With Praise and Thanksgiving

Hey! I'm still here! I haven't given up on ye olde blog just yet, but I haven't had much to write about. I've been spending most of my time reading, mothering, household-running, reading, watching Instagram stories, and house hunting. Whew. Summer is flying by at breakneck speeds and I can barely keep up. I've read more books already than I did last year, which I think is saying a lot because I read more books last year than any year since I became a mother. I didn't set a number goal, but I did list out 10 or 15 that I wanted to get to. I've finished most, including the Harry Potters, but not all. It's a good reading year! Right now I'm reading one by a woman who gave up the Internet for a year. Insert scared emoji face. House hunting will likely be a whole separate post...someday. I have a few other posts in the rusty old brain, so we'll see if they come to fruition. I just didn't want you to forget about me!

The last weekend in March I had the great pleasure of attending a real life blogging conference! Like a real blogger! Cathedral of St. Paul Jacqui ,  Anna  and  Susanna  hosted the Catholic Women's Blogging Network Twin Cities get together at a stunning Summit Avenue mansion in St. Paul. Thirty-some wonderful Catholic women from the Twin Cities, the Midwest, and even Maryland joined up to talk blogging and really just to support each other and build each other up. My friend Monica encouraged me to go, and I signed up on a bit of a whim, figuring that if I paid for registration I'd be more inclined to go. If I didn't have a mutual friend link to one of the organizers, and if a couple of my most favoritest bloggers hadn't been speakers, I'd probably have chickened out.  In response to my evident nerves on the way, my husband wisely mused, "Well, if you're going to walk into a group of people you don't know, this is probably the best group yo...

I know a fair amount about myself, about my tendencies and my personality. I can't be the only one who likes finding out more about myself in this regard, as there are tons of profiles and quizzes and articles discussing these topics. I've known some things for a long while: I'm a reader.  I like things done correctly versus quickly. I'm an introvert.  I'm a picky eater, and I like mostly bland food.  I'm better at editing than writing.  I love organizing.  I dislike conflict. I'm a list-maker.  And in the last few years, I've learned that: My primary temperament is melancholic . My secondary temperament is choleric (so there's a teeny bit of extrovert in there). In Myers-Briggs, I'm an ISTJ . One of my gifts is administration, which is why I like paperwork, and love spreadsheets. I am loyal, in relationships but also in seemingly irrelevant things like making sure to read every post by my favorite bloggers even if the top...

My habit tracking so far this year.  I'd intended to slow down on my non-spiritual reading this Lent (and maybe I have, some) but a few days in, a couple of books I'd been waiting for at the library were automatically checked out and downloaded to my Kindle for two weeks. One is Gretchen Rubin's " Better Than Before " and I'm enjoying digging into it.  Rubin outlines questions to ask in order to know yourself, and from taking this quiz and reading a couple of her other books (" The Happiness Project " and " Happier At Home ") I know that I tend mostly toward Obliger, so I thrive on external accountability. Perhaps when I actually lay out a plan for said habits, I'll use the blog for some accountability. We shall see.  I'm about half done and I plan to use it to continue my 2017 goal of knowing myself better in order to make positive changes and steps in the direction I want my life to go. This post won't be a rev...

It's been a while, so I'm going to link up with Kelly at This Ain't The Lyceum  for 7 Quick Takes today! I present to you seven random things I like, and for which I am grateful today. 1. Lent! Time to repent! I do like Lent, and with a weird rib-area cartilage injury and a bad cold to set the pace, it's shaping up to be a really Lenty Lent. I'm using the Blessed is She Lenten journal for my daily prayer time and am trying...t r y i n g this 5-Minute sacrifice. I did fairly well at it Wednesday, and pretty crappy Thursday. So there you go. Onward and upward. I will embarrassingly admit that it took me until my 35th year to realize that I don't have to read all the things on the interwebs, even if they are about a topic of interest to me. The webs are awash with posts about how to Lent, and but thank goodness I resisted the urge to click on all of them and just licked on this one  by Jenny at Mama Needs Coffee. Of course you know I want to share everyth...

I loved this post by Kendra at the Lazy Genius Collective: 10 Ways to Beast Your Monday . I'm new to following her and she's great, especially on Instagram  stories. I love her philosophy, " Be a genius about the things that matter and lazy about the things that don't." I working this year on figuring out what that means for me, but I in the mean time I accidentally stumbled on a way to beast my Monday.  A couple weeks ago I made a massive to do list for the week on a blank page of my planner. I didn't actually assume I'd get through them all that week, but I got them out of my head. It turned out that I was able to get through all but a couple of them during Monday's nap time and I felt so empowered! I was able to let myself off the hook for the rest of the week because of a couple of productive hours on Monday. I wish I could say that I developed the habit of killing it every Monday right then and there, but I didn't.  Today's to do...

We are experiencing crazy nice weather for North Dakota February. Today it was in the 40s so I took the kids out to play. We were out about 75 minutes. It wasn't many minutes into watching them shovel, throw ice chunks, and wander around that I got a little bored. I purposely left my phone upstairs (SO NOBLE, RIGHT?) but I found myself wishing I'd have brought my book. Then it struck me that I have information flowing into my brain almost constantly, and that I actually needed some time to wander around with no phone, no book, no radio, etc. I love reading, so much so that I'll read darn near anything. Kindergarten newsletter? Check. Junk mail? Sure. Random article shared on Facebook that I know will make my blood boil? Probably, if I'm bored enough. If I'm not reading, I'm usually listening. The radio or TV is on in the background, or I automatically throw on a podcast or audiobook if I have any amount of alone time for a walk or a drive. There is informati...

I know Thursday  Friday is too late to review the Super Bowl. I do. But I'm doing it anyway, because I jotted down some notes while watching it and darn it, I'm going to put them to good use. Ponder. Heh.  We were grateful that the game was on our only network channel, FOX, and so we could stay home for it. That worked out well because several of us, myself included, felt like crap. We laid low, the baby napped in a football uniform, and we ate the spicy Doritos I bought accidentally.  I didn't catch many commercials in their entirety because I have kids and they insisted on playing football in front of the TV while I was trying to watch football ON the TV. I like football. I really enjoy watching it and I'm glad the kids like it. I don't care much for either of the teams, and I do like a good game. But if I have to choose between a good game and the Patriots losing, I'd choose the Patriots losing. Womp. I can't figure out exactly why I don't li...

Photography skillz: weak I had another post in draft about how hashtags don't do that much and I feel like contacting the White House, the VP, the First Lady and my state's senators (which I did) is actually more productive than sharing memes and hashtags on social media, but this is way more fun! I follow @ginnysheller on Instagram and I totally love all of her photos. Plus, she has a most adorable baby named Mabel, so I can barely even handle that. I can only aspire to her knitting prowess, but I thought it would be fun to link up with her Wednesday Yarn Along post anyway. Her blog posts are always worth reading, too, for what it's worth. She is thoughtful and wise and I'm always glad when I've read one of her posts.   I'm not working on anything fancy, knitting-wise, just a dishcloth to replace some that are wearing out. Color: Caribbean, because winter. I'm a little more into reading than knitting right now so this easy project is just ...

Inspired by this Modern Mrs. Darcy post, I thought I'd do a 7 Quick Takes: What's Saving Me Now edition (linking up with Kelly (hilarious today, BTW) because I like to pretend I'm a real blogger). I needed a reminder to stop seeing everything that's annoying, or angering, or just plain crappy, and see some good in my life, of which there is plenty. So without further ado: My  Out of Control Center  from a few weeks back is standing strong! There's a big mess of stuff I need to go through hiding under my planner, but I've mostly been able to keep the island cluttered with only appropriate items like a zillion water cups, bagel crumbs and sticky spoons. In an apartment with a house's worth of stuff, the small victories matter!  Read Aloud Revival book lists ( found here ). I'm loving the Read Aloud Revival podcast and book lists right now. They have boosted my enthusiasm for reading to the kids. I printed the annual calendar to mark off days we rea...

I just know the internet is dying to read my thoughts on today's Washington, D.C., festivities, right? Right? I'm mostly refraining from scrolling Facebook today, because I pretty much know how most of my friends feel about our new President, in office lo these last few hours, and I actually give zero craps about what celebrities are sharing on Twitter. I hadn't even planned on watching any of it, because listening to almost any Washington politician or pundit talk makes me throw up in my mouth a little. But I talked to my mom this morning and she mentioned how interesting everything was to watch, so once the boys were done binging on Curious George, I flipped on our one network channel (Fox), about 45 minutes before President Trump was sworn in. My first and most prominent thought is in regards to all the pomp and circumstance surrounding the transfer of power. There are times when stuff like that makes me roll my eyes, but it didn't at all today. I loved it! Our c...

My new Out-of-Control Center The blog is still in the midst of an identity crisis, but that won't keep me from using up some of my beloved nap time alone time to pound away all my thoughts onto the interwebs. Pretty random thoughts coming up here.  Above: I was (am?) ever so sick of the mountain of miscellaneous crap that kept getting piled in the middle of the kitchen island, mostly by me. I'm famous for my "I'll deal with that later" piles, and then dealing with them by just making neater piles. I finally got fed up and decided to create a little, for lack of better word, control center. I'm in control of nothing, so the irony does not escape me, but I needed to see a clean island, at least for a few minutes. We had this old box floating around full of more miscellaneous crap, so I cleaned it out and made space for a couple of magazines and fliers I wanted to keep and added the little sorter for mail that needs attention. My planner fits perfectly...

Trying to link up with Kelly for 7 Quick Takes. I've never done it before, because I'm not a real  blogger, but it's a new year and I'm drinking peach whisky and orange juice, so I'm really living on the edge. You can read Kelly's fantastic blog, and link to other great blogs there as well. Once you're done here, I mean. 1. Earlier this week, I drafted up a post all about the feeling of refreshment, about how the new year brings me a sense of feeling refreshed. Or maybe that was just how I felt upon returning home from our 9-day, 2-state, 950-mile Christmas bender. Before I had time to publish the post, I was back my usual grumpiness and figured it wasn't "authentic" of me to post such a happy piece when I was actually a grouch. Although I don't really have New Years resolutions to post, I really do enjoy the excitement surrounding a new year and its potential. I'm still trying to take a moment each day to acknowledge gratitude, but I...

Poop! This has been sitting in draft since Saturday and I forgot to publish it! Classic! It was a leap year so there's actually 366... It's day 366! I can't believe it! I know I fell woefully behind on gratitude posts at some points throughout the year, but I made it! For the few who have been with me since the beginning, thank you! I am certain that God put this idea and desire in my heart at the end of 2016 because He knew I would need it this year. The grace that has been poured out to me as I contemplate my daily gratitude aided me so greatly in what has been a difficult year in many ways. Finding a thing, experience, person or song to be grateful for each day has helped me maintain perceptive in trying times, and has definitely enhanced my life in positive ways. I'm not sure where we go from here on ye olde blog. New year, new beginnings! We'll see where the new year takes us. This very morning: coffee, chatting, reading, planning. #myfavorites S...

I know that we celebrate Christmas to rejoice over the birth of a savior, of God coming to earth as man, but the simple fact is, gifts are a part of the celebration. And that's good! One of the ways we express our love for each other and for Jesus is through giving gifts.  I used to think my love of gifts was because I was the baby of the family, a bit of a spoiled brat, if you will. I delight in both giving and receiving gifts, but I know not everyone does. My delight was validated when I learned about the Five Love Languages . Gifts are a thing, and loving them is legit!  This year I had fun with much of my shopping, especially a custom necklace I ordered from Etsy for my sister, who is deep into her life as a hockey mom. Imagine my pleasure when I opened my gift from her to find a book-lover's necklace from the same shop! It's been on my Etsy wish list for a while, but so have a million other things and it made me so happy to have (kind of) matching necklac...

Many families' Christmas celebrations are over, but on the fifth day of Christmas 2016, we are just gearing up for round two. My husband and I are both grateful that we get along with our in-laws so well and look forward to spending time together. I've heard countless stories of visits to in-laws' houses that are less than joyful, and so we know to appreciate the relationships we have with each others' family.  We're happy to be at grandma and grandpa's, awaiting the last of the cousins. There's snow, footballs, Legos, cookies, movies, sleds, wrestling, lots of old toys, and a fridge full of Bud Light, so we're doing great! Merry Christmas!

On the fourth day of Christmas, we made an 8-hour car trip to our other grandma and grandpa's house. Our kids are pretty good in the car despite not having movies (yes, we are those people). Things got hairy a couple of times, and we spent most of the last 20 miles singing "Feliz Navidad," the Taco John's version."I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas from the bottom of my heart... and from Taco John's." One kid found it hilarious (as did we) and another kid would have stabbed us had he successfully freed himself from his 5-point car seat harness. Win some lose some. We are grateful to have made the 415-mile trip safely, and looking forward to spending another weekend celebrating Christmas with family. It is still  Christmas, after all!

By Tuesday, we'd been dug out by a generous neighbor with a tractor, and the weather had cleared up enough that we the kids could spend considerable time outside. The snow was still too deep and fluffy on our regular snow hill for even the snowmobile to handle, so they moved sledding to the road and it was perfect.  After non-stop wind and who knows how many inches of snow, Tuesday's weather delighted us. It wasn't windy even out on the lake, which is pretty unusual. Temperatures in the 20s helped, too.  The snow on the lake was knee deep, too, but that didn't stop anyone from trying their hand at ice fishing. My oldest kid loves fishing, so I was disappointed he didn't catch anything right away on Tuesday. But he'd been out for hours sledding already, so he was pretty tired. He did catch one Wednesday morning. I've never been considered outdoorsy, or loved winter activities (unless you count reading and knitting on the couch), but e...

Today would be my grandma Helen's 97th birthday. She was one of the kindest, sweetest, and most generous people I've known. I know everyone says that about their grandma, but I don't know anyone who knew grandma who would disagree.  I had the privilege of spending a ton of time with grandma growing up, since she lived mere blocks away from me for all my growing up years. We stayed with her when mom and dad were out of town, and spent most holidays in her presence. Her house was my second home, and I was always welcome there. It is such a gift to have a grandparent as part everyday life as a child. I certainly didn't realize how lucky I was to have her so close and so available. I  know she would have done anything for us.  Grandma taught me to count in Norwegian, which is what she spoke at home in early childhood. The only time we ever heard her swear was when our holiday "nerts" games got heated. She was quiet and softspoken, faithful, and strong. ...

The calm before the Christmas storm It's Christmas! The birth of a savior, God made man, is enough! What a delight and a joy to be able to celebrate it freely! We are safe and warm at the lake, waiting out the Great Christmas Blizzard of 2016 Which Closed North Dakota. We are together, well-fed, and easily entertained. What a gift!