Thursday, January 22, 2009

Promises, Promises

Okay, folks, I got myself in trouble this time. I commented on Mimi's blog and (somewhat inadvertently) committed myself to participating. I have an entire year to forget and procrastinate! Yet, I live in hope.

I agreed to participate in the following “crazy train” so now I must post the following:
"Crazy Chain of Making" (from ramsey to Jocelyn to Laura to Mimi to me)

The first five people to respond to this post will get something made by me. It will be about or tailored to those five people.

This offer does have some restrictions and limitations:
- I make no guarantees that you will like what I make!
- What I create will be just for you.
- It'll be completed this year.
- You have no clue what it's going to be or when its going to be. It may be fiction. It may be poetry. I may draw or paint something. I may bake you something and mail it to you. Who knows? Not you, that's for sure!
- I reserve the right to do something extremely strange.

The catch? Oh, the catch is that you have to put this in your journal as well, if you expect me to do something for you!

*Please put your postal address & email address in your comment or email it to me!
In other news, I am sick. I have committed to taking Teddy to a Tampa Bay area clergy vasilopita cutting—very confusing; what's wrong with January 1?—tomorrow night. Fr. Peter will be starting his lifeguarding training, so he won't be going.

I also want to say that I have a total crush on this blog (this post in particular, and the blog in general). The pictures and writings are reflections of true beauty which I believe is only found in a life lived in pursuit of Truth (Himself). I understand that when one has time to blog, things often look nicer than the everyday messes of life, but I'm the kind of person who goes to museums and says, "I need this for my house." (Rather a problem when the original items included a large assembly of household and grounds staff ...) But I do need this for my life: a commitment to strive for the good things, to make my family into saints, to make our house into a home (somehow this involves vacuuming more often, I think), and to participate more fully in creation (gardening and volunteering). I am so frustrated that I am, and will always be, miles away from all of my goals, and that it's so difficult to just keep up with just the very basics (forget dishes and cleaning the bathroom, I'm talking remembering to get dressed and eat meals, nevermind trying to get back to meal planning).

I want to be the kind of person who has a calm center based on prayer and service to Christ. I want to be well-educated, aware of the issues in the world and local community—not just someone with an expensive piece of paper. I want to be able to invite people over to our house for dinner more often than twice a year. I want to not have to remember where I've stuffed the papers I hid (to be filed) when cleaning up for houseguests. I'll be 29 in March, and I don't feel even slightly grown up, except that I can make myself eat vegetables sometimes. It's hard to fight off the feeling that since I want something that's really hard to get, that it's not even worth trying—I think that has always been my hardest obstacle.

I finished reading a Montessori book today, and while I don't agree with several of the authors' ideas ("doctrine and dogma" seem just as bad to them as "Naziism and socialism"—what?!), I do like the idea of giving the child tools which will be useful to him as a man. I have to work to acquire the tools of self-discipline, cleanliness, and order before I can help my son.

I think I will start by taking my vitamin for the day and drinking another large glass of orange juice.

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Friday, January 02, 2009

Lists and Miscellany

I'm a big fan of lists. The giant, leaping thoughts of "Gee, I really need to get this done, but not right now" have a place to go, so I can hold onto them. My brain was especially bad after the baby was born, so I just got a stenographer's notebook (just like my dad used to use for his notes) to make a list of things I needed to remember.

Today I finally took a few hours and tried on all my clothes, after putting most of the maternity clothing in the suitcase. (I had one in the laundry, one I'd never worn, and one in the car ... but I'm not sure I can close the suitcase again without help.) There's quite a bit of clothing which I can't get into, some things which I'll be donating, and lots of extra hangers (as opposed to the previous none for guests). I have hanging in the closet seven skirts and two dresses which either fit or fit well enough to be used in case of emergency. I have no pants (except one pair of drawstring) which fit, but three pairs of shorts which fit ... more or less. I have way too many shirts, especially white ones, and I'm not sure why I keep holding onto the ones which are nice, but I don't like them. So there may be further purging after my husband gets home, with his extra brain cells. I do have one pair of nice pants which fits, but until it snows in Florida, I won't be wearing them. (Augh!) So eventually I will be going shopping again. I have lots and lots of baby clothes to return (he still has more than I do), and plenty of gift cards, so that's all right, but I would rather shop in the thrift stores anyhow. It's more fun, and it seems easier to find things which I both like and can fit into. (Also a good place to get clean, ironed shirts for my husband. Score!)

I am a bit leery of the coming week. Today is my day to clean the house and get things ready, but little yowly boy has been confusing me. I think he wants to eat, so I try to feed him, but he screeches and screeches until I get so sick of it that I put him back to bed. Which is what he wanted. Poor thing.

Saturday we're going to the monastery to get the icons and baptismal favors. Sunday there's Liturgy. Monday there's Liturgy, picking up Paul (godfather-to-be) at the airport, calling people (Presvytera Georget, the dentist to reschedule the appointments, and the OB/GYN about the refund), possibly going swimming at the pool, and a hierarchical dinner thingy. (Maybe there's a vespers somewhere?) Tuesday there's Orthros and Liturgy in Tarpon Springs, with all its festivities, then rest (maybe) and on to Tampa for their church's festal vespers. Wednesday is Tampa's festal Orthros and Liturgy, greeting my mother from the airport, and picking up Thanasi (our seminarian for the GOYA Winter Event this year) from the airport. Thursday is the long-awaited baptism and taking Paul back to the airport. It gets less hectic after that, since I am not planning on going to the Winter Event, but I will still have a houseguest (and my mother, who is staying in a nearby hotel), and, of course, the laundry.

We will attempt to watch a Jane Austen (about, not of) movie tonight, and I may figure out a bit more of Traveling With Infant airline stuff. (Advice welcome; please comment.) After that, we're off and running with no time to look back. Thank goodness there's the Holy Spirit. (Yes, that's redundant, but it's still nice.)

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