Ash Wednesday

From today's Ash Wednesday Reading: 

"Even now, says the LORD,

return to me with your whole heart,

with fasting, and weeping, and mourning;

Rend your hearts, not your garments,

and return to the LORD, your God.

For gracious and merciful is he,

slow to anger, rich in kindness,

and relenting in punishment.

Perhaps he will again relent

and leave behind him a blessing,

Offerings and libations

for the LORD, your God."

Joel 2:12-18

Happy Birthday to Three Special People

These three beautiful women have March birthdays and 

I wanted to share them with you. 

Sorry ladies for the belated wishes!

This is Arcel. Here's picture of us with me as her maid of honor on her wedding day.

That's her super-cool husband, Kevin:

Arcel is the friend that everyone wishes they had. 

We've went to elementary school together

and even though she lives far away from me in Nevada, 

we manage to remain super-tight. I'm always in awe at how easy and 

natural it is for the two of us keep in touch despite 

the distance and craziness in our lives. 

This is my sister, Joy. She's my one and only sis. 

Here she is with her little princess, Emma:

She also lives far away - in Washington State, so we don't get
to see each other very often but we talk all the time. 

Here's couple of pictures I found of her 13th birthday party:

Joy and her friends admiring her new Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album. 

That's me on the right ---- always into what the older kids like! 

I'm the youngest of four with an 11, 10 and 9 year age gap between us.

(Perhaps my brother can enlighten us on the funny motion he's making in the background):

And this is Barbara, my friend from college. 

Here's a picture of us on graduation day with our 

friend Katrina (far left) and Barbara's momma:

Also far in distance but certainly not at heart, Barbara now resides in NYC. 

We have a special bond that is now going on 13 years!
My favorite memory with Barbara is staying in our hotel room that we got the 

night before our graduation...
talking and painting our toenails, and getting two hours of sleep before 

we had to meet on campus at 7am for the commencement ceremony.

Here's a pic of Barbara and BabyCam. You can tell he really likes her!

Happy Birthday Arcel, Joy and Barbara! 

May all your wishes come true. 

Sheree

Magnificat App

I'm poking around on the new iPhone, still trying to figure what else has to offer. But one of the wonderful apps that I heard about and have already downloaded is the Magnificat App. Those who already subscribe to the publication know that it doesn't come cheap (about $45/year), but will argue it is worth every dime. The app is free for the first month and $1.99 per month after that. I'm really enjoying tapping through the guide for the daily mass readings, prayers and meditations as well as the always fascinating essays in "Saints of Today and Yesterday." While the beauty of the monthly cover artwork is not well-captured on the screenshot, and the delicate red ribbon bookmark and feel of the wafer-thin pages are missing, it'll suffice for now. 

77 degrees

Saturday was the first warm day we've had here in so cal in a while, it was a balmy 77 degrees. I snapped this pic --- the 1st with the new iPhone --- of Babybops as we waited outside of Mimi's Cafe for brunch. If you look closely, you can see that his cheeks were rosy from running around with daddy in front of a closing-out Borders bookstore. He finally took a breather to sit and watch the cars go by. Just another day in the [great] life of a 21-month old!

Looking forward to Spring!

"Na-Na" Bread

For the past few days after reading a post on another mama's blog about banana bread, I decided to try this recipe so as to not waste four bananas that were browning on my counter top. Babybops eats a banana (or as he so affectionately refers to it as a, "Na-Na") every single day for breakfast with his cereal. So we end up buying about two bunches per week and I have to throw out a couple of overripe ones --- such a waste of fruit. 

The recipe calls for 2 1/3 cups of overripe bananas. In case you've never made banana bread before, that is alot of bananas. My four overripe mashed bananas came out to just under 2 cups, so I added one more yellow banana. I baked it for about 65 minutes at 350 degrees as directed, but judging by the tinged edges, I know next time to only leave it for 57-60 minutes. But it smelled delicious while it was baking and in the end turned out pretty tasty! Next time I also might try to add nuts and chocolate chips. 

...everything I hoped for

"I asked God for strength that I might achieve. I was made weak that I might learn humbly to obey. I asked for health that I might do greater things. I was given infirmity that I might do better things. I asked for riches that I might be happy. I was given poverty that I might be wise. I asked for power that I might have the praise of men. I was given weakness that I might feel the need of God. I asked for all things that I might enjoy life. I was given life that I might enjoy all things. I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for. Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered. I am, among all men, most richly blessed."

Worldess Wednesday