kapachino

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  • april recap and may goals

    April was a very slow and relaxed month for me. Not a whole lot of big stuff happened but I got to enjoy being fully Catholic, we celebrated Easter, we went to an Astros’ game with my family (my brother was even in town from New York), my mom had her gallbladder removed, we took the school hamster home for a weekend, we had our first book club revival meeting, David and I went to a concert, and I focused on some personal projects like crafting and deep cleaning the kitchen.

    As for my goals, I had intentionally simplified this month and made a lot of white space. The beginning of the year felt frenzied, mostly due to circumstances beyond my control, and I wanted to rest. Well, I accomplished that! In the meantime, I discovered that I am happier, more productive, and have more energy when I have more going on. More on this in a little bit, but here is how I did with my April goals:

    • Do taxes – Yes, and we owed less than $100 which I consider a win!
    • Complete Jesus tree ornaments – Finished this one on the last night of the month. I love them!
    • Go on a date – We went to see a favorite band, Over the Rhine, in concert.
    • Read four books (one spiritual) – I only read three, and I counted Pope Francis’s exhortation “Gaudete et Exultate” as my spiritual book.
    • Go to confession – Fail. I went up to church to do this, but the line was so long that I was afraid I would be late to mass. I’m going to try to go this month.

     

    may goals

    1 / One hour of adoration – I joined a new membership community for Catholic women, and the month’s topic is prayer. One hour of Eucharistic adoration is this month’s challenge.

    2/ Read four books (one spiritual)

    3/ Productive Life E-course – I bought the Ultimate Homemaking Bundle, and this course from Crystal Paine is the first thing I want to tackle.

    4/ Go on a date

    5/ Family small adventure – No plans yet, but Memorial Day weekend might be a good time for this.

    6/ Clean moldings & fixtures – Next on my list of spring cleaning!

    7/ Make grocery staples price list – I am also working through this course on cutting your grocery budget, and my next task is to visit all the local grocery stores and note the prices of the groceries we are always buying. This is to figure out where it would be best to shop.

    8/ Pay off student loan – We are doing the debt snowball and I’m so excited that we are paying off a huge loan this month! This goal would probably happen anyway but I wanted to note it.

    9/ Send three specific invitations to friends – I was bemoaning the state of my friendships – how I don’t seem to see friends as often as I’d like – when I realized I should take things into my own hands. :)

     

  • a whole bunch of things i’ve been into lately

    Alright, get ready. Since the beginning of the year, I have been keeping a list of things I’m into: products, activities I’m enjoying, foods, etc. It’s already getting long so I figured I’d better share before it gets out of hand. This should be a fun post, I hope! Oh, and links below are affiliate or referral links, when available. :)

    Agendio planner – First up is my new favorite planner. I could easily devote an entire post to this, but I know I won’t, so here you go. The Agendio is nearly endlessly customizable. I wanted a hybrid between a bullet journal and a planner, so that’s kind of what I created. Be prepared that if you’re interested, you could lose hours to this and suffer decision overload, but it’s worth it!

    Trello – Part of the reason I was able to move away from a traditional bullet journal with all its collections of lists was that I started using Trello. It’s an easy, visual, and flexible way to store lists and a great way to manage projects. There is an app and a website that sync flawlessly, and it’s been extremely helpful.

    Refrigerator oatmeal – I have been making six mason jars of this each weekend, and it serves as a perfect mid-morning snack that I really look forward to. Hopefully it’s helping my cholesterol go down, too!

    Eyeliner – My makeup has always been minimal, as I like a natural look. Recently I saw a photo of a celebrity on a magazine and I loved how natural her makeup was. I studied it, and realized that she had a small amount of eyeliner on the outside half of her upper lids. I tried it, and it’s great! Easy, quick, and adds just enough to my eyes. So far my favorite is this one from Honest, which of course I can’t find available to purchase anywhere now, mostly because I love the smudger on the other end.

    Diffusing essential oils – I knew I would love diffusing oils because I love scents, but I never had a good diffuser until I got one for my birthday. Now it’s so easy, and my whole family loves it too!

    Felt needlepoint – I think this may be my favorite craft. I’ve made two stockings, an Advent calendar, and a birthday countdown banner. Now I’m making Jesus tree ornaments, and it’s SO FUN.

    Moment app – Have you heard of this app for iPhone that tracks your screen time? I installed it awhile ago and have just been using it to observe for awhile. It’s really eye-opening. Eventually I’m going to use it to make some specific goals, but for now I just think it’s really cool.

    Fixing up the house – I had a guest come stay in February, and that motivated me to get some things fixed up in the house. I replaced some of the outlets, put up curtains in two rooms, put up a new overhead light in the breakfast room, and got new bedding for the guest room. I want to do more of this!

    Apartment Therapy spring cleaning challenge – Along the same lines, I have been getting weirdly excited about spring cleaning due to a 10-day email challenge I signed up for. I have not been executing the challenges yet, but they have really great ideas so I’ve been writing them down. My plan is to tackle one project per weekend. Maybe I’ll finish by the end of the summer. :)

    Bookly app – I love goals and measurements, so when I discovered Bookly I was all about it. You add a book, and then time yourself when you read it with the app. It’s so interesting to see how long it actually takes me to read different things. You can also set a reading goal for yourself in minutes, which I think I might do! It has lots of other features too, but so far these are my favorite parts.

    Cloth hair ties – My hair is long enough now that I like to braid it, and I am always into ponytails. I finally got myself a package of these hair ties, and I feel like it elevates that look just a little. Plus, they are stretchy and easy on my hair.

    Dresses at Loft – I went shopping for an Easter dress, and I looked in so many places, only to be disappointed. But then when I went into Loft, the clouds parted and the sun appeared. I loved everything! I was looking for a more modest dress with sleeves, and I found some great options. (For the record, I chose this one, but in a slightly different color palette.)

    Tommy Hilfiger t-shirts from Costco – I bought this $10 t-shirt in white on a whim, and it’s turned out to be what I want to wear every day. I sized up (got a large) and it hangs just right. And it’s not see-through! And it holds up to washing! I think I may buy a few more.

    Whew, that’s it for now! Hope you’ve enjoyed, and tell me what you’re loving lately!

  • march recap and april goals

    I absolutely loved the month of March! I was the happiest I have been maybe ever, the weather was simply gorgeous, and I officially became Catholic which was one of the highlights of my entire life. Also in March:

    • I finally got my phone screen repaired
    • My friend Sarah was in town for spring break and we went to the zoo together
    • We celebrated several birthdays including my brother-in-law, my niece, and a couple friends
    • I saw the doctor about my migraines
    • My best friend had her baby shower
    • We brought the daycare class guinea pigs home for a weekend
    • Lots of beautiful church services for Holy Week
    • David and I had our marriage convalidated

    Here is a recap of my March goals:

    • Read a spiritual or recovery book – I read Breathing Underwater by Richard Rohr which is a spiritual recovery book, so I hit both in one.
    • Celebrate my first confession – Done and it was wonderful.
    • Complete Jesus Tree ornaments – Not yet, but I made a lot of progress!
    • Go on a date – We did! We saw the movie Game Night and it was a lot of fun.
    • No sweets – Yes, although I probably overcompensated by eating a lot more bagels and toast. :)
    • Try a bedtime read-aloud with the kids – I’m so happy about this! We read most of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the kids are loving it. I think this is definitely a new part of our routine.
    • Minimal spending – Total fail! Ha. I wasn’t resolved on this one anyway, so I probably should have left it off.

    april monthly goals

    • Do taxes
    • Complete Jesus Tree ornaments
    • Go on a date
    • Read four books (one spiritual)
    • Go to confession (I want to make it a regular part of my life)

  • almost catholic

    In just under a week, at the Easter Vigil, I will finally be fully received into the Catholic Church. I feel like a pregnant mama in those last days before her baby is born. It’s been such a long, hard journey, but one full of hope and expectancy and excitement at the same time. In many ways the end, the anticipation before it all really happens, is the sweetest time. This week, Holy Week, is unlike any other in my entire life.

    I revived this blog basically to journal my way through this conversion process, and then it all became so overwhelming that I haven’t talked much about it since then. So I’d like to recall a few of the milestones that have happened in the past few months.

    Day of prayer – Way back before Lent (seems like forever ago), our RCIA group met for a day of prayer. It was a really beautiful day of sharing, journaling, contemplation, and activities meant to reflect on our journey so far and to discern whether we were truly ready to declare ourselves as candidates for full communion with the church.

    Rite of Sending and Election  – On the first Sunday of Lent, we participated in two special rites. The first, the Rite of Sending, was during normal Sunday morning mass at our parish, and we stood up in front of the people with our sponsors and were “sent” by our home parish off to the Rite of Election.

    The latter was performed at a larger church in a different area of town, because it was presided over by the bishop (Cardinal Daniel DiNardo, for us) and many parishes gathered together. This Rite officially declared us as candidates (or elect, for those who are unbaptized). What I will always remember about this event is that I had a stomach bug during it, but I went anyway. I was miserable for the first half (and spent the time during the Scripture readings in the bathroom) but made it through the second half.

    Lent – In some ways Lent has flown by, but in others I feel like it’s been Lent forever. I gave up sweets, which hasn’t been fun, but it’s been good for me. I have also been learning how to eat meatless on Fridays (sometimes more of a sacrifice than sweets!). Fasting on Ash Wednesday was extremely difficult. I have also added in some additional prayers and almsgiving to my normal routine, and I do believe that all of these things will make Easter so much more of a celebration.

    Scrutinies – The past three Sundays (prior to Palm Sunday) we have had the Scrutinies. They involve the priest praying for us to detach from sin, strengthen in our resolve, and heal what is weak. He laid his hands on us and prayed for each of us. The Scrutinies are also accompanied by an exorcism. I love that they have this, because the closer we get to Easter, the more Satan is attacking. Having these rites in front of the whole congregation ensures that we are being prayed for by the community.

    First confession – I celebrated my first confession on March 10. I was so nervous! In order to prepare, I found a website that led me through the ten commandments and asked searching questions that fell under each category. I wrote out a list and took it with me into the booth. There was a screen in between me and the priest, so we couldn’t see each other at all. I told him it was my first confession, and he asked where I would like to begin. Then I simply read my list, adding a few things that came to my mind as I was talking.

    At the end, he asked me about a couple of the items on my list, which was the graver sin. I think he meant to help me see things in the proper light. (I got the right answer!) My penance was to choose a virtue to focus on for the rest of Lent, and to make it part of my prayer life.

    I was completely cool, calm, and collected during the confession itself, but afterward as I knelt down to pray, I began to sob. I felt so overwhelmed with sadness for my sin, but also with love and forgiveness. Just so grateful for where it had all led me.

    Telling small group – This was the last milestone that I really had to conquer! Most people in my life know that I am converting, but I hadn’t told my coworkers or the small group I still meet with from our Protestant church. Last week I finally found the opportunity (and the courage) to tell my small group, and they were wonderful. They were genuinely happy for me, and curious about the process, and so accepting. Now, I just need to tell my coworkers!

    If you have made it this far, thank you for being invested in my journey! This week is Holy Week, and it is literally a once in a lifetime event for me. I am trying to soak it all in.

  • spring break

    I started writing this post in the middle of last week, but am just finishing it now. Obviously I am not a consistent blogger anymore.

    Spring break was last week, and we had fantastic weather. Upper 60’s and sunny. Just perfect. Over the weekend it became a little more muggy and hot, but that’s okay. The past few weeks have made me so glad to live where I live.

    David and I still worked last week and the kids went to daycare, but we managed to make the week special and fun, I think. I met another online friend who was in town with her family, and we went out to eat one evening and then took our kids to the zoo. We also arranged two other evening play dates – one at a park and one at our neighbor’s house to have pie on Pi Day. Meredith also went on two field trips so she was pretty much exhausted. By Friday I was relieved when our other neighbors cancelled dinner. We had a pizza and family movie night and it was perfect.

    The kids are in this phase where they both will only wear one pair of pants every day. Liam is also obsessed with a storm trooper jacket, which is unfortunately white. The hood has cutouts for the eyes and is more like a mask. Anytime I demand or even suggest that he can’t wear it because it is absolutely disgusting, he acts like I am torturing him. I say, why don’t you wear your Spider-Man jacket? And he says, but then I can’t be a power ranger!!! I had been handwashing these items of clothing in the evening and then throwing them in the dryer, but right on time (when I had a load in the washer) our dryer broke. So that’s fun. Eventually it got washed, and we are getting a new dryer today.

    My reading life is slowly picking up steam after a long rut. I read Bitterblue which is the third in a YA fantasy trilogy and I loved it. It was the first book in a long while that I neglected other duties in order to read. My best friend and I are reviving our book club and have recruited a couple new members, so that’s exciting. And I’ve added spiritual reading into my morning routine again, which is how I read ten Catholic books in a year last year.

    Lately we have had more downtime but it has seemed to fill up with spending time with friends, which is good but also I think we need more time at home to just hang out together. This week will be a normal week, and then after that – I can hardly believe it – is Holy Week. I will be at church a LOT that week, and I can’t wait. More thoughts to follow on that subject.

    Happy spring. :)