1. stalling. I have a pile (I kid you not, it is a pile) of dirty dishes waiting for me on the counter just a few feet away, and I can't find it in me to start to scrub them. I'm pretty sure this will be one of those major stumbling blocks in living out my vocation - the delay and putting off of household chores, instead of rising above my laziness and doing the dishes out of love for our marriage. It is a weakness that I definitely have yet to master! Is there a patron saint of lazy wives? Dishes? Household chores? :)
2. treating our three little tetras for ick. We took the plunge and bought three little neon tetras last Friday at the store. After a rough weekend (each of them looked positively terrified until about Monday), we realized yesterday that they probably have ick. We were a little bummed about the diagnosis - the parasite of the disease only affects fish that have been under stress for some reason or have an aquarium that isn't fit for fish. We're hoping that they have ick because of the former, not the latter! We have tried really hard in this last week to do all the right things for the fish - taking water tests, adding extra (good) bacteria to the tank, lowering the pH, etc. We treated the little guys (named Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan, the Spurs - don't ask) with aquarium salt and an ick medication this afternoon, and we'll know more about their fate tomorrow. We already think they look better, but that might be wishful thinking on our part. Here's hoping it's not, and they really are on the rebound!
3. celebrating 24 years of life tomorrow, the Feast of St. George. I remain so very grateful to God for these beautiful years of my life, and the gift of knowing Him (and the gift of struggling to serve Him and give glory to His name every day of this life!). It's my prayer that God, in His infinite mercy, might grant me 24, if not 48, more years! B and I will celebrate in the morning tomorrow - I don't quite know what he has planned, but I've heard a trip for breakfast to my favorite diner might be happening! (I'm secretly hoping it also includes fresh flowers, but we'll see!) We'll spend the weekend with friends and family - it will be a beautiful birthday weekend, I'm sure!
4. babysitting for a new family these days. While B and I are "in pause" - not really sure of where we'll be, come August - it's been hard to commit to looking for and applying to jobs in this area. With no assurance that we'll be here beyond summer, it's been a challenge for me to muster up the effort to apply even to a temporary position in the city. In the meantime, while I remain employed on a part-time basis, I'm also picking up a few babysitting jobs here and there. I met the newest family of three little girls on Monday - as I already blogged about this week. I'll go back next Monday and be with them again, and I'm already looking forward to it!
5. continuing, in my human weakness, to attempt perseverance, especially in my prayer life. Who knew that a life-changing, life-transforming vocation would add such difficultly to a spiritual life that was already semi-routine and constant? The past nine months have been a deep struggle spiritually for B and me. Our new schedules, compounded with the transformation of living together, has been taxing on our spiritual lives. It has been terribly humbling for us, to realize our frailty and weakness before our good and loving God. At times, it has also been rather painful for the both of us, to realize just how much we appreciated the routine of our spiritual lives when we were working as interns for the Catholic campus center downtown. Life was definitely simpler then - within walking distance to work and just a 30 second jaunt down the stairs to the chapel, where Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament was waiting. It's a relief to know that we aren't the only married couple with challenges like this - but my pride tells me that I should be better than this. It's only after I surrender that pride and boastfulness to God that He can lift me up. It's been a long time coming (and we're not there yet), but I rejoice that we'll have our entire lives to work on our vocation - and the spiritual life within that vocation. And all my God asks of me is that I ask His forgiveness, pick up the pieces, and start anew.
6. officially going to Denver in just under a month! My dear brother-in-law is graduating from college and B and I are going to be there with him and some more of the family during the commencement weekend. On Commencement Sunday, I am my cousin's sponsor for his confirmation, so I am only able to be there Thursday through Saturday. Despite the brevity of my trip (B will return on Monday afternoon), I am thrilled to be able to see them so soon.
7. rejoicing in another upcoming wedding - this time, in our family! We learned earlier in the week that B's sister is engaged! She and her boyfriend have been in Spain for the past ten or so days, and he asked her to marry him last weekend in Seville. We are so very happy for them, and are definitely looking forward to at least one more wedding within the year. Their hope is to be married in Puerto Rico, where the majority of B's extended family is. A family wedding + Puerto Rico? Count me in! (I was always in, but the possibility of PR is definitely icing on the cake!) :) We couldn't be more thrilled for them.
8. meeting an 8-week-old puppy tomorrow night. B, unfortunately, has to work tomorrow evening, on my birthday, which isn't a big deal to me - he's had to work every Friday evening of this spring semester, so it's nothing new. I was perfectly happy to spend my birthday night at home (after all, there is plenty of laundry to catch up on), but when my aunt heard this earlier in the week, she invited me to her home to spend the evening there. They are bringing home their new puppy tomorrow afternoon - I might be the first in the extended family to meet him! I was a little hesitant about going over - I didn't want to take away from this special moment for their family - but my aunt insisted that it would be just fine. I am very much looking forward to it, and even more grateful to have someplace to go tomorrow night on my birthday!
9. making "country chicken chowder" for dinner this evening. The slow cooker is doing the heavy lifting for me. The more I use it, the more I love the slow cooker. I am a novice in the kitchen, so having an appliance that will cook a meal all by itself is a blessing! All I had to do tonight was brown the chicken, and put the broth, veggies, and chicken in the slow cooker. Now I'm leaving it alone for about another two and a half hours or so - it'll be a late dinner, but it's Thursday night, and dinner is always late these evenings, because B's at class late. I just hope it tastes as good as it smells!
10. going to do the dishes! I think my biggest worry is that it's always going to take over an hour to complete. The dishes that accrue always look very daunting and insurmountable. But usually, it never takes more than twenty minutes! (And here's hoping they only take that long tonight, too!)
a presto!
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