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!

Urgent Prayer Request (Promoted From Comments)

Kate writes:

“My husband and I tried to claim Larisa.They have lost track of her paper trail! It’s been a week since they told us. Rosaries UP!”

I spoke with Kate via email and learned that the Ukranian facilitators are looking for Larisa.  Please pray that they find her, and soon!

RED ALERT!

Adeye (No Greater Joy Mom) has asked all her readers to share the story of Sebastian, a young man who turns 16 (thus aging out of the system) in just nine days.  Nine days to find a family for this young man before he’s cast out of the orphanage with little more than the clothes on his back.

Do you know Sebastian’s family?  Maybe you do and you don’t realize it yet!  Please, share this on your blogs, on Twitter, on Facebook.

Anyone wanting more information from someone who has met Sebastian, please contact Nicole at diveshark@yahoo.com. For all inquiries about his adoption and the legalities, please contact debbie@reecesrainbow.com.  Serious inquiries only please!

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 Friday – Orphans and Choir

1. I’m low on content for this Quick Takes, so let’s talk about orphans!  Leading off is, of course, sweet 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. Adeye has a great post about 3 lovely children recently listed for adoption!  Do you know somebody who could adopt them?  Maybe you do and you don’t know it yet!  Share this post!

3. Reece’s Rainbow is having their annual Angel Tree Fundraiser!  The goal is to raise a grant of $1000 for every child listed on this page.  Can you help?

4. As if singing in the choir on Sunday wasn’t enough, I somehow got myself into joining in on my church’s annual concert of Christmas music.  As always, I dithered about it for awhile – mainly because I have an odd work schedule and wasn’t sure if I’d be able to participate.  Finally I just told myself that if God wanted me to participate, He’d make it possible for me to do so.  And despite that I have to miss one rehearsal due to work, I’m in it.

5. And now, the $64,000 question: will DH attend?  He hasn’t decided yet but he’s very supportive of my singing.  I’d appreciate it if he came, but if he doesn’t I won’t be offended; after all, it’s not really his thing.  Regardless, he has a few weeks to make up his mind.

6.  Meanwhile, I’m getting excited about Thanksgiving.  Thanksgiving is probably my favorite holiday; I don’t have to stress about finding a costume, I don’t have to worry about being blown up by fireworks, I don’t have to buy anybody presents, DH and I don’t have to put on a romantic show, and if I do go to church, I don’t have to worry about some dork who only goes twice a year taking my seat.  All I have to do is eat and hang out with my family.  It doesn’t get much better than that.

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song! This week’s song is “Return of the Mack” by Mark Morrison.

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

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us!

7 Quick Takes Friday – August and Everything After

1. It’s been 6 days since I decided to stop wishing I drank less and start actually drinking less. The two nights when I didn’t drink at all, the thought “I’d really like a glass of wine” was somewhat overwhelming.  One of those nights, I distracted myself by watching the US women’s gymnastics team win gold.  I watched the Magnificent 7 win gold in 1996, and I distracted myself by comparing my life then to my life now.  I was in high school back then, which leads me to my next take…

2.  Don’t let ANYBODY tell you that high school is the best time in your life!  It’s a lowdown dirty lie!  Don’t get me wrong, high school wasn’t all sturm und drang, but neither is it a time I want to repeat.  I’m much happier now, thank you.  (Undergrad, on the other hand… that I might actually repeat. )

3. Back in January, I talked about my sponsored friends.  Unfortunately, I have some bad news about them.  Darweshi, my sponsored teenager in Kenya, has dropped out of school and thus is no longer eligible for sponsorship benefits.  Margaret, my sponsored college student in the Philippines, recently had a baby and is trying to stay in school but it’s a huge struggle for her.  (Rajesh, my sponsored elderly, is doing just fine, thank God.)  Please pray for them and their futures.

4. Also, I’d like you all once again to pray for my pal Father B.  He’s having another surgery this week and hopefully this is the last one he’ll need.  Father B was a big help to me when I reverted.  I owe him so much and I only hope that one day I can repay him.

5.  On a happier note, I’ve always liked August.   When I was a child, I saw August as the light at the end of the tunnel; while it’s still blazing hot, there are more hot days behind than there are ahead.  Now, I live in a college town, and August is when all the students return.  Townies such as myself are often relieved to see the students depart in May, but after a few quiet months without them, we remember that they are what makes this town special.

6. I got nothin’ else, so here’s a quote from C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape Letters: “[God] wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.”   [Hat tip to Steve Gershom for that one.]

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song! This week’s song is “Let it Go” by Tim McGraw.

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

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us!

7 Quick Takes Friday – Orphans, Orphans, Orphans!

Yes, it’s another all-orphan Quick Takes!  It’s been so hot where I live that I’ve not done much worth blogging about; until that changes, my Quick Takes will be about orphans and people trying to adopt them.

1. RED ALERT!  The McCaslins are trying to adopt two teenage girls from China and they need your help! They have until August 31st to raise $34,000!  If you’re able to chip in, please, please do!

2. Number two is, of course, sweet Larisa!  I’m her guardian angel, so she has to be near the top.  Miss Larisa has over $1200 available for her adoption – that’s a head start for any prospective family!

 

3. Next up is Daniel! (He’s the blonde one.)  He’s 11 years old and described as the “darling of the orphanage.”  He’s affectionate and loves attention – imagine how much he’d love parents and siblings to fuss over him!

4. Sweet Dawn is 11 years old and has been living in an institution since she was three! She recently learned to walk and while she doesn’t speak, she understands what is said to her.  She responds well to attention, and it sounds like a lot of her problems stem from having been institutionalized so long.

5. Estelle is 14 years old and has HIV. Like Larisa, she’s in danger of aging out of the system.  Maybe you know a family who could adopt her and you don’t realize it yet! 

6.  Last but not least, we have Alyssa and Yates!  These two are siblings, and man, are they adorable!  Alyssa is 9 and Yates will turn 8 in September.  Wouldn’t it be great if they could be adopted by the same family?

7. It’s Friday, so it’s time for a song!  This week’s song is “P.S. I Love You” by Bette Midler.

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

St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, pray for us!