A Lenten PSA

World going too fast?  Having trouble making decisions?  Need someone to talk to?  Me too.

Yesterday, I had several "aha" moments.  Thanks to Mass at noon.  I went on a whim....a gut feeling that it was a good thing to do at that particular moment.  As I sat in the quiet and reflected and prayed, my mind was amazingly clear.  The clutter was gone.  I sat and awed at the clarity that comes with time spent in quiet contemplation.  If you are looking for answers, go now....sit in a church....be quiet and still....pray....and wait. 

As I prayed for God to send a fleet of guardian angels to protect me and all the other people skiing this weekend among other things, the lector read the psalm, "Lord, on the day I called, You answered me."  Thanks!   Then as I pondered a few other decisions I need to make, the answers were suddenly very clear.  Maybe it was just taking time to sit and be quiet and really think and put things in perspective.  Maybe it was just the Spirit that moved me to go to Mass and the Spirit who opened my ears and my heart.  Even the readings, psalms, prayers of the faithful felt like they were speaking to me, I'm sure I wasn't the only one either.  We get what we need when we are open. 

So, it's Lent, take a little time to visit your church and sit in the quiet, it is a true blessing. 

Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?

I've got to get a red fedora and a matching trench coat!

For the next month Carmen San Diego and I will have a lot in common.  You never know where I might turn up.  I/we must have been feeling our oats when I/we planned the months of February and March.  Suffice it to say, there will be much packing, unpacking, flying, driving, walking, skiing, studying, crime solving, and trying to get enough sleep over the next month.  Hopefully, there will be many wonderful memories made along the way. 

Last week we were at the happiest place on earth.  You know, the place where adults become children and children are over stimulated to the point of withdrawal?  We must have just won the Super Bowl because we went to Disney World!  Four days of non stop action and that was just keeping up with the grandsons.  I tried my best to take pictures of the boys having fun but all I got were pictures of their backs as they shot off in a different direction to see some other bright shiny animated character.  My daughter's tour book suggested that the thing most preschool age children love during their trip to Disney is the pool at the hotel.  They were wrong!  It was the monorail....for some reason, the ice cream....for obvious reasons, sitting in the rain waiting for the Fantasmic Show to begin...because it was warm and fun, and riding on Grampy or Gigi or Daddy's shoulders....because who doesn't want to rest their tired feet and get a great view all at once?!  Evidence....

Christopher is not too happy about being on my shoulders....I'm just not as awesome as Daddy!
Meanwhile, Daniel feels like the lion king!

Learning about flamingos....and holding hands...sigh.





I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream!  Daniel and his brother, Elton John.

We are soaked....and we love it!  Bring on the show!

Pooh!!!!!  We love you! 

We all felt a little like this at the end of the week.

Two days after I returned from the Magical Disney Tour it was time to get on the case of my sister's 50th birthday in Baton Rouge.  When my siblings get together it is always a good time.  We had planned to decorate her house while she was at a birthday party given by a friend.  In the dark and cold of night we put a few of her "favorite" things in her front yard.  It was kind of a love/hate display.  She loves cats, she must not like trees very much because she has cut down almost every one in her yard so we put a tree in her front yard.  She does not like Nick Saban much...like most of the Baton Rouge or LSU population, and she was thrilled to get yard of the month once in her neighborhood.  All these things lead us to this ........Happy Birthday Susan!

A huge tree branch with 50 cats and Nick Saban giving her the yard of the month!

The Tide has turned, Cat-a-pulted to 50!

Time to go pack my suitcase and get on the case of the Red Solo Cups.  I think they will be in Steamboat, Co this weekend, what mischief will they be up to this year?

Submarines and Spenchlish

We all lived in a Yellow Submarine last Saturday!

TJ and I had the good fortune of riding on a friend's float in a Mardi Gras parade last Saturday.  Talk about a blast!  The float was a '60's themed Yellow Submarine and we all dressed the part.  That's TJ and me in the very back at the top..." peace man".  I have always wanted to be on a float and throw beads into the crowd!  There was  Beatles music playing throughout the ride and we occasionally swayed and waved the "peace" sign at the crowd.  Our float was well received... especially by all the old people in the crowd....hmmmm.  Dressing up, drinking beer before noon on a sunny day and participating in a huge party is a much better way to celebrate Mardi Gras than eating pancakes!  Anyway, now I can cross that off my bucket list!  Thanks friends! 

TJ, working the crowd with some big beads!

It was a beautiful day along the Galveston seawall! 

Canada Man wondering where his pancakes are!

In other news, I started my Spanish classes last week.  Two days a week I teach English to Spanish speaking people and then on two other days my English speaking self learns to speak Spanish.  The language department in my brain is so confused!  My students are really enjoying my meager efforts to try out my new Spanish on them before our classe starts in the morning.  I think having six or seven people to try my new vocabulary out on might be very helpful.  I am exactly where they are in my skill level too....at the bottom!  It was somewhat surreal last week when I reviewed the English alphabet with my students and then the very next night I had to learn the Spanish alphabet.  I totally understand why they confuse the letters "a, i, y, b, v, g...." .  I now do the same thing.  I am finding it a bit easier to learn Spanish than French, maybe because I hear so much Spanish on a weekly basis or because I have already studied one language so a second is a little easier, who knows.  Maybe it is because I am practically a genius....nah.  I have also totally embarrassed myself in class by answering in French, oops!   I think I will be speaking Spenchlish, a new hybrid language of English, French and Spanish.

Live it up for the next few days everyone!  Lent begins next Wednesday.  I need to figure out what I will be doing for Lent this year.  Any ideas?  Don't think I'm going to make the mistake of giving up drinking again!  Haha! I will be spending the last few days of the Mardi Gras season with my daughter, her husband and the grandsons....partying with a few characters!
Stay tuned....here's one hint.

I'll be seeing life through the delighted eyes of a 4 1/2 year old and a 3 year old at the happiest place on earth!