Waiting for Patience

The last time I was at the doctor I was talking about my health, which was great, and I mentioned that I wanted to make some changes to be healthier (read: smaller). I prefaced my question with something that I know to do which is to lose weight: exercise more and eat less. Dr. W confirmed it is really all about math - more calories out than in. Her advice wasn't just "eat less, exercise more." It was actually more helpful, take the next year and make a different lifestyle change every month and in a year your life will be different. I really took that to heart and when I got home, I made a list of 12 habits or lifestyle changes that I wanted to undertake. I gave myself credit for a few that I had started a while ago that were great changes that I felt made a huge difference. At the end of the year I will probably have made about 7 or 8 overall changes but some of them were steps to bigger things. They are small steps that have made a huge difference in my life. I'v...

People say this to me a lot when I tell then about how much I travel for my job. "Enjoy it now while you still can." I'm away a lot for work, but I also add time on to those trips to visit with family and friends in the area. Since Labor Day I've been somewhere almost every week and have been out of town every weekend for work or pleasure. I thought the rest of my year was going to be travel free but the next four weeks are already booked with trips. One of my recent trips came through from American in my email like this, "Trip to United States of America": Charlotte to New York to New Orleans to Cleveland to New York to Charlotte over 11 days. I came home for 4 days before leaving again for another 9 days. I was hoping the rest of the year wouldn't include much travel, but in the last three days I planned 4 more trips, two of them include a lot of driving because flying would take so much longer and be incredibly inconvenient. That's ...

--- 1 --- Wow readers it has been quite a while since I've written anything at all and the last thing I wrote was just a bunch of pictures so that hardly counts - but you seem to be coming back day after day to read what I wrote. I'm back ... for now, I can't make any serious commitments. I want to, but I can't. Instead of boring you with a first I did this, then I did that sort of quick takes, I'm going to relay the things that I've learned in the last 3 weeks. The last time I wrote was my last day on the job as Office Manager. So I've learned lots of things these past three weeks at my new job.   --- 2 --- The most glaring thing is that I don't think I handle stress as well as I thought I did. Not that I experience it all that often, I'm very blessed that I don't really get easily stressed out (not in the past few years anyway). It usually manifests itself with being really tired, but not getting enough sleep. But these past few w...

A couple weeks ago, we set to challenge ourselves! What did you decide on and what did you end up doing? Was this a fruitful experience for you? Why or why not? A few weeks ago the NAS topic was Challenges  - challenging ourselves to do more, something different, etc... I didn't write because I as I noted the week after St. Joseph had been kicking my butt with an answer to my novena intention. I'm sure you all know about the Pray More Novenas  reminders (but if not - totally check them out - it's an excellent way to increase your novena devotions). I've been receiving the emails for a while now and love the monthly devotions and new saints, novenas, and opportunities every month. In preparation for the Feast of St. Joseph (one stand up man), I began praying the St. Joseph Novena on March 10th with more than 70,000 of my closest novena loving friends. I have had a pretty strong devotion to St. Joseph for a while. In November of 2012 a very close friend was goi...

--- 1 --- On Wednesday, Kendra posted this picture on Facebook: I thought it was an excellent source for inspiration as I prepare for the festival that is tomorrow at my parish.  There's so much to be done and so many people involved.  I have been having the hardest time keeping it together, being kind and charitable toward others, and making sure that I get the things done that I have to get done.  It's been touch and go, but on Wednesday I was able to actually remember this in those hard moments to prevent me from screaming aloud in my office all day long. --- 2 --- What would I have screamed?  Well, "The Ship is Sinking" would have been the first words out of my lips! It wouldn't be the first and honestly it probably won't be the last! --- 3 --- A couple of weeks ago the Fathers stopped over my house for a blessing - but the other day as I was coming in to the house during the rain was the first time I noticed the inscripti...

What should one do when the world annoys you?  Seriously, I'm asking... I have many blessings in my life, truly more than I can even count and keep track of most of the time.  I realize that I am quite blessed to have a job that I like at a place I enjoy working at.  I am blessed to have great friends who will do anything for me.  I am blessed to have a family where we all speak to each other and, although it's not often, can stand being around each other.  I am blessed to have my health.  I am blessed to be able to afford my life - although I do have student loan debt, I am financially secure enough to have purchased a house, own my car outright, and there is money (not much, but some) left over to buy things like a computer and a new phone amongst going out to eat and having more than rice, beans, or mac'n'cheese for dinner every night. I know all of these things.  I saw the conditions of life in the third world - maybe times over: Sao Paulo, Bra...