Still loving my Kindle, and trying to bellydance in the kitchen

So, I had a very nice weekend, despite the long day on Saturday. Hank had a great time and was very cute about the whole thing. An exhibit entitled "Grossology" does appeal to little boys, no? Learning about snot and gas just makes their day, apparently.

I also managed to sneak in some dance practice, and I feel like I worked the kinks out. My index cards and I have been spending lots of quality time together, and I've just committed to running through the music a few times each day and I can tell it's going better. I just have an entrance, finale, and a few accents planned, the rest is improv. But I listened to the whole song to get a feel for when those accents fall and what other types of musical similarities come in between, and I have a better idea of what types of things to put where. I also need to get on top of practicing our group number and the sword number, which I need to add a solo piece to (!) but I'm not too worried about those. They are infinitely easier for me, psychologically. At least right now, sitting in front of my computer in my air conditioned office, rather than at the dance studio in a sweaty lycra costume trying to balance a sword on my head in front of a room full of people. Good times.

In totally different news, I'm still in absolute love with my Kindle. AND, I just discovered that a little devotional that I really love, Living Faith, is now available for Kindle. I used to subscribe in print, and it's very inexpensive, $11 for a year. It comes in seasonal 3-month segments, and the daily readings are very short, but quite sweet. I always liked it. It is now available for all sorts of devices, including Kindle. Each 3-month segment is only $2.99! So I'm going to download the July, August and September volume. Super excited.

Power instruction day mercifully over...

Yesterday, I had 3 classes to teach, which is a lot for me. During the busy library instruction season, I'll typically have 1 to 2 classes to teach per week, and usually they are on separate days. Occasionally (like tomorrow, actually) I'll have 2 to teach in one day. But 3 in one day is pretty rare, and even though I know that k-12 teachers do this all the time, this wasn't exactly what I signed up for when I became a *librarian* so it stresses me out quite a bit. When I decided to leave my old career as an attorney and go to school to obtain an MLS, I envisioned myself, hair in bun, glasses perched cutely on nose, answering questions at a reference desk and assisting library patrons in finding books in the online catalog or in the stacks. As I've mentioned before, teaching did not come naturally to me, and it's a struggle for someone with an introverted personality.

That being said, I've definitely evolved as a teacher, and in a positive direction. I did notice that right before my first class yesterday, I wasn't sweating nearly as much as I would have thought, and not once did I feel like I had to throw up. I've come a long way.

My situation yesterday was that I was teaching 3 recitations (small class segments) from the same larger course. So, it was the same material 3 separate times. The first class, I was witty. The second class, I was still pretty funny. Those students were more lively too, that was the best of the bunch, I think. The third class, I was exhausted and tired of hearing myself make the same jokes, and all I could think about was finishing so that I could go home, snuggle with Mike and Hank, and have a glass of wine.

Class #1 - "So, this feature of the online library catalog allows you to 'spy' a bit on the classmate that had the audacity to snag the book ahead of you..."
Class #2 - "This 'check availibility' link allows you to employ a bit of espionage in your catalog searches..."
Class #3 - "Click here if someone already has the book checked out."

Mercifully, I made it through to live to plan another lesson. Tomorrow morning I have an English 102 class at 9, and then another World Civilizations recitation at 3. It'll be another long day, but not nearly as bad as yesterday.

On to our Living Faith devotion for today...

What Martha Did Right, Luke 10:38

Hank loves this one from his children's Bible. He always asks why Martha looks so frantic in the kitchen. It makes me laugh, because I'm totally Martha. Mary is in the living room, lounging at Jesus' feet, and I'd be in the kitchen, a broom in one hand, a mixing bowl in the other, flour in my hair and a scowl on my face. I just can't let the dishes go until company leaves; I can't help it, I have a Type A personality.

Anyway, I digress. Our devotion notes: "We who are blessed with the gift of faith also encounter Jesus as he enters our own villages. Whether in the sacraments, in personal prayer or in the people around us, Jesus makes himself available and gives us an opportunity to welcome him."

I liked this thought. All of us can partake in Jesus' presence within whatever circumstances we find ourselves in by frequenting the sacraments, and taking time out for prayer. This reminds me; it's been a few months since I've been to Confession, and I should go. That's always a pick-me-up. The priest at my parish does an awesome job with Confession. As soon as you are settled in the confessional, he prays a prayer for you to have a good confession. It's very soothing :)

Slow Down, Smell the Flowers

I've been getting a lot of inspiration from my Living Faith daily devotional readings. Today's selection includes the following:

"My life can be very busy, but at times the busyness involves so much skimming of the surface that I end my day having done all I should do, but still unsatisfied, cold and anything but exhilarated. God is in the details, they say. Perhaps I need to slow down and consider those details. God, help me live in an awareness of your constant presence."

I was thinking about this this morning, as I raced around the house getting things ready. I wanted to prepare dinner, so that Mike and Henry could just pop the casserole bowl into the oven around 4:45 this afternoon, before I would arrive home. I needed to pack my lunch. Henry needed to be readied for preschool. Mike has 8 am class on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so he was off by 7:30. Busy, busy, busy. Today at work I want to finish a book review that I'm working on, then I have about a dozen other things that need immediate attention. I'm on the reference desk for an hour at noon. I have a student coming to see me at 4:00. I want to take a few hours of comp. time to get some shopping in. I am a person that is very pleased with small things, and I need to not get so consumed with the larger picture that I lose sight of that. Taking the time each morning to read a daily devotional has done me a lot of good.

With regard to the shopping, on a different topic, I'm very excited :) I'm seizing the opportunity to go to the craft store without Henry in tow throwing yarn into the aisles. I would like some yarn to make Christmas gifts and I'm armed with Sunday ad coupons. I'm also making a Home Depot run and to Sherwin Williams for paint. I've been driving my sister crazy with my paint selection process this week. She has a good eye for color, what can I say? The other alternative is my husband, whom I love dearly, but if I ask him to assist in color choices, he says they all look the same. I think it's a man thing :)

Anyway, the last room that I want to paint this year is our guest room and I want to paint it red. You wouldn't think that would be so difficult, but I tell you, there are a *lot* of variations of red, and I got tangled up in each of them. I have a fall bouquet in there, and the colors inspired me to want a red in there with an orange hue to it. No easy feat, I assure you. I've finally decided on a color called Red Cent. I think Sherwin Williams should give me a free gallon of paint for all the product placement I do. We always use their paints - good stuff. So, I'm excited. More paint in my hair tomorrow, oh joy.

Take a Moment for Gratitude

My morning started off a bit trying today, and I had to take a zone out period in the middle of my morning meeting to say my favorite morning offering. It is:

"Dear Lord, I do not know what will happen to me today. I only know that nothing will happen that was not forseen by you, and directed for my greater good from all eternity. I adore your holy and unfathomable plans, and submit to you with all my heart; for love of you, the pope, and the immaculate heart of Mary. Amen."

Later, back in my office, I picked up my copy of Living Faith to do the daily reflection. It was entitled "Take a Moment for gratitude":

Give thanks to him, bless his name; for he is good. Psalm 100:4-5

"Saint Ignatius Loyola recommended a prayer called the Examen as a helpful method of reflecting on one's day. The first step...after one settles down and focuses on prayer, is to replay the day in your mind and express gratitude for those things that you consider blessings from God, but may have missed while they occurred. This can be a beautiful sunrise, a child's smile...Perhaps over the next week, we can try to stop during the day, reflect for a few minutes and tell God how grateful we are for everything."

This really made me feel better. When I get frustrated with things, I tend to focus only on that and forget about how totally wonderful my life really is. So, I feel better. And going into a 3 day weekend, this is a very good thing :)

In an amusing aside, my Enhanced Drivers License came in the mail yesterday. I immediately tore into it and examined my picture. Not awful. Probably the least objectionable photo I've ever had appear on my drivers license. Mike came up behind me:

"Oh wow, that's a really nice picture of you. Are you wearing lipstick?!"

The last time I had worn lipstick prior to that was at our wedding, hence his shock. In fact, it was the exact same tube that I used in both instances; it's the only one that I own. I'm just not a lipstick person; gloss I'm all for, but I can't stand lipstick on my lips. However, the level of my desperation for a cute photo trumps my dislike for lipstick, so there you have it.

Prayer journal...

So, at the end of a very long week, I did in fact order a year subscription to the daily devotional Living Faith. The issue I picked up in my sister's parish carries me through September, and my new subscription will pick up with the October 1st issue. *excited* I like having a little something to read each morning and reflect on.

In the grand tradition of me not being able to leave well enough alone, I started contemplating exactly how I should structure my new daily devotional routine. I now read the Living Faith entry in the mornings, and my Bible chapter in the evenings. I've also started trying to read a few paragraphs of the Catechism each evening after my Bible reading. With each devotional reading, I try to glean a point that I can apply to the events in my day. Right now I'm reading the book of Acts; it will get more difficult, say, when I'm smack in the middle of 1 Chronicles. But I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.

Anyway, given the way I reworked my routine, I thought perhaps it would be good to get myself a cute notebook and jot down the things that I gleaned. Short things, nothing elaborate. I can't do elaborate with traditional pen and paper; definitely need Microsoft Word for that. I thought that I could just write down a sentence or two on items that I took away from my reading of each of my devotional books. Excitedly, I headed out to CVS to scavenge their new school supplies. Naturally, I spent way, *way* too long looking at notebooks. Eventually, I settled upon a cute composition notebook, college ruled, with a pink cover detailing black flowers. I'm happy with it. And it was only $2.50, bonus.

So, after all that, you'd think I'd gotten right to work, correct? Not so much. On Wednesday, I was off taking care of Henry for the day. In between him interrupting me concerning hundreds of preschooler "emergencies" I tried to do my devotional reading. Not so easy. I was able to jot down a few things on my Living Faith and Bible readings, but didn't get to the Catechism. By the evening, I just needed a glass of wine, and wasn't up to Catechism reading, which is not light by anyones standards. I'm firmly in the liturgy section and will remain there for some time. Last night, I was just plumb tuckered. So, we'll see how this goes. I really want to establish a good rhythm with daily devotions.

Feeling overwhelmed...

This summer, there has been a lot going on in my life. Particularly at work. We have less staff and more work to go around. For the first time since I became a librarian, I'm starting to feel a bit stressed and overwhelmed. It seems like each day I'm just putting out fires, rather than getting to larger projects. Wait, something is coming back to me...did I blog about this in the recent past? This whine is sounding familiar. I swear it, I'm losing it.

Anyway, this morning I had a sudden wave of crankiness due to overwhelment. Is that even a word? If not, I've just coined it. I have an entire article to write that I haven't touched since late May, and a book chapter to complete (that makes it sound like I've started it and just need to finish - HA!) by November, and I'm beginning to feel panicky.

So, instead of actually doing some of this work this morning, I felt frozen with anxiety. Real productive, I know. So, I pulled out my little daily devotional.

When I was visiting my sister in North Carolina last month, I perused the reading shelf at her parish. Reading shelves are truly a treat for librarians and otherwise nerdy bookworms. I noticed that they had a slew of this little periodical called Living Faith. Naturally, I had to examine it. It's a daily devotional that comes in 3 month installments. For each day, it provides a theme, a Bible verse, and a reflection. What caught my interest is that the reflections have a "real world" feel to them. I know that I already mentioned that despite my overt religiosity, I simply cannot control the ants in my pants if I pick up something to read that is anything resembling a deep, theological treatise. Most daily devotionals are too deep and abstract to keep my interest. I'll read them dutifully for about 3 days, and then set them lovingly on my book shelf, never to be touched again...

So this little guy really captured my attention. A quick browsing of the reflection revealed topics about the contributors' kids, poor driving attitudes, and supper frustrations. Some of the entries were more serious, but overall there was a more casual feel to the endeavor. Now this is a devotional I can get behind. I quickly snatched a copy and left a donation. I've been using it, and have been thrilled with it. This morning, in my crankiness, I opened it up, hoping for a spirit lift. For Tuesday August 4th, I find the theme to be "Turning It Over to God":

"Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness; in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense." Psalm 51:3.

The reflection centered around a guy waiting in line for confession and thinking about how nervous he was, dwelling on repentance and God's forgiveness. I dug it. I paged through to the back, and found that an annual subscription is a mere $10. I think I'm going to go for it.