christmas

Good Blessings Religious Christmas 5x7 folded card

Turn your unique photos into Christmas cards with Shutterfly.

View the entire collection of cards.

Homemade Mac & Cheese concoction....

I actually had fun making today's lunch for the boys, but didn't like some of the ingredients so I ate something else.

I cooked till almost done tricolor pasta and edamame

Put that in a small backing pan (I used an 8X8 one like you would use to make brownies)

Cut up frozen fish nuggets into bite size pieces and added some basil tomato pasta sauce and tossed it all together and put in the oven--350 degrees

Once every 5 min or so checked it and turned it over, repeated until fish tenders were done (all white and flaky)

Turned off oven and mixed in some shredded cheddar cheese and then put a good layer on top of the pasta mixture.

Placed it all back in the warm oven just until the cheese was melted.

Everyone that ate it loved it!

Creative ways to save

I found this on another friend's blog and decided to do it, too. Being a pastor's wife and a 90% stay at home mom, I have to tap deeper into my creative brain to find and take advantage (in a good way) of opportunities like these where I can put in some effort, some creativity and be blessed by some free product.

Having a love for graphic design and photography, this one really touched my heart. I need to write a blog post about http://www.shutterfly.com/

I did a lot of research when I was pregnant with Joseph for his birth announcement. I like this one

but they have SO many beautiful ones at http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/birth-announcements

I like SO many of the Christmas cards on Shutteryfly...but there's something that I REALLY like about this one...

http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/cards-stationery/bright-merry-story-christmas-5x7-folded-card?sortType=1&storeNode=93495

There's room inside for additional pictures and family updates. This would be so great for us, because, being a pastor's family, we are often busy when our friends and family are free to talk. As a result I love the idea of being able to give an update for each of us. It would be a nice way to connect with all of our friends that live so far away. Joseph turned two this year and MANY people have never met him and MANY have not seen him in over a year. The picture uploader is easy, too... http://www.shutterfly.com/upload-pictures/ A picture really does say a thousand words. Joseph has changed so much between ages 1 and 2, it's truly amazing. I look forward to getting to share it with everyone (and some great pictures) this Christmas season.

Merry Christmas (in advance)!!!!

Sunday

Sundays are weird days for us. This "day of rest" is the busiest, craziest day crammed into about 4 hours. Those of you who go to church every Sunday morning may think you know what they are like. Let me tell you, life in a Pastor's house on Sunday mornings are different. Other PK's can attest to this. If you're a PK and life wan't like this, PLEASE tell me what your pastor parent did to avoid this.

Here were a couple of highlights of this Sunday at home, before leaving for church.

Jon asked "How seriously do we want to take the golden rule?"

Translation: "when do we wake a sleeping baby?"

Isn't he precious? So big. So soundly asleep...it's been a long time since I got to take a picture of him sleeping. (stay tuned for the upcoming saga of transition from crib to big boy bed)

Meanwhile....Downstairs, coffee was a-brewing!

Yes, our coffee make has a gauge that looks just like the gas gauge on your car, just a different kind of fuel.

And on Sundays, for 2 adults, we have 3 mugs. It's a two mug morning for Jon, one cools a bit while he downs the other one.

THEN, we go to church. Where Jon finishes his sermon, script, powerpoint (with Joseph in his office), I get lots of audio equipment set up in the sanctuary and practice with the choir.

Tomorrow can't be worse, right? WRONG!

This Tuesday, I was watching 2 yr old Matteo in addition to having my 2 yr old at home.

Here's the outline of the day...

I. Morning

A. 9am Drop off of Matteo

B. Play...life is normal, but I am very sore from much much yardwork the day before.

C. Joseph goes into the spice draw and shakes out a lot of Cinnamon sugar on the floor.

D. Matteo throws a toy over the gate (the rule of the house is "once something goes on the other side of the gate or couch, it's gone for the day" this happens to several toys EVERY day)

E. Matteo proceeds to throw a 40+ min tantrum over the lost toy...lots of it spend in the corner for time out until he can calm down

D. Joesph (who has never had a "in the corner time out") goes into the OTHER corner and faces the wall and starts crying, even though he has done NOTHING wrong!

II. Noon

A. Leftover pizza for lunch...next is naptime, maybe the worst is over. Phew!

III. Naptime.

A. I decide I needed a bath. I was in a lot of pain and was stressed from the morning and felt gross.

B. After cleaning the bathtub, changing into a bathrobe, I heard some banging on a wall or door and now Joseph has been crying for a little bit. I decide to go check on him and try to calm him down so he doesn't wake up Matteo in the next room.......

C. Opened Joseph's bedroom door to find that Matteo had climbed out of the pack & play, MOVED the pack & play, opened the door connecting the guest room to Joseph's, fished out a "crib toy" (about a 12" X 8" plastic "aquarium" that you attach to the crib rails") out from way under the crib and got it AND HIMSELF UP and INTO JOSEPH"S CRIB WITH JOSEPH!!!!! Joseph is very upset

D. Corrected above situation. Went back to bathroom. Had to empty part of the tub because the water was TOO hot. Ended up sitting on the floor on the verge of tears with the laptop on top of the toilet with Gilmore Girls playing. Felt like the author of Eat Pray Love.

E. FINALLY took bath. When I came out, everyone was quiet.

F. Went to lie down for a few. Got a call, 10 min later, boys were up.

IV. Afternoon.

A. Begrudgingly went back downstairs with both boys (typically, Joseph has kept sleeping until 4-5pm and Matteo is up by 1:30-2pm and I only have one 2 year old for a couple of hours)

B. Boys play very happily. OH PHEW!!!

C. Talk to my mom on the phone. Vent, but say how good it is, 'cuse they're playing well now. That's all that matters in the end.

D. Quick trip to the bathroom and come out to find...........OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHH..MMMMMMMMMMMYYYYYYYYYY.................

SPICES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

E. BOTH boys have emptied ALL of the garlic, cinnamon, and cumin onto the floor, themselves, the rugs, the CLEAN laundry, the floor that Jon has spent HOURS cleaning the day before.

F. Now I REALLY want to cry.

G. THANK GOD JON COMES HOME AT THIS POINT.

H. Jon cleans up spices. Cooks dinner. I can't even remember what it was now, and was the day before yesterday.

I. Matteo goes home. I go to the hardware store to get something for the church meeting I have TONIGHT!

V. Evening

A. Oh RIGHT...Jon made nachos with homemade guac. SOO good.

B. 6:50pm, Joseph goes "nigh, night".

C. I leave my WONDERFUL husband to clean the kitchen for about the 4th time in just over 24 hours and go to the church.

D. Trustees were there early, so we started meeting early, then had a decent meeting...brief.

E. Stayed at the church and did what I was hoping to do for the 20 min before the meeting when I showed up early...practice the piano.

F. Went upstairs to the sanctuary and turned on minimal lights and sat down at the beautiful baby grand piano.

G. Practiced for an HOUR!!!!! I got a little carried away. It was sooo good.

VI. Nigh, Night.

Weds....slept in until 10am. 4 hours later realized that I TOTALLY spaced on a staff meeting at the library I was supposed to try to attend and never told anyone whether I was able to go or not. Got called on it via e-mail by my boss (not bad, but anything subtle affects me). Another not so good thing happened then cried for real. Jon bought me roses, food for "my favorite" and mint chocolate ice cream.

Today, I'm still tired, drained, lots of time-outs, but I do expect that with 2 year olds. So...finally better. Choir tonight! More music. I've missed it so much. May even stay late again and play the piano. SIDE NOTE: Over the half way point in my harp fund!!!!!! Over $600 raised in one year! I don't think I'll make it for Christmas this year....maybe next year....maybe...regardless, I can't wait and I keep accepting donations, one dollar at a time.

Doesn't your week seem better???

Cut off from the world

My computer is sick. It needs to go away to rehab and get better. We think it's the hard drive, plus some annoying flickering features of the screen. I hope this will be resolved soon. I'm not ignoring you on purpose.

Love,
Veronique

Reprise

My dear friends and fellow bloggers,
Please accept my most profound apologies. I have disappeared for months. An event of which was not planned; life has simply run away from me and I have not been able to keep up. For whomever thinks that pastor's lives calm down in the summer, we have quickly learned that this is not the case. One might assume that, given the fact that a church "year" mimics that of a school "year", summers would be that time of quite and recuperation. I, a now "seasoned" (of two years) pastor's wife, can tell you without any hesitation that it is not, nor ever will be.

I wrote the above MORE than a month ago. Oh dear....

Now that the end of crazy summer has come and gone. Then came the start of the "new" year at church. This involved a lot of things for us this year. Not only was it just getting a special lunch planned for the first Sunday after labor day, but Joseph started going to "school" the week before, I spent full days worth of hours at the church doing all sorts of stuff. And now we're still just getting into our new fall schedules.

This is also going to be compounded by the fact that I am starting not one, but 2 new part time jobs this week.

Yes, I know...crazy! But it actually all works out PERFECTLY.

So, since I've been bad and haven't written and desperately want to get back into it. I'm going to have to accept the fact that I have to give you all readers digest versions of what's happened and what's going on. Don't be surprised though if you see a more "full length version" of an event that happened months ago appearing in the next few weeks of blogging.

Summer included:

A short road trip vacation to Maryland to see one of my best friends from High School get married on the beach just before sunset. Jon and I drove down, stayed two nights in a room with a 180 degrees of ocean view. Hammered crab out of its shell for dinner and drank a lot of Yeungling. And drove home. My mom stayed with Joseph.

A MAJOR makeover to the church's library. Which included real cleaning, a lot of painting and reorganizing books. Add in the new outlets and throw pillows and it looks fabulous! Thanks to lots of help from my dear friend Flavia!

Speaking of Flavia...she is a real estate lawyer who has been working for herself for several years. She has a 4 year old (Marco) and a 2 year old (Matteo). She was hired for a temporary job to work on a case due to her skills in being fluent in Portuguese. She asked me if I would be able/willing to watch her youngest a couple days a week while she took this job, as she couldn't get him in any more days at the boy's daycare. I said "Yes!" She paid me and it was great! Matteo and Joseph get along so well as they are very close in age. And the little extra money felt like a burden was lifted. I didn't have to talk myself out of getting something from the grocery store until "payday". It was great! This was for 3 weeks in July. About 2 weeks later, she interviewed for another "temporary" job at a different firm, much closer to home. This was a 30 day contract while the firm decided who they wanted to bring on permanently full time to replace a lawyer that left. She was hired for the 30 days, again I watched Matteo 2 days a week, and at the end she was offered exactly what she was going to ask for as a full time lawyer. She works 4 days and I will be watching her boy(s) 2-3 times a week (we're still figuring out if taking both boys will work well, or if it's better to just have Matteo).

In amidst all of that, I found a job posting at the library. I had an interview, almost a month later, finally got a call back. At this point I had already decided to watch Falvia's boy(s), so my "proposed schedule" for the library job was shot. When I finally did talk with the director, she said "I think this might work better for you. It's not much of a job, but it would be a 3 hour shift once a week and then other shifts sortof on-call." If they need help, they'll offer me when they need help and I"ll be free to accept or decline. This is exactly what I was hoping to convince them to give me. It's perfect!!!!!! I went in this afternoon (yes, I wrote some of this blog earlier today) for an hour of training in the children's room.

I know that sounds like not so much for 4 months of silence...but trust me, it was crazy.


Consider this my return to blogging. If I'm bad again, feel free to yell at me.

Public singing

For the past several months, I have attended our church's choir practice for the purpose of getting the order of lyrics for new songs (new to our congregation) into powerpoint slides correctly so everyone will be on the same page, come Sunday. I've also sung a long a bit, especially with these "new" praise songs to help the others with the tune and following the music. Last w eek, the choir was learning one of my favorite songs, Still. I asked our choir director, Inga, if I would be messing it up by singing along. My singing isn't that bad, I just didn't want the choir to get used to having me sing, and then when Sunday came, me not sing with them. She was quick to say "NOO! Sing!" She's told Jonathan that she wants me in the choir, and I would love to. I used to sing solos all the time when I was younger in school plays, but as I grew up, I've never been sure how well I could sing. We have a couple of things to work out (someone else to run the power point and improved babysitting situation) before I can formerly join and sing with the choir every week.

So, last night was choir practice. I went to do another set of slides, but when I got there, Inga asked if I could sing the anthem with the choir this Sunday. I practiced it with them last week too and I sang soprano with the one other person that sings soprano. I consented. Then I proceeded to find a "babysitter" for Joseph so I can get up front for 5 min and sing. My dear friend, Cari, whom Joseph LOVES very willingly accepted my plea! I'm excited about it but a little nervous. There is one VERY high "G" in this song and in practice last night, I did hit it, but it's not easy.

To miss

You don't miss those you don't enjoy being around. Some people may think it's strange, but I say it's the mark of a good relationship; when you miss someone. I think that those you are closer with, you can genuinly miss after not a long period of time. If you were with someone you love dearly literally 24/7 for a week and then they were gone for 2 days, it would feel so much longer, because of the amount of time you became accustomed to spending with each other.

While my husband and I hardly spend 24/7 together, we see each other during the day and talk and e-mail most days when we are not physically in the same space. (In full disclosure, we sometimes e-mail when we are physically in the same space)

Jon stayed home this morning and worked until he had to leave at noon to go to our denomination's annual gathering in western MA. Pittsfield, MA. I've been there. It's basically as far west in MA as you can get. It took him about 3 and a half hours to get there. The event is from 4-9pm tonight. This means he will leave Pittsfield probably closer to 9:30 (hopefully) and then drive home. To bute, it is prom night throughout MA, so he is expecting to have to go through random check points on his trek home. I'm expecting he will arrive home in the vicinity of 1 am. THIS means, I am the only parent and I will be going to bed alone. There is nothing I hate more than going to bed alone. I think the anticipation of what is to come combined with his absence already today is making me miss him that much more.

I'm also not feeling that great today. Allergies especially are dragging me down. It's a beautiful day and I've gotten out a couple times, but all I really wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch a movie I borrowed from the library. I tried to get Joseph to take a nap, but it's not working.

Time to be the responsible parent all while missing the other.

Home improvement

Vanity lights and mirrors, Oh My!

In mount, wall mount, accessories...oh boy..

The joy of a gift

Unintentially accepted

So...today I was accepted to Kaplan University. Didn't mean to apply, but managed to and to get accepted.

Oh the weeks I've had, let's give you a quick list...

Basement flooded about 17-18 inches (this time...last time it was only about 15...only.)

Oreo got sick, blocked uterine track...had to stay in the hospital for 5 days including a slew of tests and x-rays...$1000

Joseph threw up, like grown up threw up, at 10:45pm night before Easter. About 10 min later I learned that we yet again had no hot water. Got sick again the next day, nothing but toast and cheerios and good free mommy milk for 2 days.

Car wouldn't start. Got towed to shop, nothing to be found wrong. Drove home. Next morning, Car wouldn't start. Got towed AGAIN to shop, after 5 days in the "hospital" finally figured out what was wrong and came home...$400

Jon got yelled at by an individual last week from the church then the whole diaconate...only to come home to find that we owe an extra $1000 in taxes and our estimated is going to be $600 more per quarter than last year. If we assume that it will be an extra $1000 next year and divy the additional expense, that comes out to taking out an $302 out per month. That's what we spend on most of our food per month. Most of our money left after bills is spent on money because that's all we can afford.

Life in ministry: priceless.

No really...my love, my best friend, my shoulder, my listener, my confidant, my husband: priceless. My son: priceless. (well...$5,000 was what it cost to have him, but..you know what I mean..which he will finally be paid off this September. 2 min to pull him out of me and 2 years to pay him off)

Exhaustion in 5...4...3..2....

It is amazing to me how fast a child can exhaust a parent.


Good night.

Easter = Seminary

Those two things might not seem like they are equals. Connected in a way, Yes...one could see that if you believe in the meaning of Easter, you might experience Seminary. However, how is one truly equal to the other.

Here are some of the ways that they are equivalents in my life:

1) My husband works a LOT

2) I cook more

3) I can't hang out with my husband

4) I go to bed alone

5) Did I mention something to the effect of not getting to be with Jon as much???

Joseph's cry endeth my blog.

Waterlogged

Last night, Jon said "I close my eyes and all I can see is water pouring." We had over a foot (I didn't measure) downstairs in the basement after 2 days of pouring rain. We have a sub-pump that has been working like crazy for days now, but it's hard to accomplish something when the world around you is fighting against you. Picture this: Lots of water in the basement, up through the sub-pump it goes, pouring outside onto the grass alongside the house. It floods outside, seeping back into the already saturated grass and dirt. Back downstairs it looks we have taped into the ground through the field stone foundation; water was and still is, literally pouring back onto the basement floor. The fire department came yesterday and helped pump out a good 10 inches of water, but their pumps can only bring it down to about 2-3 inches. Awesome, but with this recycling issue, we just are where we are. As this progressed yesterday, we lost 2 pilot lights, one for our heat and one for our hot water. The wonderful plumber came yesterday, 3 kids in tow, to relight them. BUT, he could only do one. We have heat, but no hot water. The 2-3 inches still on the floor is enough to prevent us from being able to light the pilot light. We keep trying to plug the holes, but there's only so much we can do. On the GOOD side, it's supposed to be sunny and warm for several days in a row. Hopefully it will be enough (despite the fact that the area of terra firma that's saturated is in complete shade) to dry up enough so that the pump can feel successful after several days working lots of overtime.

My renewed mission: Rainboots. Why you ask? Oh yes, I forgot to mention. Yesterday morning, I walked barefoot through the foot or so of FREEZING (you can see your breath in the basement) water in attempt to plug the holes.

Thus...Wellies.

Conclusion...

If you're reading this, and haven't read the first part, please go down and read the first part

FIRST!
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On a hot skillet (I put a little Olive Oil spray on it) put on the fish. If you get it fresh ask them to skin it at the fish shop...SOO much easier.

Put in the rest of the juice!

Turn the fish over to cook on both sides. When it flakes it's done.
Don't be afraid to cut it through the thickest part to check it.


A little olive oil, toast some walnuts pieces, put in some garlic, then put in the green beans just to get them warm.

VIOLA!!! Put some of the juice on the rice if you like...it's gooood....
Ok, I know this looks like a TON of food,
but this is actually a small lunch plate.

J.J. LOVES salmon!!!

My "romantic" dinner for three. Jon added the candle.

ENJOY!

Happy Fishing

One of my favorite ways to make salmon. A very healthy and delicious fish!

Honey mustard, maple syrup and balsamic vinegar marinated salmon dinner

Ingredients:
Salmon (I wish I could afford fresh all the time, but I have found that the frozen fish from Trader Joe's is very good--this from a Cape Cod girl who's picky about fish)
Honey mustard
Maple Syrup
Balsamic Vinegar
(can I just say, Duh? to the previous ingredients)

Sides that I like to flank this dish
White Rice, basmanti preferably
Green beans (with walnuts and garlic)

A little olive oil (should be in every meal)

Completely optional:
Friends, pets and other distractions, housework, wine, others to share this with.


Sarah's comment to this dinner "Happy Fishing"


The ratio for the marrinade are 3 parts Honey Mustard, 3 parts Maple Syrup and 1 part Balsamic Vinigar. I use a tablespoon and if I think I need more, just do it all again.


This is what you can do when you run out of honey mustard....

Notice that I am holding this....I HATE touching raw meat (i.e. chicken) but fish I have no problem with...don't know if that's a Cape Cod girl thing or a salmonella thing.

Can you say YUM!!! And it's not even cooked yet!

Ideally I would have let this marinate overnight or for many hours. This only sat for about an hour and a half and it was still good! While it marinates....I did some other things...
My mess in the dinning room...

Oreo "helped"
My roses from Valentines day were very pretty but time to retire.

Yes, I have a giant eraser.
And a giant pencil...that's actually a coat rack for Joseph. I'm painting it. The eraser is done! Next is the pencil..it's going to be blue.

All Clean!

Oreo knows where the good droppings are...under the high chair...he's waiting for dinner.
Turn a few times if the liquid doesn't cover the fish.


Time to work on the other parts of dinner....pretty rice...

Action shots taken by myself!


Side note: This is in our fridge! It's very exciting to me, cuse I'm a stickler about drinking filtered water. Jon successfully plumbed!


Veggie side.

All ready to cook.....what else can I show you???



I made candles the other day

Wine time. This is a VERY good bottle of Pinot Grigio that costs $3.99 at TJ's. I even got it in the fridge to chill it for an hour before dinner.

Hmmm...should we use stemless or our campaign glasses?


Ok...time to cook.....to be continued.....

Something I can't talk about yet...

Thank you, my dear friends, from east to west coast. I don't know what I would do without you. In this unique role as pastor's wife, there are times that I have to keep quiet. When I'm excited about something, I like to share it. With everyone. When I found out I was pregnant, I told everyone. I couldn't keep it in.

This topic I should be able to talk about with anyone I like soon enough, but for now, I need to keep it to outside church circles. This is exceptionally difficult, because it directly relates to the church and frankly doesn't mean much to any of you who aren't apart of FBC Medfield.

So, again, friends, Thank you for listening.

Here's the deal. Last spring, we formed a committee to explore the dream of selling the currently owned parsonage (where we live right now) and purchasing the piece of property directly adjacent to the church. We are confident that it would be a step back in our personal living space, but, this is not our (Jon and I) house that we're purchasing. The biggest asset that this piece of property offers the church is PARKING! Our church is downtown in a typical small town suburban New England; complete with annoying next door business who is obsessive about "NO CHURCH PARKING". There's a house in the front and a huge parcel of land undeveloped in the back! Ideal for a safe parking lot for our church attenders AND the children and parents who go in and out all day long to the day school in our building.

The Deering property.

The man deemed "in charge" of starting the conversation with the current owner, a Mr. Deering, dropped the ball. There were a couple of "messages" or "conversations". All (or both...I'm pretty sure it was one of each and no more) with no progress made. Nothing happened this fall and this particular church member is now inundated with tax season. I've been telling Jon this for some time now, confident that a different personality contacting Mr. Deering would bear much more fruit. After a conversation with another very spirited and confident attender who said "Let it go. It won't happen for a few years." Jon was overwhelmed with the feeling of "I need to call Mr. Deering." Going with his gut, he did. It was incredible. He had heard a rumor that Mr. Deering was putting on hold after talking with some developers. Jon said "I needed to hear it straight from the horses mouth." Mr. Deering said "People in a small town always think they know what everyone else is doing and thinking, but often it's not true and you need to go straight to the source." WOW! Mr. Deering told Jon where he was at, a little different price, a tad higher, but also shed some light into the house itself, including the fact that there are in deed 2 rental properties as well as the main living quarters, each of which get about $700/mo. (Cheap in NE...we were at the lowest price in government subsidized housing and it was more than that!) Mr. Deering also said "I'll wait until I hear from you before I do anything else." HELLO??? DID YOU READ THAT RIGHT??? YUP..he's waiting on US!!! Jon promptly called a few people on the committee, most of which are in the real estate business. The rough numbers concluded that what we would need extra (after selling the current parsonage) would come down to less than $900/mo. of a mortgage. Given the rentals, we would actually be MAKING money off of this property.

Inhale......exhale......

A year ago there was a time-line of doing this sell/purchase by the start of this summer. On Monday, Jon and I were working outside and talking and Jon said "It looks like we're going to be here for a while." Which is fine, we love the house, and not having to move so quick again would be nice. Two days later, I think we're both mentally packing. There's also another personal thing. We do want to have more children. A compromise of how far apart Jon and I want our children (Jon wants 2 years, I want 4), it equates to us starting that process again in the next year. I don't think anyone that reads this has kids, but let me tell you, moving while pregnant or with an infant is something we have NO interest in. Been there done that don't want to do it again. SO...moving this spring/early summer would be ideal in that way.

Inhale....exhale....

Lots of meetings soon. Updates will be provided....This current house will not be easy for the longstanding church members to let go of. There's a lot of sweat equity here (even though most don't realize that it's time for more) and even those that like this idea are having a hard time letting go. Pray that they will let go and trust.

Thank you again, my dear friends. For being my outlet in an odd world.

The challenges of an insomniac

Some of you know that I have had my ups and downs with this seemingly simple task called "Sleep". For some of you, it's easy. Go about your day, grow tired, climb into bed, fall asleep, sleep, wake up rested. While I understand that not every night is like this and many times you may sleep, but may not wake up rested, usually due to not enough sleep, which in turn is usually due to our self inflicted hectic schedules. Jon routinely stays up to the wee hours of the morning working on his sermon. I bet CG has gotten less than the recommended amount of sleep many a night due to her frantic attempt to get done the thousands of pages of research papers about a spice I have in my spice drawer. Then there's my poor friend Sarah who no matter how much she sleeps, still is not rested.

In college I went a month....yes, I kid you not (CG and Jon remember)...a month I didn't sleep. I would lie down in bed (sometimes with my head at the foot of the bed) and try so hard to fall asleep. I would rest but never actually fall asleep. Well, my old friend (rather annoying enemy) surprised me last week. No idea why, but I got out of bed I on Friday morning annoyed that I didn't sleep the night before. We had a big weekend ahead, so I did my usual work and keeping up with Joseph and kept going going going. My mom came on Saturday (after another night with no sleep) and did the same. Sunday was crazy! Church then back to feed the Chechile Clan for lunch (18 people for lunch--14 of whom came from VT). Then back to the church for Jon's Ordination Ceremony (YEAH!! He's officially "The Reverend Jonathan Daniel Chechile)!!! Once that was all said and done, got back home and it was a quick change out of my short skirt and tall boots (yes, I AM a pastor's wife and I still wore that!) and it was off to the airport to drop my sis in law off. Back home and to bed. No sleep. You'd think once this was all said and done I would have slept. Nope. A Monday of errands and then relaxing evening, went to bed and guess what?? I DIDN"T SLEEP AGAIN!!!! Tuesday I got up like a zombie. Jon bought me a pepsi to get through the day with Joseph and advil pm for the night. I basically spent the day on the couch watching Gilmore Girls and Joseph playing (oh yeah, Joseph got a cold Monday night too...just to make life easier). Finally...right?? Oh wait...nope! No sleep yet again.

Wednesday night I slept. Ahhh. A bit better. Thank God, cuse we had a family over for dinner (with 3 little girls under 3).

It's getting better, but I'm still recuperating from the stretch of no sleep that invaded my body.

Now I must go and do all the work for Sunday morning service that I usually try to do on Thursday.

Sleep well my friends and wake up every morning grateful that you slept.

Gut rentching laugh

Can life get better than this?

"Yes" Ok..now what?

Have you ever made a careful decision and said "Yes, I want to do this" but then have to wait to actually be able to do the thing or go to the place??

Ugh.

Addiction

I struggle with addiction...

I'm Veronique, and I'm a bookaholic.

Lately, the majority of books I've read, I've actually listened to. I started listening to a book on cd when I would have trouble sleeping. It worked to distract my mind from the monotonous circle of thoughts that prevents me from falling asleep. I switched from a CD to my iPod. I now keep my iPod under my pillow on a regular basis...only bringing it out when I'm so invested in a book that I bring it downstairs and in the car. I went to the library today to get a book on cd that my mom was having trouble finding. We're going down to visit her tomorrow, and I told her I would get this for her. I completely spaced and remembered this afternoon 45 min before the library closed. I told Jon and got in the car and headed to the next town over where the book, Founding Mothers, was resting on a shelf just waiting to be listened to.

I went for the one. I got 6. One is SO long, it takes two cases ( I think it's over 20 cds).

Spring

It's coming. Two things told me this.

1) They had daffodils at Trader Joe's this week!!!

2) At 4:45pm, it was still light out.

Enjoy with me a bit of spring with snow still in the background.