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 :-)

ten quick things! i am....

1. breaking up - temporarily - with John Adams.  I have been attempting to read John Adams, David McCullough's masterpiece about the second president of our nation, for about three or four months.  I swear they have been signing the Declaration of Independence for about six weeks now!  It didn't help matters when we watched the HBO Miniseries based on the book right after Christmas - I think that has definitely contributed to this stagnant feeling.  I know what's coming, so I am reluctant to read it, because I know the written account will be hundreds of pages longer than a few minutes of the miniseries!  Instead, I've started Decision Points, the memoir of George W. Bush.  I am about 20 pages in right now and I have the feeling it will be a much quicker read.  While John Adams is a thorough, scholarly work, perhaps the magnum opus of David McCullough, I am really indifferent to it right now.  I have a list of about 25 titles that I want to read, so I think it's just time to table John Adams and start anew.  We'll see how well that goes!  

2. TWENTY FIVE DAYS from our trip to Puerto Rico!  That in itself seems completely ridiculous - how did the wedding sneak up so fast?!  I am still waiting to hear on a potential job offer, so am still unsure about how the time-off situation will occur.  In any event, it will just be a matter of changing my reservation for a fee and coming back a few days early, if necessary.  If the weather in PR right now is any indication of how the weather will be when we're there, it's going to be nothing short of heavenly, especially after having endured a prolonged winter here in the heart of the Midwest.  We're approaching this wedding with a tentative excitement - we still have plenty of loose ends to tie up for the wedding, such as figuring out B's apparel (he and his brothers are walking their sister down the aisle, so the hope is that there could be some cohesion among them regarding their suits).  All will happen as it needs to - it's just a matter of figuring out these last few things and helping in any way we can to ensure that this is the most memorable weekend of my sister-in-law's life.  

3. LOVING our Sunday Dinners.  This is a new routine that we've only recently started.  B was quite taken with a weekend trip we made to my aunt and uncle's home last spring, during which we all sat down at the table on Sunday afternoon and ate a wonderful, home-cooked meal.  The spread was amazing - barbecued pork, chicken, vegetables, bread, the works.  B really wanted to implement this in our home, with the hope that this could continue for months, if not years, or, ideally, become a permanent staple in our household.  We've only had three so far (one in January, one in February, one in March), but each has been delicious and, ultimately, has been wonderful for B.  With his new job, he hasn't been able to cook dinner during the weeknights very often, so Sunday Dinner is a perfect time for B to try a new recipe and go to town in the kitchen.  Last night, we made bone-in porkchops with stuffing and roasted asparagus, and it was awesome!  Yesterday was also our first Sunday Dinner with company - some friends who joined us for the meal, complete with great conversation and a rocking game of Trivial Pursuit - 90's Edition.  It was a blessing - to show that hospitality to our friends and to be enriched in our conversation and our time together. 

4. SICK.  B and I had just remarked this weekend that we hadn't really fallen "down for the count" this winter as far as debilitating head colds plaguing our household.  As of this morning, that conversation is a bit null and void.  My morning started with a scratchy throat and a ever-so-slightly runny nose; I just knew it was going to rear its ugly head and morph into a nasty congested nightmare by the day's end.  My prediction was regrettably and unfortunately true, and the full-fledged congestion began about six hours ago and hasn't let up.  This is a great lesson in "offering it up" - I am a born complainer and it is easy to wallow in my own self-pity, particularly when it comes to illness.  I'm hoping to use this illness and the discomforts involved as a prayer - to lift up my own lack of comfort for a variety of intentions to unite to His Cross.  I am sure that by later this evening, when I'm in bed and can't breathe through my nose, I'll be thinking otherwise, but my hope is to turn this discomfort into a prayer.....we'll see how it goes!

5. gearing up for our Lenten journey.  While I'm pretty sure that this year Ash Wednesday is the very latest it can possibly be, it still seemed to sneak up on B and me.  And, as always, I find myself giving very little thought to my plan for Lent until the very last minute.  We definitely have particular plans - little sacrifices we plan to implement around our household.  Now, it is just a matter of refining all of those plans into one concrete gameplan for our penitential season.  The time for refining is now - Mardi Gras is tomorrow!  

6. preparing for a two-year-old to descend upon our lives in a few short days.  Some of our very dearest friends are going to Florida for a few days next week; initially, it was thought that only one of them would be able to go, but they have since secured childcare for three of their children and both are able to travel!  (They have a very little one who will travel with them as well.)  They have asked us to watch over their youngest daughter - one of the most adorable children perhaps on the planet.  Each week since last spring, I have tried to go out to their home once a week for a few hours, just to lend a hand here and there, wherever I might be helpful.  In that time, this littlest daughter and I have formed a special friendship - our friends and I often joke that she and I are "best friends."  I'm honored, humbled, and I'll admit, a bit nervous, to have her in our home next week.  Honored and humbled to be trusted to care for their daughter, and a bit nervous about her transition into our home will go.  I have no doubt that her mom and I will do our very best to make the transition as smooth as possible - there's just a bit in me that is a bit nervous about her being away from Mom for that long.  In spite of my nervousness, I am really excited to spend this extended time with her!  It will certainly rock our worlds for a few days, to have a little one around - in a completely wonderful way.  Good practice for the real thing, too!  

7. exceedingly grateful for the Rosary.  Not much more to say about this - something that I once thought was a burden has become a blessing, even on days when it seems anything but that.  I remain convinced that our Mother Mary, despite our human frailties and weaknesses, is keeping us close to her heart in prayer.  For that, I am abundantly thankful.  

8. using a turnip in tomorrow's dinner.  I am making a crockpot chowder tomorrow that requires this root vegetable.  I am hoping to find one at our neighborhood grocery store and if not, I know the local cooperative will have one for sale, too.  I am more than curious to see how the turnip is first prepared for the dish and then, how it tastes in the soup!  I also need to soak a cup and a half of navy beans - something that I need to stop and do right now!  

9. ready for Spring.  Following morning Mass and breakfast, Saturday quickly morphed into Spring Cleaning day at our apartment.  We tackled all of the basics and then some - cleaned the shower, the bathroom and kitchen tile (hands-and-knees type stuff), the toilet, the bedroom, the countertops, and - thankfully - my husband tackled the fridge and our seemingly endless collection of leftovers in it.  It was a disgusting, albeit necessary, process, and I am still grateful that my husband tackled that nasty chore in my stead.  It was a glorious day - some of our favorite movies on as background noise, heavy cleaning going on around our living space, and, perhaps the best part, an open window to air the place out.  It was a great way to spend the day!  

10. going to soak the navy beans and then going to bed!  As my cold crept up on me this afternoon I found myself asleep for about an hour and I am paying for it now, as it's almost midnight and I am still awake.  Time to soak the beans for tomorrow and attempt to rest - these cold germs aren't going to be squashed unless I get some shuteye!


to those few souls who might check in here every once in awhile, whether for the first, second, umpteenth, or last time......welcome.  it's good to have you here.  :)


a presto. 

ten quick things! i am....

1. happily resuming these silly little interlude posts that I used to do last spring.  It's fun to go back and look at those and see what little things we were up to - a new recipe we were trying, what music we listened to, what twists and turns life took, that kind of thing.  Call it my measly attempt at starting a type of weekly journal.  
2. Dogsitting for my aunt and uncle this weekend.  They are in La Isla del Encanto for a friend's daughter's wedding and we are here watching their two cocker spaniels (and serving as a bit of an adult presence for their teenagers - who don't really need us here, but we're happy to be here regardless!).  It's been really fun - I'm pretty sure we're a bit uncool to my teenage cousins, but it's still be enjoyable to see what their everyday life is like (at least to an extent).  And might I add that the dogs are hilarious?  Cheap entertainment at its best.  :-)    
3. Celebrating my sister's birthday tomorrow.  My sister doesn't like to drive in "the big city" where we live (although my Texan husband would argue that our city is more like a town, compared to where he grew up), so when she comes to visit we either meet her halfway and drive her car the rest of the way, or my mom brings her halfway.  This time, it didn't work out to do either, so B graciously offered to drive there and back (total travel time: 4 hours) to go get her so we could celebrate her birthday here tomorrow.  (Rumor is that all she wants to do to ring in the birthday is eat appetizers and watch the Academy Awards.)  They are on their way back now, hopefully back by 6:30 so we can all head to Cheeseburger in Paradise for dinner.  :-)  On the docket for tomorrow: Mass, Banana Cream Pie (her request), a dog birthday party (my cousin's Labrador Retriever is turning one tomorrow too), and the big awards show.  It should be quite the day.  :)  
4. anxiously awaiting word on a potential job offer.  Not much I want to say here, in case it wouldn't work out, but I am extremely excited at the possibility.  Word is that they were checking in with my references this past week.  It is a particularly unique opportunity with a non-profit organization here in town.  At this point, I just want to hear back - it has become a month-long application and interview process and, if I'm the right candidate for them, I can't wait to get started!  :)
5. scouring the internet for reasonable airline fare.  We are due to travel ourselves to La Isla del Encanto in just under five weeks, for B's sister's wedding.  We are (hopefully) going to stay for ten days - that is, if this job works out and I am able to secure that amount of time off.  (In any event, B would stay for ten days and I would potentially come home early.)  Our nephew will be baptized the following weekend, so staying through the first two weekends in April would be wonderful, but I am more than content with having to come home in the event that the organization would need me to be back earlier.  This has been a particular challenge for us - money is still extremely tight as our payday schedule has adjusted with B's new job (and our savings has been significantly depleted during B's month of unemployment in December), so we are definitely going to have to rely on assistance from our parents to secure the airfare.  And if the airfare was cheaper, it would be that much easier to pay for!  Right now, tickets for that window are about $500 apiece.  Repeatedly in this process of looking for airfare, we have laughed and thought to ourselves, "this wedding just had to be in Puerto Rico" - meaning, it just had to be in a location where the airfare was going to be particularly expensive.  Despite our own selfish ideas about where the location of the wedding should have been, we will do our best to be there, to be supportive, and to do whatever we can to make the day go smoothly and wonderfully for B's sister.   
6. rejoicing in the births of new babies, and the anticipated arrivals of many others.  I would probably need three hands to be able to count the amount of couples we know who are expecting children between now and September.  


......and Blogger had an error while saving (probably because of my temperamental internet connection) and I basically lost 6-10.  RATS!  To be continued tomorrow, because I am not particularly wanting to re-type everything.  


For my own reference, 7-10 is:
7. already planning out our summer. 
8. anxiously awaiting the return of baseball.  
9. continuing to follow the political heatedness that has taken over our fair city.  
10. watching Taken!  


a presto, tutti, a presto :)