The waiting game.....

Feast of Saint Grace

Where has the time gone? I hadn't realized it had been so long since my last post.

I am anxiously awaiting the birth of my Godchild (my first one, by the way). She/he was supposed to been born 2 weeks ago. Mom is to be induced today, if the wee one still has not arrived. I am quite excited about being a Godmother!

Please pray for a safe, healthy, and fast delivery! Also include my friend Christine in your prayers, as she is to deliver today too.

Oh, a very good friend of mine had her baby last week. I got to hold her & feed her yesterday. Boy, did I feel special!!!!

My Grandma!

Memorial of Saint Chad

Holy KFC, Batman!

Feast of Saint Walburga

From the Catholic News Agency -

Colonel Sanders' asks Pope for special sandwich blessing

KFC unveils fish sandwich for Lent, offers a sample to Benedict XVI

Louisville,KY, Feb 23, 2007 / 11:29 am (CNA).- The U.S. based Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) company, long known for its fast-food chicken is planning to sell fish for the first time and has asked for Pope Benedict XVI’s blessing.

For Lent this year the company is introducing a “Fish Snacker Sandwich,” and has sent a letter to the Holy Father, letting him know.

"This is the first time KFC has ever served fish nationally, and we believe that the new sandwich could make it easier and more affordable for Catholics to observe the tenets of their faith," KFC President Greg Dedrick wrote in a letter to the Pope earlier this month.

According to the AP, the letter asks the Holy Father for a special blessing and offers him a sample of the sandwich.

John O’Reilly, chief marketing officer for KFC said the sandwich was launched with Catholics in mind. Traditionally restaurant seafood sales go up during the Lenten Season, when Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays.

Laurie Schalow, a spokeswoman for KFC, told the AP that the Vatican confirmed receiving the letter and the company is hopeful for a response in the next week.

The sandwich is made of Alaskan pollock, the largest food fish resource in the world and a fish commonly used to make breaded and battered fish products.

KFC is owned by Yum Brands Inc. of Louisville, which also owns seafood outlet Long John Silver's. Schalow said the sandwich shouldn't put KFC and Long John Silver's at odds.

"The reason we decided to do this is our consumers showed an interest," Schalow said.

KFC, which has 5,500 restaurants around the country, test marketed the sandwich last year. The reviews were good, so the decision was made to sell the item nationally, Schalow said. The sandwich will remain on sale only during Lent, she said.

Speechless???

Feast of Saint Besas

Yes, it has happened. I am speechless - doesn't happen too often (my mother will attest to that! LOL!)

Click on the link below to see what I am talking about. All we can do is pray for whoever did this.
The Roman Catholic Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi was evacuated during noon Mass on Ash Wednesday when three CD players duct-taped to the bottom of pews began blaring explicit language.

Fat Tuesday!

Exaltation of Saint Winnoc

Fat Tuesday, also known as Mardi Gras & Shrove Tuesday, and the day before Ash Wednesday, is today! It is the one day of the year you are allowed, no, encouraged to eat fattening foods! YEE HAW! It is a common practice to eat pancakes on this day, but we are more of a waffle type of family. I even made them from scratch (does Bisquick count?) For toppings, we had a choice of regular syrup, blueberry syrup, and butter. I also made a few with mini-chocolate chips in them, and sprinkled powdered sugar on them when they were done. YUMMY!

Here is bit of information as to why pancakes are so popular -

The reason that pancakes are associated with the day preceding Lent is that the 40 days of Lent form a period of liturgical fasting, during which only the plainest foodstuffs may be eaten. Therefore, rich ingredients such as eggs, milk, sugar and flour are disposed of immediately prior to the commencement of the fast. Pancakes and doughnuts were therefore an efficient way of using up these perishable goods, besides providing a minor celebratory feast prior to the fast itself [2].

While the restrictions we have now are more lenient, we still have some. Here is a snippet from the Fish Eaters' site, from their article titled Lent Overview -

According to the 1983 Code of Canon Law, the rule for the universal Church during Lent is abstain on all Fridays (inside or outside of Lent) and to both fast and abstain on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
(SNIP)
On those days of fasting an abstinence, meatless soup is traditional (see recipes). Sundays, of course, are always free of fasting and abstinence; even in the heart of Lent, Sundays are about the glorious Resurrection. This pattern of fasting and abstinence ends after the Vigil Mass of Holy Saturday.

I told myself to not hold back today, to eat all the chocolate I wanted to, but I didn't want to! I betcha tomorrow I will be craving it! LOL! Why is it we always want what we cannot have?

The Sickies

Feast of Saint Francis Regis Clet

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning not feeling very well. I went back to sleep hoping all would be well when I got up for Mass. No such luck. Could I go to Mass, and make it through? Probably. I always feel bad when I cannot make it to Mass, not unless I am so sick I am confined to my bed (or one of my children are). I am not that sick by any means, and if it was any other day of the week, I would probably try to get some housework done. So why don't I go? Because the charitable thing to do is not expose others to my germs - this is when selfishness can be a virtue - LOL!

Lent is fast approaching!

Feast of Saint Theodore Stratelates

It seems hard to believe that Lent starts in just a few days. Wasn't it just Christmas? (Don't look, but my tree is still up - LOL) I am looking forward to Lent. Many look at me like I am from Mars when I say that (ok, so more so than usual), because why would anyone look forward to 40 days of doing penance? It is because penance is good! That's right folks, and I will say it again - PENANCE IS GOOD! It is like giving your soul a bath - sin is the nasty, grimy, sticky dirt; penance is the bath brush you use to scrub it all off. The saints are best at telling why penance & suffering is good for the soul, and will post some info on that later. Please feel free to post what you know.

Lent is also a time of preparation for Easter. A time to prepare our homes & more importantly our souls, for the coming of Christ. What are you going to do? It is not just about giving something up, but also about DOING something. Here is a great blog entry to get you started - Living the Loveliness of Lent. Another blog - dedicated to Lent - These Forty Days.

Other ideas-
***Read a book to your children - I think I am going to attempt Introduction to the Devout Life by Saint Francis DeSales. There is no way we can get through all of it during Lent, but at least we can get started. It is an easy book to read, but requires a lot of thinking to read it properly.
***Start a prayer that will be included in your daily prayers. For us, it would be to become regular at saying the whole Rosary. For others it may be saying the Divine Office.
***Our local homeschool group is helping with a shoebox drive for abuse victims.

Please share some ideas you may have!

And don't forget your penance - and I am not sure how much it counts if you give up something easy. One year I gave up soda pop, and was it ever so hard! I never wanted it so bad as when I could not have it! I haven't had soda in a few years now, so giving it up for Lent now does not count. One year my son gave up his Game Boy, and it was all his idea! Me? I think I will give up sweets this year - cookies, cakes, candies, even sugar in my coffee! I am not sure what my children have in mind. We will discuss it tomorrow. What are you giving up?

By the way. Queen Lucy's birthday is next week - yes, during Lent, and a Friday during Lent. So she had her party last night - her first slumber party. They were not up too late, and got up at a normal time this morning. But they sure did eat a lot! Gee whiz! LOL! Oh, and King Peter was gone - this was a "girls only" event. As my daughter says "Girls rule and boys drool!"