A Collection of Link-Ups for Every Day of the Week

By bobbi
June 20, 2014
14 Comments

This post was written especially for my fellow bloggers.

With the busyness of summer, it is only natural that we are spending more time with our family, taking day trips and going on vacations so we don’t have time for regular posting. A great way to still keep in touch with your readers is to participate in a fun link-up. There are some great ones out there. Here is a run down of current weekly link-ups hosted by Catholic bloggers.

I’m linking up with Kathryn who is hosting Jen’s 7 Quick Takes. There is one take for each day of the week. (Along with a bonus take.) 😉

Last Updated: October 2014

~ 1 ~

Monday

Currently. formerly hosted by Jenna at A Mama Collective, has a new home! It is now hosted by Hannah @ Joyful Life. 🙂
Each week you are given 5 prompts such as “thinking about…” or “thankful for…” etc to share what you are currently doing and experiencing in your life.

~ 2 ~

Tuesday

Pinterest Party (Bi-weekly) hosted by Bobbi @ Revolution of Love (Yours truly.) 😉

Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards.

(*NOTE – During the holidays, The RoL Pinterest Party will be held on the first Tuesday of the month. It will return to bi-weekly after the new year.)

* * *

Tribute Tuesday hosted by Jenny at Life in the Cookie Jar

I want to take time to ponder, to dwell on the people who have helped make me who I am in these first 30 years of my life, and to recognize them publicly for it. Will you join me in dwelling on the people who have been influential in your life, and acknowledging them?

~ 3 ~

Wednesday

Five Favorites has a new home. (Again!) It is now hosted by Jenna at Call Her Happy.com .

Share your five favorites of the week.

* * *

What We’re Reading Wednesday (WWRW) hosted by Jessica @ House Wife Spice

Share what you have been reading.

~ 4 ~

Thursday

Coffee Date (Bi-weekly) hosted by A Mama Collective

Share the highs and lows of your week.

* * *

One Hot Mess hosted by Blythe at The Fike Life

Here is what you do- go about your regular ole business, and if it is really hitting the fan (which it will, it definitely will)- document it. And then link it up and put yourself on blast for all the world to see.

* * *

{pretty, happy, funny, real} hosted by Leila & Co @ Like Mother, Like Daughter

This is a photo link-up. All the pretty, happy, funny, or let’s face it, real moments in our day that might get lost if it weren’t for this gift of the camera telling the story to ourselves, giving us the context for contentment, showing us the fruits of competence or at least the hilarity of incompetence, which is sometimes as great a revelation! Will you join us?

* * *

Theme Thursday hosted by Cari @ Clan Donaldson

Join us every Thursday for a photography linkup. Each week has a topic, but really, there are no rules. (Current schedule is here.)

~ 5 ~

Friday

7 Quick Takes hosted by Jen @ Conversion Diary

Share the tidbits of information that don’t really qualify as stand alone posts.

~ 6 ~

Saturday

Embrace the Ordinary hosted by Gina at Someday (hopefully) They’ll Be Saints

Embrace the ordinary. Each moment is a gift. Join me, sharing one way you embrace the ordinary. It can be a picture, a story, even both.

* * *

Week Eats Saturday hosted by Nell at Whole Parenting Family.

Share your meal plan for the week.

~ 7 ~

Sunday

NOTE: Answer Me This is currently on hiatus. I’ll let you know if it returns.

Answer Me This hosted by Kendra @ Catholic All Year

Answer six random questions as a fun way to get to know one another.

(I mistakenly had this listed under Saturday and although it does go live at 10:00 PM Sat night, it is actually a Sunday Link-up. ;-))

* * *

Sunday Snippets hosted by RAnn @ This That and the Other

We are a group of Catholic bloggers who gather weekly to share our best posts with each other. Answer the question of the week, discuss and link to your posts for the week–whether they deal with theology, Catholic living or cute Catholic kids.

* * *

What I Wore Sunday hosted by the ladies @ Fine Linen and Purple

To participate, simply take a picture of yourself in your outfit for Sunday church, post it on your own blog, and link up. The purpose of the linkup is to help each other out with church outfit ideas by seeing real pictures of what your fellow ladies are wearing on any given week.

* * * * *

(Bonus Takes)

Monthly

3 Reasons I Love Catholicism hosted by Micaela @ California to Korea

Each month share three reasons why you love the Catholic faith.

* * *

Catholic Bloggers Network Link-Up Blitz hosted by The Catholic Bloggers Network

Link up your favorite Catholic blogposts from this month (up to 2 for each blogger, per WEEK!) Include the initials of the category your post fits in at the beginning of the name you submit for the title of your post. (RR = Readings and Reflections CA = Catechism and Apologetics HS = Homeschooling LC = Liturgical Calendar FJ = Family Journal)

* * *

New Evangelists Monthly hosted by George @ New Evangelists.org

This is an informal, dynamic, crowd-sourced “meta-magazine” showcasing the best posts faithful Catholic bloggers publish each month. Here you will find many different, but faithfully Catholic viewpoints, insights and perspectives. New issues are formed the first Saturday of every month where Catholic bloggers can link their best stories from the previous month.

* * *

tl;dr hosted by Jenna @ Call Her Happy.

tl:dr (too long; didn’t read) is a monthly cliff notes version of what’s going on in your life.

* * * * *

Seasonal

Lenten Meal Plan Monday (during Lent) Co-hosted by Beth Anne, Sarah O and Abbey.

Share your meatless meal recipes during Lent.

* * *

Do you have another favorite Catholic link-up that’s not listed here? Share it in the comments.

If you host one of these link-ups and would like to change your description, let me know and I’ll update the post. 🙂 Happy blogging!

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.) 😉

PPS – This post may contain affiliate links.

7 Quick Takes (6/13/14) & {p,h,f,r} vol. 88 & Theme Thursday – Old Fashioned: Beach Bonfires and BBC/Masterpiece Love

By bobbi
June 13, 2014
10 Comments

Well, today the kids have Mass and a closing ceremony at school and then they are officially done for the school year. I am already in vacation mode as I sit here in my pajamas typing on the computer, waiting for the what seems like the 100th load of laundry to finish. It has been a jam packed week with birthdays, end of school year parties, preschool graduations and other end of the year festivities. I feel like I’ve hardly been home all week, except to prep food and take it to a party. As such, the blog has also been neglected but I just figure you guys are as busy as I am at this time of year so I don’t sweat it. 😉 But just to keep you in the loop as to why I haven’t blogged, here’s what we’ve been doing this week.

I am linking up with Kathryn for Jen’s for 7 Quick Takes, Cari for (gasp!) Theme Thursday: Old Fashioned (see Take #3) and the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter for {pretty, happy, funny, real}.

~ 1 ~

On Sunday, Andrew celebrated his 7th birthday. He wanted an ocean party complete with a trip to his favorite spot – the Monterey Aquarium. After days of grey fog the sun finally came out to make a beautiful day.

The view from one of the observation decks.

The birthday boy.

~ 2 ~

{pretty}

I had a ton of photos I took at the Aquarium but to spare you the photo dump I added my faves to this collage.

~ 3 ~

{happy} / Theme Thursday: Old Fashioned

There were three end of the year school parties and our favorite was the old fashioned beach bonfire.

Although it was roughly 59 degrees and the water was COLD, Bella, Matthew and Andrew couldn’t resist playing in the waves. (A beanie and bare feet – Cali attire.)

Meanwhile, John Paul takes after his daddy. Neither of them like to take off their shoes and most definitely don’t want to feel the sand between their toes. (That baffles me!) At one point they both were just staring off into the sunset contemplating. It was so sweet.

I was just happy to stand there and let the waves wash over my feet. (And even more happy that I didn’t drop my camera or anything.) 😉

The sun is setting behind the fog.

We ended the day with old fashioned smores. Can you spot the stick with the flaming marshmallow??

~ 4 ~

{funny}

I think it’s funny that we are supposed to celebrate pre-school graduations. I don’t really get it…

…but I play along anyway. Besides, John-Paul is so cute in his little cap. So congrats to my little grad.

~ 5 ~

{real}

All these outings are a lot of fun but with all the potlucks we joined, out kitchen looked like this pretty much all week. (And this is only a small portion of the mess.) Don’t even get me started on the laundry. Yesterday I was trying to convince a size 7 boy that he could borrow a clean pair of underwear from his size 4 brother. No bueno. Yeah, so today I don’t plan on leaving the house until all the laundry and dishes are done. (Check back with me in a few days.)

~ 6 ~

Happy Father’s Day!

Happy early Father’s Day to all you papas out there, especially my own sweet Daddy, my father-in-law Opa and finally my hubby – father to my children, my sweetheart and my super hero Brian. We’ll be celebrating the day with fresh homemade ice cream with our new Cuisinart ice cream maker as soon as Amazon Prime delivers it today. (I heart Amazon!!)

Later I’ll post how it worked out for us.

~ 7 ~

Masterpiece Mystery

source

After we put the kids to bed on Father’s Day, Brian and I will meet on the couch to enjoy the return of Masterpiece Mystery, which I love even more than the beginning of Downton Abbey season. First on the roster is Dave Tennant with The Escape Artist.

The rest of the season includes:

ENDEAVOUR: Season 2 (June 29-July 20, 2014) – Smart and well done.

HERCULE POIROT: Season 12 ( July 27 to August 3, 2014) – HP is an oldie but a goodie.

BREATHLESS (August 24 to September 7, 2014) – Not sure about this one. Looks like a Mad Men type show, which I wouldn’t mind if the characters can manage to keep their pants on.

MISS MARPLE (September 21 and 28, 2014) – I still miss the old Miss Marple character but enjoy the show none the less.

INSPECTOR LEWIS: Season 7 (October 5-19, 2014) – I’m glad the boys are back! (And not just because I have a little crush on Hathaway, who reminds me of Brian.)

DEATH COMES TO PEMBERLEY (October 26-November 2, 2014) – I’ve got this book in my reading queue so I can read it before I watch the show. 🙂

Get more details at PBS: Masterpiece Mystery. (Now I’m just waiting for more Sherlock, Broadchurch, Whitechapel and Wallander.) 😉

That’s it for now. Have a great weekend!

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.) 😉

PPS – This post contains affiliate links. (I get a small credit for purchases made through my Amazon links.)

Pinterest Party & Link-up (Vol 24): Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

By bobbi
June 9, 2014
2 Comments

Welcome to the RoL Pinterest Party. Join me every 2nd and 4th Tuesday as we link up and share how we made, cooked, baked, crafted, planned, organized, followed or created one of the pins on our Pinterest boards OR share something original that others can pin onto their boards. (New and old posts welcome.)

* * * * *

June is a crazy busy month so quick and easy dinners are a must. Lately we’ve had more foggy days than sunny days, so last week I thought I’d try a tortilla soup. I am always on a quest for the perfect tortilla soup. There was a restaurant I went to years ago (can’t even remember the name) and I had the best tasting tortilla soup. Ever since then I have been trying to find a recipe that was similar. This was not the same but it was still good and the family loved it. I adapted the recipe from the original at Fit Mama Real Food.com

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

Ingredients

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cans fire roasted diced tomatoes with green chili
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
2 cans low-sodium chicken broth
1 onion, diced
2 cups fresh (or frozen) corn
1/2 – 1 cups of water (I tend to go less since a lot of water accumulates in the slow cooker.)
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp chili powder
1 lime
1 handful of cilantro, stems removed

Directions

Place all ingredients except the chicken in your slow cooker. Place chicken on top. Cover with liquid. Cook on high 4-5 hours or low 8-9 hours. When done, shred the chicken with two forks. Return to slow cooker. Stir.

Serve in bowl. Top with cilantro and the juice of a lime wedge. Enjoy!

(My pin for this recipe is here.)

* * * * *

Now it’s your turn.

1. Choose your creation, share about it and snap a photo if you can.

2. In your post, link back the original blogger/idea, rather than your Pinterest pin. That way credit goes to the proper person. 🙂 (But feel free to add your Pinterest profile link so we can follow you!)

3. Add a link back here so others can play along.

4. If you want to use it, here is the html code for the logo:

5. Link up below. Make sure you’re sending us to your actual post, and not to your general blog address.

Lastly, you can follow me on Pinterest here: http://pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/. 🙂

The link up will be active for 10 days. Have 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 or Instagram. (It’s set to private but I’ll approve you.) 😉

PPS – This post may contain affiliate links.

An InLinkz Link-up

tl;dr – The Cliff Notes Version of May 2014

By bobbi
June 4, 2014
8 Comments

Jenna over at Call Her Happy hit it out of the park when she came up with the monthly link-up tl;dr (as in “too long; didn’t read”). She explains:

You know how sometimes you have blogs that you love and blog authors that you love even more, but you also have a family and laundry and meals to cook and etcetera and so forth? So, you end up missing out on parts of your favorite virtual friends’ lives – not by choice, but just by life?

And then you feel terrible when you find out that she is pregnant or going back to work or moving, and you had no idea. Wouldn’t it be nice if bloggers put out a cliff notes version of their lives every once in a while? I thought so.

Yes, yes and yes. I have nearly 500 posts in my Bloglovin reader and I can’t delete them all because the last time I did that I missed major pieces of news from blogging friends. This way, when life is busy and we can’t catchup, we can get a monthly condensed version of the happenings. So if you are a blogger, go link up. For the sake of my overflowing blog reader, please.

If you haven’t been around to catch up on the RoL news, here’s my condensed version for the month of May.

* * * * *

May 1, 2014 – We returned from a trip to So Cal to visit my family and celebrate my bro’s graduation, my bro-in-laws departure for training before deploying to Afghanistan and we went to Disneyland. Matthew saw Darth Maul in action and has been obsessed with his Jedi jumping moves ever since. Every night he asked me when we are going back to see the Star Wars show and every night I have to tell him not until Thanksgiving. 😉

* * *

May 4, 2014 – Brian and I go out on a last minute lunch date. He still manages to make me swoon.

* * *

May 5, 2014 – Brian starts round 3 of chemo, I share a little of my struggle here and later how I try to be a bit of Mary Poppins to make this cross easier on him.

* * *

May 12, 2014 – I celebrate Mother’s Day and cry over Brian’s love letter to me and the kids’ homemade gifts. I wonder how I could be so blessed.

* * *

May 15, 2014 – It is a day of saying goodbye and hello. Andrew’s pet fish Rocky passes away. He got a new fish (that looks just like him…Rocky, not Andrew) and names him Anakin Fishwalker. Best name ever. Meanwhile, we put our old computer out of it’s misery and get a new one. The screen is so big I can play Matthew’s Spider Man cartoon on one half and type my post on the other half. Yeah, baby.

* * *

May 16 – I join Jen’s #SOTG photo contest and although I don’t win, Jen does post my photo of Super Matthew on her website as one of her favorites. I geek out a little. 😉

* * *

May 22, 2014 – My shy Bella surprises me by trying out for the school musical, gets a part and does a great job as one of the Indians in Peter Pan. Bravo, Bella!

* * *

May 26, 2014 – I get rid of my fancy Pinterest menu board and opt for a simpler version.

* * *

May 26, 2014 – I get dolled up (relatively speaking) for my second date with Brian in one month. Two in one month! I’ll say one thing for this cancer, it has brought us closer and has made dating a priority again.

* * *

May 27, 2014 – Brian starts round 4 of chemo and fights his cancer like a champ.

* * *

May 29, 2014 – I stop comparing myself to other moms, particularly my sister, and instead I embrace my own mama abilities.

Well, that was May in a nutshell. What have you been up to?? Thanks again to Fräulein Jenna for hosting!

Have a great evening. 🙂

PPS – This post may contain affiliate links.

Online Daybook (6/2/14): Family Walks, Menus and Praying over a Dirty Toilet

By bobbi
June 2, 2014
15 Comments

Moments of Gratitude…

Today I am especially thankful for

Family walks
Wildflowers
The sound of the kids’ giggles.
Stolen kisses in the kitchen.
Words of encouragement.
Almost the end of school.
Summer plans.

Beauty in the Ordinary…

I went for my morning walk and there were fishing boats everywhere.

If you like fresh sea food and gorgeous ocean views, come visit Monterey, CA. 🙂 (The askew shot of the horizon is bugging me but I love the colors.)

In the Kitchen…

M – Chili beans, cornbread and broccoli.

T – Chicken cacciatore with brown rice and roasted asparagus.

W – Tacos with Southwestern Black Bean Salad.

Th – Leftovers.

F – Chef Salad topped with BBQ chicken.

S – Homemade wheat pizza and Greek salad.

S – It’s Andrew’s birthday so he got to pick his favorite. He wanted tuna melts followed by chocolate cake. 🙂

Praying…

For Brian’s chemo and continued recovery from cancer.
For all those who are fighting cancer and other illnesses.
For family and friends who are pregnant.
For those trying to get pregnant that God will bless them with new life.
For those suffering from abuse, mental illness and addiction.
For the souls in purgatory.
For those most in need of God’s mercy.
For some special intentions.

On the homefront……

On Tuesday Brian started Round 4 of chemo. He has been doing really well and his blood work came out okay so we are hoping and praying things continue to go well. It’s crazy how many people are dealing with cancer right now. I mean, I knew it was a problem but not until it hit us personally did I really see how many lives are touched by it. Lately I feel like there has been one person after another that has died from cancer and it makes it harder to be positive and not dwelling on the worse. Thankfully, these last couple of days I have heard from or read about people who have fought cancer and have remained cancer-free for some time.

Life is so full of uncertainty, whether you are battling cancer or just being an innocent bystander, that you can’t really dwell on the “what ifs.” You’ve just got to keep your eyes on God and enjoy the time you’ve been blessed with your loved ones. That is sometimes difficult when I am knee deep in normal family chaos but the right attitude (and sense of humor) can make it not only bearable but enjoyable.

Pondering…

I’ve been trying to add more little acts of prayer to help combat my tendency to complain about the my mommy chores.

* * * * *

Previous Version – Scene 1: In the laundry room.

As I am sorting out clothes and I see that one of the littles used his sleeve as a napkin again and got chocolate stains on his light colored shirt. As I’m scrubbing the stain my mind says, “Ugh! Why did I ever buy this guy a light colored shirt. That was so stupid. And why can’t that kid ever use a napkin. How many times have I told him not to wipe his mouth on his sleeve. And who gave him chocolate anyway? He’s only supposed to eat chocolate on the weekend. Ugh. It’s like talking to a wall around here…” (Anger rises until I snap at the next person who tries to talk to me.)

Updated version

As I’m scrubbing the stain, “Sigh. Chocolate stains. I give it to you, God. Scrubbing this stain is what you are asking of me at this moment in time but note to self – no more light colored shirts for the boys. How did he get chocolate anyway? Oh, yeah. That was when Opa babysat the kids so Brian and I could go out to lunch. Oh, that was so nice. I love spending time with Brian. How did I ever get so blessed to have such a man in my life….” (Brian comes into the laundry room and I give him a big kiss. He is more than pleased. ;-))

Previous Version – Scene 2: In the bathroom

One of my little men had trouble aiming into the toilet. As I am cleaning up the mess my mind says, “What is wrong with that kid? Why is it so hard for him to aim in the toilet? If he would stop fooling around and pay attention to what he is doing I wouldn’t be stuck here cleaning up this mess…”

Updated version

“He missed again. Well, at least he is finally potty trained. I remember how hard that was. He can be so stubborn at times. Brian says he gets that from me. haha. Lord, help my little guy and his stubborn ways. He has such a good and loving heart. Help me as a mom to bring out his best qualities…”

* * * * *

Yeah, okay so maybe I don’t always sound just like that and maybe I’m sometimes cussing under my breath but I have asked my guardian angel to nudge me when I am going to lose it and I do try to turn it into a prayer or not try to get so upset. And when I can’t get the words out I simply say a Hail Mary (or a decade) as I work. I’ve prayed many a Hail Marys as I’ve scrubbed a toilet. 😉

Around the house…

Well, from the sounds of it dirty toilets and chocolate stains. 😉

Reading…

I finished reading The Fault in Our Stars and will see the movie later this week. I have mixed feelings about the book. I’ll try and wrangle those thoughts to paper and post a review.

My next book to finish is Jen’s Something Other Than God: How I Passionately Sought Happiness and Accidentally Found It. Loving it so far.

I have skimmed over The Little Oratory: A Beginner’s Guide to Praying in the Home but tonight I want to sit down and really focus on Chapter 1 so I can join along with Elizabeth and Leila as they discuss it on their podcast. Elizabeth is also hosting a link-up for you to share your own thoughts. Check it out here.

Listening to…

Relient K’s Collapsible Lung and Matthew and John-Paul laugh at the antics of Peppa Pig and George.

Watching…

Austenland (It was just so-so but I am a fan of the actor that played the Darcy-like character.) Saving Mr. Banks (Brian had not seen it yet.) The Book Thief (I really love this movie.)

On the blog…

I am putting together a list of weekly Link-Ups from various Catholic bloggers. I love link-ups, although I have been wanting to do a little more “meat and potato” posts than just link-ups. That is why I posted Despite What You May Think… You Are a Good Mom a couple days ago. I was reading through the comments and these three especially touched me and got me thinking about the topic even more…

One thing that encourages me is that I remember that even though I feel so far below those “perfect” moms, *I* am the mother that God chose for my children. Considering He doesn’t make mistakes, there must be good reason for them coming to me even though I don’t sew curtains or make wonderful meals or run marathons and couldn’t keep a blog going to save my life. I guess He knew that whatever strengths I have, those are the ones my kids need. It seems like God had the same thing in mind when he gave your kids to you, and your sister’s kids to her… (Sharon)

***

I think we all struggle with these feelings, but I also feel that whenever you undertake anything you care about you worry that you might not be giving it everything you can. And your children keep growing and changing so that you can’t really stay on top of things. So I try to remind myself that I have these feelings because I care so deeply and not because I am inadequate. But I am far from a perfect mother, of course! (Rita)

***

I think sometimes when we haven’t faced a particular challenge as a parent (or just in life) it’s hard to imagine what it’s really like. There are so many things that I just couldn’t have imagined and that I would have said was parenting before having a child on the spectrum and I think that having a kid with ASD has opened my eyes to how many different ways can be right, depending on the kid and family… (Cam)

I love the online interaction and in turn I will comment more on other blogs I read to let them know I appreciate their words. 🙂

Also on the blog, being the month of June, which brings us many June brides, I am working on a couple marriage related posts. I’m hoping the next Pinterest Party will be marriage related so get your posts raedy to link! It can be money saving tips, wedding decor or posts about living a God centered marriage. More details coming!

In the blogosphere…

5 Ways to Cut Down on Whining by Whole Parenting Family

What Slowing Down Will Teach You

Ten Books of Poems for Kids by Everyday Snapshots

Summer Shakespeare Chat: Much Ado About Nothing by Clan Donaldson

What if our Lord sang that? (Vol. 1) by My Life as a Fireman’s Wife

Pinned…

See my latest pins here – pinterest.com/rol_bobbi/pins/.

Here are my two favorite of this week…

The Ronald Reagan Guide to Essential Oils//Call Her Happy

From the Garden: Fresh Mint Homemade Ice Cream Recipe // Carrots for Michaelmas

Plans for the Week…

School is winding down so we have a number of school activities on the schedule. Thursday is mama’s movie night. (I put the kids to bed and tuck in Brian with a good book or the remote and then head out for one of my favorite pastimes – watching a movie on the big screen.) This week it is The Fault in Our Stars. This weekend is also Andrew’s birthday and we wants an ocean theme party and a trip to the Aquarium. Fun. 🙂

Captured…

A couple more photos from our family walk.