7 Quick Takes Friday

1.Because I’m now Madison and Mason‘s Guardian Angel, they will always be take #1.  Madison will age out in September, so she needs a family soon! If you’d like to adopt them, let me know and I will have a matching fund drive on my blog as I did for Larisa.

Mason must think he’s a ladies’ man.

Madison is lovely.

2.  Speaking of kids who are in danger of aging out, here is Shaina!  Shaina is 14 and has Down’s Syndrome and needs a family THIS MONTH!  Shaina has over $5000 in her account, which is a good headstart for any adoptive family.

Shaina having fun.

3. Do you know a family who could adopt these kids?  Maybe you do and you don’t realize it yet!  Spread the word – these kids can’t get adopted if nobody knows they exist!

4. The  big news at Castle Henry and Cunegonda is that I did NOT get the job I applied for.  Frankly, I’m relieved; as much as DH and I wanted to be closer to his family, moving would’ve been a hardship. And hey, I already have a job so it’s not as if this is a financial hit.

5. In other news, my tomato plants are finally producing and I might actually get some ripe fruits by the end of next week.  (Maybe.)  By this time last year, I was already knee-deep in ripe tomatoes.

6. And now, the question that gets me every year in mid-June: Do I go to my favorite greenhouse and take advantage of their 50% off sale, or do I stick with the plants I have?

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  This week’s song is “The Parts of the Brain” by Pinky and The Brain.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for orphans!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Big News!

1.  Larisa found a family!! She has been either adopted or fostered in her country, and her grant money has been given to Mason and Madison. And that brings me to take #2…

2. Since I was Larisa’s Guardian Angel, I signed up to be Madison and Mason’s Guardian Angel.  Madison and Mason are siblings.  Madison is a 16-year-old girl with stage 1 mitral valve prolapse and a humpback.  Mason is a twelve-year-old boy who also has mitral valve prolapse, scoliosis, and supplemental oblique cord of the left ventricle.  (I’ll be the first to admit I’m not sure what that means.)  Madison will be aging out in September, so she needs a family soon!

Mason must think he’s a ladies’ man.

Madison is lovely.

3. So, remember the job I told you about on Sunday?  I have a phone interview on Monday!   This may be the only interview I get – the hiring manager said he’d like me to start by mid-July.  Pray that I have the wisdom to make the right choice here (and that I don’t give myself a heart attack fretting about it).

4. Between frantically Googling job interview tips and warning signs, I’ve been trying to enjoy whatever time I have left in my current town.  Every time I go out with my colleagues or walk through downtown, I think that this could be the last time I do [activity], and get a little wistful.  Then I remind myself that nobody knows I’m moving and try to think about something else before somebody asks what’s wrong.

5. Having said all of that, I’m pretty sure I won’t get the job.  DH and I have a big vacation planned for about 6 weeks after I’d be starting this job, and we’ve already bought plane tickets.  (Sounds weird, but hey, we didn’t think I’d be starting a new job when we made these plans.)  Pretty sure that’s going to knock me out of the running.

6. On a completely unrelated note, my tomato plants are beginning to produce!  It’s been extremely cool and rainy this year so fruit set has been a little late.  I suspect it’ll be at least a few weeks before anything ripens, but the progress is encouraging.

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  This Friday’s song is “Home and Dry” by The Pet Shop Boys. What?  I like these guys!

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for Madison & Mason!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Soak Up the Sun

1. No updates on Larisa yet!  Please keep praying for her.

2. Soaking up the sun is what I’ve been doing a lot of lately!  After last week’s snow (first time I can ever recall snow in May), we’ve had gorgeous weather where I live and I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it.  (And as a result, not blogging.  Sorry, folks!)  Luckily, I saved my tomatoes from the snow.  The night before it snowed, DH and I went to the hardware store and picked up a few glass quart jars and used them to cover the tomatoes.  It looked goofy, but it worked like a charm!

3. I got nothin’ else, so let’s talk orphans for awhile.  First up is Shaina, an adorable little girl who needs to be adopted by JUNE 2013 or she will age out!

Shaina already has over $5000 raised for her adoption – wow!  Won’t somebody please take her home?

4. This one is a three-fer: Trudy, Tristan, and Tatiana!  These three are siblings who live in the same region but in different orphanages.  All three have HIV.  Tatiana has FAS, and Tristan has unspecified mental delays.  Reece’s Rainbow is hoping to find a way for them to be adopted together.  Do you know their family?  Maybe you do and you don’t know it!

Trudy, age 15

 

Tristan, age 10

 

Tatiana, age 7

 

5.  Next up is Cate!  Cate is ten years old and has the following heart issues:  discordant atrioventricular junction, corrigent transposition of magistral vessels, coronary-left ventricle fistula, complete atrioventricular heart block.  If she had the proper medical care, she could probably thrive.  She may also have FAS – the records aren’t clear.

6.  Finally, we have Matthew John, who needs a family by September 2013!  He has an absence of skull and congenital dyskinesia of his limbs.  However, he’s described as an extroverted boy who gets along with the other kids in his institution and likes to play football.  (I’m guessing they mean soccer.)  And he has zero dollars in his account – what a travesty!

 

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  As you might have guessed, this week’s song is “Soak Up the Sun” by Sheryl Crow.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for orphans!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Spring At Last!

1. Spring has finally sprung, but first an update on Larisa!  Kate commented on my Larisa page that she and her husband had tried to claim Larisa, but the paper trail on her had been lost!  Please storm heaven for her!

2. As the title of this posts suggests, danger of frost has FINALLY passed where I live!  I spent my day off this week getting my tomatoes, peppers, and herbs planted.  Salsa will be a little late this year, but better late than never, right?

3.  Aside from eating whatever I grew, my favorite part of gardening season is going to the garden center and buying new plants.  I love looking at all the little tags and learning about new varieties.  I also love finding the stuff I intended to plant – when I see Jet Star tomatoes or Blushing Beauty peppers, it’s like running into an old friend.

4.  I’m not quite organized enough to have a garden plan.  Scratch that.  I am organized enough to have a garden plan… but I always throw it out once I get to the garden center.  ”Plans?  Where we’re going we don’t need plans!”

5.  I’ve been very active in a statewide professional organization for the last few years.  A few months ago, I became a committee chair for the organization.  I haven’t talked about this on the blog because, well, this blog isn’t about my professional life.  I haven’t talked about it at work either, partly because it never seemed like the right time, and partly because I didn’t think anybody actually cared.  I was proven wrong on that score at staff meeting, when Boss Man gave me a shout-out at staff meeting.

6.  I guess the moral of take #5 is: quietly doing the right thing is more persuasive than you realize.

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  This Friday’s song is “Pon de Replay” by Rihanna.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for Larisa!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Spring Not Yet Sprung

1.  Let’s start today’s Quick Takes with a picture of sweet Larisa!  I Miss Larisa has over $1400 available for her adoption – that’s a head start for any prospective family!

2.  If you haven’t seen the news about Father Emil Kapaun and his posthumous Medal of Honor, I urge you to head over to the Wichita Eagle’s site.  Since Kapaun is from the Wichita area and two miracles attributed to him occurred in the Wichita area, the Eagle has covered Kapaun extensively.

3.  Last year at this time, I was posting pictures of my garden.  You may have noticed that I haven’t done that this year.  Last year was unusually warm (and I jumped the gun a bit on planting).  This year has been about average, which means we’re still in danger of frost for the next few days.  I’d hoped to head to the greenhouse today, but it looks like it’ll be just cold enough tonight that I need to wait.  Bummer.

4.  Also it was cold and wet all day yesterday, which means the garden expansion isn’t quite complete yet.  Guess I should take care of that before I plant anything, huh?

5.  Let’s see, what am I growing this year?  Narrowing the focus a bit – it’ll be tomatoes, jalapeños and at least one other hot pepper (lobbying for habañeros, but DH has a much lower capsaicin tolerance than I do).  Garlic is currently growing – once I pull it up I’ll probably put radishes and salad greens in. Oh, and cilantro.  (Sorry, Jen!)

6.  This happens to me every week.  I get to take #6 and realize I got nothin’.  Sorry, kids.

7. It’s Friday  so it’s time for a song!    I realized I’ve been doing this for over a year and have yet to include one Bob Marley song.  For shame!  I give you  “No Woman No Cry.”

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Camp Patton!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder?

1. Once again, I’m the last blogger to weigh in on something important.  In this case, it’s the Holy Father’s resignation.  I must admit, I never felt the kinship with him that I felt with John Paul II (yes, I realize it’s strange for me to say that, considering I never met either of them).  However, I was saddened to hear that he felt he needed to step down, and I will pray for him.

2. The pope’s retirement means that the Vatican staff only has two more weeks to see Shepherd One land and say, “Look, it’s Benny and the Jet!”  As George Carlin used to say, these are the sort of thoughts that kept me out of the really good schools.

3. What did you all give up for Lent?  I gave up pizza, mainly because that’s my go-to food when DH and I have nothing planned for dinner.  Hopefully this will force me to get my crap together as far as meal planning goes.

4.  And in case anyone was wondering, yes, DH is joining me in giving up pizza.  “It’s a personal challenge!  It’s good for me!  I need to lose weight anyway.”

“Whatever you say, dear.”

5.  Speaking of food, I’m dithering over whether or not I should grow tomatillos this year.  I’m tempted, since DH green-lighted expanding the garden.  (Currently, I have two 4′ x 8′ beds.  When it gets a little warmer, I’ll expand each to 4′ x 12′.)  However, I hear tomatillos can get really large, and you need at least two of them because they cross-pollinate.

6.  I’ve recently discovered the Billboard Classic channel on YouTube.  It’s got videos with clips of the top 100 songs from different years and one can easily get sucked in and remember all the songs you loved (and hated from a particular year.

7. It’s Friday and it’s Lent, so it’s time for a hymn.  I give you Stabat Mater Dolorosa as sung by the Benedictine Monks of the Abbey of Saint Maurice et Saint Maur de Clervaux.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday – New Year!

1. It’s the first Quick Takes of 2013, so of course I have to feature Larisa!  I’m her guardian angel, so she has to come first.  Miss Larisa has over $1200 available for her adoption – that’s a head start for any prospective family!

2. One of the books I got for Christmas was “How to Die in the Outdoors” by Buck Tilton.  As the title suggests, it has all kinds of stupid things NOT to do if you want to survive in the wilderness.  And from this book I learned the following fact which I couldn’t resist sharing with all of you:

In Southeast Asia, there are foot-long centipedes that eat mice and birds.

AAAAUUGHHH!!!

3. So, the next time you have a bad day, just remember – at least I didn’t see any foot-long centipedes!

4.  It’s January, which means it’s time to start planning the garden!  I don’t start seeds indoors (cats would eat them) but this is usually when I start planning ahead to determine whether or not to expand the garden, what I’m going to plant, etc.  So that brings me to my question: fellow gardeners, any recommendations on tomato varieties?  (I’m in Zone 5.)

5.  On January 1, I mentioned to DH it was the Feast of Mary, the Mother of God, and he asked if that meant we could have pizza every time there was a saint’s feast day.  I replied that while I could think of worse reasons to eat pizza, if we did that we’d get sick of pizza pretty quickly, since there’s a saint’s feast day almost every day.

6. New Year’s Resolutions: Making them: Did you?  I didn’t.  I’m signed up for 101 Things to Do in 1001 Days, so those are my resolutions.

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  This Friday’s song is “Ordinary World” by Duran Duran.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us!

7 Quick Takes – Fall, Glorious Fall!

1. Yes, I’m still blogging.  I got caught up in another writing project and that gave me a bit of writer’s block as far as the blog is concerned.  Sorry for slacking off!  I’ll try to do better.

2.  Anybody know of good resources for learning to sight-read music?  I’ve only ever been able to learn a song after hearing it; just looking at the music and trying to discern the melody from that is like reading ancient Greek to me.  My choir has limited rehearsal time, so sight-reading is a must.  The frustrating part is that I can actually determine the notes and the key signatures, but the way that translates to a sound totally escapes me.

3.  Yes, Jen’s encouragement to participate in 7QT was what got me to post this.  And yes, I’m late – I was a bit under the weather on Friday.  Thank you, Jen, for keeping this open till Monday!  (I don’t care if I don’t get the gift card; I just needed a kick in the rear to get back to blogging.)

4. As the title of this post implies, I love fall.  Love it, love it, love it!  October is the most beautiful month of the year where I live.  The temperature is perfect, the sky is blue, the trees are changing colors, and I can see God everywhere I turn.

5. Only 37 days until Thanksgiving!   Due to work and the whims of my mother-in-law, I haven’t spent Thanksgiving with my family since 2009.  My family, being Irish Catholic, really lives it up, and it isn’t quite the same as spending Thanksgiving with DH’s subdued family.  ;)  (Even DH agrees with me on this one.)

6.  Of course, the down side of getting Thanksgiving off is that I’ll have to work on Christmas.  I told the person in charge of our schedule that I didn’t mind so long as I could get to Midnight Mass.

7. It’s not Friday, but we need a song anyway!  This song is a little spooky and will hopefully put you in the mood for Halloween.  Here is “Harvest Moon” by Blue Oyster Cult.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Wake Me Up When September Ends

1. Survived my first two weekends in the church choir!  I know that sounds weird and overly dramatic, but I would like to remind you that “weird and overly dramatic” is my middle name.  Also, I hadn’t participated in a choir for over a decade and I was terrified of making a fool of myself.  Mercifully, I didn’t.  It helps that I joined the most laid-back of my church’s choirs.

2. I’m thinking of ending the Prayer of the Month series and starting a Hymn of the Month series.  Part of the reason I’m thinking of this is that I’m stuck for ideas on the prayer series – Jen at Conversion Diary already did the Our Father, and LeAnne had a great series on the Prayer of St. Francis (to which I contributed).  Any thoughts on hymn (or a prayer) you’d like to see?

3. Wednesday was an important holiday: National Talk Like a Pirate Day!  It occurs on September 19th each year, so mark your calendars for the next one!  :)

4. Saturday, September 29th is another important day: National Drug Take Back Day!  Prescription drug abuse is an epidemic in America, and most users start with pills they find in their own home or a relative’s home. Have meds you’re not using?  Click here to find a take back location in your area.

5.  Did you know that you can change your language preference on Facebook to English (Pirate)?  Try it some time.  It’s pretty funny!

6. Cultivate Wines has chosen Reece’s Rainbow as a contender for a $50,000 grant!  Click here to vote for the orphans! And don’t forget to tell your friends!

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  Here is a song you might know and don’t realize: “Hotstepper” by Ini Kamoze.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!

7 Quick Takes Friday – End of Summer

1. Bad news on the sponsoring front: a few weeks ago I wrote that I was concerned about my sponsored college student, Margaret.  In June, she wrote that just had a baby and wrote that she was worried about child care issues and financial aid.  Tuesday, I got a letter from CFCA with “Important Information” written on the envelope in bold.  You sponsors know what that means: your sponsored student has left the program.  Please pray for Margaret and her baby.  Maybe someday she can go back to school.

2.  This is the second time in the last month that one of “my” kids has dropped out of school. I really hope that the next time I get a farewell letter it’s because my sponsored student has graduated.

3. However, I do have some good news: Last week I asked all of you to pray for my friend W, who wrongfully lost her job. W’s boss begged and pleaded with upper management, and as a result W got her job back! Deo Gratias!

4. In my town, parties are being thrown almost nightly.  Bars are running ridiculous drink specials.  The incidence of minor car accidents (alcohol-related and otherwise) is up.  Music is blaring in previously sedate neighborhoods.  Yes, that’s right, it’s late August in a college town.  The students are still working through the initial excitement at being away from parents and the weight of the school year hasn’t hit them yet.

5.   Because of the drought, my carrots are half-dead.  I found a bunch of caterpillars feeding on them and thought, “heck with it, let ‘em eat.”   Maybe I’ll get some good-looking butterflies later.

6.  I hope all of you have a safe and happy Labor Day weekend!  I’ll be working the  entire time, so eat some hot dogs for me.  :)

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  The title of this Friday’s song is something I haven’t seen very much this summer.  I give you:  “Rain” by Madonna.

For more Quick Takes from Jen and others, visit Conversion Diary!