My littlest is 9 today!
Weekly Photo Challenge: New
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A series of recent photos; all New:
1. Mason jar project (I will be changing the year to 2015 this weekend)
2. Probably my favorite Christmas present despite my “no toys” rule: the Doctor Who Companions Set with my favorite companions!
3. First card of the New Year. Quotation from St. Francis de Sales and artwork of Bro. Mickey McGrath.
4. New journal and new rosary.
5. New t-shirt – in favorite color. Gishwhes. Haven’t worn a t-shirt in years.
6. Close-up of my absolutely favoritest companion, the uncomparable Donna Noble, fiery straight talking snarky redhead! My wannabe alter ego.
Annual Mason Jar Project
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Beginning in 2013, I started keeping a mason jar, an idea I discovered on Pinterest. Throughout the year, you add your happy thoughts to it; then on New Year’s Eve you read through them and remember all of the good times from the past twelve months.
In 2014, I also added a couple of things that weren’t happy but that I wanted to remember and reflect on as the year came to a close (the death of my first church friend, Shirley and the suicide/death of Robin Williams.)
I’ll share three others with you:
3/21: Flower show. It was a good day.
6/4/14: Went to the evening Ascension Mass. Saw A! She’s using a walker – since she broke her leg. It was great to see her.
8/4: Dominican Conference Center. Retreat w/ Bro. Mickey this weekend. I can’t wait! I need this.
Recs- Bro. Mickey McGrath
StandardThis is my first original piece of artwork from my retreat with Bro. Mickey McGrath.
I had the pleasure of meeting Bro. Mickey at a summer retreat last year. It was one of those wonderful cross-sections of everything you want a retreat to be: fun, contemplative, spiritual, artistic, creative while bringing you closer to yourself and to G-d.
These are three of his many works: the first is a card; the second was posted on his website.
This third one is in honour of today’s Solemnity of Mary:
I hope you enjoy his work as much as I do.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
StandardThere are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind.
– C. S. Lewis
That Which We Are, We Are
Standardand tho’
We are not now that strength which in old days
Moved earth and heaven, that which we are, we are;
One equal temper of heroic hearts,
Made weak by time and fate, but strong in will
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
– Alfred Lord Tennyson, Ulysses
Resolution, 2015
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One friend’s Christmas gift sums up my goals for the next year (and beyond):
Write more
Pray more
Be me more
Prompt
StandardWith the new year commencing on Thursday, what is the one thing you remember or love about 2014 and what is the one thing you want (or want to do) in 2015?
Its Okay to be Sick
StandardI intended to reblog this on Christmas but the day got away from me. Even though some of us have gone back to work, for others our kids are home, our relatives expect our company between now and New Year’s and there are still some social obligations that many of us face and sometimes dread.
*Do I Look Sick* has some great advice on doing things at your own pace even if that means bowing out of some things.
My advice is something that I’m still learning: Always do what’s best for you. Don’t let well-meaning family members or friends pressure you or make you feel guilty. Pay attention to how you feel and to how many spoons you have left.
Have a wonderful Christmas and holiday season!
You know what? No one ever told me that. Ever. And I realized it’s something that I needed to hear.
See, we’re kind of taught that it’s really not okay to be sick. That you need to apologize for being sick. That you need to hole up and hide away when you are sick. I think that subconscious belief ingrained in us does a lot of harm. We feel like we need to say sorry – sorry for being a hassle. Sorry for missing a get together. Sorry that I don’t have good news for you.
That last one is especially prevalent as the holidays approach. I’m asked “Are you feeling better?” all the time. And my knee jerk reaction is a “yup!” until they say “Oh. Because I heard you were in the ER.” and I’m like “Well…..yeah. I had a really bad pain episode….I’m sorry.” I want very…
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Recs – Author Jane Breskin Zalben
I know this is a week late for Chanukah, but when I was teaching I was lucky enough to find a series of children’s books by jane Breskin Zalben that were storybooks with animals of the Jewish Holidays.
When I was growing up as a child, there was nothing like this for me and my fellow Jewish children. Christmas had mice and rabbits and deer and all kinds of anthropomorphic animals celebrating Christmas. The Jewish holiday books that were available to me were serious. Chanukah was about the Macabees and not having enough oil, and it was a nice holiday and important, but where were the singing mice lighting the candles?
Jane Breskin Zalben changed all that for me, and after I had my own kids, I finally had a child-like book to show my kids the animal kids that celebrated the same holidays we did in much the same ways. It made my life more mainstream and not at the foggy window looking in.
Beni’s First Chanukah (my introduction to the author)
Papa’s Latkes (Chanukah)
Pearl’s Eight Days of Chanukah
Beni’s Family Cookbook for the Jewish Holidays
Pearl Plants a Tree (Tu B’Sh’Vat)
Pearl’s Marigolds for Grandpa (sitting shiva)
Griffins and Ginger Snaps 