bellssime nozze

Ok, I'll admit it - I woke up at 3:30 this morning (not on purpose), and proceeded to watch the Royal Wedding in all its entirety and fanfare.  (I had set my alarm for 4:45 so I could just catch the ceremony, but I slept fitfully and found myself wide awake at 3:30.)  Honestly, I was quite taken with all of the pomp and pageantry - the British certainly know how to celebrate and celebrate big!  I really only desired to see a few things - particularly how one conducts a Royal Wedding ceremony, and, quite honestly, I seriously couldn't wait any longer to see Kate's dress and how she did her hair.  (I am so envious of her hair, it's bordering on sinful.) 

While our wedding was certainly not a grand affair like William and Catherine's, there were so many small moments that I watched today where I thought back to our wedding day, and it was almost as if the feelings and butterflies of each particular moment came whooshing back into my memory.  For instance, Catherine and her father paused for only a moment before beginning their walk down the aisle to William.  My walk down the aisle with my father was somewhat similar, as I asked him just to straighten my train before we walked down the aisle (unlike Catherine, I didn't have the luxury of my sister behind me to do the straightening once it was time to walk!).  I remember so vividly that moment - Dad had just quoted one of my favorite lines from my favorite movie, Field of Dreams.  Then, he announced, "Let's go."  With that, I walked out from behind the partition, faced the doors to the church, Dad straightened my train, and we walked to B.  I honestly had about a million butterflies in my stomach at that very moment (I imagine the Duchess of Cambridge probably felt similarly at some point today), yet when we walked down the aisle, it was almost as if my peripheral vision blurred completely and the only person I could see was B, waiting for me.   Catherine's walk was undoubtedly longer (some have said it took nine minutes!), but the emotions and feelings of that walk down the aisle were, I'm certain, similar to the ones I felt but 20 month ago.  


In a word? The royal nuptials were gorgeous, and no doubt history in the making.  And while I am still tired from having woken up so early, it was certainly interesting and exciting to watch something so foreign to Americans - a monarchy - celebrate something so beautiful.  


 a presto.  :)

picture of William & Catherine source

Resurrexit sicut dixit, Alleluia!  

He has risen as He said, Alleluia!

A blessed, joyous Easter season to you! 

We adore you, O Christ, and we bless you.

Because by your Holy Cross, you have redeemed the world. 

Picture: The Crucifixion, Giotto
Arena Chapel, Padua, Italy

six years ago!

April 19, 2005 fell on a Tuesday, just as it does this year.  The conclave had begun on April 18, with black smoke after each of the votes.  I only had one class in the morning on Tuesday - a Religious Studies class with a emphasis on Judaism, Christianity and Islam.  We had a guest lecturer that morning who discussed different texts of the Torah (if I remember correctly).  A freshman in my second semester at the university, I took the class with two or three other friends from St. Paul's, the Catholic student center on campus.  

Probably about halfway through class, one of my friends received a text message from his brother: Habemus Papam!  White smoke!  Suddenly, none of us could concentrate and I was convinced that if we stayed any longer in class, we were going to miss the announcement from Rome, which was truly history in the making.  

Finally, on the count of three, we decided that we'd all get up and leave together.  As we walked out of class, my professor's mouth agape, we just about ran across campus to St. Paul's, where we arrived just as Cardinal Medina began the announcement from a streaming computer - ironically, where my office as an intern at St. Paul's would be just three and a half years later.  Once we heard the last name, I just about cheered as though my favorite team had scored a touchdown.  I had watched Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger preside and preach at John Paul's funeral Mass about ten days before, and his words had, without a doubt, comforted the Catholic faithful at a time of immense sorrow.  When I heard his name announced that day in Rome, I was nothing short of thrilled - in my humble estimation, Cardinal Ratzinger was the perfect successor to John Paul II - and truly perfect, as the Holy Spirit had truly chosen him to lead the Church.  

Happy Election Anniversary, Holy Father! 
Ad multos annos!

a presto :-)

New Meal Monday: Sausage with Peppers and Pasta

It has been my hope for awhile now to try at least one new recipe every week.  When I plan our meals for the following week (usually the previous Friday or Saturday), I try to use up what we might have in the pantry or fridge and integrate that into the meals as best I can.  Wasting food has been a particular point of issue for me - I absolutely despise throwing away large quantities of any food because it has gone to waste.  This was a huge issue for us last year, as we were learning to be married and to cook for two, but we have slowly but surely learned to use what we have at our disposal and be creative in order to avoid food going to waste!  No doubt it has been one of the most intriguing lessons we've learned in managing our finances since getting married.  

Enter this week's new meal: Sausage with Peppers and Pasta from the Kraft website.  We had about half a pound of kielbasa sausage just sitting in the fridge, waiting to be eaten (and likely to be tossed once it was too old to use).  We also had a few halves of red and green peppers to be used, so this recipe was perfect and allowed us to clear out a bit of our fridge.  The prep for this meal was exceedingly fast and super easy - and I'm happy to report that it has made our permanent dinner rotation because of its quickness!  

Without further ado, behold the finished product:  

Sausage with peppers and pasta
(Original recipe from Kraft foods, with a couple of additions by me)

What you'll need:

.5 pound of kielbasa sausage (or Italian sausage), cut into medallions
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 green pepper, coarsely chopped

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced
1.5 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 cups rigatoni pasta
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes
Crushed red pepper, Italian seasoning, and salt and pepper, to taste

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside into a bowl or pot.  Drizzle with oil (I use grapeseed) to keep them from sticking. 
2. Cook the kielbasa in a large frying pan with a drizzle of oil until slightly browned.  Add the peppers, onion, and garlic and stir until slightly tender, about 5-6 minutes.  

3. Add the can of diced tomatoes and heat thoroughly, about 2 minutes. 
4. Add to the drained pasta; then add the mozzarella cheese and stir.  Season with crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, and Italian seasonings to taste. 

Enjoy!  It would be great with garlic bread, or a salad, or both. 

Yield: about 4-6 servings
Prep time: ~10 minutes
Total time: ~25-30 minutes
Estimated price per serving (4): $1.83

And thus starts a (hopeful) new trend for this blog: New Meal Monday! 
(I'll document new meals mostly for my own benefit, but hopefully for the benefit of some of those anonymous readers out there!)

a presto :)

tantissimi auguri!

Happy Birthday, Holy Father!

Here's a fun fact: Joseph Ratzinger was born on April 16, 1927, which was, in 1927, Holy Saturday.  He was born in the morning and taken to the local church in the evening, and baptized during the Easter Vigil! 

The picture above was taken in 2008, during the Holy Father's visit to the United States.  And, if it weren't the day before Palm Sunday this year, we'd also be indulging in cake, to celebrate and thank God for the life of Pope Benedict!  (Instead, I'll bake a cake during the first week of Easter and we'll enjoy some birthday cake in ten days.)  

Ad multos annos, Santo Padre! 
Picture source

Update: We just returned from a late-night frozen custard run to honor our beloved Pontiff's birthday (and if you asked my husband, to counter the extra spicy chili I made for dinner tonight).  Seeing as it's the day before Palm Sunday - major discipline fail.  

why do we live here again?

These pictures were taken Saturday, April 16, 2011, from our apartment window.  I am pretty sure the pictures speak for themselves - if you can't see it because of the picture's resolution, that's snow falling to the ground.  

And three days later, we had all kinds of precipitation fall from the sky, all of the winter variety: rain, sleet, hail, freezing rain, and probably a bit of snow thrown in there too.  

We had just returned from PR a week earlier than these pictures were taken, and I told B that if we told his Puerto Rican family what the weather was doing here, they would never have believed it.  What's all the more bizarre is that six days before these pictures, the previous Sunday, B and I got off the tarmac in Chicago, at 9:00 in the morning, to 70-degree temperatures.  If would eventually get to 85 degrees in our fair city that day.  

I don't ask myself this very much - more often than not I completely and utterly love the upper Midwest and our beautiful state.  But seriously, after Mother Nature's shenanigans in mid-April.......why do we live here?!  


a presto :)

Giovanni Paolo

In the midst of all of the joy surrounding my sister-in-law's wedding on April 2nd, there was but a brief moment where I was able to recall the events of the same day six years earlier, when, as an 18-year-old freshman in college, I kept vigil for 36 hours, waiting on word about my ailing spiritual grandfather, His Holiness John Paul II.  The time I spent on April 2, 2011 reflecting on the events of April 2, 2005 was but a sliver in the 24-hour day.  There was, after all, a most joyous occasion to celebrate that day - the marriage of B's sister!  

Yet in the back of my mind, I remembered John Paul, and the feelings and emotions and sentiments of that day six years ago.  I recall clearly the feeling of abandonment, that our grandfather had gone before us, and I remember vividly the palpable grief that followed his passing from this life into the next, which eventually changed to immense joy at the thought that he, John Paul would now, by the mercies and grace of God, spend eternity with the Lover of his soul.  It was a painful, grief-filled, yet joyous week between John Paul's passing and his funeral Mass.  

And in the midst of the grief and the sorrow that accompanied the passing of John Paul, God was there, truly present to Holy Mother Church.  While the faithful waited anxiously for a new shepherd to be elected, God knew exactly what His Church needed - and gave us a tremendous gift in the election of Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger to the papacy.  It is a gift for which we could never be adequately thankful.  

To say that I look forward to John Paul's imminent beatification is most likely an understatement.  For awhile, B and I joked about throwing a "beatification party," and if our finances weren't so tight, we would be considering it more seriously.  I could not ever thank John Paul enough for his influence on my young life - for assuring me of his love for and hope in the youth of the Church, for encouraging me in my own personal sufferings by his example, and by his countless prayers from Heaven since his passing.  To honor John Paul's memory in our own small way, should God grant us the gift of sons, our second boy will be named John Paul, and I trust that he will have a loving patron, his namesake, offering many prayers on his behalf.  

Holy Father, thank you for your witness of Christ's love to all of us, and for your yes to God's desire that you guide His holy Church.  Pray for us as we strive to follow your example!  

a presto
Picture source

ten days in an island paradise

We are freshly back (as in, we returned home about 27 hours ago) from 10 amazing days in La Isla del Encanto, also known as B's mom's beautiful island paradise of Puerto Rico.  It was at times a very jam-packed ten days - full of family visits, my sister-in-law's wedding, our nephew's baptism, plenty of sightseeing and lots of eating.  It is always a joy to be with my in-laws, and this trip was no exception.  I am especially grateful for the ability to have been able to travel to the island to be with our family, due much in part to their abundant generosity, particularly because our own finances are so tight.  

After ten days with what seemed like dozens of in-laws, I remain supremely convinced that my husband owes much of who he is today to his beautiful family.  He is a man fiercely loyal, tremendously giving, (at times) ridiculously stubborn, and intensely loving.  He has inherited all of these traits from this amazing family of which I am now also a part, thanks to our beautiful vocation.  

Regular posting to resume (hopefully) now that we are back home.  

a presto :-)