Quote of the Week

Brother 1: Do you think that I could get away with taking this grenade to school?

Brother 2: That would be a great way to extend your holiday vacation.

3-1-1

Why does my ability to judge liquids and solids decrease whenever I begin packing my carry on luggage?  Tonight, I looked at a stick of deoderant for several seconds, questioning whether or not the TSA would consider it a liquid or solid.  Now to the mascera...

The Godfather

Surprisingly enough, I have many memories associated with Godfather's Pizza.  First of all, when I was growing up it became some sort of a family tradition to pick up pizza after Saturday evening mass.  A lot of times we picked Godfather's.  Secondly, there were a couple of times that my mom and I decided that it would be a good idea to order pizza in the middle of a snowstorm.  After we called in our order, we would bundle up and get into the family van to begin the ten mile drive to Godfather's.  Whenever this happened, we would usually walk into the building to see five or six of the workers sitting in booths without anything to do as most people wouldn't order pizza during blizzards.  Whatever.  We survived the storm AND enjoyed the pizza.  In the end, I think we won.

Well, last night I was craving their delicious desert streusel pizza.  I looked up the prices online and found out that I could get a small for $3.99.  How big is their small?  I had no idea and I didn't feel like calling so I decided to make one!

I began with a fifty cent wal-mart brand pizza crust and found a recipe for the streusel at this website.

I made some small changes (my mother would be so proud), so here is my version:

Crust:
3 tablespoons butter (you could use less, too)
Cinnamon

Streusel Topping:
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cubed butter

Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Direction:
Preheat the oven to 490 degrees.  Put the pizza dough in a 8 inch circle pan, poke with a fork to prevent bubbles, and bake for 2 minutes.  Remove it from the oven and pour the melted butter over the entire crust and generously sprinkle it with cinnamon.  Put 1 and 3/4 cups of the stre
Prepare the streusel by combining the dry ingredients and using a pastry cutter to mix the butter into the flour and sugar mixture.  It will still look like flour, but don't worry.  This recipe makes a little more than 4 cups of streusel, but only use between 1 1/2 cups to 2 cups to fill the crust.

Bake the dessert for 7-9 minutes.  After 5 minutes, I covered it with foil so the crust wouldn't burn. 

While it is baking, make the icing by mixing the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. 

Here is the finished product!! Yum, yum!  (If you are kinder than me, you might even offer it to your roommates...)

pensamientos

1. I recently discovered Boyce Avenue

2. Field of Dreams 2: Lockout
This mini-film has everything that a good film should have:

Football

Tony Gonzalez

Iowa

Kevin Costner

But really.  It is HILARIOUS.  You should check it out.

3. Club Crackers

Apparently, the serving size is 4 crackers.  This makes the 4 sleeves that I have had in the last week and a half seem rather excessive.

4. Target and Old Navy

I have officially banned myself from these stores due to the large amount of my June paychecks that went toward supporting their causes.  12 days until August.

5. Men's Plaid Shorts

Yes.  They are very nice.

And so are shirts like this:

And this:

But let's not put all of these nice things together.

Because then you look ridiculous.

(Just because my eyes have been exposed to this two times in the last 24 hours)

6. Quotes of the Week

Me: My pants are twisted.
Brother: I hear that happens a lot in Canada.

6th Grade Boy: I love the Broncos.

Teacher: Did you know that our Bishop is a Broncos fan?

Other 6th Grade Boy: Well, I bet the Pope is a Steelers fan.

Me: I bet Jesus is a Chiefs fan.

The teacher is explaining "The Agony in the Garden"

1st Grade Boy: I always wanted to be a spy.

Teacher: That's nice (continues teaching).

1st Grade Boy:  And a pirate!

7. Mono

I have it.  You better not kiss me or you will have it, too.



Moments with Michael

A Michael Scott moment to add a smile to your day.

Wild and Free as the Willows

I recently went to a book sale and bought a book called, "Princess of the Moor" by E. Marlitt.  To be honest, I had initially judged the book by its cover and I thought it would be interesting since the cover had a portrait of a young woman from a couple centuries ago.  What really got me, however, was the inscription on the first page of the book:

To Cecil
from
Mildred H
Dec. 25, 1913

This little note seemed quite charming to a closet romantic, like myself. 

This is all really besides the point.  As I was reading this book, I came to the end of the first chapter and was so captivated by the closing paragraph that I read it several times.  As I continued reading, I kept returning to this section just to reread it--to be drawn in once more by the beautiful language that the author had chosen.  If nothing else than for the sake of recognizing the author's genius in this particular section, I thought I would include the portion in this blog post.  As I share it with you, I realize that it will most likely mean very little to you as you have not read the pages leading up to this portion.  Nevertheless, I hope that you take this opportunity to consider the language of the section.

"It was thus I grew up, wild and free as the willows beside the stream, and as I stood there under the old pine, barefooted and clad in a coarse, short petticoat, the evening breeze playing in my wavy hair, I laughed--laughed aloud at the young dandy who had sought out the soft turf for his dainty boots, and incased his white hands in leather--that was my revenge" (p. 29).

And it Broke My Heart to Say Goodbye

To my brothers...and you know who you are.

Every now and then God gives us a glimpse into heaven, that is, into the relationship of the most holy Trinity.  I caught a glimpse this past weekend when I was blessed with the presence of three young men who have forever changed my life and my heart.  The friendship between us is one that has grown over many hours of laughter, stories, and deep conversation-not over beer, games, class time, or sports-but conversation. 

Friendships like this don't require complicated formulas.  More than anything, these friendships seem to have stemmed from the simplicity of what it means to have truly human friendships.  That is, the simplicity of caring for other people and a community without hesitation, hidden pride, or judgement.  In essence, these relationships have been built on the basic human way of being a friend.  They are built on undivided attention, vulnerability, virtue, blunt honesty, humor and complete absence of negative judgement.  It is this experience that makes me realize how starved this world is for true friendships.

So, here's to disney coloring pages, poor analogies, the "b word", stereotypical assumptions, and the Keys to the Kingdom.  Here's to Albuquerque, Nevada, Pakistan, and Iowa.

Things I don't understand

I've decided to start a series of things that I don't understand.  Why?  Because I am confused a lot by the little things in my everyday life. 

#1 TIDU: How we can send rockets to mars for years at a time and create army warcraft tweny years beyond anything in our imaginations, yet human kind has yet to master the craft of making a copy machine that doesn't break down once a month.

#2 TIDU: Why the second tooth from the back on the top right side of my mouth is starting to hurt as the numbness wears off, but the cavity that was filled was in a tooth on the bottom of my mouth.

Presentation Counts

I am now a guest blogger at this amazing new blog, "Wake. Breathe. Bleed. Live".  My friend created it as a resource for those who work in ministry, "A means to feed yourself, so that the world may be fed. With so much demand on ministers to be the ones to continually expend themselves to feed the flock, we felt it was important to offer a place to be able to come, read, reflect and grow."

I figured that since I am posting substantial posts on that blog, something that I rarely do on my own blog, I could just post them here as well.  This is the most recent one that I have written for the blog:


Life’s all about presentation.


For example, consider the women in this photograph:

The sign, along with their frowns and looks of death, clearly reveal their opposition to liquor. As I can endorse the moderate consumption of alcohol, it is clear that these women will not be attending my St. Patrick’s Day celebration. They are simply standing for their cause and practicing their freedom of speech, but in the end, I don’t think we can assume that this poster was effective. As the quote states that surrounded the picture in the email when I received it, “If you were around in 1919 and came upon this poster, I mean, seriously, wouldn’t you just keep drinking?”

In my short time in ministry, many great publishers, organizations, and companies have presented their products to me. It is exciting to see these groups reaching out to modern man in ways that will attract him. Whether it be online accessibility, modern color schemes, “hip” language, or eye catching graphic design, these products are certainly appealing to the audiences we are trying to serve. After considering program after program from organization after organization, I can’t help but be relieved to remember that the Church isn’t triumphant in winning souls because of its catchy slogans and attractive study materials. It is important to use our resources to reach out to people and develop relationships, but we must always use them in the context of the bigger picture.

In his encyclical, Veritatis Splendor, John Paul II said, “No darkness of error or of sin can totally take away from man the light of God the Creator. In the depths of his heart there always remains a yearning for absolute truth and a thirst to attain full knowledge of it”(1). What does this mean? The Truth is what ultimately attracts human beings to Jesus Christ. These study programs can be fantastic tools to lead men and women of all ages to Christ, but only as much as they participate in the Truth.

When I consider the various study programs, I always ask myself, “Does the attraction of this product go beyond its physical appearances and convenience? When one is no longer entertained by the unessential details of this product, will it still continue to lead them closer to Christ?” The best and most successful study programs are those that, whether immediately or gradually, draw one to Christ rather than to a particular theologian, author, or famous speaker. If they aren’t essentially focused on Christ and the Truth, they may lead to momentary success but long term failure.

I am thankful for these programs and have found them useful in my ministries as much as the studies reach out to the way modern man lives, thinks, and relates to the Truth.. However, I am even more thankful that the human person is created to desire and seek the Truth and I can do nothing but guide them in their search.

Via Dolorosa: The Way of the Cross

My parents made sure that our family prayed the Stations of the Cross as part of our family Lenten devotion each year.  This is why I thought I would be somewhat prepared for my big trip overseas to participate in the Via Dolorosa marking Christ's journey to calvary.  What I experienced was very different than expected.

First of all, it was loud and busy.  It's funny how we make assumptions about things.  Clearly, because the stations of the cross are always in a quiet church with a reflective atmosphere, the "real thing" would offer the same sort of quiet solitude for prayer.  False.  The Via Dolorosa occurs along a path throughout the Old City of Jerusalem.  This means that we were traveling through the same streets as everyone who was simultaneously traveling to the store, school, or home.  In the background of all of our Bible readings were normal conversations as well as annoyed glances as we clumsily filled in around the stations and blocked the street from others.  Even more, the majority of this journey occured in the Muslim Quarter of the Old City.  Instead of honoring Christ's  death within the open arms of Christian hospitality, we entered into his Passion in the streets of a foreign religion. 

So what was it that allowed me to enter into Christ's calvary with all of the noise, distractions, lack of hospitality?  The fact that it would have been exactly the same at the time of Jesus.  When Jesus was condemned to death, there wasn't a crowd of old ladies following Him with their rosary beads.  Instead there was noise.  The citizens and guests of the area were trying to go about their everyday lives when they had to move aside for a man carrying his cross toward the outskirts of the city.  He was not embraced by the hospitality of a group of people, but rather, just one woman, Veronica.  As Mary watched her son struggling with His cross, she wasn't amongst a symphathetic crowd.  She knew who was to be crucified that afternoon, but the world did not stand in reverent silence as the Son of God passed through them, scourged, bloodied and head toward is brutal death.  In the same way, the world did not stop for us.  

The Church of the Holy Sepulchre had its own surprises in store for us.  This church marks the location of Golgotha where Christ was crucified and also contains the sepulchre where Jesus was buried. In the same way that the streets were full of noise, many chattering groups of people gathered in the church of the Holy Sepulchre. Even more, the space in this church was divided between several different Christian churches who don't particularly like each other. This meant that when the one group began evening prayer, another group gradually got louder to try and over power the other one.  As a Christian who is relying on these fellow Christians to protect and take care of the holy sites, I was glad to see the high level of maturity between the groups [sarcasm].  Sometimes it is just best to forgive and forget.  But anyway, back to Jesus.

The last several stations along the Via Dolorosa occured in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.  We were fortunate to visit the Holy Land at a time when there are very few pilgrims making the trip overseas, so for the most part we didn't have to work around large congested groups of people. Nonetheless, we had to wait for short amount of time, probably half an hour at the most, to make it to the rock of Golgotha.  Even though I was on a once in a lifetime pilgrimage walking along the same roads as our Lord, I became annoyed with the wait. It was later in the afternoon, and to be honest, I was probably hungry and ready to head back to the hotel for a nap. 

During this wait, however, I noticed one of the girls in our group crying as she waited.  I remember wondering how she was able to concentrate and focus on Jesus' death with the distractions of the noise and traveling fatigue.  Later on as she was talking to the group, I realized that it was because she had connected our wait to that of Jesus' own suffering on the cross.  While I was standing and craving pita bread and hummus, she had considered the long hours that Christ spent on the cross.  Jesus had to wait, too. 

We adore you, oh Christ, and we praise you. 

Because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.

Winning.

Thank you Charlie Sheen.

I'm bi-winning, too.

winning.

The Celtic Tenors

I recently attended a Celtic Tenors concert.  If you ever have an opportunity to see them I would highly, highly recommend it.  They sing a very diverse range of music from traditional celtic-y songs like "Danny Boy" and "Fields of Athenry" to American classics like Eric Clapton's "Lay Down Sally".  What made the concert an even more incredible experience was the fact that they were joined by the local symphony.  Let's just say I had goose bumps several times throughout the evening.  After the show they walked around and spent time talking to everyone!  As my sister said, "That was a good dose of Irish charm for the evening!" 

Check out some of their music:

Finnegan's Wake



Danny Boy

You should probably check out their website to see when they are coming to your area.

Say Cheese!

My LIFE Family Picture:



Please note that all of the children are sitting in the back because they are not old enough to sit in the front with their parents.  What a happy [and safe] family!  

The "F.H."

As I consider my future husband, I realize that I need a man who...

....puts the toilet seat down




...can spell (and protect me from warthogs)

...is an Italian barista




...has a connection to Dick Vermeil so that I could invite him to the wedding




...bears a striking resemblence to one of the following men:

           


...likes to dance




These are just some of the essentials.

Oink.

Tonight I am going to write about ham steak.  Not because it has a poor reputation that I am trying to heal, but simply because it seems to lack any reputation at all.  After introducing yet another friend to this easy, simply, flexible, and yummy meal, I decided that it was time.  Yes, it was time that all of those who may randomly stumble upon this blog while googling things such as, "easy...simple...flexible...meal," have the opportunity to consider ham steak as an option for their next home cooked meal.  When it comes to cooking this meat, your imagination is your only limitation.  It can be topped with basic BBQ sauce or smothered with brown sugar and honey.  For all of those out there who dream of someday being Farmer John's wife, remember that a perfect ham steak might just be the way to his heart. 

So there you have it.  Before you rush to thank me....you are welcome.  Praise God for the pork.

There's A Cotton Dress Hanging in My Sister's Closet

Because it is currently 44 degrees outside, I thought it was appropriate to discuss summer. As we are coming closer to the end of sweater and scarf season, I am getting more and more excited for cotton dress and sandal season.  And that's what brings me to this song, my current obsession, "Wildflower" by the JaneDear Girls.  I dedicate it to my sister for all of the summers we spent together growing up...and mostly because of this picture:

Here's the song:

Summer, here I come!

February

February: Possibly the longest feeling month of the year.  When I think of the month of February, I picture the color gray.  At times, this month can seem like one big yawn.

Yesterday, I was on a work conversation talking to a woman about programming at her Church.  As many conversations do, it led to a discussion about the weather while she mentioned the parent's complaints about the inconvenience of winter religious education classes.  Her childlike faith and simplicity caught me off guard as she told me, "Let's not focus on the 3 extra inches of snow on the ground, but on the fact that I heard birds chirping outside of my window this morning or that I saw a few blades of green grass beginning to peak through some of the snow."

I know that she didn't say this simply because she is an optimistic, bubbly, positive person.  She said it in such a way that she realized how often we focus on the inconveniences or setbacks in life an fail to notice the small ways in which God reminds us of his presence.

So, let's not focus on the pain the fresh wounds and the semi-healed scars in our lives or the homesickness for previous parts of life.  Let's focus on the fact that I heard my favorite song on the radio yesterday and that I had an awesome conversation with an old friend.  Let's focus on the small gifts we receive day to day, moment to moment.

They Don't Call Me "Cheaper Mc-cheaperson" for Nothing ;)

Behold: You are now looking at a picture of more than $250.00 worth of Old Navy goods (dresses, skirts, a sweater, jeans, tanks, camis, long sleeve tshirts...) purchased for a meager $50.00. 

Twenty percent. 

That's all I need to say.

Side note: On a scale of one to awesome, how great is the title of this post?

Father Knows Best

Whenever I am confused and need advice, I call my Dad and say something to the extent of, "Dad. This is a time in a girl's life that she could use a father figure," and then I ask him my question. 

Here is today's conversation:

Karmen: Dad, now is a time when I could use a father figure in my life.

Dad: Really?

Karmen: Yes...well, I just have a question about boys.

Dad: Stay away from them.

Karmen: Oh, okay. Thanks! 

If nothing else, he has wisdom.

My Job: Forced Evangelization

Working for the Church has some interesting side effects.  For example, when going out on the weekends, conversations with new people go a lot like this:

Mr. Attractive Man: Hello

Me: Hello

(blah...blah...blah...)

Mr. Attractive Man: So what do you do?

Me: Oh, I work for the diocese.

Mr. Attractive Man: Oh, does that mean your Catholic?

Me: Uh, yep.

Mr. Attractive Man: Oh, like hard-core Catholic?

Me: Yep, the sign of the cross and everything.

Mr. Attractive Man:  Well, I think that we should all be open to other religions.

Me:  I just want to seek the truth.

Mr. Attractive Man:  Love is my religion.

Me: Interiorly: hahahahahaha...because, out of context, it sounds like an awesome pick up line; Exteriorly: Oh?

Mr. Attractive Man:  Yeah, have you ever heard the song "Love is My Religion" by Ziggy Marley?  That has some good lyrics....


If only we had met at another time, another place....then maybe I could try to discuss how weak his statement , "Love is my religion" seems. 

Of course we were probably working with different definitions of "love" and "religion", but as I understand it, religion is under the virtue of justice because we, as creatures, owe worship to our creator.  Who does this man offer worship to?  Noone in particular...just an abstract concept.  Ziggy, himself, says, "I don't condemn, I don't convert,...noone is gonna lose their soul."

And then we come to love.  Love is to will the good of another for his or her own sake.  I am assuming that this man just meant that we should aim for peace, harmony, and compassion, but that taken alone is very dangerous.  If to love is to will the good of another, but we do not have Truth guiding our love, then how do we know what the other person's good is?  I think that this is an important discussion to have as we are seeing the implications of this thought in our society.  Euthanasia is one example: we have one side claiming that it is more loving [compassionate] to allow suicide while the other side says that this allowance of suicide goes against moral law.  This means that my blog post discussion about this issue is not simply a way of me trying to attempt to have some form of dominance over another person's thought, but it is an honest attempt for dialogue.

As Christians, we believe that God is love...this religion of love that was explained to me simply removes the God of the Christians because it is more tolerant to forget a God than to offend someone else's God. 

Nonetheless, I think we can find a certain simplicity in this religion of love. As Ziggy Marley says, "I don't want to fight, hey let's go fly a kite."  And as I always say, "Who doesn't love flying kites?"

this is why you budget

My string of blog posts without true insight is about to continue.

Here is a list of my recent impulse buys and what was going through my head. 

 Casablanca DVD

 
 
It is ONLY 5 dollars!  Wow!  That is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME deal!  It is a classic, right?  Everyone should own it...and, oh man, who knows when the next time I might hit a deal this great.

-$5.00


Dress from Old Navy

 

I walked right into this one.  It was the Saturday before Christmas and I was Christmas shopping.  "Hmm...," I thought, "Maybe I'll go into Old Navy!"  The problem here is that no one who was left on my Christmas list had anything remotely close to "Old Navy items" on their Christmas lists.  My subconscious got me again.

We all know how it starts.  "Wow, that is a cute dress...Wait, they have it in MY size and THE color that I want!...I could at least try it on....It is only $20.00..."  Then it happens.  You try it on and it fits great, you have all the necessary accessories, you have at least 2 events scheduled for which you could wear the dress.

Ka-Ching.

-$20.00


Torani Classic Caramel Flavoring Syrup

 

 My family bought me a new espresso maker for Christmas.  My roommate bought be Starbucks espresso coffee beans.  We all knew that this purchase was bound to happen.  At least it was 58 cents cheaper at Wal-Mart.  (This purchase was somewhat pre-meditated, but I really thought that my self-control would prevail.)

-$3.59


Elf Make-Up

For some reason when something is only a dollar, it is okay. 

- $5.70

Next.


Granite City Pomegranate Margarita



This, my friends, is a pomegranate margarita.  Sure, I could have had a beer.  I was at Granite City, right?  It also would have been the manly thing to do.  Well, apparently a $6.50 drink is justifiable if one simply chooses a "cheaper" menu option.  So that is what I did. (I would like to note, however, that by going with the soup, my total was under $15.00)

-$6.50

Guess who's back?

"The serenity of my facebook world has been shattered."

I love how dramatic that sentence sounds.  I thought it deserved it's own post.