Now that season 3 has started in the UK it is hard to keep from trying to stream it online or to watch spoiler recap videos. I am NOT one to look at the end of a book to see how it ends before reading the story. However, I know there are those who want to look at the last chapter (my mom and sis!) So for you, here is a recap of Season 3, Episode 1. I won’t watch it but you can.
The second video, I did watch because it is a recap of Mary and Matthew’s wedding. I already know they get married so I was happy to enjoy that one! (And, yes, I admit I shed a few tears.) SPOILER ALERT – RECAP OF SEASON 3, EPISODE 1.
This Is Why We Don’t Have A Cat – Over the past two weeks we’ve been touch and go with a cold bug tagging each of the kids. This week it finally hit me. At first it started as allergies due to a bad experience with Target. I know, the store I love! Well, it wasn’t really Target’s fault but one of their shoppers. I purchased a slip cover for our horrid front room couch that has an even more horrid slip cover that always comes off. (It is taking the word “slip” too seriously.) I opened it up and as I was placing it on the couch I started sneezing like crazy. I then realized that the cover had cat or dog hair all over it. I pulled the cover off and folded it back into the box but the damage was done. My allergies went crazy. (It’s weird but I know it’s my allergies when the roof of my mouth gets really itchy.) Well, slowly my allergies went into a head cold and sore throat and if you call my house and hear a raspy whisper answer the phone, don’t hang up. It’s just me.
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Silence Is Golden – However, I’ve noticed a curious thing with not having my normal voice, I can’t yell at the kids when I am mad moderately raise my voice to demonstrate my displeasure. Yesterday, I almost blew my top, but not being able to talk loudly, I had to take a deep breath and firmly but calmly and quietly correct Child A. This automatically had a calming effect on me interiorly and I then calmly corrected Child B. I swear I felt like Michele Duggar when she sweetly corrects her kids (at least on camera.) I walked into the kitchen and Brian was smiling at me. I think he is secretly praying that my voice takes a long time to return. 😉 But seriously, it’s amazing all the little lessons God can teach you when you are quiet and humble enough to listen.
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Pass the Visine – Okay, okay. One more quick take about being under the weather. (Cut me some slack, guys, it’s been a slow news week.) Along with the stuffy head and raspy voice, I have been wearing sunglasses outside the house all week, despite the clouds and the fog, because my eyes are so red and watery. I looked in the mirror the other day and saw puffy eyes, bags and dark circles and I swore I aged 10 years in a week. Man, if this keeps up I’m going to have to break down and buy some kind of cover up/ make up. I’m also really resisting the urge to watch the movie Mr. Skeffington just to witness Fanny get ill and age 20 years after always looking so youthful. (I love that movie!)
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Movie Night – I think I’ve mentioned this before but one of my favorite times of the day is when I put John-Paul and Andrew to sleep. After prayers and bedtime stories, it’s lights off. Usually I would sit in the room 5-10 more minutes while they dozed off. Now they are out within minutes but It is so quiet and peaceful that I find myself staying in there 15 – 20 minutes just to read. No emailing, texting or web surfing allowed. I can only read. One of the books I finished last month was To Kill A Mockingbird. Can you believe I had never read the book nor seen the movie before, particularly since I love B&W classic movies? Now that I’ve read the book I was going to rent the movie but I noticed that our local theater is playing the movie on Nov 15 as part of the TCM Event Series so I think I’ll wait and watch it on the big screen.
BTW, if you are a classic movie fan, next Wed, Sept 19th they are playing Hitchcock’s The Birds and on October 24th it is a Halloween Double Feature with the original “Frankenstein” (1931) followed by “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935). Sounds fun!
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Catholicism & A Zombie Apocalypse – Speaking of reading, I was going to do a Quick Take about Ryan Charles Trusell and his new, innovative novel Ora et Labora et Zombies but I think it is too exciting to merely mention it quickly so I made a separate post instead. Check it out.
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Making It Count – Hey, did you notice that I am now hosting Making It Count Tuesday? Sarah and Pam are unable to do it right now so they were kind enough to let me oversee it. If you are not familiar with Making It Count, it runs every 2nd and 4th Tuesday. You simply start with any one of those fabulous ideas you’ve found online. Then, do it. Make it. Cook it. Create it. Take it from the screen, give it life and let it bless your world. When you’re done, snap a photo, write about it and share it with us. Make your time online count.
You have until Sunday night to participate in this week’s MICT. Or you can come back on Tues 9/25. I hope to see you there!
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Sew what? – Speaking of getting creative, as readers of this blog know I am not exactly skilled in the sewing department. (Duct tape to hem pants, anyone?) However, I’ve been trying to correct my ways and spread my creative wings and I’m thinking about trying a simple sewing project – such as making your own cloth napkins. How hard could that be? (Famous last words.) I was thinking of buying a simple sewing machine with some birthday money I have saved but let me ask you a question – what is the minimum I should spend on a machine. I don’t need anything fancy but I don’t want it to be so cheap that it doesn’t work properly but I honestly don’t know where to start. So if you could recommend a brand or price range I’d really appreciate it! Thanks.
Okay, my time is up and I made it to the last take. Have a great weekend!
As photo-happy as I usually am, I have no photos to share this week. So instead, I am joining Like Mother, Like Daugther with a {pretty, happy, funny, real}: Downton Abbey edition for all my fellow DA fanatics supporters.
Please be warned – there are some SPOILER photos. If you do not want to see Mary’s wedding headpiece or the top of her wedding dress, skip this post. If you do not want to see someone holding a baby, skip this post. If you do not want to see a video with more Season 3 footage, skip this post.
This may be my last spoiler since DA will air in the UK on Sept 16 and after that it will be all out there. I like a few peeks here and there but I don’t want to know everything that happens. I prefer to watch it unfold before me in January 6 on my couch with my hubby and a chocolatey dessert. Soooo, this may be my last DA post for awhile. (But we’ll see. 😉
Okay, that should have given you enough time to skedaddle if you weren’t interested. Here we go!
I was never 100% about the Sybil and Branson relationship but I think this won me over.
Source: lucylovesmemore.tumblr.com.
{funny}
This is not really funny, as in HAHA, this is more funny as in “strange” that we are so absorbed into the lives of these fictitious characters. But I have always thought that a bit of moderated, relatively innocent diversion keeps a mama happy, which makes the rest of the family happy. (Yeah. Yeah. That’s it.) 🙂
Here is the book that (I believe) all these photos originally came from. The Chronicles of Downton Abbey is available on Amazon for pre-order, to be released Nov 13, 2012.
I have no time to post what is going on lately, no time to restart Operation Clean & Organize, no time to update Weigh in Wednesday, no time to post on Instagram or check Twitter but, dang it, there is certainly time to post the new official trailer of Downton Abbey, Season 3. Enjoy!
Motherhood Can Kick Your Butt – During those early weeks of August when I took a blogging break I had on my list of Quick Takes Ideas this topic: “Motherhood is !@#$% hard.” At the time I was going through a mommy funk. I mean, I loved my kids and all but I was fed up with all the bone-aching tiredness and emotionally draining moments that have me praying for bed time. In fact, on my birthday when I was blowing out the candles and everyone said, “Make a wish!” do you know what my wish was? “Lord, I just want to be happy again.” I can laugh at it now since I am out of that slump but I honestly meant it.
Do you know what helped me out of it? During that time there were at least three of my regular mommy bloggers that I follow (and look up to) that shared that they were going through a mommy funk and/or shared about how hard being a mom can sometimes be, whether it was dealing with a major cross or just dealing with yet another explosive diaper. The mere acknowledgement that I am not alone in this fight was enough to help me refocus, regroup, and recharge. God’s grace kicked in and it helped my birthday wish come true. So if you are having a rough day, hang in there. You are not alone.
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Fair Days – This is our last week of summer vacation for us and we have been trying to take advantage of it. Yesterday we all played hooky, Brian included, and spent the day at the county fair. We had so much fun and it was an extra treat since this is the first time Brian has ever attended with us. We usually go on the “kids are free” day while Brian is working but he was able to get the day off at the last minute so he could join us. We went on rides, played games, and ignored the calories and fat content in the homemade corndogs, ice cream cones and the smoky goodness of Big Bubba’s BBQ feast. (Although I still don’t get the appeal of deep fried candy bars and cookies. But then again, I also don’t quite get what grits and hush puppies are. Maybe I need to expand my Cali native horizons. 😉
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A Surfing Summer (without the surfboards) – As I mentioned before, this has been a Mat Kearney summer but there is another band the kids (well, the boys really) have recently been into – The Beach Boys. It all started when they saw the trailer for Despicable Me 2. We loved the first movie and have watched it a number of times. It is really cute, despite the few instances of “potty humor.” Anyway, they saw the trailer that has the minions singing the Banana song to the tune of the “Barbara Ann.”
I told the kids that the tune was actually from a song by the Beach Boys and that they are one my dad’s/Grandpa’s favorite bands. Furthermore, when I was little he used to sing along to “Barbara Ann” but he change the words to “Bobbi Ann” (I used my full name back then.) Of course they wanted to hear the real song and from there, they were hooked. So we’ve had quite a few surfing tunes playing over the last few weeks. Here’s a little Surfing USA fun to end your summer.
(Hey, didn’t the guys on here get the memo – you are supposed to be wearing your baggies not skimpies!)
Actually, any Beach Boys song reminds me of my dad. And when I am missing my parents I’ll listen to Motown. (If I’m missing my mom specifically I’ll watch I Love Lucy.) But the music just takes me back to fun times when they were cooking in the kitchen and dancing around and having fun embarrassing us. (I secretly loved it.) Their playful spirit and ability to laugh is something I treasure. To prove my point, yesterday my parents celebrated their 44th wedding anniversary and what did they do? They went to Disneyland! I love it. Next to the grace and mercy of God, I think it is their laughter that has held them together this long.
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Plugged In – The other day I was at the computer store getting Brian’s little netbook fixed and I saw the book Good Night iPad, which is a parody of the classic book Good Night Moon. Being a digital family, I thought it was hilarious. If you use an electronic reader instead of paperbacks, are attached to your ipod, find joy in facebook, twitter and instagram, have kids that can whip your butt at Angry Birds and have toddlers that are proficient in the use of iPhones and iPads, then you will enjoy reading this book! Check it out.
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You’ve Got to be Kidding Me – Which reminds me, did I ever tell you about my credit card being stolen? A couple weeks back we were trying to use our card but it kept getting declined. I called the credit card company and they put a hold on our card so they could verify a few purchases. They wanted to know if I happened to spend $2,000 at Chanel? Or (brace yourselves) $8,000 at Neiman Marcus? WTH? All you kidding me? No, that was not me! I asked the credit card guy how the purchases were made and he said it was a store purchase with a physical card. I told him that we had our cards in our wallets and never lost them so how did they get it? He said there are lots of ways to get our info and make “new” cards with my number. Anyway, the guy was really nice and removed the charges from our account and told us not to worry, that they’d take care of everything and they did. Brian said the thief should have spent that much money at Target and then no red flags would have been raised. Touché.
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I Need an Identity Theft Superhero – Meanwhile, when I was at the computer store (it was around the same time) I was talking to the computer guy about my card info being stolen. He said one of the popular ways to steal credit card info is by using RFID identity theft. This allows the thief to not even touch your card. You simply need to be within his vicinity while he is scanning your info through radio frequencies. I look it up online and there are tons of articles about this form of theft. I don’t know if that is what happened to me but it freaks me out a bit. I love technology and how it helps our lives but there is always a dark side too.
Funny thing is that a day or two after all this happened, I saw an ad in a magazine for RFID blockers that you can put in your wallet. They also sell RFID blocking wallets and purses to protect your identity. I would have shrugged all this off as paranoid but now I am not so sure!
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Mamarazzi Moments – Okay, but enough with the drama. I’ll end this Quick Takes with a few photos from yesterday.
I love my boys even though none of them inherited my love of roller coasters. They all wanted seats on the carousel that did not move up and down. Oh well.
Andrew & John-Paul
Matthew wants to know when he gets to ride in the car.
I think this was the boys’ favorite ride.
Mama tried to squeeze into this one.
The boys were tired of photos. They wanted more rides.
I love my boys even though none of them inherited my love of roller coasters. They all wanted seats on the carousel that did not move up and down. Oh well.
