Five Things Meme

Flannery has tagged me for yet another meme, so here it goes.

Five things in my closet:
1) Maternity clothes
2) Skirts
3) Ties
4) A tool box
5) An extension cord (Can you tell that I share it?)

Five things in my fridge:
1) Organic strawberry jam
2) Unsweetened applesauce
3) Peanut butter
4) Maple Syrup
5) Mozzarella Cheese

Five things in my car:
1) Rosaries
2) Sunglasses
3) A carseat (the other one is portable so we don't need to keep it there)
4) A map of the area
5) Hand sanitizer

Five things in my purse:
1) Diaper
2) Packet of a single diaper wipe
3) Packet of six diaper wipes
4) Travel size pack of tissues
5) List of most of the books that we have that I am likely to buy duplicates of so I don't accidentally buy duplicates of them. (This has happened more times than I would like to count.)

Five Good Things about Today:
1) It's Sunday and the Birth of St. John the Baptist!
2) Reeda's beautiful smiles
3) Having brunch with friends
4) Reading lots of books to Happy Boy
5) My husband's excellent smoothies

Motherhood Revisited

In my Mother's Day post I mentioned that we ought to pray for childless couples we know to be blessed with children. I just found out that one of the couples on my prayer list just had a baby. They have been married nearly eight years so they have waited quite a long time for their bundle of joy.

The Sacred and Immaculate Hearts

Today is the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and tomorrow is the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Before Vatican II, the Immaculate Heart of Mary was celebrated on August 22nd. While I lament some of the changes in the Church calendar, this is one of the changes of which I heartily approve. (No pun intended.) First of all, pairing them together seems appropriate because often devotions are aimed toward both and they are frequently depicted together. Secondly, moving the feast frees August 22nd. Now upon that day we celebrate the Queenship of Mary. This is appropriate because we believe that she was crowned Queen of Heaven following her assumption, which we celebrate just a week earlier, on August 15th.

Here is a prayer that our family says nightly to the Sacred Heart:

Dear Sacred Heart of Jesus, we renew
our pledge of love and loyalty to You.
Keep us always close to Your loving
Heart and to the most pure Heart of
Your Mother.

May we love one another more and
more each day, forgiving each other's
faults as You forgive our sins. Teach us
how to see You in those we meet outside
our home. Please help us keep our love
for You always strong by frequent Mass
and Communion.

Thank You, dear Jesus, King and
of today. Protect us during this night.
Help us all to get to heaven. Amen

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, Thy
Kingdom come!

Immaculate heart of Mary, pray for
our family!

St Joseph, friend of the Sacred
Heart, pray for us!

Our Patron saints and guardian angels,
pray for us! Amen.

Here is more information on prayers to the Sacred Heart and Enthronement of one's home.

The Emblem of the Land I Love

Flag Day. Does anyone even remember anymore? As I went on a walk this morning, I saw all of two flags displayed. I think most Americans still have a respect for the flag and for our country, but probably not as much as they used to. It is my opinion that the people who either hate our country or who are merely dissatisfied with it have done much to subvert the average American's patriotism. An example is that there is nothing in the media today about Flag Day. Because of these subversions, even patriotic Americans have subconsciously lost some of their pride. What happened to all the flags that were purchased after 9/11? Did they get thrown out, or did the flags owners just not want to bother putting them up before they left for work? Either way, it shows a diminished pride and/or carelessness about our country and the flag that represents its freedoms.

You're a grand old flag,
You're a high flying flag,
And forever in peace may you wave.
You're the emblem of
The land I love,
The home of the free and the brave.
Ev'ry heart beats true
Under Red, White and Blue,
Where there's never a boast or brag;
But should auld acquaintance be forgot,
Keep your eye on the grand old flag.

Ever Heard of a Hair Competition?

I hadn't until today. As I understand it, the Imperia Vodka Hair Competition is for women who have extra long hair to come up with bizarre and clever styles. (Or as my husband says, pretty dumb styles.) Here is a slideshow of several of the creations, as well as the winning one.

In other hair news, I wonder how long it took this man to grow out his hair?

Eight Random Facts

Flannery has tagged me for a meme I was hoping to avoid because I feel narcissistic thinking about it - The Eight Random Facts Meme. Here it goes:

1. I was in the pilot episode of a syndicated show called All You Need is Love. As far as I know, the show never took off and I don’t even know if the pilot episode ever aired.

2. In filming that show, I met John Schneider, of Dukes of Hazzard fame. Before that day I had never heard of Schneider or the Dukes.

3. I love children’s books, both chapter books and picture books, more than “adult” books.

4. I like aforesaid books so much that I started keeping my eye out for them at thrift stores before I had been pregnant with my first child a whole month.

5. When I was a child I listened to oldies music. When I started junior high my friends were shocked that I didn’t know the lyrics to some famous pop song, so I started listening to the radio station that played pop and rap. When I became homeschooled, my homeschool friends listed to contemporary Christian music, so I started listening to that. (See what peer pressure does?) Somehow, by the time I was a senior in high school I began listening to the classical station and have been listening to classical music ever since. Although I don’t miss the pop or CCM, I confess that I do enjoy it when I am in a store and I hear an oldies song.

6. I am not a sports person. I extremely dislike football and basketball. Lucky for me, my husband likes sports even less than I do.

7. I love Cary Grant movies! I probably have seen only a dozen but I love what I have seen and want to watch them all.

8. I love Hitchcock movies. IMHO, his best movies are between 1940 and 1960. Unfortunately, I am not as enthused about them as Cary Grant movies due to the fact that some of his last movies have what I consider to be objectionable content.