Coucoumellisms

Megamind

2012-01-22T19:26:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I rented 3 or 4 movies for the family to watch during the week. (7 day rentals) Among them were The Zookeeper, which I figured would be the family one, and Megamind, which I figured would only be interesting for the kids.

As often happens, there was some argument about which movie would be watched first. Dominic put Megamind on, even though we were going to watch The Zookeeper, and I was going to change it, except...

I really got caught up in the story. Megamind is the most endearing villain ever. He never wins at being bad, he's predictable, his plans fail, his code words aren't even code.

Then Metroman gets tired of being the hero and lets Megamind win. Suddenly being the villain isn't fun anymore when there is no good guy to fight against.

So Megamind comes up with his worst plot yet, he creates a new hero to be the champion of good. Except the plan, as usual, backfires and Megamind has to fix it, and learns something about himself in the process.

A few days later, we finally found time to watch The Zookeeper and quite frankly, it was a disappointment. The idea behind the movie seemed good, kind of similar to George of the Jungle, where the animals of the zoo try to help him get the woman of his dreams, (George gets advice from Ape in George of the Jungle), but it didn't work in this movie. George of the Jungle is a clueless guy, brought up by an Ape who can talk, so actually following advice on how to date from an ape in George's case was believable, and the results were funny. But when an intelligent, civilized man starts peeing on planted pots at a wedding reception (to stake out his territory) on the advice of a wolf, well, that's just stupid. And not very believable. I didn't like the movie much.

Favourite quotes from Megamind that one now randomly hears around the house:

1. Metroman: "It's revenge, and it's best served cold."
Megamind: "But it can easily be reheated in the microwave of evil!"

2. Megamind: "That is, if Metroman can withstand the full concentration of
the sun!"
(to Minion): "Fire!!"
(Long pause, nothing happens. Megamind stalks over to Minion)
Megamind: "Minion, fire."
Minion: "Warming up Sir."
Megamind: "Come again?"
Minion: "Warming up"
Megamind: "The SUN is warming UP???"

My kids loved the movie Megamind, and now I think I'm going to have to buy a copy.

101 Reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-seven

2012-01-22T18:09:00.003-05:00

Naps

Check out some of these crazy naps.

The one that got away...

2012-01-20T22:15:00.002-05:00

Heard the new single by Katy Perry the other day, and I couldn't help thinking how lucky the guy was that did get away.

Because who wants a girl who can't remember what happened "Last Friday Night", and he probably does mind that she "kissed a girl." Is it any wonder he was "hot then was cold, was yes then was no, in then out, up then down, wrong when it's right."

Sorry, I don't like her music much. It's pretty much significant of what is wrong in the world. Despite all the "fireworks" trying to pretty it up.

Sounds like a plan

2012-01-14T20:58:00.003-05:00

I could use a make-over too... maybe a whole new wardrobe in my case... I don't want a haircut. :)

Maybe we could start with dresses from dress911.com:

Beverly Dress in Roses

Florentina Dress

Night's Still Young Dress

Sweetie Dress in Robin

In which I slap myself on the back

2012-01-11T21:52:00.000-05:00

... well sort of...

I just kind of thought it really funny when, last night, after I scored two goals on a team we haven't really played before, suddenly they were all like: "No! No! Stay on her!!" And "Look, this is what she does... watch her..."

Uh guys, as much as I enjoy being talked about like that, (it's good for the ego) I'm not really that good. (Actually, the one you normally have to watch for is Jean-Alexandre, but he wasn't feeling all that good yesterday, so he didn't stand out much. But he's the goal scorer.)

The secret to my goal scoring (and to our team wins) is team work. The rest of my team does all the work, while I stand somewhere near the net and wait for an opportunity. Well okay, I do some work too, but seriously, I don't run as fast as the guys, so they still do more work than I do. Also, we pass. A lot. Many of the other teams don't seem to have that connection, that pass-back-and-forth-all-the-time thing. Sometimes, it's better to pass off to someone on the other side of the net instead of taking the shot. Because the goalie's ready for you, but he might not make it to the other side in time to block the other person.

So how did I score last night? Someone else (a few someone elses) got the ball to the net, and then, instead of taking the shot which the goalie, who was actually a pretty good goalie, probably would have saved, he passed it my way, and I was on the opposite side. All I had to do was kick it in. The first goal was actually really kind of a fluke. My teammate kicked it across the goal and I saw it coming, barely had time to stick my foot out, and that's all I did, was stick my foot out. I didn't have time to put any power behind it, or try to control the direction of the ball or anything. The ball rebounded off my foot, straight into the net. I was as surprised as the goalie.

Team work dudes. It's all in the team work. And I love my team, The Pub. I score more goals with them than with any other team I play with. Because THEY are good. :)

Pedophiles and the Church

2012-01-10T13:47:00.001-05:00

I just read yet another article on the subject of this "plague within the Catholic Church", so bear with me while I rant once again.

According to this article (I think it was Le Journal de Montréal), pedophilia has been a plague within the Church all throughout history, the first record of it being in 300 something after Christ.

Now, I won't deny this, but to put this into perspective, I can pretty much guarantee you that pedophilia has been a scourge EVERYWHERE for a very long time. Not just within the Church, and most likely in higher numbers outside of the Church. As is the case today.

I have known a lot of priests and religious, and a lot of Catholics. I do not personally know any pedophile priests, nor do I personally know any victims of priests. However, one of the ex-coaches of my children's soccer club is a pedophile, now serving time in jail. (Why do I not hear anyone questioning the integrity of the soccer club?) Also, someone living across the street from us in Prince George was charged with pedophilia. That makes two people, neither of them priests.

When pedophiles enter schools and prey on students, do we blame the Ministry of Education? Yet that is where most pedophiles are found.

I think we're blowing the Priest=Pedophile story just A TAD out of proportion. To listen to mainstream media, you would think 25% of priests were pedophiles or something.

The article ends something like this: if there were any institution in the world where this kind of thing should not happen, it is within the Church.

Yeah, well unfortunately pedophiles tend to pick jobs where they will be in contact with their intended victims, and not all people who enter the priesthood should actually be there. As far as I know, there is no foolproof test you can put people through to see if they're going to turn out to be pedophiles. And could someone please tell me why Pedophile Hollywood directors are not making as much news as pedophile priests? Especially since there is a code of silence there too?

101 Reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-six

2012-01-10T12:48:00.003-05:00

A nickname

The endearing kind, that make you feel all warm inside when you hear them, like someone just hugged you.

Dislike

2012-01-09T23:01:00.000-05:00

(This needed to be translated)

If ever Facebook needed a "dislike" button, it would be for this picture:

... with the following caption: GUESS WHICH ONE MADE A VOW OF POVERTY?

Well, I ask you, guess which one has no salary? The right answer is: Neither one. The pope does not receive a salary. All his needs are taken care of by the Vatican. When he leaves on a trip, he takes out just enough money to cover his expenses, and that is all. When the pope dies, in general, he leaves all his personal possessions to the Vatican, (with the exception of Pope Paul VI who left a few small items to his secretary).

What other world leader has no salary? If Prince William wanted to buy himself a slick sports car for afternoon ballads in the English countryside, I am certain he would not hesitate to do so. And yet, he too, lives off of money "donated" by his "faithful followers", (otherwise known as income tax). I do not believe that the pope-mobile qualifies as a sports car, and it doesn't even belong to the pope anyway.

Yes, the Church is "rich" in possessions. One could also say the same of museums, but I do not hear anyone ever complain because certain museums are full of priceless paintings and works of art. I do not hear anyone complain either about the directors of said museums who may get dressed from time to time in a tuxedo to partake in important museum functions. (Although, it is true, they have not made vows of poverty themselves), they are, after all, the REPRESENTATIVE of the museum.

The pope too, is the representative of something. If it is not acceptable for the director of a museum to present himself at an important function in a t-shirt and jeans, it is not any more acceptable for the pope to present himself in a simple white robe (or plain layman's clothes - imagine that!) for important functions of the Church. He has the duty to represent the richness and profundity of the Catholic faith in his person. His vestments then, are almost as important as his actions. A pope in a simple white alb (robe), (or even worse, jeans and a t-shirt) is a bit "cheap".

The riches in our churches are there because catholic people gave of their time and their money to embellish their place of worship, which also represents the richness of our faith. The works of art are there to stimulate our faith, to aide us in our reflection and meditation. Our churches belong to us, to all Catholics. They do not belong to the priests nor to the pope. When a priest leaves one parish for another, the possessions of the parish stay with the parish. When the pope dies, the possessions of the Vatican are not divided among his closest relatives!

The churches and the works of art that are in them are a common good, exactly like in museums, but guess what? Contrary to museums, churches are financed by Catholics (and not by the general population) but which one will charge you a sum to visit them?! Yes, we Catholics are so generous, that we will share our common good with YOU. Our most beautiful and grandest churches are open to the public, at no charge!! What a deal! All you have to do is behave with respect towards the building and its contents, and towards those who wish to pray, and you can enter there, whether you are Muslim, Jew, Atheist, Buddhist, even Anti-catholic, we won't kick you out!

There exist many beautiful and different catholic traditions and cultures, much of which has been lost in the last few decades, but which has been experiencing a revival, thanks to the internet and the catholic community there. You can buy just about anything catholic online, from products (such as coffee) made by monks, catholic books and articles to help us pray or meditate, catholic toys for kids, decorations for Catholics, even catholic entertainment. The catholic economy is running! By buying vestments for the pope, the Vatican also helps the economy run. After all, it is better to encourage people's work than to make a donation, is it not? "Give a fish to a man, you feed him for a day, teach him to fish and..."

I am sick and tired of hearing people complain because "the Church is rich." So what? If you do not agree with that, and the same thing goes with the Church's moral teachings, if you disagree, you are in no way obliged to be a part of our community. But you know what? We will STILL let you come in and look at our works of art for FREE. Isn't that nice?

Epiphany (Three Kings Day) Highlights

2012-01-09T21:59:00.000-05:00

Three kings come forward, bearing gifts.

The three kings (or magi) with their gifts.
I filled the boxes with candy and gum that looks (as much
as possible) like gold, frankincense and myrrh.

My three kings cake, with a ceramic "bean" hidden inside

I just used a spice cake recipe and tried out a holiday cake
mold I got on sale after Christmas, so it's not a traditional
cake or anything.

Dominic is the king. (He was last year
too)

Christmas Highlights

2011-12-25T17:52:00.000-05:00

The traditional stockings picture

The table - and my christmas log, which I actually managed to
make look presentable!!

The ones that made it all happen, (my sister and I) with the
ones that made us want to scream... (we were a bit tired after
making 15 pies, one cake, turkey, stuffing and trimming, roast
beef... etc, etc...) Note to self, DO NOT let Marc prepare the
contents for chicken pot pie the evening before Christmas Eve
ever again... (Also, I really am going to have to try to bake as
much as possible AHEAD of time... We were almost too
exhausted to enjoy anything!!

The Christmas log, which was made for reveillon (Christmas
Eve dinner) but which, on Christmas evening, has yet to be
touched. Noone's been hungry enough to eat it yet.

Nicky fell asleep half-way through

Dealing out gifts... :)

family

Brunch this... well, not morning... more like afternoon... with
Rose Anne's baked Camembert

N'aime pas

2011-12-01T12:57:00.001-05:00

Si jamais Facebook avait besoin d'un bouton "N'aime pas" Ce serait bien pour cette photo-ci:

... accompagnée de ce commentaire: DEVINE LEQUEL DES DEUX A FAIT VOEU DE PAUVRETÉ ?

Et bien, devine lequel des deux n'a pas de salaire? La bonne réponse est : Ni l'un, ni l'autre. Le pape n'a pas de salaire. Tout lui est fourni au Vatican, il peut sortir assez d'argent pour couvrir ses besoins lors des voyages et c'est tout. Quand le pape meurt, en général, il laisse ses possessions personnelles au Vatican, (à l'exception de quelques petites choses laissées à son sécretaire par le pape Paul VI)

Quel autre "dirigent" dans le monde n'a pas de salaire? Quand le Prince William veut s'acheter une belle voiture de sport pour des ballades dans le campagne anglais les dimanches après-midi, je suis certaine qu'il ne s'en prive pas. Pourtant, lui aussi, vit de l'argent "donné par ses fidèles", autrement connu sous le forme d'impôt. Je ne crois pas que le pape-mobile se qualifie vraiment de voiture de sport, et en plus, il 'appartient même pas au pape.

Oui, l'Église est "riche" en possessions. On pourrait en dire de même des musées, mais j'entends jamais personne se plaindre parce que les musées sont pleins d'oeuvres d'art qui valent des millions. J'entends jamais personne non plus se plaindre quand le directeur du musée s'habille en tuxedo pour des évenements importants du musée. (Quoiqu'il n'ait peut-être pas fait de voeu de pauvreté lui non plus) Il est, après tout, le REPRÉSENTANT du musée.

Le pape aussi est représentant de quelque chose. S'il n'est pas convenable qu'un directuer de musée se présente en t-shirt et jeans lors d'une fonction importante, il n'est pas non plus, convenable que le pape se présente en simple aube pour des fonctions de l'Église. Il a le devoir de représenter la richesse et la profondeur de notre foi en sa personne. Ses vêtement alors, sont presque aussi importants que ses actions. Ça fait "cheap" un pape en simple robe blanche.

Les richesses dans nos églises sont là parce que des gens catholiques ont voulu donner de leur temps et de leur argent pour embellir leur lieu de culte, qui représente, lui aussi, la richesse de notre foi. Les oeuvres sont là pour nous aider à stimuler notre foi. Nos églises nous appartiennent, à tous les catholiques. Elles n'appartiennent pas aux prêtres ni au pape. Quand un prêtre quitte une paroisse pour une autre, les biens de la paroisse restent là. Quand le pape meurt, les biens du Vatican ne sont pas non plus divisés entre sa parenté la plus proche.

Les églises et les oeuvres d'art qui s'y trouvent sont un bien communautaire, tout comme les musées, mais devine quoi? Au contraire des musées, les églises sont financées par les catholiques (et non pas par la population générale) mais lequel des deux va te charger un prix pour les visiter?! Et oui, nous, les catholiques, sommes tellement généreux, que nous partageons nos richesses communes avec VOUS. Nos églises les plus grandioses sont ouvertes au publique et ce, sans frais!! C'est une aubaine! Vous n'avez qu'à vous comporter avec respect envers le bâtiment et ce qu'il contient, et envers ceux qui viennent prier, et vous pouvez y entrer, que vous soyez musulman, juif, athée, buddiste, même anti-catholique, nous ne vous mettrons pas à la porte!

Il existe toute une culture catholique, qui a été perdu de vue depuis quelques décennies, mais qui vit une renaissance grâce surtout à l'internet et la communauté catholique qui s'y trouve. Des produits de moines, des articles catholiques pour nous aider dans la prière ou dans la réflexion, des décoration catholiques pour nous mettre dans l'ambiance de la foi et stimuler la foi chez nos jeunes, même des jouets catholiques se trouvent un peu partout en vente par internet. Ça roule, l'économie catholique! En achetant les vêtements du pape, le Vatican lui aussi, fait rouler l'économie. Mieux vaut encourager le travail des gens que de faire des dons, non? "Donne un poisson à un homme, vous lui nourrissez un jour, apprenez-lui à pêcher et..."

Je suis tannée, écoeurée d'entendre le monde chialer parce que "l'Église est riche." Et puis? Tout comme avec la moralité d'ailleurs, si vous n'êtes pas d'accord, vous n'êtes aucunement obligés de faire parti de notre communauté. Mais on va quand même vous laisser gratuitement regarder nos oeuvres d'art pareil.

Amen!

Roll Away Your Stone - Mumford and Sons

2011-11-28T19:40:00.001-05:00

Lyrics to Roll Away Your Stone

Roll away your stone, I’ll roll away mine
Together we can see what we will find
Don’t leave me alone at this time,
For I am afraid of what I will discover inside

You told me that I would find a hole,
Within the fragile substance of my soul
And I have filled this void with things unreal,
And all the while my character it steals

Darkness is a harsh term don't you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek

It seems that all my bridges have been burned,
But, you say that's exactly how this grace thing works
It’s not the long walk home
that will change this heart,
But the welcome I receive with the restart

Darkness is a harsh term don't you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
Darkness is a harsh term don't you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek
Darkness is a harsh term don't you think?
And yet it dominates the things I seek

Stars hide your fires,
And these here are my desires
And I will give them up to you this time around
And so, I’ll be found
with my stake stuck in this ground
Marking its territory of this newly impassioned soul
hide your fires,
these are my desires
And I will give them up to you this time around
ADD:And so, I’ll be found
with my stake stuck in this ground
Marking its territory of this newly impassioned soul

But you, you've gone too far this time
You have neither reason nor rhyme
With which to take this soul that is so rightfully mine

(Lyrics from this site so you can blame them for any errors ha ha)

Mumford and Sons

2011-11-25T21:00:00.001-05:00

Lover's Eyes:

Love was kind for a time
But now just leaks and it makes me blind
This mirror holds my eyes too bright
I can't see the others in my life
Were we too young
And heads too strong
To bear the weight of these lover's eyes

'Cause I feel numb beneath your tongue
Beneath the curse of these lover's eyes

But do not ask the price I pay
I must live with my quiet rage
Tame the ghosts in my head
That run wild and wish me dead
Should you shake my ash to the wind
Lord forget all of my sins
Well let me die where I lie
'Neath the curse of my lover's eyes

'Cause there's no drink
Or drug I've tried
To rid the curse of these lover's eyes
And I feel numb beneath your tongue
Your strength just makes me feel less strong

But do not ask the price I pay
I must live with my quiet rage
Tame the ghosts in my head
That run wild and wish me dead
Should you shake my ash to the wind
Lord forget all of my sins
Well let me die where I lie
'Neath the curse of my lover's eyes

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand
Help me on my way

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand
Help me on my way

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand
Help me on my way

I walk slow
I walk slow
Take my hand
Help me on my way

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-five

2011-11-25T20:36:00.001-05:00

A really cute dress

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-four

2011-11-25T20:30:00.001-05:00

A night out with the husband.

Or a night in...

Fanaticism

2011-10-04T18:03:00.003-04:00

Conversion has to happen in the heart, not just in the mind, or it inevitably leads to fanaticism.

Fanaticism (religious or non-religious) always leads to some kind of abuse in varying degrees. It might be as silly as looking down on others for wearing open-toed shoes shoes to mass (because that's not modest enough). It might be as extreme as covering up your whole body or baring it all, both of which stem from the mistaken idea that the body is just a sexual thing.

It may be found in the parent who "converts" to show to the world how good s/he is, praying and showing off how holy s/he is in public, while making unreasonable demands and spewing abuse on his/her own family in private. It may be found in the control-freak parent who sets a standard of holiness for the whole family that the children cannot realistically follow, and then punishing them for not following the strict monastic-like rule, resulting in children that are exhausted and end up hating instead of embracing the parent's faith.

It can be found in the priest who scolds a woman because her doctor ordered her to go on the pill, because getting pregnant again could kill her, instead of showing compassion first and then trying to see what other options might be.

It can be found in the person who turns away from faith because that faith forbids this or that thing, and then sets out to undermine, criticize, put down and even legally challenge that faith (institution) by setting up legal precedent, and/or laws meant to force religion (and any morality considered undesirable) down a hole somewhere.

True conversion comes with a desire to better oneself. As much as we may desire others to live the same liberating experience, we must take people where they are in their spiritual life. People do not like to be controlled, and not everyone has the same path to take in life. Sometimes you have to go down a slippery path and fall to the bottom in order to rise again, a better person.

Sometimes, the only thing, and the best thing you can do for a person is pray.

101 reasons reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-three

2011-10-04T17:51:00.001-04:00

Pumpkin spice muffins.

Well, technically, pumpkin spice anything... lattes, pies, cakes, cookies...

Do check out the recipe for the above muffins. Looks good!!!

I am officially among the goal scorers :)

2011-07-30T21:31:00.002-04:00

Joueurs

Équipe

Match(s)

CHABOT, JEANNE

C.S.J.R. #1 (SFED5)

http://www.tsisports.ca/sc/soccer/ligue/index.htm

(Go to LSM then SFED5 then Stats and choose buteurs)

I have a GOAL!!!! :)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-two

2011-07-05T23:22:00.000-04:00

Lazy summer days around the pool...

Wise words

2011-07-05T23:10:00.002-04:00

The following came in an e-mail:

1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel"  that you pull out when in trouble; it is a "steering wheel" that directs us in the right path throughout life.

2] Do you know why a car's WINDSHIELD is so large and the rear view mirror is so small? Because our PAST is not as important as our FUTURE. So, look ahead and move on.

3] Friendship is like a BOOK. It takes a few seconds to burn, but it takes years to write.

4] All things in life are temporary. If going well enjoy it, they will not last forever. If going wrong don't worry, they can't last long either.

5] Old friends are like Gold! New friends are Diamonds! If you get a Diamond, don't forget the Gold Because to hold a Diamond, you always need a base of Gold!

6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, "Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your abilities.

8] A blind person asked St. Anthony: "Can there be anything worse than losing eye sight?"

He replied: "Yes, losing your vision."

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them; and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrows.

Banana Bread (healthier version)

2011-07-01T13:02:00.001-04:00

(Or substitute other fruit for bananas as well, I have tried strawberries and pears and those are really good too.)

1/3 cup butter (or 1/3 cup apple sauce if you are cutting fat)
1/2 cup natural sugarcane sugar (or stevia or other natural sweetener)
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour (or other whole grain flour)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup old bananas
1/2 cup bittersweet or dark chocolate chips

Grease small bread pan. Beat butter, sugar and eggs in small bowl. Mix flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda in large bowl. Mash old bananas in small bowl. Add bananas and sugar mixture with dry ingredients. Add chocolate chips. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

Eye Exam

2011-06-28T12:29:00.000-04:00

Here's a simple eye exam I was given by either the ophthalmologist or my optometrist 6 years ago when I had spotting in my eyes. Cover one eye and stare at the black square in the center. If all the lines are straight, and there are no missing pieces, your eyes are good.

My right eye is good, but I just tried this recently with my left, and many of the lines bend just slightly. Guess I am going to have to go get that checked out...

Grocery List

2011-06-16T13:19:00.000-04:00

Jean-Alexandre was telling me what to get for groceries just now, so I told him to write down a list. He did. Here it is:

- Hamburger meat
- Hamburger Helper
- Popsicles
- 7Up
- Cookies (Decadent/Chocolate Chip)
- Milk
- Granny Smith apples
- 30" Sony Plasma TV
- Nutella chocolate spread
- Cream cheese (original flavour)
-7.1 Dolby surround sound system
- Soup (in prepared microwaveable container)
- Mini Wheats cereal (original flavour)
- Juice
- Dove Men +Care shampoo
- Dove Men +Care body wash
- Xbox 360 console
- Macaroni and cheese
- Starbucks Doubleshot vanilla flavoured energy drinks
- some healthy stuff...
- Nicolas-repellent for cats
- Oven mittens
- iPod earphones by Apple
- Pop (such as Root Beer, Coca Cola, etc...)

Hmmmm... I don't think he'll be getting quite everything on his list... Gotta love the "Nicolas-repellent for cats" though, bet Fluffy would appreciate that...

15, 10 years ago and today...

2011-06-08T10:56:00.003-04:00

(Original here)

15 YEARS AGO 1996

1) How old were you? turned 24 in May
2) Who were you dating? Marc
3) Where did you work? I didn't, I was at university, finishing bachelor of Theology, and starting Certificate in Spanish.
4) Where did you live? St-Romuald, Québec.
5) Where did you hang out? Home and university and friends' places sometimes
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? contacts
7) Who were your best friends? I had a lot of friends, the ones I was closest to/saw the most were Danielle & Sylvain, Chantal, Jean-François, Karen, my sister Rose Anne,
8) How many tattoos did you have? None
9) How many piercings did you have? 2, one in each ear
10) What kind of car did you drive? I took the bus or during the summer, I biked. Marc had a car though.
11) Had you been to a real party? Of course??
12) Had you had your heart broken? No.
13) Were you Single/taken/Married/Divorced? Taken
14) Any Kids? 1, Jean-Alexandre

10 YEARS AGO 2001

1) How old were you? 29 in May
2) Who were you dating? married to Marc
3) Where did you work? As a hairdresser at home
4) Where did you live? Prince George, British Columbia
5) Where did you hang out? Home, French-Canadian Club, and with a few friends,
6) Did you wear contacts and/or glasses? contacts
7) Who were your best friends? Well, the ones I hung out with most back then... hmmm... Adrianna & Wayne, Francine, Louise
8) How many tattoos did you have? None
9) How many piercings did you have? 2, one in each ear
10 Had your heart broken? No
11) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Married
12) Any Kids? 3, Jean-Alexandre, Dominic and Maryssa
13) What kind of car did you have? Dodge Caravan

TODAY (2011)

1) Age? 39 in May
2) Where do you work? At home
3) Where do you live? St-Jean-sur-Richelieu, Québec
4) Who are your closest friends? My family; over the internet: Patty and Daniella; around here: Pascal, and Julie & François, still see Danielle and Sylvain from time to time...
5) Do you talk to your old friends? Danielle and Sylvain, Hugo, Chantal...
6) How many piercings do you have? 2, one in each ear
7) How many tattoos do you have? None, I will never have any tattoos
8) What kind of car do you have? Dodge Grand Caravan, Mazda 3, Kia Spectra (for Sale!!!) and Nissan Sentra (from my brother, for Jean-Alexandre)
9) Had your heart been broken? No
10) How many kids? 5
11) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced? Married
12) glasses/contacts? Glasses, I only wear contacts for sports now, can't handle having them in all day anymore.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number forty-one

2011-05-10T15:28:00.001-04:00

The silver lining in every cloud.

Like how in the midst of flooding, people discover solidarity, and how, being forced to wash a few things that got wet in the back, I rediscovered things I hadn't seen in a long time. Also like how all that water has also given us exciting stuff, like a lake in the neighbours' yard that extends to ours, and has fish (even big fish) in it, and geese and ducks swimming in it.

The Rosary

2011-05-10T14:49:00.000-04:00

Here's an interesting thought:

CARRY YOUR ROSARY EVERY DAY

When you carry a Rosary, Satan has a headache.
When you use it, he collapses.
When he sees you praying it, he faints.
Let us pray the rosary every time, so that he'll keep fainting.

Imagine what might happen if every Catholic in the world would pray a
Rosary on the same day! We have an example in October of 1573, when
Europe was saved from the invasion of the mighty Turkish fleet, by the
praying of the Rosary by all Christians!

Let's unite in praying one of the most powerful prayers in existence,
for these intentions, on one of the holiest seasons in our Church year.

God bless us all!

Wikipedia has this to say about October 1573:

The Battle of Lepanto took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic maritime states, decisively defeated the main fleet of the Ottoman Empire.
The five-hour battle was fought at the northern edge of the Gulf of Patras, off western Greece, where the Ottoman forces sailing westwards from their naval station in Lepanto (Turkish: İnebahtı; Greek: Ναύπακτος, Naupaktos or Έπαχτος, Épahtos) met the Holy League forces, which had come from Messina.[4] The Victory of the Holy League prevented the Mediterranean Sea from becoming an uncontested highway for Muslim forces, protected Italy from a major Ottoman invasion, and prevented the Ottomans from advancing further into the southern flank of Europe. Lepanto was the last major naval battle fought almost entirely between oar-powered galleys, and has been assigned great symbolic importance since then.

Since I am unable to find anything else on the internet about the event, other than the exact same message, I can't vouch for the praying of the rosary on that day... But the idea is still interesting.

Funny Kids

2011-05-03T10:20:00.000-04:00

My husband told me the other day that I should add this gem to Gabriel's baby book. I quote:

"MOM!! Come here!! Papa's watching the big salami that hit Japan!!"

Elections

2011-04-21T12:54:00.003-04:00

Candidates in your electoral district:

Claude Bachand (Bloc Québécois)
Tarik Brahmi (New Democratic Party)
Robert David (Liberal Party of Canada)
Jean Thouin (Conservative Party of Canada)
Pierre Tremblay (Green Party of Canada)

Now, who to vote for?

Candidate evaluations don't bode very well...

Claude Bachand's Political history: (he will probably get elected again - sighhhhhhh)

Votes, Surveys and Policy Decision Vote Score

Bill C-510, to protect pregnant women from coercion to abort

This private member's bill by Conservative MP Rod Bruinooge, also called Roxanne's Law, was a common sense bill to protect women and their unborn children from coercion to abort. Abortion coercion by boyfriends, husbands, relatives and even physicians is very common in Canada. Unfortunately, the bill was defeated in 2nd reading by a vote of 97 to 178.

[December 15, 2010] Voted No

Bill C-384, Legalize euthanasia & assisted suicide

A horrible bill that would have given doctors permission to kill people who are seriously ill but not dying and who in fact, have a treatable condition. Doctors would also have been permitted to kill people suffering with treatable chronic depression. This bill was defeated on second reading, 59 votes in favour to 228 votes Against.

[Apr 21, 2010] Voted Yes

Bob Rae's pro-abortion Motion

A Liberal Motion to expand abortion & contraception throughout Africa, at Canadian taxpayer expense. This was an attempt to co-opt a good Maternal & Child Health initiative of the Conservative government whose purpose was saving the lives of pregnant women and children by providing clean water, medicine and health-care workers assist with child birth. Bob Rae's abortion Motion was narrowly defeated 138 to 144.

[Mar. 23, 2010] Voted Yes

Bill C-268, Child Trafficking

A law to impose a minimum 5 year sentence for trafficking children

[Sep 30/09] Voted No (Really??!!!)
C-484, Unborn victims of Crime Act

Common sense legislation that would allow criminal charges to be laid in the death or injury of an unborn child when the childs mother is the victim of violent crime. This cannot be considered a "pro-life" bill because it specifically excludes deliberate acts of abortion by the woman. Nonetheless, it is a good "pro-family" bill because it protects women and their wanted children from violent crime. (Mar5/08) No

Motion 12, Re-open debate on definition of marriage

[Dec 2006] Voted No

C-313, Age of Consent child protection bill

Raised the age of consent for sex from 14 to 16

[Sep 28, 2005] Voted No

M-221, child protection motion

To raise the age of consent for sex from 14 to 16

[Sep 28, 2005] Voted No

C-38, A bill to abolish the true definition of marriage

[June 28, 2005] Voted Yes

C-13, Reproductive Technologies bill

Allowed destruction of embryonic humans for research; as well as human cloning for the purpose of organ harvesting

[Oct 28, 2003] Voted No (Amazing... he actually voted no.)

Motion 83, Inquiry into the medical necessity of abortion

Asked parliament to examine whether abortion is medically necessary and to report on its potential health risks to women

[Oct 1, 2003] Voted No

Bill C-250, added sexual orientation to hate crimes law
Note: observers predict this could eventually be used to prosecute Christians for holding to biblical teaching on homosexuality and may cause sections of the Bible and the Catholic Cathechism to be banned as "hate literature".

[Sep 17, 2003] Voted Yes

Motion to maintain the true definition of marriage

Maintain definition as between one man and one woman

[Sep 16, 2003] Voted No

Motion 123, Favoured legalizing euthanasia & assisted Suicide

[Mar 25, 1998] Voted Yes

Section 93 Constitutional Amendment, revoked a guaranteed religious education right in Quebec

[Nov. 18, 1997] Voted Yes

Bill C-33, added 'sexual orientation' to the Human Rights Act

This bill was a major advance by the gay-lobby towards their hidden agenda of successfully challenging the traditional definition of marriage in court, and thereby, legitimizing their influence over the educational system. Their final goal was always to gain access to textbooks and school curriculum so they could re-write them as gay-positive, a coup-de-grace enabling them to indoctrinate future generations thus, imposing societal acceptance of homosexual acts. (Their wording, not mine)

[1996] Voted Yes

Bill C389, 3rd reading of the "Transsexual Bathroom Bill"

This radical bill sought to add "gender identity" and "gender expression" to the Human Rights Act and Criminal Code. If passed, the bill would've endangered women and children by creating a legal right for men who "identify" as the opposite sex, to use female public washrooms. Male sexual predators or peeping toms would have certainly used this as an opening to enter the girl's washroom. It is unconscionable for legislators to put women and children in such a compromising position. It would also create a legal nightmare for businesses that would be required to allow staff to cross-dress in the work place. Furthermore, this would harm youth by cooperating with mental illness and encouraging sexually-confused young men to perceive themselves as women, and vice versa. It will also open the door for radical activists to insist that transsexualism must be inserted in school curriculum and taught in classrooms as something that is normal, natural and healthy. This bill passed final reading in House of Commons by a 143-135 vote on February 9, 2011, but then, thankfully, died in the Senate when a federal election was called.

Voted Yes

http://www.campaignlifecoalition.com/index.php?p=Federal_Voting_Records&id=20

Pretty much a resounding FAIL, Mr. Bachand.

Not much is known about the other candidates...

This doesn't say much: http://www.jeanthouin.ca/fr/ and Jean Thouin hasn't answered the Campaign Life questions. I'm not even going to consider the others, because their parties don't allow them to have a mind of their own anyway, they have to go with "Party Policy" on Life matters.

Please Pray

2011-04-10T21:13:00.001-04:00

Got this in an e-mail from my aunt:

Please pray for this urgent situation. This very intense surgery will take place Monday, April 11th and both Mom and Baby are at serious risk.

My daughter Claire just called me about a Filipino Catholic woman Claire cared for today at Saint Vincent's Hospital. The woman's name is Lenny.

Her husband converted to Catholicism in the last year. Lenny had a baby less than a year ago by C-section and became pregnant again right away. The pregnancy was not healthy. The placenta grew abnormally outside of the womb through the C-section incision. It is growing into her other vital organs,her bladder, bowel and other places so that all the organ's blood vessels are tangled up with the placenta. Doctors told her she had to have an abortion or she would die. She refused. They did an MRI at 22 weeks and cared for her as best they could. Now she is bleeding. They will do another MRI on Friday and operate to do some surgery Monday to try and save her life and deliver the baby which is mature enough to live if they can get the baby out without harm.

Claire has been delivering babies for about 14 years and has never seen anything remotely like this, or any surgery ever so complicated. None of the physicians have either. The best medical team in Portland will be there Monday, Apr. 11 There will be a specialist for every organ involved in the operating room to try to help untangle the blood vessels. Claire said Lenny could bleed out in six minutes if they make a mistake. .

Lenny has been in the hospital for three months. Today the two women shared their faith and prayed. Lenny was crying and said she just wants to live to care for her babies.

Her husband is terrified.

Please keep this courageous faithful woman and her family in your prayers. She said she would like to be on prayer lists, so please also forward this message.

How you can tell your 5 year old has been watching too much Garfield...

2011-04-07T08:00:00.001-04:00

1. He burps and says; "That's the sign that the tank is full!"
2. He drinks (anything) out of a glass and asks "Got milk?"
3. He jumps on you and yells; "Cowabunga!!!" (Or the closest version of Cowabunga that he can pronounce.)
4. He bugs you for days to buy/make lasagna.
5. He randomly laughs all by himself, (remembering the funny parts).

I have slightly brain-damaged kids

2011-03-22T12:29:00.000-04:00

Monday evenings, I normally bring Alex's coach and his son home from practice, because they are on the way, and they don,t have a ride back. They pick him up, so I don't have to drive him there. Yesterday, I went to pick them up after the practice, (Alex stayed at the stadium because we had a match afterwards), and while I was waiting for the practice to end, I went into the office to chat with the general director of the club and a few other people. Gabriel and Nicolas were racing each other in the stadium.

As I was chatting, Nicolas suddenly came running in, yelling "Mom! Mom!" and right after that, I could hear the wail of Gabriel following. Gabriel often wails for no reason, but this particular wail sounded much more serious than usual. I turned around to see Gabriel walking in, his face covered in blood, dripping from his nose. I thought he must have been hit by a ball or something. Someone pointed out paper towels above the sink in the office, and I proceeded to wash his face.

Turns out that they were racing and Gabriel hit the wall with his face. I joked about the brakes in his shoes having failed. Little did I know...

The truth came out about an hour later. It turns out Nicolas had the bright idea of running a race WITH THEIR EYES CLOSED. Yes, you read right. Nicolas apparently opened his eyes part way through, saw Gabriel running at the wall, yelled at him to open his eyes, but it was too late.

The whole thing was witnessed by 3 of Alex's teammates. One of them described it to me as "He just kept on running, he never stopped, never slowed down and just banged into the wall nose first and bounced backwards on his butt. There was silence for 2 seconds and I was just thinking 'Oh no! What was he doing?!' "

The nosebleed did stop eventually, but needless to say, the child currently has a very tender olfactory system.

Spiced Cappucino

2011-03-22T12:10:00.000-04:00

Make coffee with reduced maple water. (For those of you who do not have maple trees in your yard, just add some maple syrup to your water.)

I remember thinking, back when I was in Paraguay, how cool it was to step outside and there was fresh grapefruit on a tree for your breakfast... I guess having an apple tree and a few maple trees is pretty cool too though.

Add pumpkin spice and vanilla to the coffee. (Make your own pumpkin spice: 2 tsp of cinnamon, 1 tsp of the following: ginger, allspice, nutmeg, cloves)

Heat milk (you can add some maple syrup to this too) and mousse. Add milk and mousse to your coffee (you want about 1/2 coffee and 1/2 milk) Sprinkle top with cinnamon/sugar mix.

MMMMMmmmm!!!

Gift Bag Tutorial

2011-03-17T10:32:00.000-04:00

I made a gift bag similar to this, for the gift of a friend of Nicolas who was having a birthday party. Nicolas liked it so much that he wanted me to make one for him. So I made this one from scraps I had from a different project. The nice thing about these bags is that the recipient of the gift can use them as shopping bags or tote bags afterwards, or reuse them as a gift bag.

First, you need to determine the size of the bag you are making. Remember to measure height, width and depth of the gift to make sure it fits, then add 1 inch all around each piece for hemming. I didn't have a specific gift in mind, so I made a medium-sized bag. For this bag I just took a standard piece of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper for the front and back of the bag. I took a second piece of paper and cut it in half length-wise for the side pieces. The remaining half I reduced the width to three inches, for the handles. I cut a third sheet of paper width-wise, making sure that the height of it was the same as the width for the side pieces. That piece makes the bottom of the bag.

If you are using a light fabric like cotton, you may want to use interfacing, to stiffen it up enough so that the bag stays standing up, like a gift bag should. However, if you are using a thicker fabric like jean fabric or twill, interfacing is not necessary. The lining inside should be a lighter fabric. I used cotton outside and in, so after cutting all the material, the next step is to iron on the interfacing. (I prefer fusible interfacing, myself.)

When all the interfacing is ironed on to the outside fabric, take one of the front/back pieces and pin it, right sides facing each other and sew 5/8 from the edge, from the top to about 5/8 of an inch from the bottom. It is important to leave the 5/8 inch space in order to fix on the bottom with ease afterwards. If your fabric has a pattern that goes only one way, like mine, remember to make sure that none of the pieces are upside down, before pinning.

Continue sewing sides to front and back until you have a box, like this. Do not forget the 5/8 inch space at the bottom of each seam.

Now take the bottom piece and pin it to the front. Leave a 5/8 inch space on either side. This way, all the seams meet at the point where you stopped.

Repeat on the back and bottom pieces and then on the side and bottom pieces.

Repeat the whole thing, with the pieces for the inner part of the bag. Clip the corners at the bottom and trim all the seams.

Take the two handle pieces (one of the outer fabric and one of the inner) and pin together down both sides, (rights sides facing each other). Sew together, leaving ends open. Trim the seams.

Turn right sides out, press and stitch about 2/8 inch from edge.

Turn inner bag right side out and place into outer bag. (Outer bag remains inside out.) Pin bags together at sides.

Take handles, fold in half length-wise at ends and baste.

Place handles between the inner and the outer bags, at the front and the back, with ends sticking out. Be sure to carefully measure the spot, so as to put the ends of each handle the same distance from the sides. Pin the handles to the front and back and pin up the rest of the inner bag to the outer bag.

Sew around the top of the bag, leaving one side open. Trim the seam all around, except for the side that was left open.

Through the open side, pull all the fabric right side out.

Stuff the lining into the bag and stitch 2/8 inch from the edge, all the way around the top. (Make sure the edges on the open side are tucked inside.)

You could just leave it like this, and use it as a tote bag, but it doesn't look much like a gift bag, nor does it stand nice and straight like one.

On the outside of the bag, pin the side seams, making sure to gather the lining seams as well, and stitch down the side 3/8 inch from the edge, to about 3/8 inch from the bottom.

When the side seams are done, do the same thing with the bottom seams. When you are done, the corners should look like this.

Now you have a lovely gift bag, ready to be filled with something for someone you love!

Global Warming...

2011-03-09T10:53:00.000-05:00

... is so last year.

This time last year, I was making maple syrup with the kids...

March 8, 2010

This year, I am not...

March 9, 2011 - the house

March 9, 2011 - the pond

Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday/Shrove Tuesday

2011-03-09T10:07:00.002-05:00

Whatever you call it...

This is what it looked like briefly at our house (before we all rushed off to respective soccer practices, games and courses) :

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number forty

2011-03-09T08:35:00.000-05:00

Mardi Gras!!! (and other crazy Catholic feasts)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-nine

2011-02-24T22:17:00.000-05:00

Planning a surprise for someone else...

La Sagesse

2011-02-23T14:19:00.002-05:00

Livre de l'Ecclésiastique 4,11-19.

La sagesse conduit ses fils à la grandeur, elle prend soin de ceux qui la cherchent. L'aimer, c'est aimer la vie ; ceux qui la cherchent dès l'aurore seront comblés de bonheur ; celui qui la possède obtiendra la gloire en héritage ; là où il entre, le Seigneur donne sa bénédiction. Ceux qui rendent un culte à la sagesse célèbrent le Dieu saint, ceux qui l'aiment sont aimés du Seigneur ; celui qui l'écoute jugera les nations, celui qui s'attache à elle sera en sécurité dans sa demeure. S'il se confie en elle, il en prendra possession, et tous ses descendants la recevront en héritage. Pour commencer, elle le conduira par des chemins sinueux, elle fera venir sur lui la peur et l'appréhension, elle le tourmentera par la sévérité de son éducation, jusqu'à ce qu'elle puisse lui faire confiance ; elle l'éprouvera par ses exigences. Puis elle reviendra tout droit vers lui, elle le comblera de bonheur en lui dévoilant ses secrets. Mais s'il s'égare loin d'elle, elle l'abandonnera et le laissera aller à sa perte.

Et voilà pourquoi il y a tant de malheurs dans ce monde; nous l'avons abandonnée, et elle nous a laissé aller à notre perte.

Chai Latte

2011-02-16T14:57:00.000-05:00

(Me: "smile at least!"
Nicky: "No, I want to look cute.")

Every day, 3 or 4 times a day, Nicolas begs me to make "tea". It all started with the "coffee" I made him once, with just a tiny bit of coffee and a lot of milk. Then he discovered chai lattes...

Laugh out loud funny

2011-02-16T13:30:00.000-05:00

Gonna have to try this:

2011-02-11T15:26:00.000-05:00

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-eight

2011-02-04T12:20:00.000-05:00

Hot chili on a cold day.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-seven

2011-02-03T15:45:00.000-05:00

A job well-done...

I should have done this a while ago... :)

2011-02-03T15:19:00.001-05:00

This is what my hairdressing corner used to look like:

Taken January this year... doesn't show the wall though.

Taken two and a half years ago, I added the pictures you see in the first photo since then.

This is what my hairdressing corner looks like now:

I moved the wall plate to the wall beside the dresser, so it complements the dresser top.

I also added a ceramic Guarani face to the wall beside the new shelves, and a pot on one of the shelves.

Minus the Christmas/Valentine's Day decorations, this is what will greet my clients from now on; a somewhat exotic decor. Too bad the hairdresser can't be exotic too! Oh well, when I was in Paraguay, I was extremely exotic to them...

Season of the Witch - My review

2011-01-24T00:25:00.004-05:00

Season of the Witch promised to be full of angry, power-hungry, cruel, tyrant Catholic priests and did not disappoint on that account, excepting perhaps one single priest. Its view on the Crusades was the usual simplistic and uninformed crap.

For your information, in 712, Arab Muslims invaded Spain (a christian country) from Morocco, and they didn't stop there. When did the Crusades take place? The first (and only successful one) took place in 1095. So just how long did it take Christian countries to get their act together, and stop battling each other long enough to get together to fight a common ennemy? Hmmmm, you do the math.

No, the Crusades weren't about power-hungry, hate-filled Christians attacking the peace-loving, minding-their-own-business Muslims, simply because not sharing the same fatih made them enemies of Jesus Christ. Not only is that extremely simplistic, it is quite simply wrong. These particular muslims; Sarrasins, were neither peace-loving nor minding their own business.

This isn't to say that I believe all the Christian soldiers were noble, faultless men who never killed unnecessarily and were innocent of war-crimes. But then again, neither were the Sarrasins. War was a bloody, ugly thing back then. Oh wait, war is STILL a bloody, ugly thing.

Neither do I believe that all Muslims are on a jihad quest. In fact, all of the Muslims that I personally know are the peaceful, minding their own business type.

The latter half of the film, was gory, but still better than the first half. Now that we had established the fact that the Catholic Chruch was run amock with power-hungry tyrants and mindless minions, we could finally get on with the story at hand, which turned out not too bad. Now if I could have just skipped the whole first half, I might have liked it.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-six

2011-01-22T17:46:00.000-05:00

Summer vacation

This is like... so Marc and me...

2011-01-22T16:51:00.001-05:00

Seriously, this would be me, berating Marc on a beach somewhere. Whenever we go camping somewhere, or when we went to Québec when we were still living in Prince George BC, all Marc wanted to do was relax and do nothing. He was like, "Finally, nothing to do, nowhere to go..." and me, the one who doesn't get out, I was all like, "Yay! Places to go, people to see!!" I have learned that I have to let him have at least 2 or 3 days in which to relax and do nothing, and then we can go and do stuff... Unfortunately, when your vacation only lasts 5 days or so, cramming stuff into the last 2 days is... well... not so much fun after all... Next time I go anywhere with him, I will be prepared though... trip to the library beforehand... I'll be bringing books with me... if I can't go anywhere, at least I won't be bored.

Choice

2011-01-21T13:18:00.000-05:00

Coke or Pepsi? If only choices were so simple.

Life or death?

What if your choice eliminates my choice? What if your right eliminates my right?

Does a peanut butter loving child have the right to choose to eat a peanut butter sandwich in a classroom shared by a peanut-allergic classmate? Whose right is more important? The right to chose what to eat? Or the right to life and health?

Does the right to arms give a person the right to practice shooting in a public park? Or does the right to life and safety of the general public restrict him to a special shooting range set aside for just that?

Does the right to choose how to live your life give you the right to kill your spouse if you no longer wish to be married to him/her?

Does the right to choose to be free and unfettered give you the right to drown your four children in a bathtub? Does it give you the right to kill the child in your womb?

Why does choice override the most basic right of all? The right to life. Whose choice? Not the child's.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-five

2011-01-17T10:21:00.000-05:00

Having something to live for... but more importantly, having something you'd be willing to die for... (unlike poor John Lennon - I hate to IMAGINE what his own personal Purgatory looks like...)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-four

2011-01-17T09:04:00.000-05:00

Sitting around a campfire, eating marshmallows, singing, telling ghost stories, conversing, stargazing... or whatever it is that you do around a campfire...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-three

2011-01-17T08:59:00.000-05:00

A rip-roaring, crackling, popping, sizzling, blazing fire in one's hearth...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-two

2011-01-16T22:31:00.000-05:00

Conversation...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty-one

2011-01-16T22:22:00.002-05:00

A good movie...

Make-over

2011-01-16T19:58:00.002-05:00

In this case, it isn't me getting the make-over, but my hairdressing corner. I can't call it a salon, because I only get a corner of the office space. But for now, it's enough.

The dresser I have been using as a hairdressing station is a rather old dresser and the top is stained, the surface is rippled, and it doesn't look all that nice. The number one reason I am doing a make-over on it though, is because there is no overlapping edge. I had a stand that could clip on an overlapping edge for hot irons. But I have no overlapping edge. I have inserts for hot irons and a blowdryer, that you drill a hole for, then insert into the top surface, but right underneath, there is a drawer, and I'd never be able to get the drawer open again with these inserts sticking downward.

Old dresser with worn out top surface

I have been reflecting on this situation awhile now, and until last week, thought the best way would be to cut the drawer, make it smaller and put the inserts into the newly drawerless side. But that would take a good amount of work and probably wouldn't end up all that nice. Then it hit me. Instead of cutting stuff up, why not just add a new top surface?! This would give me an overlapping edge wide enough to put the inserts into, without getting in the way of a drawer, and I'd also be able to clip on the clip-on stand! As an added bonus... the old ugly surface gets replaced by a much nicer one.
When I say a much nicer one, I have to admit (while patting myself on the back) that I am very proud of the way that my new surface has turned out.

The inspiration for the new surface came from a ceramic wall plate I have hanging on the wall in the office. I bought it in Areguá, Paraguay in 1993.

Ceramic plate from Areguá, Paraguay

Aregua is the capital of ceramic in Paraguay. It is also right on the shores of Lake Ypacarai, so I am assuming that this image was inspired by that lake. I decided to paint the edges in the same theme as on the ceramic plate, using different images of Paraguay.

Areguá - Inspired by ceramic plate

Areguá is on the shores of Lake Ypacarai, (in the greater Asunción area) so I imagine that the original image on the ceramic plate was inspired by the lake. That image is what inspired this new one.

Inspired by countryside on the way to Ciudad del Este

This view is inspired from what I remember of the view of the countryside, on the way to Ciudad del Este from Asunción, not too far from Minga Guasu.

Greater Asunción area

The larger mountain in the foreground to the left and the two behind and to the left of it, are actual mountains within about 70 kms or so of Asunción. I don't remember the exact place, but I have a number of photos of that particular mountain

Reductions and Encarnación

The view of the right hand side of the river is an actual view of an actual sunset on the Paraná river outside of Encarnación, Paraguay. The Ruins on the extreme left are of actual ruins at the San Ignacio Mini Reductions (Jesuit mission), near Posadas, Argentina. This is the only image here that isn't from Paraguay, but it is just on the other side of the Paraná river from Paraguay. I visited those reductions and others like them on the Paraguayan side in 1993.

I have painted and waterproofed the surface and all that is left to do is to drill the holes needed to insert the curling irons and blowdryer, and my hairdressing station will be much more efficient (not to mention safer - hot irons equal burnt hands if one is not careful!) and to boot it will have way more style and will take me away to another world everytime I go down there to do hair. (Pats self on back again)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirty

2011-01-13T09:21:00.000-05:00

Roadtrips

And for a mother, sometimes anything can equal a roadtrip, even if it is just a trip ALONE to the grocery store...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-nine

2011-01-11T09:10:00.000-05:00

Scoring a GOOOOOOOOOAL!!!

Nelson Valdez of Paraguay - celebrating a goal

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-eight

2010-12-29T13:15:00.000-05:00

TWELVE days of Christmas!!

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-seven

2010-12-29T13:12:00.000-05:00

Christmas trees!!!

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-six

2010-12-29T00:25:00.000-05:00

Extended family...

... gathering together...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-five

2010-12-29T00:14:00.000-05:00

Christmas!!!

101 reasons to be happy - reason number twenty-four

2010-12-18T10:49:00.000-05:00

Pinatas!!!

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-three

2010-12-16T08:11:00.000-05:00

Friends (and you know who you are...)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-two

2010-12-16T07:57:00.001-05:00

Weddings

Photo stolen from this photography studio site

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty-one

2010-12-13T12:12:00.001-05:00

Gifts... giving them :)

Advent Week Three - Joy!!!

2010-12-13T08:20:00.000-05:00

The pink candle is the shepherd's candle, the candle of joy. All this week, let me recall all the reasons I have to be joyful. Let me find joy, as the shepherds did, in the coming of God among us, humans. The creator who became the created.

Don't mess with seniors...

2010-11-23T09:52:00.000-05:00

We went to breakfast at a restaurant where the 'seniors' special' was two eggs, bacon, hash browns and toast for $2.99.

'Sounds good,' my wife said. 'But I don't want the eggs.'

'Then, I'll have to charge you $3.49 because you're ordering a la carte,' the waitress warned her.

'You mean I'd have to pay for not taking the eggs?' my wife asked incredulously.

'YES!' stated the waitress.

'I'll take the special then,' my wife said..

'How do you want your eggs?' the waitress asked.

'Raw and in the shell,' my wife replied. She took the two eggs home and baked a cake..

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twenty

2010-11-18T09:27:00.000-05:00

Being a mother.

Being a mother is so exhausting sometimes, and sometimes it can be painful, but mostly, it is the best thing that ever happened to me.

Beautiful image found here

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number nineteen

2010-11-18T09:18:00.000-05:00

Godchildren

Claire and Gabriel, I love you!!

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number eighteen

2010-11-18T07:46:00.000-05:00

Advent

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number seventeen

2010-11-13T23:15:00.000-05:00

Cheesecake...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number sixteen

2010-11-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

Driving a new(er) car, (preferably manual) that handles well, accelerates quickly and is just fun to drive...

Zoom! zoom!

Why marriage is good, even in 2010

2010-11-08T10:15:00.000-05:00

Imagine for a minute that marriage never existed.

Fidelity/infidelity as a result, also never existed. Imagine that the wishful thinking of Jean M Auel in the Clan of the Cave Bear and the rest of the series Earth's Children, is actually the norm. In these books, from the time a girl becomes a woman (from her first menstrual cycle on) and the time a boy becomes a man (after his first kill - about the same age as for girls), they can just have sex with whomever they want, whenever they want. Babies are gifts from the Mother or from the Great Cave Bear, depending on whether you are homo sapiens or Neanderthal, and they have no idea that sex is involved. At least in the books, "mating" does exist. If you are Neanderthal, your mate is chosen for you and you are stuck with him/her until one of you dies. Homo sapiens also mate but some do separate - although this is rare. So families are more or less stable, children are brought up by the mother and her mate.

Yet these same people (one of the Homo sapiens tribes) plant acorn nuts in the place of one of the huge trees they fell to make their boats. So they understand that the tree came from a seed, but they don't know that babies come from sex?

Without delving into the books further than that, (which, apart from the wishful thinking about sex are actually pretty good stories and well-researched and informative - not for children though), imagine that babies are gifts from a creator (or in our atheist day - from nature) and noone cares who the biological father is. Children are brought up by whomever is the the current partner of the mother.

Never mind the jealousy issues which would still be there, even though noone would be "allowed" to express it, in a polygamous society, (in societies where one man has more than one wife, there are jealousy issues between the wives, despite the fact that it is a cultural norm), imagine the biological issues this would create.

If noone knew who their real father was, the chances of having sex and having children by one's half-sibling or first cousin would be pretty good, and this would not be the exception, but the norm. We'd probably be extinct by now, just because of all the health and mental problems our ancestors would have had.

Even if we did manage to survive, we'd be pretty screwed-up. With no such thing as marriage or fidelity, the only stable people in a child's life would be his mother and maternal grandmother. There is enough out there, written by psychologists, on the effects of being fatherless on children, that I don't have to add anything here.

So we have a human race that is plagued by health and mental problems as well as an extremely high criminality rate. Sounds like a good place to live right?

And some people believe that marriage is just a ball and chain for women.

Oh, but you can be true to one partner without marrying, some would say. Yes, but that would just pretty much be unofficial marriage. The idea of fidelity exists because marriage exists. If marriage had never existed, then why would fidelity?

Marriage exists in order to create stable homes for children, allowing them to be brought up (ideally) by their biological parents, or at least by one father and one mother. It does NOT exist for the sole purpose of allowing a man to have a female slave, and that kind of thinking does need to be changed, not by abolishing marriage, but by bringing it back to its original purpose.

My own marriage as taught me that it is possible (and not wrong) to be attracted to people other than one's spouse. Attraction is neither good nor bad, it is what you do with it that is good or bad. It is also possible to love these people, or like them very much, and that is not wrong either. Being married, I am no longer available for any other exclusive relationship. The fact that I am unavailable, has given me the opportunity to become friends with a couple of people who might have been "more than friends" had I been single when I met them. I have discovered that as you get to know a person, eventually, the initial physical attraction does wear off. And quite often, you discover that you wouldn't want to be with them anyway.

If only I had known this when I was younger, I might have saved myself some heartache. I thoroughly promote the "let's be friends first" method of dating (or courting, for those that are into that), because it's a lot easier to just "stay friends" than it is to break up and lose someone who could have been a good friend.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number fifteen

2010-11-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

Coffee beans covered in maple-flavoured chocolate... MMM mmm!

(To be found at the Mannequin Pis in Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number fourteen

2010-11-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

Fabric

(Picture stolen from this lady, check out her cool quilts!!!)

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number thirteen

2010-11-05T21:57:00.000-04:00

Sisters...

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number twelve

2010-11-05T21:52:00.000-04:00

flowers

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number eleven

2010-11-04T11:22:00.000-04:00

paint/wallpaper/decor items...

Fifteen Writers

2010-10-31T23:11:00.000-04:00

The Rules: Don't take too long to think about it. Fifteen writers (poets included) who've influenced you and that will always stick with you. List the first fifteen you can recall in no more than fifteen minutes. Tag at least fifteen friends, including me, because I'm interested in seeing what authors my friends choose. (To do this, go to your Notes tab on your profile page, paste rules in a new note, cast your fifteen picks, and tag people in the note.)

Cynthia Voigt
JRR Tolkien
CS Lewis
Louisa May Alcott
Laura Ingalls Wilder
Gerard Manley Hopkins
JK Rowling
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Bette Greene
Hilda Stahl
Thornton W. Burgess
Johanna Spyri
Farley Mowatt
Peter Kreeft
Charlotte Bronte

There were others, whose stories I remember, but these were old books, that my mother had, hardcovers from the 30's and I don,t remember the titles nor the authors anymore, but the stories (although rather distant) remain with me, and some of the lessons learned as well... if only I could remember the titles and authors!!

Happy Halloween!!!

2010-10-31T22:49:00.002-04:00

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number ten

2010-10-31T21:51:00.000-04:00

Communion

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number nine

2010-10-31T21:46:00.000-04:00

Beer Festivals

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number eight

2010-10-27T22:42:00.000-04:00

Music - the language of the soul

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number seven

2010-10-27T04:46:00.000-04:00

Art - enjoying it or creating it.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number six

2010-10-25T23:29:00.000-04:00

Breaking into a sweat - playing hard, playing fast, playing well... best of all, with people you like.

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number five

2010-10-25T08:27:00.000-04:00

Costumes

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number four

2010-10-24T09:18:00.000-04:00

In the same spirit as the "365 reasons to be thankful - one a day" thing that one of my good friends on facebook is doing, I wanted to to do a "101 reasons to be happy".

Reason Number four

Halloween

So typical...

2010-10-23T12:07:00.000-04:00

... I had one especially who was exactly like this... but getting better now:

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number three

2010-10-23T12:01:00.001-04:00

In the same spirit as the "365 reasons to be thankful - one a day" thing that one of my good friends on facebook is doing, I wanted to to do a "101 reasons to be happy".

Reason Number three

Hugs

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number two

2010-10-21T21:03:00.000-04:00

In the same spirit as the "365 reasons to be thankful - one a day" thing that one of my good friends on facebook is doing, I wanted to to do a "101 reasons to be happy".

Reason Number two
Curling up to read a good book

101 reasons to be happy - Reason number one

2010-10-20T08:27:00.000-04:00

In the same spirit as the "365 reasons to be thankful - one a day" thing that one of my good friends on facebook is doing, I wanted to to do a "101 reasons to be happy".

Reason Number one

Caffe latte and biscotti

What an orderly GOD

2010-09-27T10:19:00.000-04:00

Someone sent me this in an e-mail. I have no idea where it comes from or who wrote it, but it was interesting to tread, so I thought I'd post it here:

God's accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs.

For example:
-the eggs of the potato bug hatch in 7 days;
-those of the canary in 14 days;
-those of the barnyard hen in 21 days;
-The eggs of ducks and geese hatch in 28 days;
-those of the mallard in 35 days;
-The eggs of the parrot and the ostrich hatch in 42 days.
(Notice, they are all divisible by seven , the number of days in a week!)

God's wisdom is seen in the making of an elephant.. The four legs of this great beast all bend forward in the same direction. No other quadruped is so made. God planned that this animal would have a huge body, too large to live on two legs. For this reason He gave it four fulcrums so that it can rise from the ground easily.

The horse rises from the ground on its two front legs first. A cow rises from the ground with its two hind legs first. How wise the Lord is in all His works of creation!

God's wisdom is revealed in His arrangement of sections and segments, as well as in the number of grains.

-Each watermelon has an even number of stripes on the rind.
-Each orange has an even number of segments.
-Each ear of corn has an even number of rows.
-Each stalk of wheat has an even number of grains.
-Every bunch of bananas has on its lowest row an even number of bananas, and each row decreases by one, so that one row has an even number and the next row an odd number.
-The waves of the sea roll in on shore twenty-six to the minute in all kinds of weather.
-All grains are found in even numbers on the stalks, and the Lord specified thirty fold, sixty fold, and a hundredfold - all even numbers.

God has caused the flowers to blossom at certain specified times during the day, so that Linnaeus, the great botanist, once said that if he had a conservatory containing the right kind of soil, moisture and temperature, he could tell the time of day or night by the flowers that were open and those that were closed!

Thus the Lord in His wonderful grace can arrange the life that is entrusted to His care in such a way that it will carry out His purposes and plans, and will be fragrant with His presence.

Only the God-planned safe life is successful. Only the life given over to the care of the Lord is fulfilled.

Pray and Act - day one

2010-09-20T23:22:00.002-04:00

http://ht.ly/2H36M

Longing for His Word

God’s Word is an indespensible part of genuine, lasting revival.

Preparation

• Praise God for who He is

• Confess your sinfulness and need for cleansing

• Allow His Spirit to draw you near

• Listen as He speaks to you

Ask God to...

• Give you a deep thirst for His Word

• Reveal Himself to you as you read His Word

• Reveal the beauty of His Word to you

• Help you apply the truths in His Word to your life

• Show you areas of your life that need to be surrendered to Him

• Help you realize the depth of His love as you read His Word

• Help you trust Him more as you learn more about Him from His Word

Thanksgiving

• Thank God for hearing you

• Trust that God is at work to accomplish His will

You know you have Catholic kids when...

2010-09-18T21:11:00.002-04:00

... one of them looks up at the moon and says, "That looks like a Jesus's body."

On the war path

2010-09-18T15:40:00.000-04:00

I have declared war.

Now all I need is an army. And the arsenal. If you are the praying type, please leave me a message and I will let you know what we are going to war on.

I'm going to need:

Scapulars
Holy water
Blessed oil and salt (where the heck do I get those?)
Novenas
lots and lots of prayer

We've got some pretty powerful "heros" on our side:

St. Therese (of Lisieux), Patron saint of missions
Sts. Rita and Monica, patrons of impossible cases and difficult marriages/disappointing children respectively
St. John the Baptist, Patron Saint of converts and French -Canadians (among many other things)
St. Afra, Patron Saint of converts
Elizabeth Leseur
St. Mary Magdalen, Patron of converts
and many others...

Dear Saint Monica

2010-09-17T15:15:00.002-04:00

To you I fly for aid and for instructions, St. Monica, wondrous exemplar of unswerving prayer for children. Into your loving arms I place my (child) children _______, that through your powerful intercession they may obtain the graces for genuine conversion to Christ Our Lord. To you I also humbly appeal, matron of matrons, to ask our Lord to grant me the same spirit of ceaseless prayer He granted to you. All this I ask through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.

O God, Who observed the devout tears and pleading of St. Monica and granted to her prayers the conversion of her husband and the penitential return of her son, Augustine, grant us the grace to implore Thee also with earnest zeal, so that we may obtain, as she did, the salvation of our own soul and the souls of those belonging to us. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Pansy, you are my hero(ine)

2010-09-17T13:10:00.001-04:00

Because if all this had happened to me, I probably would not have reacted the same way, nor prayed so hard. And the end result would not have been the same.

Actually, I'm amazed. I think the "power of prayer" has pretty much been, for the past 10-15 years, something that "happens to someone else". I have been stuck in this rut, where I don't really believe in the power of prayer, and I will offer things up, out of duty, and I offer up my mass for the same intention weekly, and I pray from time to time for the same thing, just in case, you know, it might work, but I don't really put my heart into it, and most of the time I don't pray.

If there is one thing that has been "taken away from me" it is my spiritual life. I used to pray, first thing when I got up in the morning, and read the bible. Now, I get up, get the children up, and the prayer in the morning is limited to a hurried blessing as they run out the door to catch the school bus. Then I can read the gospel of the day in my e-mail, although sometimes that doesn't get read until the afternoon, (sometimes not at all). I used to always pray before going to bed too. I pray every night with the children, but the prayers often become mechanical, the same thing said over and over, sometimes the intentions change, sometimes they are the same ones over and over.

There is something to be said for being able to pray without having to hide to do it. I think wanting to avoid conflict has, in some ways, made my life harder.

I obviously need to pray a lot more than I have been doing, more earnestly, and with more faith. I've become a rather cynical christian, and what good is a christian with no hope?

Dresses vs Pants

2010-09-14T16:46:00.000-04:00

I have always loved dresses. There is just something so romantic, so flirty, so feminine and girly about a nice dress. When I wear a dress, I'm a princess, a lady, a classy babe. You could twirl me around a dance floor or take me to tea. We could walk down a red carpet or take the boardroom by force.

I also like my jeans. When I wear my jeans, no mountain is too high to be scaled; no children's toy too lost to be found; no river too far to walk; no chore too hard to be done. When I'm in my jeans, I'm your best friend, the one you're comfortable with. We could curl up in a corner and chat or roll in the autumn leaves.

Clothes are just clothes, but they have the ability to take us places in our minds and in our hearts. Clothes reflect how we feel about and perceive ourselves. Clothes are fun. Clothes can take you away from reality and inspire the imagination. Why else is Hallowe'en (and the ensuing costume parties) so popular?

A friend of mine posted something on facebook today that led me to this travesty: (No, sadly, I am not making this up)

REGARDING NOT WEARING THE PANTS

Consider the following food for thought, rather than a hard-and-fast directive. Ladies, please, discard your pants. Instead, consider wearing comfortable skirts or dresses whenever possible, which means, in practice, in pretty much every normal daily circumstance. Consider the following:

Actually, personally, dresses are not comfortable to me because of all that annoying chafing. Which would probably not be an issue if I wore nylons which aren't mentioned here but only because he probably thinks those are a given. But who wants to wear nylons in 30+ celcius and humidity? I am currently looking into buying boxer type underwear for women to avoid the chafing problem in future. Nylons and tights are fine for winter and fall.

1.Regardless of your size, shape, or age, the attractiveness of your female figure is virtually always enhanced, while adding to your modesty, when you wear a dress.

Only virtually? How pray tell, does a dress "enhance" my female figure better than pants? (Or in my case, my non-existant female figure.) Now if dresses could suddenly give me that curvy, feminine figure that I'd love to have, then I'd be at the stores now, investing in a bunch of them. Unfortunately, I have looked at my curvy sister and myself in the same mirror, wearing essentially the same dress and I still looked like a pillar and she still looked like an hourglass.

2. Do this for us, the minority of chaste men who merit the gift of enjoying your beauty in such a way as to be grateful to your creator without temptation. Make it so it is good for men to look upon you, rather than requiring us to look away (which is a tragedy).

If you are tempted by me wearing ordinary well-fitting (not too tight) pants, then the problem is within you and not me. If you see temptation in everything, you will be tempted by everything.

3. The godless, sexed-up, secular fashion industry is out to make money and convince you that vice is virtue. They, and their damned pants, accentuate your flaws. If you think the fashion industry is about beauty, I have two words for you: The Seventies.

I have two more words for you: The Eighties. No wait, that's off topic. So what you are saying is that pants accentuate my flaws? This makes them immodest? Which means my flaws turn you on? Forgive me if I am a bit confused.

4. Sadly, and we understand you may not be aware of this, but almost every style of pants reveals private information about your figure (by way of contour) what only your husband (and if not him, no man, including your sons, if you have sons) should perceive.

Anything short of a burka will reveal private information about my figure by way of contour. Do you propose I go out and get one? (More about that from this blog)

5. Thus, even a woman endowed with the most spectacular genetic form, in the bloom of her youth, can be given the illusion of ugliness, if not cheapness, by wearing pants. Likewise, pants rarely do anything but exaggerate extra volume on our figures.

One could also say exactly the same thing about dresses. Take for example, the recent sorry version of a dress that unLady~~-like~~ Gaga wore. The animal lovers' fury over that is equally as ridiculous as your drivel over modesty.

6. While some styles of pants can be attractive, in terms of beauty, pants will never trump a tasteful dress or skirt of similar material, pattern, and quality.

I love dresses because dresses are ever so much more romantic than pants. Pants will never be romantic. They will never be faeric, they will never be etherial or fantastical. But pants can be just as classy and tasteful as a dress or skirt.

7. Furthermore, we must reject the counter-argument that pants are more comfortable; as a kilt-wearing Scotsman, your author roundly rejects this claim. In the immortal cry of Braveheart, dresses and skirts offer FREEDOM!

As I mentioned before, CHAFING is not comfortable. Also, both kilts and dresses make it an awful lot easier to,... you know,... without even getting undressed. Talk about accessible! Also, little boys don't try to look up girls' pants. However, many of them DO try to look up dresses.

8. Of course, we defer and appeal to our male readers to make clear your moral clothing preferences to the women and girls within your realm of responsibility or influence.

In much the same way that muslim men keep their women under burka's? More about control freaks from this blog.

9. We understand, ladies, that changing what you wear on a daily basis is a major change. If you forsake pants, it will be a big, big deal. Even financially, as pants are so commonplace that skirt and dress wardrobes may need to be rebuilt.

10. Yet, ponder this: the biggest impact for upgrading to dresses may be the change in how you view yourself, and perhaps as crucially, in how you are looked upon and treated by men, which profoundly influences how you view yourself and your value.

I respect myself. I expect that the respect that I receive from the vast majority of men around me reflects the fact that I respect myself.

11. Also, you, as a Catholic lady of dignity, are responsible for avoiding any practice or habit that increases the likelihood of being viewed as an object by men. You are also responsible for presenting the best, most beautiful, most chaste version of yourself to the world.

I have said this before. False modesty is the same as immodesty. Letting it all hang loose is pretty much the same as covering it all up. Both extremes make the body out to be an object of sex. One considers it evil, and the other uses it in a search for pleasure. Both are wrong. The body is a body. It is neither good nor evil. What is good or evil is how you perceive that body and how you want to use it. Clear the garbage out of your mind and your body will be just fine. This blog has some very good insights into that.

12. There is a myth that men determine the fashions women wear. In the depraved business sense, this is superficially true in the sense that clothing is often designed to appeal to the lower, if not lustful, appetites of men (and not all lower appetites are strictly lustful). In the day-to-day reality of the suburban lives most of us live, men almost always delegate the purchase of clothing to their wives. Women then make virtually all the fashion choices, mistakenly relying upon the opinions of other women (who know either too little or too much about how fashion choices affect men morally). Good women are always tempted to buy the styles they see other women and young girls wearing; inevitably everyone, men and women, are pulled downward by the undertow of the constantly lowered bar of our sexualized and superficial culture.

This sort of implies that women (even good women) have no brains to think for themselves and therefore cannot really go out and make decisions about how to dress themselves because inevitably they will make bad choices.

13. Do not misunderstand us: we have no problem with men delegating clothing purchases to their wives; we only object to men who abandon the responsibility they have to guide and influence the moral, psychological, and practical implications of clothing that is purchased. Men should set the highest standard for their wives and daughters in this respect.

Uh huh.

14. May we suggest (or perhaps you wives and daughters might suggest) that your husbands and fathers take you shopping for the expressed purpose of choosing everyday clothing for you. Men, for your part, be sure your women love the choices you make with them. No woman or girl can deny that there is a superb and wonderful emotional benefit to donning an outfit that was chosen to enhance your beauty by your beloved husband or devoted father. Ladies, when he chooses an outfit for you, you know beyond doubt that in his eyes, you are beautiful in it. As a rule, men abhor shopping, but in our experience, this practice proves the exception if the man is the final arbiter on fashion choices.

My husband would hate you.

We hope we have provided you with food for thought in your discussions with your loved ones. As for men's fashion, we have one word: Jacket.

I suggest reading the following blogposts.

http://redcardigan.blogspot.com/2010/09/act-of-sartorial-seduction.html
http://www.bettybeguiles.com/2010/08/my-new-wife.html
http://ayoungmomsmusings.blogspot.com/2010/08/excessive-modesty-makes-me-feel.html
http://ayoungmomsmusings.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-love-hate-relationship-with-modesty.html
http://simchafisher.wordpress.com/2010/09/13/pants-a-manifesto-2/
http://markshea.blogspot.com/2010/09/go-simcha.html

Here in Canada, the whole dresses vs pants thing isn't even an issue. It continually amazes me to come across stuff like this from American Catholics. They can be so extreme in their ideas. My friend tells me it's because American culture is Puritanical in basis.

God moves in mysterious ways...

2010-09-06T01:51:00.001-04:00

I had this old book Minute Meditations for Each Day, published by the Catholic Book Publishing Co, copyright 1982, and I hadn't picked it up in a very long time. In fact, I am not sure that I ever really took the time to read much out of it before.

Then, this past summer, Maryssa picked the book up, from the shelf beside the computer, brought it upstairs to her room, and asked me to read the meditations at night, after her prayers.

There are days when I ask myself, how can I carry on? How will I teach my children about God and instill in them the desire to keep up a relationship with him when it seems like everyone is against me? I feel like I am constantly fighting a battle, and every time I turn around, the enemy has closed in on me even more. I feel like I have to sneak around teaching them in secret and even become crafty in getting them to mass and other events. There are days when I have no more hope that my children will grow up to become faithful christians. There are days when I want to stop fighting, to just leave them all at home and go to mass by myself.

But I can't. My greatest fear is that the enemy will win and that my children will become spiritually dead. God gave us a soul, and like our bodies, it needs to be kept healthy. I can no more stand by and watch my children die spiritually than I could watch them die physically without doing a thing.

Every other day, it seems that the minute meditation we read was written just for me. Like today's for example:

They that hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Is 40:31

REFLECTION. Those who do not want to succumb in the hard fight for life and eternity need their strength renewed each day. For God does not generally change the circumstances and the persons who are part of our life and who sometimes cause us suffering.
However, to those who trust in Him without reservation, God gives the strength they need. Do I trust in God even when He makes me wait for a long time?

PRAYER. Lord God, forever faithful, restore and kindle my soul every day. Grant that I may run swiftly to meet You.

I talked to Maryssa about this, and hopefully, through positive feedback, and because of my appreciation for what she asked me to do, she will continue to show interest in her faith.

My children see the difference though, between those of faith and those not of faith. More than one has made comments. I pray they continue to notice the difference and choose faith for themselves.

Men have a say...

2010-09-04T11:29:00.002-04:00

The following is copied and pasted, but comes from letters to the editor of St. Catherine's Standard:

Men have a role ... and a say

By Paul Keetch
St. Catharines Standard
August 31, 2010

Re: It's not your place (Aug. 17)

According to Laura Ip, men should have no say in the abortion debate. How arrogant to dismiss a demographic that represents almost 50% of the population.

Men are fathers, citizens, taxpayers, and even abortion providers. But I guess that part is OK and convenient for Ip.

Using her own rationale, should unemployed people not have a right to vote?

If you have not worn a military uniform and served your country, should you not be permitted to comment on foreign policy?

If you are not of Jewish descent, then what possible knowledge, wisdom or opinion allows you to comment on the Holocaust?

After all, to coin Ip's phrase, "it really isn't your place."

The biggest irony of all is that the vast majority of aborted fetuses, especially in places like China, are actually female babies. Talk about a paradox.

Paul Keetch Port Robinson ON

He forgot to mention that, as former foetuses and persons concerned for the well-being of their own gender, men certainly do have a say in abortion. Abortion affects everyone, regardless of age or gender.

Nicky, on babies and marriage

2010-09-02T21:44:00.000-04:00

Nicky: We should move.
Me: You want to move?
Nicky: Yeah, we should move to a bigger house, for when we have another baby.
Me: You want another baby?
Nicky: I want another sister. (Pause) Why is Elodie a girl? Why did they have 2 girls and 1 boy? Why not 2 boys and 1 girl or 2 boys and 2 girls?
Me: I guess you get what God gives you.
Nicky: They didn't even get married before Elodie!
Me: You think you need to get married before each child?
Nicky: When you have something coming out of your belly, you should get married quick.