Oh Crap! – Musings of an Unperfect Mommy

First Sunday of Advent

November 27, 2016

Just a quick note to say that I love how Advent and Christmas are arranged on the calendar this year. There are 4 full weeks of Advent because Christmas starts on a Sunday! And then, be still my heart, the O Antiphons begin on the 4th Sunday of Advent and go all week until Christmas Eve. Okay, I think they officially start on the 17th, but I will break with tradition and do them that last week because it’s neater. Really – what’s one day off? Yeah, I’m kind of anal retentive that way. I like to be organized even though a lot of my life is actually disorganized. If I can keep to routines and a semblence of organization I feel better. But that’s also my downfall because when things interrupt that organization I tend to scramble. Like – that is NOT supposed to happen! And then I tend to slip down the slippery slope of “why do I bother”. It’s then that I need to get back up and continue with my routines and life to keep it going. Because, life is still happening and I do need to bother – for my kids and my self.

So, we begin. We lit the first candle on the Advent wreath tonight, prayed and pondered, and read from a book of Christmas memories by Tomie dePaola.

Enjoy this time of preparation if you keep Advent. Find time to pray,find time for quiet, and remember to take care of your own needs (physical and mental) amidst the busyness.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel shall come to thee O Israel!

No comments
Advent Reading

November 26, 2016

I know, Advent starts tomorrow so this is later than I had wanted, but better late than never right? Still, any one of these books makes a good Advent read and all give ideas on how to make your celebrations more meaningful.

The first is called “Unplug the Christmas Machine” by Jo Robinson and Jean Coppock Staeheli. This is all about ways to make your Christmas meaningful and to counter the materialism that ramps up this time of year. It’s an older book dating back to 1991 but I think it’s even more relevant today as more and more people try to live more simply. Each chapter tackles a subject and breaks it down. Then there are questions for you to think about and work through and questions and answers for situations that arise. In the Appendix there are “Resources For A Simple Christmas” complete with recipes and gift ideas. It’s a book that you can read this year and then put some ideas into practice next year. Christmas can be whatever you want it to be and it doesn’t have to be the same thing every year. We have all adults, young adults, and teens now so our celebration is changing. And when spouses and grandchildren arrive it will change again. The one bit of information I read some 20 plus years ago was this: Christmas isn’t an emergency. We know it comes every year and we can be prepared for it. It changed my whole way of thinking about it.

The second book is “A Season of Little Sacraments: Christmas Commotion – Advent Grace” by Susan H. Swetnam. I’ll say right up front that the author is Catholic, but it’s not overtly so. If you are something other, I think you can still find a lot of good stuff in here. I read it this month and I’l read it again as we go through Advent. It’s a book of essays on each week of Advent and the preparation for celebrating Christmas. Lots of humor and some tears, but also lots to think about through the season. It’s not a large book either – short chapters that can be read with morning coffee and then spend time i prayer after. That’s what I’ve been doing anyway. So, you may want to check this one out.

The third book is “The Season of the Nativity” by Sybil MacBeth. This is the one book I have not read yet, but I am starting on it tomorrow. It is a beautiful full-color compendium of things to do during the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. You can see inside it on Amazon so check it out if you need some fresh ideas this season.

The fourth book is “Nigella Christmas” by Nigella Lawson because you need at least one really good cookbook to get you through it all. I love her Christmas shows and, more importantly, I love how easy her cooking style is. Very little is complicated and even the star topped mini mince pies we make every year are quite easy – just a little time intensive. This is my go-to book every year. We are branching out a little more each year to add one or two new things to our Christmas eats. And this year since I have another kid in braces, things like butter toffee are out.

So, those are my picks this year for Advent reading, pondering, and cooking. Enjoy the season!

People look east the time is near
Of the crowning of the year
Make your house fair as you are able
Trim the hearth and set the table
People look east and sing today
Love the guest is on the way.

No comments
The Day After Thanksgiving

November 25, 2016

As of this morning, I haven’t been out of the house since Wednesday morning. Yeah, that’s right, I’ve spent the last two and a half days at home! Wooot! We spent Wednesday cooking the rolls and stuffing. I would have got the pumpkin pies done, but the line at Starbucks drive through was long both times I went by there and I got home later than expected. So, instead of pulling an all nighter since I get dead tired by 6:30pm now, I waited until Thursday morning. Oh, and no, I didn’t do it all by myself. All of my teens helped in the cooking. In fact, there was a little quibble about who was going to make the green bean casserole. Am I a lucky mom or what?

Thursday was spent doing the normal Thanksgiving rituals. Attempt to watch the Macy’s Parade while doing a little bit of housework (dishes and laundry have to be kept up you know), and figuring out when to put the turkey in. I still don’t know how to do the big pan of dressing and green bean casserole after the turkey comes out. Both came out not very hot. Delicious, but not hot. We also had crock cheese and summer sausage on crackers as lunch and then the kids and I gathered for a long game of Apples to Apples. Very fun indeed. Then it’s a cooking frenzy until we eat. After the big meal we rest, and then around 7ish we have our pie and watch “A Christmas Story” as we have forever. It’s tradition and I love it.

Today was spent…doing nothing. Okay, not quite true. I got my butt in gear and cleaned up the house and did a bunch of laundry and dishes – it needed it and I felt really good looking at the clean-ness. The kids and their dad went to the tree farm to pick out our Christmas tree – another tradition. We had leftovers for lunch, pie and tea a few hours later, and whatever they wanted to eat for dinner. After two major days of cooking, I don’t do much the day after. I also spent a lot of time reading “The Year of Living Danishly” and cozied up on the couch in the quiet. Yeah, quiet. The tv stayed off for the majority of the day and so it was really, really nice. I felt refreshed and I didn’t feel one twinge of guilt over any of it. And kind of ironic to be all cozy while reading about the Danes and Hygge.

Tomorrow will be the usual busy – grocery shopping in the morning and bumming around town with one of my kids (more of a ritual than tradition). We also have started movie night on Saturday nights again as well so we’ll do that. Or maybe we’ll start reading “A Christmas Carol” since Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent. So, I have to get all that stuff down too – the nativity set, the advent wreath and candles. I feel more excited this year than I have in awhile. It’s a good thing.

So, that’s Thanksgiving at the Oh Crap house. I hope your Thanksgiving was just as good and let’s all remember to be grateful each day for all we have – even if it’s not much, it’s still something.

No comments
Music Monday – The Very Thought of You

November 21, 2016

The song I’ve chosen for today is Nat King Cole’s “The Very Thought of You” from 1958, although the song goes back to Billie Holiday and 1934. I first heard it in the movie “Home For the Holidays” and I loved the song and the scene. The song is about how a person feels when they are in love – just thinking about that person makes their life so blissful. Even the music sounds like a daydream. I think most of us can relate tothose feelings whether it’s from a past relationship or a current one. So here for your listening pleasure – The Very Thought of You by Nat King Cole. Oh and go to YouTube for a real listen – it’s not to be missed.

They very thought of you and I forget to do
The little ordinary things that everyone ought to do
I’m living in a kind of daydream
I’m happy as a king
And foolish though it may seem
To me that’s everything

The mere idea of you, the longing here for you
You’ll never know how slow the moments go ’til I’m near to you
I see your face in every flower
Your eyes in stars above
It’s just the thought of you
The very thought of you, my love

The mere idea of you, the longing here for you
You’ll never know how slow the moments go ’til I’m near to you
I see your face in every flower
Your eyes in stars above
It’s just the thought of you
The very thought of you, my love

No comments
Weekend Gallery

November 20, 2016

It was a busy weekend and my back is still angry at me for all the running I did, so, it’s going to be another short and sweet Weekend Gallery.

First up, we have a one pound Gummy Bear. Yeah – one pound. Not the biggest we’ve found. A candy store called Lolli and Pops has a FIVE pound Gummy Bear. Yipes!

And, here’s the 1 1/2 pound sweet potato! Yep – just check out that scale. At 98 cents a pound that one potato costs about $1.50. I think 50 cents a pound would make a better deal. On the bright side, you don’t have to buy many for that sweet potato casserole. (ETA: I wrote this post a week ago – the sweet potatoes are now down to 58 cents a pound.)

Rounding out the food category – a lovely lunch my daughter and I had at Panera. She had the broccoli soup and bread and I had a chicken ceasar and bread – both very delicious and it wasn’t too expensive.

Christmas is coming and the ponies have their hats. :-)

I wanted Maggie to hold up this bag where her face was, but she wouldn’t do it. So all I have is a picture of the bag. There was another one alluding to the fact that your crap was in the bag, but I didn’t get a picture of that one.

And heeeeere’s Elsa – and doesn’t she look evil??!! Girl, I’m not sure what she’s thinking but it probably isn’t nice. Bwahahahaha!

That wraps up this edition of Weekend Gallery. I still haven’t done any nature shots and I really should this week before the leaves are brown and gone. I guess I’ll just have to make that my goal for the week.

2 comments
Daily Bread

November 18, 2016

I have been seeing this a lot in the books and articles I’ve been reading lately. Too many times not to think Someone is trying to tell me something.

It’s about that one day at a time thing – not worrying about tomorrow where we don’t know what’s going to happen (which makes it somewhat scary) and not living in yesterday because that’s done (and no there is no time machine to go back and right it, but that’s a different post for another day). I never thought about it before, but Jesus said to ask for our DAILY bread – not tomorrow’s or the next year’s (although we can) – but today’s. One book by Kathleen Norris referenced the manna in the desert in the Old Testament. The Israelites were only to take enough to last one day and not be greedy and take more for future days. To make sure they didn’t, God made the manna with a very short shelf life as people soon found out. Hehe – nice one, God. :-) I’d never thought to equate the two before – the manna and daily bread – but it makes perfect sense.

And today, lo and behold, I turned to EWTN and saw Fr. Leo Clifford talking about the same thing – live and love only for each day. He also said something that made me pause to think – what would happen if you showed a doctor all the patients he would have to care for in his lifetime, or to a homemaker a mountain of dishes she would have to wash. How discouraged they would be! No, we need to take each day as it comes and not worry about the rest. I know right now that’s difficult to think about, but even Jesus said not to worry about tomorrow for today has enough trouble of it’s own.

So, I’m going to do this – pray only for my daily needs. I’ve never done that before – I always kind of skip over today and move right tomorrow probably missing the more immediate needs of the moment.

Maybe you’ll want to pray that way too – maybe it will keep us living more in the moment and taking less for granted and giving more each day. Maybe I’ll finally learn to enjoy each day for what it is and live it more fully. I can only hope.

No comments
Wednesday Wisdom

November 16, 2016

Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. – Teddy Roosevelt

This is one of my favorite quotes and I think there’s a lot of truth in it. Even if you don’t have a lot of money, time, friends, whatever, you can still do things – just on a different scale. I held to this one especially when we were crawling out of debt – it really helped.

You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.

I think this is true. Most of us can do anything we want to do but we can’t do it all. God knows I’ve tried! What this means for me is that I can do anything I need or want to do that is right for me. But not everything is right for me or available to me to do. I need to figure out what those things are. A few months ago I made a list of what I wanted and I what I didn’t want (at that time) and it was helpful. I was able to get things done because I knew what I wanted (and needed) to do. And that is an antidote to procrastination which I often fall prey to.

If I don’t do anything I know nothing will happen, but if I try/do something then something might.

Or something to that effect. This quote is from one of those Tinkerbell movies, but I can never find it. And I think there are variations on it anyway from others. The gist is, you have to do something for something to happen. Like I actually have to do those things I know will make me healthier. If I don’t do anything then nothing is going to happen and I can’t expect results without putting in the effort. This is a good quote to think of when you’re afraid to do something – like meeting new people, or asking for a raise. Get out of your comfort zone and see what you can do.

Right now housework is piling up, two birthdays and Thanksgiving are coming up (not to mention Advent and Christmas), and there are kid issues to attend to. It all adds up to overwhelm and doesn’t leave much time for me or to do other things I’d like to do. How to make the time for all I need to do and still make time to take care of me is the question. I came up with this plan for right now:

1. Write out all I do or need to do and prioritize.

2. Add in self-care practices and make them non-negotiable.

3. Stop putting myself on hold.

And doing it with these three quotes in mind I hope will help.

No comments
Five Things

November 15, 2016

1) Today was better than yesterday, but busy-ness still prevails. Two birthdays and Thanksgiving are on tap next week as well. I’m going to declare Tuesday a do nothing day. I hope I get to stick to that. :-P

2) Watching “My So-Called Life”…again.

3) Reading “Unplug The Christmas Machine” and “A Season of Little Sacraments” – both giving me lots to think about as I prepare for the upcoming holiday season. Hopefully less stressed and more mindful this year.

4) I think I need to minimize and get back to basics. Scrap plans not working and put into place the ones that do. Hmm – feels like deja vu all over again.

5) I watched “The Turning Point” this week – such a great movie and the ballet is so beautiful.

No comments
Music Monday – Home For the Holidays Soundtrack

November 14, 2016

One of my favorite movies is “Home For the Holidays” with Holly Hunter and Robert Downey Jr. It’s about a dysfunctional family who try to keep it together for Thanksgiving – and fail. I also love the music and I finally found the soundtrack on ebay for a mere $5 so I grabbed it while I had the chance. And I’m so glad I did! It’s my November/Thanksgiving music right now and it fits – especially in the morning or late afternoons (I’ve told you before it’s about mood, people). So, let’s go to the breakdown shall we?

1. Evil Ways by Rusted Root – This is a remake of the classic Santana hit and it’s a good remake – really good remake.

2. Holiday Blues by Mark Isham – A bluesy song reminiscent of the 30’s and 40’s blues and jazz. It’s a good song to listen to when things aren’t going quite right or you’re stuck in traffic.

3. Candy by Nat King Cole – A Cole classic from 1956. I don’t think it plays in it’s entirety in the movie so I’m glad it’s on the album.

4. It’s Not Unusual by Tom Jones – Okay, trivia time! Who thought Tom Jones was American? Yeah, me too! Well, he’s not – he’s Welsh. Did you know this was his first hit? Yeah, me neither! I really like this song – both the music and the words.

5. Blue Nights by Mark Isham – Another song like Holiday Blues and these little bluesy songs are really the focal musical backdrop to the movie – the main soundtrack if you will. Love the organ music intro – you can almost hear trouble brewing.

6. Birth of the Cool Whip by Mark Isham – see above

7. Trouble in Mind – Dinah Washington – Not my favorite on the album, but I do like it. Again, a bluesy song and the title punctuates the character Tommy. To be honest, I’m going to need to go back in the movie to see where this one shows up because I don’t remember it. They may have just used a small clip of the song.

8. The Late Night Blues by Mark Isham – I think this is the music used when Tommy and his friend show up at Tommy’s parents house. Again, see comment on Blue Nights. :-)

9. Medley: The Very Thought of You/With Us Alone Medley by Mark Isham – A very sweet, quiet acoustic piano medley of these two songs.

10. The Very Thought of You by Mark Isham – A very jazzy riff on Cole’s song.

11. The Very Thought of You by Nat King Cole – This is my personal favorite on this album! Just so beautiful and sweet. A song about when you first love someone and how all your thoughts turn to that person wherever you’re at. How you can’t wait to be with them again. The music even feels day dreamy. And the placement in the movie was perfect.

12. Piece of My Heart by Janis Joplin (under Big Brother and the Holding Company) – My least favorite song on the album. While it is bluesy, I’m just not that into Janis Joplin’s style. I do like the words though. What is sad here is the fact that Janis Joplin died at 27 years old – my God – way too young.

So, that’s it. There are a few other incidental songs from the movie that aren’t on this album, but that’s ok. I think what’s here is good and when I listen I can see the various parts of the movie go through my head. I love the movie and I love the music and it totally fits my Thanksgiving/Fall mood this year. :-)

2 comments
Cultivating Silence

November 12, 2016

Hmmm, I wrote this back in February – before Lent – and thinking it’s time to revisit it. Advent is like a little Lent anyway, but the need to become quieter, especially now, has come to the front of my mind again.

I love the movie Into Great Silence and there are times I crave what those monks have and yet I’m not even sure of what it is. They have a peacefulness about them, they are drawn more to the outdoors and nature, they are drawn to God through silence within and without. There is no internet (except for the one monk who pays the bills), no phones, no distractions at all.

In my world there are loads of distractions: kids fighting, toilets overflowing, errand running, and on and on. However, I add distractions to those distractions in the form of internet, tv watching, and (sometimes) play more than my usual 30 minutes of Animal Crossing.

So, I have been thinking on this for quite some time – silence and how to cultivate it in myself. I’m not a quiet person, but I’ve been increasingly feeling the need to become quieter inside and to still some of the noise around me as well. Well, the noise that is within my power to still. I think it’s time to try. Keep my distractions at near zero so that I can listen to the One who I should be listening to the most.

So, the first thing will be cutting mindless tv and internet viewing. I hardly ever watch tv anyway, but I turn it on in the morning just to see what’s on. Of course, if there is iffy weather approaching, I will watch weather for that – that’s an essential in the middle of the U.S.. But then there is the mindless QVC watching – yeah, that’s a distraction. That needs to go.

Self help books and magazines, except for the ones that I’m using directly in the things I’m making a change in, will need to lay around like lumps. Instead, prayer will replace them. Maybe I’ll do a personal divine office if you will. Every so often sit and pray or meditate for 5 minutes.

Take more time to be with my kids and do things with them. Yeah, I know, I’m with them a lot due to the homeschooling, but you know sometimes I’m more teacher than mom and I need to make sure I’m mom as much as I can. Last night Becky and I played three rounds of Mille Bournes and afterwards Maggie and Katie came along and the four of us talked. That’s what I (and they) need more of.

Luckily I hardly ever touch my cell phone except to make an actual call, take an actual call, or text someone intentionally so I’m ok there.

Then there’s the talking I do. Like I said, I’m not a quiet person – I tend to need to fill any kind of silence with something. So, maybe less talking and more listening and thinking about what I really want to say? I don’t know – maybe that’s an advanced level for later but I can always do less talking.

So, there it is. Cultivating silence for Lent – hopefully it will be the beginning of a new relationship with the Lord for me.

Okay – first of all – I think I’m replacing doing with doing? Where does the silence and solitude come in? I actually bought a book on that so maybe it’s time to dust it off and attempt these spiritual disciplines. I will say that I have cut back on tv and internet this year. I have felt the tug recently to eschew self-help stuff and think – what did people used to do before everyone told them what to do? Time to think on that again too. Okay – enough deep stuff for today, but good to ponder.

No comments
« Older Posts