Seven Quick Takes--St. Rose and Staycation

Linking up with Kelly!

I.

Today is the Feast Day of St. Rose of Lima, a Dominican Tertiary! She is an excellent saint for our times.

II.

You may have noticed some blog silence round these parts—I tend to blog less in the summer. But we’ll be revving back up again, especially as book news comes out. If you want to know all the book goodness first, then sign up for my mailing list! (No spam. Only fun things. Pinky promise.)

III.

“OK, Emily, enough, tell me about staycation!”

OK.

So, we went to Colorado for my sister’s wedding in June, but, as you know if you’ve had a family wedding lately, they’re fun, but they’re work too—you have to make sure your clothing gets to the place unmolested, that your shoes fit, that the priest shows up, etc. etc. etc. And that you didn’t forget anything two thousand miles away. And I’d just finished the first draft of the manuscript. So yeah, I was beat when June was over!

I finally decided that I wanted to take a ‘staycation’ in August. I’d never done it, but it sounded like fun.

I made this a really cheap staycation. I did not have a masseuse come to my house, I didn’t hire a cleaning service to clean my house, and I didn’t get a room in a hotel (all of these are actual staycation suggestions I found on the internet. OK, folks. The hotel one was the only one I didn’t think was really out there. If you want someone to clean your house, fine, and that’s legit, but….as a staycation? I guess….anyway, I digress!)

I set a limited budget, and made a plan. That budget would encompass everything I wanted to do, just like a real vacation, except I was staying in town. Columbus has a lot of fun things! When my family goes on vacation to the beach, we normally eat out for one meal, and have the others at our beach house; I have a nice tea/coffee break in the afternoon; and I do a lot of reading. So all those things were incorporated as well.

IV.

Monday was sort of the planning day. Tuesday was when I ventured forth!

The first place I went was Franklin Park Conservatory and Botanical Gardens. They had several exhibits I wanted to see—a Chihuly installation (above and beyond what the conservatory already has, which is a lot), Blooms and Butterflies (where they release hundreds of butterflies into the Pacific Island Room), and a bonsai exhibit. It would also be a great time to sketch! So I packed up my sketching stuff and headed off to the conservatory.

(To see the gallery photos, swipe or use your arrow keys!)

I’ll have to take photos of my sketchbook pages so I can show you what I did.

It’s always a lot of fun going here. There are different “biomes”—Himalayan Mountains, Rainforest, Desert, and the Pacific Island Water Garden. The Bonsai exhibit was held in a different gallery, where it was very hot, because, glasshouse and it was 90 degrees. But it was still fun. I ate lunch here and grabbed a butterfly shaped silicone tea infuser to replace my tea balls that keep BREAKING!

After I had lunch and finished sketching, I went home, made some tea, read a bit, and then went swimming after dinner.

V.

Wednesday I took a trip to German Village. German Village is, as the name suggests, an area of town that was founded by German Immigrants in the 19th century. Many of the streets are still paved with bricks, and the houses showcase the original architecture. It’s also home to some of the city’s best eating!

I went to Schmidt’s, which was founded in 1886 and serves some pretty epic sausage. The thing about Schmidt’s is they don’t take reservations. So you either get here right when it opens at 11, you eat at off-times, or you just wait. OR, you come alone, like I did, and you eat at the bar, where there is usually no wait! Yay!

After Schmidt’s, I headed to a local coffee shop and then to The Book Loft, which is an incredible independent bookstore built into an old house (or several!). It’s amazing. You could spend hours here, and you get all your steps in wandering around! :) Before cell phones it was interesting to go here with a group—you just sort of had to hope you’d find each other again. I think every book is 5% off, and some are really marked down, like more than half, or even 75%, so you can always find good deals here, and books that other places won’t have. It’s a little bit addictive. I sketched the fountain in their courtyard, and came home with some awesome Wizard of Oz magnets.

(If, somehow, you have missed my addiction to The Wizard of Oz— I have one.)

VI.

Yesterday I had tea with my friend Mary before she goes off to graduate school, and that was delicious, as always. (Cambridge Tea House is the best!)

I also watched To Kill A Mockingbird and started watching Wizard, because it’s turning 80 on Sunday!

VI.

So that was my ‘staycation’. Today is the last day, and I’m having lunch with my dad this afternoon, which we do just about every week and I enjoy. (Last week it was lunch and shopping with mom, which was equally enjoyable!) This afternoon I’ll probably sketch a bit and knit and…do laundry. Which is part of a week-long vacation, anyway. :)

So that’s how I staycationed! Have you ever done this? Any questions about how I did it? Really, once I made a list of all the things I could do in town, it was hard to choose! (I might do one more thing tomorrow before Mass. We’ll see!

A Wedding In the Mountains: Melanie and Jason

(Photos by Mel’s photographer, not me! :) )

My sister got married last week, and I have a new brother!

via GIPHY

We’re excited about this. :)

The wedding was on June 13 at Our Lady of the Mountains Catholic Church.

This is a beautiful church! Pope St. John Paul II visited it during World Youth Day in Denver in 1993.

The church was stunning……so here are pictures (especially for family members who couldn’t come, but really, for everyone, because we all need beauty!)

St. Francis with Brother Elk. I saw quite a few people coming to pray here while we were there. It seems like a really popular devotional spot in Estes Park!

Isn’t she gorgeous?!

The stained glass windows around the nave showcased the sacraments. Thought this one was especially appropriate!

The altar and tabernacle—the tabernacle has the five loaves and two fishes on it.

View from the doors

It’s a really gorgeous church, with a statue of the Sacred Heart, a St. Michael window in the choir loft, and last but not least, a really amazing priest! He gave a beautiful homily on how marriage is about joy and sorrow, how marriage really begins the time you have your first fight (basically) or have a bad/sad moment, and how marriage is about being selfless, instead of selfish, because you’re one now. You’re not two. It was appropriate he spoke about joy, because that’s my sister’s middle name! I wish I had a copy of the homily, it was so inspiring.

The reception was intimate, held at a local steakhouse. But there was still cake (well, cupcake) smashing….

And a first dance….

I was a bridesmaid, so I was busy throughout the day and didn’t have time to take a ton of pictures, but that’s what I have. :)

We stayed at The Stanley Hotel (AKA, where Stephen King got the inspiration for The Shining) and my room had a great view:

So, that’s all I have right now, in terms of photos, but it was a lovely, intimate wedding in a gorgeous place, and I’m so happy for my sister and my new brother in law! :)

Postcard: Denver

It’s the first Colorado Trip Postcard!

I spent time in three main places when I visited Colorado last month: Denver, Littleton, and Buena Vista. Today is the Denver/ Littleton post card, and the Buena Vista one is coming after. So stay tuned for that.

The first thing to know is that, since I stayed with my sister, there’s no hotel recommendations here. So sorry about that! At the end of each post there will be a roundup of links and information of places I visited so you have the information at hand if you want to visit them too!

****

Wednesday

I flew from Port Columbus to Denver International on United. I flew United Economy, and I have to say it was a nice flight. United has screens on the back of all the seats so you can watch TV in flight, so I got to watch some HGTV and a bit of hockey while I read The Flight Attendant on my iPad.

As we know, Denver is at altitude. In Denver and Littleton, the only symptoms I noticed was that I got winded more easily, so I had to move more slowly than I usually do, but that was it. My symptoms were worse when we went to Buena Vista, which is at a higher altitude, but in Denver proper it wasn’t too bad. (In addition to my lung issues, I’m also anemic, which doesn’t help things!)

My sister picked me up and we went to the Tavern in Littleton for dinner. The burger is great here, as are the chips and salsa. The salsa is sweet, which is what I prefer, over really hot or spicy.

Thursday

This was a great day! I went with Mel and her fiance, Jason, to Union Station in Downtown Denver. Two of her friends, Jess and Bethany, were flying into Denver and taking the light rail from the airport to Union Station. Union Station is also a working Amtrak station, which was so cool.

Inside Union Station

One of the best things about Union Station is that there’s so much to do there—and you can do nothing. There are many tables, chairs, and other comfortable seating options for people to talk and relax (or in my case, sketch!) There is the bar, as seen here, and also a great coffee shop.

We had brunch at Snooze, which is a breakfast/brunch/lunch place, sort of like Scramblers or First Watch here in Ohio. The menu was full of great options but I finally decided on the Shrimp and Grits (in my opinion the eggs added nothing, so I just removed them and ate the glorious rest of the dish)

Shrimp and grits do not need eggs. They are glorious as they are. (And these were glorious.)

There is a small branch of Denver’s Tattered Cover bookstore in Union Station, but we walked a block or two down the street to the original location, which was fabulous.

What makes a fabulous indy bookstore? First off, selection. I want a broad selection of books, not just current best sellers or popular books. I want to be able to dig around and find Penguin Clothbound editions (Which happened here!), or books I’ve never heard of but look interesting. I want there to be lots of shelves to explore and fun things to look at that aren’t books (things like bookmarks, socks, pens, tote bags, etc.). If there are places to sit down and read for awhile, even better….and if there’s coffee or other treats? YES PLEASE!

Tattered Cover checked all these boxes and more, so I was really pleased with this experience.

After that we went back to Union Station to wait for Mel’s second friend to arrive, and I sketched a bit, had some great coffee, and read my books.

We had dinner reservations that night at Linger in Denver, but first we stopped at ViewHouse in Littleton for some snacks:

You can see why it’s called ViewHouse…..

Dinner, like I said, was at Linger, which is sort of a tapas-y place—meaning that the entrees are shared, but they’re not really big, so you order a few of them. This was my least-favorite place to eat in Denver, mostly because it just wasn’t my kind of food. Maybe my taste buds were off for some reason? But it just seemed like it was trying too hard to be trendy, and the flavors got lost.

BUT all was redeemed by a trip to Little Man Ice Cream!

We ate ice cream at the little tables outside, since it was such a nice night, and this was really delicious.

After that, we went back to Mel’s house, and the next day we headed to Buena Vista! (That’s Part II)

Where I Visited—Links and Information

Tavern Littleton: 2589 West Main Street, Littleton, CO 80120, 303.730.7772 https://www.tavernhg.com/littleton

Union Station: 1701 Wynkoop, https://unionstationindenver.com/

Snooze at Union Station: https://unionstationindenver.com/dine/snooze-an-am-eatery/

Tattered Cover: 2526 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO 80206, 303-322-7727, https://www.tatteredcover.com/

ViewHouse: 2680 W. Main Street, Littleton, CO 303-797-4829 (other locations around Denver), http://www.viewhouse.com/

Linger: 2030 W. 30th Avenue, 303-993-3120, lingerdenver.com

Little Man Ice Cream: 2620 16th Street, 303-455-3811 https://www.littlemanicecream.com/

Seven Quick Takes--Colorado, Mother's Day, and Mammograms

Linking up with Kelly!

-1-

I was in Colorado last week (hence why no blog posting!) for my sister’s bachelorette weekend. I’d never been to Colorado before!

One of the floral butterflies in Downtown Denver

The Collegiate Peaks in Buena Vista

Mel and I at Mt. Princeton Hot Springs.

—II—

I’ll write more about Denver next week, but here’s what I learned, in short, about going to altitude:

Drink a lot of water. Like, insane amounts.
Bring saline nasal spray. My nose was SO dry!
Bring a portable charger, because altitude seems to drain phone batteries faster
SUNSCREEN. ALL THE SUNSCREEN.

—III—

Our trip included Denver (my sister lives in Littleton) and Buena Vista, where the cabin weekend was held. I didn’t realize it was sort of desert-y down there. I should’ve expected it, but some how, I didn’t. I had never been in that sort of environment before, so it was definitely a new experience. I learned that I like green!

—IV—
Anyway, more on CO next week. It’s been awhile since I’ve done some travel posts, so it’ll be fun!

—V—

Amy Welborn wrote a great piece about Mother’s Day and parishes, and I’d encourage you to read it.
Mother’s Day is, to put it nicely, fraught. I really don’t think it should be celebrated as part of the Mass. Mass is for the worship of God, not for the worship of ourselves. If parishes want to do something for mothers (or graduates, or whatever), then they can do it after Mass. Blessings, etc.? After Mass.

I know so many people who are struggling with infertility. I, myself, will never have children. Let’s also think about people who have lost their mothers, or have not-great relationships with their mothers, or have other issues with their moms. Let’s realize this. Sure, mothers are important! (Love you, Mom! :) )

But do we need to make it such a big part of the Mass?

Same thing with Father’s Day. And also, I don’t think we do Father’s day nearly as much as we do mother’s day.

Celebrate your mom, but parishes, please do this after Mass.

And for the love of the Lord, do not make people hug their mothers at Mass! (see the comments in the article for that one.)

(And yes, I love my mother. :) This isn’t about not loving Mom!)

—V—

And because it’s my blog, I’ll expound a little more. One of the comments at the bottom of Amy’s post was all about “celebrating” at Mass. Having visitors stand up, or graduates be recognized, or birthday people be recognized.

I got one word for this:

NOPE.

via GIPHY

People. Mass is not the time for this.

Mass is for THE WORSHIP OF GOD.

If you want to recognize birthdays, do it in a bulletin.

You want to recognize the grads? Have a reception in June after a Mass.

I CRINGE at the thought of making visitors stand up. I hate this. Why do you think a visitor would want to be recognized?! And what does that have to do with Mass? (This visitor never wants to be recognized. Ever. Just let me come to Mass.)

Yes, I realize I’m an old and cranky person here.

But I think it was Benedict XVI who said something like, if we’re applauding during Mass, we’ve completely lost the plot. (I’m paraphrasing, obviously)

Mass is not about us.

If you want to celebrate community things, that’s great. Do it after Mass.

—VI—

Well, that felt good. LOL. .

Writing of the book is going well. My next newsletter for subscribers should be sent out next week, so if you’re not a subscriber, do it now!

I’m 2/3 of the way done with the manuscript. This week has been some hard sledding but you know, the important thing is to get words on a page. So that’s been happening. You can edit words on a page. You can’t edit a blank one.

—VII—

I also had my first mammogram this week. My mom had breast cancer at age 47, so I had to get my baseline done 10 years before her diagnosis—hence, at 37. Since I turned 37 last month, it was time.

I was nervous about it—I’d heard horror stories about it hurting, especially with transplant scars (this might be TMI, but—for my transplant, the incisions are about where a bra underwire is).

But I had a great, careful tech, who made sure that nothing was pinching, and it wasn’t really bad at all. Yeah, the skin is being squished, but that didn’t really hurt.

Ladies—you need to get a mammogram at age 40. You might have to do it earlier, if you’re like me and have family history. Please, please, please check your own screening requirements and set this up.

(And finally, if you missed it, there was a yarn along on Wednesday!)

Yarn Along #89

I’ve finally cast off my shawl, and now I’m in the process of weaving in the ends and then blocking it. Yay! I can’t wait to wear it!

This shawl has taken me a long time and part of it was because of the move, and then getting my blocking supplies from my parents’ where I stashed it before the move….but now we’re all caught up.

I was just in Denver for my sister’s bachelorette party, and while I was there I got to visit Tattered Cover, an independent bookstore chain there. It was pretty awesome, and of course I got a lot of books:

I’ll have more on Denver in a travelogue post later this week or next!

What are you knitting or reading? Share with me!

An Old School Easter Daybook

Remember how we used to do these all the time? Bringing it back. :) At least for this week.

“Resurrection of Christ and Women at the Tomb”, Fra Angelico

Outside my window:

The tree outside my porch. Isn’t she pretty?

Wearing:

Jeans and a navy blue and white stripped shirt that I’ve had forever and probably need to stop wearing outside the house, LOL.

Reading

I’m on a Laura Ingalls Wilder kick so I’m re-reading the series; I’m on By The Shores of Silver Lake. I’m also reading The World of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and I’ve got Cranford in my bag for the trip I’m taking this week.

Plans for the week:

I’m going to visit my sister in Denver for her bachelorette party! Yay! So that’ll be fun. I’ve never been to Colorado.

Celebrating:

Easter! It’s an octave, so that means that it’s EIGHT DAYS OF EASTER. So be sure to keep celebrating! The Easter season is actually fifty days long, culminating in Pentecost. So get your celebration on. We fast and abstain and do penance for forty days of Lent, but then we have fun for fifty days! So have fun!

(But don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.)

If you normally give up meat on Friday, you don’t have to this coming Friday, because of the Easter octave. Yay! Woo woo!

I don’t pray the Glorious mysteries at all during Lent, but for the next seven days they’ll be all I pray when I say my rosary. Gotta fill up on the good stuff.

Around the house:

I’m putting up some wall art over at Orchard House. My couch has STILL not arrived and that’s holding up a lot of the art work because I want to see what works when the couch is here. But I have up two Rose Harrington prints in my office:

Aren’t they pretty?

Speaking of the office….

Writing:

I’m doing pretty well on the book! I’m really excited about this. I’m almost 2/3 of the way done! Some of the chapters have been pretty substantially re-written from my first draft, but that’s ok because now they’re better. My editor is great. (She’s also patient, which is nice. Sometimes I get all rabbity in my thinking, meaning I’m all over the place. She helps. :) ) I want to have a draft of chapter 10 (Jesus is Stripped of His Garments) before I leave on Wednesday.

Listening to:

The “hallelujah!” chorus from Messiah and the studio cast recording of The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (not the Disney movie. The musical that’s derived from the Disney movie. It’s good stuff.)

Sharing Contemplation:

In the Gospel of Matthew, the women at the tomb left quickly with fear and great joy.

Fear and joy go together a lot of the time, don’t they? I got the book contract and then I had to write the thing and I’m afraid I’ll write crap. :-P You get pregnant and you want a baby, but then….labor! Right? I’d never noticed that sentence before. Fear and joy, co-existing all the time.

Getting the transplant call—-fear and joy.

Bet you can think of your own examples.

Maybe I’ll put this in the book? :)

Other good things:

BLUE JACKETS!!!! Their second-round series will be with either Boston or Toronto and will start this week (most likely). That series is going to game seven, so whoever will play will be tired, to say the least—but the Jackets can’t let up. Hope they don’t! Very excited about this series!

A Little Catholic 101 on Easter and Pentecost

And I’ve started a monthly newsletter-y thingy JUST for blog subscribers. They will find out all the book news first, they get special behind-the-scenes glances of things, I might even do book giveaways, WHO KNOWS. Anyway, you don’t want to miss this, so SIGN UP.

Please and thank you!

Seven Quick Takes--Groundhog, Give Me Spring

inking up with Kelly!

—1—

There is no way I will complain about 100 degrees this summer. Nope. No way, no how.

—2—

(Athough, extreme heat does make it hard for me to breathe…..but so does extreme cold. But it’s EASIER in the heat, to do things like take out trash. :) And get the mail. I can just go out and do it quickly. In the winter, it means boots, hat, gloves, scarf, big coat…..it’s a production, similar to:

—3—

Should we talk about February goals? Sure, let’s do that. I’m still doing the contentment challenge, (the first month went well! I am proud of myself!), I sent out the book proposal (SQUEEEEE), I saved money for my emergency fund, went to confession, and I did pretty well getting into my Bible every day! I only missed FIVE DAYS all month, which is pretty awesome, guys. I’m happy about that.

—4—

For this month:

Monthly goals: Contentment Challenge month two; more to emergency fund, finish Kon Mari-ing the house (I’m almost there! In the komono category right now, which is basically everything in the house that isn’t clothes, books, papers, or sentimental items. It’s a lot, to put it mildly), go to confession, and attend the Columbus Catholic Women’s Conference!

—5—

Weekly goals:

Contentment Challenge devotional reading; meal plan; blog; artist date (part of The Artist’s Way—going out once a week to do something fun, that fills the creative well in you—it’s been hard with this weather but I”m trying!), and a holy hour.

—6—

Daily goals:

Examen before bed (basically examination of conscience), exercise (I just signed up for YogaGlo again. I did that last year and it was REALLY helpful for me, so back we go!), keep a food journal, and reconcile my checkbook every morning (I use the Every Dollar program for this).

—7—

And finally, some cute Corgis and Harry Potter (thanks to my friend, Abby, for showing me this!)

2019 Goal Setting!

I really love Lara Casey’s annual goal setting series (here’s part one!), and I adore using her Powersheets. The Powersheets have really been instrumental in setting GOOD goals, and in accomplishing big dreams for my life, so I heartily recommend them! (I don’t get paid to say that—I really do just love them!)

So I always look forward to the annual series, which I read along with doing the Powersheets prep work, and this year, I’ve got four main areas I’m working on:

Faith

Finances

Fitness

Writing

(OK, I couldn’t think of an “F” word for writing!)

First up: FAITH

To be consistent in prayer and deepen my spiritual life to create a deeper relationship with God.

If God is the center of my life—which He is—then I need to make my days revolve around that. To that end, one part of this goal is to consistent in prayer. As a Lay Dominican, I say at least Lauds and Vespers (morning and evening prayer) every day. I need to be consistent in these, because often I’m not, especially vespers, because that’s around dinner and chaos and all that.

Another part of this is getting deeper into the Bible, which is part of the work we do at Take Up & Read, anyway—well, part of the work, it’s all of the work. :) It’s our reason for existing! So I’m taking time to get into the word every day before I eat lunch. Recently I discovered for the first time Isaiah 54, and man, did it ever speak to me! More on the later. :)

Third, getting to daily Mass more often. To that end I’m working on waking up earlier so I can get to the 11:45 Mass on time. It’s downtown so it’s not just across the street, but I can do it! :)

Lastly, incorporate more holy hours. I LOVE holy hours. So I want to do one at least once a week, which will be easy to do once I move because there’s a church less than half a mile away with perpetual adoration. Winning at life!

Second: Finances

I made good progress on this last year, but I still need to save a complete emergency fund. So that’s the goal right now, as well as doing the Contentment Challenge and realizing that buying stuff isn’t going to make me happy, because, yes, sometimes I’ve done retail therapy. But I’ve also been better about that. So progress being made here, but it’s still an ongoing goal!

Third: Fitness

Ohh boy. We know I don’t like to work out, right? Well my goal is to find something I liek to do and do it, even if it’s for five minutes, every day. When I was sick in November and December and my joints and tendons took a huge hit because of the meds I was on, I realized that it was better than it could have been—because I’d been keeping my joints and tendons nice and flexible and warm. But I still had problems with them, and my right knee still isn’t 100% back. So I’m working, right now, on that aspect of fitness—getting back to baseline with my knees. I know I’m closer to 40 than 30, so this is important going forward! Gotta stay sharp.

Also part of this is to continue to meal plan, to eat healthy(ier) snacks, and also work on saving treats for feast days. I want to eat more “liturgically”, if that makes sense—fast when the Church fasts, and feast when it feasts! No, that doesn’t mean hard core fasting, but it does mean saving the special meals like champagne risotto (New Year’s Eve meal this year—YUM) and creamy chicken thighs and things like that for patron saint days or when guests come over. I’m not going to eat lentils and honey a la John the Baptist, but at the same time, I’m not going to go nuts every day, either. Simplicity. To that end, I’m also reading From a Monastery Kitchen * and Sacred Feasts. *

And finally….

Writing

I am currently working on a proposal. It’s been a few months in the working but I was getting so frustrated with it—I was thinking that it had to be perfect, and if it wasn’t perfect I was going to blow it and all these other not happy thoughts—so I took some time away from it. Part of that was being sick in November/December and part of it was a deliberate decision. I backed off and actually prayed about it.

Last week, I dove into it again, and I was shocked to see how the words were coming—I was creating pages that I did not hate! Huge step forward. So I’m hoping to have the proposal done this month and sent to the acquisitions editor (pray for me and my little proposal, please?).

Those are the four areas I’m focusing on this year. Also, I’m moving in the spring, so there will be serious decluttering/cleaning/all sorts of goodness happening in that department as well!

What about you? Do you set goals or make resolutions in the new year? What are they?

*=affiliate links

Yarn Along: The yarn overfloweth!

Guys. Look at all that yarn. 

Isn't it delicious?! 

I picked up all this yarn yesterday at Sewickley Yarns in Sewickley, PA--they are a Quince and Co. flagship store, and I adore Quince and Co yarns, but there are no flagship stores in Ohio--meaning, a place where you can get more than their linen line. I wanted their wool! And it can be hard to color-compare on a website. So, when we made a trip to Pittsburgh for my grandma's 88th birthday, I really wanted to stop here. My parents graciously obliged me, in the middle of a crazy heat wave, and I got to look at and feel lots of squishy wool!

These are destined for three projects: The four skeins on the right are Quince Chickadee for a new Drachenfels shawl, with a light pink yarn. (The colors here are Sage and Frank's Plum) 

My first Drachenfels scarf, also made with Quince Chickadee. 

The pink skein (chickadee in pomegranate) will be used for my first hat, a day beret. 

The other skeins are Quince and Co's Owl, which is wool and alpaca together, and I love it already, even though I haven't knit with it yet. This is for a Kate Cowl, and I chose the Abyssinian (gray), cranberry (red), and steppe (yellow) color ways. The Abyssinian is fabulous in person, hence the reason I was so glad that I could see these yarns! I never would've selected it otherwise. 

Kate cowl--abyssinian will be the large gray section, cranberry the green section, and steppe the stripe! 

Just looking at all that yarn makes me so happy. :) 

I'm planning on doing a TON of knitting today so I'll have finished projects to show you soon!

And also, what I've been reading.....

A Friday surprise--quick takes!

I haven't done one of these in forever, so maybe it's time to do them again? :) Linking up with Kelly! :) 

1. 

Dad just got back from his trip to London for a DevOps conference (DevOps is IT related stuff, for you non tech geeks out there). I was a just a little jealous, especially since he got to go to Westminster Cathedral for Mass and see Buckingham Palace and just be in London, which is really the greatest city in the world. 

Westminster Cathedral 

2. 

He also brought me back the papers, which delight me to no end. I love getting papers from other countries. The first thing I noticed is how big they are? No American paper is this big anymore. It's amazing!

So yeah, I'm slowly savoring the reading of the papers. Because it's just fun, and that probably makes me a nerd. But a nice nerd. :) 

3. 

I always knew that London was fairly far north, but in checking the weather for my dad's visit, I noticed that it's a LOT farther north than I thought--the sun was rising at 4:30 AM! That's just amazing. But also, in the winter, London has to get dark pretty quickly. Sort of sobering. But I do think it would be cool to see one of the white nights, or even a sunrise at 4:30 (provided I could go back to sleep after seeing it. :-) 

4. 

Yes, my "desk"--my kitchen table--is a mess. I've got SO many things going on right now. I've started writing a new book (YES! Wheee! Let's hope someone wants it!) about churches and accessibility. I've been getting new library books like every day since the library actually has books I want to read, and they can be delivered to my local library so I don't have to drive all over creation to get them (our library system is huge).  I've been working more on my sketching, and I've been packing because we're going to Pittsburgh later today. So yes, it's nuts, and my table is crazy. 

5. 

Also, Catholic 101 is currently on sale for FIVE BUCKS! If you don't have it, you can grab it here. This is the cheapest it will be all year! 

6. 

I've been knitting, too, even though the hand thing took a bite out of that, but I finally got some more yarn for my scarf project so I'm back at that. I promise a Yarn Along next week!

7. 

And I also promise to do a reading round-up soon. I've been reading so many books that I need to talk about them. Soon, I promise!

Goal Setting 2018: April results and May goals

It's MAYYYY! Yay! 

So it's time to revisit my goals! Let's get started. 

Goal Number 1: 

Work through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps for Financial Peace to cultivate good stewardship, gratitude, and contentment.

April goal: Start the debt snowball; this is baby step 2, where all your debts are paid off. Fortunately I don't have much to do here! 

Status: Started! Yay!!

May goal: Continue working the snowball. 

Goal Number 2: 

Find an agent for my manuscript

April goal: Write a darn proposal!

Status: DONE!  I sent it to a friend of mine to read/peruse, so now I'm just waiting for her feedback. Once I get that, I can make any changes and send it out!

May goal: Send it (hopefully!) 

Goal Number 3:

To deepen and strengthen my relationship with God, because He is the center and the well-spring.

April goals: Confession/Holy hour/Weekday Mass once a week

Status: Confession, check! Holy hour, check! Weekday Mass....no check. Sigh. Something still to work on!

May goals: Confession, Holy Hour, and at LEAST ONE WEEKDAY MASS. Just one. :) 

Goal Number 4: 

Continue to lose weight and treat my body well so I can do everything else I want to do, and honor my body which God made.

April goals: Focus on healthy snacks and regular workouts. 

Status: Did really well here. Lost some weight (yay!), have found new healthy snacks, and I'm still doing yoga classes regularly. I've also continued to make progress on body measurements. I take my measurements on the first of every month, and this is where I can really see progress, or not. So I'm glad to see progress being made!

May goals: Consistent working out--yoga classes; continue to focus on health snacks. 

Goal Number 5: 

Grow Barton Cottage Crafts, to help with baby steps (goal 1), but also to have a creative outlet and for enjoyment. 

April goal: Finis commissions and get new ones.

Status: I did finish my commissions, and I'm working on getting new ones. Part of that is the new Barton Cottage Crafts page here on the site! I'm really proud of it! So in May, while I wait for commissions, I'm going to be working on new projects, as well as starting to plan knitting projects for birthdays and Christmas--because guys, handmade takes time. So if you want birthday presents/Christmas presents, you have to get them early. As in, now is not too early!

May goals: See above. :) 

Goal Number 6: 

Have a beautiful, peaceful, welcoming home so I can appreciate what I have, encourage hospitality, and cultivate peace.

April goal: Get another KALLAX unit for the living room. 

Status: The one I want isn't in stock--and wasn't for ALL OF APRIL. Grr, IKEA. Grrrrr. So I'm waiting for that. In the mean time, working on keeping spaces clear. I did do a lot better in having people over in April--I would say come on over, knowing the house would be presentable. So that's great. 

May goal: Pray that the KALLAX comes back in stock? :) If it does, that'll happen. If not--continue weekly clean/focus on certain areas (FlyLady zones, if you're familiar with those), and keep inviting people over. And continue contentment challenge--that fell off in April, so I'm doing month three now!

Goal Number 7: 

To nurture my creativity so I can learn new things, inspire myself, stretch my mind, and feed my soul. 

April goals: Knit two new Quince projects, start reading Artist's Way, get new commissions. 

Status: I knit the projects! Yay! And I have big plans for more new ones....I didn't read Artist's Way, but that is definitely on the list for this month. Commission--see above.

May goals: Start new knitting project; start reading Artist's Way. (I have to DECIDE on new project. I think it's going to be a tricolor cowl, but that means getting yarn, or a cowl with a textured stitch, in order to really "get" working in the round done.) 

This month, my brother is getting married--NEXT WEEK, holy cow!--so I didn't go hog wild on my goals. My daily goals are balancing my checkbook (yes, old school!), lectio, knitting, and working out 5/7 days a week. So they are important goals, but it's not a ton, so I can really focus. I didn't want to stress this month. I want to celebrate and enjoy this big moment for our family! :) 

2018 Goals: March update and April goals!

So, if you're new to this, I use powersheets to set my goals. I love Powersheets! You can catch up on this year's series by going here. 

March was the longest month. It really was! But there was progress made in some areas!

Goal Number 1: 

Work through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps for Financial Peace to cultivate good stewardship, gratitude, and contentment.

March goal: Finish baby step one--get an emergency fund in place. 

Status: ACHIEVED! Guys, I am so proud of this. And it was so enjoyable to know that, when I was having computer issues earlier this month, I could go to the store and know that if it needed repairs, I could pay for them! This fund also allowed me to replace part of my Bionic Ear without freaking out. 

April goal: Start baby step 2--also known as the Debt Snowball. This is where you list all debts, smallest to largest, and start to pay them off, by moving as much money as you can toward to the smallest debt. Once that's paid off, that money + the minimum payment for the second debt goes to the next debt....you see how this works? I will have the first part of the snowball done by this fall. Yay!

Goal Number 2: 

Find an agent for my manuscript

March goal: At least one two-hour block of time outside the house working on my proposal. It doesn't have to be finished. But I have to dedicate at least two hours to drafting one. 

Status: yeah...no. AGAIN!

April goal: GET IT DONE. And I've already started! I've written out the basics of a proposal and now I just have to tweak/re-write the sample chapters. I am ON IT. 

Goal Number 3:

To deepen and strengthen my relationship with God, because He is the center and the well-spring.

March goals: Weekday Mass once a week, confession once a month, holy hour, daily vespers (evening prayer).

Status: Everything but that weekday Mass--because every time I tried to go, there was no place to park. I'm not kidding. So I tried, God! But I did get in a holy hour and daily vespers. Confession, no go either...I wanted to go wen I went to Mass. Face to face confession is offered at my parish on Fridays, which was the day I wanted to go to Mass as well. But no parking. Sigh. 

April goals: confession, holy hour, Mass once a week! 

Goal Number 4: 

Continue to lose weight and treat my body well so I can do everything else I want to do, and honor my body which God made. 

March goals: Daily yoga glo classes, weekly meal planning, go to bed by 10:00 (be IN bed, not necessarily asleep). 

Status: I did REALLY well here. I attended a yoga glo class almost every day! The meal planning was OK, as was the bed thing. 

April: Focus on healthy snacks, regular workouts--yoga glo strength courses, continue meal plan. 

Goal Number 5: 

Grow Barton Cottage Crafts, to help with baby steps (goal 1), but also to have a creative outlet and for enjoyment. 

March goals: Keep trucking. :) 

Progress: I finished my drachenfels shawl  and am almost done with a current commission. That means that BCC is open for new work! If you'd like a scarf or a shawl, please contact me and we'll talk! I can do them in solid or variegated colors. Shawls at $45, and scarves are $35, and shipping is included! 

April: finish new projects (I have two that I want to knit), get more commissions!

Goal Number 6: 

Have a beautiful, peaceful, welcoming home so I can appreciate what I have, encourage hospitality, and cultivate peace. 

March goals: ZERO OUT (with alarm at 9 pm); zone clean weekly; weekly surface clean; contentment challenge; finish Emily Ley's simplify challenge! 

Status: Zeroing out just isn't me....I sort of tried but it doesn't work. I'd much rather come down in the morning and clean a bit. So that's what I switched to. I'm in zone cleaning weekly, and doing the weekly surface clean. 

The Contentment challenge is almost done!

The biggest thing I did this month: 

Sorry it's blurry!

This was a terrible corner on my first floor. I hated it. I had no idea what to do with this empty space. 

So I was sick of looking at it, and went on an organizing spree. I dumped my old stereo that I NEVER use from my book case, and added a new shelf of "favorite books". That gave me more space in all my bookcases, yay!

Then I went on the IKEA website--motivated by a birthday coupon--and looked some something that would fit here. KALLAX would! KALLAX is pretty!

KALLAX IS HEAVY. I had to open the box and take the pieces in piece by piece. :) After an hour, I had entered in the realm of adulthood, because I had put together a piece of IKEA furniture. 

And now, behold!

Isn't that much better? 

So, for April: My goal is to get another one of these units to go in my living room, to hold some other things that are currently being "stored" crappily. :-p I will also continue weekly cleaning (both detailed and surface). But I want stuff up off the floor. I'm tired of living like a college student! :-P 

Goal Number 7: 

To nurture my creativity so I can learn new things, inspire myself, stretch my mind, and feed my soul. 

March goals: Shawl--finish? Maybe? Continue Artist's Rule. 

Status: DONE, on both counts! Yay!!!!

April goals: Knit two new Quince and Co. projects, get new commissions, start Artist's Way reading. 

Progress is happening on the first project: 

It's a really simple project, but I love this yarn. I'll talk more about these in the next yarn along. 

So, March had ups and downs. But it also had some great progress!

2018 Goals: February update

January seemed to go on forever, but February flew! Wow! I can't believe it's March. So here's how my goals went last month, and what's on tap for March!

Goal Number 1: 

Work through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps for Financial Peace to cultivate good stewardship, gratitude, and contentment

My goal was to finish the emergency fund this month. That didn't happen, because I had to make a withdrawal from my emergency fund--my printer died. :( So while I was unhappy about having to use the emergency fund, I was glad it was there! I've continued to use the every dollar app to keep track of my budget, and reconciled my checkbook daily with my online bank account. 

March goal: Finish baby step one!! 

Goal Number 2: 

Find an agent for my manuscript

Goal for the month: To write a new proposal. 

Progress: Well.....this didn't happen. Sigh. The month sort of got away from me in this regard. I know I have to make progress here. I'm tentatively moving this to March, and am going to schedule a writing session out of the house (meaning, at a Starbucks or somewhere laptop friendly) where I can get this done. Writing was done in February--just not this particular writing. 

March goal: At least one two-hour block of time outside the house working on my proposal. It doesn't have to be finished. But I have to dedicate at least two hours to drafting one. 

Goal Number 3:

To deepen and strengthen my relationship with God, because He is the center and the well-spring.

February goals:  Attend the Columbus Catholic Women's Conference; Mass weekly; confession on First Friday; holy hour; continue daily lectio!

Progress: I made some decent progress here. I attended the conference and had a great time. I'll have to write about it soon. (Note to self). I did make it to Mass last week! Yay! I went to confession! Yay! I had a holy hour! And I've been doing daily lectio! So some great progress here. 

March goals: Weekday Mass once a week, confession once a month, holy hour, daily vespers (evening prayer). 

Goal Number 4: 

Continue to lose weight and treat my body well so I can do everything else I want to do, and honor my body which God made. 

February goal: Be better about exercising. Something EVERY DAY, even if it's only for five minutes. 

Progress: I did pretty well here! I'm looking at my PowerSheets and more often than not, the box for daily exercise is checked. One of my big things is trying to always meet my daily move goal on my Apple Watch. Even if I don't exercise, I want to hit that move goal! I've been doing that, and the goal is steadily increasing, so that makes me feel good. 

Last week, I also re-upped for yoga glo. I'd done this years ago, but now I really think I need that daily outlet for practice. I've been doing the classes, and I find it's a great way to start or end my day. Even if the practice is hard (like this morning's was!), it's still learning, it's still growth, it's still movement. And I feel better when I've done it. I've also been making a conscious effort to get enough sleep. I need at least nine hours. I feel better when I get it. I function much better. So, that's an important part of this, too. 

March goals: Daily yoga glo classes, weekly meal planning, go to bed by 10:00 (be IN bed, not necessarily asleep). 

Goal Number 5: 

Grow Barton Cottage Crafts, to help with baby steps (goal 1), but also to have a creative outlet and for enjoyment. 

February goals: Keep working on commissions!

Progress: Definitely good progress here. Finished one, am about to finish another, and then I have two more after that! Whew! 

March goals: Keep trucking. :) 

Goal Number 6: 

Have a beautiful, peaceful, welcoming home so I can appreciate what I have, encourage hospitalist, and cultivate peace. 

February goals: Doing Nancy's Contentment Challenge again, February through April! I've made progress here, but I want to make more. It takes a long time to stop comparison and perfection from taking up brain space. Also, be consistent in zeroing out every night!

Progress: Started the Contentment Challenge on Ash Wednesday. It's quite Lenten. :) I might have to add some weeks to it because my birthday is during the challenge! We'll see. Every Thursday I read the next week's devotional in Nancy's ebook. 

Zeroing out was...iffy. I HAVE to get better at this. I'm thinking I'll set an alarm at 9:00 on my phone, to get up and do it. I do like the house better in the morning when I do this!

March goals: ZERO OUT (with alarm at 9 pm); zone clean weekly; weekly surface clean; contentment challenge; finish Emily Ley's simplify challenge! 

Goal Number 7: 

To nurture my creativity so I can learn new things, inspire myself, stretch my mind, and feed my soul. 

February Goals: Continue watercolor class; continue Artist's Rule; work on shawl. 

Progress: Wow! I finished my watercolor class, but I might have to go back and do all the lessons again. There was just so much great content it's going to take awhile to soak in! I'm still reading Artist's Rule. And the shawl....

It GROWS! I did a ton of work on it yesterday. I'm in to the last two sections! 

March goals: Shawl--finish? Maybe? Continue Artist's Rule. 

As a final reflection, this is something I wrote when I was doing my March powersheets: 

There were times in February when it seemed hard to keep trucking on my goals. It's so much easier just to stay in the same pattern and not push myself to grow. But that's not what I'm here for. I am here to grow! So this is my reminder to myself. 

 

Housekeeping note: 

My ebook, Catholic 101, is STILL available! It's always available! Go buy it! 

2018 Goals: January update

So, January is (FINALLY!) over, which means it's time for the monthly goal setting report, as well as telling you my goals for February!

(You can find my goals for the year here, as well as the steps related to each one!) 

So, here are my goals, and the progress I made in January, as well as what I want to do for February!

Goal Number 1: 

Work through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps for Financial Peace to cultivate good stewardship, gratitude, and contentment

If you're not familiar with Dave, there are seven baby steps, with the first three being really key. Those steps are: 

1) Save a $1K emergency fund

2) Pay off all debt (besides the mortgage--which I don't have)

3) Complete the emergency fund with 3-6 months' of living expenses 

I, obviously, started with number one--the $1K emergency fund. 

Progress: I KILLED this goal in January! I'm so happy about this! I have $800 in my emergency fund, which means I will finish it off in February! YAY!!!!!! And the sense of peace is amazing. If I get a flat tire, or my computer dies, or something else goes wrong....I have money to fix it. That's such a relief!

February Goal:  Finish Baby Step One! Continue to check in with my budget and reconcile checkbook daily. 

Goal Number 2: 

Find an agent for my manuscript

This is a big goal with lots of tiny steps and moving parts. One of them is working on my blog and making myself more visible on social media. So, in that realm, I completely re-wrote my about page (using Ashlyn Carter's Copyright for Creatives materials--the course was actually last fall, but I didn't have time to do it then. So I did it now!) 

February goal: To draft a new proposal. Yes. This is sort of scary! But I'm going to do it! 

Goal Number 3:

To deepen and strengthen my relationship with God, because He is the center and the well-spring.

This goal also has some moving parts--things I want to incorporate, etc. I did make some progress here: I prayed with my Bible (lectio divina!) almost every day in January. That's huge for me. I was also really good about saying the Divine Mercy Chaplet. I didn't get to Mass during the week, so that's a fail. But I know I will this week--I'm getting back on the First Friday horse, and going to confession then, too. 

February Goals: Attend the Columbus Catholic Women's Conference; Mass weekly; confession on First Friday; holy hour; continue daily lectio! (Daily lectio will be easier because Above All starts on February 14!) 

Goal Number 4: 

Continue to lose weight and treat my body well so I can do everything else I want to do, and honor my body which God made. 

So, this was hard. This month was really cold, but then we would have warm spells. But my weight has been stable, which is good. I haven't lost, but I also haven't gained. AND tonight I fit into a smaller jeans size! So I'm making progress here, for sure. 

February: Be better about exercising. Something EVERY DAY, even if it's only for five minutes. 

Goal Number 5: 

Grow Barton Cottage Crafts, to help with baby steps (goal 1), but also to have a creative outlet and for enjoyment. 

Progress: I finished scarves and mailed them out last month; I'm currently working on a commission and have three more in the wings! So good progress here!

February goals: Keep working on my commissions!

Goal Number 6: 

Have a beautiful, peaceful, welcoming home so I can appreciate what I have, encourage hospitalist, and cultivate peace. 

Progress: I am just about done with Emily Ley's Simplifying Challenge--the only thing left are two kitchen cabinets! Yay! I need to be better about "zeroing out"--setting things up for the next morning (making coffee, clearing the table, etc.). I was inconsistent in this last month. I was good about the weekly chores, though. Star for me!

February Goals: Doing Nancy's Contentment Challenge again, February through April! I've made progress here, but I want to make more. It takes a long time to stop comparison and perfection from taking up brain space. Also, be consistent in zeroing out every night. 

Goal Number 7: 

To nurture my creativity so I can learn new things, inspire myself, stretch my mind, and feed my soul. 

Progress: I've started taking a watercolor class, and I LOVE it. It's hard, but it's good hard. I can already see improvement in my technique! I've also been re-reading The Artist's Rule, and it's a great inspiration for me to incorporate creativity into my daily life. Finally, I'm working on a new shawl, which you've seen in the yarn alongs: 

Part two! STRIPES! 

This is such a great project and thank you, Aunt Sue, for helping me with it at Christmas! :) This is a great way to stretch my knitting skills and create something pretty for myself. 

I've also joined a writers' group, and that's going to be really helpful, I think! 

February Goals: Continue watercolor class; continue Artist's Rule; work on shawl. 

So all in all, not a bad January! I'm pretty pleased. 

How about you? Did you make progress on goals/ resolutions in January? 

Goal Setting 2018: Part Five--my goals for the year!

[Previous entries in this series: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4]

Today is the last installment in the 2018 Goal Setting series! Yay! 

So after all of the previous posts, here are the goals I'll be working on in the coming year. 

Work through Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps for Financial Peace to cultivate good stewardship, gratitude, and contentment

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Matthew 6: 19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Starting Steps: Cut out unnecessary spending and place that money in the emergency fund; set up debt snowball; use every dollar app to create and manage budget. 

How I will feel at the end of the year having made progress on this goal: Empowered! Proud of myself. 

How I will celebrate progress/completing this goal: Doing my own debt-free scream. 

How I will know I accomplished or made progress on this goal, or what progress looks like on this goal: Emergency fund, being debt free!

Find an agent for my manuscript

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. 

Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

The positive effect taking action on this goal may have: Fulfilling my dream; bring glory to God; encouragement to others!

How I will feel at the end of the year having made progress on this goal: OVER THE MOON!!!!

How will I know I accomplished or made progress on this goal: I'll have an agent

How will I celebrate making progress on this goal? I'm not sure!

Starting Steps: Draft new proposal; blog course; re-read the manuscript (? Not sure about this). 

To deepen and strengthen my relationship with God, because He is the center and the well-spring.

I Thessalonians 5:15-24 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.

 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

John 4: 13-14 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 

John 6: 35-40 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.”

How I will feel at the end of the year having made progress on this goal: Peaceful, stronger, more rooted in Christ. 

How I will know I accomplished or made progress on this goal: Good prayer routine; constant trust in God; weekday Mass every week. 

Starting Steps: Daily Vespers; holy hour monthly; Bible reading daily. 

Continue to lose weight and treat my body well so I can do everything else I want to do, and honor my body which God made. 

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

Positive effect taking action on this goal may have: A better, healthier life!

How I will feel at the end of the year having made progress on this goal: Physically better--stronger, for one thing. I'm already seeing progress here but I want to continue it. 

How I will celebrate making progress on, or completing, this goal: New clothes, because I'll need them!

How I will know I accomplished or made progress on this goal: Smaller clothes, smaller measurements, scale number (but that's not the only thing I'm using!)

Starting steps: Create daily exercise plan, like Lara's #runliftpraise, continue to incorporate new recipes and new foods into my eating plan. 

Grow Barton Cottage Crafts, to help with baby steps (goal 1), but also to have a creative outlet and for enjoyment. 

1 Peter 4: 10-11 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

How I will feel at the end of the year having made progress on this goal: Happy--that I was able to provide products people wanted, and made progress on this goal AND goal number 1!

How I will know I accomplished or made progress on this goal: Money for Goal #1, more/repeat customers. 

Starting steps: current commissions; knit items for Etsy shop listings. 

Have a beautiful, peaceful, welcoming home so I can appreciate what I have, encourage hospitalist, and cultivate peace. 

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

How I will feel at the end of the year having made progress on this goal: Clearer, peaceful, satisfied. 

How I will know I accomplished or made progress on this goal: A clutter-free, peaceful house; fewer "things" around. 

Resources: The Nesting Place; A Simplified Life. 

WHEW! That's a lot!

I am so excited to kick of 2018. This year was a great year--I made a lot of progress, which you can see in the earlier parts of this series--but I'm thrilled to make 2018 my most cultivated, intentional year year! 

Goal Setting 2018 Part Four: Uncovering Goals

Hi! Welcome back to the goal setting series!

If you're just joining me, here are the installments so far: Part One, Part Two, Part Three. 

Step Ten

Review all the pages I've written so far. 

Lara really stresses this point, because the goal is to uncover things that you're thinking about. And you can't do that if you just zoom through the prep work!

I went through all the pages, and wrote more on some, underlined on others...it's pretty personal and messy so I won't share that here. :) 

Step Eleven

Write out some goal IDEAS

There are things that have been long-term goals for awhile now. And everything I've been doing helps reach the goal. So, one of my goals is "get the book published." Obviously, that has tons of little steps that are all under that goal umbrella. Same with creating financial security. 

So here's what I brainstormed:

* Financial plan

*Writing/book proposal: improve blog reach, new ebook, blog research, drafting proposals

*continue to eat well/exercise to care for my body. 

*Deepen my relationship with God. 

*Barton Cottage Crafts--expand. Etsy shop? 

*LESS at home. Simplicity. Peace. 

Step Twelve

Check my goal ideas to see if they are rooted in what matters

Here's what Lara says about this step: 

 Will this goal help me to cultivate what matters?
– Will this goal help me get to where I want to be when I’m eighty years old?
– Does this goal help other people?
– WHY do I want to make this goal happen? Am I desiring this goal for the right reasons, or am I striving for “perfect”—or whatever I’ve been chasing?

If the answer is NO to any of these questions, then it’s possible it’s not the best use of your precious time. Don’t run in circles with goals that don’t directly connect to what matters most. Focus on what really matters to you in the big picture. Cross goals out that don’t 100% fit. Be bold and take leaps of faith as you write.

If you are a believer like me, here are some questions I’m asking myself:

– Does this goal help draw me and others closer to God?
– Is this goal rooted in God’s truth? (Find scriptures to match!)
– Does this goal rely on my strength or God’s?
– Does this goal help me steward what I’ve been given well?

In applying this to what I wrote, above: 

Financial Peace: It draws me closer to God by relying on Him and His providence; it relies on His strength--He has to give me the right spirit to do this; and it definitely helped with stewardship!

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

Matthew 6:25, 33 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6: 19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Blogging/Writing/Book Proposal: Yes, because the book is so much about God and what He's done for me, and I want to share that with others; I have to trust in God (word of the year!) to get this done, to shepherd it to the places it needs to go. I just write. 

Romans 15:13 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him. 

Proverbs 3: 5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
    and do not rely on your own insight.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
    and he will make straight your paths.

2 Peter 3: 9 The Lord is not slow about his promise, as some think of slowness, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish, but all to come to repentance.

Romans 8:28 We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose.

Taking care of my body: losing weight/exercise: Yes, because it keeps me healthy and able to do God's work; I need His strength to continue making the right choices, even if they're not ones I'd naturally make; and I've been given a new life--literally. I have to take care of this body! 

1 Corinthians 6: 19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, which you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price; therefore glorify God in your body.

1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 Do you not know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.  Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run aimlessly, nor do I box as though beating the air; but I punish my body and enslave it, so that after proclaiming to others I myself should not be disqualified.

Deepen my relationship with God: this sort of goes without saying, right? He is LIFE. To do everything else, I have to be in deep, intimate relationship with Him. 

I Thessalonians 5:15-24 See that none of you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise the words of prophets, but test everything; hold fast to what is good; abstain from every form of evil.

 May the God of peace himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do this.

John 4: 13-14 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 

John 6: 35-40 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.  But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and anyone who comes to me I will never drive away; for I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.  And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.  This is indeed the will of my Father, that all who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day.” (This verse is especially important to me as a Catholic, since it points to the vitalness of the Eucharist.) 

Barton Cottage Crafts: This helps with goal number 1, but I also get to share my talents with others and use my creativity; God has to keep the orders coming in. :) 

1 Peter 4: 10-11 Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. Whoever speaks must do so as one speaking the very words of God; whoever serves must do so with the strength that God supplies, so that God may be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ. To him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Creating a peaceful, simplified home: Yes, because it involves good stewardship of what I've been given (money and my home), it allows me to extend hospitality, and to be able to do my work more efficiently. 

Hebrews 13:2 Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it.

Step Thirteen

Write down WHY with every idea

I'll talk more about this when I actually tell you my goals!  

Goal Setting 2018 Part Three: Saying Yes and No, and the Word of the Year

This is Lara's list for 2018--mine is further down the post. :) 

Just joining me? The rest of the series is here and here! 

Happy Feast of St. John! Or, the third day of Christmas (did your True Love bring you Three French hens? And you knew, right, that the things in the song are related to the Christian catechism? The three French hens are the three persons of the Trinity. I sense a post about this in the future...)

STEP SEVEN

The Yes and No List

I'm a big fan of these lists--I think they do a good job clarifying priorities and setting boundaries. The key is that you can't just write the lists--you have to read the lists, do the lists. Which, admittedly, is harder than just writing them! Anyway, here are my lists for 2018: 

STEP EIGHT

Identify the Threads

This might be my favorite step--where you go back and look over everything you've written, circling, marking, highlighting (etc.) all the things that stand out to you. This is where the goals will come from! And it can be very enlightening, to see that what I thought I wanted to do isn't really what I was writing, or what my mind/spirit wants to do. Or, what God wants me to do. 

STEP NINE

My word for 2018

This has been my word before. But I think this year I need to re-active it and really remind myself to do what it says. God's got this. I have to go where He leads, but trust in where He's leading. 

Easier said than done. But I have a whole year to work on it. :) 

Goal Setting 2018 Part Two

The first entry in this series can be found here! 

In the first entry in this series, I looked back on 2017. What worked? What didn't? What were my big takeaways? I found a lot of good things there! So, knowing all that, I'm ready to move on to the next steps. 

STEP FOUR

What's one thing I want to cultivate in the year ahead? 

I want to cultivate fresh starts and possibilities, and peace. 

STEP FIVE

What challenges did I face in 2017? 

I didn't send out as many book proposals as I wanted to; my exercise plan wasn't consistent, although it got better in the last few months of the year. 

STEP SIX

Who helped me cultivate what matters in 2017? 

There is a whole list in my PowerSheets about this, and I have been so blessed with great friends and opportunities this year. If I listed them all, we'd be here for ever, but I will say that the people I met at Making Things Happen were HUGE motivators for me to go home and really CHANGE THINGS UP. 

Photo by Amy Nicole Photograph
The "Papaya group" at MTH! :) Thanks to our fearless leaders, Rhi and Gina! (Gina is in the center, Rhi is....not here! Sadness!) 

Just a few people I love: Sarah Jane, Mary, Abby, Andrea, Elizabeth F., Elizabeth Y., Lydia and Paul Michael, Tiff, Alissa, Br. H, my siblings, Lisa, Fr. Stephen, Fr. Charles, Aunt Judy, Grandma, Sarah N, my BCC customers, Lara, Rhi and Gina.....SO MANY PEOPLE. Really. Hugs!

Have you thanked the people that make your life better? Take some time to do that this holiday season! Even if it's just a text, it's a movement of gratitude and love that the person will cherish!

Part three of this series next week....have a Wonderful Christmas!!! :) 

Goal Setting 2018: Creating a Cultivated Life

Can you believe it's almost Christmas? Or the end of 2017? Where has this year gone?! 

One of my favorite parts about this time of year (other than Christmas, of course) is that Lara Casey starts the Goal Setting series on her blog. If you've been reading here for any length of time, you know how much I adore Lara and her Power Sheets. I had the great privilege of attending her Making Things Happen conference in March, and wow, Lara is just amazing. 

Her series kicked off yesterday, and it has inspired me to write my own. I've done this sporadically over the years, but one thing that I'm going to do in 2018 is write monthly updates about my goals, both to keep me accountable, and, hopefully, to inspire you to set your own goals! 

I'll be echoing Lara's steps in my blog entries, so if you read hers and mine, I hope you'll be able to get two doses of inspiration. :) 

So, let's go!

STEP ONE

The Cultivated Life Evaluation

How did 2017 go? How do I feel about various areas of my life? 

--Health

--Friends

--Spouse/Significant Other

--Family

--Finances

--Work

--Spiritual and Personal Growth

--Recreation

Health: I made a lot of strides here this year. I've lost 26 pounds, and still going, I've dropped inches and clothing sizes...I'm really happy with how things are going here. I am committed to continuing this work in 2018!

Friends: I am so fortunate to have lots of deep, fruitful friendships. 

Family: Like the friend category, I have strong relationships here. I get support from them. We spend time together. This is all good. And my brother's getting married in May, so I'm adding a sister-in-law!

Finance: Ehhhh. In September I recommitted to doing Dave Ramsey's 10 baby steps. Right now I'm in Baby Step #1--building an emergency fund. Want to know where the money from the book and scarves go? It goes right there. :) It's helping build financial security. Yay!

Spiritual and personal growth: I have a pretty good prayer life. I want to go deeper and make this a true priority. Not just a lip service priority. 

Work: Work has been amazing this year! I released Catholic 101, started Barton Cottage Crafts, and I've grown my blog audience. I am so thankful for all my wonderful readers! And there's more to come in this area in 2018. 

Step Two

stop chasing perfect

I am choosing PURPOSE over PERFECT. That's what Making Things Happen in March taught me. Choose the CULTIVATED GOAL. Choose that good things. The things God has created me to do. STOP chasing someone one's story. Live my story. Sit in the dirt. Growth through the dirt. Cultivate what matters. 

STEP THREE

Looking back on 2017: Good things and Goal Progress

Good things that happened: 

Catholic 101 was released!

Vacation to Colonial Williamsburg and the Outer Banks

Lost 26 pounds

Developed Barton Cottage Crafts

Got an editing job (More about this in 2018!) 

Seriously decluttering and simplifying at home

Deeper relationships 

Family connections and visiting.

Deeper familiarity with Scripture

Creative progress and enjoyment

Silent reterat

Making Things Happen! 

Starting the financial Baby Steps

My 2017 goals: 

1) Deepen my relationship with God through daily Mass, and Liturgy of the Hours, and writing the Word to get deep into His Word. 

How'd I do?: WELL! My editing job actually forces me to get deep into Scripture, which is so funny. God clearly wanted me to work on this goal! I am making progress in weekday Mass attendance, monthly confession, and saying the Liturgy of the Hours. This will all continue in 2018. 

2) Create Financial Peace  I'm being sort of vague on this one, because it's in progress and it's personal in a deep way. But I hopefully will have more to tell you soon. :) 

3) Be healthy by losing weight, exercising, and journaling. 

How'd I do?: Doing well! But this is not over yet. :) 

4) Get the book published by querying agents, growing the blog, and writing new pieces for publication. 

How'd I do? Did well in cultivating my audience, releasing the ebook, and writing new pieces for publication (See here). Need to get back on the querying bandwagon. 

5) Be a "fierce, fierce friend" by being hospitable, being there for others, and loving big. 

I started with this goal, and I realized--I am a good friend. So I didn't need to do too much work here! :)  So I deleted this goal and replaced it with:

Reimagine blog brand, mission, statement and purpose--did this in the spring! And I'll be taking a fresh look at it again in January. 

6)  Feed my creativity by drawing, knitting, sketching, languages, etc. 

How'd I do? Super well. I really love making time to do these things. They feed my soul! And I'm taking a watercolor class in January so I'll be continuing to improve in this area, too!

7) Simplify my spaces: Less stuff, MORE beauty and organization in order to increase peace, stability, and encourage hospitality. 

I re-phrased this in the summer to: Create a true, nourishing home by simplifying, decorating, and tidying (cleaning) to create beauty and calm. 

How'd I do? Well, as I write this, I've got Christmas baking dishes piled in the sink waiting for their turn in the dishwasher! So if you were at my house right now, you'd think, not! But I have made progress here, too. I did more book decluttering, more closet cleaning, and I've been making a point to keep spaces clear and only keep things I love and use around the house. 

Three Things I Learned:  

1) I CAN LOSE WEIGHT. This was HUGE for me. I've always thought that because of the prednisone that I will be on for the rest of my life that I'd never reach a healthy weight. AND I CAN! That's amazing to me. 

2) I WROTE A BOOK! After three years of work, Catholic 101 is a real book that real people can read. I am so thankful that I did this. HUGE goal for me, accomplished!

3) Lots of people feel the same way I do. I learned this at Making Things Happen. NO ONE has it all together. EVERYONE is nervous about stepping out and working on their dreams. Everyone! We are all in this together!!! 

MTH March 2017, courtesy Amy Nicole photography

Whoa! Writing this has REALLY inspired me to do great things in 2018! And there are more entries to come!

How about you? What was 2017 like for you? What did you accomplish? Are you afraid of chasing your goals? What good things did you learn? What do you want to bring into 2018? 

Postcard: Duck, North Carolina

This is an update to a post I did a few years ago, which focused solely on Duck. Now, while my family has stayed in Duck every time we've gone to the Outer Banks, this year we ventured further afield and went to Corolla, Kitty Hawk, and Kill Devil Hills, so I've included my recommendations for restaurants and shopping (when applicable) there as well. I hope you find this entry helpful if you're planning a trip to the Banks (which you should totally do). 

Getting There

You can fly into the Outer Banks--the Richmond, VA airport is fairly close--but I recommend driving, because, if you're spending a week at the beach, you're going to need a lot of stuff. For me, it's a drive that can be done in one very long day, but both times I've gone, the drive has been split into two days on the way there, and done in one on the way back. 

Housing

The house we stayed in was a Sun Realty NC rental. They have a HUGE variety of properties to fit every budget, are pet-friendly, and are fantastic to work with. (They also support the CF Foundation!) They have everything from tiny beach bungalows to multi-story houses with pool tables and in-ground pools. 

Food

The food in the Outer Banks (Hereafter OBX) is fantastic, especially the seafood. Here are some of the places we've enjoyed eating: 

In Duck...

The Blue Point for a nice lunch or dinner. Located in the Waterfront Shops, you have a lovely view of the sound. 1240 Duck Road. 

Duck Pizza Company: It's a Sunday evening tradition--don't go grocery shopping, get Duck pizza. They deliver, or you can eat at their shop in the Scarborough Lane shops. 1171 Duck Road. 

Duck Donuts:  Incredibly delicious. Yes, they have locations around the U.S. now, but eating Duck Donuts in the OBX is something special.  1190 Duck Road (locations throughout the OBX, check their website for locations and hours--the one in Corolla is only open until 3 pm!)

Sooey's BBQ and Rib Shack: Get some Carolina cue in the Scarborough Faire shops (right next to the Scarborough Lane shops).  1177 Duck Road. 

Duck Deli:  A large menu, indoor/outdoor setting, and a casual vibe. They also offer take out and live music and entertainment on some evenings. 1223 Duck Road. 

Roadside Bar and Grill: My favorite new place--the shrimp and grits were absolutely perfect. There were so many delicious sounding things on the menu that I could've eaten here every day of our vacation and had something new each time! 1193 Duck Road

In Manteo...

Big Al's: We ate here on our way to see The Lost Colony (More on that below) when we visited in 2010. Fantastically fun retro diner. 716 S. Highway 64. 

In Corolla....

La Dolce Vita: An Italian restaurant that has upscale/casual vibes. If you can be both at one time, this place is. Beautiful decor and fixtures but still a place you can visit in your shorts. :) The food was delicious! There are familiar classics, like spaghetti and meatballs and chicken parmesan, but also dishes like chicken saltimboca, which aren't seen as often--and is delicious. Located in the TimBuck II Shopping Village, 798 C Sunset Boulevard. 

In Kill Devil Hills...

Jolly Roger: OK, this place looks sort of weird from the outside, but inside, it's a great Italian restaurant, but with plenty of other dishes, like their fantastic crab cakes, to whet your appetite. And characters from The Little Mermaid are painted on the walls! 1836 North Virginia Dale Trail. 

Grocery Stores

Food Lion in Corolla is your big box grocery store; there's also a Harris Teeter. In Duck, you have two smaller choices: Tommy's, which is a gourmet market and sells a ton of fresh seafood, general household goods,  as well as other gourmet eats, is in the waterfront shoppes. Your other option is Wee Winks, which is less pricey and But Tommy's is our general pick for groceries. 

Bookstores

That's right guys--book stores. Two fantastic independent bookstores!!!! Both have really friendly staffs and are heaven for book browsers. 

Duck's Cottage: My true love. I go there almost every day when I'm in Duck. Not only books--coffee and pastries, too, that you can eat in the shop or on the adorable porch outside. Treats and water for pups, too! Small, but an incredibly diverse collection, and they'll order books for you. 1240 Duck Road. (In the Waterfront Shops) 

Island Bookstore: Scarborough Faire shops. Packed to the rafters with all sorts of books, including ones that are crazy hard to find. A great place to dig around and browse. The Corolla location is a bit bigger and the selection is just as good. (1130 Corolla Village Road--it's sort of hard to find, but worth it!) 

Shopping

Duck is known as a shopper's paradise, and there's a lot of great places to check out. The Scarborough Lane and Scarborough Faire shops are a good place to go when it's raining since they're more covered; the Waterfront Shops overlook the sound. The Fudgery at the Scarborough Lane shops is to die for, and the Christmas Mouse shop there is really cute. I love just about every shop in the Waterfront Shops. There's also a Life is Good store! 

Beaches

The Beaches are divine. If you rent from Sun, you'll have private access routes to the beaches. You can also rent beach items--chairs, noodles, floats, even bikes--from various companies around town. The beaches all have lifeguards and boards noting the weather conditions, water temperature, and other things. Be aware of riptides and how to get out of them before you go, though--every house that Sun rents has information sheets about these in the main room. 

Theater

The Lost Colony is one of America's first outdoor drama performances, and it's one of the good ones. The performance features really cool sets and music, and is located in an outdoor amphitheater that overlooks the water. Wear bug spray and bring a jacket, because it gets chilly! But it's a great performance that details what might have happened to the "lost colony" of Roanoke. 1409 National Park Drive, Manteo, NC. 

History

If you want to see where the Wright Brothers took their first flight, head to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. (Even though the first flight was in Kitty Hawk, the museum is located in Kill Devil Hills. Go figure.) 

Sports

The OBX is a great place to learn to surf, SUP (Stand up Paddleboard), body surf, kayak--all sorts of things are available. There's fishing off the research pier, kite flying, and a lot more. 

Getting around/miscellaneous

Everything in Duck is off the main road--route 12, or the "Duck Road." It's easy to get around via car or even bike--and to get to the other towns, you either go north or south. Corolla, the city north of Duck, is pretty remote, and in Carova, you need 4x4, or you aren't going anywhere. 

Saturdays are crazy, because that's the biggest day for people leaving and arriving in the Outer Banks. Be prepared for slow traffic on the bridges and once you're on the island. It gradually clears up as you get closer to Duck. To avoid the traffic when you're heading home, leave really early in the morning. We found that if we're across the bridge by 11, we can avoid the traffic, and we usually get Sunday-Sunday rentals--the traffic isn't quite as bad then as it is on Saturday. Also be sure to study the hurricane information sheets in your hotel/rental, as well as the rip tide info. 

Your rental company will tell you what you need to bring in terms of cooking/household gear. If you're like me and you like to cook, you might want to bring a decent knife and cutting board, since those can be hard to find in rental houses.