Crocheting

So I've decided to start crocheting, too bad trying to figure out the stitch is driving me nuts, mainly because I lack patience and I make the loops to tight. Otherwise it's lots of fun, and I'm excited to start something new. I found a pattern for coin purses, which I think I'm going to turn into Rosary purses. It would be something cute to make for the First Communion kids or to give as a gift.

Once I get some things started and actually finished I'll post some pictures!

Did you give up yet?

So it's officially Lent '08, and it started in the typical fashion; me along with many others getting ashes put on our foreheads. Typical of myself I went to Mass tonight, and was amazed with how many people were at Mass and second Fr. George's request to see Mass this full "the whole way through." Mass was an interesting experience for me because I wasn't on the EM schedule and wasn't expecting to serve, even though I had a feeling I would be needed. Now I chose to sit literally in the middle of the pew because I wasn't on, so I had 3 old ladies on one side of me, and what I assume is a mother and 2 young daughters on the other side, so hopping out to serve wouldn't have been easy.

Typical of myself I counted the EMs as they walked up, and said oh they need one, and saw someone go up, I kept counting but for some reason I kept thinking they were covered, and I thought Fr. Brian might have been hiding in the back, alas he wasn't and they were actually still short. So I couldn't just run the people over who were sitting next to me, and Fr. George had a plan; he was the only one distributing Communion in the front and the Deacons covered the back. So I went up to receive and asked Fr. George if he wanted me to take the other ciborium that was sitting on the altar, he said. "if you could," so that's what I did and I distributed to the front with Fr. George. Now that I think about it, we were still short 1 EM, because all 4 chalices were out via 3 EMs and 1 ordinary (priest or deacon) so that left one deacon in the back and Fr. George in the front. What really should have been done was give all four ciboria (my Latin and spelling skills are failing me right now) out and let the chalices just sit there (covered of course), but what was done was done.

So Lent for me began with me doing something that I don't really like to do which is distribute the hosts aka the "Body of Christ." I don't know if I've gotten used to it from being the choir minister, but it didn't bother me tonight. My usual comment is, "eww, Communion someone is going to lick me." It's silly, but true. I've gotten over it, but I still people watch while distributing Communion, especially when I am standing there with a chalice watching people walk back. It's interesting to watch how people receive, how people don't respond or just give you a look. I hold the Host up to the person's eyes (or down if it's a child) and sort of force them to look at what they are receiving, if there's no response, I tend to hold the Host a little longer than I normally would. Maybe one of these days I'll be brave enough to wait longer than a nanosecond with that one.

Tonight's Mass while typical for me, meaning I end up serving as EM because someone didn't show up, yet it was atypical, probably because of the circumstances in which I ended up serving, but i was all good. I don't remember much of Fr. George's homily, actually I remember what he said of Fr. Brian's homily, that Lent is a wake up call for us spirituality. I guess I remember that comment more because that's how I look at Lent, as a time for me to re-start something that I've done before or to try something new. Of course the topic of fasting, almsgiving and praying came up as the 3 principal ways to do something for Lent. Typically Catholics will ask, "So what did you give up for Lent?" For the past few years I have tried not to give up something but to add something in to my spiritual life. This year I plan to give up laziness, especially in terms of exercise. I have yet to actually start my "running" program, but that will change in the coming weeks.

My plans for Lent are to add Daily Mass when I can, which means St. A's at 7:30am or 12:05pm when I'm not babysitting at those times, or a 5:30 or 7:30pm Mass at a local parish on the days I am babysitting. I could bring the 2 year old I babysit to church, but as his mom said, "Michael in church is well, you know," typical of a 2 year old not knowing how loud their voice actually is. I have also decided that if my Lent is not perfect, it's not that big of a deal. Usually I'm disappointed because I haven't said Morning, Evening, or Night prayer everyday, or something like that or done all that I wanted to do. Maybe I should want to do so much but it just works out that way. If I make it to daily Mass I make it, if not I can say a Rosary or extra Chaplet or Stations or something. My hope to do a Rosary Run on Good Friday, so we'll see how well the whole running thing goes.

So the bulleted version of what I am doing for Lent:

• Daily Mass
• pray more
• give up/fast from laziness
• running/walking program
• eat healthier

It doesn't seem that bad now does it, seeing as these are things I should be doing anyway. This time of year always reminds me of a homily I heard in college in which the priest mentioned his nephew asking him, "Did you give up yet?" Well, I don't think I've given up, but I will give my life over to God, and see what happens. I think my relaxed attitude about the whole Lent not being perfect stems from Fr. Brian and confession, where he basically reminded me that I'm not perfect and therefore should expect myself to be and that if something isn't perfect, it's ok.

food for game: $100
new tv for game: $800
watching the Giants make the Pats 18-1: priceless
WHOO-HOO!!!!

I love my men in blue. Eli, Plax, Tyree, Strahan, Smith, Coach Coughlin, and the man from the Army that inspired the Giants to get back on track. I hope they give him a ring!

walking/jogging/running log

I don't think walking with a 2 year old and a 4 year old to the library that's a 5 minute walk away from the house really counts, we did add a walk to bagel store which was probably about a ten minute walk at their speed. I was out for a good 30 minutes total, so at least I moved instead of sitting on my lazy butt. So tomorrow my goal is to walk for 2 30 minute sets aka an hour at a fast pace.

You are what you eat (it's a long one.)

Sometimes I feel like I should have lived years ago, but I know that I am called to something, I just wish I knew what it was. For over a year, more likely two years I have wanted to do a day of reflection on the Blessed Sacrament for the Extraordinary Ministers of the Eucharist at my parish, but I honestly think I'm afraid to hear the answer be it yes or no from Msgr. George. I don't know why, I know I can handle running the day, and I've been "Eucharistly" ( I just make up a word and I don't care) orientated for most of my life, so coming up with a "talk" would be easy. Actually I found something I wrote two years ago, titled "You are what you eat"

I want to know where the me of 2 years ago went, where is the person that wrote this...

"We often hear the phrase “you are what you eat.” As a child my friends and I would wonder if we would turn into hot dogs or pizzas, but alas we didn’t, much to our dismay and delight we stayed human. You are what you eat can be taken literally when it comes to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.

Every week if not every day we have the opportunity to receive Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament and become what we eat. For by receiving Jesus via Communion that is what we do, we eat Him, we let Him enter into our inner beings, or shall I say He lets us let Him enter our inner beings. We become like Mary, a living tabernacle. As Mary was the first tabernacle, the first vessel to carry Jesus to others, we are called to do the same.

Elizabeth and John knew when Mary visited them that something special was inside of her. How many times do we push others out of the way to get to the doors of the Church or to say hi to the priest? Do we stop to think that we are carrying Jesus within us at that very moment? Most times we don’t, it’s usually I’ve got to get out of that parking lot before the traffic jam starts, or got to get over to confirmation class or to some other event. John jumped for joy inside Elizabeth when Mary greeted them, we jump out of the way of that speeding car in the parking lot."

I never finished it, I did start to write another version of it, speaking about the traditions of "yesteryear" , you know bells at the Consecration, silence before and after Mass, you know stuff like that.

Here's that one...

"Jesus said, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood,” and how quickly we forget that. We’re all about being “Christ like” but do we really believe that. We follow Jesus’ teaching, except when it comes to this one. As Catholics we have the opportunity to do as Jesus says everyday, but so many times we overlook it.

Jesus humbles Himself to be in a piece of bread that we eat. He lets us let Him enter into our inner being. So it still looks and tastes like bread, but it’s so much more. We are what we eat, we carry Jesus to other. It doesn’t stop at when we walk out the doors of the church, it continues on.

Jesus doesn’t hide in the “gold box”, it may be His house, and we won’t fit in it, hence why He comes out to us, but He invites us to visit Him everyday, to come and sit with Him, to talk to Him, to be with Him.

It’s funny how the traditions of “yesteryear” leave to bring new ones. Maybe it’s my vantage point, if you want to call it that, from the choir loft, or maybe it’s the “traditionalist” in me, but it seems the so many people forgot what happens at the Consecration. Not until it was mentioned, did I realize how important the bells at the Elevation of the Host and Chalice are/were. In a church looking for “Sacred Silence”, it forgets how sounds affect a person. The ringing of the bells reminds you that something important is happening. Something so important we often blow it off to look at a window or the person next to us. How quickly traditions fade away.

We go over protocol, which seems like common sense to me. Genuflect at the Tabernacle, duh, the King of Kings is there. Clothing, what happened to “Sunday best.” Please, I shouldn’t even breach this topic but I will any way. Being an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, what an honor, yet how often we forget that too. In a very special way we bring Jesus to others. Sometimes it takes a simple act of bowing and reverently receiving Communion to remind me of what I am holding and doing.

Why do I feel so young yet seem to know more about ritual than those double my age. I mean, nothing has changed since I was a child, minor things like no bells, have but nothing major. It really is amazing how a moment of silence only seconds longs broken by a ding will make you sit or kneel up more straight. But we don’t have bells any more, why because, “we don’t need them.”"

So many times while serving as an Extraordinary Minister I look to my fellow ministers and see them with no expressions on their faces, but the stoic look of don't mess with me. I remember as I was walking to distribute Communion to the choir someone saying to me "Smile, you're carrying Jesus." I laughed as I got to the steps to go up to the choir lot, and said it's true, I should be smiling. Now I can't help but stand there with a smile on my face, and you know people notice. Many times when I am standing there with a chalice watching people walk past me, I catch them smile because I am smiling. What's not to smile about, Jesus is entering into us so we can "go light the world."

my choice for president

http://www.jeffdunham.com/walter.php

Running Blog

So I'd like to set a goal of being able to run in the 5K race on May 17th. That's my goal, to run 3.16 miles by May. Thanks to Runner's World I have the 10 week plan all set. So I'm going to get my fat ass out and walking tomorrow and everyday until next Monday when the plan is to "run 2 minutes then walk 4 minutes" 5 times for a total of a 30 minute workout.

I plan on walking over to the high school track and attempting this there, at least there I can keep track (hahahaha) of how far I've run in those 2 minutes. I don't plan on thinking of running in terms of miles until I've reached week 10, but that is easier said than done, considering I was a long distance runner in high school.

I hope to blog my distances and whatnot. I wish my nike+ iPod sensor was actually working because then I would be able to chart more, but I'll have to wait for the "replacement" sensor to arrive for that to happen. So tomorrow's goal is to walk for 30, maybe 60 minutes.

My goal is to run in this...

from the Dennis P. McHugh foundation webpage "Save the Date The Fifth Annual Dennis P. McHugh "Run for Fun" Saturday, May 17, 2008 Flywheel Park, Piermont, NY"By chance I went to visit the webpage of the foundation as I saved it in my favorites. Dennis' dad grew up in Ireland with my dad, and they worked on the NYC buses together too, and Dennis was one of the 343 FDNY killed on Sept. 11th. I think this is a good "excuse" to get my butt in shape, and my ultimate goal will be helping an organization that helps others. Lord knows I will never forget Dennis' wake.

for more info check out http://www.dennispmchugh.org/

Grad School

Since January of 2001 I have been giving thought to graduate school. Usually I'm pissed at the Catholic school I'm working at and want to jump ship and move to Ohio, or I'm just annoyed at where I'm working and want a change. This year brings the same thoughts, but I like my babysitting gig, I'm helping 2 families out and getting paid for it. Granted the only thing that sucks is the whole lack of health insurance and it being a non-taxable job. ;) Well that's not a bad thing, but when the what have you been doing question comes up in an interview, I get to say babysitting, and get the "what is wrong with you look."

I'm tired of the same shit, of getting a job I think will be great, having it suck and then me losing it, and I get screwed for having some fucking morals. I want to know why I was the only member of the religion faculty to go to the March for Life last year, seriously, I was hired to make religion fun for the students and when I did that, I was accused of not being loyal to the Church. Bite me, you can't get more loyal than I am. I was sure as shit teaching "Church teaching" the kids are just so damn tired of hearing the same shit year after year, they'd rather see you living it and being true to what you are saying than just spewing shit from a book, a monkey could do that.

I'm tired of being the black sheep of the family because I'm "republican" guess what I'm against the killing of innocent babies in the womb, that's why I'm not a democrat. I'm probably more of a democrat than a republican any way, but I can not support a party that says it's ok to kill the unborn, and I can't comprehend why so many "Catholics" are democrats and ok with the baby killing. My extended family and my own family looks at me like I'm crazy for being " a one issue voter" You know what I am a one issue voter, I can comprehend how parents get up and argue on a national debate of who's more pro-abortion. I do not want to see the work of the last 8 years get tossed down the shitter because we want "change" No matter whom we stick in that office, the economy is going to suck, and apparently live will to.

People need to stop living in the fantasy world of I need 2 cars to survive, and I need 2 bedrooms per child because I need the big ass house or apartment. Dude all you need is a mommy and daddy room, a girls room and a boys room. After a while if you're like my friends and I you'll need to upgrade simply because the house will be too small for your 10 kids. ;)

I don't get it. Looking back on the past few years, I feel like I'll never get out of this hell hole. I so planned on being out of the house by now, I can't stand being asking where I'm going and all those other questions. I'm freaking 28 years old, if I want to go out I'm going to go out.

Oh well, it's midnight and since I've up all day and letting the lack of sleep affect me, I should just go to bed.

Welcome

I'll probably be using this as a place to get my thoughts out, you know the typical stuff you do on blogs.