Blue Bloods

Linking up today over at Emily’s for the What I Learned In March link-up

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A FEW THINGS I LEARNED

There are no snakes in Ireland! Did you hear me? NO SNAKES in Ireland. I’ve always wanted to visit Ireland (if I can get over my fear of flying), so this would just be another reason to keep that on the bucket list. How could I have lived for fifty….well, a lot of years and not have picked up this bit of information. Seems that you can be an Island unto yourself (without snakes) or something like that. You can use google to learn more.

Culinary Circle frozen Pizza’s are the best in the freezer aisle. If you are in a rush and just want to throw a pizza in the oven and call it done, these are actually pretty good little pizzas. They do not have that frozen pizza taste and they have some great combinations. The crust does not taste like frozen pizza crust either – you have the option of self-rising or ultra thin. The sauce is great and they give you plenty. Toppings are not skimpy either. I’ve been keeping a few of these on hand for those nights I don’t want to cook. Just add a salad. Our local grocer has had them on sale two for ten this winter, so even the price is great. (I know that homemade fresh is always better and healthier, but I don’t always have the energy for all that.)

Politics sometimes brings out the worst in me. Especially this year. I may or may not have made a few comments on facebook earlier in the election season. Then, one day I commented on a friends post in a way that was opposite than her opinion (ok to have differing opinions). I later realized that maybe I was getting a little too into proving my points and it wasn’t worth it. Sanity and friends are way more important than politics. I’ve pretty much ignored everything since then. I still have opinions and may even feel the need to express them in future, but I’ll do my best to behave and keep my comments to my page and not interrupt another’s feed. I don’t watch much news these days either. I breathe better that way.

Alisan Porter is my new favorite singer -see my comments below under What we’re watching on TV (The Voice)

Yoga pants are the bomb diggity. Well, maybe not all that, but they are the pants I didn’t know I needed. Let’s face it I’m a fat girl and so leggings and such are not things I’m going to look good wearing, or be seen in public wearing. However, yoga pants are not all that bad. They actually hang better on me and show less lumps than the other, around the house, pants I was wearing (even my husband said so). I bought them for the gym. I haven’t worn them to the gym yet due to gout flare-ups, but wearing them around the house felt great. I still don’t think I’d wear them out shopping or around town, but to the gym with a longish shirt I can handle. I bought the Danskin plus size relaxed fit – they are very roomy and comfortable. In fact, they are almost too big- if I ever make it back to the gym I can probably be down a size in no time…

READING LISTS

What I’m currently reading: Roots and Sky by Christie Purifoy; Girl Meets Change by Kristen Strong; Simply Tuesday by Emily P. Freeman; A Writer’s Book of Days by Judy Reeves; Simplify Your Life by Elaine St. James.

On the radar to begin reading: Call To Spiritual Reformation by D.A. Carson; Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton (I barely started this one a while back and laid it aside, so need to bet back to it.); The Great Divorce by C.S Lewis I also have several books on my Amazon Wish list.

What I’m coloring: The casual Artist by Sheryl Lee; Romantic Country by Eriy

New favorite magazine: the Cottage journal (borrowed from my cousin, need to subscribe)

TV SHOWS WE ARE WATCHING

The Voice – we haven’t watched this one in a while, but recently started this season. Remember the movie Curly Sue? We watched it a few weeks ago and then the very next week we saw her blind audition on Youtube and decided we needed to keep up with her. The girl can sing. I can’t even. I think she can win it. Hoping.

Blue Bloods – Tom Selleck – a classic that gets better with age – what more can I say. I love this show. It has the right balance of drama and family dynamics. I love that they gather around the table as a family on Sunday and I love that they pray and are not afraid to mention faith.

The Good Wife – I’d heard some hype about this show, but never watched it. Sometime last year it was free on Amazon Prime so we started from the beginning and watched it until we caught up. Overall it has been a good show. There are some plots I could have lived without, but the overall storyline has been pretty good. I’m thankful this is the last season. I like to finish what I start, but it is time for this one to be laid to rest.

Quantico – this is a new show and I’ve loved the intrigue, but it’s getting old already. I think I’d be happy if they wrapped it up and it was a one and done. I want to know who is behind the attacks, but they have dragged it out long enough. I’m not sure I can see them sustaining this one beyond one or two seasons.

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HEALTH UPDATE

I’m holding steady for the most part.

I have started using a CPAP machine for Sleep Apnea. This has been a love / hate relationship. Overall I think it may be giving me more energy and flexibility. My shortness of breath seems better and I’m not noticing as much numbness in my fingers and toes. Probably because I’m getting more oxygen while I’m sleeping.

The gout is another issue – elevated uric acid levels. Both my PCP and Rheumatologist want me to start Allopurinol. I don’t really want to as I don’t like the side effects.

I’ve been drinking a lemon / tart cherry juice concoction every morning. It is good for gout. It is helping with the stiffness and as an added bonus I don’t feel as bloated.

I’m considering trying the AIP diet.

My inflammation was slightly improved, which means the Plaquenil is doing it’s job.

Still trying to figure out how to live with MCTD, but I know that God is in control.

WHAT MY MOTHER SAID

If you’ve been reading here awhile, then you know my mother has Alzheimer’s. I see more and more every day how she is slipping away, but she still has such a sense of humor and a zest for life about her. She loves to talk about Jesus and how he is here with us. She also loves to tease and laugh. One day recently we were sitting in my living room chatting and I was in one of my silly moods. I was humming and singing – nonsense mostly. In the middle of one of my upward progressions (totally a music term (not), my mom looked over at me and blurted out, “Break it down, girl!” Priceless. I do love that mother of mine.

Breaking it down in grace,

Teresa

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Friday, Sept. 4: What are you passionate about?

This one is not as easy as it sounds. I tend to rule with my emotions, so on any given day I could be passionate about any given thing, depending on my mood. Hence, the need to filter through all those emotions to land on my true passions. As I have gotten older, things have shifted and I’ve been learning to curb the emotional tide that can overpower reason from time to time. I truly believe that our passions our woven together with God’s purpose for our lives, and as such, require careful curating.

Take delight in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart. Psalm 37:4

Maybe the real passion comes from those things that emerge as the non-negotiables. Sometimes, we waste our energies and passions on causes that aren’t ours to bear. It’s rather like the overuse of the word love (guilty here, too!). We use love to describe everything from the latest trendy socks, to food, to our job and the people we’d do anything for. Sometimes in all that love, it’s hard to know what love really is. It’s more than a word to describe a feeling. It’s an action that springs up from our very depths and will not be squashed.

For example, I love Pizza, but I could survive without it. I love my husband and I don’t even want to think about surviving without him. Obviously, the word love here is used to mean more than one kind of love. I think it’s the same with passion. Some things on our passionate list may have more priority than others and listing them together may seem shallow. But, as long as we understand the difference, then I think everything I”m passionate about from the mundane to the world changing can make peace with being on the same list. From that list, I can then narrow my focus to those that are non-negotiable. Those that I will hold onto for dear life. Those that most define my God-given purpose.

Some of my current passions, in no particular order, are: Alzheimer’s, my husband, my family, chocolate, Italian food, Writing, decorating and organizing my home, napping, watching Blue Bloods, the current political and moral climate, enjoying a girls day out, taking drives, snapping pictures of everything, day dreaming and my faith in God and the gift of salvation.

I must add here, that I think the things we are passionate about don’t necessarily mean that we love all of them. Sometimes, our passionate focus on something can stem from our desire to fight back against that which we we truly hate. I also think that some passions are for a season and some are for life.

A prime example of this is the fact that my mother has Alzheimer’s. I’m very passionate about Alzheimer’s during this season of life. Not because I love the disease ( I truly hate all that it represents), but because I love my mother. I’m passionate about protecting her and helping her, not because I want to make decisions for her, but because she needs me to and I love her, so I want what is best for her.

Alzheimer’s was not on my passion radar until it knocked on my door. Whether or not it continues to be a passion hinges on a lot of variables, one of which could mean that I too may one day stare this ugly disease in the face. I passionately hope and trust not, but it is not mine to decide.

Another current passion that made my list is Blue Bloods. It’s just a TV show people. No big deal. Really, could I be any more shallow. Is it a true, fight to the death, passion? No, of course not. But, during this season of life it represents a lot of things to me: time spent with my husband, a chance to unwind from the real world, a glimpse into a family dynamic that speaks of love, service, trust and passion. All the things I think are important for family to cling to in times of distress.

Especially in times of distress. Those are the times we most clearly need to be passionate. Much of life requires us to fight for our needs to be met, to fight for what we believe in, to fight for what feeds our soul. It is during these times that we need to know what we will not give up.

I can give up Blue Bloods, I can even (hope I don’t have to) give up chocolate, or a lot of other passions, but there are a few that I will fight for such as my faith, my husband, my family my friends, and the need to be creative.

Writing is a gift from God and I know it is woven into the very fiber of my being. Even in those times when the well seems to be dry, or I am frozen to publish anything I still know that writing is a part of me. I still know that my survival hinges on being able to express my thoughts in words; being able to paint you a picture with my words. That is why I keep writing, even the mundane, so that I don’t lose touch with the passion of laying down words, because I don’t want to miss the day when the purpose in the passion shines through in the most brilliant of ways and my soul sighs in blissful contentment.