Catholic podcasts

Ok, I just had to post about this. I found a free rosary podcast through iTunes, as I mentioned below. But I did a bit more digging, and found that there are tons of free Catholic podcasts out there. There is actually a site called A Catholic iPod, how bloody cute is that?! Thus, never a girl that can leave well enough alone, I have resolved to check all of these things out and report back on quality. I'm sure you're all waiting on baited breath for my report :)

The nerdy Catholic Librarian prepares to travel...

For most normal people, preparing to go on vacation means that they pack sunscreen, their bathing suit, and put their carry-on toiletries into those ridiculous little 3 oz. containers and subseqnent ziploc bag that the airline industry subjects us to. What does the Catholic Librarian do, you ask?

(1) Go to the public library and obtain a small army of romance and religious fiction, and Catholic non-fiction to read.
(2) Charge up my beloved iPod Nano, Max, (Mike claims I love Max more than him) and synch him up with some new French music Shauna'h gave me.
(3) Use super speedy librarian powers to find a free rosary podcast through iTunes, and subscribe happily. I am now loaded up with the Sorrowful Mysteries.
(4) Refresh my Vatican Radio podcast list so that I'll have a few to listen to at the airport; this, of course, is assuming that Hank is unconscious or something. Otherwise, how on earth would I be able to listen to anything?
(5) Make sure that my binoculars and east coast bird reference volume are in the "to be packed" pile. I've spotted many a snowy egret from the car on the way back from the airport.

So, I think I'm ready. I'd rather sleep in the same clothes for three straight days then not have a book with me or anything to listen to. I shudder at the thought.

Post-Christmas sales...

Personally, I'm scouting for a nice wooden Advent calendar at 50% off that I can save for next year. And I'm also in the market for a white gold miraculous medal that I can put on a chain that Mike got for me. Seems they don't exist, at least from preliminary searching. Sterling silver and pewter yes, white gold no. We'll see. Online Catholic stores are no match for my librarian researching powers...

I also have lots of gift cards, and boy do I have a good time after the holidays every year figuring out what I'm going to use them on. I have iTunes, Old Navy, and my all time favorite, Amazon. So, so many ways that I can spend money at Amazon. How I love thee. But at any rate, I needed new reading material for my trip to Florida this week to visit my in-laws, and obviously, an Amazon order would not arrive in time :) So, I just got back from a productive trip to the public library. Has anybody read any of Nicholas Sparks' books? I picked up a few of those. I also picked up the last in Katerine Valentine's series featuring a Catholic parish in a small New England town, called A Wing and a Prayer. They're pretty cutesy, but wholesome, fun reads. Catholic fiction is not easy to find, I tell you.

Merry Christmas!

I will post properly after the holiday :)

Back from the depths...

So, I spent the weekend pretty much snowed in. That's romantic for about a half a day, and then I go stir crazy. Yesterday was day 3 of my confinement, and by the early evening, I was ready to place Hank in the recycling bin for morning pick-up. It was rough. We baked cookies for his upcoming school holiday party last night, and he was under strict instructions that he could eat 1 cookie, but had to leave the rest alone. Every time I turned around to check on him, hovering over the cooling rack, he was (a) touching, (b) breathing on, (c) stroking, or, his personal favorite,(d) licking, the cookies. Everywhere I went in the house, within seconds I'd hear that little "mooommmyyy" with just enough whine in it to remind me of why my new box of Franzia is already empty. It was just one of those days where I had cabin fever and Hank was tired and difficult, but it had the added complication of appearing as if we lived inside a snow globe. I actually avoided even going *near* the doors, it was so bad.

Weather system approaching...

Sounds sort of ominous, huh? :) We're under a winter storm warning currently, upgraded from a storm watch. This isn't the sort of upgrade one usually looks forward to, like being upgraded to first class on your flight out to the west coast. Mike and I were upgraded to first class on our flight to San Francisco for our honeymoon. A flight attendant named Dexter fed us meals with linen napkins and plied us with Chardonnay and Heineken for four straight hours. That's the kind of upgrade I look forward to. Anyway, I digress. We usually drive Hank up about 20 miles to my parents house on Fridays for them to look after him, but the weather may prohibit us from doing that tomorrow. Thus, Mike and I are scrambling to rearrange our schedules so that one of us can be home with him tomorrow. Thus is the life of a parent of small children :) I suppose I can use the time at home to do some laundry and wrap presents. We'll see...I'm certain a cup of hot chocolate laced with Bailey's will come into play as well.

My little snowman...

That's my precious angel, third from the left. He did such a wonderful job last night. He took his duties *very* seriously :) Naturally, as soon as the curtain opened, I started bawling. Unsurprising, I know. He was just so, so precious and angelic. He also got to sit on Santa's lap:

Really weighing down Santa's knee, huh? :) He's such a big kid, but I swear, he's ours :) I was just so proud of him. In bonus news, he told us both before and after the program that he had to go pee pee, and then he sat on the potty and went. It's just raining toddler good news today.

My baby!

My precious little guy is going to be a snowman at the daycare Christmas show tonight, and I couldn't possibly be more excited. I will try and post a picture tomorrow :) As you well know, I'm a pretty emotional person, and I'm thinking that seeing my dumpling up on stage is going to instigate the water works. My baby!

I am officially...

one of *those* people. You know, those people who get all phobic about other people being near them, and do all of their Christmas shopping online. I just got back from a jaunt to Toys R Us and Barnes & Noble. Holy smokes. The parking lot situations alone are enough to bring on the Ibuprofen. But going into the store and dodging the clueless people browsing aimlessly, totally unaware of anyone else's needs but their own, is enough to really do me in. Shopping carts left in the middle of the aisle while their owner cluelessly gazes elsewhere make me frantic. I was hot and irritated in the matter of five minutes. Plus, everything is more expensive than it is online. Long before I left the first store I wondered to myself why I wasn't safely ensconced in my office, sipping tea and browsing Amazon. What was I thinking?

Flush with success of holiday shopping...

For the first time in as long as I can remember, my Christmas shopping is just about done, and it's still two weeks until Christmas. I've been much more organized this year, given that we're living on one income and I have to be much more careful about what I spend, and when. So far, I have to say it's actually turning out quite well. Instead of worrying (incessantly; this is *me* we're talking about) about purchasing numerous gifts for each person in my life, I'm choosing one or two gifts for them, very, very carefully.

My first criteria is no gift cards. Gift cards are wonderful, but I really want to see my recipient actually open an item that I've selected for them. More excitement that way :) The second thing is that I want it to be something that I really feel that they will enjoy and use, but of course it can't break the bank. So, I've had to be creative, and my Christmas spirit is much higher this year than in years past. I'm liking this. Instead of getting a lot of toys for Hank this year, (his grandparents will do that, in abundance :) I've been changing up my buying choices. I got him a very inexpensive Play Doh ice cream factory. Glutton for punishment? Perhaps. But Play Doh does inspire creativity, and is much better for the kids than watching tv. The one thing I did relent on was an inexpensive car toy where he can launch the cars through a spiral thing. I got him some wonderful books at the Scholastic sale, including one with vinyl clings of the characters that he can place in the book himself, and an accompanying small stuffed Wubbzy complete with a bendy tail. I also got him a wood puzzle of the solar system, and his own magnetic calendar.

Of all of the toys that he has (which is a lot, sigh) the one thing he plays with every single day since he got it is a wood puzzle of the United States. This thing is cool. *I* enjoy playing with it. Such a feeling of victory when one places the last piece in :) It cost under $10 and I had nearly forgotten that we'd tucked it away for him. I'm truly excited to give him the things that I picked out for him. Plus, they all take up infinitely less space in our house than the gigantic plastic toys - bonus!

So, this year, I'm honestly feeling better about Christmas because I'm not making myself crazy with an endless list of things that I need to buy. It's a good feeling :) *halo* Well, it's also partly that I'm being cheap, so don't think too highly of me just yet.