Hanging out in Maine with family, friends and lots of bugs :0

Hello all! Very nice to be back with you on this last day of May. We're fresh from a family road trip to visit my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews out in Vacationland. And apparently, many people do indeed vacation in Maine, especially on Memorial Day weekend. :0 Let's chat highlights, and also what is coming up here in terms of the blog and the Tea Time podcast!

I love New England, particularly Maine given that my sister is located there, and I was looking forward to lots of fresh air and inspiration, which I received in droves. We embarked on Friday, with apparently the rest of the UNIVERSE who were also driving to Maine Friday afternoon. Things were fine all the way across farm country in New York State. Then we got to Massachusetts, and while I spent the first interlude on the Mass. Turnpike squealing over the little pilgrim hats that adorned the exit signs, we were soon embroiled in The Traffic That Would Not End. With antsy children in our backseat, we inched along through Massachusetts and New Hampshire. All of these people were going to Maine? Apparently they were, and they all exited at Kennebunkport. Who knew?! Meanwhile, our 8 hour trip was going into hour 11:

Henry: "I can't believe we've been in the car this long. I think I'm actually GETTING USED TO IT." *despondent*

But we made it, if a bit whiny. Over the weekend, we hiked, gazed at the ocean, camped, and procured vast amounts of seafood. The kids, in particular, enjoyed the camping part. I did too, especially because camping in this instance involved a cabin with a deck wherein we drank beer and played card games, but I have to admit that I was unprepared for The Bugs. We're city (albeit small city) dwellers. We normally do not have to, quite literally, coat every millimeter of available skin, including our faces, with the most toxic bug spray on the market, but there you have it. It was intense. And over time, the bugs clearly gathered and conferenced, because their efforts only intensified, despite the absolute force field of bug repellent that we were putting forth. It was so, so lovely to see the kids playing outside and with their cousins, though, rather than playing video games. The bug defense was worth it!

While I was there, Shauna'h and I also recorded a special edition of Tea Time. It's only audio (no video this week), and it's longer than usual (about 30 minutes), but I am SO STOKED for you all to hear it! In it, Shauna'h and I talk about faith journeys, and she shares with us her experience in formation with the Third Order Franciscans. I was very inspired by her words, and I hope that you will be too! That will be out on Friday. *beams*

Everyone was super sad to head home yesterday, especially the kids. They had a great time hanging with their cousins. I am hoping that we can go back next summer! Henry has announced that he would like to move to Maine, so we'll see how that works out. ;-)

OK, so tomorrow, let's talk books. And Tea Time on Friday! Episode 98, and I have fun stuff coming for episode 100!

Rapid fire belly dancing on a Saturday afternoon...

Hello all, and happy new week to you! I'm perky coming off of a dance and birthday weekend extravaganza (Anne's birthday, that is), and excited to be chatting with you today! Do you have your tea? Let me go fetch mine...

OK good! Here we are. I had a FUN weekend. Sometimes I feel guilty that I get to share my life with such wonderful people. Family, friends, people that I know via my hobbies of dance, writing and my faith (that's not a hobby, but you know what I mean). I feel very, VERY blessed. One of those blessings is my dance community. Everyone is accepted for who they are in this group, and I have always felt so comfortable there. Every person has a story, and indeed, everyone has a *dance* story as to how and why they were drawn to this specific form of cultural dance. I brought my own story in with theirs, and it always seems like a happy melody to me when we are together.

Friday we packed up 2 belly mobiles ;-) and transported 10 dancers west to a small town in Ohio, home to the lovely and talented Sherena. We were scheduled for a group master class with her on Saturday afternoon, and allocated Friday to fun and frivolity. We checked into our hotel and got dressed up to have dinner at a local Middle Eastern restaurant and watch the dancer who was performing there that night. The dancer is one of Sherena's proteges, who was *excellent*. This is a town with a strong Middle Eastern dance heritage: Sherena is a second generation belly dancer, following in the footsteps of her mom. This restaurant has had a belly dancer perform every Friday night for 20 years! It is all so lovely.

Afterward, we talked and sipped champagne for hours, before finally settling in to rest up for our big class. And our class was AMAZING. Sherena has energy and enthusiasm abounding, and at 6 months pregnant no less! She also has an incredible knowledge of the dance and how culture informs the dance. It was a joy to learn from her, and we're hoping to take another class from her again in the fall. In just 2 hours, we learned an entire drum solo choreography from her, which all passed in a great big blur :0, but we have a happy video of the experience. Plus, I took away a ton of little nuances on traditional movements and arms that I had never seen before. I absolutely love when that happens.

We drove back Saturday evening, our ride filled with three and a half hours of nonstop dance talk. Then I got home to my babies in time to tuck them both into bed. After that, Mike humored me by listening to at least 30 full minutes of my detailed descriptions of what I learned, and how I can't wait to download some of the Golden Era of Belly Dance music that we discussed. He wasn't *quite* as into it as my belly girls, but he did pretty well. ;-)

Sunday, we hosted a family birthday party for our Anne, who milked her birthday for all it was worth. She got decked out in a fancy dress and asked for her hair to be braided. At Children's Liturgy of the Word, she told her catechist that it was her birthday, and the group apparently sang happy birthday to her. She was especially gleeful about being gifted the opportunity to blow out the little altar candle. :0 Upon arriving home, she wore her school birthday crown for the entire day, and was glowing for the duration of her party. A great time was had by all.

How was YOUR weekend, dear reader? Do write in! I think I'm finally getting over my cold, so I should be able to record Tea Time this week.

*streamers!*

Anniversay trips and more New Year's resolutions...

Hello ALL! I'm back from from a weekend away with my super cute hubby, and so I'm in very good spirits. Our anniversary was yesterday (12 years! *heart*) and the past three years we've a weekend to go away by ourselves on a small road trip, without the kids. It's LOVELY. We really miss the kids, but the time together is invaluable. And my husband? STILL SO STINKIN' CUTE. In fact, I swear he's gotten *cuter* as he's aged.

Anniversary breakfast

I'm as in love with him as ever, and grateful to God everyday for bringing us together.

And so this weekend, as I dwelt in my contentedness, I was thinking about happiness and New Year's resolutions. I've been talking about New Year's resolutions a lot, but it's because I find them so valuable. I'm a tenacious sort of person - which is both good, and bad, trust me. ;-) Sometimes, I *should* let things go, and don't (many bad previous relationships come to mind), which has its own set of problems. But I find New Year's resolutions important because I tend to really want to stick to them, and thus I put a lot of thought into what I want to do better or differently each year. This year I have officially set my resolutions as:

• Make wellness a priority in three realms: physical fitness, emotional/psychological, and spiritual.
• Don't worry so much!
• Try to be more amenable to change.
• Be more positive about work.

Last year, one of my resolutions was to try new things in physical fitness, and that led to me signing up for the group fitness class pass here at work, and that has worked out MARVELOUSLY. I already have a winter fitness pass, and even attended Zumba today for the first time in awhile. 😇 Physical fitness really ties into healthy mental and emotional health for me as well. And as for spiritual realm, I started a rosary on the commute in, also for the first time in awhile. I realized that I don't need to put pressure on myself to finish the rosary each day, or I could even pray a chaplet instead if I was really feeling that, it's just important to keep up with daily prayer in some form. That made me feel a lot better.

Worry has been a lifelong battle for me, but hope springs eternal! And change? It's not always bad. Sometimes a new way of doing something may require an initial investment of time or skills that does not appeal to me, but the end result can be much more convenient or time-saving. I need to allow myself to try new things for different, more pleasing results sometimes. I really, really hope that I stick to this.

Besides that, I've been working quite hard to improve my spirits about my day job. So far so good, and after a fantastic team conversation, I'm feeling a lot more hopeful about our future teaching direction and load. Overall though, I need to cease the negative thoughts and complaints about how challenging it has been. It *has* been challenging (as in, major s*$!fest :0) but dwelling on that is not helping me. I'm going to focus on the positive changes we're making, and remain hopeful that things will be better. I'm also going to focus on the multitude of SUPER FUN things I have coming up this winter and spring: dance classes, performance and workshops, cute things with Mike and the kids, Lent and Easter approaching, enjoyable blogging and writing projects...in fact, I even have a *belly dance road trip* this spring. :0 That's some good blog fodder, right there!

In that vein, let's start thinking about collaborative projects here on the blog. Anybody up for a Lenten book club or read-along? If you have ideas for titles, please do leave them in the comments!

Hills, malfunctioning showers, and lots of family picnicking, on the 20th Sunday of Ordinary Time...

*collapses*

Well hello there, dear reader! It's been a bit of a busy stretch over here in Catholic Librarian-Land, and you'll notice that it's been nearly a week since I last posted. I don't like doing that, but life is like a box of chocolates, is it not? ;-) It can be unpredictable, for sure. The start of the fall semester is nearly nigh, and thus I am drawing closeer and closer to full blown Panic Mode. I'm certain that I will be tornadoing around the library next week, but I'm trying not to worry about that now. :0

For the time being, I prefer to panic quietly in the privacy of my office. And *finally* I had a few moments to sit and chat with you all.

This past weekend Mike, the kids and I traveled about 4 hours south into Pennsylvania for a family picnic. This is on Mike's dad's side of the family, and the people are all perfectly lovely and kind. The only problem is that I find it incredibly awkward to socialize with family that I see very rarely. Is it just me? I actually find it EONS easier to converse with total strangers than I do in the family picnic scenario. I cannot explain this phenomena, but there you have it.

It's interesting, because I think that over the course of the past 3-5 years, I have become a LOT more social than I used to be. When I was a young child, I was downright painfully shy. Talking to anybody outside of my close circle of family and friends created a tremendous amount of anxiety within me. In high school, I was voted "Shyest" female in my senior class. The guy who was voted "Shyest"? Had never spoken with him before. Because, you know, we were both SHY. ;-)

Now? Quick anecdote. This past Friday, I had dance troupe rehearsal, like usual. We're currently a group of 7, and we haven't had any new members for a few years. We've remained mostly consistent, but lost a few members about a year ago who decided not to continue. Well now, finally, there are a few dancers from the mixed level class that Claire is going to ask to move up. She was telling us a little about each of them, and regarding one woman in particular, she said:

"She's real quiet, doesn't say a lot. You know, how Tiffany used to be."

:0

This really made me feel happy. Indeed, dancing has helped me to gain confidence and come out of my shell quite a bit. I talk readily to people now, and happily join in the social revelry that is our troupe class on Friday evenings. There is nothing wrong with being shy, but in my case I know that I was that way based upon fear. Now, I don't feel afraid anymore, and enjoy my life so much more. I just occasionally feel awkward when conversing with out-of-town family. ;-)

At any rate, back to our trip. The picnic went well, and the kids had an absolute blast playing with their second cousins twice removed, or however you term such distant cousin relationships. ;-) The kids also LOVE staying in a hotel, in contrast to Mike and I, who, when accompanied by our offspring, brace ourselves for this very same eventuality. There is the inevitable bouncing on the bed. The racing around a tiny space. The constant flushing of the "new" toilet and experimenting with the water flow in the sink. The 6:30 am wake up (while on vacation, mind you), wanting to go down to the breakfast area in the lobby. I suppose there are SOME things in life that are in fact predictable. ;-)

As for me? I love my romantic hotel getaways with Mike each year for our anniversary, but this family adventure to the nearest Holiday Inn Express?

*children bouncing off walls*

*shouts over din*  "Honey, I'm going to go grab my shower, OK?"

God bless that man.

*Tiffany examines shower dial*

"Easy peasy, I like my water really warm."

*turns dial*

*presses shower button*

"What the! CENSORED!"

*turns dial a fraction of an inch in the opposite direction*

"Oh gosh!! CENSORED!"

Let's just say the shower appeared to have 2 settings:

(1) Roasting Hot Dogs With Satan, or

(2) Your Own Personal Penguin Will Be Joining You Shortly

And so it seems to go on such hotel-laden trips. ;-)

We did make it to Mass on Sunday morning, which was lovely. The church was super close to our hotel, but given that we were in Pittsburgh, this was no easy trek. I'm from Western New York, and unused to hilly terrain, OK? :0 I struggle whenever we go to Pittsburgh to get over: (a) not having any sidewalks to walk on, because I love getting my exercise that way, and (b) having the roadways be so steeply inclining or declining. How do people make it out of their driveways in the wintertime?! At any rate, the church was close to the hotel, but it was DOWN, and a large shopping center which contained the only access point to the hill on which the hotel sat (I am not making this up) stood in the way, so drive we must!

We arrived, and Henry immediately commented on the stained glass windows, which he liked. He commented on them because they are much different from what we usually see, in that they were of the abstract variety. I prefer non-abstract stained glass, but to each their own. Mike glanced around as we planted ourselves in the padded pew, and whispered:

"Is this kind of...modern?"

Why yes, yes it was. :) But it was a nice parish, and I will say that they had tremendous bathrooms, which I of course toured with Anne, who very predictably had to make use of them during the recitation of the Creed.

So there you have it, our weekend. I will be with you tomorrow for Tea Time, which I'm looking forward to. How was YOUR weekend, dear reader? What's going on with you this late August?

Fun times with St. Kateri & a lot of rain...

HELLO, you fabulous person, you! I am very glad to be with you again in our happy little life journal universe. My week is rather insanely busy, and thus I really wanted to carve out time to chat with you today. I'm on a search committee at work, and we have candidates coming in for interviews, so I have whole days blocked out with no writing opportunities. Hence, there will be no post tomorrow, I am certain that you are just devastated. ;-) But we have some time together today, and Tea Time on Thursday, so that's a yay, right?

I had a super exciting weekend filled with family and Catholic activities, so let's chronicle, shall we?

#CatholicFun!

This weekend we journeyed by car to the National St. Kateri Tekakwitha Shrine, and to Adirondack State Park. We don't take road trips very often, so the entire family was simmering with excitement. That is, until the kids got to the end of the movie they had packed to watch on the portable DVD player:

"MOOOOOMMMMMMM. Are we there yet?! We've been in the car for 500 hours!"

"Anne, it's been an hour and a half. Buck up."

"I feel car sick!"

"Henry, take a nap."

#exhausting

When we got to the shrine, everyone was anxious to stretch their legs. And the chapel was everything I dreamed it would be:

I love the earthy feel and the Native American art. And immediately to our right, was a stunning representation of the guest of honor:

St. Kateri is incredibly important to me for a number of reasons. She's part of the communion of saints, our family in the faith, and a woman, so I relate to her. But the fact that she was a Mohawk is so personally meaningful to me and my heritage. I felt very close to her, and to my Mohawk ancestry, this weekend. I procured a medal bearing her image and a third class relic from the gift shop, and I've barely taken it off since.

Also featured prominently at St. Kateri's shrine was our good friend, St. Maximilian Kolbe:

We came across him in the chapel, as you see above, but we encountered him again, I'll come back to that. He is Henry's favorite saint, so I was pleased to see him. :) The altar itself featured a gorgeous painting of St. Kateri in prayer:

I could have lingered in that chapel for hours, but I did have my less patient family with me ;-) and so after some exploring and a short spell of prayer, we headed outside:

We walked around and spotted some birds. Anne picked some weeds flowers for other saint statues that we encountered:

More St. Kateri. Hey, it's her shrine, right?

I also forced the kids to pose for a photo with yet another St. Kateri:

They look thrilled.

There was a beautiful outdoor scene of the Stations of the Cross up on a hillside behind the chapel, which the kids delighted in running on. We paused for a short spell in a gazebo at the top. Then we ventured down to the outdoor chapel, named for St. Maximilian Kolbe:

Henry took a vested interest out here, wanting to explore the St. Max literature and statues that abounded. Of course, St. Kateri cannot be left out:

And the kids were happy to cozy up with St. Max and actually look like they tolerate each other sometimes:

After some more exploring, it was time to head back to the car, much to the consternation of our offspring:

"MOOOOOOMMMMM. We've been in the car for DAYS AND DAYS!!"

We only had an hour to go to get to the little motel we booked in the Adirondacks, and I was all energized from my St. Kateri encounter. Mike and I happily chatted about dinner plans. We headed off, feeling sublime.

Then we got lost. :0

And we don't have GPS. But we have Mike, the Map Guy. He figured it out, but it took a little more time than we were originally planning. It didn't help that we were in the middle of the woods and signage was at a premium. We got to the motel, got into our cute little efficiency room (kitchenette!) and contemplated our dinner options. Let's just say that this was a very small town, and there weren't that many. ;-)

"Honey, remember when we were in Niagara-on-the-Lake for our anniversary, and we ate at that little pub? I loved that trip, it was so romantic."

We gazed at each other lovingly. Suddenly, from the bathroom comes a high pitched voice:

"COULD SOMEBODY COME WIPE ME?!?!"

See, this is the difference between the romantic interludes and the trips with kids. But oftentimes the romantic interludes *cause* the future trips with kids, so there you have it.

We found a small restaurant that night, and afterward enjoyed our view of the lake from the little back patio on our room:

The kids loved the lakefront. They could stay down there for hours, just playing at the water edge, trying to skip stones. We headed to bed, fairly exhausted.

Saturday morning, we made breakfast, excitedly rented a row boat, and got ready for our adventure. And then...it rained.

:0

As in, it poured. We had to wait it out for a few hours. Thankfully, I had packed Jiffy Pop, which I popped for the kids while they watched a movie. Nothing like being trapped in a tiny room to make everyone want to crawl out of their own skin. We had to be a little creative, but we managed.

Finally, it stopped raining, and we did get out on the boat, plus snuck in a short, albeit wet, hike. We also found the local Catholic parish, and attended the vigil Mass:

"Oh look, VISITORS!!"

In a town as small as this one, new people were definitely noticed.

When we got out of Mass, oh look, IT WAS RAINING AGAIN!! I heated up some soup for dinner and made sandwiches. This is about as Gung Ho About Camping/Roughing It as I like to get. ;-) When it stopped raining, we took the kids up to get ice cream at the restaurant that we had eaten at Friday night, given that there wasn't exactly another dining option. So we made it.

Sunday morning, Mike and I were DYING to get back home and to our usual routine. And to privacy. :0 Though the kids were sorry to see the adventure come to an end:

"MOOOOMMMMM!"

"Guys. If you want to go on more trips next summer, you're going to have to toughen up!"

:0

How was YOUR weekend, dear reader? Do I have any other St. Kateri fans here?!

A weekend of reflecting on love and marriage...

Well hello to you all, and I'm happy to be with you again after a long weekend! I was blissfully away on my little anniversary getaway with Mike for a few nights, and we were terribly sad to come back, though happy to be reunited with the kids. I unfortunately developed some sort of nasty cold right before we got back, so I'm typing my happy recollection post over here with an unfortunate fever rash. :( (Gross! Sorry, I know). The perils of having very fair skin, I'm afraid.

At any rate, I have LOTS to tell you all, but we'll get to all of that over the course of this week. Today I wanted to focus on my trip and some quick thoughts on wedding anniversaries. Got your beverage? I've just about sucked down my entire giant travel mug of coffee, but that's just the way things roll on the first day back to work after a long and glorious weekend.

Let's circle back to Friday. Mike and I dropped the kids with their grandparents and headed north to beautiful and quaint Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. We went last year as well, to commemorate our milestone 10th wedding anniversary. This year is not a milestone, but we figured "why not? life is short" and booked our reservations back in the fall.

In a fortuitous difference as compared to last year, the weather was beautifully seasonal and not Sear The Skin Off Your Face cold. I mean, as I described in last year's post, we're all about the winter weather, but the cold front that came through 12 months ago really knocked our socks off. The wind chill was dangerously frigid, and people were RUNNING from shop to shop to avoid having even the smallest bits of uncovered skin exposed to the elements. It was wild. This year we were like:

"Oh look, the lake! Let's go take a walk down by it."

Last year was:

"There's a lake here?!"

And when the lake in question is LAKE ONTARIO, one would think you would spot it pretty easily. But it was just all hazy with blowing and drifting snow last year, and you couldn't get *near* the water. This year, while cold and snowy, was very manageable and winter wonderland-like.

So we checked into the idyllic inn that we usually stay at, and headed to afternoon tea. If you've never been to Traditional Afternoon Tea at the historic Prince of Wales hotel, this is something you *must* check out should you ever be in the area. We settled into a cozy table and happily ordered our tea. It was sublime:

Adorable, right?? The tea was good too. ;-)

We lingered and chit chatted to our hearts' content before heading out to some of our favorite shops. Unsurprisingly, given my sweet tooth, my very favorite is the quaint fudge shop, where I procured multiple bricks of fudge for the kids and I. And herein we encountered something distinctly foreign (but good) to our American sensibilities: the mechanism for paying by credit card outside of the U.S. I've never traveled anywhere internationally aside from Canada, but I believe this applies pretty much everywhere. :) We're very behind the times when it comes to protecting against credit card fraud, to be sure. So in Canada, when you pay by credit card, they bring over this handheld credit card device, even right to your table in restaurants (where you can put the calculated tip in and everything, very convenient). And if you have a card with a chip in it (and not all Americans do; Mike and I have brand new cards that have a chip as of only a few months ago) there is apparently a separate slot for you to put it in, rather than swiping it. I did not know this. ;-) So when I went to pay for the fudge, the nice fudge lady brought that machine out, and I tried to look like I knew what I was doing, because the machine was different from the mounted ones I'm used to in stores. I carefully swiped, then accidentally switched the language to French when prompted, because, you know, I'm CLUELESS. And so I was staring at it innocently, hoping for an instruction to pop up that I could discern and discreetly maneuver my way back to my native tongue, when the fudge lady looked down at what I was doing and raised a knowing eyebrow:

"Are you from the U.S.?"

I wonder what tipped her off? :0

"Yes." *sheepish*

"Your card has a chip, so you have to put it in here, with the chip facing up. But I don't think you all have PIN's yet in the same way that we do, so it won't ask you for that. Then you just follow the directions, and it will tell you when to remove the card."

Whew. After that I could pretend a lot easier than I was adept at using those machines, I just had one further accidental switch to French in the liquor store. ;-)

With our fudge secured, we enjoyed a lovely walk up and down the main street, and some quiet time before dinner:

Dinner!

I'm not usually so pushy, but I asked our waiter to take a photo of us. It was a special occasion. :)

OK, SO! Highly amusing anecdote surrounding dinner. Mike and I are all blissful, contentedly eating our meals and sipping cocktails, when I notice something. Back story: last year on our anniversary trip, we were sitting in this very same restaurant, and during the course of our dinner, we spotted our neighbors from a few doors down sitting at the bar. That didn't seem particularly odd, as Niagara-on-the-Lake is not a long drive from where we live, and January is Ice Wine Festival season there. A bit of a coincidence, certainly, but nothing crazy. A number of people drive in to attend ice wine events and tastings, which are very well regarded in the Niagara wine region. They were chatting with another couple, so we didn't interrupt them to go say hello. Plus, it's not like we really *know* them anyway. We always greet each other politely if we encounter each other out on Halloween or at the annual Block Party, but that's about the extent of it. So, flash forward again to this past Friday night. Now, bear in mind, while still January, we're at Niagara-on-the-Lake on a totally different weekend than we were last year, due to having to switch our trip for Mike's grandma's funeral. I'm lifting a wedge of cheddar cheese to my mouth and nearly drop it back onto my plate:

"HONEY."

Mike is taking a sip of his drink and lifts an eyebrow at me in acknowledgement.

"I think that's one of our neighbors at the bar, the wife."

Mike turns and quietly chokes on his Manhattan.

"Well, that's definitely the husband next to her, so it has to be them."

"It's a different weekend, so I didn't think...what are the chances?!"

Different weekend, but yet we're in the exact same spot as them at the exact same time on a now annual basis? That's really uncanny.

"Do you think they're here for the ice wine festival?"

"I don't know, but now I'm dying to find out. Do you think we should go say hello?"

"That seems awkward, since they're with friends. But if we wait to mention this coincidence until the next time we happen to bump into them back at home... that seems even *weirder,* don't you think?! We'll look like stalkers."

Can you imagine the potential future encounter?

"Oh hey, how are you? Nice day we're having, yes. Say, we had occasion to notice that you like to travel to Niagara-on-the-Lake every January, two years running, and dine at the Prince of Wales lounge. Are you ice wine fans?"

It's like a scene out of a Hitchcock film.

It was a quandary, to be sure. In the end, like the introverts that we truly are, we left without saying anything to them. And then the next time we run into them in our neighborhood we'll totally freak them out by mentioning all of this, just you wait. That'll definitely be a bloggable moment. :0

Back in our room, we settled into our bliss:

See my crocheting resting on the arm of the chair by the fire? Complete heaven, right there.

I LOVED our room. (aside from the loud trio of groomsmen attending a local wedding situated across the hall from us). It had two wing back chairs by the gas fireplace, in addition to lots of other cute and homey built-ins and furnishings. As I mentioned above, Mike and I are both introverts, and we were VERY content to have what I call Parallel Solitude: me in one chair crocheting, he reading in the other. No TV, no music, just silence and an occasional noise from the fire. It was comforting knowing the other person was there, and we'd exchange thoughts every now and then as we sipped our wine. But the quiet time was just...so wonderful. When you have small kids, you come to really appreciate quiet moments. And Mike and I, in particular, are people who love quiet. And to be alone. I treasure having a partner who knows and understands that. Don't get me wrong, we enjoy our together time as well. We certainly had lots of occasion for that on this trip. ;-) But we can both comfortably rest in our own thoughts and recharge without the other feeling left out or lonely. Bliss, I tell you, the best of both worlds:

"I need a picture for my blog!" He's such a good sport, is it any wonder why I adore him so much?

We had just a fantastic time. Oh! And we went to the vigil Mass on Saturday night, absolutely divine. On Sunday morning before we left, we took another walk down by the lake and spotted some adorable water fowl:

Lots of Canada geese and Mallards, to be sure. But I also spotted what looked to be some sort of Tern, and Bufflehead. We enjoyed watching and listening to them for a spell.

To be honest, it was so idyllic I felt a bit melancholy coming back. It was a really wonderful weekend. And I'll get sappy for a moment. I've always loved and appreciated my husband. But this weekend made me reflect on that even further. We've been married for 11 years, together for 13 years counting dating and engagement. And after that time, I can honestly say that I am still VERY much in love with my husband. Very much. No marriage is perfect, nor any human person, and we're no exception to that. But 11 years ago, when I chose him, I chose well. I chose a sweet and loving partner who suits me well. Who makes me laugh every single day. Who I find irresistibly attractive. And I am very grateful to God for helping us to find each other.

How was your weekend, dear reader? Tomorrow is going to be a Catholic Book Club review day for Raising the Barre, looking forward to discussing it with you!

A funeral, a weekend of travels with the kids, & a return to Ordinary Time

All! I really miss you when we don't chat for a few days, you know? And I have lots of plans brewing in this little head of mine. More on that coming later in the week. But for now, let's debrief our weekends, yes? Got your coffee?

It's Monday morning, and I'm starting it off with a headache.

#glorious!

I know, I know. It was a bit of a long weekend, and now I'm going into Monday morning being besieged by law students who are stumped by the sources they need to find for the law review. Law students are no slouches when it comes to research, so if they're telling me that "this is the worst list of sources to find that I've ever had!" well...I'm thinking it's going to be a somewhat challenging morning. And they're law students. So they're all intense and such. ;-)

All right, that's my current situation, which isn't altogether pleasant, but it could always be worse, right? So, the weekend. We had a funeral to travel to for a very lovely lady, Mike's grandmother, Eleanor. I just love her name, don't you? Mike and I had talked about that being our girl name when we had Anne. At any rate, Mike's grandmother was 95, she had led a long, full life, but when someone passes away, there's always that sense of loss. Sad.

So, on Friday, we packed up for a 3 hour jaunt to the funeral. The kids were *bouncing off the walls* excited about staying in a hotel. Mike and I, unsurprisingly, did not share that sentiment. ;-)

Only a three hour car ride, WITH entertainment provided, and yet:

"Are we there yet?!"

Some things, my friends, are so incredibly predictable.

We arrive, and the kids exhaust themselves exploring the room and the rest of the hotel. We had a family dinner to attend, and then there was the first of two wake sessions at the funeral home. For Friday night, we decided to have Mike attend and leave me and the kids behind at the hotel, since it would go past Anne's bedtime, plus both kids would attend the second wake and funeral in the morning. Mike brings us back to the hotel and then departs. I was exhausted and hoping for a quiet evening of Downton Abbey mystery crochet-along crocheting, as I had brought Clue 1 along with me.

"Who wants to watch a movie?!"

My friends, when that suggestions gets met by a resounding declination, you know that you are in for a long, long evening.

That about sums it up, right there. Our room was small, and yet they wanted to do nothing but run around and "find new things!" I know that this type of stuff is good for kids, but solidarity over the parental exhaustion quota, yes?

And that overnight? I'm steeling myself now, even just to recount it. :0 Mike and I are in one bed, and he is still coughing, dear, sweet, adorable soul that he is. Henry and Anne are in the other. Anne collapsed from sheer exhaustion around 9:30 pm. At around 10, the rest of us attempt to sleep. Henry climbs into bed with a pout face:

"She's taking up so much room!"

"Yes, I know Henry, I have slept with Anne before, so I'm aware of the problem. Just gently move her over, and it'll be fine."

I could have gone on and on about how I had Anne *in my body* for 9 months and thus are keenly aware of how uncomfortable she can make things, but I resisted.

*halo*

I attempt to drift off. I can hear Mike trying to suppress his cough, poor darling. And then..

*rustle...rustle. Rustle. Rustlerustlerustlerustlerustlerustlerustle!!!!*

"HENRY. What are you doing?"

"I can't get comfortable! Anne keeps moving her legs!"

"Well, don't move around so much Honey, you're keeping us all up. Move her over! She won't wake up."

She sleeps like a rock, that Anne. I drift off...

*rustle...rustle. Rustle. Rustlerustlerustlerustlerustlerustlerustle!!!!*

"Henry. Why don't you try the sleeping bag on the floor?"

We had packed it just in case this very thing happened.

*lots more noise as Henry bumps around the room in the dark, fetching and rolling out the sleeping bag*

"Good. Now go to sleep."

I drift off...

*rustle...rustle. Rustle. Rustlerustlerustlerustlerustlerustlerustle!!!!*

This went on for some time, Henry eventually transitioning back into the bed with Anne, lots of nostril flaring coming from myself. More coughing from precious Mike. MORE RUSTLING.

Eventually, I had drifted off and then been woken so many times I was convinced it must be close to morning and maybe I'd just get up and go down to the lobby for a cup of coffee and some crocheting. The time?

I look at the clock, hope alive in my heart. 10:55. PM.

I think at least a dozen souls were released from purgatory right at that moment, kind and gentle readers.

It was a L.O.N.G night. And no rest for the weary, since we had the wake and funeral ahead of us in the morning. Along with that, tons of visiting with family that we don't get to see often, which while wonderful, is incredibly draining for introverted types like Mike and I.

The time at the funeral home was simple and very beautiful. There were lovely photographs set up of Mike's grandma throughout her life, and we spent a lot of time looking at each of them, Mike filling me in on what was going on in many of the photos.

After the funeral service, we attended a luncheon in her honor, with more family visiting. It was fantastic to catch up with everyone, but needless to say that by the end of the say, we were pretty tired again. I was bracing myself for the overnight, but things actually ended up working out much better. My in-laws were staying in the room next to us, and they let Henry sleep in the second bed in their room so that each kid had a bed to themselves.

Can I get an Amen?

Yesterday was consumed with lots of laundry and getting settled and ready for the Monday routine. Also, look at that, we're back to Ordinary Time on the liturgical calendar! Not for long though, as Lent begins February 10th this year.

But speaking of this very topic, today is my day over at Catholic Mom, and this month my piece discusses the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, and the end of the Christmas season. I would for you to check it out and leave me a comment over there!

All right, my friends, back to work for me. But good stuff to come this week, including a crafty post on the Downton Abbey mystery knit- and crochet-alongs! I know a few of you were going to be participating, so I'm counting on you to let me know how it's going for you! I'll have photos too of my progress, and would love to see yours!

"Are we THERE YET?!" Fun family adventures in the car...

Hi all. I'm going to be up front and admit that I am far too exhausted to even begin finding an image to go with this post. It's just that kind of stretch for me right now. ;-) And the weekend, well...it had its pluses and minuses. I'm trying to look on the bright side of the minuses. So why not settle in with your tea, yes? I need to go brew mine, one sec...

That's better. :) Oh, and look, I worked up some Canva energy:

OK, so Saturday. I haven't even started writing the details yet, and I already heaved a long suffering sigh. It was like this: Mike and I decided to surprise the kids and get us all tickets to Medieval Times. Super, duper fun, right? I've never been there before, though Mike has been to the location in Orlando. We don't have a local one, but there is one in Toronto, which is about an hour and a half drive for us. The tickets were discounted for the end of the summer, and we figured PERFECT! We bought the tickets, loaded the kids up in the car, and off we went.

I think that this is a lesson in when when things seem too good to be true, and all that? Yep, that. :0 We headed to the Canadian border. Only a small wait, no problem. We drove north. Also, no problem. An hour later, we are on the outskirts of Toronto and here is where things turn ominous. There is a LOT of traffic coming from the other direction. Glad that's not us!!!

#epicfail

As we exit the Queen Elizabeth Way, we become ensnared in a traffic jam. No sweat. This is The Big City, traffic is normal, and we left nearly two hours of buffer time before the show started at 4:30. We knew that this particular location of Medieval Times had no parking lot, so we were at the mercy of public or street parking, and we built in plenty of time.

We missed the street we were looking for, so we had to press on until we could turn back, inching along all the while. By this point, I really need to use the restroom, but didn't want to say anything, because I figured we were almost there. Right?

Let me make a long story short: It took us over an hour from that point to even approach Medieval Times due to the traffic, and parking? Nonexistent. And do you want to know why? The Canadian National Exhibition. In Toronto. Which we hadn't realized prior to that moment. :-\ Cars EVERYWHERE. It was taking us twenty minutes to move less than a mile. No wonder the tickets were discounted.

And when I say that parking was nonexistent, I'm not using hyperbole. There were public lots charging an exorbitant amount to park there. We were willing to pay it. And they were FULL. Street parking? I won't even bother snorting out loud, the idea is so preposterous. There was nothing.

At first, we had held out hope for a lot, and so navigated somewhat away from Medieval Times in our quest. By the time we realized the dire nature of our situation, it was far too late to salvage our tickets. Mike couldn't even drop us off at that point and lose just his ticket sitting in traffic. The kids and I couldn't even walk to the place from our current trapped location, and the show was starting. So after our hour and a half drive, we spent two additional hours in traffic. All to no avail. Right in the heart of the city, the snarl was so bad that we were moving millimeters at a time. We were imprisoned in traffic, and made the difficult decision to abandon hope of getting to Medieval Times.

Crankiness abounded in the car as we finally were able to get back on the highway. The kids were disappointed. My bladder was about to burst. And we still had an hour and a half drive home. Good times.

"Do you want to stop for dinner somewhere?"

Mike was trying to cheer me up.

"I want to go to Swiss Chalet."

The kids weren't the only ones who were cranky. :0 And at that point, Swiss Chalet was the only thing that could make me happy.

I'm certain Canadians probably wonder why I have such a love affair with a casual chicken and ribs restaurant, but there you have it. It's a Canadian based chain, but we used to have a few in WNY when I was growing up. I LOVE their food. But the American locations all closed some years ago, and so the only way to get my Swiss Chalet fix is to cross the border. Which does seem a bit extreme for a simple quarter chicken dinner, I will grant. But want to know the secret? Their Chalet Sauce. That stuff is like an addictive controlled substance to me. And it's hard to describe. It's thick, like barbecue sauce, but it tastes different from any other sauce I've ever consumed.

*swoons*

We found a Swiss Chalet sign off the next exit and exited. We were soon ensconced at a table, me ordering my chicken dinner with delight. Usually, when french fries are an option with a meal, I choose something else. Trying to eat healthy, and all of that. But I am a firm believer in balance, and sometimes you should allow yourself to eat the food (even if it isn't the healthiest option in the world) that you enjoy. At Swiss Chalet, I always order the fries, because then you can dip them in the Chalet Sauce.

#boom

We let the kids order whatever they wanted, trying to make up for the disastrous afternoon, and soon they were both happily sipping some sort of S'mores milk with marshmallows. Henry and Mike both ordered chicken as well (Anne opted for cheeseburger sliders) and so when our food came, the waitress delivered three bowls of Chalet Sauce. Henry didn't want his, so I quickly co-opted it. Mike was dubious:

"What are you going to do with all that sauce?"

Oh he of little faith in The Power of The Chalet Sauce. We were all starving from our ill fated road trip, and made quick work of our meals.

"How's your chick...wait. Where did all that sauce go?"

"I ate it."

I seized the opportunity with him being distracted to dip a fry in his own cup of sauce.

"Wow."

Clearly, we need to indoctrinate him further on the Ways of the Chalet. By the time we had all eaten, we were feeling a lot better. We still had over an hour to go in the car, but it was much easier to manage going back.

Later, after the kids were in bed, Mike and I had cocktails and watched "Wayward Pines." Although the day didn't go as planned, we made the best of a bad situation.

How was your weekend, dear reader? :)