the weekly seven II

The first few days of Lent are always tough as my body is trying to figure out why I’m not giving it all the crap it’s used to consuming.

• Me to my stomach: “Here, have this handful of raisins.”
• My stomach: “WTF is this? I specifically requested Haribo gummies and a Coke Zero.”
• Me: “I know, but it’s Lent so this is the best I can do for dessert.”
• Stomach: “Brain! Are you aware of this?”
• Brain: “Unfortunately, she’s circumventing all my suggestions. I’m totally stressed out because she didn’t consume the afternoon margarita like I suggested.”
• Stomach: “This is BS! I didn’t sign up for this!”
• Me: “GUYS-WE’RE GROWING IN HOLINESS.”
• Brain: “I’m going to give you a headache.”
• Stomach: “I’m going to loudly gurgle non-stop.”
• Intestines: “Preach guys! I’m sick of all these beans! I’m joining in the protest any way I can!”
• Me: “OH MY WORD, it’s literally the first Friday of Lent.”

celebrating

Tony and I did a date night last Thursday, so Saturday I had a Galentine’s Party with three of my closest friends who are all in similar stages in life (i.e. older kids). I tried to do a Golden Girls theme, but ultimately didn’t want to spend a ton of money on themed decor so I selected a suitable menu and we ate it all on a golden table cloth. It was exactly the night I needed.

For Fat Tuesday I made fastnachts again after taking last year off. They’re basically a PA Dutch version of a donut. I got creative by mixing up some vanilla pudding and piping it into a few for those of my kids we didn’t think my homemade fastnachts were inherently better than Dunkin’ Donuts.

planning

Wedding planning is moving along. Addie and Adam have a good handle on most of it despite plenty of surprises and sticker shock. Next up on my plate is the bridal shower. Can I be honest? I hate showers- all types. I hate being the focus of them, and I hate attending them. But I’m trying to be enthusiastic for my daughter. With all her bridal party and family spread out, I’m super grateful some of Adam’s family is helping with planning. I can’t believe she’ll be married in less than six months!

drinking

I had to laugh as I glanced at the kitchen table this week. Since I’m trying not to snack, I’m drinking all sorts of things to distract myself, and each beverage requires its own special receptacle. Espresso mug, regular mug for green tea, glass for iced tea, and insulated cup for seltzer water. Thankfully, we can still homeschool around the clutter.

educating

The kids in my history class (at co-op) have a discussion post they need to respond to online each week. I try to keep it open ended; there’s no right or wrong answer. Last week I asked them “Why do the Iliad and Odyssey remain popular today?” Teddy’s answer: “Simply because people find it neat to read stories from thousands of years ago, and it tells us a little bit about Greek culture at the time. Despite the fact that the writing is often mid at best.”

I think he’s still upset I made him read the Iliad this fall and he’s trying to tick me off by calling Homer “mid at best” – HOMER!!! Homeschool influencers just don’t prepare you for stuff like this.

watching

We’ve been watching the winter Olympics quite a bit. Fulton in particular has had a real interest in the games this year. We usually postpone our afternoon classes so we can catch some late night live events from Milan, and if we’re not already watching a movie, we might put on highlights at night. Some of the snowboarding and ski events were the most interesting….and confusing. Grab your board or skis in one location and spin one million times- pandemonium and high scores. Spin one million times and grab in a slightly different location, “Oh, that was a disappointment. Thankfully she has one more run.” How is spinning a million times in the air and not dying when you come back to the ground ever disappointing???? And did you know speed skaters go over 30 miles per hour??? If they crash it’d be like a car going 30mph crashing into a wall or ice, but these are people in skin tight suits and little helmets! Do all Olympias get some sort of prize?? In these instances, I feel participation ribbons are completely appropriate. Thank you Olympians for showing up to participate in a sport that could paralyze or kill you for the amusement of the world.

creating

I was trying out YouTubes new tool to see if it could generate some good ideas for Accepting the Gift’s channel.

The titles and thumbnail pictures it generated for some of these ideas cracked me up. Like teaching children about disability through Theology of the Body? And the couch people seem to be building in the middle of the sanctuary for “children with invisible disabilities”. Thanks YouTube! I’ll get right on these!

That’s all for now. Have a penitential week, except for Sunday!