Father's Day Hike...

Happy Father's Day!!!

To celebrate this special day, we went to early morning Mass and then headed off to a state park for a hike. We had never been to this particular park, but had read some great reviews online and my photographer brother especially wanted to get some shots of the waterfall that made it famous.  I made some barbecue pepperoni pizza, my brother made chocolate chip cookies, and my mom brought salt and vinegar potato chips for our lunch, as we figured (correctly) we'd be pretty hungry after the hike.

The waterfall was absolutely breathtaking, not to mention beautiful! Too bad we don't have one of these on our land...it would be amazing for swimming!

I had only gotten about three hours of sleep the night before and my brother said I looked grumpy in all his photos...
this is the least grumpy looking one...

After we left the waterfall, we started down the hiking trail.  At first it was relaxing and peaceful; we passed several streams, a Yorkie puppy, and another (man-made this time) waterfall...

...theeeennnn we figured out that our map wasn't very reliable, "steep incline" meant cliffs, and the path abruptly ended at a rushing stream with a fallen log being the only way to cross without getting soaked.  After crossing the stream and climbing two more cliffs, we ran into another hiker who was just as lost as we were but was pretty sure we were on the trail that was on the opposite side of the park we were supposed to be on.  Luckily we had brought water and we were in the shade the whole time, so besides not knowing where we were, it was actually quite lovely.

We finally found a path that we were reasonably certain was made by humans and not deer, and followed it until we ended up back in civilization.  We were too tired and hot to have a picnic like we originally planned, so we sat in the car and enjoyed the air conditioning while we feasted.

 After we got back home, we all took LOOONNNNGGG cold showers and settled down to watch a movie.  Everyone had a fun time, and personally I would love to go back soon...more prepared for wilderness survival.

Rainy Day Activities...

For the past two/three weeks, it has been raining.  Not a slow, steady, drizzle, or even a violent mist; it has been pouring and pouring until the creek overflowed every bridge and slab near us, the ground turned into one giant swamp, and even the ducks are running for cover.  In the beginning it was exciting (I felt bad when I realized that my reaction to the first huge storm that knocked everyone's power out and prevented several families from leaving their homes was "Yippee! We can go tubing in the creek now!!!") but after two days of constant thunder, lightening, and the never-ending rain, things started to lose their silver lining.  I love being outside and try to go on long walks as much as possible, but when the whole world has turned into a swimming pool, it isn't very practical.  Occasionally the sun will come out for a few hours and we all try to make the most of it, but the greater part of our day is spent inside.  This time shouldn't be wasted, though, just because we feel bored.  "Idleness is the Devil's playground." (I have no idea who originally said that quote, but my Mom and grandmother always said it to me when I was little and said I was bored...)  When you're cooped up indoors, you should use this as an opportunity for building your creativity and doing things you normally don't have time for!  Here is a small list I made of things to do when your stuck inside with nothing to do:

(Our ducks have been rather grumpy lately))

1. Read a good book

I read a lot.  And I mean A LOT.  After I graduated, I started reading more informational books, and gradually ended up reading nothing but informational books! I've learned so much and love the fact that there is still so much more to learn, just from reading! But on the downside, sometimes I just need to read something light (and by light I mean anywhere from "Tin-Tin" to "Wuthering Heights") and I usually don't have time after all my other books are finished.  So, on a rainy day, I like to take advantage of the opportunity to read something just for fun. =)

2. Exercise

This is important if you've been cooped up for a few days with no chance to stretch your legs.  When the sun is gone from sight, we human beings tend to get sleepy, depressed, and irritable, and when we're stuck in a house with our whole family feeling the same way, things can get tense.  The best way to make yourself feel better and lift your mood is to exercise your body (except watching "Lobster Bisque"; that will do it too=)).  Even just doing some jumping jacks in your room will make the whole day seem a little bit brighter!

3. Board Games

There are very few board games that my brothers and I will play together and enjoy.  We like games with critical thinking, strategy, an enormous amount of competition (no mercy in our family), and a trade system. Yes, I just described Settlers of Catan.  It's our favorite game and we play it at every party, get-together, or Family Night.   There are a few others we enjoy, such as Yahtzee!, Clue, Scrabble, Chess, and pretty much any card game...every family has their favorite game and this is the perfect time to play together!

4. Make up a story

My brothers and I do this all the time, not just on rainy days.  Sometimes the story gets so wacky it would be impossible to describe to an outsider, and other times we can't even finish because we're laughing so hard.  My youngest brother's dream is to make a cartoon show of our favorite characters one day... I doubt anyone else would get our stories, but it might make a few people laugh...

5. Try a new recipe

For me, it was sparkling lemonade.  Not very impressive, I know, but we needed a drink to bring to a friend's house for a party, and all we had was water, lemons, sparkling water, ice, and stevia.  And it was so good, I made more the next day for myself.  Sometimes the simplest things can change your whole perspective, just by being new.

6. Watch a movie

This is ONLY for after you've done everything else on this list and you're getting ready for bed.  Rainy days have always been movie days for my family; it's just so relaxing to lie in bed and watch a good movie while the rain pitter-patters on the roof. 

I hope you can find some things on this list to do on the next rainy day that comes your way! 

Now that the rain has finally slacked off, all the flowers are blooming everywhere!
(Photo credit goes to my brother and his amazing camera =))

"Sleeping Beauty Dress" and Spring Formal...

It's done.  It's FINALLY done.  After working and stressing for over a month, my formal dress is finished and I can sleep in peace without worrying I made the sleeves too tight or the sash too wide.  It's a good thing too, since I needed it for the Spring Formal Ball we helped host this Saturday! We had to put a lot more effort into this dance than the Masquerade because we had more people coming and *SIX* more dances to learn. And these aren't waltzes, friends, these are complicated dances such "The Hole In The Wall", "The Black Nag", and (my personal favorite) "Grimstock".  They're a lot of fun to learn and dance, but lets just say you need to not plan on walking anywhere the next day. =)

This was my first formal dress to sew, the material alone cost a fortune, and since I don't use patterns, you can imagine my stress level.  I'm convinced my Guardian Angel was working on it while I was asleep, because there were several times I messed up and gave up in despair, only to wake up the next morning to find the problem had disappeared.

My brother said I looked like Sleeping Beauty when I put it on for the first time; hence the name.  We had brought roses from our garden (everything seems to be blooming at the same time!) and when my photographer brother noticed how well they matched my dress, he had to take a picture.  Next thing you know, every one of us girls were lining up for portraits.  With all our satin dresses, the tulle, and roses, it looked like a wedding.=)

The ball was a hit; everyone had a lot of fun and we had two or three encore dances before we ended at 10:45.  All of us got to volunteer our talents to help out; I decorated and and helped come up with the program, one of my brothers was the DJ and edited most of the songs to make them long enough for the dance (one dance lasted over ten minutes because it was everyone's favorite!) and the other recorded videos.  My friend and I were exhausted by the end of the night as we had to dance every dance to show everyone else the steps but agreed we could probably have continued dancing all night and not been sorry. Thankfully, I had new slippers to slip into towards the end so my feet didn't ache nearly at all the next day! Afterwards those of us who had stayed to clean up had a "Cups" marathon for fun...

(^I'm not sure why this picture turned out so blurry; it looked a lot better on the camera^)

As you can see, we like to have fun.=)
Now that the Ball is a pleasant memory, I plan to do nothing but rest and study brain health for the rest of the week...

Requiescat In Pace, Fr. Gruner...

Last night when we got home from dance practice, we received an email informing us that Father Nicholas Gruner had passed away suddenly in his office at the Fatima Center from a heart attack.  Please say some extra prayers for the repose of this great man's soul; he will be greatly missed in this time where good priests are few and far between...

Here is the official release from John Vennari on the Catholic Family News website:

Father Nicholas Gruner, RIP

It is my sad duty to announce the sudden death of Father Nicholas Gruner
He died suddenly late today of a heart attack while working at his Fatima Center office.
At the moment, I do not know more than this. Please re-visit our page for updates.
He was truly the world expert on Fatima. He was more knowledgable on this subject, and on the true nature of the Fatima Message than anyone else.
Father Gruner's Fatima Center will have more information tomorrow.
Please remember Father Gruner in your prayers, a good friend and a true Catholic Crusader.
- John Vennari



Eternal rest grant unto him, O Lord, and may perpetual light shine upon him.  May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.

Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us...

Weekly Roundup...

It's been awhile since I did one of these posts! I haven't felt up to writing much for a few weeks because of some new liver cleansing herbs I've been taking, so I'm going to combine the last few weeks into this post to get caught up. =)

What I Liked...

...spending a day at the park with some friends.  Yes, I felt absolutely miserable from the aforesaid liver cleanse, but the sun was shining, a breeze was blowing, and I still managed to have a wonderful time.  We played tennis, basketball, ultimate Frisbee, went for hikes, had a picnic lunch, biked for hours, raced each other, visited the horse stables...in short just had a really fun day...

...spending several days with out of town friends

...attending my friend's sixteenth birthday party...so blessed to be friends with lovely young ladies I can stay up till ten P.M. watching Clark Gable movies with...

...helping plan a formal dance for May

...the soundtrack for "The Longest Ride"

... the movie "Unbroken"

...hearing yet another friend is engaged...we already have three weddings coming up this year, from my circle of friends alone!

...the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima coming to our parish for the first time 

What I Didn't...

...lack of energy for the past two weeks

...our oven breaking...on Easter Sunday, no less

...one of the parts on our trampoline breaking...it's supposedly still safe but I'm wary of bouncing on it

...learning we will not be having any waltzes at our dance in May =(

...learning that we can't take off our shoes during the next dance..."You don't understand; I love dancing barefoot!"...and then my friend informs me I would be such a good hippy (haha, very funny) =p

What Made Me Laugh...

...my little brother coming and asking me to preview "Mulan" for him because he heard there was a part where the main character goes swimming without any clothes (seriously, why is this in a G rated children's cartoon?!?! I was furious...) and, to use his words, "I do NOT want to see that, thank you."

...our dog Lottie catching a Frisbee for the first time

..."It Happened One Night"...this movie had me and my friends laughing so hard

...my friend's brothers all enlisting me to convince both of our mom's to let them come watch "Captain America The Winter Soldier" at our house that night..."You can convince anybody to do anything!"

...helping a neighbor milk their cow while they were out of town and their "guard dog" didn't even bark when we came to their house

...the aforesaid neighbors showing us how their milking system works...the parents showed Dad and my brothers and the kids showed me, with much more detailed instructions..."This is Mabel, and we named her new calf Cain, so it sounds like Cain and Abel from the Bible, but it's not, it's Cain and Mabel, and Mabel always gets extra grass that I pick her after she's milked because she's a good cow, not like our other cows that broke our fence and tore up the garden, they were bad cows, but Mabel is a good cow so she gets more grass than the bad cows..."=)

...a friend's mom asking me for directions...I guess she hasn't heard about the time I got lost leaving the neighborhood...after living here for nearly six years...

What I Accomplished...

...designing and sewing my first formal dress...all I have left to do is hem the skirt and sleeves; when it's finished I'll post some pictures...

...learning three new dances and helping teach some friends all the steps

...singing Benediction with just one other friend...it was the first time we had ever had to do this without anyone else in the choir (not even the choir director!) and I thought for sure we were going to forget something or not be loud enough (we actually did forget one "Alleluia" but nobody noticed except Father =)) but thanks to my levelheaded friend, we made it through and everyone was impressed...

...figuring out my Dad's system for stocking inventory (finally)...once you figure out everything is divisible by eleven, it all falls into place...

...finding my puppy.  MY puppy.  A little Yorkie on CraigsList.  Now I just have to make sure the owner isn't a serial killer...

...teaching my brother's friends how to do "Cups"...we even figured out how to pass the cups back and forth between us!

...making coffee caramel creme brulee...it was deeeeeelicious...

...finishing Father Faber's "Sermons On Kindness, Death, and Vocations"...I highly recommend these to everyone, they were wonderful!

How Was Your Week?

Happy Easter!!!

Happy Easter!!!

Well, things have certainly been festive around here.  Personally I would jump in the air screaming "Hallelujah!" if I wasn't working so hard to keep my eyes open, because for the first time in *FIVE* years, I managed to attend, enjoy, and survive the Easter Vigil! For those of you who don't know, the Easter Vigil starts at ten P.M. Holy Saturday, with the blessing of the Paschal Candle, the blessing of the fire, the blessing of the Baptismal Water, the litany of the saints, and the renewal of our baptismal vows, and finishes up at midnight.  Then midnight Mass begins and lasts until around one A.M., after which you can either stay to pray Lauds with the monks for another forty-five minutes, or go socialize outside with everybody else.  It's a beautiful ceremony, and I've missed attending every year.  I wasn't even planing on going this year, but was going to just sleep in and go to High Mass on Sunday, but a friend told me frankly that (cough) I was a wimp.  Okay, since you put it that way, I'll spend all day long preparing Easter dinner, visiting with out of town friends, cleaning the house, changing the table and altar cloths, and then go stay up till two in the morning just to protect my self respect.  I didn't get to bed before midnight for the past four days and I will probably be exhausted in bed for the next four, but no matter! if that's what it takes to prove I am not a wimp, so be it. =)

Every holiday seems to have it's own share of catastrophes; this year mine included not finding anything to wear until literally twenty minutes before we had to leave, being attacked by a moth (it was scary), and the oven refusing to heat up (when you have been fasting for forty days and looking forward to a feast at the end, and suddenly you are faced with the possibility of NOT having that feast...panic ensues...).  On the upside, we all got to practice our improvisation skills and, thanks to pinterest, I now know it is possible to cook Creme Brulee in a crockpot.

 Dinner was HEAVENLY and we definitely enjoyed feasting after all that fasting...

After Vespers, some friends came over to play Yahtzee and eat dessert while Mom and Dad watched "Unbroken" upstairs.  As I mentioned before, I've been staying up late for the past few nights, and I'm so tired I can barely manage to type this post up, but, hey, it's only once a year. Even though this past week has been exhausting, it's been wonderful at the same time.  Now that I've gotten this checked off my list, I'm going lay in bed, eat chocolate and watch "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." with my family for the rest of the day.

(The Hot Cross Buns turned out to be a big hit, by the way.  I was too busy to try the recipe I had originally intended to use so I just made biscuits, replaced a third of the flour with powdered sugar (hehe), and added raisins.)

I hope you all have a very blessed Paschal-tide!