Ash Wednesday

jen — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 13:00:09 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

You are dust and to dust you shall return

Lent 2012

jen — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 10:25:31 +0000

Image via Wikipedia

First,for the girls (age 1 & 4). We will be using the following resources for Lent this year:

Lent/Catholic Resurrection Eggs @ Catholic Icing

Stations of the Cross on Fridays

Bring Lent To Life by Kathleen M Basi (see my review @ Catholic Mothers Online) and Welcome Risen Jesus by Sarah Reinhard.

Lenten Countdown Calendar @ Catholic Icing

Holy Heroes Lenten Adventure

It sounds like a lot and I’m sure that we will remove some things as we determine what catches her interest.

As far as Lent for ME goes, I have several things in mind.

Prayer

I’m going to continue my daily Rosary as that is one of my new habits for the month. I’m going to add in Stations of the Cross on Friday’s. I also have a daily mediation book for Lent from the Magnificat folks that I will read.

Penance

This one is the hardest because it’s so subjective. As always, we will eat very simply every day (less dessert, no pop, fewer sides, etc), no meat on fridays, probably less on Wednesdays, renewed effort to eat out as little as possible. Friday Fish Fry’s are not included in this of course .

If you are interested, Katie @ Kitchen Stewardship (who I’ve known since kindergarten), is having a sale on her Everything Beans Book until Midnight tonight. If you enter code NOTAFISHFRY at checkout, you will only pay $3! If you are looking for new meatless meals or want to get to know beans better, this is a great resource that I will be using this Lent myself.

Due to the fact that I still nurse frequently (mostly at night!), I’m not going to be officially fasting according to the normal definition of fasting. I will, however, be fasting from certain frequently used items (especially junky ones) in my diet as a form of penance. Even though Sunday’s are not included in Lent, we don’t take Sunday’s off.

I may watch The Passion of the Christ. I haven’t seen it yet. I think I have a shot at watching little pieces of it while kiddo’s are asleep. I’ve never had that before. And I’m scared to death. Hopefully hubby will hold my hand and watch it with me.

Almsgiving

We will be doing the Rice Bowl thing this year, I think. Now that Lil Bit is into counting the calendar with money associated with numbers of items will be concrete for her.

What kind of things have you done during Lent?

This post will be linked to Catholic Blog Day.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Award-Winning Italian Sausage Orzo Soup

jen — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:01:54 +0000

Award winning, you ask? Yep. I won a soup contest in a local magazine with this soup recipe.

Ingredients:

1 lb bulk Italian Sausage,
1 c onion, chopped fine
1 Tblsp Garlic, minced
5 c. chicken broth
2 (15 oz) cans / 2 pts tomatoes, diced
2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp pepper
1/3 c orzo
1 Tblsp dried parsley

In a large pot, brown the sausage with the onion. Just before it’s finished, add the garlic. Drain and put back in pot. Add broth, tomatoes, basil, parsley and pepper.

Bring to a boil and add orzo. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until pasta is tender.

Yields about 8 servings.

Enjoy!

This recipe will be linked to:

Bring Lent to Life {Book Review @ Catholic Mothers Online}

jen — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:38:39 +0000

I had the opportunity to review Bring Lent to Life for Catholic Mothers Online.

I’ve got a huge list of someday items for Lent. Why someday? Because they just don’t work in my current life. My children are young (4 and 1) and many activities are either over their heads or over their tolerance level. When I read Bring Lent to Life by Kathleen M Basi, however, I was stoked to find activities that my 4 year old would get!

To read the rest of my review about this awesome resource, go to Catholic Mothers Online!

Find Your Happiness {Chicken Soup For The Soul Book Review}

jen — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 16:35:57 +0000

This is pretty poor timing on my part since I waited until nearly Lent to post this, but I got a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book while I was on vacation — Find Your Happiness.

One of the reasons that Chicken Soup for the Soul has been so successful is that are not technically affiliated with any religion. That being said, you will find stories that appeal to you no matter what your spiritual journey looks like. Full of Happiness is full of inspirational stories (101 to be exact), about finding your purpose, passion & joy.

The stories are divided into several themes such as, counting your blessings, overcoming adversity, giving, finding your purpose and simple pleasures. No matter where you are in life, you can find a story that speaks to what you need.

If you are looking for some inspiration & joy in your life, check out Chicken Soup for the Soul’s Find Your Happiness: 101 Inspirational Stories about Finding Your Purpose, Passion, and Joy.

Disclaimer: I received a copy of this Chicken Soup for the Soul book as part of their blogger program in exchange for an honest review/post. No other compensation has been received, and as always, all opinions are my own.

Just Say No {Gabby Moms}

jen — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 00:18:48 +0000

I thought I had the intentional living thing down as far as my schedule was concerned. I don’t have my 4 year old in any regular activities. The only thing we have scheduled is my Monday mom’s group because it helps keep me sane. We don’t run all over on play dates — there is PLENTY of unstructured free time.

So this month, I decided to undergo a self-imposed no-spend challenge. Between Christmas, our vacation & lack of good record keeping, I wanted to have a better idea of where we were financially. It’s hard to catch up when you are adding to the problem . As a result, we haven’t gone out much. I mean, why bother? I can’t spend anything anyway.

Whilst, and at the same time this started (Muppets anyone?), I got an MP3 of Just Say No as part of the Gabby Mom’s program. Can you say brick? She said something that really struck me. She said that her husband told her to cut one of the co-ops, something she wouldn’t have even thought of being unnecessary. And it really got me thinking.

I realized that I’m not as good about being intentional with my time as I thought. In addition to spending money, I’ve been spending tons of time. Now that I’m not spending my time at a store, the house is clean & neat. As clean and neat as it can be with a one year old, anyway . I don’t yell as much. I guide more. I’ve done homeschool work or fun projects with my daughter almost everyday. I’ve even been to the gym and we are getting rid of the cable AGAIN on Monday.

I seem to have found a natural rhythm to my days. I get up, eat, clean & shower (yes, usually in that order). We eat lunch. Itty bitty goes down for a nap. Lil’ Bit does school. Baby gets up and a little while later they are playing quietly together. I say my Rosary and then get a 10 minute cat nap. Then we read and play together until daddy gets home. It’s truly peaceful.

Do you crave more peace in your day? Check out Eternal Encouragement for resources like “Just Say No.”

Disclaimer: This post was written as part of the Gabby Mom Blogger program. I received a copy of the MP3 recording in exchange for an honest post. As always, all opinions are my own.

Fat Tuesday: How to Make Authentic Polish Paczki {Catholic Mothers Online}

jen — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 09:23:43 +0000

Have you ever wanted to know how to make REAL paczki?

I grew up in a Polish family and every year, my grandmother made hordes of Paczki. One day, my husband told me of how his friends would get up super early on Fat Tuesday to go the bakery and get Paczki’s. He proudly presented his prized Paczki one day.

Read the rest at Catholic Mothers Online!