Category: Small Success Thursday

Get Cooking! Small Success Thursday

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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reading at Pams weddingI proclaimed the first reading (from Proverbs) at my godchild’s wedding on Saturday. It was a beautiful wedding and I was honored to have a small part in it. (And the church was lovely, but So.Much.Marble.So.Many.Echoes.) Congratulations to my godchild Pam and her new husband Pat!

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MF logoI dredged up some courage and asked a few folks to contribute Meatless Friday recipes to CatholicMom.com. New contributor Gina Felton was the first to share a recipe. Then both Lisa Hendey AND Sarah Reinhard got cooking. And the other day, Father Daren mentioned his favorite tuna recipe, and gave me permission to share that one as well. We’ve got some good cooking coming up every Friday this summer! 3 cheers for stepping out of my comfort zone and speaking up. It’s not something I often do, but when I do manage it, the results are usually good ones.

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DSC_0176I taught Little Brother how to cook a dinner all by himself! I converted Big Brother’s Chicken Adobo into a slow-cooker recipe for a project I’m working on with author Cynthia Toney. Little Brother made a stove-free recipe, thanks to the slow cooker and the rice cooker–and he can cook this dinner without the help of adults.

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

Small Success Thursday: LBD and More!

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

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wpid-0626140906.jpgI got my handbag organized. I’d bought this Grid-It to organize diabetes supplies, but that didn’t work out too well, so I decided to repurpose it. It takes care of everything but my wallet!

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Hubs and I attended a wedding this weekend. I got a new dress (my first Little Black Dress ever!) I didn’t even feel like I was wearing a costume when I put it on. Little Brother complimented me:  “You look nice, Mom! You look like you’re on a detective show or something.”

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breathing on her ownI read some good books this week! Catch my review of Dena Hunt’s The Lion’s Heart here. Yesterday I finished reading Breathing on Her Own by Rebecca Waters. It’s contemporary Christian fiction with a focus on motherhood, forgiveness and trust in God. Good stuff!

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

Start of Summer: Small Success Thursday

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!

Little Brother is (finally) done with school, and we’ve got a long summer ahead of us. He promised to sleep late on his first day of summer vacation yesterday, but noooo….he was up a little after 7. But that early morning led to a few successes right off the bat!

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RC pancake 4I decided he could help me make breakfast. With a little trial and error, we succeeded in making (and photographing) a rice-cooker pancake. Little Brother’s review of the recipe:  “It tastes like a pancake!”

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I also instituted a 15-minute cleanup time. I let Little Brother be the DJ, and I set an alarm for 15 minutes. Today we both worked on our bedrooms. It worked well. Since I’ve been growing my hair long, my dresser top has been taken over by clips and headbands and such; I found a couple of cookie tins and used those to store hair accessories.

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Measuring_cupI reclaimed my Pyrex measuring cup from the Big Kids, who had kidnapped it to use as a free speaker in the bathroom during showers. They just turn on the music, place their phone in the measuring cup on the bathroom floor and the sound is amplified. That’s nice, except when I want to use my measuring cup as a cooking tool and can’t find it. So I found a pretty glass bowl in a cabinet in the basement. They can keep that in the bathroom, and I took my measuring cup back (and put it straight into the dishwasher, because THE BATHROOM.)

Share your Small Successes at CatholicMom.com by joining the linkup in the bottom of today’s post. No blog? List yours in the comments box!

Almost Summer: Small Success Thursday

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Small-Success-Thursday-400px

Over at CatholicMom.com, they’ve titled this week’s Small Success Thursday “School’s Out!”

Not quite, here–for Little Brother. The Big Kids have been out of school for a while, but he’s boarding the school bus every morning until Tuesday of next week.

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baseballI’ve been doing a lot of substitute teaching (4 school days last week alone), which is a good thing for the budget. Last week, when I was in for the same teacher most of the week, I re-created a review “baseball” game I used to use–one I learned from my mom when she was my teacher in middle school. Word got around, and another teacher who heard about the game visited me to ask if she could borrow the “equipment.” This week, she told me that she made her own “baseball” to use with her classes.

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Right now I’m in the middle of a cooking frenzy as we prepare for the Big Kids’ Double Graduation Celebration and Swimming-Pool Jamboree. At last count, we’re feeding 90 people. Overnight last night, I slow-cooked pork carnitas with chipotle; right now there are meatballs in the oven and chicken for Caesar sandwiches in the slow cookers. And Big Brother offered to make the pico de gallo. I’m not turning down his offer to chop multiple pounds of tomatoes.

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When my new-to-me dishwasher decided to unscrew itself from underneath the kitchen cabinet, I diagnosed the problem, located a washer in the correct size, and re-attached it all by myself.

Visit CatholicMom.com to cheer on everyone’s Small Successes! Link your own blog or add yours in the comments box.

Shifting Gears: Small Success Thursday

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThursday is the day we celebrate those little achievements–not the trophy-worthy stuff, but the little things that make our day. Or week.

Join us at CatholicMom.com to share your little joys and give a pat on the back to the others who have shared!

Here’s mine. It’s a quick-and-dirty edition since the day has been crazy.

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I’ve been substitute-teaching most of the week–3 school days out of 4 and I’m scheduled for tomorrow too. Today they called me at 8:20. I’d been to the gym, but hadn’t eaten or showered, since I figured I’d clean the house first and then get clean. “Can you come in today?”
“Give me an hour.”
I got there in 55 minutes, clean, dressed up, lunch packed, breakfast eaten, coffee in hand.

Of course, that change in the game plan meant that the house is rapidly approaching “hovel” status, but that’s what Saturday is for, I guess.

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jeopardy OKFRI used the SMARTboard this week at school. I even wrote up a Jeopardy board that could go up on the SMARTboard, and we played the game to review key concepts in 7th- and 8th-grade religion.

It did make me sad that when we were playing Jeopardy, the kids didn’t know who I meant when I referenced “Alex.”

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I listed about 10 books on PaperbackSwap over the weekend and have already off-loaded four of those. It’s a great way to get rid of books you’ve finished and to pick up new-to-you books. All you pay is the postage for books you mail out.

Small Success Thursday: Unexpected Free Time

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxIt’s Thursday, so it’s time for Small Success over at CatholicMom.com!

Field Day at school was rained out. That meant I had four bonus hours that I wasn’t going to be spending at school hovering over Little Brother hanging around in case Little Brother’s glucose monitor went ballistic at his increased physical activity. So I came home and:nutrition label chicken tomato fennel CM

  • started 3 loads of laundry
  • did the grocery shopping
  • finished next week’s Tech Talk for CatholicMom.com (hint:  it’s on one of my favorite subjects–FOOD!)

And now I’m off to pick up a boutonniere for Middle Sister’s prom date. Please pray that the theme song for tonight’s event won’t be “It’s Raining on Prom Night.”

Make CatholicMom.com your next stop! Cheer everyone’s successes and crow about your own. Don’t have a blog? Leave yours in the combox.

Small Success Thursday: Rough Start Edition

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxIt’s Thursday? Already?

Well, that’s good, because that means it’s time for Small Success Thursday over at CatholicMom.com. Join us as we celebrate the little things, because little things can make or break your day.

This day has not gotten off to a good start. I woke up to a sink full of dirty dishes, because the child who had promised to “do them later”…didn’t. (Consequences will result. This goes without saying.) And I have no car–again. Hubs had his car back less than 24 hours when he had to call a tow truck because of a different issue that made the car undriveable. Since I hadn’t driven enough yesterday (there’s something most moms never say) I didn’t get to see the van hit that 100,000-mile mark. That should be happening this morning, somewhere on I-295. That minor disappointment pales in comparison to the repair bill we just paid Tuesday afternoon and the one we anticipate whenever the mechanic finishes with the car.

I could use some Small Success right about now. Bring it! I’ll be stopping by CatholicMom.com throughout the day because I know that reading about other moms’ successes will make me smile.

Here’s mine:

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Dining roomI cleaned out two big sections of my dining-room hutch. That piece of furniture is basically a junk drawer on steroids in my house. You’ll find a knife set, paper plates, sugar substitute, the big can of hot cocoa mix that doesn’t fit in a kitchen cabinet, some pretty teacups, my mother-in-law’s crystal (which never gets used but somehow manages to get broken in there), some glass serving trays and plastic forks and spoons in the two sections with doors. And those are the things I KEPT.

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There are fresh sheets on my bed for tonight, and that always lifts my spirits.

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I had a good day in Substitute-Teacher Land yesterday. A last-minute substitute switcheroo meant that I had a third-grade class instead of the middle-schoolers. The change was fine with me. I came home covered in chalk dust (fortunately, I hadn’t worn my black pants) and my feet hurt but it was an easy day–I even survived the part where I had to teach geometry!

And in honor of the fact that my attitude could still stand just a little improvement, I’m bringing some butter and eggs to room temperature in the kitchen right now so I can make some chocolate cookies. With nuts. For medicinal purposes, of course.

Or lunch.

Whichever comes first.

 

Small Success Thursday: High-Tech Party Planning Edition

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxIt’s Small Success Thursday, and at CatholicMom.com that means we celebrate those little accomplishments that make our world go ’round!

We’re getting ready for a Double Graduation around here, so my successes are going to be party-related.

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I figured out how to make a Facebook event to invite the family and friends who use that platform. That saved me a LOT in color-printing and postage costs. (Translation:  more in the party budget for delicious food!)

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I made a party logo with the help of Microsoft Publisher! I think it’s pretty spiffy!

Big Brother is graduating from LaSalle and starting a job in his field at Monetate.

Middle Sister is graduating from Holy Cross High School and entering LaSalle in the fall.

one out one in

(Little Brother is not graduating at this time.)

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High-tech party planning continues with the help of an Excel spreadsheet. I still hate Excel, but it really is the best way to go to keep track of all the EVERYTHING that goes into having a big backyard bash with over 100 invited guests. I’ve got the setup figured out, and data entry will take place today.

And one week from tomorrow, Big Brother will move out of his college apartment for the final time. It’s hard to wrap my head around that idea–and hard to express how very proud I am of his accomplishments. (Next week my Small Success had better include “make space in the garage or basement for Big Brother’s kitchen equipment.”)

Join us over at CatholicMom.com and share your successes for the week! No blog? No problem! Just post your successes in the comments box.

Small Success Thursday: Easter Vacation Edition

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It’s Thursday! That means it’s time to join up with the rest of the CatholicMoms and celebrate some Small Successes.

Small-Success-Thursday-400pxThis week’s Small Success Thursday linkup at CatholicMom.com is titled “Time Well Wasted.” That’s also the title of an album I enjoy by the Freddy Jones Band. My favorite track is Take the Time. It’s good stuff. Take the time to listen!

And on to the Small Successes:

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It’s Easter vacation, so everybody’s home (including Hubs) and I am trying very hard to just go with the flow here. Sometimes that means I get to be a little bit lazy too. That part is easy. Other times it means I try to say “yes” to those last-minute schedule changes that everyone else in the house come up with. My first response is still usually “no” but if I have 15 minutes to think about it, I can generally get to “yes.”

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Easter Sunday Mass was a wonderful celebration. We had so many people show up for the folk group that we ran out of chairs for everyone in the choir area. That’s the best problem to have! We sang our hearts out. We celebrated. After both the prelude (“Tell It Out”) and the responsorial psalm (“This is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad”) a little kid somewhere in church yelled, “YAY!” It was sweet, and I think it broke the ice a little bit. Mass  was super-crowded, with plenty of kids, and everyone was there in their Easter best and probably feeling a bit stiff. That kid gave everyone a chance to chuckle and relax a little, and there was plenty of smiling and people joining in the singing. And that’s what it’s all about:  sing once, pray twice.

After Mass there was plenty of joking among the folk group members that we should hire that child to come to our Mass every Sunday and cheer for us.

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I’ve been cooking, which I love to do! Here are the latest recipes I’ve gotten up on the cooking blog:

Beef Fajitas beef fajitas

 

 

Granmas rollsGranma’s Rolls

 

 

Easter ham and cheese bakeEaster Ham & Cheese Bake

 

 

 

Enjoy! And Happy Easter!

Small Success Thursday and BIG Successes Too!

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Small-Success-Thursday-400pxIt’s Small Success Thursday, and we’re celebrating those little things that can just plain make your day, because we get it. Stop on by CatholicMom.com and share your own small successes in the comments–or link your blog post!

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I enjoyed a substitute-teaching gig with the third grade on Tuesday. This really is a terrific age. I only had to tie two shoes (same kid) and I came home with two Easter-bunny pictures that kids made for me during free time after they finished a test.

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On Sunday we attended the cast party for the high-school play. That’s always a social-anxiety nightmare for me, even though I met and worked with many of the other parents during Tech Week. (I’m fine when I have a job to do.) But we ran into a family we’ve known since Big Brother was about 7, and haven’t seen in a while, so we enjoyed the time catching up and I didn’t have to sweat the whole fitting-in thing.

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My most fun success of the week happened last night during choir practice. We’re a folk group, so we rehearse at my house, where the kids can hang out and we can hang out, without being disrespectful by playing Beatles tunes in church after practice is over. And we celebrate birthdays with singing and treats. Last night we had JUST finished singing “Happy Birthday” to one of our members (complete with guitar accompaniment) when the phone rang.

It was Rutgers University (my husband’s alma mater) who had called the night before at 9:30 PM. I guess they’re trying to raise funds. Our discretionary income is all tied up in our kids’ educations, so they won’t find any funds here. I motioned to the guitarist to start the song again and picked up the phone.

By the end of the chorus, the telemarketer had hung up. And then the birthday girl blew out the candles.

And now for the Big Stuff:

Big Brother got a job! He graduates LaSalle University in 4 weeks with a degree in computer science and he has landed a job in his field. We’re all excited for him, and very proud.

We’re also proud of Middle Sister, who accepted LaSalle University’s offer of admission with an academic scholarship plus a Resident Scholar Award, for students who have what it takes to contribute to the resident-student community.

And it looks like the whole mess over Little Brother’s continuous-glucose monitor may be working itself out. Thank you so much for prayers on that score.