Here are links to what I’ve been writing this week in other spaces. Most of my writing happened here last week.
I hosted Small Success Thursday: Substitute Edition. It’s not too late to link up and share YOUR small successes!
Shrimp Pad Thai. A new recipe, based on one I found at CatholicMom.com. Pad Thai is not hard to make at all, and has a delicious fresh flavor.
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
Our usual hostess couldn’t be there this week, so I’m substituting over there.
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!
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
On Monday, I took TheKid shopping for new uniform pants (to replace the ones I got him in FEBRUARY, which he outgrew already). I am not in the mood to spend $40 per pair on pants for less than 1 school year, especially since the uniform company no longer adds a generous hem to the pants. They used to give 2 inches–now it’s 1/2 inch, and I can’t do a thing with that. So it was off to WalMart, because he told me that his friends got their pants there, and I found school pants for $14 per pair.
And then we headed next door to Modell’s for some new sneakers for him. When they didn’t have his size in stock, I asked if they could get the shoes for us. Turns out, store policy is to ship them free to your home in cases like that! And while I couldn’t use the 15%-off in-store coupon I had with me, the cashier offered to use a different online shopping code so I got the same discount.
I also found a pair of track pants that I’d been eyeing–and they were on sale. When I tried them on, they made me look skinny! Even better, they made me FEEL skinny! So I bought them. And then, on Wednesday, I went back and bought a second pair. If I could find a way to wear these things 24/7, I would, believe me.
I also gathered up all my courage and pressed the SEND button on an email about a project I’ve been asked to work on with a few other writers. Prayers would be most appreciated!
Finally, I walked into the parish office yesterday and the business manager waved a copy of Word by Word at me, telling everyone in the vicinity that I am an author! I’m a contributor–one of 40–but wow, it really was cool to see my name on the pages of that book.
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!
If you’re interested in purchasing Word by Word, consider stopping in at your local Catholic bookstore first. It’s also available online, and if you use my Amazon link, Franciscanmom.com gets a small percentage of the sales.
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
I’m supposed to be substitute-teaching right now, but TheKid and I both have some kind of stomach ickiness, where you just feel terrible but nothing terrible actually happens. I haven’t had (or wanted) coffee since Tuesday, so something is definitely amiss.
I know he’s not malingering today, because I reminded him that no school today means no rehearsal tonight, and he didn’t protest.
When I picked up TheKid at school yesterday after the nurse called me, I stopped at the office to let them know that teaching today wasn’t happening. They graciously reminded me that TheKid comes first. Then the secretary called a few hours later to ask how he was and to let me know that they’d found someone to sub today–because she knew I’d be feeling bad about that.
I’d worked hard on Tuesday to get ahead on things, which was good, because I just wasn’t feeling it yesterday. Instead, I did a little bit of work and then bailed to the couch with my ginger ale and crackers and a novel I’ll be reviewing soon.
BUT I did have one nice big success on Monday. I got to visit with Lisa Hendey and Pat Gohn on the last stop of their Papal Pilgrimage to Philly: the Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Bensalem, PA. It’s less than 25 minutes away, and I’d never been there. It was a beautiful place to pray, walk and chat. I took many photos but they deserve a post of their own.
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!
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
I’m just sitting here watching TheKid’s blood sugar levels; through the miracle of technology I can see just how he’s doing, even though he’s at school 3 1/2 miles away. It’s been a tough week in Diabetes Land, and he’s still not in a good place. But he’s at school.
Also through the miracle of technology, I am listening to the Pope addressing Congress. I am just in awe of the ways in which technology and social media have opened up the Papal visit to people who can’t be present at the events in person.
Some successes this week:
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!
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
Here’s what’s been going on around here last week:
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Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
I am very, very late for Small Success today.
I stuck my nose in a novel early this morning and that seems to have thrown the whole rest of the day off. (It’s really good, though!)
In spite of that, I managed to get a good bit accomplished. Except for the laundry that I tossed into the machine at 8:30 AM and haven’t moved since. But here’s my day:
9:00. Mass, which turned out to be a Communion service, because Father was very ill today. (Memorare UP!)
9:30. Home to check TheKid, who was still asleep. Add a few donated books to the Excel spreadsheet for the Secular Franciscans’ library, which we are getting ready to divide and share with the parish.
10:15. Pick up a roll for my lunch and a latte at Wawa, then over to the parish center to pull all the Franciscan-specific library books for the Secular Franciscan library. All others will become part of the parish library.
11:15. Back home. Wake up TheKid, make sure he has breakfast, and send him out the door for a haircut.
Noon to 1. Adoration, followed by a quick stop in parish office to tell business manager that I’m done with the library.
1:15. Return home, admire haircut, force TheKid to make bed before agreeing to drive him to visit theater friends in different zip code.
2:10. Return home, eat quick lunch (meatball sandwich using last night’s leftovers) and head to supermarket. MAJOR success here involves eating before shopping. I saved mucho dinero that way.
3:30. Back from supermarket. Put away groceries and return phone call from my mom.
4:40. Back out to pick up TheKid.
5:30. Home again. Prepare to make dinner, begin preheating oven and get text from Hubs that he’s just leaving work now. Turn off oven and wait until 6:30 to finish cooking.
You’ll notice that nowhere in there did I mention work, which fortunately I got done ahead of time yesterday (though I did not expect, even a little bit, that this day would turn out this crazy).
And I’m kind of wishing I’d remembered to wear my Fitbit because I think I’d have clocked up quite a few steps along the way today.
Amazingly, I’m not too tired and I’m even in a good mood after all that. (Perhaps the biggest success of all!)
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!
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
We went on vacation last week, so I missed out on the Small Success fun. It’s good to be back!
My successes from the past week–
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Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
Yesterday I had one of THOSE mornings. You know the kind.
There may or may not have been a bit of a meltdown for a little while around here…and then…
I don’t know what helped get things turned around after that one hour when one thing after another went wrong. There was a lot of “God, help me” going on, that’s for sure! These were not all big things but all of that at once was more than I wanted to handle.
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© 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz
Thursdays at CatholicMom.com begin with a look at the past week’s Small Successes!
One of the many things that makes me realize that I married my opposite is our opinions on surprises.
He loves them. Me, not so much.
He’s thrown three surprise parties for me over the years, one for each birthday that ends in a 0.
I did not react gracefully the first two times he did this.
But on Sunday afternoon, I was surprised again, and I count it as a success that:
Also, Big Brother and I won our round of Kanjam, though I did discover that it’s hard on the fingers and I do try to protect those so I can play guitar.
If I had to celebrate a “decade birthday” I am grateful that I was able to do so surrounded by family and friends, fun, good food and even live music (provided by a couple of my friends)! I received wonderful gifts (coffee gift cards, bookstore gift cards, and tickets to see Notre Dame play Temple) but the best gift of all was the fun time we had on Sunday afternoon.
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© 2015 Barb Szyszkiewicz