Revolution of Love

Revolution of Love

Do small things with great love.

Sisters Speak in the #BISsisterhood at Blessed Is She.net

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Each week Blessed Is She features one of the team members for Sister Speak. This week it was my turn to answer questions such as who is my favorite saint, what virtue am I working on, what is my biggest struggle, what keeps me Catholic, what is my favorite motto and what prayer is on my heart. Here is a snippet:

Do you have a special Saint that you feel a strong connection to? How so?

When I was younger I had a love and devotion of St. Anne. She was my patron saint and I shared her name. (My middle name.) I prayed to her often, especially when I was looking for a holy spouse and later when I was dealing with fertility problems. However, another saint has made her way into my heart these last few years — St. Martha. The busyness of motherhood and my natural tendencies helps me to identify with Martha who was busy and worried about many things. I find myself turning to her often for guidance.

Which virtue do you find yourself working on the most throughout your day?

Patience and acceptance of God’s will. Throughout the day there are numerous times when things don’t go the way I want them to go — someone spills juice all over the table, the washing machine breaks down, a driver cuts me off on the road or a project deadline is moved up. There is always something. My first instinct is the flare up and get mad or frustrated. I am trying to learn how to calm down, be patient and accept that little crosses are a part of life. More importantly, God uses these crosses to help me grow in virtue and they can be prayer opportunities to “offer it up” for the special intentions of loved ones and the world at large.

READ THE REST HERE.

I am honored to be a part of this ministry! To find out more, visit Blessed Is She.net.

Also, please keep the Blessed Is She team in your prayers. We are meeting in Wisconsin this weekend for a retreat/conference/get-together. Thanks to my wonderful husband, I will be attending. Yay! The last time I went on a plane by myself was literally 10 years and three babies ago.

Please pray for all our safe travels and (for those of us who are married) please pray for the sanity of our hubbies and for unbelievable calm in the kiddos we leave behind.

I’ll be posting about the trip on Instagram and you can follow the team using the hashtagย #bisteamretreat. I’ll share more about it when I get back. ๐Ÿ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd, or Spotify, ๐Ÿ˜‰


Answer Me This: 4th of July 2015 Edition

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Iย  literally only have a 20 minute window until we need to go visit Opa so I am doing a quickie post with Kendra’s fun Answer Me This! ๐Ÿ™‚

1. How did you celebrate the 4th of July? (Or, for you international types . . . Do anything fun this weekend?)

p_lobos_4_15_aPoint Lobos, CA

We originally planned to go hiking at Point Lobos because it’s gorgeous and it’s our family tradition to hike and picnic there but even though we got there earlyish it was ALREADY packed. The parking lot was full and there were about 100 cars lined up and down the street. Forget it. We’ll go back when the tourists leave. Instead we ran back home, grabbed our beach gear and headed to the beach instead.

cwa_beach_6_15_2WMatthew and Andrew loved playing in the sand and splashing in the water.

cwa_beach_6_15_1W John-Paul, on the other hand, is not a lover of nature. He didn’t care about the beautiful view or the fact that we saw dolphins swimming in the ocean. He just wanted to know when we could get away from the sun, wind, sand, water and insects. Sigh. He’d drive me crazy if he wasn’t so cute. ๐Ÿ˜‰

As for fireworks, a few years ago they stopped doing the public show in Monterey. (Besides, most years the fog was so thick you couldn’t see them anyway.) Private fireworks are banned so we’d have to drive out of town to find any. Brian and I discussed it for about a minute or so but since the kids are getting ready for bed by 7:30 and asleep by 8 PM, we had no desire to search for them. Let’s face it, the party life is over for us. We’re much happier watching Daredevil on Netflix with a scoop ofย  celebratory ice cream.

2. Do you sunburn easily?

Not really since I’m Hispanic, although I did burn my back a little at Lake Tahoe. Brian and I were just talking about this. The areas of me that don’t see the sun – like my stomach and lower chest are close to white. But my arms and legs, at this point of summer, are dark brown/Indian red. I’m a gringo underneath my clothes but have a lovely Mexican farmer-tan on the rest of me. LOL.

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3. Hot dogs. Yay or nay?

I don’t mind a hotdog but we’ve gotten used to eating turkey dogs made with white meat and no nitrates. They are tasty but you must eat them as soon as they are cooked or else they turn into a hard, shriveled mess. But anything cooked over an open flame it pretty much delicious!

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4. Have you ever personally set off fireworks?

I don’t remember lighting one myself, unless you count the sparklers I played with as a kid. Like, I said earlier, they are banned here. We are content to wait until Thanksgiving for our annual trip to Disneyland to see an awesome fireworks show. LOL.

5. Have you ever jumped off the high dive?

ยฉ Revolution of Love Blog - secret_1ย  No. And at my age, I am content to play at the shore of the beach.

6. Do you do anything weird in your sleep?

I don’t know since I’m sleeping…but I did ask Brian and he said no. However, sometimes to help myself fall asleep I lie (or is it lay?) on my stomach and rock my foot back and forth until I dose off. Is that weird enough?

Okay, times up. Did you have a fun 4th? Are you allowed to light fireworks?? Hope it was fun!

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads Letterboxd, Spotify or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰
PPS โ€“ This post may contain affiliate links.


Answer Me This (vol 5)

I’m linking up with Kendra for Sunday’s Answer Me This. ๐Ÿ™‚

 

1. Beach or Mountains? Where would you rather be?

Living along the Central Coast of California, we’ve got the beach and mountains right next to each other so to get the best of both worlds, I’d climb the mountain that looks down at the ocean. If I was forced to choose only one, I’d say beach…but the quiet beaches here not the crazy, loud ones with too many people.ย  ๐Ÿ˜‰

2. Which is more fun: Christmas Eve, or Christmas morning?

Christmas morning. On Christmas Eve we attend the children’s Christmas Eve Mass, which is nice, then we go home and have dinner. Afterwards it’s been a tradition to go to my in-laws for dessert. It’s enjoyable and stressful at the same time because the boys are used to being in bed at a certain time and when they stay up past their bedtime they get hyper and/or cranky and we just land out eating and running but it’s a family thing so what can you do? On the other hand, Christmas morning with kids is still magical. We bring out baby Jesus, give Him our cards/letters and sing Happy birthday and then enjoy the usual Christmas festivities. I’m a sucker for Christmas. ๐Ÿ™‚

 

3. Whatโ€™s the most embarrassing childhood outfit you remember wearing?

 

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ย I wasn’t a child but around age 19 or 20 I bought a culotte type jumpsuit with a floral print. It was during my BC days (before Christ) so maybe I was drunk but God only knows what possessed me to buy it. (I think it was on clearance so cheap I couldn’t resist.) But can you imagine?? I mean it is borderline ridiculous on a tall, leggy blonde but on a short, chubby Mexican? OMG, it would have been a SNL skit. Thank God I never actually wore it. Regardless, two decades later and my mom still teases me about that outfit. LOL.

 

4. Your house is quiet, you donโ€™t have to do work (housework included). What do you do?

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Hmm…it is a toss up between blogging/writing or watching a movie or if I am in the middle of a page turner, then finishing my book. Right now it is quiet so I did all three. I finished the book I was reading. Then I started this post as I am watching The Book Thief with Brian. It is the end of the movie and I don’t feel like bawling so I am purposely ignoring Death.

 

5. What movie do you want to watch when youโ€™re feeling under the weather?

Okay, this is nearly impossible to answer because we literally have 100’s of movies in our collection. Something nostalgic would work if I was under the weather. I’d either do a classic B&W like Shop around the Corner or the modern version You’ve Got Mail or else I’d go literary classic like Persuasion or Sense and Sensibility.

 

6. Did you have an American Girl doll when you were little? If so, which one?

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No, I did not. I remember that my little sister (child #6) got an American Girl but the older kids had the Fisher Price “My Friend” dolls. We had all four of these. I had the first one pictured – the red headed Becky. Ah, such memories. ๐Ÿ˜‰

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd or Instagram (It’s set to private but I’ll approve you.) ๐Ÿ˜‰

PPS – This post may contain affiliate links.


Weekend Recap & Answer Me This (vol 1)

I’m making a quick post today with a weekend round-up and a link up with Kendra for Answer Me This.


1. What time do you prefer to go to Mass?
That’s a tough one, depending on what we have scheduled for Sunday, we’ll either go to the Saturday vigil at 5:00 or Sunday morning at 8:00. We never go to the later morning or afternoon masses.

2. Would you rather be too hot or too cold?
Too cold. I hate extreme heat. (Granted I think extreme heat is anything over 80.) ๐Ÿ˜‰ย  Although if you meant cold as in snow, I’ll take the heat. Even the thought of dealing with snow scares me.

3. How many brothers and/or sisters do you have?
I have eight – three sisters and five brothers. Being the oldest I am old enough to be my little brother’s mom since there is 20 years difference in our ages. LOL. I’d post a photo of all of us but the majority of them like their privacy. I have one brother that is an instagramming king and my sis Elena blogs too but the rest aren’t as public. I’ll be seeing all of them (except for Elena, boo!) in two weeks when we meet in So Cal for a graduation party for my brother Rob and a going-away party for my bro-in-law Mick who is being deployed to Afghanistan. (You’ll be seeing some Disneyland pics soon too!) ๐Ÿ˜‰

4. If you were faced with a boggart, what would it turn into?
Okay, I had to google “define boggart” because my first thought was Humphrey. Hmm..I don’t know if it is possible but my boggart would turn into either a confined space and smother me, a tunnel that collapses on me while I’m driving during an earthquake, thousands of bugs hiding in my bedroom while I sleep or a crazed psycho that will harm my children and force me to watch.

5. Barbie: thumbs up or thumbs down?
Down but not in principle but circumstance. I have a house of boys so we live in a sea of Star Wars figures, super heroes and Legos. Even when Bella was little she preferred Disney cars and Thomas the Train over Barbies. (I, on the other hand, still have fond childhood memories of the one Christmas where I got a Barbie dream house AND the Barbie corvette.)

6. If someone asked you to give them a random piece of advice, what would you say?
You’ll be happier in life if you are loving, grateful and able to laugh at yourself. ๐Ÿ™‚

Weekend Round- Round Up

The Week’s Posts

CAY’s {My Questions for You} Link-up

Pinterest Party & Link-Up (Vol 22): Emergency Car Bins & Operation Clean and Organized

(Note: The link-up is open for another week.) ๐Ÿ™‚

Sat – Restore Workshop: Lessons Learned (Vol 3): Self Care & Prayer and A Day in the Life

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Kid Conversation of the week:

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Matthew: “Mama, I got a booger.”

Me: “Did you put it in a tissue?”

Matthew: “No.”

Me: “Did you wipe it on the wall again?”

Matthew: “No.”

Me: “Where did you put it?”

Matthew: “I ate it.”

Me: (Thinking) Ga-ross. I guess Kristoff was right. Guys do pick their noses and eat it.ย  ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

Photo of the Week

Yesterday Matthew celebrated his 3rd birthday. Happy birthday, my sweet super hero! ๐Ÿ™‚

Question of the Week

Help a blogger out. I need to update my profile pic on the blog and social media. Which one do you think looks best? I’ll let you and my instagramming buddies decide. ๐Ÿ˜‰ Thanks! xoxo.

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#2

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Enjoy the rest of you Sunday! ๐Ÿ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰


CAY’s {My Questions for You} Link-up

NOTE – If you are looking for today’s Pinterest Party post, I am a day late on everything so it’ll be up by late tonight or tomorrow morning. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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Kendra at Catholic All Year always has fun link-ups. You know I am a sucker for link-ups and I could use a few minutes of blogging fun so I’m here to play along. These “about me” posts may seem a bit narcissistic but I personally love reading other bloggers’ answers because it gives me more insight into people I consider long distance friends. ๐Ÿ™‚ Anyway, for those of you who have been reading this blog for awhile, you can just skip this post since you’ve probably heard it all before. I don’t want this to happen…

(Yeah, even the meme is a repeat.) Well, for the newbies here who want to waste ten minutes or their lives that they’ll never get back, carry on. ๐Ÿ˜‰

 

1. Where do you live? And why do you live there?

I’m a native Californian and grew up in So Cal. In my late 20’s I met Brian online and we long distance dated with 400 miles between us. In fact, the anniversary of our first in-person date is next week on 4/16. ๐Ÿ™‚ After we got married I moved to the Monterey Peninsulaย  in Central California and I’ve been happily living here for 14 1/2 years.

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2. What are you currently watching and/or reading?

Reading

The Everyday Catholic’s Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours

Insurgent (Divergent Series)

Watching

We are re-watching Season 1 of Bletchley Circle (which is on Netflix) to ready ourselves for the start of Season 2 on Sunday (4/13/14) on PBS. (Disclaimer – The main characters are trying to solve murders by a serial killer that also violates his victims. It is not graphic but the aftermath of the crime is present.)

We are watching this video of Spiderman and his baby mini me over and over and over again. Matthew is obsessed with it. I don’t know what is funnier, the actual video or Matthew dancing along in his Spiderman costume (and Incredible Hulk physique.) ๐Ÿ˜‰

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3. What kind of Catholic are you: cradle, or convert? (Or considering?)

I was born Catholic and went to Catholic school although my family didn’t start practicing the faith until I was a tween. I was close to God then but fell away in my early 20’s. When I was at my lowestย  I had a reversion back to the faith, contemplated a religious vocation, then realized I was called to be a wife and mother. My conversion continues slowly each day.

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4. Can you point to one moment or experience that made you a practicing Catholic? (Or want to be?)

See #3.

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5. How many pairs of shoes do you own?

Let’s seeโ€ฆI have 1 walking shoes, 1 converse, 2 dressier shoes, and about 6 flats in various colors so I’d say 10. I don’t wear them as much as I used to but I still love my converse and buy them for the kids too. ๐Ÿ™‚

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6. Are you a good dancer?

Only when no one is looking. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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7. Who usually drives, you or your husband?

90% of the time the hubs drives. On road trips, he’ll drive the first half while I sit with the kids, unless I have to keep turning around to help them. In that case we need to switch ASAPย  because I get car sick if I move around too much. Otherwise, I’ll wait and drive the second half, especially when we are going to So Cal since he hates driving in LA and I’m used to it.

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8. What’s your favorite holiday and how do you celebrate it?

Thanksgiving because it is the beginning of the holiday season. It’s a tradition to spend the week of Thanksgiving with my family. We spend a couple days at Disneyland with all the Christmas decor then we head to my parents for a few days to celebrate the holidays and enjoy each others company. I think I love this time even more than Christmas. ๐Ÿ™‚

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9. Which is correct? Left or right?

Definitely the left. I remember as a kid, every time I went to my great-grandma’s house I’d switch her toilet paper roll around because she always had it in wrong. ๐Ÿ˜‰

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10. Do you have any scars?

Well, I have a crooked finger with a broken nail. When I was in pre-school a kid and I were looking at a bike that was upside down with the wheels turned up. The kid spun the wheel around while my hand was on it and my finger got caught and bent on a spoke. It’s been messed up ever since. It’s also the reason I never where nail polish, because of the one wonky nail. Go figure.

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11. What’s the most famous thing you’ve ever done?

(L to R) a.) poem in my journal, b.) “evasion” on the song list in back of CD, c.) page from “handmaid” newsletter/zine, d.) album cover

Hmmm, nothing really. Well, unless you count the time years and years ago after my reversion, I got into the local alternative Christian music scene. I put together a zine about faith and music and poetry. I interviewed one of my favorite hardcore/punkish bands at the time and they asked if they could use one of my poems as lyrics to a song. I was ecstatic. Although I pictured my words being sung by a female singer strumming a guitar, having four awesome hardcore guys yelling into the mic while I took photos onstage was just as cool to me. Sigh, that was a long, long time ago. These days I feel hardcore when I blast the music in my mini van on the way to Target. LOL ๐Ÿ˜‰

If you didn’t get enough you can read my other Leibster/Questionnaire posts –

Make sure to visit Kendra on Sunday where this will be a regular fun activity. ๐Ÿ™‚

PS – You can follow RoL on Bloglovin, Feedly or another news feed. If you are a social media fan like me, we can stay in touch through Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, GoodReads, Letterboxd or Instagram. ๐Ÿ˜‰