It’s the first Monday of the month, so I’ve gathered up links to the work I’ve done in other spaces. May was a busy month for book reviews, but I found time for a few recipes and a little spiritual writing, too.
At CatholicMom.com
Book Notes and Author Interview with Theresa Linden. Theresa Linden’s novel “Life-Changing Love” released in May from Silver Fire Publishing! I interviewed the author on the subject of courtship as a dating alternative, a central theme in the novel.
Copyright 2016 Barb Szyszkiewicz. All rights reserved.
The Chapel Rosary. Using a rosary belonging to someone else brings to mind a unique connection that is made through prayer.
Book Notes: Learning to Love with the Saints. I reviewed Jean Heimann’s spiritual biography, Learning to Love with the Saints, which explores the how and why of those saints’ personal influence on her life.
One of the cool things about writing for CatholicMom.com is the group of terrific contributors. Every single one brings something different to the table, and it’s wonderful to be a part of this group.
Even more wonderful is the opportunity to participate in writing a book with these talented authors! Coming this August, The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion features the work of over 80 CM contributors, including the site’s founder, Lisa M. Hendey.
I wrote four reflections for this book of short daily devotions which publishes August 29 from Ave Maria Press. Preorder your copy now and you’ll have it on the first day it’s available.
Here’s more about the book:
Are you a Catholic mom who prays for the wisdom and patience to get through each day? Do you pray for your children, husband, family and friends, and sometimes even yourself? The Catholic Mom’s Prayer Companion offers a new, daily resource to make the most of those few, precious minutes you have to pause and reflect.
For more than fifteen years, the award-winning CatholicMom.com website has been a trusted source for sound, practical, and spiritual guidance. In their new book, authors Lisa M. Hendey and Sarah A. Reinhard bring together more than eighty moms, dads, and trusted spiritual companions to provide fresh, uplifting meditations for every day of the year.
You’ll find encouragement when you’re struggling, reassurance when you feel alone, and comfort when you’re distracted by worry. Created by moms for moms, these hope-filled meditations touch on the issues and concerns you face as you try to get through the day with a sense of God’s presence in your life. Whether you are a new or seasoned mom working in or outside of your home, this inspiring collection of reflections for every day of the year will help you
stay in touch with the seasons of the Church year
remember Mary’s loving presence on her feast days
keep company with both new and familiar saints
see the spiritual meaning of secular holidays and
make you smile with occasions such as Houseplant Appreciation Day and National Popcorn Day.
Each day begins with a brief quotation from scripture, saints, recent popes, or important spiritual writers. A personal reflection–written by contributors including Danielle Bean, Donna-Marie Cooper O’Boyle, Lisa Mladinich, Elizabeth Scalia, Carolyn Woo, Mark Hart, and Jeff Young–focuses on some dimension of your spiritual, emotional, intellectual, or physical life. Each day also includes a brief prayer and a question or thought to ponder throughout the day. In just a few minutes of quiet you’ll find the boost you need from a friendly voice. Each month also has a special theme such as love, family fun, and slowing down. Start these reflections any time throughout the year and feel your days become more grace-filled and inspired.
I’ve been working a little bit at a time to clear out TheKid’s old bedroom. He vacated it when he took over his big brother’s room almost two years ago, and it’s just been sitting there collecting junk ever since.
Sure, it’s small (10×12 or even smaller) but it will work just fine for me to use as an office, and it will do for a guest room in a pinch as well.
I’ve gotten the office part under control, at least. There’s still a bunch of stuff on the bed that I need to clear away, plus the ironing board, but I’m at the point where I can bring my laptop into that room and work. I’ve been working there all week!
That’ll be great this summer when the Street Urchins are hanging around, playing Super Smash Brothers only a few feet from the living room.
Someday I’ll paint it, but right now it’s just nice to have a quiet place to work.
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
On Friday, I folded down the seats in “Maxine,” my station wagon, and headed over to collect my daughter’s stuff from her college dorm room, using all my Tetris skills to cram a refrigerator, hand truck, foot locker, 3 drawer units, 2 Rubbermaid bins, the Keurig she adopted after I got an Aeropress for Christmas, and assorted smaller items into the car. The doors all closed and I could see out all the windows.
There was a desperate-looking mom parked next to me on move-out day. She had loaded all the soft, squishy-looking (but bulky) things into her small SUV first. Large, structured items littered the sidewalk around her car. I very nearly offered to help her unload the whole thing and start over, but you never know how those suggestions would be taken, so I just made a joke about playing Tetris and got into the car to wait for my daughter. (I’m still wondering if I should have made that offer to help reload her car. Packing is my superpower.)
For the record, “Maxine” was a wise purchase. My old minivan had more cubic feet of space, but it was nowhere near this accessible and usable. The van was nowhere near this stylish or comfortable either. I don’t miss too much about that van.
In my slow-but-steady pursuit of Inbox Zero (AKA the Impossible Dream) I have reduced my inbox to about 1500–less than half of what it was when I started working on it.
This week I’ve made a batch of cookies and a batch of meatballs and sauce and now I’m waiting for a loaf of sourdough bread to rise.
Other than that, it’s been same old, same old, and that’s OK.
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.
Don’t miss an opportunity to win a signed first edition of Learning to Love with the Saints at my giveaway! Enter now!
Catholic Catalogue Book Club Part II: Seasons of the Church Year (#32-44). We discussed Part Two: Seasons of the Church Year (#32-44) from The Catholic Catalogue, by Melissa Musick and Anna Keating. Reading this book has convinced me of the need to make sure that the observations of both the daily and the seasonal aspects of Catholic life take place on a family level, not just a personal one
Amoris Laeticia, The Joy of Love. A roundup of early commentary on the latest papal exhortation, as well as a link to the document itself.
Book Notes: Blue-Eyed Doll. I reviewed Blue-Eyed Doll, a fascinating historical novel that transports the reader to 1920s California, where students collected dolls to exchange for dolls from students in Japan.
Tech Talk: Texting and Tweeting with Catholic Emoji. Just for fun, I tried out the new Catholic Emoji app for iPhone and iPad. Those new emoji from Apple? Try to find real Rosary beads in there. Catholic Emoji has you covered.
Book Review: Blue-Eyed Doll by Deanna K. Klingel. This fascinating historical novel transports the reader to 1920s California, where students collected dolls to exchange for dolls from students in Japan, and follows the collectible dolls into World War II and its aftermath. Don’t miss Ruth Mary, the gutsy main character–she’s terrific.
Note: All links to books are Amazon affiliate links. Thanks for supporting my website with your purchase!
This has been one of those weeks when I’m just glad I have a job with a flexible schedule and a husband who doesn’t get too upset when the dust accumulates to the point where you can write your name in it. It’s been one unplanned thing after another.
MONDAY during the day I had to run over to the school and deal with an insulin-pump infusion set gone bad. I spent an hour on the phone when the supplier of insulin-pump equipment called to tell me that effective last week, the infusion sets TheKid uses have been discontinued. That’s probably for the best, as they haven’t worked out super well for him (as evidenced by that earlier run to school), but it caused a scramble. I emailed the diabetes educators at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (where he goes for treatment and classes) for guidance.
He’s tried 2 out of these 3 and neither one works for him.
TUESDAY I had the whole day ahead of me so I worked like crazy and got a lot done, and it’s a good thing I did, because CHOP offered to squeeze us in on WEDNESDAY for a consultation about new infusion sets.
WEDNESDAY I did the grocery shopping and some laundry and put fresh sheets on my bed, then picked TheKid up at school to head to the NJ branch of CHOP (not his favorite location due to lack of a Food Court, but beggars can’t be choosers when it comes to last-minute appointments). He tried on a new set, likes it so far, and we were on our way.
While we were out and in the area (40 minutes from home) I returned two defective backpacks to the LL Bean store. I’d already replaced my daughter’s, and TheKid was using his backpack, broken zipper and all. He emptied it out in the car on the way to the store. I’m glad I got those packs at LL Bean, because they were super about taking the return of one pack that had a hole in it after 3 weeks and one with a bad zipper (both packs were new this fall). TheKid walked out of there with a replacement pack and I got a refund on the other one.
I had all kinds of plans for what will get done TODAY, but then my daughter texted me rather late last night to ask if I’d go through the 2 suitcases and 2 Rubbermaid bins she’d brought home yesterday from college to see if she’d left her wallet in with her stuff. Answer: yes.
So this morning after rush hour I’ll be heading over there to drop off her forgotten wallet. And then I have Adoration, and then a council meeting for Secular Franciscans. I should get busy putting together the agenda, come to think of it.
In light of all this, I think a slow-cooker dinner is in order for tonight. (It looks like this, but without the potatoes. I’ll serve it over rice.)
After that, when I get a few minutes, I’m going to unsubscribe from all the time-management newsletters I get in my email. Those “experts” have nice ideas, but I’m convinced they don’t have children with medical issues that can change at the drop of a hat. My productivity is directly related to a lack of kid-related errands and phone calls.
And you know what? That’s OK. That’s the season of life I’m in. I’m glad that I’m free (enough) this morning to run that wallet to my daughter. I’m glad I can zip over to school to deal with an unanticipated pump-site change. Do I wish I didn’t have to do either of those things? In some ways. But my time management right now involves doing as much work as I can when I know I have time to do it, because I never know if that window of work time I’ve planned for later in the week is going to be open.
So today my Small Successes is brought to you by my slow cooker, the free cup of coffee from Wawa that’s going to help fuel my trip to Philly with a forgotten wallet, and Adoration.
Last week I had the whole week off work, except for 2 or 3 quick tasks that were time-sensitive. It was a little weird at first. When you work from home, your job is always right there with you, so it took some effort to remind myself that everything that still had to be done was stuff that could wait until this week.
I read a couple of books just for fun. I didn’t get as much done on my own blogs as I wanted to, but that work’s not going anywhere.
I still have some of my Easter candy left; I did not gobble it all up on the first 3 days.
And this morning, with the Science Fair looming along with the needs for color-printing presentation materials, I fixed the color printer, which would only print in color but not in black even though the black ink cartridge was 80% full. Everything’s looking good now!
Last Thursday night we headed to Gettysburg where we toured the museum (meh) and the cyclorama (WAY cool) and hired a battlefield guide who drove us around in our own car for 3 hours and told the story of the battle, start to finish. I got some cool photos!
Fences and skies of Gettysburg. All of these were shot in a 3-hour period on the same afternoon. Crazy weather! We got drenched in a rainstorm in the middle of it.
Book Notes: Jeff Cavins’ When You Suffer. Cavins maintains that suffering has a purpose. It can help us grow in grace, to grow closer to Christ–if we choose to allow that to happen.
Tech Talk: Is there a Cure for FOMO? I admit that my use of some social media can border on the compulsive. What do you do to alleviate your fear of missing out?
The Faithful Traveler Brings the Holy Land Home. I enjoyed a virtual journey to the Holy Land through a new video series from The Faithful Traveler, this one focusing on a papal pilgrimage to the Holy Land.
Book Notes: Wartime Historical Fiction. I shared impressions of two historical novels I read recently, one set during World War II, the other during the Spanish Inquisition.
Easter Vigil: Bring Your Family to the Fire. Are your children too wiggly to handle the whole Easter Vigil? I suggested that you start slowly–by bringing your family to the fire.
At Cook and Count
There’s been lots of international cooking this month!
This week it’s pretty much been prep work and cleanup around here.
PREP: TheKid is in the community theatre’s musical for children, “Beauty and the Beast Jr.” The show opens tomorrow, and I’m going to be spending my weekends (9 performances over 3 days x 2 weekends) in the box office and 2 weekdays (3 performances each) as a stagehand.
Cogsworth (the clock) is mine. The mustache is fake. The pendulum is not. We have geniuses creating costumes at this theatre. I am not one of them.
I’m trying to make sure we have good dinners even when I’m not around all day long (though on Saturday this weekend I think it’s going to be takeout). I’ve been working hard to get ahead at work so that I can miss two days in the middle of the week. All in all, my to-do list is my best friend as the show approaches!
CLEANUP: Yesterday we had electricians here to take care of some things that weren’t working anymore (2 ceiling fans, overhead lighting in TheKid’s room and one doomed high-hat in the kitchen). That meant 3 bedrooms where I had to strip beds before they got there, and 4 rooms needing cleanup after they left. I still need to vacuum my daughter’s room but it’ll be done before she returns from college tomorrow for her week of spring break.
And FUN: In the middle of all this crazy I am taking some time out for ME, to go meet one of the CatholicMom contributing writers, Lisa Hess, who is doing a presentation at the local library. I’ve read her work for years (her blog and her 2 novels) and I’m so looking forward to meeting her in person tomorrow!
For a little comic relief: I spent the dress rehearsal wondering how long it was going to be before this little boy had a mustache malfunction. How cute is he?!
I braved some absolutely crazy weather, heading out 5 minutes late and between storms to go to the Penance Service last night. My soul is now squeaky clean.
And I’ve reconciled myself to the fact that Penance Services are never going to be opportunities for a really deeply-moving confession experience. They’re a sacramental express line, and maybe their purpose really is to convince us that the sacrament itself is not so scary, not so terrible–so that we’ll make a point of going to Confession more regularly. (Did I just say that a Penance Service is a sacramental gateway drug? Well, yes. I guess I did.)
I have only 3 board games left to put away after the Game Closet Cleanout last week. I’ve made arrangements for Purple Heart to pick up the games in good shape that we’re going to donate (as well as all the high-school uniform pants I’d been saving for TheKid–because the school changed to color of the uniform pants.) All the puzzles and a brand-new set of Legos (in an open box but with all pieces still in plastic bags) are going to the school tomorrow. These are great for indoor recess, which happens a lot at this time of year, and two teachers have already accepted my offer of these toys.
Besides the closet, I’ve cleaned out 2 drawers, one bench where we dump stuff as we come in, and my van–because I got shiny new wheels on Friday!
Still dithering about a name: Felix or Maxine? TheKid suggests Julio.
No more minivan! I’m a station-wagon mom now. I’ve admired these cars for quite a while and am now trying to figure out how I’ll manage to live up to its style. Yes, my car is more stylish than me.
I’m just happy to have unloaded the 10 1/2-year-old van with its myriad annoying electrical issues (which deserve a post of their own) and a transmission that feels like it’s going to fall out of the car when you’re driving around neighborhoods at 20 mph.
Book Notes and Author Interview with Theresa Linden. Theresa Linden’s novel “Life-Changing Love” released in May from Silver Fire Publishing! I interviewed the author on the subject of courtship as a dating alternative, a central theme in the novel.
Book Notes: Learning to Love with the Saints. I reviewed Jean Heimann’s spiritual biography, Learning to Love with the Saints, which explores the how and why of those saints’ personal influence on her life.
Book Notes: Keep Your Kids Catholic. Marc Cardonarella’s new book guides parents to nurture their children’s faith at home.
Book Notes: The Joy-Filled Broken Heart. This small book is packed with big advice for those in the midst of suffering.
Book Notes: Talking to God by Julie Cragon. This new book by Julie Cragon helps you turn everyday challenges into prayers.
Sauteed Spring Vegetables turned out to be a delicious seasonal side!
Because bigger IS better when it comes to cookies (according to my teenager) I made these Giant Chocolate-Chip Cookies.
Chicken with Mushroom Sauce is a great alternative to Chicken Marsala.
My review of Deanna K. Klingel’s novel, Blue-Eyed Doll, was picked up at Mercatornet.com.
