Seven Quick Takes

by Shannon

"I have not been called to be successful, but to be faithful."

~Blessed Teresa of Calcutta

This is our blog's first dive into "Seven Quick Takes" with Jen Fulwiler at Conversion Diary. Knowing me, they won't be quick.

~1~

First off, this:

source: Catholic Memes

We will dearly miss him so, but he will continue to be an inspiration, which is such a blessing.

~2~

So, this happened tonight:

Yes, there was beer involved, but not nearly enough beer to justify it.

Speaking of beer, this is my companion tonight as I blog.

Ryan picked it out for me, this being his inspiration. Cruncher pretty much knows all the words to "The Saga Begins," because every 5-year-old Catholic boy should. 

~3~

This week is a break from school, so the before-and-after-school program asked us for $30 extra if we wanted Cruncher to attend a few field trips. I was thinking zoo (if we had a warm snap), art museum, science center. You know — the educational stuff.

Instead, he has gone to an animal shelter (not bad) and Build-A-Bear (pictured), and tomorrow is GattiLand. I repeat — GattiLand. For serious? It's the ghetto Chuck E. Cheese, and they call that a field trip? [Insert snarky comment about the public school system here.]

At least Cruncher likes his new bear, Nolen. (Yes, with an E.)

~4~

Got my boots! The brown ones are going back. But I'm getting the same pair. You see, I'm the type who examines things before I buy them, picking the item that looks least touched, and I refuse to buy something if there's anything that needs fixing. I always pull my groceries from the back of the shelf. So there are a couple things about the brown boots that aren't Just. Quite. Right. So, I'm going to give it another whirl. Kind of a gamble, but here's hoping. 

The black ones are great, though. 

Deets:

Cape: Vintage, consignment shop in town

Skirt, H&M, consignment shop in town

Tights: Target

Boots: Report, Zappos

Since it's the end of the season, I also bought a new coat. It's actually more of a fall-jacket weight, but I prefer my coats light for layering. 

I'm pleased as punch with it, and I've been able to test it out in the cold this week, since we had flurries twice! I was perfectly warm.

Deets:
Coat: Daughters of the Liberation, consignment shop in town

It was $30, and I gather the brand is sold by Anthropologie, so I'm pretty sure I got an amazing deal, especially since it looks as if it's never been worn.

~5~

I'm ahead of schedule on Easter prep because I'm actually using my planner this year. I'm usually scrambling through Holy Week, so I'm feeling pretty confident. We do a family basket instead of individuals, and I always fill it with books, so I went ahead to our favorite local book store yesterday to pick up everything. I can't enter that store without spending at least $20, and I found a couple additional non-religious books to give to Cruncher yesterday:

Cruncher's teacher has encouraged non-fiction stories since November, so the Ben Franklin book for $1 was a good find. Also, Ryan's had his eye on the Merriam-Webster Pictorial Dictionary for Cruncher, but thinks he might yet be too young for it. When I found this Mother Goose in Hieroglyphics book for $1.50, I knew Ryan would get a kick out of it. He actually said, "Oh, yay!" when I showed it to him. There's a key in the back to answer the picture riddles, so it'll be fun to see if we can guess the right words for the rhythms and rhymes. Also, Cruncher should be able to read most of the printed words on his own.

Next items on my Easter Preparation List: Cruncher's outfit (he wants a mis-matched suit), DIY plans for a door wreath and some sort of sacred artwork. I'm hoping for a new Stations of the Cross picture or a vintage icon of the Last Supper. I'd also like to get our front door painted before spring and start working on the garden around St. Patrick's Day.

~6~

It's Friday afternoon, and you realize you didn't plan head for your meatless meal. No worries — if you have a carton of eggs, you can make a frittata! A frittata is a fantastic way to clean out your fridge, getting rid of anything and everything that's about to go bad, or known as "borderline" in our house (commence singing Madonna here). Ryan and I love to serve frittata with tasty things, though, as we did this past Sunday. Here's the step-by-step, but you actually can use just about any combination of cheese, veggies and meat (or no meat) that you please.

Ingredients: Italian mix of shredded cheese, spinach (1 bag frozen or fresh), 9 eggs, 4 or 5 green onions, 4 oz. of goat cheese, 1/2 a cup of sun-dried tomatoes and 4 oz. of mushrooms

Heat an oven-safe skillet with a couple tablespoons of olive oil on a medium heat, and preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Wash the mushrooms, and slice them (unless you're lazy — ahem! — resourceful like me and bought the pre-sliced ones). Chop the white and light green part of 4 or 5 green onions and about half a cup of sun-dried tomatoes. 

Throw the veggie mixture in the skillet, and sauté until the mushrooms are a little soft. At this point, I added some pre-cooked breakfast sausage, but it's optional. Sauté until everything was warmed through. While this is going on, chop up the rest of your green onion, then throw the spinach and green onion in the skillet. The spinach is fluffy, so I threw a random lid on top to help steam the spinach. 

While the spinach is shrinking down, crack nine eggs in a mixing bowl, and pour in 2 or 3 tablespoons of half and half, milk or cream. Then throw in about 4 oz. of shredded cheese (I prefer white cheeses when including goat cheese), and whisk it up until mixed. 

The spinach should be shriveled up, so pour the egg mixture on top. Use a spatula to pull up the fried mixture so the eggs can seep underneath. No need to mix and swirl it. Crumble the goat cheese all along the top, like your dressing a pizza, and sprinkle some pepper up top. As it cooks, run your spatula along the edges of the skillet to keep it from sticking. When the entire thing is about halfway set (to where it's no longer liquidy, but the mixture still jiggles like jello when you shake the skillet), throw it in the oven for 13-15 minutes. 

Ta da! You'll know it's finished when it's a little brown around the edges and no longer jiggly.

Since our frittata was dinner for guests (though it would make a fantastic breakfast), we served some local truffles and caramels, toasted French bread, blueberries and cheeses. 

And a few pictures of our Sunday guests, Isaac and Tenille with their sweet children:

Our most recently baptized Godson, Little Bear.

I think Isaac was more than a little pleased to see Boo-Boo so enthralled with Cruncher's Star Wars toys.

A couple years back, we first met Isaac and Tenille was with Boo-Boo at our favorite bookstore. As all six of us hung out in the Catholic section, Isaac turned to us and said, "Do you go to St. Martin"? Why, yes we do.

Visit again soon!

~7~

I was talking about veiling with Ryan today, and it's just ridiculous that I care so much about what people think. I'm judging people for judging me, when I should be giving people the benefit of the doubt. After all, "You probably wouldn't worry about what people think of you if you could only know how seldom they do" (source). I need to remove the pressure to be successful in everything I do and not claim the power to control things. Trust God, and be the best version of me I can be.

"Blessed is the servant that does not think himself any better when people make much of him and exalt him than when they consider him worthless, ordinary and contemptible. For what a person is before God, so much he is, and no more."

~St. Francis of Assisi