The Monday Review v. 2 - Pizza is my favorite food. ever.

What a week it has been in our house. When mom is sick, things are no fun. But I am slowly on the upswing. I would write blog posts in my head but didn't have the energy to actually type anything coherent. To be honest, there is NOT a lot I want to remember about last week, except the fact that I felt so awful so that I can appreciate good health when it is here! Amazing what you take for granted.

I decided to do a review of something we have had for dinner 3x in the past week, including tonight. It's not really a new product to us, but it deserves a blog post, I think.

See that buffet table in the top left corner? PILED HIGH with papers and kajunk for weeks and weeks now. I got it mostly cleaned off, finally, except for a few random things that belong upstairs. That's about the extent of "stuff I accomplished" recently.

Back to the pizza. We discovered this little box of deliciousness about a year ago, in the freezer section at Target. I am kind of a pizza purist - meaning, the sauce must be marinara and it really should only have meat & mozzarella, and maybe veggies, otherwise, it's not REALLY pizza. But I took the plunge here and I am so glad I did.

This stuff is AMAZING. The sauce is BBQ, and it has chicken, onions, cheese, and some spices. When Brian and I first tried it, we were hooked. Neither of us are the kind to gush over food incessantly, and we kind of gushed over this pizza. It's a little more spendy than some ($5-6 depending on the store), and it's not as filling as something like DiGiorno because the crust is thin, but so worth it. They also come in personal pan sizes now. In the picture, that's one of our regular dinner plates (which is stoneware from Target, and admittedly slightly bigger than a "standard" plate.) So, the pizza is not huge - I think 12". And it only takes 11 minutes to bake.

A few weeks ago, Brian surprised me with a date to the California Pizza Kitchen restaurant. We had to order the REAL BBQ chicken pizza, and it was even better than the frozen kind (obviously!). The crust was more of a hand-tossed/regular, not thin. So, so good.

This is probably something that can easily be recreated from scratch but we haven't tried it yet. Usually we keep one or two of these in the freezer for "crazy nights", but to be honest, they never last more than a week in there. I always seem to find an excuse not to cook when we have them on back-up. Oh, and Ben loves it! On a night like tonight, he has a piece and Nate just has yogurt and a banana (he doesn't really like pizza, sometimes I wonder if he's really my child.)

Check out the linky party here at The Champ Life - thanks, Andrea, for hosting!

Now I'm off to write a paper on epidemiology for my medical sociology class that I've been putting off and that's due in 3 hours, hooray! My instructions say "pick one of the listed health problems" (in another place it uses the word "disease"), and pregnancy is an option. Funny disease there... I think I'm going to write about that since that's what I have the most experience with (over lung cancer, HIV, obesity...)

The Monday Review v. 1 - Chocolate, mmm.

So Andrea @ The Champ Life does Monday reviews of products she has tried and loved (or not loved), and I thought it would be fun to do a review of a product I love! She usually reviews beauty products, and I... don't buy many of those lately. (I am planning a trip in my head to Sephora but, hasn't happened yet.) So I thought, I like food... I'll review a food product! I've seen a lot of bloggers try a recipe to review, but I haven't been cooking a lot lately, and besides, wouldn't it be fun to review a prepackaged processed product that probably isn't very good for you? Okay.

These are a new product that our grocery store is carrying. Actually, this is Brian's department. He went to a General Merchandise show for the company last year, where all the vendors peddle their new products, and ordered a bunch of these at the show (they get case discounts if they order them there.) He also brought home a BUNCH of samples and random stuff from the show (for his wife, of course!) which included a package of these. I love chocolate and caramel, so, perfect for me. I devoured them. This was several months ago. The other night we stopped by the store and they were stocked on the endcap. I got very excited and bought a box. Impulse shopper I am!

One package has 120 calories, and usually 6 little pieces (I had already eaten one before I took the picture.) There are 6 packages in a box. No, I'm not doing Weight Watchers, BUT I like the fact that they are portioned out and I feel guilty if I open a second package. Usually. Unlike the Milano cookies where they are all just stuffed into one bag and you could mindlessly consume the entire bag in one sitting (never done that. I just mean, you PROBABLY could...)

These are good. Quite delicious. Are they the best chocolate you will ever eat? No. Did I eat a whole package for breakfast? Yes. They are KIND of like Rolos but not as rich. If you like candy bars like I do, I would rate them a 7 on a 1-10 scale. Some people don't like candy bars and prefer richer, fancier chocolate (Ghirardelli or Godiva or something like that). If that's you, you probably won't care for these.

They are not 100% natural or anything close, but they are pretty low in sugar for candy (9g) and high in fiber (6g). The main sweetener is sugar, but they do have a tiny bit of sucralose, which I DON'T like, but I really could not taste it at all (and usually I can tell immediately and it ruins the food for me). They are good for if you are counting calories and struggle with impulse control. They are 3 WW points - I don't do WW, when I am trying to lose weight I use My Fitness Pal, but I'm pretty sure 3 points is not terrible for a dessert. And you could just eat one at a time instead of the whole package. If you were self-disciplined.

I also like that they look like something that could be considered "bon bons." So I can sit on the couch and eat them in front of the laptop and feel like I'm living a real life of luxury. When Brian calls and asks what I'm up to... "eating bon bons while the kids nap." yeah!

In short - I like them. :)

Check out the linky party here. I am kind of fascinated by her review today because my hairdresser suggested I try [that product] and I haven't yet.

Journal, v.4

:noticing God's glory: 

Just under a year ago, this sweet little guy came into our lives. How fast he's grown, and how lovable and happy he is. His birthday is on Friday and I can't believe it!

:listening to: not much of anything.

:clothing myself in: black athletic pants, several lounge-y days in a row. I need to wash those so badly. So I can lounge in them again this week. I am not much of a yoga pants person, I try to get more dressed up in the morning, but we didn't leave the house all week... and I don't think Nate has gotten fully dressed for 9 days. Even though I've gotten clothes out for him every day! (I have made him change his jammies daily.) ;)

:thinking: about how unfun it is to be sick. The big boys are fiiinally better (10 days for Nate!), Andrew has an awful case of croup and I came down with it suddenly this afternoon. I wish we could have all gotten it at the same time!

:pondering prayerfully: Abandonment. Really, really good. I need to work on this.

:cultivating rhythm: once again, no rhythm. Far from it. I was hoping for a return to it this week, but the sicks hit me hard today, so, we'll see about that.

:creating by hand: nothing. BUT my friend Lindsey @ Happier Than a Bird Quilts posted this lovely quilt on her Facebook page and I fell in love. Then she mentioned that she was planning on selling it and just like that, it became mine. Er, Andrew's. A pop of color in his otherwise white corner of the world. Which reminds me of my informal resolution to make 3 quilts this year... good thing there are still 11 months left.

:learning lessons in: joy? A friend just posted something about the Joy Dare and I am really considering doing it. With the fancy app, of course, even though I love the way the printable list looks, because I know that I will keep up with it better on my phone, not misplace my sheet, etc.

:encouraging learning: I have decided we do not read NEARLY enough. We are taking a full 20 minutes a day to read this week, no matter what. And longer if they are up for it. Ben would read forever; Nate is not as interested. Too bad. ;) We read for quite a while this evening. Love the I-Spy books!

:keeping house: Barely keeping my head above. By next Sunday I want to have things in decent order. That gives me 6 days for some progress. (On the plus side, since we've spent so many episodes in our bathroom with the steamy shower for Andrew, I've gotten the counters/mirror wiped off a bunch while I'm in there holding him! Silver lining.)

:in the kitchen: I have done very little there this week (I did frantically call Brian to bring home Chick-fil-a one night, so, yeah). This week - a birthday cake for Andrew.

:loving the moments:

8 years ago (yesterday), that cute Brian guy told me he liked me... and it turned into a pretty good thing. ;) He brought me this. Yes, that man knows me so very well. The Butterfinger is already gone.

:planning for the week ahead: Possible playdate with our friends, depending on the health of everyone here. I do NOT want to pass along germs! 1st birthday party for Andrew on Saturday.

:funny things: Our garage is full of stuff that needs to be moved to the basement, so my car has been parked in the driveway for a couple weeks (which hasn't really been a big deal because, did I mention our 10 day quarantine?) But last week, before the sickness, we were running a few errands, and went out to the car to find it covered in frost. Something I don't normally think about! Today I took Ben with me to Mass so he could get out, since we were keeping the others home. It had rained overnight and the car had giant droplets on it. He kept talking about where is the frosting on the car!?!? I could not figure out what he meant. Then it hit me. Frost = frosting.

I got a summons for jury duty. Is that funny? :P It's actually for a Tuesday (weird?) and Brian usually has Tuesdays off, so I figure I will go and see what's up. If it's a long trial I will ask to be let go because of childcare issues, obviously, but if it's only a day or two, I can snag a sitter... if I'm ever going to do it, now is a pretty good time, since I don't have a nursling. Brian has gotten called 2 or 3 times since we've lived in this county (almost 4 years) and has always gotten cancelled the evening before, so that's a big possibility, too.

One of the books we read tonight. H is for chicken, he says.

"Sure" Means Yes

Testing out the camera on mommy's new phone today, early in the morning. Don't be fooled, they really are sick - see Ben's droopy eyelids.

I usually respond to requests with a "Yes, that's fine," "No, I don't think so," or "No, not right now, maybe later." Apparently lately I've been saying "Sure" a lot. The first few times I said it, Nate would give me a quizzical look, and then I would have to clarify, "Yes, you can do that." Then he started asking, "Does sure mean 'yes'?"

Now every time I say sure, he grins and says, "Sure means yes!" Variations include, "'Fine' means sure and sure means yes!" "'Okay' means yes!" Learning about synonyms early!

The Wedding at Cana and Filling the Jugs to the Brim

Don't you love it when the homily was just what you needed to hear? Very spiritually uplifting and inspiring. It works out even better when you are at Mass alone and get to hear the whole thing without being distracted by littles next to you in the pew. ;) (Unfortunately, they are still sick, but maybe on the mend? Fever-free so far today.)

Today's Gospel was the Wedding at Cana. In the homily, Father pointed out that the water jugs that Jesus told the stewards to fill to the brim were huge - probably 30-40 gallons, This meant they had to haul the water and it probably took quite a while to fill them (no hoses or sinks!). What if one of the stewards thought, eh, this is a lot of work, and we don't even know what the point is, no one wants to drink water (since they weren't yet aware of the miracle), so the steward just begrudgingly filled his jug, and only filled it about halfway to avoid doing so much work. He figured that no one would really care or notice.

Would Jesus still have performed the miracle? Yes. Would the water in that jug still have turned to wine? Yes. But there wouldn't have been as much wine in that jug as in the others - it would have had the same amount of wine as there had been water. So, less wine than what Jesus really wanted. Not because of any defect on the part of Jesus, but because the steward didn't do HIS part.

It's the same thing with our spiritual life - God wants to fill us with the "wine" of divine grace ALL the way. Often the reason we struggle spiritually isn't because there's something wrong with God or that He isn't giving us blessings, but because we haven't done our part - keeping the commandments, being kind and charitable towards our family and our neighbors, praying regularly, receiving the Sacraments, doing penance for our sins. We have to keep filling our spiritual "jug", and like filling the water jugs, it takes a lot of effort. God WANTS to give us grace, but we have to dispose ourselves to receive it - we have to fill ourselves with the "water" so He can turn it into "wine", metaphorically.

He also gave the example of a young child at the zoo. The child may throw a fit and decide he doesn't want to walk anymore. If it's been a long day, he may be legitimately exhausted and his parents may carry him because he just can't take another step. But sometimes, the fit happens early in the excursion. The child may be a little tired and grumpy, but he is still capable of walking - so his parents encourage him to keep walking and don't give in to his tantrum. It's good for him to keep walking, even if he doesn't really want to. We are like the child and God is like the parent - sometimes we really have been doing our part and spiritually exerting ourselves and we are just worn out. If that's the case, God will carry us. But we have to truthfully examine whether our problem lies with US - are we just tired and whiny, but haven't really been putting much effort into it?

I have heard people say after Mass on occasion, "Well, I didn't really learn anything from the homily today." I don't think the point is to LEARN something, much of the time - but mostly to be reminded of things we may be slacking on! Today's homily was a great reminder for me. Hugely encouraging to put more effort into my spiritual life, into being more charitable to my family, and to focusing more on prayer, which admittedly falls by the wayside often with the demands of small children.

We know in our every day life that we sort of lose the right to complain about certain things when we make certain deliberate decisions. If I decide to stay up super late playing on the internet, I can't really complain the next day about being tired. If I spend a bunch of money on eating out, I can't complain at the end of the month when the money is gone and the pantry is bare. In the same way, I really cannot get upset at God for not helping me with ___ problem if I haven't put in the effort to ASK for help, and to do things that will ease my burden. I can't complain about feeling impatient with my children if I'm not regularly asking for the grace, in prayer, to be more patient, and if I'm not putting in TRUE effort to BE patient.

So, it seems that a resolution to fill up my spiritual jug is in order. I can certainly think of a couple concrete ways to do that - the specifics of which I will ponder privately, but which involve showing more charity at home: more patience, kindness, and gentleness, and much more consistency and effort in prayer.