Moving

Even though I am not 100% ready, I have decided to take the plunge and move this blog. About a month ago I transferred my blog on my website The Third Prayer. I have been going back and forth between the two and it has become quite time consuming. I am patiently waiting for my wonderful web designer to finish my page. So right now it is a work in progress. If you decided to start checking out there then you will see it change a lot over the next few weeks. But from here on out, that is where you will find me. Not many people know about this site so I won’t cause too much confusion. Once the page is completely ready I will make a more official announcement. For now accept this as my announcement. It’s been a nice ride while it lasted.

2008 New Year's Resolutions

Self
Spend more time with Jasmine
Change cell phone plan
Clean house
Mend broken relationships
Move forward not backwards
Stop letting silly things bother me
Bite my tongue

Religion
Evangelize
Pray the rosary more frequently with Frank
Attend daily Mass more daily
Let God’s will be done through me in all my actions
Stop confessing the same confessions
Finish listening to Jesse Romero cds
Get articles in line for The Review

Stomach pains

Frank and I were so blessed to spend New Year’s Day Mass at the Cathedral in downtown Chicago. It was absolutely breathtaking. I didn’t realize when I mapped out the closest Catholic Church to our hotel that we would be at the Cathedral but I’m so glad it worked out that way. We arrived 30 minutes early, because I’m crazy when it comes to time and I didn’t know how long our walk would take us. I easily could have been there an hour early and enjoyed the time in prayer. For some reason, I pray better in beauty! Maybe that’s why I love Sacred Heart so much. I feel God’s presence more when his house is immaculate. It may sound strange but that’s how I roll.

The presiding priest spoke amazing words about the Blessed Mother. As it happens so many times when I hear an amazing homily I get filled with sadness for those that are not there to hear these powerful words. I can’t count the times that after Mass I have looked at Frank and said I wish “so-and-so” was here to hear that. Drats! Another thing to try harder for this coming year.

So 2008 is here. Where did 2007 go? It seems like just yesterday I was standing at the alter saying “I Do” but in reality a year and half has gone by. The country song is so true, Don’t Blink. Time flies when you get old. Is there any way to slow it down? Any suggestions? Life is becoming one big blur.

I hate that my memory is slipping. Yet I find moments when my memory is resurrected. Take this weekend in Chicago for example. I completely forgot about my previous trip to Chicago with Jenny and Cindy. As Nicole and I walked around the Magnificent Mile, I had so many memories going through my head about the time I was previously there. I was telling Nicole everything that came to my head. I was going on and on about this and that. I’m sure I was impossibly annoying. But I was so excited to remember. I don’t know why I so easily forget now.

Am I getting old or is my mind too preoccupied with work related business? Many times I feel like I can remember the rent rate on a particular project better then I can remember my husband’s birthday. Work can be so utterly consuming.

Which by the way, I am working from home right now. I am still feeling sick from my weekend. I think it is a combination of drinking and the weather. It’s not too often that you find yourself walking in high heels in the snow.

So here is 2008. May the year be filled with many memorable moments and may the year carry on at a slower pace.

Chicago Here We Come

Unfortunately I didn’t have time to write today, let alone breathe. What a busy day! It’s 11 p.m. and I just printed out the maps for Chicago. I just finished the last load of laundry. I still need to pack. Sophie is limping and I need to soak her foot in epsom salt. There never is enough time in the day. Life is great!

Tomorrow morning at 7 a.m. we are leaving for Chicago. We’ll be ringing in the New Year at P.S. Chicago, an 80s bar on Rush Street. It’s very spontaneous of us to be going on this trip but we are really looking forward to the time away. We are hoping this is our last big New Year’s for a few years. God willing, we’ll be celebrating with a little baby next year!

So this is my last entry of the year. It’s a crappy one too but it will have to do. I have my New Year’s Resolutions ready to post but I want to wait until January 1st to commit them to paper.

I hope everyone has a wonderful last few days of 2007. Enjoy these last days with the ones you loved. And here come 2008. May it be better then the last, if such a thing were possible!

Happy Birthday

Thirty one years ago you were born into this wonderful world. I’m so thankful for that day. Without you, I don’t know where I would be. Or who I would be for that matter. You are a big reason that I am the person I am today. Meeting you has changed my life in so many ways. With your constant support of my new adventures, you have let me spread my wings in ways I didn’t know were possible. When my ideas are unrealistic you bring me back to earth in a calming matter. You always believe in me and I really appreciate that.

People are drawn to you. I know that’s why you will be good at your new job. There is something about your mannerism that makes you approachable. People want to talk to you and feel comfortable in your presence. Like I’ve said many times before, you have no enemies. You can always find the good in a person. When I can easily point out the negative you can quickly counteract with a positive. I love that about you. You can find something beautiful in the ugliest of personalities. That’s a wonderful part of your personality that I am slowly starting to inherit. You have taught me “not to judge a book by its cover” and never to go off a first impression. I’m learning to dig deeper and find the good in each person. It’s not natural for me but for you it is. It’s one of your best qualities. That’s probably one of the reasons I feel in love with you.

Of course I believe in love at first sight. You are my proof. But it was before I met you face to face that I felt love. All the wonderful things that Jim said about you made me want to meet you even more. Weeks went by before I finally met the infamous Frank. And you were everything he built you up to be, but more. I’ll never forget the first time I saw you on Market Street. I knew at that moment that I had to get to know you better. Months would go by before our first date run. But I knew within weeks that you were “The One.” I believed with all my heart and soul that one day we would get married. I felt more confident about that then anything I ever felt in my life.

I am so glad my dream came true. I know anything is possible with you at my side. You help make this crazy world more breathable. You bring God closer to my heart. You were my missing piece. You have completed me.

I will end this entry since you are sitting on the couch bored to pieces. Thank you for bearing with me during this blog.

Mary Did You Know?

Late last night as I slowly got high off paint fumes, I watched “The Nativity Story.” First thing first, I have to say that I do not like the way they portrayed Mary. The movie made Mary to appear as a brat before the angel spoke to her and afterwards an arrogant righteous woman. This part of the movie sickened me. Mary barely spoke but only half smiled or gave no expression at all. Is that the way people see her? It just doesn’t make sense to me. Why would God want His son to be raised by that type of women? God would only want the best for His son. You would think right? Maybe I’m just looking into it too much. Or maybe the paint fumes really were getting to me. But overall I did not like the interpretation of Mary. There were a few moments in the movie that Mary appeared to be compassionate but there weren’t enough of these scenes to fulfill my expectations of her.

With that out of the way, I do have to say that the story was well done. I loved how the story of King Herod was intertwined throughout the movie to show the historical importance of Jesus’ birth. The King made living conditions unbearable for many with his outrageous taxes and then his silly census. And to top it, at the end of the movie he had his troops slaughter all the male children under the age of two in Bethlehem. Thanks to the whisper of an angel, Joseph and Mary escape just in time to save baby Jesus.

And then there was the fact that Mary was pregnant out of wedlock. All the nasty looks she received in Nazareth. Joseph was frowned upon by his friends. He easily could have denounced her and had Mary stoned to death. With the King out to kill her baby and her own people rejecting her, it wasn’t just a virgin birth. It was a miracle. There were so many road blocks along the way that could have easily terminated His birth. But God willing it happened. And thank God!

As much as I complained about the portrayal of Mary, I do have to say, the whole time Mary remained calm. Maybe that’s what really bugged me. Mary is my role model and obviously I am far away from being like her. If I were in her shoes I would be a nervous wreck. Yelling at Frank to get the pistol and shot those bloody soldiers! (I don’t own a gun so this would never happen.) It’s as if she knew that everything was going to be alright. She had a peaceful calm about her throughout the film. When Joseph is walking around Bethlehem looking for an open inn, Mary is in labor on the donkey and is trying her hardest to keep it together. Again I would have been screaming, “Hurry the heck up before this baby pops!” The bravery of Mary amazes me. And she was only 15. I’m nearly twice her age and I can’t imagine being so composed.

Maybe it wasn’t that Mary was emotionless in the movie. Maybe it was that she was content and quiet. So many times I have to talk or get in the middle of things. I need to learn from Mary to just sit back and wait. It will all be taken care of the way God wills. I need to learn this lesson.

I love how the movie showed Joseph and Mary working together throughout their journey to Bethlehem. They barely knew each other and were traveling approximately 100 miles through a desert with little food and water. Mary put all her trust in Joseph, a man she was forced to marry and barely knew. And Joseph did not fail her. Weeks earlier he learned of her pregnancy and was nearly in tears. But with the grace of God, Joseph led her to safety. Amazing.

There was a very touching scene when Mary looks down from the donkey and sees that Joseph’s feet are bloody and beaten from all the walking. She is obviously concerned for his well-being and ends up washing them in the river. (Symbolic to Jesus washing the feet at the Last Supper?) At that moment you can see that she finally realizing how much Joseph loves her and the unborn baby. It brought tears to my eyes. God brought two strangers together and made them one for his baby.

That scene reminded me a lot of my own marriage. At one time, Frank and I were perfect strangers. And then God brought us together to become one. I think of all the little things he does for me to make my life easier. It makes me grow closer to him and appreciate my marriage more. And I know its God working through him for me. For us. Just like Joseph and Mary, someday we will be doing the same for our own child. But our journey will be much different then theirs.

Blue Be Gone

I messed up and bought the wrong primer. I should have realized it right away but it took me four painted walls later. In my supidity I bought oil based primer instead of water based. So needless to say I will be throwing away my paint roller. The fumes were really getting to me and I thought I was getting sick. I aired out the house and all is good now. Just don't light a match in this house.

Two Bad Things Tomorrow

10 a.m.: Dentist appointment. I hate those darn things. I know I have tons of work to get done on this mouth of mine. I'm waiting to hear the words: ROOT CANAL. Seriously I have a strong feeling I will hear those words.

2 p.m.: Conference call for work. What kind of vacation is this?

Brewer in Action

I am supposed to be on vacation all week from work. I have checked my work email everyday so far. Even on Christmas. I disgust myself. I haven’t responded to any email but only have monitored the volume. But still, it’s repulsive. Maybe if I would have remembered to put an “out of office” reply on before I left then I wouldn’t be checking it consistently. Sometimes on the weekends I have trouble concentrating on task because I am too busy thinking up solutions to files at work. Dreaming of work can become a problem during “crunch time.” Yuck. I know I am not alone in this matter because Tabitha has done the same thing. I don’t understand how work can become such a focal point of our lives. Why can’t I be so consumed with thoughts of my husbands that I can’t concentrate at work? The effect doesn’t work in reverse. Is it the money that does it or the pressure to succeed?

I pray I pray I pray that I will not have to return back to work when I have children. I pray I pray I pray that God will find a way. Then when I am at the grocery store with little Frankie on my hip I can try to remember if I left the coffee pot on at the house.

Side note: Mom & dad bought me my very first coffee maker for Christmas. It makes four cups. I insisted that I got a small maker because I only drink one cup a day. This morning when I pulled out my favorite coffee cup and poured myself two cups (I thought I would drank a little more today being the first cup) the coffee didn’t fill the cup. So I guess I really drink three to four cups of coffee a day. I guess my cup is big.

John Paul was there

Christmas Day has just begun and so far it’s the best Christmas to date. Yesterday our Christmas Eve was filled with so many joyous moments. We both were emotional all day and couldn’t contain ourselves. At 11 p.m. last night Frank wanted to find a midnight Mass so we could go again!

We started the day at Little Sisters of the Poor visiting Mary Walker. The last time we saw Mary was on our wedding day so we were very overdue. But it didn’t faze her. We handed out candy to all the seniors we would pass in the halls. A few stopped to chat about their lives. One caressed Frank’s shoulder the whole time she talked to him. I was dying with laughter inside. As we ate lunch the sisters walked in and started servicing the residence. It was a sight to see. They were filled with the Holy Spirit and had so much love to give.

And then all of a sudden Santa ho ho ho’d his way in the room with several elves. Christmas music started to blare over the intercom. The elves passed out gifts and placed Santa hats on everyone. Some of the girl elves started dancing with the male residences. It was amazing. I felt like I was at a party! The whole time Mary just smiled. She seemed very much at peace. I know every time she sees us we remind her of my grandma. I know it probably is tough sometimes because she misses her dearly. But yesterday she seemed blissful. It was a sight to see.

Our Mass was unbelievable. It was the first time since Frank and I started dating that we went to Sacred Heart for Christmas Mass. We usually go to Holy Trinity to see Father John but this year we decided we needed to start a tradition at our parish. I may have said this before but I don’t think it can be said enough, Father Stanger has a gift. I get so excited when he is the presiding priest because he has amazing homilies. He really gets you thinking. His homily was about how we really don’t know what day Jesus was born. It could be Nov. 1st or July 4th. December 25th is just the day we celebrate it. His message was everyday we should act as if it is the birth of Our Savior. What a concept! Everyone is so happy on Christmas to be with loved ones and celebrating. Why can’t we always be so happy? Wouldn’t the world be a better place if everyday was Jesus’ birthday? Amen! That’s the new way I am going to try and live my life. Every day we should rejoice! Our Savior has been born! If I really could live my life like that everyday then people would really be able to God through me. He would be flying out my fingertips as I typed and flowing out of my mouth when I spoke. That would be a revolutionary way to live.

With such a holy day already, who knows what the rest of Christmas will bring. Praise be to God, Our Savior is born!