I was planning on taking his Through Their Eyes - Women in the Old Testament Seminar in the fall semester. I informed him that sadly I was scheduled to take my final in the fall, and if I tried to take his course and my final in the same semester I was certain that my head would surely explode. He is notorious for piling on the reading in his courses (hundreds and hundreds of pages a week) on top of that for each articles or book chapter that you read you have to submit a 100 word annotation. Just doing the work for his class will give you nightmares. Trying to do that work and complete a comprehensive MA final exam would be cruel and unusual punishment.

He informed me, with a Cheshire cat grin, that he thought his class would surely help me on my final exam. I said I wasn't so sure and left it at that.

Later at the reception he took up the discussion again and said that he really thought that I needed to take his class. He told me that he would do everything in his power to make sure that I wasn't "overburdened, and that so long as I was willing to do a presentation to the class, he would allow me some leeway on when I submitted my annotations, which I suppose means that he would give me as many extensions as they school would allow him to give before he had to give me a grade.

Then later, when we were at my friends barbecue, he said "So, I'll send you the book list and syllabus for the class so you can order the books for next fall."

I mean, in a case like this, when a professor like Damo who only allows 16 people into his class to begin with personally asks you to take his class and then won't take no for an answer, what is a girl to do. This is akin to getting a papal summons (only I think I would take this one more seriously).

So, I have decided that I am going to find out if I can audit his class, that way I can sit in on the discussions, and do a presentation but I don't have to worry about turning in the annotations or getting a grade since I don't need the credit. If I can audit that will be awesome. If I can't audit, I guess I will pray about what to do, and then register for the class for credit and fall upon the mercy of Damo as I try to do the work and my final at the same time.

I must be crazy, or Damo is a darn good salesman. He could sell ice water to eskimo's