7 Quick Takes

--- 1 ---

Last Saturday was the La Leche League Big Latch On. It was so fun!

We're on the right. Signing In. Our friends are on the left :)

--- 2 ---

Southwest Missouri Real Diaper Circle - We go to this meeting once a month. We discuss cloth diapering options. I love going to this meeting. I get to see babies of all ages in all their super cute cloth diaper glory. Plus, John gets some socialization.

--- 3 ---

I am loving some White Zinfandel wine right now. I usually really like dark reds. My hubby picked this up at the store the other day and it is so light and yummy!

--- 4 ---

I made Fried zucchini the other day with this recipe. It was so good. It tasted almost like the fried zucchini you can get at Olive Garden. YUM!

--- 5 ---

Hasn't this rain been crazy?  I don't know about you, but I could use just a little sunshine. We stayed out at John's godparents house this week. They live way out in the country. On our way back into town you could see where the roads had been washed out by the rain the night before. There was even debris in the middle of the roads (think big logs) from small creeks that usually never get high enough to reach the road.

--- 6 ---

I decided to put a new quilt on our bed. This quilt was made for me by my Grandmother Connor (My mother's mother). It is made up of each state's flower and bird. She hand painted each square! Some of them are quite intricate.

 

--- 7 ---

Has anyone else heard of this? It is amazing!!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

5 Favorite Summer Drinks

1. Home made Strawberry Lemonade - I can't get enough of this stuff!


2. Sweet Tea - The sweeter the better!



3. Marco Negri Moscato D'Asti- I could drink the whole bottle in one sitting. It's so light and sweet!
 I might be guilty of doing that a time or two.


4. Black Berry Gin and Tonic - YUM!



5.  Mango Infusion Tea - Mystic Monk  
This is a great breakfast tea! It is made with black tea so it has just enough caffeine to wake you up a bit!




This post is linked to:

Top 10 Reasons Why I Use Cloth Napkins

Right after my husband and I got married we decided to start using cloth napkins. This was an easy way for us to save money. I was a little wary of them at first but now, I think they are wonderful. Here are my top 10 Reasons why I use cloth napkins.


1. There is no trash! These help so our trash can doesn't fill up as often. You just wash and reuse!

2. They can be plain or have fun designs. I love that I can match mine to the season or holiday.


3.  They are cheap! You can either buy them at yard sales, second hand stores, off etsy, or make your own! My husband refuses to pay more than $0.25 per napkin. We have bought really nice ones for as little as $0.10 per napkin.

4. You can fold them super fancy!  Want to impress your company? Just check out this website for instructions on how to fold your napkins!




5. You can use it as a bib! Forget to do that load of laundry with the bibs in it? Don't have time to run and grab one? Just slip a side into your child's shirt and instant protection.


6. They are easy to clean! You can just throw them in with a load of your regular laundry. If you are not getting them super dirty at one sitting, you can use them again and again until they are dirty. We use ours for a few days before we wash them.



7. You can use them as coasters! We just fold our napkins into 4ths and slip them under our glasses.

8. You can use them to clean things other than your hands and faces. I often use ours to dry the table off after I have wiped it down. Sometimes I even dust with ours.

9. You can use them as hankies. I often use ours to wipe up spit up from our 4 month old.

10. They last for a long time! All of our cloth napkins are second hand and we've had them all for a year. They look just as good as they did when we bought them!


This post is linked to Top Ten {Tuesday}.

A Letter To Newlyweds W/ References to Indiana Jones

So many of my friends are getting married. I've written a letter full of just the little bit of wisdom I've learned since I've been married. Though, I've only been married for a year, I think some of this advice will help. At least, I hope it does.

Dear Newlyweds,

This is an exciting adventure that you are embarking on. I say adventure because, much like an Indiana Jones movie, there is a treasure to seek, some perils to go through, some laughs to enjoy, some friends to help, some companions that will let you down, some romance, and if you're lucky a perfect ending.



The treasure you seek together is Heaven. Pray for each other. Don't pray to change the other person. Pray to better understand the other person. Sometimes you are the one in need of change. Pray together. It builds a good foundation for when times are rough.

I pray for my husband every time I pray before a meal. That is roughly 3 times a day. I also pray for him before I go to sleep at night. We sometimes pray the Divine Office together. On car rides we often pray a rosary together. Almost every Sunday we go to mass together. (There are few exceptions.)



There are perils to go through. Indiana Jones would  had to almost die 6 times, be covered in some kind of creepy crawly thing (or snakes....ugh snakes) to get to what he wanted. They may be financial instability, a loss of a job, infertility, a loss of a child, illness or infidelity. It could be anything that puts a lot of stress on your relationship. You will have to learn to work together. This sounds easy now when everything is wonderful and perfect but, when things are frustrating, annoying, and hard it is much much harder than you think.Money is always an issue in marriage. Be honest, be honest, be honest! It is hard sharing money and financial matters with another person. Remember to be honest about how you feel. Sometimes one of you will need more space than the other to think things through, to deal with it, to figure it out, to pray it out and that's ok. Don't fight that need in the other. (This could lead to larger conflict.) Compromise is sometimes harder said than done. Pick your battles. Know when you should just let it go.


 My husband is in charge of all of our financial matters. He is the head of the household, he has final say in all matters. That is what works for us, what will work for you will depend on you two. I lost my job 24 days before my son was due. My insurance was due to run out a week before his due date. By God's grace we had him early but what a stress in the meantime. I'm now a stay at home mom, which has meant my husband had to work even harder than he was already working to make ends meet.



There are so many joys in the vocation of marriage. You will to learn things you never knew about the other. There will be times that are so great you wish that they would never end. There will be lots of laughs. You may be blessed with children. They just add to the joy. They are the cherry on top of the sundae of marriage. For Indy he found joy in adventure of finding his treasure.

Oh the joys of marriage! The first meal I cooked for my husband, (who at the time, did not eat meat) I made a rice casserole, steamed broccoli, and rolls. I was shocked to learn that my husband did not like broccoli. Since then, I have learned something new almost every day. It's amazing what I didn't know before I married my husband. We were blessed with a honeymoon baby. Watching him grow has been scary and wonderful. The fear for your child's well being is so strong and automatic. He is our miracle and I hope for many more. My husband often says I bring so much joy to his life. Usually he is saying this because I have said or done something super silly (like stupid) and he finds it hilarious. My husband is by himself just a super witty guy.



There will be friends who build up your relationship with both each other and God. Embrace them! Indiana Jones seems to always have friends that help him along the way. They guide him, give him advice, read the map for him, and fight off the bad guys.

We have been so blessed with friends. These friends have helped us in our times of financial difficulties. They have been a safe haven when we just needed to get away. They have offered us advice, congratulated us, prayed for us and with us, they have been the truest of friends to us. I hope that you find friends just as wonderful!




There will be people that come into your life that make things harder. In Indiana Jones movies these tend to be the bad guys who want the treasure for themselves, they are jealous, conniving, thieves.
There will be family members that one of you don't get along with, friends that want to go out drinking till 3 am, old flames that try to creep back into one of your lives, friends that don't like your spouse as much as you do. Don't let those people come between you two.


I had to say goodbye to more than one of my friends. This was usually because they weren't big fans of my husband for one reason or another. They couldn't understand that to be apart of my life I needed people building my marriage up not trying to break it down. If someone can't respect your spouse they can't respect you.

 

Indy was always quiet the ladies man! OOO LA LA! There will be romance. Duh, it's marriage. Just remember that romance is not always about the  physical interactions between you two. Show appreciation for what the other one does. Ask how their day went. Listen! Go on dates, stay in, do things together leave love notes, the little things matter!


My husband likes to leave little notes or comic strips around the house for me to find. It's cute and fun and I LOVE IT. He will buy me a bottle of wine when he goes to the store just to be nice. I try to find fun and interesting meal ideas to cook for him. I try to have the sink always empty of dirty dishes (he really likes the dishes clean). I often fail at this, but I do try. I try to make the house a home so he wants to come home at the end of the day to relax.



 For Indy, this is getting the ancient, precious, valuable item and returning it to some place safe, getting the girl, and going back to normal life. Our perfect ending is Heaven. As spouses we're suppose to help each other get to Heaven. If we have lived our lives the way we should and attempted to become saints, hopefully at our final judgment God will have mercy on our souls and let us enter his kingdom.

Well, obviously we haven't died yet so, I don't have anything to say on this except this is what we are striving for, sainthood & Heaven.



Linked to Living Proverbs 31.

Rain, Clothes, Rant

For some people, if they wash their car then it will rain the next day well, for me if I leave clothes on the line over night IT WILL RAIN. Each time I checked the forcast before hand and each time, I woke up in the early morning hours to it raining.



Oh oh oh oh! I forgot to post about this! I went to a church garage sale on Saturday and did some serious shopping. I have been in need of some clothes that, (ahem) fit. This Ijusthadababyafewmonthsago body does not fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes (ok, yes, they do *fit* but I don't look the way I want to in them) and my pregnancy clothes look like I'm wearing a tent, except for the one pair of jeans. I don't think I'll ever go back to regular pants. Ok, yes, I will. I have to. I just need to lose these last 25 lbs. That's not a lot considering I have lost 40 lbs in 4 months.

Oh yea, back to my new wardrobe. I got what looked like brand new name brand clothes. I was able to mangage 10 shirts, 2 skirts, and a 3/4 length black jacket for, here is the kicker, $6.

Best deal of my life! I'll have to post some pictures of them tomorrow.

Today I went to mass at the Cathedral for Mass with the Bishop and the seminarians. (My husband's brother in a seminarian for our diocese.) While I was there, I was distracted by this little girl wearing what looked like a home made tube top dress. (Keep in mind this girl was maybe 7 or 8) Under it, I only know this because it kept slipping down, was a lace bra. I thought the straps were to the dress and though, eh, that's kinda cute but then when it slipped down and I saw that it was a bra I about died. Really?? She is a little girl. There is no reason for her to be wearing something like that. When did stores start making lace training bras? From the look of it, lol, she didn't even need it. I believe this is one of the reasons girls starting at a younger and younger age see themselves as sex objects. Not to mention, letting our little girls dress like adults attracts men looking at them like they are. (As you can even see in this article. Disgusting.)

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2012/07/18/study-girls-as-young-as-6-are-thinking-of-selves-as-sex-objects/




1950's




Really??
 


It just drives me crazy. (Yes, I know I am now officially old. I'm annoyed at how youngsters dress nowadays)

Sugar Overload w/ A cup of Coffee

Yesterday after seeing a recipe for Cinnamon Roll pancakes my mouth was watering at the idea. So, I told my very willing husband that I planned on making them for breakfast today.

They were SO yummy but I could only eat two. They were so very rich and yummy. There is so much butter in these. Did I mention they were yummy?

I'm not sure who to give credit to for the recipe or the photo so via facebook.com

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Ingredients:

... for the Pancakes:
4 cups all-purpose flour
8 tsps baking powder
2 tsp. salt
4 cups milk
4 tbsps vegetable oil
4 large eggs, lightly beaten

for the Cinnamon Filling
1 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 tbsp ground cinnamon

for the Cream Cheese Glaze
1/2 cup butter
4 oz. cream cheese
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

To make the Cinnamon Filling:
Mix the three ingredients together. Place in a disposable piping bag and snip the end off or put in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off.


To make the Pancakes:
Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir them together until everything is moistened leaving a few lumps.

Heat your griddle to exactly 325 degrees. You don't want these too cook too quickly, and you won't want your cinnamon to burn.

Make desired size pancake on greased griddle and then using the piping bag and starting at the center of the pancake, create a cinnamon swirl. Wait until the pancake has lots of bubble before you try to turn it. You will find that when you turn it the cinnamon swirl will melt. The cinnamon will melt out and create the craters which the cream cheese glaze will fill.

To make the Cream Cheese Glaze:
In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and cream cheese and then stir together. Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk if needed to make
it a glaze consistency.

Place pancake on plate, then cover with cream cheese glaze.




Doesn't that just scream, "Eat Me!"



They goes very well with His Coffee!  I enjoyed a cup of Holy Grounds (Medium Roast).  If you haven't tried His Coffee yet. You should. It's a Christian Company based in California who's mission is to spread the habit of spending time in prayer while enjoying your daily cup of coffee. They also have some great teas if you are a tea drinker.

Patron Saint Of Homemakers

I started thinking about St. Martha a few days ago. To my delight I noticed today is her feast day. I am more of a Martha than I should be. I tend to be a Martha. When we have people over I tend to focus more on taking care of everything than on the people. This may be because of my overwhelming desire to try to make things...perfect. (They never are) I would just always like for them to be. Doesn't everyone?

Isn't this a lovely rendition of her?

 I would love to be the perfect hostess with creative décor and great food. Is that more because of pride or because I want to treat everyone as Christ? I fear it is because I'm prideful. One of the things I've been praying for lately is to become more like Mary, the sister to Martha and Lazarus. To focus more on Christ within the person. I want to treat everyone as I would Christ. It's hard. It's incredibly hard.

 

Chapter 53 of St. Benedict's Rule is concerned with the treatment of guests, who are to be received "as Christ Himself". This Benedictine hospitality is a feature which has in all ages been characteristic of the order. The guests are to be met with due courtesy by the abbot or his deputy, and during their stay they are to be under the special protection of a monk appointed for the purpose, but they are not to associate with the rest of the community except by special permission.
 via: Catholic Encyclopedia

I want to strive to better greet guests as I would Christ walking through my door.

Here is a novena to St. Martha! I'll be beginning this tomorrow!

Here are two links to information about St. Martha. EWTN's & Catholic Online