The kids are home today and need some lovin’ so I need to make this short and sweet.
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Come, Holy Spirit – It seems that all Catholics have on their mind right now, besides Lent, is when will the conclave start and who will be our new Pope. There is to be an official announcement in Rome at 7 PM their time. EWTN will be live at 2 PM…(hold on)
Okay, how crazy is this. I was checking twitter to see what time zone it was and up popped that the Vatican has officially announced that the Conclave will start on March 12th. How is that for up to the minute breaking news? And you thought I only shared recipes, photographs, and random useless pieces of information. (Don’t fret, you’ll still find that in QT #2-7.) 😉
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I Love Waking Up Early, She Never Sayeth – This weekend is Daylight Savings Time. I would like to share with you exactly how I feel about DST but I am going to confession tomorrow and I already have a hefty list of sins and don’t want to add swearing to the list.
So forget what I think and hear it from medical professionals instead.
Happy Day – Bonnie over at A Knotted Lifeis having an awesome O Happy Day Giveaway. I don’t know what I am more excited about – the mix tape or the chocolate chip cookies. And the scarf is muy bueno! (Yeah, I’m a Mexican that can’t actually speak Spanish. Go figure.) I debated whether or not to tell you about this contest because I want to increase my chances of winning by having as few entries as possible, but Lent calls for sacrifice so there you have it. Go over and enter!
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Flashback Weekend– Speaking of mix tapes, do you remember those, children of the 80’s?? My sister BC and I would put together the most awesome mix tapes! We had a mellow mix that we’d play as we went to sleep in our room with posters of The Smiths smiling down on us. Sigh. Now, instead of mix tapes we have playlists, which I also love. One of the songs on my flashback playlist just turned 30 this week. It’s New Order’s Blue Monday. Remember that? Although, my favorite New Order song remains True Faith. Don’t believe me? Just call my cell phone and listen for the ring tone. (Unless you are BC, then your ring tone is “Suedehead.” ;-))
The video is bizarro, even for the 80’s but the song still rocks.
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On Repeat – And speaking of electronic sweetness, I heard this song in a movie I saw last week and I can’t get the tune out of my head. (It also doesn’t help that I am listing to it as we speak.)
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Is That Funny…or Sad? – I just realized that every post I’ve made this week – and I posted each day! – is a link up. That’s right.
So when I say that I love me a link up, you know I am not exaggerating! 😉
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Down for the Count – Well, the next post I make will not be a link-up. I still want to do some Downton Abbey news and share some of the things I’ve been learning on my Lenten journey, including getting up earlier for prayer time. I think my desire to sleep and my need to pray is going to have a knock out brawl once DST hits. We’ll see…
Good bye, Holy Papa – It was so odd yesterday seeing Our Holy Father knowing that it would be the last day he’d ever be our Pope. But it’s even stranger today – the first day without a Holy Father at the wheel. I know some people are completely freaking out over end times but the Holy Spirit has been guiding the Church this long, I know He will continue to guide us. However, we still need to pray for the upcoming conclave, for our new Holy Father, and the Church in general. If you like novenas, check out the one Brian put together – Novena for the Papacy.
And if you haven’t seen it already, Dorian Speed put together a great website explaining the process of electing a new Pope. Check it out at ElectingthePope.net.
UPDATE: I just saw the website for Adopt A Cardinal.org. You can sign up and you’ll be given the name of a Cardinal that you will pray for before and during the conclave. I picked one for our family and we will be praying for Cardinal Backis form Lithuania. 🙂
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Spring Is Here. So Are My Allergies. – Happy first day of March! (Although, I’m still trying to figure out what the heck happened to January and February.) My blooming flower photo that I posted yesterday was pretty but it also came with a price. Everything, and I mean everything, is covered in yellow pollen – the trees, the plants, the deck, our driveway, our cars. Oh man, the cars! I wash the car and the next day it is completely covered again. Don’t believe me? Here is the photo of my car window.
No bueno. I’m going to sneeze just looking at it.
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National Day of Unplugging – I was listing to the radio this morning and they were talking about today (actually tonight at sunset) being the National Day of Unplugging. The website says:
The National Day of Unplugging is a 24 hour period – running from sunset to sunset – and starts on the first Friday in March. The project is an outgrowth of The Sabbath Manifesto, an adaption of our ancestors’ ritual of carving out one day per week to unwind, unplug, relax, reflect, get outdoors, and connect with loved ones.
The Sabbath Manifesto is a creative project designed to slow down lives in an increasingly hectic world. The Ten Principles:
Avoid technology.
Connect with loved ones.
Nurture your health.
Get outside.
Avoid commerce.
Light candles.
Drink wine.
Eat bread.
Find silence.
Give back.
Hmmm…that sounds exactly like what we Catholics are supposed to be doing on the Sabbath Day! (Although our bread and wine taken at Mass also becomes the Body and Blood of Christ) but I for one needed the reminder and think I will join the day of unplugging!
Better Late Than Never – I’ve been craving some new music lately and I asked Brian for Mumford & Son’s Babel for Valentine’s Day. Usually I just download music but I knew he wanted to get me something tangible that I could open. First of all, I’ve heard a few of M&S’s songs and enjoyed them but it was not until “I Will Wait for You” that I was truly blown away. (Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m always a day late and a dollar short but I eventually get there.)
Seriously, the song can still bring me to tears. I was reading an article by Cathleen Falsaniand she talked about the emotional effect the song had on her during a difficult time in her life. She says:
In the midst of a roiling sea of emotions, I find myself clinging to faith like a life raft, while simultaneously wondering desperately what God’s up to in all of this tsouris, as my rabbi friend might say.
Perhaps that’s why “I Will Wait” put a lump in my throat and filled my still-sleepy eyes with hot tears. The author Frederick Buechner says that we should pay careful attention to the things that bring about such reactions, because they are signs that the holy is drawing nigh.
Wow. I don’t know what the lyrics meant to M&S but it can be seen as a prayer by the listener. Either way, Babel is played continuously in the house. I’m completely taken. 🙂 (NOTE: There is some bad language on a couple of songs, I usually skip those.)
My other point about their album is that I forgot how much I used to loooove getting a new CD and getting cozy while I read through the CD booklet and pondered over the lyrics and how the artist chose to express themselves. I used to fondly read over the dedications and credits… (Now, that I think about it, maybe I didn’t have much of a life back then.)
Anyway, when I opened the CD and saw all the words and the photos I ran to the couch and got cozy as I read through some pretty amazing lyrics, particularly poignant if you are a believer. It was like relieving my youth, except that this time there was a kid trying to color on me with a marker, another kid spilling his milk on me and another kid waving his stinky diaper in front of my face. Good times. Good times.
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I Prefer My Mac with Cheese – Speaking of music, the kids are now at an age when they are paying attention to the music I have playing in the car or in the house so I have to be extra careful that it is family friendly (not that I really listen to anything “bad” but you know what I mean.) I’ll often have the local Christian station on and one of the artists they particularly enjoy is TobyMac. I have never really been into his music but for the sake of the kids I downloaded his newest album Eye on It. Okay, I’ll have to admit that the album has grown on me and I actually love many of the songs. The one we all love right now is “Me Without You.”
(Not an official video but you get the idea.)
So if you see a gold minivan in Cali with singing occupants consisting of a mom, three little boys and a tween girl pretending not to love it, you may just be passing by us. 😉
Oh, and if you have a favorite artist you think I should check out, let me know!
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If You Aren’t A Regular (Why the heck not? ;-)) – Okay, time to get off the computer. I’ve got a serious pile of laundry waiting for me. It’s actually been a big posting week for me. If you haven’t been around, here is what you missed.
Meatless Meals: Matthew’s favorite minestrone soup and the chance to link up your post where you brought a Pinterest idea to life.
Welcome! Although Brian and I have our website Revolution of Love.com, we started this blog to have a little outlet where we could post about the smaller everyday happenings of life and our “just for fun” posts. I will probably be the one here the most since out of the two of us, I have the most trivial things to say. 😉
I’ll start things off by participating in my first edition of the famous Friday Five. Yay!
1. What was the first band you saw in concert? Let’s see, years back it was a big Rock for Life concert in Orange County, CA. I think that first really got me into Christian alternative/hardcore music. But one of the first concerts I most vividly remember was when I drove to Santa Barbara, CA with my sister BC to see the hardcore band Focused. Oh, those guys were so awesome and so in love with God. They were the first band I ever interviewed (for the underground music zine I used to do.) Ah, such memories!
2. Who is your favorite artist/band now? Okay, you can tell I am a mommy now because at the moment I am listening to “Wags the Dog” by the Wiggles. (It is Bella’s Wiggle’s hour; that is the only time I am guaranteed some uninterrupted computer time!) But as far as I’m concerned, I have been listening to a lot of Jeremy Camp, Kutless, and Sixpense None the Richer. But I must say that I also loooove 80’s alternative music – The Cure, The Smiths, Morrissey, New Order, Psychedelic Furs, etc. Plus, good old classics like Dean Martin (reminds me of our honeymoon. Sigh.)
3. What’s your favorite song? This is a tough one. The song that always reminds me of Brian is The Cure’s “Lovesong.” I never tire of it.
4. If you could play any instrument, what would it be? Um, I always wished I could play the guitar, write my own music and sing my own songs. I may be able to get away with writing lyrics but the only instrument I can play is the Fisher-Price toddler drum set and my voice it not fit for anyplace other than the car while driving or perhaps in church if the choir sings real loud and drowns me out.
5. If you could meet any musical icon (past or present), who would it be and why? Back in my teen days I may have said someone like Morrissey from the Smiths but now I just see musical “icons” as regular joes and can’t think of one in particular that I’d single out. So I’ll have to think about that one.
Have a great weekend guys! See you Monday. Keep praying.
