March 2006 Archives

can lay people make the wafer that will be consecrated by a priest or are there certain places we are required to get them from?

the non sequitur smock5

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1. if you had to choose one food to eat at every meal for a month, what would it be?

2. what's under your bed?

3. is your motto closer to "believe in yourself and you can do unbelievable things" or "believe in yourself cuz, honey, no one else will."

4. what is your response if you receive poor service at a restaurant?

5. how long should you know a person before you can tell them they have a boogie in their nose?

For Alicia: Hymns from Sunday

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The introit hymn was "The Great Creator of the World", which is still under copyright, so I can't get the lyrics from the Oremus site.

Here's our offertory hymn:

Spread, O spread, thou mighty Word,
spread the kingdom of the Lord,
whersoe'er his breath has given,
life to beings meant for heaven.

Tell them how the Father's will
made the world, and keeps it still,
how he sent his Son to save
all who help and comfort crave.

Tell of our Redeemer's love,
who forever doth remove
by his holy sacrifice
all the guilt that on us lies.

Tell them of the Spirit given
now to guide us up to heaven,
strong and holy, just and true,
working both to will and do.

Word of life, most pure and strong,
lo! for thee the nations long,
spread, till from its dreary night
all the world awakes to light.

Up! the ripening fields ye see,
mighty shall the harvest be;
but the reapers still are few,
great the work they have to do.

Lord of harvest, let there be
joy and strength to work for thee,
till the nations, far and near,
see thy light, and learn thy fear.

Sung at SMV to the tune found here.

Interesting article....

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....on the pervasive practice of taking tiny kids to inappropriate movies can be found here.

This is one of my pet peeves. KidC, a young'un with severe behavioral problems, is 10 and has seen movies that even I have not (and will not) see. He sees the most inappropriate violent films. And yes, I think it affects his behavior.

Sigh.

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"bacon tastes good. pork chops taste goood." ~ john travolta as vincent vega, pulp fiction

some of my very best friends are crunchy, but i have a bone to pick with those vegan-types who think it's okay to eat meatless meat. what is up with that? perusing the frozen food section of my local grocer tonight, what should i stumble upon but a whole section devoted to vegan frozen food -- and i use the term "food" very lightly.

did you know that there is actually more than one brand devoted to this stuff? and they make all sorts of simulated meats. one example: breakfast sausage links. hello? do vegivores actually admit to eating sausage for breakfast? i mean, what’s the point? well, i don’t eat meat products, so i refused the scrambled eggs, but i had a damn tasty sausage link! mmmm-mmmm.

isn’t eating a vegetarian bar-b-q burger just a little disingenuous or is it me? is it the fact that the “ham” is dropped that makes it okay? of course, the label that ruffled my feathers read “all American burger.” well, excuse me, but if it’s “all American” it simply has to have meat. not just any meat. red meat. and forgive my candor, but bar-b-q without meat is akin to coitus without, well, you know.

some of these meatless products are "proudly made with organic soy." is there any other kind of soy? that’s hypothetical, by the way, because i really do not want to know. not surprisingly, one company doesn’t even label their patties as chicken – nope, it’s chik’n. is that supposed to be cute? well, at least it's a'soying.

doesn’t it tell you something when these products promise to taste “more like the real thing”? it tells me that all these people really want the REAL thing, hunger for the real thing, desire the real thing. so, why not just eat the real thing? and if you really do not want the real thing, why try so hard to match the flavor and texture of the real thing? if you don't dig on swine, why dig on soy swine? if you ask me, it's like trying to polish poop.

honestly, i don't begrudge a vegan the right to eat all the veggies he wants. it isn't really the anti-meat stance that mightily chaps my hide. no, it's the cloyingly pretentious holier-than-thou attitude so many vegans employ. one vegan company’s slogan reads “wildly tantalizing, yet totally virtuous. just like you.” oh, why not just gag me with a bean curd. once food choices are elevated to the status of religion, things just get freaking weird. now, don’t get me wrong. i understand the schizophrenic relationship we all have with wanting to eat the good stuff without having to kill the pigs and cows. i have a good deal of respect for people who veg for genuinely ethical reasons – as long as they aren’t wearing leather shoes while they eat it. still if truth be told, i think there’s something seriously off beam about eating a meatless meatloaf.

it’s not unlike the bewilderment that fake fur advocates bring. isn’t wearing the fake fur or skin of a dead animal sending the wrong message? if i could, i’d be wearing the real thing. look! fur is pretty, but it’s mean, so i wear fake stuff. i mean, if you’re really anti-fur, why not just jump in the deep end and be truly anti-fur, none of these fake capes for you, nosiree. it should be the same for vegivores. eat all the soy and sprouts and oh heck, whatever else it is that you want to eat, but stop sending your blasted mixed signals by chow’n down on chik’n and eat’n wheat meat.


"the latest plastic surgery craze is virginity restoration. for $2000-5000, surgeons are rebuilding women's hymens... most patients are from cultures that expect brides to be virgins, but some women are having the surgery as a romantic gesture to their partners. 'what an awesome gift to give the man in my life who deserves everthing,' said jeannette yarborough."

don't people see the irony in all of their idiocy? we know that virginity is "an awesome gift to give the man in my life who deserves everthing" and yet we refuse to save it for them. instead, we'll writhe in our carnality and when we're through, we'll make artificial virginity.

it's like the birth control pill that now keeps women from menstruating for up to three or four months, since science has found that women who have fewer periods are generally healthier. forget the wonderful benefits of co-creating a human soul, just pop another pill and pop your head in the sand.

WASHINGTON -- Two more women have died after using the abortion pill RU-486, federal health regulators said Friday, in warning doctors to watch for a rare but deadly infection implicated in earlier deaths.

At least seven U.S. women have died after taking the pill, sold since 2000. . .

Instead of swallowing the final two tablets, the second course of pills was inserted vaginally in the four women, a so-called "off-label" use of the drug that studies show works and is widely recommended by abortion clinics but does not have federal approval. full article here.

what fresh hell is this? did i read this correctly? abortion clinics are actually recommending a more dangerous administration of the pill so that it not only murders the baby but also the mother?

smocktwin update

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no matter how far apart i place them, the boys end up next to or on top of one another.

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donovan got caught trying to make his way into the dishwasher.

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if you look really hard, you may see davis' first little tooth. donovan's first tooth broke through on the very same day. talk about identical.

Friday Feast, ya'll!

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Appetizer
What job would you definitely not want to have?

Soup
Oprah calls and wants you to appear on her show. What would that day's show be about?

Salad
Name 3 vegetables that you eat on a regular basis.

Main Course
If you were commissioned to rename your hometown, what would you call it?

Dessert
If you had a personal assistant, what kind of tasks would you have them to do?

I'll answer in the comments box with ya'll.

happy saint patrick's day

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ST PATRICK, BISHOP, CONFESSOR, APOSTLE OF IRELAND A.D. 464

and, a very happy birthday to my wee glynnis, eight today, who kept me in labor for seven whole days just so she could be born on this special day!

Book #6: Scaramouche by Rafael Sabatini. Sabatini is often mentioned in the same breath with Samuel Shellabarger. He writes swashbucklers. And I don't mean that as a bad thing, though I'm quite certain some would. Scaramouche is the story of Andre-Louis, the bastard son of someone (you don't find out whose until the very end). Trained as a lawyer through the graces of the loving godfather who took him in as a babe, he goes through a harrowing event with his best friend--a minister who believes in the ideals of the French Revolution. At his death, Andre-Louis vows revenge on his killer. From there we go through his trials as an actor, a fencing master and a political operative. Excellent read--fun and satisfying. I'm sure the plot holes are big enough to drive a truck through, but Sabatini moves the story along so well that you don't really care.

Book #7: Death by Hollywood by Stepehn Bochco. Yeah, the Stephen Bochco from television. A cleverly plotted book, with acid-tongued takes on Hollywood and its folks. WAY, WAY too much gratuitous sex. Everybody is pretty much a bad guy. I used to read books like this all the time, but gave them up for better books. I'm glad. I read this when I was stuck at the hospital with nothing else to read. Wouldn't recommend it. Nope.

Book #8: A Beautiful Mind by Sylvia Nasar. The basis for the Russell Crowe movie from a few years back. The story of John Nash, a brilliant young mathematician from the late 50's/early 60's, whose promise was ruined by schizophrenia. He won a Nobel Prize in 1994 (I think that's the year) for his work in game theory--which is used in economics. Very different from the movie. He was not nearly as "loveable" as Crowe portrayed him in the movie. It was interesting to see how, when the mental illness began, it was difficult to distinguish it from the eccentricities of great mathematicians. It's a different world.

Book #9: In This House of Brede by Rumer Godden. The classic, classic story of life in a cloistered monastery, told via the story of Philippa Talbot, a widow and late in life vocation. The book very gently puts to rest any preconceptions about cloistered nuns being "otherworldly" or "hothouse flowers". This is our book club selection for this month, and the discussion should be wonderful. If you have never read this, go NOW, buy and read! It's that good.

Book #10: The Full Cupboard of Life by Alexander McCall Smith. The fifth book in the #1 Ladies Detective Agency series. If you love Precious Ramotswe, this is just another lovely confection in the series. She is investigating the suitors for a rich woman's hand. Mr. J.L.B. Matekoni is dragooned into a parachute jump to raise funds for the orphan farm. And just when ARE the two engaged people going to get married? All dealt with in this book. But mostly dealt with are the differences between men and women. Loved it as usual.

....as I was driving from the doctor's office to the grocery to the apartment of my elderly friend Fran, I was feeling down again. And what came on the radio? The new version of this. It was exactly right, at exactly the right time. Yee Haw!

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Refrain

It is well, with my soul,
It is well, with my soul,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

Refrain

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

Refrain

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

Refrain

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!
Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

Refrain

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul.

Refrain

Here's the music, if you want to sing.

For Alicia: Sunday's hymns - #2

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O wondrous type! O vision fair
of glory that the Church may share,
which Christ upon the mountain shows,
where brighter than the sun he glows!

The law and prophets there have place,
the chosen witnesses of grace;
the Father's voice from our the cloud
proclaims his only Son aloud.

With shining face and bright array,
Christ deigns to manifest today
what glory shall be theirs above
who joy in God with perfect love.

And faithful hearts are raised on high
by this great vision's mystery;
for which in joyful strains we raise
the voice of prayer, the hymns of praise.

O Father, with the eternal Son,
and Holy Spirit, ever One,
vouchsafe to bring us by thy grace
to see thy glory face to face.

Click here to hear the tune and sing along.

O Light of light, by love inclined,
Jesus, Redeemer of mankind,
with loving-kindness deign to hear
from suppliant voices praise and prayer.

Thou who to raise our souls from hell
didst deign in fleshly form to dwell,
vouchsafe us, when our race is run,
in thy fair body to be one.

More bright than day thy face did show,
thy raiment whiter than the snow,
when on the mount to mortals blest
man's maker thou was manifest.

Two prophets, that had faith tosee,
with thine elect found company,
where unto each, divinely shown,
the Godhead veiled in form was known.

The heavens above his glory named,
the Father's voice his Son proclaimed;
to whom, the King of glory now,
all faithful hearts adoring bow.

May all who seek thy praise aright
through purer lives show forth thy light;
so to the brightness of the skies
by holy deeds our hearts shall rise.

Eternal God, to thee we raise,
the King of kings, our hymn of praise,
who Three in One and One in Three
doth live and reign eternally.

This one was hard to sing--you can hear the tune here.

If you really expect me to buy some drugs from you, I think you should at least spell the word disease correctly. Should I really be confident about something that promises "releaf from desease"?

and the winner is . . .

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love yourself a pair here.
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Steinmart actually carries this brand, I think. I may have to go look. I have a birthday gift card from Steinmart. Woo hoo!

OK, I'll take these

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They come in apple green (shown), black, ivory, orange, turquose or white. In ivory or white they would be gorgeous wedding shoes. And they're a bargain at $60.95.

Seriously, I'm saving this link for my Easter fashion statement. Maybe they'll go?

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And to top it off, they are $598.65. Yep, that's right. Nearly 600 buckaroos. Please.

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But they're $87.95. For rickrack?

These are the Smock all over

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And, they're only $63.95. Which since I'm just a-wishin' ain't too bad.

And since I can't get out of the house at the moment, I'm looking at shoes on line. I LOVE THESE!

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You can get them at Zappos. And they're currently 65% off their original price. The fact that they are STILL $186 (!!!!!) doesn't matter, since I'm only "window" shopping.

If I win the lottery, I'm buying these after I pay off our church building debt. So there.

(And men, you may just have to put up with a few shoe pictures. I need the retail therapy at the moment.)

Yesterday we had to take the McKid to the emergency room. She has been battling gastroenteritis this week, and we finally lost the hydration battle. We couldn't keep enough fluids down her to make up for the upchuck fluid loss. We had been in contact daily with the nurse at the pediatrician's office and the nurse practitioner. Yesterday at 1:15, they decided it had gone on long enough and sent us to Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth.

They hooked her up to an IV (three pokes to get it--the perils of dehydration!). That was hard. Watching a baby scream "They are hurting me Mama, make them stop!" when you can't make them stop is awful. I had one hand holding McKid and one hand holding McKid's mom--who was bravely trying not to cry herself.

After getting some antinausea drugs into her, and a bunch of fluid, we had to go off to get a sonogram of her tummy--because she was tender in the area of her appendix. Fortunately, that was just from throwing up.

She perked up miraculously--wonderful what a little moisture will do to a dried up kid! But I was sitting there whining (in my head--not out loud)--"Here I am in ANOTHER hospital waiting room. Why me and mine? How come all this is happening at once. I'm tired of it!" And waaah, waaah, waaah, on and on.

And then in my head, I heard Benjamin's voice (he's my guardian angel, you know). "Get over yourself, Terry. There are people in this very building living your worst nightmare. You and McKid and McKid's mama are all going home today. There are some here who will never go home." And that's true.

What a kick in the posterior. A lesson learned.

Thank you, Benjamin. Thank you, God. And I'm sorry I'm so hard headed.

Friday Feast, ya'll!

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Appetizer
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how intuitive do you think you are?

Soup
What is your favorite kind of gum?

Salad
Name a CD you own that you would never get rid of.

Main Course
When was the last time you said something you didn't mean?

Dessert
What is the sum of the numbers in your birthdate? (Example: 3 + 2 + 1 + 9 + 7 + 9 = 31)

I'm in the comments box! (And boy, is it small in here!)

Hi ya'll! (If there are any "ya'll" left after such an extended absence!)

Sorry for the radio silence, but this is one of those Lents that it hasn't been necessary for me to actually give up something in order to get a little mortification going. Things both large and small are conspiring to keep me in touch with the Lord at all times.

As Smock alluded to in an earlier post, my sweet mama fell and broke her hip on Feb 20. She called us on that Monday night, after spending an hour crawling to the phone. We rushed over, assessed the situation, and called 911. My mother suffers from Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)--has less than 27% of normal lung function and is on oxygen 24/7. Doing surgery is always problematical--because of the anesthesia. Fortunately, surgery was possible with an epidural and light general anesthesia. It took her far longer to recover and move to rehab, but she is there now--and will be until about the 22nd of this month. It's gonna be a long haul, and my mama is not the most patient of women (and I am?). Bless us all and help us get this done.

The same day my mother fell, I took an elderly friend that we help watch over to the doctor--a regular checkup with the pulmonologist because she also has COPD. Unfortunately, there was a new spot on her lung. So she's had to have a CAT scan, a visit with the doctor after that (fortunately her son came in from overseas for part of this), and a needle biopsy yesterday. It doesn't look good, and I don't know what will happen if she decides to have chemo or radiation. I don't see how our church group that helps her can gear up for care like that--and her son and his wife will be back in the Ukraine until the middle of July. I'm just "jumping off one bridge at a time" as a sweet friend of mine always said.

Topping that off have been other trials. My dad was sick--sick enough that he couldn't be at the hospital for several days (and if you knew him you would know how sick that was!) during the first of my mom's hospitalization.

McKid has been throwing up for the past three days. Oh, throwing up and getting hives. And running a temp. And being justifiably crabby. Sigh.

PapaC is also sick--and even went to the doctor. I'll leave you wives to marvel at how bad he must have felt to take his Y chromosome self the the doc-in-the-box.

One of my dearest friends is in distress--they want to test her darling grandbaby for austistic spectrum disorder. She is crushed.

Zteen's good friend was admitted to the psych hospital for depression. She's out now, and doing much better. But it was a worry.

KidC, a little boy I watch in the afternoon and a real problem child, has dumped himself into even deeper trouble with stuff he has done around our house. I am troubled that nothing seems to work for this kiddo--and it doesn't seem like the new program he is in is actually turning around his behavior. We may no longer be able to help, and it breaks my heart.

The list goes on, with things larger and smaller.

But it's like Smock said: Yeah, it's one of those Lents.

Boy, is it.

....written by Jeff Cavins and Mark Shea (available from Catholic Exchange--if you don't get it daily, why not?):

One of the many ironies of modernity is that, in pretending there's no such thing as sin, we succeeded in getting rid, not of shame, but of the possibility of repentance and freedom. In the Christian worldview, sin can always be repented of and forgiveness received. But in the current culture, we are stuck with sin that cannot be washed away and can only be excused or shuffled off on somebody else. And so talk shows are awash with babble from rich kids who shoot their parents and then whine that they were "victims". A rock star in Seattle kills herself on heroin and a local paper asks "Did Seattle Kill Her?" (thereby laying shame on a million strangers who have no specific sin they can repent of and no way they can be forgiven it). A book appears explaining that rape is just one of nature's little strategies for propagating the strongest members of the race. In short, Nothing is Our Fault in modernity. It's all the fault of parents, society or chromosomes. But that doesn't mean we don't go on bearing the shame of our sins (as our energetic search for excuses bears witness). It just means that in denying our willed choice to do evil, we have denied the possibility of repentance, forgiveness and liberation from sin. Today, embrace Christ's call to repentance by admitting sin and repenting of it. God calls us to freedom and means to give it to us!

LOS ANGELES — February 24, 2006

The Media Data Corporation entertainment auditors have analyzed the content of the 2006 Academy Award Best Picture nominees, citing a 313% increase in tobacco use and a 31% drop in overall profanity use. They have also announced their projected winner for the coveted award, based on statistical analysis of the trends in the content of previous nominees and winners.

i don't have a problem with instances of smoking -- other than the fact that, if well done, it makes me want to smoke -- and cannot figure out why smoking is tabulated but alcohol consumption isn't. regardless, if you want to see the tabulated data, visit FAMILYMEDIAGUIDE.COM.

i find it amusing that capote, a movie about the author of in cold blood, arguably the first "true crime" novel detailing the brutal and senseless murder of a kansas family, is the least offensive of our best picture nominees. it also happens to be the only of the movies up for best picture that i have actually seen. it will not win, but seymour-hoffman should if, and only if, hotquin phoenix doesn't win for his brilliant portrayal of hello, i'm johnny cash in walk the line.

...you can rest assured that the people behind you at the red light will kindly honk a wake-up call when the light turns green.

...people aren't afraid to point and giggle at you for snoring during the homily.

...you may decide that "meditation" is easier than "prayer" for now.

...in hindsight, a t.v.-free lent looks a heckuvalot less ambitious than initially thought.

slow goin' - prayers needed

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it'll be slim pickins an slow goin' around her for a spell. it seems that when it rains, it pours.

mamaT's beautiful mother recently had to have emergency surgery for her hip. she is facing unusual challenges in her rehabilitation, so feel free to send up as much prayer as you can for her.

our beloved papaHawk had an emergency room scare, and while he's been released, prayer would be nice.

donovan, the baby smocktwin, had a visit to the emergency room night before last and had to have a "procedure" done on his itty bitty toe. he seems to be doing fine, but the toe looks kinda yucky. prayers for healing will be much appreciated.

it just dawned on me that it's ash wednesday. it looks like this'll be one of those lenten seasons. praise the Lord.

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