Wednesday, January 30, 2008

(Here's how you can stop the background music before playing the video: Please click the square white button on the Music Control panel on the right side at the top of my sidebar.)

The first time I heard this song, You Raise Me Up, I wondered if it was about God raising us up or about people raising us up. More recently I heard it and realized that it is sometimes God directly, and sometimes God through people. He has certainly done both in my life in recent times. I am most grateful to those dear to me who raise me up, and to Him who sends them into my life.

Tuesday, January 29, 2008

Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle, who has written several Catholic prayer books and has another one coming out this spring, was in a car accident along with her daughter. They are at home but have some recovery to do, and with a trip to Rome coming up very soon. You can read more at her blog Embracing Motherhood.

Have you ever wondered about the political two-party system? How about voting in the primaries, state by state, while the media gets in more than their two cents worth?

Here is a new blog by my oldest son, who says, "I will try in this blog to offer my opinions and conclusions on political issues of the day and the political process. But, mostly I hope to provide sound analysis of happenings in the political arena and leave an opening for my readers to draw their own conclusions."

Click on the title to visit his blog: Margin For Error Political Commentary from an Open Mind

Friday, January 25, 2008

Nothing is so strong as gentleness, nothing so gentle as real strength.- St. Francis de Sales

Yesterday was his feast day and I read this last night after having my preschool class, so it really made sense to me. This shall become my motto, something to work toward with the little ones. It is always a struggle to try to find this balance, to be both firm and patient. It's easy to swing toward either over-indulgence or impatience. St. Francis de Sales, pray for us. Dear readers, pray for me.

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? What they are feeling; their emotions and moods.

15. RED OR PINK? Pink.

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING YOU LIKE ABOUT YOURSELF? Ha! Like I'm going to tell you that. (Whatever it is. Now I'll be thinking all afternoon. No, I think I'll sleep instead.)

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? My grown kids who live in other states.

18. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Black pants, no shoes.

19. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Weiner sandwich.

20. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? In the background or listening, really listening? Oh, let's just skip this one. Listening isn't my thing, anyway (unless you have a problem you want me to listen to.)

21. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Sky blue.

22. FAVORITE SMELLS? Food cooking.

23. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My daughter.

24. FAVORITE SPORTS TO WATCH? People.

25. HAIR COLOR? Brown with premature undyed white - and proud of it.

26. EYE COLOR? Green

27. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? Never even considered them. I don't even like WATER in my eyes.

28. FAVORITE FOOD? The kind that goes in my mouth. I love to eat.

29. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Very definitely happy endings.

30. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? The one I want to share with you (again) because I'm really excited about it and think everyone should see it is: Remember the Titans.

31. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? I think you'd either call it raspberry or mauve.

32. SUMMER OR WINTER? Spring or Fall!

33. HUGS OR KISSES? Friends or Hubby?

34. FAVORITE DESSERT? Cherry Pie.

35. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? Irish Red by Jim Kjelgaard...half-heartedly. Needed something light. A great book but I prefer them a little more character-driven.

36. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Some bank I've never heard of. Don't know where it came from (the mouse pad, I mean, not the bank. I think I know where banks come from but I won't tell you as this is G rated. Just kidding.).

37. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? The last thing I watched on t.v. that I want to recommend was a Monk episode.

38. FAVORITE SOUNDS? The sound of family and friends greeting me.

39. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles.

40. WHAT IS THE FARTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Hawaii when I was in the 6th grade.

41. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Writing. I guess whether or not I have talent is up for discussion...I haven't had a lot of talent for marketing my writing...but writing is definitely an obsession.

42. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Vancouver, Washington. That's Washington State, not Washington, D.C. And that's Vancouver, Washington, on the southern border of Washington across the Columbia River from Portland, Oregon, not Vancouver B.C. Have had to convince a lot of people I'm not Canadian. Maybe I should answer "where are you from" with: "Not D.C., not B.C." It could be a riddle.

If anyone reading this would like to answer these questions, please feel free to pick it up from me as I picked it up from others. Just copy, delete my answers, and insert yours. If you do, I'd love it if you'd leave me a link to your post.

Hat tip: I've seen this blog around lately, but I picked it up from Jean.

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Jean at Catholic Fire passed on this beautiful award. I am very honored that you thought of me, Jean, and am also honored to be included along with the fine women she awarded. You can visit their blogs by visiting her post.

Thank you, Jean!

I thought it would be interesting to see where this began, so I traced my way back (no quick task). What I found was a beautifully artistic Victorian blog with a big heart behind it. You can find that post here if you'd like.

I would like to pass this award on to all my blog friends and readers. I think in keeping with the spirit of its founder, anyone who wants to can pick this up. But I will also specifically award a few of the blogs I love to visit.

1. To Sister Janet of Pause for Prayer who probably doesn't "do" awards and might not even find out about this one, but she certainly does spread the love with her meditations and her words of wisdom from her heart. Thought you might like to check it out.

2. To my new friend Stina at Lord, Guard and Guide. I like the way she shares from her life and her heart. And thank you, Stina, for visiting mine and commenting.

3. To Mrs. Jackie Parkes at Catholic Mom of 10. I am overwhelmed by all her posts. She is an inspiration. It's always nice to hear from you, too, Jackie.

And now, all those links were a lot of work, so it's back to my sofa for more wintertime "rest and recovery".

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Would you call it a flu-cough or a cough-flu? At any rate, it's "got" us.

This afternoon we enjoyed watching a Yogi Bear video that we bought twenty years ago. It was great for laugh-out-loud "medicine". We also enjoyed watching the snow fall, something that doesn't happen too often here in Baltimore.

Well, folks, I'm off to continue reading Irish Red by Jim Kjelgaard.

I hope you are all getting through January in a safe and healthy manner.

Monday, January 14, 2008

It's really beyond me how they come up with these quizzes. But...they were right. I'm the second born child.

You Are Likely a Second Born

At your darkest moments, you feel inadequate.At work and school. you do best when you're evaluating.When you love someone, you offer them constructive criticism.

In friendship, you tend to give a lot of feedback - positive and negative.Your ideal careers are: accounting, banking, art, carpentry, decorating, teaching, and writing novels.You will leave your mark on the world with art and creative projects.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The red indicates states I have visited at some time in my life. Are you jealous? Don't be. Please. First of all, I've lived more than half a century. Secondly, when I was a young adult (barely), I moved away from my parents. Then I moved away from my childhood best friend of eleven years (we had gone together to what turned out to be a cult; but that's another whole story). At one point my husband got relocated and we moved half way across the country from his mom who was our next door neighbor, and his sister and family who lived in a nearby town. And then a couple years ago, for my husband to get a job, we moved several states away from our three young adult kids. My heart has been torn to pieces many times.

Here's a funny thing about moving clear across country, all the way from growing up in Washington State to now living in Baltimore. Yesterday our youngest son asked me when it was that we went to Washington. I said, "Well, last summer we went to Arlington National Cemetery." (Actually I said, "the cemetery".) He said, "I meant your Washington!" Oh, my. When we moved here, I knew I was going to hear people say "Washington" when they meant "Washington D.C." but I wasn't going to think that way. I guess it's kind of like adopting a foreign language or the culture of a region.

And yes, some of those states were visited briefly enroute to a move, but some of it has been recreational travel, too, and I am grateful for all those opportunities to see the wide world of the United States. It's all good. And God is so good to us.

P.S. When I published this post, the right hand side of the map got cut off. I guess the map needs a wide berth. Well, I will have to just tell you, then - and I should be saying this for those who can't see the map anyway - my total is about 34 states.

35. How many states in the US have you been to?Can't remember at the moment, but that reminds me that I was going to post something about that before Christmas and forgot. Now I have something else to post soon.

36. What kind of milk do you drink?Chocolate, made with 2% milk.

37. What are you going to do after this?Mail something one of my kids forgot to take home at Christmas (yep, I'm kinda' slow these days).

38. Who was the last person you went shopping with?Grocery shopping with my three sons who live at home.

41. What is something you need to go shopping for?Clothes, with a gift card from Christmas. (See previous answer: I'm kinda' slow these days...or maybe busy is the word.)

42. Do you have the same name as one of your relatives?Yes, a cousin.

43. What kind of car does one of your siblings drive?Subaru.

44. Do you like pickles?Yep. I eat everyone else's at hamburger places. (Most of my family members don't like them. Don't worry, if you like them, I wouldn't eat yours. :) ).

45. How about olives?Like black. Don't eat green.

46. What is your favorite kind of gum?Any kind that never enters my mouth. I don't care for gum at all. I used to use it to keep my ears from plugging when flying...but have learned to manage without it.

47. What is your favorite kind of juice?Sparkling anything.

48. Do you have any tan lines?Don't think so. Do I have any tan? :) Don't think so.

49. What hospital were you born in?St. Joseph's.

50. What is your favorite TV show?Murder She Wrote with Angela Lansbury.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

Do any of you, my dear readers, know what would cause the printer to print partially (leaving off a few words at the end of some sentences and the bottom half of some lines) when using black ink, but print just fine if I put what I want to print into blue ink? (Yep, I changed the black cartridge.)

Better than "Do you know what would cause it?" is the question, "Do you know a simple solution for the problem?" (But tell me I don't need a new printer, please.)

When I was a kid we had these playground merry-go-rounds. Children would get on and push with their feet to get it going and then jump the rest of the way on to ride with the momentum. If someone came along later, they would run around until they got enough speed to grab the railing and jump on.

I got off the merry-go-round for the holidays but someone has already gotten it moving. I'm running, reaching for that rail, trying to get back on.

And that is why I haven't posted for four days...and don't know how much I'll be posting in the near future. If you think of it, pray for me, hanging onto the rail, running, trying to get the momentum to jump...

Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Here is a place to go to find out about movies! This is a blog that's just been started by a group of four Catholic women (two of whom I know from their personal blogs) in response to their concerns after a reviewer for the USCCB Office of Film and Broadcasting gave a positive review to the anti-Catholic, anti-religious The Golden Compass.

National Treasure, I am Legend, and Juno are among the first reviews these dedicated women have posted. They also offer a list of "Other Places for Good Reviews" in the sidebar of their blog.

About Me

About this Blog

Why "Simple Faith"? Jesus said we should become as little children, and St. Therese reminded us of that, with her childlike faith. "Childlike" is not immature - not childish - but "simply trusting" in God, and in His goodness and love for us...for each and every one of us.

Why "Simple Life"? Because I strive for it, every day...not because I am "there". My life has never really been "simple", but it is my quest, and I invite you to share in my quest, as I keep striving to rest in what really matters most.

At my other blog, Simply Frugal Concepts, I focus on practical topics, such as de-cluttering, being prepared for emergencies, and cooking frugally.

If you should wish to contact me by email, my address is margmary53 at yahoo dot com.

Book Reviews - Children

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Copyright

All original content is copyright 2007-2017 by Margaret Mary Myers. If you wish to link to a post of mine, thank you. But please do not copy and re-post without explicit permission, including copying to emails. Feel free to contact me to request permission for use at margmary53 at yahoo dot com. Thank you.