Category: 7 Quick Takes

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7 Quick Takes: Un-Christmas-ing Edition

franciscanmom1 Comment

Today in the USA we celebrate the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. With that, the Christmas season comes to an end.

(One) It’s time … to take down the Christmas tree.

This is me, with a big case of the “I don’t wannas.” I put the tree up, strung all the lights, and decorated it all by myself this year. (Normally I do the lights, because nobody else in the house is willing to bother with a Christmas-light total that has a comma in the number, and the kids decorate. Empty-nest problems.)

I’m back at work, but my husband is still using his banked “use or lose” vacation time and my college student has another week of winter break. I think this task needs to be delegated this year.

 

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(Two) And put it in the body bag.

The bag for this Christmas tree is 5 feet tall, and so wide it barely fits through the exterior doors of the house. We keep our tree in the shed. This year I’m going to be smart about it. It’s easier to carry the 5 pieces of the tree down the stairs, out the back door, and through the porch to the backyard and THEN put them in the body bag than it is to bag everything up in the living room and wrestle it outside without damaging anything.

 

(Three) On the up side, I’ll get my living room back.

As a creature of habit, it does drive me crazy that I have to move my Reading Chair every year to make room for the Christmas tree. I look forward to putting that chair back by the window, with its lamp nearby, the way it belongs.

 

(Four) My reputation precedes me.

Overheard after Mass yesterday, when the usher came over to hand bulletins to the musicians:

Singer: Oh, Mass tomorrow is for my mom, but I can’t be there because I have an appointment.

Music director: Barb will be there! She’ll pray for your mom!

Join me in praying for the repose of the soul for Mrs. B, would you?

 

(Five) Regarding Mass intentions

Do you pay attention to the list of Mass intentions in your parish bulletin? It’s not just there for the people who go to daily Mass. You can pray for the repose of those souls whether you attend daily Mass or not. Consider adding that prayer after a meal, just like we used to do after lunch in the Catholic grade school I attended:

We give Thee thanks for all Thy benefits, Almighty God, who lives and reigns, world without end. Amen. May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

 

(Six) Tonight, swap out the breviary!

Don’t forget to move the holy cards! If you pray the Liturgy of the Hours using the 4-volume breviary, tonight after Evening Prayer you’ll need to bring out the Ordinary Time I volume and put away Advent/Christmas.

My husband likes Ordinary Time I because it means summer is coming. I’m not ready to think that far ahead (after 7 weeks we’re switching again, into the Lent/Easter volume) but his particular liturgical year revolves around the opening of the pool, conveniently timed right around Holy Saturday if it doesn’t rain that day.

 

(Seven) Book News

There’s a great sale right now on The Handy Little Guide to Prayer: it’s more than 50% off on Amazon right now! There’s no better time to order a copy for yourself or your friends.

 

 

If you’ve read this Handy Little Guide, would you kindly do me a favor and leave an Amazon review? One sentence is plenty; those reviews help other Amazon customers who are thinking about what book to purchase AND they help get the book in front of other readers in Amazon’s recommendations section. Thanks!

In other book news, my next book comes out in less than three months! You can preorder The Handy Little Guide to the Liturgy of the Hours now (and if the price drops before the release date, you’ll get it at the lower price). Did take 6 leave you puzzled? This new book will explain it all.

 

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Copyright 2023 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Photos copyright 2023 Barb Szyszkiewicz, all rights reserved.
Amazon links included; I make a small profit when you use these affiliate links, at no additional cost to you.

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7 Quick Takes: End-of-Year FOMO Edition

franciscanmom5 Comments

I know, I know, 7 Quick Takes isn’t a thing anymore. But Rita over at Catholic Review keeps up with it, and I thought it would be a good way to try to stay active in this space for more than just book reviews. So away we go! This week, among other things, we’re talking about why I probably should be avoiding social media right now.

 

One: I’m exasperated with the Pope Benedict coverage.

Yes, I want to keep up with the story as much as any other Catholic. But yesterday (and the news only came out yesterday that he was likely in his last days) there were already articles popping up about his legacy. Could we maybe wait to break stories with a legacy angle until after he’s actually dead?

(For the record, I’m fine with tweets urging people to pray for him and others who are dying. It’s always good to remind people to pray for the dying. And I’m even OK with seeing people reminisce about Benedict’s impact on their spiritual lives. But please … don’t frame it as a legacy while he’s still alive.)

Two: I’m generally grumpy.

It’s a bad idea to go on social media when you’re grumpy. You’ll only wind up feeling worse. Even though I’ve worked hard to curate my Instagram feed to avoid the Manufactured Perfection™ crowd, that kind of thing creeps in sometimes. And tempting as it may be, it’s not nice to subtweet.

 

Three: FOMO caused by everyone’s “Word of the Year” and “Saint of the Year” posts on All The Socials.

Picking a Saint of the Year is an excellent spiritual practice. So excellent, in fact, that Franciscans have been doing so for years, in a ritual known as “Extraction of Saints” that takes place around Epiphany.

In my Secular Franciscan fraternity, we pray that the Holy Spirit will guide us, and then a patron saint for the year, a virtue, and a maxim (usually from the writings of St. Francis of Assisi) are chosen for each member, along with the name of another member who’s your Prayer Partner for the year. This means YOU are interceding for THEM in prayer (the term’s a little vague, but that’s the intent). My fraternity, though, doesn’t meet until the end of the month, so I’ll have to wait until January 28 to find out my saint and virtue for the year.

So I’ll get a saint for the year, but it’ll be a while yet.

 

Four: What about last year’s Saint of the Year?

This is the second time I’ve had St. Angela of Foligno as my patron saint. Clearly I hadn’t learned enough the first time around, and I don’t think I’ve done better this year. We’re supposed to spend some time studying about our saint, learning about their lives. I know that St. Angela had a radical conversion experience and was a mystic and poet. Being the practical sort, I tend not to even try relating to a saint who was a mystic and poet.

 

Five: What’s for dinner?

Tonight we had Barbecue Chicken Shepherd’s Pie. I had some leftover potato filling from last week’s pierogi, and I didn’t want to waste it. Probably wouldn’t have had leftover pierogi filling, but the children insisted that we try filling some pierogi with buffalo chicken dip. (I didn’t try those.)

Anyway, the shepherd’s pie with the pierogi potatoes? Highly recommend.

 

Six: What’s the plan?

I’m road-testing a new-to-me planner this New Year: the Saintmaker planner. It’s got a LOT going on, and I think I’ll be easing into it, but I spent some time today working through some goals in the extensive goal-setting section right up in the front of the book—and that was definitely a useful practice. This planner is a combination spiritual journal/planner, and I’m excited to try it out, since it’s completely different from other planners I’ve used before.

You can use code FRANCISCANMOM to save 10% off your planner, and expect some peeks inside on Instagram in the near future.

 

Seven: What am I looking forward to?

Tomorrow, Notre Dame plays in the Gator Bowl. I’m ready! My daughter gave me ND pajamas, and I don’t care that the game starts at 3:30 PM: I’m wearing them. I’ll also have my Joe Montana jersey, ND socks, and leprechaun sneakers to complete the Obnoxious Fan look. Still need to think up a good meatless game-day dinner (something quick that I can whip up during halftime). But at the moment, I’m not motivated (see also: take 2).

 

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You can tell this is a stock photo and not really me, because nail polish doesn’t happen around here.

 

 

 

Copyright 2022 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Images: Stencil
This post contains affiliate links.

What’s for Supper? Dec. 4-10

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I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s blog at Aletia, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with 7 Quick Takes!WFD collage 12102015
Here’s what we had for supper this week (and it featured WAY too much rice. Even for me, and I love rice.)

FRIDAY: Pizza. We had a Street Urchin invasion and I didn’t have enough fish to feed the whole crowd.

SATURDAY: Pork carnitas with pico de gallo, pinto beans and rice.

SUNDAY: Tandoori chicken thighs, roasted potatoes, green beans.

MONDAY: Hawaiian chicken, rice, vegetables.

TUESDAY: Leftover pot roast (I freeze this), noodles, gravy, roasted carrots with cumin.

WEDNESDAY: Vodka pasta, garlic bread.

THURSDAY: Chicken with lemon, thyme and onions, rice, steamed spinach.

7QT: What’s for Supper 11/20/15

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whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

baked steelhead trout T CFRIDAY: Baked steelhead trout with olive oil and salt. SO GOOD. That’s pretty much all I ate.

beef noodle skillet (2)c TSATURDAY: One-pot beef and noodles with mushrooms.

SUNDAY: We went to the diner. It’s like Cheers, but with omelets. We always run into someone we know, the manager knows us by name and some of the waitresses can place our orders without checking with us first!

DSC_0003MONDAY: Ranch breaded chicken tenders, rice, vegetables.

steak fajitas from leftovers T (2)c for cook and countTUESDAY: Fajitas, French fries and vegetable platter.

WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti and meatballs.

Roasted Asparagus (3) T C

Roast chickenTHURSDAY: Roast chicken, stuffing, roasted asparagus.

7QT: What’s for Supper Nov. 6-12

franciscanmomLeave a comment

whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

mahi burgers (3) c TFRIDAY: Mahi burgers with grilled pineapple and honey mustard. We didn’t even miss the bun. You can find Mahi burgers in the frozen (not breaded!) seafood section at the grocery store. TheKid suggests that next time, we make fish tacos out of the Mahi burgers. Sounds like a plan!

SATURDAY: We went to our favorite diner. I got a hot open-faced roast beef sandwich and French fries. (They never do give enough gravy on these–I like to put the gravy on the fries as well.)

SUNDAY: Steak, roasted potatoes, vegetables.

MONDAY: “Miss Jill” Chicken, green beans and carrots, noodles and gravy.

TUESDAY: Tacos with fresh Pico de Gallo. I use homemade Taco Seasoning in my tacos.

sausage and peppers (8)c titleWEDNESDAY: Sausage & Pepper Sandwiches.

rustic chicken with onions over spinach (1)T C

 

 

 

THURSDAY: Chicken with Lemon, Thyme & Onions, rice, vegetables.

What’s for Supper? 10/30 – 11/5, 2015

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whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Yup. I’m really late today. I spent the morning in the school library, like I do on most Fridays. In the afternoon I was the second-grade substitute. We had a little extra time, so I played a game with them: guess how to spell my name. (The kids have known me since pre-K, but have never seen my name written down.)

name challenge

It took them 20 minutes.

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

Friday 30: Steelhead trout, baked with olive oil and salt. There were side dishes, but I have no idea what they were.

Saturday 31: Hoagies on the way to the Notre Dame football game! Go Irish!

pork chop cider mustard roasted veg (6)T CSunday 1: Pork chops with apple cider-mustard glaze and roasted sweet potatoes with apples, carrots and onions. I still need to write up the recipe!

 

 

chicken caroline T CMonday 2: Chicken Caroline. I don’t remember the sides.

pot roast with noodles TC

 

 

Tuesday 3: Pot roast, noodles, gravy, mushrooms.

Wednesday 4: Pasta with Italian sausage.

 

 

chicken caesar sandwich c titleThursday 5: Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

7QT/What’s for Supper? 10/30/15

franciscanmomLeave a comment

 

whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

teriyaki salmon (3) c tFRIDAY 10/23: Teriyaki salmon, fried rice, vegetables. We used the fried-rice recipe linked above with no added shrimp or vegetables, just onions and garlic, since we were having other vegetables on the side.

SATURDAY 10/24: TheKid was in a show. We had tickets–so we dropped him off for an early call time and had dinner out before the show.

SUNDAY 10/25: fend for yourself!

steak fajitas from leftovers T (2)c for cook and countMONDAY 10/26: Beef fajitas, baked beans.

chicken pot pie title C

 

 

 

TUESDAY 10/27: Chicken pot pie. I had no idea TheKid likes this. But he asked if I’d make it, then had 2 whole servings.

WEDNESDAY 10/28: Spaghetti and meatballs.

not so spicy peanut chicken

 

THURSDAY 10/29: Not-so-spicy peanut chicken, rice.

7QT/WFS October 16-22, 2015

franciscanmom2 Comments

whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

shrimp pad thai 6 T CFriday: Shimp Pad Thai. This was a new recipe and it was definitely a big hit. It’s a very light, fresh-tasting dish.

 

 

 

2015-10-17 18.52.42Saturday: Roast chicken, roasted asparagus, mashed potatoes, beer rolls using Danielle Bean’s recipe. TheKid thought he’d get away with this lovely combination. I sent him back for the vegetable.

Sunday: Chicken enchilada stack with homemade enchilada sauce, salad.

Monday: Sausage and pepper sandwiches, salad.

 

Hawaiian Chicken c titleTuesday: Hawaiian Chicken over Jasmine rice with green beans and carrots.

Wednesday: Spaghetti and meatballs.

Thursday: Hot open-faced roast beef sandwiches with French fries. Gravy on top of all of it.

7QT: What’s for Supper: October 16 and a BONUS Dog Story

franciscanmom2 Comments

 

whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

Today, we don’t only have a dinner menu, we’ve got a dog story! Because that’s how we rolled around here this week.

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

FRIDAY 9: Takeout pizza. Yum. (That’s also “What’s for Lunch” for me for the next 3 days.)

Greek steak pitas CSATURDAY: Greek-seasoned steak on pitas with tzatziki sauce, cucumbers and French fries. This was a big hit.

 

 

barbecued chicken c titleSUNDAY: Barbecued chicken drumsticks, corn on the cob, salad

crispy ranch chicken tenders C

 

 

MONDAY: Crispy ranch chicken tenders, cumin-spiced carrots from The Catholic Foodie’s cookbook, boiled potatoes

 

 

TUESDAY: Tacos, Mexican rice, corn. My “secret recipe” for tacos: use a can of tomato sauce in place of water.

WEDNESDAY: Spaghetti and meatballs

Isn't he a sweetie?
Isn’t he a sweetie?

THURSDAY: The dinner plan went right out the window when TheKid walked around the corner to get a haircut (we’re less than half a mile from a shopping center with Target, Panera, Taco Hell, cheap haircut place and more. I’ve hit on the important stuff.)–anyway, a little dog followed him home. We put him (the dog, not TheKid) in our yard and checked his license tag, which only had a license number, no phone number or anything else, and then called the township who forwarded the whole thing to animal control. Meanwhile TheKid called a friend who has a dog to get some kibble for him. And then we were afraid that the dog might just be put down, and he was a friendly little fellow, so I tied a rope to his collar and started walking down the street asking people if they knew the dog. One neighbor drove around the block to ask someone he thought might know who owned it. We finally tracked him down to the house right near where he’d joined TheKid on his way home from the haircut. Apparently they have a doggie door, and the dog knows how to open the gate. No one was home, so I left a note with my phone number and took Louie home with me again. By this time, there was no time to cook dinner before TheKid’s rehearsal, so I put him and the dog in the van, got Chick-Fil-A drive-thru for TheKid, and made the rehearsal run with a rather smelly dog panting behind me in the back seat. 5 minutes after I got back home, his owners called. They only live around the corner, but it took almost 15 minutes after that call before someone drove around to get him, and then all she did was talk to the dog, not to me. TheDad met Big Brother for wings, so that was his dinner, and I got mac & cheese from Panera and returned to rehearsal, where I ate my dinner behind the wheel, in the parking lot. Then I came home for some Benadryl for my itchy eye. There’s a reason we don’t have pets.

What’s for Supper: October 2-8

franciscanmom2 Comments

whats-for-supper

I’m linking up at Simcha Fisher’s Patheos Catholic blog, where she’s got a great weekly “What’s for Supper?” feature going on. And since TWO linkups are better than one, and there are SEVEN days in a week of suppers, I’m also joining up with This Ain’t the Lyceum for 7 Quick Takes!

seven-quick-takes-friday-2-300x213

Here’s what we had for supper this week.

tilapia lemongrassmac n cheese dutch oven

 

 

 

 

 

 

FRIDAY 2: Tilapia with Ginger and Lemongrass, homemade mac & cheese (this recipe, but without the seafood), salad

Sausage and pepper pasta bake T CSATURDAY 3: Sausage & Pepper Pasta Bake. This was a new recipe and a big hit.

SUNDAY 4: fend for yourself after a family party where we all had huge lunches

 

 

chicken caesar sandwich c titleMONDAY 5: Chicken Caesar Sandwiches and salad

TUESDAY 6: Hot open-faced roast beef sandwiches with gravy, French fries (with gravy, because gravy fries are awesome) and mixed vegetables

WEDNESDAY 7: Spaghetti and meatballs

THURSDAY 8: We tried a new recipe for Oven Baked Chicken Fajitas that I found somewhere on Facebook and saved to try. General concensus: the chicken was good, but the vegetables weren’t. I won’t be making it again. It was edible, but no one really liked it.