4 Peace...

We could all use a little peace at Christmas... Here is something I was sent in an email a while back, which I just came across yesterday... I hope it's helpful, especially at this time of year, which can be very hectic and chaotic for some.

Wishing you all a very peaceful Christmas. :-)

Just in case you've had a rough day, here's an 8 step stress management technique recommended in the latest psychological texts. It really works....

1. Picture yourself near a stream.

2. Birds are softly chirping in the cool mountain air.

3. No one but you knows your secret place.

4. You are in total seclusion from the hectic place called "the World".

5. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.

6. The water is crystal clear.

7. You can easily make out the face of the person you're holding underwater.

8. See, You're smiling already.

1 Blog Blessing Award

I got a Blog Blessing Award from Dana.... Thanks, Dana! :-) Here is the blessing that Dana bestowed upon me...

You can go here to read about the blogging blessings that were started by Deb at Ukok.

The idea… it’s a game of tag with a difference, rather than looking inwardly, we look outside ourselves and bless, praise and pray for 3 blog friend. By participating in this endeavour we not only make the recipient of the blessing feel valued and appreciated, but we are having some fun too. We’re going to see how far the bloggin’ blessings can travel around the world and how many people can be blessed! Recipients of a bloggin’ blessing may upload the above image to their sidebar if they choose to. If you recieve a bloggin’ blessin’ please leave a comment on this thread here so that we can rejoice in just how many blessings have been sent around the world!


I want to bless the following bloggers:


1: Éamonn from Peregrinus Hibernensis

Éamonn has been an incredible blessing to me throughout this last year and has made me the happiest and most blessed girl on the face of the planet... So, naturally I want to bless him!! I might do something a bit more concrete than posting it on my blog though... Oh, if I could only think of what to do... ;-)


2: Dana from Umm, where am I?
(It doesn't say you can't bless the person who blessed you!!)

Dana has been amazing over the last couple of years and has been a wonderful support through my aunt's death and all sorts of other trials. She's always been at the other end of an email, or rather, a "PM" on DCF, with advice, prayers, laughs, hugs... just whatever is needed at that time! And she does happen to have two of the cutest children I've ever seen in my life...


3: Margreet from Margreat's Blog

Margreet is one of my dearest friends, and I want to bless her because:
(a) she's been a huge blessing to me over the last few years,
(b) she's had a rough year and I think she could certainly do with the blessing!! and
(c) it's an excuse to see her update her blog!!!
Seriously though, I consider Margreet to be one of my "nearest and dearest", and I still haven't quite gotten over the fact that she isn't as near as she used to be, now that she's not in Belfast anymore. :-( This girl is one of the few individuals out there who really has the knack of making me quite literally "LOL" when I'm really down. She's had her fair share of practice, in all fairness! ;-)


A prayer for Éamonn, Dana and Margreet...

Lord I thank You for all You give to me. I especially thank You for the friendship I receive from Éamonn, Dana and Margreet. I pray Your blessing on all of them everyday. Grant them strength, peace and joy. For they let You bless me with these things through them every day.

GLORIA Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

2 An Irish Ghost Story

I got this from a friend and thought I would share.....


This story happened a while ago in Dublin, and even though it sounds like an Alfred Hitchcock tale, it's true.

John Bradford, a Dublin University student, was on the side of the road hitchhiking on a very dark night and in the midst of a storm.

The night was rolling on and no car went by. The storm was so strong he could hardly see a few feet ahead of him. Suddenly, he saw a car slowly come toward him and stop. John, desperate for shelter and without thinking about it, got into the car and closed the door... only to realise there was nobody behind the wheel and the engine wasn't on!!

The car started moving slowly. John looked at the road ahead and saw a curve approaching. Scared, he started to pray, begging for his life. Then, just before the car hit the curve, a hand appeared through the window and turned the wheel. John, paralysed with terror, watched as the hand repeatedly came through the window, but never touched or harmed him.

Shortly thereafter John saw the lights of a pub appear down the road, so, gathering strength, he jumped out of the car and ran to it. Wet and out of breath, he rushed inside and started telling everybody about the horrible experience he had just had. A silence enveloped the pub when everybody realized he was crying and... wasn't drunk.

Suddenly, the door opened, and two other people walked in from the stormy night. They, like John, were also soaked and out of breath. Looking around, and seeing John Bradford sobbing at the bar, one said to the other...

"Look, Paddy... there's that flipping idiot that got in the car while we were pushing it!!"

1 Smells & Bells!

I spotted this over on Fr Z's blog... who in turn got it from The Roman Sacristan!

"Smells & Bells"

(to the tune of "Jingle Bells")

Processing into church
It’s the TLM today
Doing liturgy right
Chanting all the way (Glo-ri-a!)
Bells at the sanctus ring
Raising our spirits high
Oh how great to have Mass and tradition back in line!

Smells & Bells
Smells & Bells
Liberals cough and fuss
Oh what fun it is to serve in cassock and surplice
Smells & Bells
Smells & Bells
Hippies start to fume
Thanks to the 16th Benedict for Summorum Pontificum!

3 8 Random Facts Meme

I have been tagged by Ivar over at Musings on the Divine...

... Here’s what you do:
~ Each person starts with 8 random facts/habits about themselves and post these guidelines.
~ At the end of the post, choose 8 people to be tagged and list their names.
~ Don’t forget to leave a comment telling them that they are tagged and to read your blog. Have fun!

1. I have a degree in computer science and work in IT, though I have virtually no interest in it and haven't a clue how to fix a printer...

2. I'm a fussy eater who won't eat things that I don't like the look, smell or thought of... and I think peanut butter is eeeeeeevil.... I do love chocolate, however. Lots.

3. When I was younger, my favourite foods were apple and Mars Bar sandwiches (don't knock it until you've tried it!) and banana sandwiches. However, bananas have since headed the same direction as peanut butter.

4. I have a wonderful collection of books that I have never read and will probably never get around to reading. I always insist I am not going to buy another book until I've read the ones I've got, but that never happens. ;-)

5. I am a total coffee snob. I absolutely hate instant coffee -- only ground coffee will do! If I am in a café, or even at someone's house, and am not sure if the coffee is going to be instant or not, I will order tea rather than take my chances. In saying that, since meeting Éamonn, I've turned into a bit of a tea snob too... Earl Grey tea leaves all the way!!!

6. Every time I eat a bag of crisps or a bar of chocolate or anything like that, I always fold the wrapper up into a little square. I don't know why, but I've been doing that since I was in my teens and the world just doesn't seem right if I don't!!

7. I'm claustrophobic and tend to get rather upset with people invading my personal space when in busy places, like shopping for example, especially when I'm tired. I get really cold when I'm tired, too. Actually, it's probably best you just stay out of my way altogether when I'm tired, lol! Unless your name is Éamonn and I am engaged to you, of course.

8. I am really looking forward to spending Christmas with my wonderful fiancé... (I'm looking forward even more to spending next Christmas with my husband...) :-D

I tag:
Éamonn (now that was totally unexpected!)
Lilder (who has probably been tagged already!)
Bonaventure (who hasn't even GOT a blog!)
The DCF blog ring (if there is anyone left that hasn't yet been tagged by someone else)

8 people is a bit optimistic, hehe!

P.S. I've just noticed that half of my answers are about food or drink... Hmmm... I don't have an obsession, honest!! I'm just a bit hungry right now... ;-)

6 Hmmmm......

3 For my millions of American readers out there....

... I know I'll forget to post this tomorrow, so thought I would get it in a bit early...

Happy Thanksgiving.

3 Running away

Thanks to the Curt Jester, I now have this running through my head again....

1 The rejected mysteries

I spotted this over on the Shrine of the Holy Whapping...

ROME (HWTN News)--One of the Shrine's moles at the Vatican recently leaked to me a truly extraordinary document from the Congregation for Divine Worship, which indicates that in the lead-up to the unveiling of the Luminous Mysteries towards the end of Pope John Paul II's reign, the CDW's Consumer Rights section beta-tested a number of alternatives to the Pope's proposal. This in itself should be no surprise; the mysteries of the Rosary, along with the stations of the Cross, have historically been rather fluid in content and in number, while the CDW's careful supervision of new Vatican products is well-known after the massive recall of the '04 cherry-flavored "Hieroymus Bosch Blend" incense after the main stock had been secretly adulterated with hallucinogens as a protest by an anarcho-syndicalist guerilla theater group.*

Experts remark that the Luminous Mysteries won out with good reason. But it's still fascinating to see what might have been and why it got rejected. One set, the Parabolic Mysteries, was thought to sound too mathematical, though it dealt with Christ's various parables, some of which themselves proved to be problematic. The Mystery of the Parable of the 99 Sheep and the 1 Lost unfortunately put most test-subjects to sleep given Fr. Cantalamessa's suggestion they pray by counting each one, while the Mystery of the Divine Childhood, based on various apocryphal accounts of Christ's early years featuring Jesus smiting playground bullies and the like, made, in the words of one, "Our Lord seem a bit too much like Damien from The Omen." Researchers soon afterwards discovered the proposed Mystery of the Blue Carbuncle came not from sacred history but the Sherlock Holmes canon, and the whole section on the Father Brown Mysteries seems to have been a long and involved joke on the part of the compiler of the report.

Some mysteries also seemed, like the 99 Sheep, a bit too dull. Take for instance, the proposed Tedious Mysteries: 1: the Child Jesus stars in His School's Hannukah Pageant; 2: The Child Jesus is asked by Mary to take out the Garbage and Doesn't Complain, 3: Joseph hits his thumb with a hammer but does not say his golf words despite a furious desire to do so, 4: Our teenaged Lord suffers silently as Our Lady and St. Joseph show His friends all those embarassing baby pictures and 5: the Child Jesus is teased by playground bullies for being dressed like the Infant of Prague. The problem here is when you are dealing with a family in which the baby is God, the mom is sinless and the dad may well have never committed a sin of his own accord, there isn't too much drama to work with, barring the introduction of a Jewish Eddie Haskell character, and no such archetype appears in the Protoevangelium of James.

Now, if you must excuse me, it's Thursday and we all know that means it's time for a recitation of the Fourth Glutinous Mystery: Our Lord Feeds the 5,000 with Kosher Cinnabons.

*Supposedly Cardinal Arinze knew something was wrong when he attended a solemn high mass where the Gospel, solemnly intoned, began, "In illo tempore, dicite Iesus, Viiiiiiiiiirrrrr..." (Literally: At that time Jesus said: Duuuuuuuuude.")

Thanks to Dawn Eden for providing the idea!

7 I should play the guitar

Isn't it just as well I do, then?!

You Should Play the Guitar

You're very independent - both in spirit and in the way you learn. You can teach yourself almost anything, even if it makes your fingers bleed. You're not really the type to sit patiently through a music lesson - or do things by the book. It's more your style to master the fundamentals and see where they take you. Highly creative and a bit eclectic, you need a wide range of music to play. You could emerge as a sensitive songwriter... or a manic rock star. Your dominant personality characteristic: being rebellious Your secondary personality characteristic: tenacity

What Musical Instrument Should You Play?

4 Tagged indirectly by Therese!

I've been indirectly tagged by Therese for this meme... She saw my weak spot and she exploited it!!! :-P

1. Do you attend the Traditional Latin Mass or the Novus Ordo?

Both! At the moment there isn't a regular TLM in my diocese, so I go there when it is on, plus when I'm visiting my lovely fiancé, I would go to St Audoen's (soon to be St Kevin's!)... The rest of the time, I would go to the Novus Ordo.

2. If you attend the TLM, how far do you drive to get there?

Either two minutes on foot or two hours by car!!

3. If you had to apply a Catholic label to yourself, what would it be?

I think I really have to steal Éamonn's answer here... Just Catholic, actually

4. Are you a comment junkie?

Sometimes I can develop comment junkie tendencies...

5. Do you go back to read the comments on the blogs you’ve commented on?

Sometimes... Though often I tend to forget where I've commented!

6. Have you ever left an anonymous comment on another blog?

No... I wouldn't say anything that I wouldn't own up to.

7. Which blogroll would you most like to be on?

I don't know... I think I'm on all the important ones already!!

8. Which blog is the first one you check?

Peregrinus Hibernensis :-)

9. Have you met any other bloggers in person?

Four.
I might have been known to meet Éamonn from time to time... (I think I might vaguely remember saying yes to some question he may have asked...) ;-)
From my list of blogs, I have also met Carole, Margreet and Adrian. Not that Margreet or Adrian ever actually update their blogs (it's been so long that I wonder should I even count them)!!

10. What are you reading?

Several things, actually... I have this habit of starting about 5 books at once...

A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth -- I tend to dip in and out of this, and it'll probably take me about another ten years to finish! I've also just started At The Corner of East and Now by Frederica Mathewes-Green, am skimming through Saints Behaving Badly by Thomas Craughwell, and have a couple of park-your-brain type novels sitting by my bed that I've been meaning to start too.

Bonus Question! Has your site been banned by Spirit of Vatican II?

No! :-(

Okay, I'll have to tag Dana and Joakim, as I can never think of five people who'll answer!

3 Dorky Light-Weight Nerd...

... That's me!!! But that's okay... Éamonn has his books and I get to keep my computer... ;-)






There ya go... You learn something new every day...

3 Éamonn beat me to it...

... so he did...

0 Why Computers Sometimes Crash

Why Computers Sometimes Crash! by Dr. Seuss.

I f a packet hits a pocket on a socket on a port, and the bus is interrupted at a very last resort, and the access of the memory makes your floppy disk abort, then the socket packet pocket has an error to report.

If your cursor finds a menu item followed by a dash, and the double-clicking icon puts your window in the trash, and your data is corrupted cause the index doesn't hash, then your situation's hopeless and your system's gonna crash!

If the label on the cable on the table at your house, says the network is connected to the button on your mouse, but your packets want to tunnel to another protocol, that's repeatedly rejected by the printer down the hall.

And your screen is all distorted by the side effects of gauss, so your icons in the window are as wavy as a souse; then you may as well reboot and go out with a bang, 'cuz sure as I'm a poet, the sucker's gonna hang.

When the copy on your floppy's getting sloppy in the disk, and the macro code instructions is causing unnecessary risk, then you'll have to flash the memory and you'll want to RAM your ROM, and then quickly turn off the computer and be sure to tell your Mom!

3 Tech Support...

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Boyfriend 5.0 to Husband 1.0 and
noticed that the new program began making unexpected changes
to the accounting modules, limiting access to flower and
jewelry applications that had operated flawlessly under
Boyfriend 5.0. In addition, Husband 1.0 uninstalled many
other valuable programs, such as Romance 9.9 but installed
undesirable programs such as NFL 5.0 and NBA 3.0.
Conversation 8.0 no longer runs and HouseCleaning 2.6 simply
crashes the system. I've tried running Nagging 5.3
to fix these problems, but to no avail.

- Desperate

Dear Desperate,

Keep in mind, Boyfriend 5.0 is an entertainment package,
while Husband 1.0 is an operating system. Try to enter the
command: "C:/ I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME" and install Tears 6.2.
Husband 1.0 should then automatically run the applications:
Guilty 3.0 and Flowers 7.0. But remember, overuse can cause
Husband 1.0 to default to GrumpySilence 2.5, HappyHour 7.0
or Beer 6.1. Beer 6.1 is a very bad program that will create
"Snoring Loudly" wave files. DO NOT install MotherInLaw 1.0
or reinstall another Boyfriend program. These are not
supported applications and will crash Husband 1.0. In
summary, Husband 1.0 is a great program, but it does have
limited memory and cannot learn new applications quickly.
Consider buying additional software to improve performance.
I personally recommend HotFood 3.0 and Lingerie 5.3.

- Tech Support

29 Need Motivated?

I just discovered (by the way, it's a bad idea to discover things when you're busy with work...) this site that allows you to make your own motivational posters... I must play about with it sometime when I get a chance. However, here are a few I found out there in the blogsphere that I thought I'd share...













Ah well. It kept me entertained when waiting for a new software build...

13 Tagged again...

... and this time, not by Joakim! Therese wants me to give her five reasons why I love Jesus... Ummm.... okay then...


1. Because He loves me, died for me, forgives me and gives Himself to me anytime I go to receive Him in the Blessed Sacrament... and I love Him because He brought me back to the Church, where I can receive Him in the Sacraments

2. Because He is incredibly patient with me and has never given up on me, even during those times when I had pushed Him away and given up on Him... and that He's always there for me and gives me the grace to work through the difficult stuff

3. Because He doesn't just simply tolerate me and think "Oh no, not her again!", but He loves me and loves spending time with me... And He listens to me, and even though He knows all the itty bitty random details of my day, in even more detail than I do, He still wants me to tell Him all about it... and doesn't get bored when I do (even when I'm at the point where I'm boring myself!) :-)

4. Because He has put so many amazing people into my life whom I don't deserve and will never deserve, just simply because He wants to bless me

5. To "borrow" one of the Curt Jester's answers, because "He loved me where I was at, but didn't leave me there."
Actually, the Curt Jester has some great answers there... I also like "I love the view from his shoulders as he carried me back to the flock." :-)


Okay... Five people to tag... Éamonn (of course!), Margreet, Dan (you can leave a comment!!)... and seeing as Therese has already "stolen" Dana and Joakim (and I don't know who else reads my blog), I would like to tag you for a different meme!

"If you could invite your five favourite saints to dinner, what would you serve them to eat, and why?"

(And you're not allowed to tag me back for that one!!!!) :-P

Good luck! ;-)

5 Another bad joke... ;-)

Recently a routine Gardai patrol parked outside a local neighbourhood tavern. Late in the evening the Garda noticed a man leaving the bar so intoxicated that he could barely walk.

The man stumbled around the car park for a few minutes, with the Garda quietly observing.

After what seemed an eternity and trying his keys on five vehicles, the man managed to find his car which he fell into. He was there for a few minutes as a number of other patrons left the bar and drove off.

Finally he started the car, switched the wipers on and off (it was a fine dry night), flicked the indicators on, then off, tooted the horn and then switched on the lights.

He moved the vehicle forward a few inches, reversed a little, and then remained stationary for a few more minutes as some more vehicles left.

At last he pulled out of the car park and started to drive slowly down the road.

The Garda, having patiently waited all this time, now started up the patrol car, put on the flashing lights, promptly pulled the man over and carried out a breathalyzer test.

To his amazement, the breathalyzer indicated no evidence of the man having consumed alcohol at all!

Dumbfounded, the Garda said "I'll have to ask you to accompany me to the police station... This breathalyzer equipment must be broken."

"I doubt it," said the man, "tonight I'm the designated decoy".

0 National Airline for the Holy See...

From Cacciaguida!

A national airline for the Holy See...

TANTUM AIR-GO

"Ultramontane" was never like this!

* three cabins: first, business, and preferential option
* all seats in first class are The Comfy Chair
* unjust stewardesses
* MP6 on every longhaul flight; MBJ23 in first class
* airport lounge for our Golden Chalice members
* currency exchange: pray for the conversion of your money
* free headset and rosary
* your captain: Pontius Pilot (kidding!)
* connect to the "Passetto" at Fiumicino for quick ground transport into Vatican City
* direct flights from Boston and San Francisco
* first Catholic plane at Heathrow since Reformation
* service to China expected soon
* confessors available to help with your "baggage"
* emergency procedures include absolution
* Keep in mind that the nearest holy water font may be behind you.
* planes by Boeing; nobis quoque pick up Airibus
* Swiss Guards on every flight, halberds at the ready (we've never seen a hijacker who wanted to be the beheadee rather than the beheader)
* the one true airline!

Call Bonnie Voluntatis or Jenny Torre at EtCumSpirit 220.

3 Cheesy boy band song...

I was reminded a few days ago of this song that was doing the rounds a while back... It's a great formula for, well, pretty much every boy band song out there... Anyway. I went hunting for it, and discovered it on YouTube! (How cool is YouTube?!)



Here are the lyrics...

Declaration of my feelings for you
Elaboration on those feelings
Description of how long these feelings have existed
Belief that no one else could feel the same as I

Reminiscence of the pleasant times we shared
And our relationship’s perfection
Recounting of the steps that led to our love’s dissolution
Mostly involving my unfaithfulness and lies

Penitent admission of wrongdoing
Discovery of the depth of my affection
Regret over the lateness of my epiphany

Title of the song
Naive expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Enumeration of my various transgressive actions
Of insufficient motivation
Realization that these actions led to your departure
And my resultant lack of sleep and appetite

Renunciation of my past insensitive behavior
Promise of my reformation
Reassurance that you still are foremost in my thoughts now
Need for instructions how to gain your trust again

Request for reconciliation
Listing of the numerous tests that I’d perform
Of physical and emotional compensation

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Acknowledgment that I acted foolishly
Increasingly desperate pleas for your return
Sorrow for my infidelity
Vain hope that my sins are forgivable
Appeal for one more opportunity
Drop to my knees to elicit crowd response
Prayers to my chosen deity
Modulation and I hold a high note

Title of the song
Naïve expression of love
Reluctance to accept that you are gone
Request to turn back time
And rectify my wrongs
Repetition of the title of the song

Mmmmmmm..... yup, it pretty much sums them all up in one fell swoop, doesn't it?!