Conversion Diary

7 Quick Takes Friday: A Return to Normal

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

And by normal, I mean chaos. Classes begin tomorrow. I’m still tweaking an online class that goes live at midnight. It’s pretty much been hell week with advisement and registration, and such a spike in enrollment that we were hiring — and thus I was training — new adjuncts right up until I left yesterday. Monday is gonna be fun.

–2–

I thought I’d throw this in here because it makes me happy. That is all.

 

–3–

This week I learned a little something about myself, sort of. There was another resurgence of introvert/extrovert themes running around Facebook. I dismiss them all, mostly. I don’t fit neatly into either category so I just think it’s a bunch of bunk. Either I’m a highly social introvert, or an extrovert with sociopathic tendencies because I hate people. Well, I don’t really hate people — I can manage hundreds of them, actually, although I prefer to deal with folks one at a time.

I think that makes me an ambivert. Because I need more wishy-washiness in my life 🙂

–4–

I tried my hand at some gardening this summer. By that I mean my husband haphazardly planted all kinds of things in random places. To date, I killed a raspberry bush, exploded roses all over the place (this is a good thing) and am sorely disappointed in a rainy summer so intense that all my melons, watermelons and cantaloups, have exploded, split, or rotted. We’ve been in a drought for so many years I dare not complain too loudly, but we haven’t had any summer at all, except in very brief little snatches of sun.

photo-1 copy

–5–

I’m doing yet another round of de-cluttering. I really feel like a fail in this endeavor, and yet, I’ve seen some real progress over time. I dare not stop.

–6–

Went shopping at Target. Didn’t buy what I wanted. Left with greeting cards. I love greeting cards. I love buying them. I love sending them. I love getting them. Ha. 

–7–

After a week of every kind of noisy noise, I rested here a while. Soothing. And a pretty view.

photo-2

 

7 Quick Takes, travel edition

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

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Dallas.

–2–

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Laundry.

–3–

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Dallas.

–4–

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Laundry.

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–5–

Kansas City.

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–6–

Laundry.

–7–

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The Washing Machine

I complain about the laundry
more than my dirty clothes deserve.
It’s a matter of functionality
to wash clothes.
I mean, it’s not like
I’m beating anything against
a rock in the blazing sun.

[read the rest here]

I had to write a poem to get this out of my system.

7 Quick Takes

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

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Spent last weekend with my kids. It was a lot of fun to hang out together. It usually involves some silly shenanigans, so when my oldest daughter shared this photo of a momma duck with her three ducklings, it totally warmed my heart. The bonus? There’s a joker cutting up in the line. Typical.

–2–

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Here’s what we were doing: celebrating Soldier Sally’s graduation from the Defense Language Institute. We’re so proud of her achievement and service to our country!

–3–

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Then we did the touristy thing. Did I say how much I enjoyed hanging out with them?

–4–

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Well, it’s finally over, for a few years, anyway. The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges approved our reaccreditation process with no recommendations. None! You know what that means: we start writing the report for the next visit. LOL…it never ends.

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–5–

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I visited Alcatraz while we were in California. I was pleasantly surprised by a number of things…especially the beauty of the gardens. I was struck by the stark reality of the violence against humanity that led to the incarceration of so many men, and how some were able to find redemption. While many perpetuated violence within the walls of the prison, some few found peace in the creative outlet of gardening. The symbolism of this hope was moving — that what was once a destructive force in their lives was replaced by the desire to create beauty in living things.

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–6–

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My parents are so cute. My dad recently liked a post here, the weekly photo challenge by WordPress. The idea is simple; they give a theme and you post a photo interpretation of it. You can see my response to this week’s theme, Mine, here.

My dad evidently wanted to play along but couldn’t post his picture in my combox, so he sent me an email. I’m gonna make a blogger out of him yet.

In the meantime, here’s his entry since he wanted to share:

Blue Skies, The spray of the ocean in my face while boating, and the love of my life with me….Wow, God is good.

–7–

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Finally, had this wonderful treat: Pat Gohn invited me to join her on episode 146 of Among Women for a delightful conversation about friendship, specifically praying with friends. I invite you to listen as we share some highlights of our friendship, but also discuss incorporating prayer into our relationships with friends.

Among Women 146: The Power of a Praying Friend

7 Quick Takes living color!

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

 

 

Had my Sunday morning coffee interrupted by this little ole hawk hanging around our yard. Color me surprised.

–2–

Last Saturday, September 8, commemorated the 400th anniversary of the Blessed Mother’s appearance to some young men off the coast of Cuba. I write about this story of Our Lady of Charity and why it’s meaningful to me at Patheos. And then, another personal story related to it, here. I guess I’m just a writing machine this week 🙂

–3–

 

I got up early today, hopeful that I would have this post done before 9:00 AM, a kind of snapshot of my morning.

–4–

 

But I’m old (see the bran?)

–5–

 

 

And got distracted, I mean, inspired (see the journal? I got an idea for a scene in a story I’m working on)

–6–

 

 

So I went for a long walk to clear my mind.

–7–

 

And ended up here. That’s always a good thing.

(twenty)-7 Quick Takes

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

Today is my 27th wedding anniversary. Seems like we’ve been together forever…and that it was only yesterday we said “I do.”  I’m blessed beyond measure.

–2–

Here’s a close-up. Apparently, we were 12 at the time.

–3–

And the blessings continued. 🙂

 

–4–

Did absolutely nothing on Labor Day but hang around the house and read, do a little bit of writing, and, oh yeah, laundry.

Always laundry. Do you think heaven has One-Hour Martinizing? Are you old enough to know what that is?

 

–5–

Classes started, which means I have grading to do. Which means I won’t ever write more than a paragraph for my great American novel. Sigh.

I could just stop Facebook and Twitter and blogging.

Right.

–6–

Had an awesome time at the CNMC in Arlington, TX, and as always, reconnected with some dear friends I see rarely…and new ones, like Ashley, who made a little fun of our team courtesy of some photoshop skills. I share my thoughts about the event in yesterday’s post.

–7–

A special thank you to Jennifer Fulwiler (and the other great speakers!) who made CNMC 2012 such a great success. Her keynote at the blogging day was inspiring, but it was just as nice to sit around one night and say “hi” in the lobby, chat, and hang around for a little while. That’s always my favorite part of the conference — meeting people and making eye contact, not just combox convos. You can read what other folks took away from the conference here.

 

7 Quickety Quicks! microwave edition

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

I have so so much to do I’m going to whine and vent  a little here. I honestly can’t remember how long it’s been since I’ve felt pulled in so many directions. This is usually not good for me (ok, it’s probably not good for anybody) and if I let it go unchecked I’ll either check-out or freak-out, and neither will be productive. I’m going to take a little retreat today — scoot down to the monastery or the chapel for a little quiet time. How do you deal with this #firstworld problem?

–2–

I’m going to the CNMC this year in Dallas/Fort Worth! Are you going? Sign up! Quick! Registration is closing today so we can process all the new attendees. If you’re sitting on the fence, jump off and register! I promise you’ll have a great time. And no worries, we will take walk-up registrations on-site.

–3–

Had a nice little visit with Inge who popped in this week on her way to Dallas for the CNMC.

–4–

Enrollment has been a little out of control in a good way. Lots of students have been coming in because of some statewide changes that have impacted the kind of services they can receive at the universities. Overall, I think it’s a good thing for students needing learning support to go to a smaller institution, and it’s certainly a good thing for us, but man has this been a busy week. Nothing like speed-advising to make the day zoom by.

–5–

Last week I posted a link to Brandon Vogt’s website for information about Support a Catholic Speaker Month 2012.  Voting closed yesterday and if you go over there now you’ll see that he has updated the site with the Top 100. You’ll see our delightful host for Quick Takes, Jennifer Fulwiler, on that list! Check it out and sign up to feature one of those speakers on your blog. It’ll help spread the word about all the good news people like you and me are spreading about the Good News.

–6–

So my blood pressure has been a little out of whack for a few weeks. It has a lot to do with #1 and #4 above, and then there’s this:

 

 

and this:

So now I’m doing this:

and this:

–7–

I know there’s a lot of madness going on at this time of year. Many of you are either going back to school or sending your kids back to school. I know a whole bunch of you are actively involved in catechesis in your parishes. Every one of us, though, is certainly facing whatever challenges life throws our way. It’s a lot easier when we have one another for support, and even better when we know to whom we can always turn.

a really really quick 7 Quick Takes

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

I guess the first quick take is that I am a super slacker and back to blogging. Maybe. I ain’t promising anything…and it’s all because of #2 ….

–2–

I started a new job. Well, that’s not really true…I have had some duties and responsibilities shifted and reassigned. That sounds a little more…accurate. It’s a good thing, but I am either totally immersed in computer stuff, or no where near one. Maybe I’ll write more about that sometime. For now, I don’t even have time to go to the bathroom, which presents an bit of an awkward problem, doesn’t it? Perhaps I can find a better description later.

–3–

My husband is embracing his inner Farmer John and has been working very hard in our backyard to create our own little Eden. He still hasn’t figured out that wherever he is, there’s my Eden, but I have a fondness for roses, and daisies, and his happy smile when he sits on the porch and surveys the back 40.

–4–

We took a wild whirlwind trip to Miami over Memorial Day weekend. I don’t know why I preface the statement with wild and whirlwind, as there is no other way that we go to Miami, but it was indeed wild. And a whirlwind. And. Much. Too. Brief.

–5–

We went to celebrate with this lovely couple. I love them all…and wish I could give them one more giant hug right now.

–6–

The absolute highlight of my week was celebrating my parents 50th Wedding Anniversary. Aren’t they precious?

–7–

It merits another picture, this with my siblings…

what a week for 7 takes!

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

How about our Holy Father? He’s definitely the headliner this week! I imagine y’all watched his journey through Mexico and Cuba.

I love this Pope! There’s something so sweetly vulnerable in his age and demeanor, and yet, he packs a powerful punch! I love the report that Fidel Castro told him they were both old men, and Pope Benedict responded, “Yes, but I’m still working.”

I hope it’s true 🙂

 

Pope Benedict XVI during general audition
Pope Benedict XVI during general audition (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

 

–2–

Speaking of the Pope, Pat Gohn invited me to be a guest-poster at her Patheos column, A Word in Season, with my reflections on the Pope’s visit to Cuba. I hope you read the whole article, and pass it along to your friends.

Here’s a little snippet…

Pope Benedict XVI’s visit to Cuba, the country of my birth and the country my parents and I fled in 1966, both delights and pulls on the heartstrings of many Cubans and Cuban-Americans like myself; we watched his pilgrimage to the Shrine of Our Lady of Charity of Cobre from afar, yearning to be present with the Holy Father in this Jubilee Year.

–3–

In the when it rains it pours category, I’m also featured over on Sarah Reinhard’s blog, Snoring Scholar, as part of her on-going series on the Hail Mary. If you haven’t seen this, she’s deconstructing every word in the prayer with a delightful collection of talented folks stepping in to contribute. Somehow, I got blessed with the word BLESSED! I hope you pop over there and read that little piece, too.

I treat myself to a burrito at a local fast food joint about once a week. I can’t exactly call it a highlight of my week, but the burrito gets the job done.

The early afternoon lunch run through the drive-thru is efficient. Quick. Impersonal. Just the way I like it.

Enter Gloria, the super-fast, super-accurate cashier. She always tells me to “have a blessed day” when she hands me my order. Every single time. I’ve probably heard that about 200 times since I started eating there, and I never gave it a thought until now.

–4–

And, as if it wasn’t enough that my two dear friends, Pat and Sarah, have me playing in their sandboxes, I have a new poem over at Catholic Lane! It’s a pretty little ditty about spring called Light of Day.

You’d think I was busy writing or something 🙂

–5–

A pollen update is probably due although it kinda falls into the whining category, but for those of you who care, it continues to be annoying. So much so, that we’re really not enjoying the wonderful weather in our work-in-progress backyard haven because of it. Attempted to entertain on the porch earlier this week, but I think we need to wait just a little bit more and get a good pressure wash in first.

–6–

I talked about working through a consecration to Jesus through Mary this lent, and I finished this weekend. Thanks for your prayers, friends, it’s been a wonderful experience!

–7–

And finally, had a delightful meet-up with this special person…

another 7 quick takes

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

So many things have happened this past week that I had to sit down and just breathe deeply and go, “Wow, Momma Mary, you’ve been busy untying some knots. Thank you.” Some of it is deeply personal, and much of it is just about good things coming together for the family…and while I’m not going to go into details, mostly because they aren’t my stories to tell, I can say that my visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament today is going to be a lovely chat full of gratitude. Amen.

–2–

I’m getting excited about the CNMC this year in Dallas/Fort Worth! Are you going? Are you a blogger and want to present? Check this out!

–3–

I am doing a total consecration to Jesus through Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation. Would y’all pray for me? And I will pray for you, though I do that already 🙂

–4–

I’m toying with the idea of joining Pinterest. If I hide that revelation in here, maybe no one will notice I said it.

–5–

The pollen is not my friend. Usually, it affects my eyes and and sinuses, but this year it has messed big time with my lungs and my ears. I feel like a giant vice is crushing my chest when I go outside, and inexplicably, my ears itch — bad enough for me to want to stick a skewer in them. Yeah. How’s that for an image?

–6–

Do you keep a journal? I’ve kept one on and off throughout my life, starting, I think, in the fourth grade. That was a little locked diary…today it’s whatever I happen to like when I need one. Sometimes it means using a discarded composition notebook, and other times it’s pretty journals given as gifts. When I buy one, it’s usually this style on the top, with a rubber band so I can keep prayer cards and mementos stuffed in it. I don’t fill it with Mentos, though.

–7–

I joined the Son Rise Morning Show brackets for March madness. The only bracket that looks like it ought to look. I won’t show you the mess I made of everything else, but I didn’t delete my failed Missouri pick ;-P

time for another Quick Takes Friday!

Check out the collection of other 7 Quick Takes Friday posts, hosted at Jennifer Fulwiler’s blog, Conversion Diary. 

–1–

I spent last weekend in New Orleans for a forum on Learning Support and Student Success. That translates to a bunch of college professors sitting around discussing what we can do to help adult students get up to speed on the skills they need for success in college (dare I say, in life?). It ain’t easy, let me tell you. I don’t make it any easier by saying ain’t, now do I? This is the part where I say that I worked hard while I was there. By that, I mean I was where I was supposed to be during the day. I played the rest of the time, but more on that later. This topic of college-level remediation is an important one, as I see myself kind of drifting into the direction of teaching more and more learning support classes. It’s a kind of ministry, really. Really .

–2–

Did I say I was in New Orleans? Yes?

YES! I had lunch with the delightful Catholic Foodie himself, Jeff Young, and the even more delightful Char Young!

We had our V-8!

–3–

And then I took a little bite of heaven at Cafe du Monde

–4–

Ate this ginormous mufaletta sandwich. Oh heaven, again.

–5–

Finally, really trying to get to heaven, visited the beautiful cathedral for Mass before leaving.

–6–

Had another little ole poem posted at  Catholic Lane. You can read it here. Tickles me to no end to be doing this…it’s like having a little cherry plopped on top of my week.

–7–

And finally, joined the Son Rise Morning Show brackets for March madness. I’m doing okay, though you can tell that I’m doing better in the East.