No Catholic W?

here.

Plus: Can faith and politics mix? Jeb says yes.

A Tale of Two Kennedys

Here.

The Simple Woman's Daybook--August 31, 2009

Outside My Window ...

All the windows are open again! It's about 72 degrees here and WONDERFUL.

***

I am listening to...
the traffic on I-70, outside my window. And the "Into the Woods" soundtrack.

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Liturgy of the hours (I'm getting on board w/ this), Bible Reading, spiritual reading daily, rosary.

***
To Fit and Happy...

Gym. Are you surprised? And ballet classes start this week!

***

I am thankful for...
Beautiful weather; the changing of the seasons
***

I am pondering ...

What I'm going to have for dinner.
***

From the kitchen ...
Not sure. I need to plan something...

I am wearing ...

jeans, a V-neck t-shirt from Banana Republic that I've worn so often it has a hole in the side. But I really like it and only wear it around the house so the hole's OK.

***

I am creating ...
Music--voice lessons start this week!

***
On my iPod...
"Into the Woods"--the movie.

***

I am thinking...
This weather is fantastic.
***

Around the House

Taking out the trash, clearing off the kitchen table so it can be seen, cleaning the kitchen counters.

.***

I am reading ...

FINALLY finished A&J. And then was disappointed. Just not what I was hoping for. Am now reading: We Two (about Victoria and Albert). Have finished: The Miracle Worker, Monday After the Miracle.

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For a good week; for a friend of the family's

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping this link because they are awesome)

And MORE candles: these are what I'm burning right now.

*yeah, I really like candles*

***
One of my favorite things ...
spaghetti; good friends

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Tonight: Parish Council

Tomorrow; Gym

Wednesday: Dinner with parents, ballet class

Friday: Appt. with oral surgeon

Fri-Mon: Pittsburgh!!

***

Trust

For your AM: some organ donation awareness:

Medical mistrust dissuades people from being organ donors

By James Cummings, Staff Writer

10:00 PM Friday, August 28, 2009

Daytonian Karen Stokes underwent surgery Friday to become one of the lucky few to receive the transplanted organ she needs to survive, according to University Hospital in Cincinnati.

But there are about 3,000 Ohioans waiting for transplants right now, and there aren’t nearly enough donors to go around, said Cathi Arends, community relations director for the Dayton region of Life Connection of Ohio.

Life Connection facilitates the completion of transplant procedures and promotes organ donation through educational programs.

“Ohio is doing well,” said Arends. “About 54 percent of eligible people are registered to be organ donors, and that’s positive.”

Of course, that means nearly half the adults in the state have not decided to be organ donors. Psychologists and pollsters who have studied the issue say choosing whether to be an organ donor is a complex personal decision.

About 95 percent of those who elect to be donors in Ohio register themselves as organ and tissue donors at the time they apply for or renew their driver’s licences, Arends said. More information is available by calling Life Connection of Ohio at 1-800-535-9206, or register online at www.donatelife
ohio.org.

Those who choose not to register as organ donors often base their decision on their desire that their body remain intact after death, researchers say. A study in the July 2008 edition of the Journal of Health Psychology found that “cognitive-based factors (such as knowledge about donation) are less influential on the decision to donate than noncognitive variables such as the desire to maintain bodily integrity, worries that signing a donor card might ‘jinx’ a person, and medical distrust.” (Your body is kept in tact--it's not mutilated or anything. You look normal for the burial. No worries there. This isn't some sort of Frankenstein monster procedure.)

Medical distrust seems to be a universal issue. A report in the October/November 2006 issue of the Journal of Health Communication said among the main reasons survey respondents in southern California gave for rejecting donation was “fear that medical personnel might withhold care from identified organ donors, suggesting lack of knowledge and mistrust of the health care system.”

Religion can have a complicated impact on the decision to be a donor, according to a study in the 2007 edition of Health Communication. In that study, women with strong religious connections were likely to be donors because they saw donation as a charitable act. Men, on the other hand, were inhibited from donating by religious-based concerns about keeping the body intact. (Note: All major religions--every single one!--is in favor of organ donation as an altruistic act. All of them)

Arends said that major religions are generally supportive of organ donation, but she suggests that people with concerns on religious grounds should discuss the issue with their own spiritual leaders.

A Life Connection fact sheet states that a single donor can provide organs and tissues for up to 50 recipients. Donation does not restrict funeral services, and the families of donors will not pay or receive fees when organs are recovered for transplant.

More cuteness

(because you can never have enough...)

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. XI

I.

I cannot wait for Labor Day weekend--we're taking a trip to Pittsburgh to see the fam, and that means celebrating this little guy's first birthday (a bit late, but....he doesn't know that).

Is he NOT adorable?! That's my cousin Kelly holding him. She's a music (flute, specifically)/music ed major at Michigan. She's starting him early.

II.

The last time we saw the adorable Justin, he looked like this:

And that was just in May.

Don't they grow fast? Stop! Stop I say!

III.

OK, is that enough cuteness for y'all? I don't think it is, but you'll get more later.

IV.

Let's talk weather, huh? On the way home, I hit three downpours, and no it is lovely and sunny out. Welcome to Ohio. We're supposed to get more storms tonight and throughout the weekend, and it's going to be in the upper 60s. Bring on fall, I say!

V.

Corollary to that: High School football starts round here tonight. Go Tigers!

VI.

So, fall is back-to-school. And I am back-to-school, not just with my MA stuff (which is going swimmingly), but also with voice. I finally found a new voice teacher (after, oh, nine years?) and am starting my lessons w/ her next Thursday. We will meet for an hour a week.

Am I excited? You bet. I have a large bag of music I'll be tugging along with me, and it's got everything: Operas, arias, art songs, oratorios (i.e., stuff from "Messiah", like "O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings to Zion"), and the Ugly Yellow Italian Book of art songs that I sang in high school, but there are still a few pieces left to cover. So I am very excited. I'm hoping to learn a lot of new repertoire, vastly improve my ear again, and hone the technique. I have very modest goals. :)

VII.

Another great thing about fall? Fall clothes. I love sweaters, turtlenecks, corduroy, cashmere. Mmmmm soft and snuggle things. So bring on the falling leaves!

Priest Buddy

This video from our local paper shows one of my high-school peers, Fr. Dave, in action as a first-year priest.

So watch, and get inspired. :)

Sisters

(the religious kind)

Over at CPG.

Simple Woman's Daybook--August 24, 2009

Outside My Window ...

It feels like fall. All my windows are open and I am very happy about this.

***

I am listening to...
the traffic on I-70, outside my window.

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Liturgy of the hours (I'm getting on board w/ this), Bible Reading, spiritual reading daily, rosary.

***
To Fit and Happy...

More gym, ballet classes start next week so thank God for that.

***

I am thankful for...
beautiful days like today.
***

I am pondering ...

What to do this evening. Other than sacraments class.
***

From the kitchen ...
Cowboy spaghetti, with meat, onions, hot sauce....we'll see how this goes.

I am wearing ...

jeans, a Life is Good long-sleeved shirt (bright pink)

***

I am creating ...
My memoir, which is coming, slowly but surely.

***
On my iPod...
The gym playlist.

***

I am thinking...
This weather is fantastic.
***

Around the House

Taking out the trash, dusting a bit.

.***

I am reading ...

A&J (because it will never end), Medjugorje: The Mission

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For some church friends who are battling cancer.

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping this link because they are awesome)

***
One of my favorite things ...
spaghetti; good friends

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Gym

Lunch w/ a friend from high school tmr.

Mass

Steel Magnolias auditions this weekend, Pickerington Community Theater

***

Surrender

Over at CPG.

CPG stuff

Adding some stuff over at the long neglected CPG. So head over there over the next few days for some thinking, posting, etc.

Summer reading Vol. IX

• The White Queen by Phillipa Gregory
• Five for Sorrow, Ten for Joy, by Rumer Gooden
• The Killer Angels (again), by Michael Sharra
• The Choice, by Nicholas Sparks
• In This House of Brede, by Rumer Gooden
• Medjugorje: The Mission, by Wayne Weible

Musings

I know, I know, I know...I have been neglecting y'all of late.

Part of it is nothing really thrilling is going on. (OK, that's probably good, because when things are thrilling in my life, that means things are not going well, in general.) The other part is that i just haven't really had the heart to write. This week has mostly been contained in the inexplicable urge to curl up and nap. It did rain all week, so that could be it. Or it could just be general disappointment in various things.

But, as Jane says, "Let other pens dwell on disappointment. I quit such subjects as soon as I can." So, following her excellent advice, we won't dwell on that.

Late August/Early September is one of my favorite times of year. I love the change of the seasons, as summer gives way to fall; I like watching the students go off to school; I like the resumption of my activities and a regular rhythm to life. Ballet classes resume, my arts organizations that took the summer off come back, audition schedules ramp up, and football season starts! Also I just love fall--the clothes, the crispness of the air, the harvest, the time spent with family.

Yes I said harvest. I do live in Ohio, after all, and agriculture is still our biggest industry. I can drive not even five minutes from my apartment and see gorgeous fields of corn and soybeans. From my sister's high school stadium (well, her former high school), I can see acres of farmland that used to belong to a friend of mine and his family. In the markets, fresh corn is abundant (and delicious). Apples, pears, plums...they're all over the place. This is enough to make me pretty happy.

So I'll gather them and cook, and enjoy the change of seasons as we head toward fall and Christmas, which is, as we know, one of my favorite things. No day but today, friends.

(Oh...and more summer reading updates shortly...as in, right after I publish this)

Turning One

Happy First Birthday, Cousin Justin!!!!

The Simple Woman's Daybook--August 16, 2009

Outside My Window ...

Very sunny, very warm, a bit of a breeze. A very pretty late summer day.

***

I am listening to...
The A/C humming

***

To Live the Liturgy...

August 20: Feast of St. Bernard

August 21: Feast of St. Pius X (patron saint of my parish)

And the usual Bible reading, rosary and Magnificat

***
To Fit and Happy...

Gym rules my life.

***

I am thankful for...
my family
***

I am pondering ...

How to be the best steward of my resources. And what to wear tomorrow.
***

From the kitchen ...
Citrus cream pasta

Cowboy spaghetti (with meat, bacon, and cheese...yummy!)

Leek-y chicken

I am wearing ...

Black Ann Taylor shirt dress (What I wore to Mass)

***

I am creating ...
The weekly schedule

***
On my iPod...
REM uploads from yesterday

***

I am thinking...
I hope my interview goes well tomorrow!
***

Around the House

After last week's massive cleaning, it's still in pretty good shape!

.***

I am reading ...

Abigail and John: Portrait of a Marriage; Rachael Ray cookbooks

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For a good interview; a friend of mine at church who has been diagnosed with cancer.

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. (keeping the link from last week because these are, indeed, awesome)

***
One of my favorite things ...
A quiet Sunday; Bones TV DVDs

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Lots of gym.

Interview tomorrow.

Dinner with Mom and Dad on W

BalletMet tickets for Swan Lake and Night Moves go on sale tomorrow! Yay!

***

Picture thought

Vermeer's Girl With A Pearl Earring; the book of the same name is the first pick in the NEW Facebook Book Club! Come join us, if you're a facebooker.

Pizza and Popcorn for Mel

What I'm making tonight for dinner with my sister (both recipes are from Rachael Ray's Thity Minute Meals 2)

The Only Pizza You'll Ever Want

1 package pizza dough, brought to room temperature

2 tsp. extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)

2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1/3 lb. of broccoli (I'm using frozen)

1 tbsp. EVOO

3 cloves garlic, cracked

1/3 lb. chicken breast, cut for stir fry, or chicken tenders

salt and pepper

1 c. part-skim ricotta cheese

10 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and sliced

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

12 to 15 leaves basil, torn or stacked and thinly sliced

1. Preheat over to 500 degrees.
2. On a 12" non-stick pizza pan (I'm using stoneware), stretch out dough and form the pizza crust. Drizzle 2 tsp. olive oil onto crust and spread to edges with a pastry brush. Sprinkle crust with grated cheese.
3. In a small covered saucepan, bring 2 inches of water to a boil. Separate broccoli tops into florets, discarding lower stalk. Salt water and add broccoli. Cook covered, 3-5 minutes. Drain broccoli, set on cutting board, and chop florets into small pieces.
4. Heat a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil, garlic and chicken. Season with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden, 5 minutes. Transfer chicken and garlic to cutting board, and chop into small pieces.
5. To assemble pizza, dot crust with chopped broccoli bits, garlic and chicken. Add spoonfuls of ricotta through and spread gently with back of soon. Add sliced sun-dried tomatoes, scattering them around the pizza to the edges. Complete assemlby with a thin layer of shredded mozzarella, about 1 c. Place pizza in oven on middle rack and lower heat to 450 degrees. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cheese is deeply golden and crust is brown and crisp at edges. Remove from oven and let stand 5 minutes. Top with lots of torn or shredded basil. Cut into 8 slices using pizza wheel, and serve.

Cheesy POPcorn

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 c. popping corn kernels

3 tbsp. melted butter

1/2 c. grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in deep pot over medium-high heat. Add corn. Cover pot and pop corn, shaking pan often. Remove from heat. Drizzle with melted butter. Sprinkle cheese evenly over hot corn and serve.

The picture above was taken during Thanksgiving break last year, when the three of us (me, Bryan and Mel) were spending the day at Easton. Here, Mel's waiting for our order at California Pizza Kitchen, and wearing one of my old Cap shirts.

Seven Quick Takes Friday--Vol. X

I.

Going to see The Ugly Truth with Tiffany tonight, following dinner at Bob's (hope my sister is working!). A nice way to end a crazy week.

II.

Not really crazy, I've just been so tired. No idea why.

III.

Wrapping up the evening early tonight, since the Dash for Donation is at 7:45 tomorrow! I will be doing the 5K. You can still register tomorrow! So come on out!

IV.

Reading: Finishing Abigail and John. That's been sitting on the nightstand a wee bit too long.

V.

TV/DVD: Almost done with the second season of Pushing Daisies. Talk about a show that was cancelled too soon! Do yourself a favor and rent/buy the two seasons that are out on DVD. Warning: It will make you very hungry for pie.

VI.

Making one of Rachael Ray's pizzas tomorrow night. Not sure how many I will have for dinner, but the ingredients include ricotta and mozzarella cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and other yummy things. So it sounds good to me!

VII.

Also working on some new piano music. Been a long time since I've tickled the ivories.

The Internet Happy Box

Here we are all happiness and light. (Most of the time)

BEHOLD!!!

The Pie Recipes from Pushing Daisies!!!

A Farmer's Market trip and tomato salad

Today was another Trip to the Farmer's Market.

On today's list:

• 1 green bell pepper
• 4 lemons
• 1 lime
• 4 ears of corn
• 1 orange
• garlic
• 3 vine ripe tomatoes
• 2 yellow or orange tomatoes
• milk
• chopped nuts
• Sun dried tomatoes
• honey
• And Jeni's Ice Cream, for tomorrow night's dessert--honey vanilla bean and raspberry yogurt

All that yummy goodness!

With that, I made:

Tomato Salad

(adapted from Rachael Ray's Thirty Minute Meals 2)

3 vine-ripe red tomatoes

2 tomatoes, either yellow or orange

1 sm. onion, thinly sliced

1/2 c. fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

3 tbsps. extra virgin olive oil

juice of 1 ripe lemon

1/2 tsp. ground corriander

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Kosher salt, to taste

Seed and cop the tomatoes and combine with onion and parsley in shallow bowl. Combine oil, lemon juice and spices and whisk together. Season with kosher salt and toss to combine well. Let stand 10 minutes and serve.

This is also very timely, because this weekend is the annual Tomato Festival in my town!

For Girls

Jane talks about her emergency kit.

I think mine needs updated.

And stored here.

Sid's Day With the Cup

here

Books to Read Before You Die

Books to Read Before You Die List:

(in no particular order)

• The Odyssey
• The Canterbury Tales
• Greek and Roman Mythology
• Dante--the Inferno, if you only want to read one of the sections of the Comedy
• The Bible--the psalms, the pentateuch, the Gospels, Revelation
• Dickens--David Copperfield; A Christmas Carol; Great Expectations
  
• Stevenson--Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
• Jane--all, of course, but if I had to pick, either P&P or Persuasion
• Hugo--either of his major novels
• Poe's Short stories
• Bronte sisters: Wuthering Heights (emily), Villette (Charlotte). Not sure about Anne's novel b/c I haven't read it yet.
  
• Anna Karenina
• The Brothers K
• Wilde's poems, esp. "The Ballad of Reading Gaol"; The Picture of Dorian Gray; the plays (esp. The Importance of Being Earnest; An Ideal Husband)
• Shakespeare: high points--Lear, Macbeth, Hamlet, As You Like It, The Merchant of Venice, Richard III, Henry V
  
• Milton: Paradise Lost
• The Romantic Poets
• Mary W. Shelley: Frankenstein
• Stoker: Dracula
• L. Frank Baum: The "Oz" books
• Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Little House on the Prairie" Series
• LM Montgomery: Anne of Green Gables
• Lois Lowry: The Giver; Number the Stars
• The Diary of Anne Frank
• Elie Wiesel: Night
• St Augustine: Confessions
• Evelyn Waugh: Brideshead Revisited
• Woolf: To the Lighthouse; Night and Day; the Common Readers; Mrs. Dalloway; the Waves; The Years; essays/diaries (as you like)
• Lots of good poetry (which is up for debate)--Ozymandias, Kubla Kahn, The Highwayman, much Tennyson
• Frost, Dickenson (American poets, etc)
• Michael Cunningham, "The Hours"
  
• "Eugene Onegin" (either as the book or the opera, which is superb)
• O Henry "The Gift of the Magi" (short story)
• The Oedipus trilogy
• Wharton: The Age of Innocence, Summer, Ethan Frome, The Customs of the Country
• James: Washington Square; the Portrait of a Lady (the ending, alone, is worth the entire book); probably Wings of the Dove
  
• Hawthorne: The Scarlet Letter (for early American writing); his short stories (which are wonderfully odd and scary)
• Alcott: Little Women
• Lewis: Narnia books; The Great Divorce; 'Till We Have Faces (novel); The Screwtape Letters
• Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series
  
• Albert Camus: either "The Stranger" or "The Plague"
• Probably Don Quioxte, even though I haven't read it yet.
• C. Marlowe, poetry, "Dr. Faustus"
• Hemingway, "The Sun Also Rises"
• Steinbeck: The Grapes of Wrath, East of Eden, the Pearl
• FS Fitzgerald: Gatsby

The Simple Woman's Daybook--August 9, 2009

(doing a day early so I don't forget! And I'm using Elizabeth's prompts, because they are awesome)

Outside My Window ...

The sun is starting to set, the trees are green and happy, and it has been a lovely (but hot!) day.

***

I am listening to...
Silence, and birds singing outside.

***

To Live the Liturgy...

Big week!

St. Lawrence: August 10

St. Clare: august 11 (foundress of the Poor Claires)

Maximilian Kolbe: August 14

And the Solemnity of the Assumption: August 15

So with all these, I'm going to go to a lot of Noon Masses this week!
***
To Fit and Happy...

The Dash for Donation is on Saturday, and I'm doing the 5K. Will I see you there?

***

I am thankful for...
quiet Sundays spent in prayer.
~
***

I am pondering ...

How to more successfully incorporate prayer into my daily life.
***

From the kitchen ...
This week:

M: Israeli Spice Chicken and tomato salad

T: A Russian Passport: Potatoes and Onions; red radish salad (I do love radishes)

W: pasta w/ lemon oil and red onions

Th: Honey mustard BBQ chicken; Butter Bean Salad; Corn on the Cob with chili and lime (AKA, "Di's Dinner", that

she made one night whilst I was visiting. So good.)

I am wearing ...

Jeans, a blue Gap tank top

***

I am creating ...
A daily program of prayer

***
On my iPod...
lots of Josh Groban right now, and my gym playlist.

***

I am thinking...
It will be a good week. It will be a good week!
***

Around the House

SERIOUS cleaning last night with the parents'. Lots of stuff tossed, the carpets were very well vacuumed, and things look very nice. I SHALL KEEP IT THIS WAY!

.***

I am reading ...

Lots of things. :) But will be attempting to make progress on the every-growing "To Read" pile. And will finish my re-read of The Time Traverler's Wife before I go see the movie this weekend.

***

I am hoping and praying ...
For lots of people! Sarah; Josh R.; Stephen, my bf Liz's brother who is in the military and has been sent to Iraq.

***

On Keeping Home ...

these candles look awesome. Thanks for the link, Liz!

Hanging up my clothes right after I wear them makes life easier. I should remember that.

***
One of my favorite things ...
A quiet Sunday; peach iced tea.

***

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week:

Lots of gym. Lots of noon Mass. So that means Mass during lunch break and gym at night.

Still studying for Sacraments midterm. Have to find a proctor for that ASAP.

Theater auditions for Wizard of Oz (Columbus Children's Theater) tomorrow and Tuesday. We'll see how it goes.

Dash on Saturday morning!

***

Picture thought

The sunflowers outside the barn at Shepherd's Corner, where we had our parish council retreat.

Be sure to visit Peggy for more daybooks!