The dump is looking better

Gettin' started and the finished look.

The view from the front shows new front porch (minus steps and railings) and super cute dormer.

Our garage. Top part is painted same shade of cream as siding.

what was that?

Hey, did you watch the funeral for Senator Kennedy yesterday?

What was up with the prayers of the faithful? Were they actually prayers and I just missed it? At that point in a funeral Mass aren't we supposed to pray for the soul of the deceased, his grieving loved ones and all the faithful departed? It felt like more of a litany of the things he'd done. If I misunderstood, please point it out.

Also, I thought that his sons' eulogies were soooo much better than the president's. So much so, that I wondered why he was even up there in the first place. Truly, though, his sons did an excellent job talking about their father and the great way he loved them.

And finally, I wanted to see if VP Biden would try to receive the Holy Eucharist but, and probably wisely, they didn't show it. But then again, I think there's a lot of Catholic Kennedys who support abortion...

Good movies

The Visitor and Arranged are two recommendations for anyone looking for something good to watch.

The Visitor is about a bored, lonely college professor who meets two illegals who have rented his NY apartment. His friendship with them brings passion back into his life. I thought the movie was incredibly interesting and I liked that the main characters were all kind people. Travis liked this one, too.

Arranged is about two coworkers, an Orthodox Jew and a Muslim, who become friends as they bond over their shared beliefs in modesty and arranged marriages. It's kind of a chick flick but not silly, and it doesn't glorify going out, looking hot and hooking up. I think the number one reason I liked this movie is because it reminded me of falling in love with and marrying Travis, since ours was definitely an arranged marriage (masterminded by my Heavenly Father).


Heads up: If you have Netflix you can watch both of these online.

:)

You've probably seen this picture from Glamour Magazine, but in case you haven't, here it is... with a little bit of diagramming.

it's time to stop staring

I am 38 weeks, 5 days pregnant. I am measuring 5 weeks ahead. This means that I am HUGE. As in I can't bend, I can't sleep, getting out of bed to go to the bathroom is an Olympic feat.

But what it also means is that people stare at me. I suppose they are afraid that my water will break and I will ruin their shoes, but many people have looks on their faces that make me feel unwelcome or obscene. I've especially noticed this on the faces of men, some of whom have actually glared at me.

I'm not sure why people are doing this, but let me tell you how it makes me feel: disgusting, ugly, fat, embarrassed, ashamed, like a freak.

At this point, my size has made me pretty much give up on some things. For example, yesterday L and I had to go to Mass alone. We got ready, packed our bag and drove to Mass, while also fighting about putting on her dress, trying to get her to eat something all morning long (she ate nothing), and trying to pace myself enough so I wouldn't become "overheated" and worn out well before we left. We walked into the church, which was either hot or I was having yet another hot flash, and then she refused to stay in the pew. People kept looking at me because now I was not only a hugely pregnant woman, but also one with a misbehaving toddler. And so, before Mass even began, we packed everything up and just left, me crying the whole way home.

The stares, the hot flashes, the inability to be comfortable all make me want to not be pregnant any more. But L's demands for attention make me afraid of having 2 children.

Lists about L

Songs L loves:
- Jump in the Line by Harry Belefonte
- Ob la di Ob la da by the Beatles
- Galway Girl by Steve Earle
- Neverending Love for You by Delaney Bramlett

Animal sounds L can make when she sees a picture or is prompted:
-moo
-neigh
-bzzzzz
- baa
- quack
- tweet
- woof
- hop (okay, it's not really a sound but that's what she does for bunnies)

Words L can say that most people should be able to understand:
- bath
- mama
- daddy
- cheese
- eat
- water
- door
- away (as in, Throw it away?)
- back (as in, Put it back?)
- ice
- nose
- toes
- teeth
- baby

Body parts she can point out:
- toes
- feet
- let
- knees
- belly
- arm
- hand
- fingers
- mouth
- teeth
- nose
- ears
- eyes
- hair
- head

eating cuy

My friend, Heather, abandoned her fabulous life in Chicago to spend some time living in Peru, working for a nonprofit. She's tall, pale and knew very little Spanish before she left. Her blog, Eating Cuy and Other Adventures of a Gringa in Peru, is filled with funny stories and good pictures. I encourage you to check it out.

The Newman Party of the Year - Frankie A style

Earlier in August Travis and I hosted a reunion party of sorts. Hubby headed it up and invited anyone who was involved at the St. Francis Newman Center while he was there. We ended up with a good turn out of about 20 friends. It was so much fun.

Highlights for me:

- that I didn't have to cook! We had people sign up to bring drinks and food and they were very generous. The food was delicious!

- Mass. The EC Newman Chapel is just 10 minutes away from our home and Fr. H was able to have a private Mass there (many thanks Fr. R for letting us be there!). It was so great to be with friends, to sing the Mass parts and hymns we love and to have Fr. H preach to us in such a personal way.

- The big screen showing of The Dark Knight.

- Hanging out on the porch until well past noon the following morning with some of our overnight guests. We waved as all the ACs drove past us on their way to church. We looked like heathens in our pjs, surrounded by coolers, eating scotch-a-roos.

- Being surrounded by people I love a great deal.

Insurance Reform

There's been a lot of yelling lately about President Obama's insurance reform. I can totally understand why people are upset and even a little scared. I have no idea what this administration and congress will put into practice, but I do think it's fair for me to worry some of it will go against my moral beliefs. (ahem - Mexico City Policy)

I am not totally opposed nor totally against government health care. People need to be taken care of, and I think a people's government should take on that responsibility.

I do worry, though, about companies dropping their benefits and creating an even greater burden on the federal government and therefore the taxpayers. I also worry about, though this is not what President Obama wants, public care being worse than private. For example, I've heard the waiting lists for cancer treatments in Canada (where there is public insurance) are much longer than in America and therefore more people die of cancer there than in the USA. But the best source I've found on this was a wiki sight, which was pretty inconclusive. Otherwise it's just been stuff I've read on other blogs...

However, I just read a statement by Archbishop Chaput of Denver about what he wants the government program to cover. His points:

A few key principles should guide the development of any health care reform legislation, especially in light of the mixed and sobering track record of national health plans in other countries:

• It should provide access to basic, quality health services for all persons, from conception to natural death, with a special concern for the poor, elderly and disabled, and the inclusion of legal immigrants;
• It should protect the conscience rights of individuals and religious institutions;
• It should exclude all so-called “services” that involve violence against the dignity of the human person, such abortion, physician-assisted suicide and their funding;
• It should be economically realistic and sustainable, with costs spread equitably across all taxpayers.

I love what he says, and I'm glad he says it rationally yet with conviction (no shouting). If you'd like to read the rest of his short statement, go here.