What I Love

Hello, everyone!
To help you get to know me, I figured I would talk about everything I love.

     I do all the crafts I can. I always have a knitting project on the needles, I spin yarn, sew clothes for myself, I've made two quilts (well, one of them is nearly finished), and I embroider. That might be all the crafts I do. I usually forget some when I'm listing them.

A sweater I made. No, I'm definitely not showing off at all. ;)

     50's music is my absolute favorite kind of music right now. Also, 50's clothes are my favorite clothes and 50's cars are my favorite cars. I wish I lived in the 50's.

     I love Ballet. I have done it for the past eight or nine years, six of which I've been on Pointe.

     Smiling is probably my favorite thing ever. If you make my laugh, there's a good chance that you're my new best friend.

     If I had a house, I would decorate it all in shabby chic styles. It's just so pretty and feminine!

     That's all for now. I love lots and lots of stuff, but it would be rather impractical to fit it all into a single post. :)

Introducing...

I would like to introduce you to my sister and new blog contributor, Kylie.  I figure that between the two of us, we get this little blog decently on its feet and hopefully buzzing with regular posts.  (I can't do that by myself, apparently)  ;) 

She is an incoming freshman at the small Catholic college where I am an all-powerful senior.  So, I am looking forward to good times ahead, particularly during spirit week, where seniors dress the freshmen up in the most outrageous costumes.  *cue malicious hand-rubbing*

Kylie is very talented in the crafting realm of quilting, knitting, embroidering, and whatnot.  I am quite talented in demanding that she makes me things (which she doesn't normally).  So I'm thinking that if you like that sort of stuff, you will really appreciate her added contributions!  I surely am quite excited.

So without further ado, I will bestow my permission upon her to write her own post.  :)

Peach pickin' in the good ol' Virginia mountains!

Simple Sunday

This morning, we went to our parish's Tridentine mass, the second time I've ever been, and the first time for the rest of my family.  While a firm believer in preserving the traditional values of the Catholic mass, I'm not really too keen on the Trid, mainly because my mind tends to wander far beyond the sacred mysteries present on the altar and my knees wail in agony.  However, despite my stubborn insistence polite preference to go to the Novus Ordo mass, I soon found myself kneeling, and kneeling, and kneeling.  Despite my silly stubbornness, it was a truly lovely mass and I'm glad I went.  Plus, during the closing hymn, the baby in the pew in front of me started "singing" in time to the music.  Melted my heart!  After mass, we went to visit the farm where we get eggs and such lovely things.  It was my first time accompanying my family there, and I was in for a lovely time.

Upon exiting the car, we were accosted by the shrieking sentinels of the barnyard--peacocks during mating season.  The males were strutting around, fanning their gorgeous plummage, and screeching at the top of their lungs.  Did you know that they rattle their tails?  I didn't know that until today, but they quiver all their feathers until they make a rattling noise.  Very lovely birds, but rather intimidating--I prefer to stay a good distance away from them.

Oh, and there were the MOST adorable baby cows!  Love at first sight of their deep, velvety-brown eyes.  Last time the fam went to the farm, my dad tried to reach into the pen to pet them, but lost his balance, discovering first hand just how electric the fence really is.  ;)

As I was crooning over Jersey calves, my lovely sister was getting all touchy feeling with a goat.  This here goat would not let her stop scratching between his horns.  She wanted to go pet a pretty little white goat with a pink collar, but this guy wouldn't tolerate any infidelity to his horns.

Next to the goat pen, was a little flock of not-your-average-ButterBalls.  Two quintessential Thanksgiving staples were stalking around in the shade, each competing for the prize of most impressive tail spread.  My brother, braver than I, got a close up view of them.  I was a bit put off by a terrifying "thud" sound that they made occasionally.  If you can't already tell, I'm a bit wary of huge birds making intimidating noises.  Hehe...

Once home, after a glorious day in the sunshine, surrounded by cute, scary, funny farm animals, we set about making some good old fashioned home made ice cream.  Perfectly creamy, soft, and really really rich, we topped it off with chocolate chip cookie crumbles.  Unfortunately, I ate it too fast to remember to take a picture.  So here's one of me holding a peacock feather. ;)

I hope you all had a lovely Sunday as well!  Let me know in the comments what you were up to.  :)

July

Heat...

Wading through heavy air.  

Lifting swollen hands to open a kiln-like car's door.

Bees buzzing in a muddled daze.

Humid haze settling in a torpid maze.

We beg for relief.

We beg for rain.

Anything but the trickle of sweat.

Down our backs.

Clotting on upper lips.

Suddenly silence.

The buzz is gone.

The anvil rises in the East.

A rumble reaches our hungry ears.

Drip, drip...

Drip, drip, drip.

Faster the rain falls, pattering.

Liquid silver pelts from the sky.

Surrounding us in salvation.

Sun...

Shining through rain like golden sparkles.

Birds sing again.

A whisper of cool breeze.

Gentle fingers of mountain air.

Saved...

Summer Adventures!

It's been a busy one lately!  I've been working at a local sub shop (not Subway!) where they make some gosh darn awesome subs.  Plus, it is a very friendly work atmosphere, a welcome change from my previous places of employment.  :P 

But, last week, I took five days off to traverse across several states in a visit to my boyfriend and his family.  It was SUCH a lovely time!  The first afternoon I got there was dedicated to watching World Cup matches.  It was a good way to unwind after the longest solo car trip I've ever driven. 

The next day, he and I drove into the city, where he brought me to his favorite museum of natural history, famous for its dinosaur exhibits. There were plenty of marvelously preserved and reconstructed bones.  The T-Rex looks fearsome even as a skeleton.  Can you imagine meeting a live one face to face?  I'd pee myself. 

The museum had adjacent art gallery, which we visited, thrilled to find a bust of Pope Gregory Somethingorother by Botticelli, a beloved art pal from our Rome days.  There was also a Hall of Architecture which had replicas of many different church facades and interior works, several of which we recognized from Florence, Siena, and Paris.  There was also a modern art exhibit, where we found this.  I suppose I am supposed to glean some deep truth about the mystery of life from it, but all I could get was a good selfie opportunity. (#letmetakeaselfie)  Notice the Thinker Dude behind me and my boyfriend, he's probably peeved at our juvenile giggles over his "art." ;)

 Then after that, we wandered on to a botanical greenhouse garden.  It was one of my favorite things that we did all weekend.  Every greenhouse had a different botanical habitat, such as the Summer room, the Butterfly room (where there were butterflies floating gracefully through the air around us), a French Garden room, etc.  We both thought it was so nice that we went through it several more times, just to make sure we saw everything. 

Only problem with the trip was the drivers up North where I was visiting.  Apparently in my boyfriend's town, they don't have any nice handy-dandy signs telling you to yield on green to on coming cars when turning left, which led to some confusing left turns for me, who assumed that since there wasn't a sign indicating otherwise, I had the right of way.  Let us just say my guardian angel was doing double time for me until I realized that just because there wasn't a sign I didn't have the right of way.  Oh, and if you pause even the slightest at a four way stop sign before crossing, the other car will assume you aren't going and will nearly smash you to smithereens.  But I survived, and I breathed a huge sigh of relief when I crossed back over the Mason-Dixon line on my way back home, cuz y'all know how to drive nicely down here.  ;)

Love Yourself

~Do to others as you would have them do to you~

Luke 6:31

I'm sitting here, in the deserted library of my college campus, "writing" my senior thesis.  I'm hoping to get a large chunk of it written during the summer, that way during the semester, I have more time to get a job and write all the other papers my Lit classes will demand of me.  I'm really excited about my topic, Jane Austen's emphasis on romances built first on a foundation of friendship rather than infatuation, but right now I'm not really digging the whole research thing...  So as a break from poring through my stack of 14 books on Jane Austen and her novels, I decided to finally write another post for my poor little blog.  

The other day, I was meditating on this famous line from the New Testament, "Do to others as you would have them do to you."  It is so easy to just brush over this, telling yourself, "oh, that just means be nice to people, like I want people to be nice to me."  However, like pretty much everything in the Bible and under the sun, you shouldn't just understand something based on its face value.  There is always a second, more subtle meaning to be unveiled through contemplation. 

It is part of human nature to love and to be loved.  God created man to be loved by Him and to return love to Him.  Love is something every man, woman, and child desires.  Even those people twisted by hate all secretly desire love, deep down inside of their souls.  So, Luke 6:31 can be interpreted to mean that we must love other people as we love ourselves.  To truly learn to love another person, we first must begin by learning to love ourselves.  In a culture so filled with self hate and twisted body image, this can be really hard.  Everyone, at some point or another, has looked in the mirror and thought, "Ugh, look how fat I'm getting," or, "I look so tired.  Those bags under my eyes are so ugly.  I have zits everywhere..."  The list goes on.  The vortex of self loathing goes on too.

Like I said before, we can't truly love the people around us until we learn to love ourselves.  Like, REALLY love ourselves.  This involves loving yourself even when there's an uninvited pimple and a muffin top hanging over your jeans.  Every moment of the day, we need to remember that God, Who is infinite Perfection, cannot go against His nature and create something that is evil.  You are beauty, just how you are now.  I am beauty.  Everyone is distinctly beautiful, each in his or her own, unique way.  Comparison is the destruction of joy.  True, it is good to exercise in order to get healthy, but the moment you work out for the purpose of looking like so and so, you are denying your own beauty.  I don't need to look like say, Emma Watson to be beautiful, I am beautiful already.  Recognizing your own worth is the first step towards loving yourself.  Once you learn to love you for YOU, then you can learn to love others.  Every relationship, sibling, friendship, or romantic depends so much upon your own relationship with yourself.  

~Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good and His steadfast love endures forever~

Psalm 136

Deep Philosophy...

So, yesterday, deep thoughts were twinkling through my mind as I lay soaking in the bathtub, aromatic fumes encircling me.  I sunk a bit deeper into my mermaid pool, and added a bit more hot water, using my toe to turn the nozzle.  My thoughts gradually turned from all the different ways I shall eat Nutella come Sunday, to more weighty thoughts, like the role of women in modern society. 

"Why," I mused, "can women just not be cats?"  I mean, face it, we pretty much have the personality--happy one minute, and clawing angrily the next at some unfortunate soul.  (By the way, this is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and amusing, not offensive...) 

Pleased with my mental prowess, I applied myself once more to this new philosophy of woman.  Women, I asserted to myself, should be cats because the fatter they are, the cuter.  This would address the issue of anorexia and whatnot caused by the body image society is projecting on the female race. 

Secondly, once you choose a nice man to be your personal slave, he will pet you, but only as long as you desire, since he will have a healthy fear of the claws.  And we will be so cute, that the men will feed us more and oodle with delight over our cute, fat, fluffy selves. 

Oh yes, the fluffy part... Ladies, throw out those razors!  Fluffy is fabulous.  It's gonna be No Shave November all year long! 

Furthermore, we will have tails, and tails are awesome, period. 

Also, every winter, when it gets too cold and there are less sun beams to nap in, all the women can take a trip to Egypt and spend two weeks basking in a temple, revisiting the old glory days when cats were worshiped. 

And lastly, best of all, we will get to nap aaaall day.  When we aren't napping, we can eat, and can gaze upon our luxurious tails.

 A half hour later, I roused from my reverie, realizing that my bath should probably really, truly cease now.  But only because it was dinner time.  After that, I took a nap.  ;)

Books and Whatnot

Hello there!  Sorry about the long silence, its been a busy semester so far.  As an English major, I'm taking three literature classes right now, along with an apologetics course, and a modern philosophy class.  There's a lot of required reading to keep up with, but so far I've really been loving all the books.  In my American novel class we have read Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.  Last of the Mohicans was kind of a drag, and all along I was really hoping Alice would die soon, but alas, in the end, she was basically the only one left alive.  I had read The Scarlet Letter once before in high school, and was a little unimpressed by it at the time.  But coming back to it, especially after the boring Mohicans, I realized the wealth this little novel has to offer.  Suddenly, I was so captivated by the intricacies of symbolism which Hawthorne weaves throughout this tale, making it almost like a poem in prose form.  After spring break, we will continue onward through American literary history with Huckleberry Finn by the inimitable Mark Twain. 

For my Restoration & 18th Century British Literature class, I am reading a book called Evelina by Frances Burney, which, so it turns out, was a favorite in the Austen household.  I can certainly see the influence it had on shaping the literary genius in Miss Jane Austen.  Just like in Emma, there is a painfully awkward profession of love in a carriage.  Evelina such a wonderfully witty book, quite the hidden gem, I think.  It is almost too fun to be a school book.  :)

Anyways, that's it for now.  Cheers!

Roman Reflections: Bicycles and Picnic Baskets

In a few days, I will be heading back off to school, but before I go, I want to share one more Rome story.  :)

The Villa Borghese has such a magical feel to it, like a secret garden in the middle of Rome.  I first stumbled upon it the first week I was in Rome, while on a quest to find the Spanish Steps.  I couldn't stay too long, since it was almost time to head back to my apartment complex to meet with my class for dinner, but I knew I must come back to this enchanting place. 

A few weeks later, a couple of girlfriends and I stopped by the supermercato on our way back from class to pick up some picnic victuals: bread, cheese, prosciutto, chocolate, and wine.  The next day we did not have class and we wanted to make the most of the Roman sunshine, so we were planning on taking an excursion to the Villa Borghese.  The next afternoon, the sun was out, the birds were singing, so we grabbed our picnic basket (actually it was a grocery bag, but it sounds more romantic to say basket) and hopped on the metro.  We walked a little bit through the park to find the perfect spot, and while we were walking, we saw some random guy practicing break dancing in the grass, kind of hidden by the bushes.  We decided to creep on him a little bit, whilst pretending to study the map of the park, but he saw us snooping and stopped dancing, so we moved on after a little while.  We found our perfect picnic spot under a monument to Umberto I.  We sat on the steps, sipping wine and nibbling cheese.

We were amused/annoyed by a whole arsenal of yappy little dogs bounding around the trees, barking shrilly up at the branches.  We were trying to decide what was catching their attention, but came to the conclusion that squirrels were out of the question, since our Italian teacher told us there were no squirrels in Rome.  But then, one of the girls recalled that a guy in our class claimed to have seen both squirrels and parrots in this park.  "No no," I said, "he must be mistaken.  There are no squirrels here.  Ms. B said so."  But lo and behold, when we got up to walk to the bicycle rental stand, in the span of 5 minutes, we not only saw a flock of parrots fly by, but also a squirrel (not flying by though).  We called it our "Big Tail" sighting.  I have photographic evidence that there are indeed squirrels in Rome.

 
We all rented some bicycles and rode around the park.  It was a glorious feeling to have the wind in my hair and the ground slipping effortlessly behind me.  And my bicycle bell "bringed" beautifully. :)  Once, I pretended to run over a pigeon, but I discovered that pigeons are inordinately slow at moving out of the way of swiftly approaching wheeled vehicles.  I didn't actually run over it, but I came too darn close, so no more pigeon assassinations were attempted after that.

We biked around the park once, and started feeling a bit hot and sweaty, so we decided to call it a day, and brought our trusty wheeled steeds back to the rental kiosk.  All in all, it was a truly glorious day, and I think we all agreed it was one of our favorite afternoons spent in Rome.

 Chillin' with Byron.  M is carrying our beloved "bambino" aka our picnic bag. 

 M and I are the original pillar huggers- the Roman response to tree hugging.

 Sigh... What I would give to be back there right now...

 

Five Favorites

Well, this is my first Five Favorites, linking up with Moxie Wife.  Anyhow, andiamo as they say in Italy!

1.  I am head over heels in love with Pope Francis.  While Benedict focused very well on the liturgy, Francis is the perfect compliment by focusing on living a Catholic life.  No one will pay attention to the liturgy unless they live as Catholics, and no one will want to become Catholic simply because the liturgy is correct.  People will be attracted to the Church because they see the joy and love that Catholics have in themselves and with their dealings with other people.  Pope Francis is a true example of the Catholic joy and charity.  When I was in Rome, there were rumors circulating that Papa Francesco himself snuck out of the Vatican at night to feed the homeless under the Bridge of Angels.  Now, I have no idea if this is true or not, but I wouldn't be too surprised.

2.  Since getting back from Rome, I've been really appreciating all the down time I have at home and being able to just sit, drink tea, and read.  The other day, I purchased Anna Karenina, and it is proving to be quite the worthwhile read!  It is slow going though, keeping track of all the long Russian names and the intricate plot twists, but despite all that, it is very enjoyable.  In ENGL 202, we read Crime and Punishment and my professor enlightened me on the main themes of these Russian novels, so it is kinda rewarding to be reading my book and going "oh yeah!  I know what they are alluding to here!"

3.  Its See's Chocolate season again around here.  When we lived in California, See's was aplentiful, but now that we are living not in CA, we only order a 2 lb box around Christmas time.  I would say that See's is arguably the best American produced chocolate.  And, huge plus!  It doesn't have any artificial flavors or preservatives!
 
 

4.   This time of year, cozy chunky sweaters are absolutely, positively my favorite wardrobe staple.  I was able to acquire some nice ones in Rome and other places.  My favorite is one that I picked up in Fatima.  It is so cozy, and as one of my friends said, a good sweater to have tea in.

5.  And finally, I love this song so much.  It has a good message to bring to us, especially as we near the end of the year: learn to appreciate what you have.  If you don't step back and take a good look at your blessings, then you will only realize how much you had when it's gone.  Truly, we are all so blessed, each of us in different ways and different circumstances.  God is very good. 

New Look, Same Great Product!

Yay!  I have successfully updated my blog look!  I hope you enjoy.  :)

A Cozy Sort of Day

Today I went to the bookstore and bought Anna Karenina, which I am reading for the first time.  I was introduced to the allurement of Russian novels by my favorite Literature professor, Mrs. H last year when we read Crime and Punishment.  It is definitely not light reading, but it will give my mind something wholesome to gnaw on this Christmas. 

Today being the cold and blustery day that it is, I have spent the majority of it curled up on the couch by the crackling wood stove, a cat purring at my side and my new book in hand.  Of course, tea is involved as well.  When I was in Italy, I purchased a Tea Advent calendar: a tea bag for every day of December!  It has been so delightful trying out a different tea every day. 

Other noteworthy and miscellaneous news from today... While at the bookstore, I popped into the little Starbucks and got a cappuccino!  My first since coming home from Italy.  It was absolutely delish, but at first I was astonished by the size, even though I got the smallest size that Starbucks has to offer.  I am so used to European sizing, and have been constantly surprised by the typical American "super size me" sizes.  But hey!  I'm not complaining!  More cappuccino for me!  And that, my friends, is a very good thing.  :)

Last thing for now, I just found this simply lovely, soul-stringing song, and I thought you would enjoy it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bAdWBBOIYm0

Cheers!

Roman Reflections: Visit to the Gesu

About two weeks after first arriving in Rome, way back in September, our college chaplain, fondly known as Padre, came to visit us Juniors.  Padre is our college expert on Rome.  As a teenager, he lived in Rome with his family for five years.  He later returned to the Eternal City to study for the priesthood. 

One beautiful, warm Italian evening, before he whisked off to have dinner with Pope Francis (yeah... no biggie...) Padre took us on a walking tour of Rome.  I don't think any of us were expecting it to be quite as long and quite as grueling and quite as fast paced.  This tour became known affectionately as the death march.  But that is neither here nor there.  Padre showed us all the hot spots for gelato, cappuccinos, and chillaxing.  He also brought us to a church called the Gesu, which is the headquarters of the Jesuit order.  

When we arrived on the steps to the church, the doors were all closed and locked, since it was siesta time.  But Padre had it all planned out with Fr. Daniel, the rector of the church and also one of the two main exorcists of Rome.  With a quick phone call to let Fr. Daniel know that we had arrived, we heard the creak as the door to the church swung open.  We felt like VIP's as we walked inside, past the gypsies sitting on the steps who muttered "the church is not for visitors!" as we filed past.  We entered into the cool, dim interior of the church.  It took our eyes a moment to adjust from the bright sunlight of the Roman streets.  Peering through the shadows, we gasped in wonder once our eyes focused.  Gold, marble, fabulous paintings made manifest the Glory of God, hidden away from the hustle and bustle of the street outside. 

Overwhelmed, my eyes drunk deeply on the beauty which surrounded me.  Then I saw the ceiling.  The hosts of heaven appeared to be tumbling down towards me.

"Hold on," Padre said, "while I go get Fr. Daniel."  While he strode off towards a side door, we just stood there, mouths agape, gazing around us.  We heard the mumble of Italian coming from the direction where Padre had left.  I turned around, expecting to see a giant of a man, strong enough to pull demons out single handedly.  But the man I saw was a short, plump, quiet old Italian priest.  He addressed us in quiet Italian, Padre translating saying that he didn't speak very good English but he welcomes us.  Fr. Daniel went on to say, with Padre translating, that he had something very special to show us.  He had been working on putting together a museum with the Gesu's treasures which he had found.  We would be the first people to see it, as it was not yet open to the public.  He took us up a passage way, through the inner workings of the church.  Until finally we came upon a little room, filled with precious chalices, reliquaries, art, jewels, and vestments. 

Someone's heart:

Relics of some of the North American martyrs:

Finally, after showing us the treasures of the Church, Fr. Daniel brought us down to the sacristy where we could ask him questions.  A lot of my classmates inquired about his life as an exorcist, expecting to hear dramatic stories, full of chills and goosebumps.  But Fr. Daniel just chuckled and said it was not interesting at all, in fact, he said it was boring.  Some people were disappointed by his answer, I think, but I was so struck by his humility and his absolute, perfect, child-like faith in God.  This, I thought to myself, is a man who trusts.  This man is a saint.  He calmly smiled, the figure of a peaceful, joyful man.  Then Padre translated that Fr. Daniel had something else to show us, a bit of cloth burnt by the finger of a soul from Purgatory.  Normally I would have been totally freaked out when I saw it, but somehow, I felt no fear.  Fr. Daniel's calm ease and faith helped me to remember that I can do anything, but with the help of God.  Only with God are all things possible.  The devils stand no chance against a person who relies on God as his strength.  I've always known that, but meeting Fr. Daniel helped me realize it in actuality and to know that such a love and a zest for life really is possible.  Then Fr. Daniel said he had something even more important to show us.  Our anticipation was set a'singin, expecting something grand like the head of maybe St. Francis of Assisi.  He bustled off to his office, and then returned bearing a cat just as calm and sweet as he was.  He explained that he had found Gatta on the street as a kitten and raised her, and she lives in his office, and once a week he buys her pigeon meat.  With humble joy, Rome's greatest exorcist showed us his cat and let us pet her.  He smiled, and said "the only other cat she has ever known is me." 

Florence!

Sigh... I loved Florence so much!  The culture, the setting, the buildings were just beautiful.  It wasn't too big of a city either.  I went there with my class as part of our Art and Architecture class, and I never wanted to leave.  Well, at least I did rub the bronze boar's nose by the leather market, so apparently I will have to go back some day, as legend has it.

While in beautiful Florence, I bought a leather jacket and a gorgeous pair of leather boots.  I also went to the Uffizi gallery and saw so many famous works of art.  I also divulged in some fabulous hot chocolate at this bar across from the fake David statue.  If any of you are going to Florence, you have to try this hot chocolate.  It is, divine.

The bronze baptistry door:

 Il duomo:

 The dome of the duomo:

 Chalk art:

 Ponte Vecchio:

 Me on a bridge over the Arno river:

 Ponte Vecchio at night:

Rubbing the bronze boar:

 Becca on top of the dome:

Me on top of the dome:

 Lunch at the Ganzo institute (heavenly!):

 The girls doing the Italian hand gesture for "Delicious!":