My Kind Of Day

(photo credit 1stdibs.com)

It's Sunday evening at almost Eight PM and I am tired but, it's a good tired for a good day. I am sure to some it would be a boring day for them but for me, this was a good day. 

It's Sunday which means it's the Lords day which means it's Mass for me. I am a practicing Catholic and Sunday belongs to the Lord. Well, every day belongs to Him but on Sunday I try and make that day just a little more special as He has requested. Wake up came at Five AM. Mass is at Eight AM and I need time to get something to eat, have some coffee, then get myself ready.. If I could get up at Five AM everyday I would because that hour between five and six am in my home is one of the quietest I get all day but I have tried in the past and it just doesn't work. My body doesn't like it all the time so one day a week it works for me and I am sure that the Lord has his hand in that.

I was out the door by Seven-Thirty Am and on the road to Church. Mass was so incredibly peaceful this morning and I left feeling spiritually and physically lighter than when I went in. Afterwards, I had to run to ChinaMart (Walmart) to pick up a few food items for the week. I really didn't want too but sometimes on a Sunday it can't be avoided. When I got home MSL had done all the morning dishes and so we sat at the dining room table for a while and talked a bit over coffee.

Yours truly after I got home from Mass. I wore a dress and I also had a little bolero sweater on to cover my shoulders as I try very hard not to allow my shoulders to be exposed during Mass.

By Eleven AM I was getting tired. My physically body is good for about  six hours before I start getting pretty tired and the RA pain starts to ramp up so for once I listened to my body and went to lay down. I fell asleep a bit after One PM and slept until Three PM. When I woke up I wasn't all that hungry so I just had some pureed prunes (yes I know some people think they are gross but they are good for your stomach), half a cookie and that was it. Talked with MSL for a little bit and by Four PM it was time to feed the dogs. Once that was finished I sat an relaxed for a little while and afterwards it was time to get dressed and head back to the Church for an hour of Adoration with our Lord. For non-Catholics if you don't know what Adoration is, just Google it and you can learn all about it. 

My time slot was Five Pm to Six Pm and it was, well, for me, glorious. It was just me and the Lord and in the small chapel all alone. I looked at Him and He looked at me. I talked to Him for a good long time, prayed for others, prayed the Rosary and then sat and listened for the Lord for a bit. Before I knew it the Church bells were chiming and it was time to go home. I would have liked to have stayed longer with Him but I knew it was my place to go home and cook dinner for MSL. Tonight's dinner was a simple one and I am blessed that MSL isn't picky. Just cooked up a chicken breast in some olive oil and cut it up over a spring mix salad with the some Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing and dinner was done. Cleaned up the kitchen, straightened the house a bit, took off my makeup and here I am. Time to relax for the evening.

I do hope you all had a wonderful Sunday also. If it was a stressful Sunday or a busy Sunday try best you can this week to make a plan on how to make your Sunday one that is almost stress free, carefree and dedicated to the Lord. I can tell you that you won't be sorry. 

Life Changes

I remember it like it was yesterday although it wasn't.. My own mother going through peri-menopause. Yes, this is the topic of this post. Sorry if some may find it offensive but, it's part of every woman's life if she is blessed enough to reach it and, I have. 

My blog has been very quiet, I have not put up any YouTube videos but what I have done is put on a lot of weight in the last year. I have gone from one hundred and five pounds to approximately one hundred and thirty three pounds. I began with the 'sweats' only when I would sleep about three years ago but now they are full on sweats during the day where I want to jump into a vat of ice cold water. There is no warning, no particular time of day but even doing the slightest thing like blow drying your hair can make you sweat. Along with all that beauty comes the emotional and mental side affects of this time of life. Anxiety, addictive like behaviors, interrupted sleep etc. Next we move to the appetite and metabolism. I 'used' to have a very fast metabolism but now it seems to move at a snails pace and to make matters worse the sugar and carbohydrate cravings / addictions are just horrific. Hence the massive weight gain.

Most days I wake up tired, I have no drive to accomplish much nor the energy if I did. Some will say, 'why don't you go on hormone replacement therapy?' and my answer to that is, the side affects from HRT can be worse than what I am going through now so, no thanks. 

But, I MUST get this all under control. I have lost all sense of willpower over anything I am allowing myself to do to my body and that has to stop. Some woman have horrific anxiety and anger and take it out on their husbands and or families. I went through a period of that last year and thanks be to God He allowed me to see what I was doing and so far I have complete control over that and, I am so incredibly blessed to have a husband who puts up with me even if he can't understand how I feel, he accepts it and still loves me. Some are not so lucky. 

I almost feel bad now when I remember what my mother was experiencing all those years ago and how at the time ,I was in my twenties, still young, pretty, thin and living life while my mom was  naked on the bathroom floor tiles at three am some nights just trying to cool off. 

Many many years ago doctors used to tell women, "this is a wonderful time in your life, a new chapter". I wonder how many of those doctors got a frying pan to the head after those statements?

Mother- Gift From God

June 26th, 1943 my mother entered into this world and on August 20th, 1999 she exited this same world. 

Today would have been my mothers seventy-sixth birthday. I can not even imagine in my mind what she would have looked like or been like at seventy-six but I sure wish I was given the chance to have found out. When my mom passed away she was fifty-six years old. Still young, attractive and vibrant until she became ill. 

This August will mark twenty years since she moved onto the next life but for myself , her passing still hurts deeply within my heart and I doubt it will get any better as I age, if I am blessed too. 

But today is about her birth and one I am so thankful to God for that I have no words. My mom grew up in Jersey City New Jersey where she met and married my father at the age of eighteen. She was an only child who came from modest means. Not poor but neither rich. She was a good daughter but she also had what I like to call a, rebel streak in her. My grandmother, a strict German woman who put up with nothing she didn't think was proper, my grandfather a very affectionate, German man who gave into his daughter eighty percent of the time unlike my grandmother who stood her ground like a bulwark. 

At this time in history most of the area in Jersey City NJ where my mom and dad grew up was called "The Heights"..They both went to John F. Kennedy High School, both shared the same friends. What was not allowed in most families of the era and place was romantic relationships between Germans and Italians. It was a grudge both sides carried from the old country. My mom and dad had to sneak around for the longest time to see each other. My grandparents forbade my mom to see my dad. The Italian / German thing but when my mom and dad turned eighteen, six months after they graduated, they ran away and eloped!. That took guts knowing how my grandmother was but my mom knew what she wanted and being a legal adult now, nothing was going to stop her not even her mother. 

Eventually my grandparents would come to accept my dad, even love him especially after giving them two grandchildren one of which was me. My mom became a widow at age thirty-six and life was rough growing up but that's a different story for another day. On this day today, I celebrate the birth of my mother, my confidant, my mentor, my best friend. 

Happy Birthday Mom. I love you and I miss you more than words could ever express. 

Home Making Kind of Day

(photo credit: Library of Congress)

It's almost 9:30 PM and it's been a long day...

My morning began at Six Am when my alarm went off as it does each morning at the same time. 
I was up and out in the garden by seven thirty Am trying to beat the heat and humidity. God was so kind as to give me a morning with slightly less humidity and a wonderful breeze as I watered the vegetable garden and flowers on the deck and then out into the front to water the new bushes that were put in a few weeks ago. For the first time this summer I did not even break a sweat. 

Afterwards it was time to make the bed and feed the four legged kids. While they all ate I finally had a moment or two to sit down at the table with my morning coffee and read the email that had come in over night. I would have loved for it to last longer but this is the first day I have actually been home in the morning and I had lots to catch up on.

I put my ear buds in and popped on some music by one of my new found favorite artists, Josh Woodward. Google him. He's really good. I put the dishes from the night before away and began on the mornings dishes. Once that was finished I threw the blanket I use to nap into the washer and put down baking soda on all the carpeting in the house. I like to use baking soda at least once a month to keep them clean and smelling fresh. With five dogs it has to happen. While the baking soda was sinking in the carpet fibers and doing it's job I made the bed, swished and wiped down both bathrooms. 

Around Ten AM , MSL (Mr Simple Life) went up to Walmart to pick up the order I placed the night before. While he was gone I transferred the blanket to the dryer and put my sneakers into the washing machine. Yes, I wash my sneakers. Some people may find that weird but I think ironing underwear is weird! Next, I wiped down the kitchen counters, the refrigerator, other appliances and cleaned the stove top. 

I was ready to sit down by 10:30 Am. I grabbed my reading glasses and my Bible and went and sat in my favorite spot on the living room couch. The dogs were all ready to relax by this time as well. I sat there and enjoyed looking out the windows, the day was hot and sunny, my flowers looked so pretty. The peace and quiet was wonderful while I read the Word of God and was able to concentrate on what He was saying to me. 

After MSL got home around 12PM I was ready for a nap and my feet were letting me know it by barely being able to put them on the floor because they were so painful. Me and a few of the dogs napped for about two hours. It was much needed. This afternoon I went to the local waste authority and got rod of some stuff that has been laying around the house for months. When I came home it was time to feed the dogs and cook dinner for MSL . Tonight was Tuna steak, asparagus and a side salad with raspberry vinaigrette dressing, cleaned up the kitchen from dinner along with the dishes. 

I sat down for a while and worked a bit on a crochet project I am making, I read for a good long while a book called Characters Of The Passion by Fulton J. Sheen. Around seven thirty PM we went out on the back deck and sat for a bit even though it was humid and watched the dogs run around the yard and explore. Then it was time to come in, close the house up for the night, pray and here I am . 

It was a tiring day but a good day. The kind of day I enjoy. Being home, home making, reading, gardening and just being with my family. 

I hope you had a wonderfully blessed day too! 

Staying Home With love

The summer arrived here in my neck of South Carolina which meant it was time to get outside before the real heat with oppressing humidity showed up.

Busy Bee Come See !!

I'm back! The weather has gotten so nice here in my area of South Carolina and it was time to start all the things I've been waiting to do since winter. Come have a look! 

Good Friday Audio Message