So What Have I Been Up To?

I said that I have been busy, right? Right. So now I'm out to give you detailed proof of it. ;)

My last "real" post (i.e. about news) brought you up to Sunday, November 20.
The Monday after that, we had a Latin test... and I got a History quiz back which was a 98 - my highest History quiz grade yet!! (Current goal: 100% ;)) I don't really remember much else about the school day itself. I think I spent the evening studying.
Tuesday, then, I went to 6 o'clock Mass because we had Ethics at 7:30 in the morning instead of last hour. That was odd feeling. We had a Physical Science test (which I got a 94 on), then Theology, then Latin, then lunch. For lunch, I went with a group of friends (about 10 of us) to eat Chinese food in Wamego. That was really good and a nice break. The best fortune cookie message was, "As you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point your way." :D ...We got back just before History which, naturally, was a very sleepy class because we were all full. :) Nonetheless, it was the last class of the day and then we were off for Thanksgiving break!!! That evening I began setting up my smugmug account.
Wednesday morning was the performance of "Antigone" for the high school students and various teachers and visitors. It was very strange getting into costume and stage makeup at 7:30 in the morning!! We were all a bit dissipated because of the early hour and because it was the day before Thanksgiving and everything... it didn't help that our audience was badly behaved. Many of them were happy to be there only because it meant getting out of their last day of classes. Regardless, we did the best we could and afterwards held a half-hour interview sort of conference to help the students better understand the play. That was kind of neat, actually... although I think we got more out of it than they did! :D After the play, Dave and Nick left for Texas and most of the rest of the cast and crew went to Topeka. A party of 30 ate at On the Border and then we bowled for a couple of hours. Immediately upon arrival home (about 6:15 pm), Adele called from Hawaii and I got to talk to her for nearly an hour and a half! That was really, really nice!! The rest of the evening was spent with the family, watching parts of different movies.
I slept in on Thanksgiving, then helped chop vegetables and make pies for the big dinner. When things were under control, I started some laundry and started my homework. The History paper I was working on was VERY slow going... quite frustrating. I did get a few pages written, though. Mom, Rose and I walked to the cemetery as a break. Dinner was mid-afternoon and yummmmmy!!! :D I worked on History for a couple more hours and then we had pie and watched "Much Ado About Nothing." :)
Friday, I slept in again, having gotten to bed late. Lindsey test drove a Monte Carlo at St. Mary's Auto Sales with Mom and then Mom, Rose and I left for Manhattan. In Manhattan, Mom and I got new, more reliable cell phones and we got a three-way plan with Dad who already had a phone of the same sort. Rose and Mom went to a fabric store while I moved contact information from my old phone to my new one. We then looked a number of places for face plates to tell our phones apart but nobody sold the ones we needed. We got home about 5:30 or 6. I took a shower and got ready for the square dance which started at 7. That was a lot of fun!!!! I was afraid that I wouldn't do much dancing, since most of my friends were out-of-state, but I actually got asked for every single dance! It was SO nice. :) Problem was: I was wearing dress shoes, so three hours later, I had developed some pretty good blisters! But hey! I'd rather have blisters and a good time than be a wall-flower and have unharmed feet!! :P That was my sixth square dance - and the third one this year. The next one will be the weekend after exams in January. :) ...Late to bed again...
Saturday morning, Mom, Rose and Joey went out to the woods to see if they could find the deer Joey shot (and searched unsuccessfully for) the night before... meanwhile, I talked with Jozef, Maddie and Dave online. Unfortunately, Mom, Rose and Joey never could find the deer though they looked for hours! :( ...when they got home, I made lunch and Linds was in the middle of trying to get all things settled to buy the Monte Carlo she had test driven!! She arrived home with it in the early afternoon and left for KC in it a little later. I did some more homework Saturday afternoon/evening.
Sunday, I had planned on going to the 6 (which everyone else did successfully), but didn't wake up until a quarter after (six). So I went to the 7:30. I worked on Ethics for 3 or 4 hours and wrote Brittany (rather, finished writing her an overdue letter). Mid-afternoon, I went with Rose to her rehearsal for the December 11 concert. That lasted longer than I thought it would and we got home a little after 5. We had hoped to see Maddie and Kitty while they were in town dropping the boys off after Thanksgiving, because we thought they'd be spending the night before going home again. Much to our dismay, they had left practically before we knew they were here!! :( So no go on that one... Dad made dinner Sunday night and then we had "Fr. Harber ice cream" which was good! Immediately afterwards, I left for Mary's house where she was having a party. We played cards and music and visited (there were lots of people there!) and I got home about 10 pm. And went to bed.
Yesterday - Monday - I went to 6 o'clock Mass, did some more schoolwork (you'd think I'd be caught up by now, but no!) and ate breakfast. At school, I had Physical Science, then studied Latin, wrote an overdue e-mail, took my Latin test, ate lunch, took an online Math test (another thing I'm behind on!), had History, worked on Theology, looked at Jozef's Thanksgiving pictures and then came home amidst wintry weather. Rose and I had a good conversation over homework last night and then I went to bed, because I wasn't feeling well.
This morning, I went to 6 o'clock Mass again, ate breakfast, did some History and did some catching up on online things (like this! :D)... Tuesdays are my long days at school so not a lot of free time today.

And that brings you up to date!! I'll try to upload some pictures soon, just as a pictorial overview. ;) Right now, however, it's time to get ready to leave for school. Thanks for reading - I tried to keep it as brief as possible! ;) - and please check back soon! :D

Belated Post

Awhile back the counter below hit "2000" and I never had the chance to make a post/point of it... Joey and Mom were kind enough to get a picture of the counter reading "2000" in my absence. ;) It's now already to 2100+ but I wanted to once again take the opportunity to thank everyone for patronizing my blog. :D I hope that y'all find it interesting. It's a lot of fun to do! :)

Thank you all very much!!! God bless~

We're DEFINITELY still in Kansas, Toto!!

You've gotta love it!!

A tornado watch for six hours one evening (and a 'touch-down' half an hour away) and snow the next day!!!!

~ ~ ~ ~

This is Kansas, folks. :)







More later!

Back Again Soon!!

Goodness gracious!!!!! It's already been over a week since my last post!! I really haven't had the time to spare AT ALL!!! It's been sooooo busy! But I'll be back to tell my readers in brief what I've been up to lately that has kept me so long away. ;) For now, I've got lots of schoolwork that is yelling my name! I'm up to my ears in it!!! (Enough exclamation points in this post, you think? :D)

Well, I'm not complaining. Busy is good. Just wanted to let anyone who may not know that I am very busy at the moment and will be back as soon as possible... that is... if anyone has enough time and interest to visit this blog. ;)

Be that as it may, I'm out of time! TTFN~

Antigone...

Hello, all!

Just a quick post here - I didn't want the blog to go too many days without an update. ;)
Friday night was opening night of this semester's play, the Greek tragedy "Antigone" by Sophocles. It went pretty well, although the turnout could've been better. Mom and Rose were planning to come, but there was a last minute choir practice in Kansas City that Rose had to go to... I think everyone who was there (at the play) really liked it. I'll be posting pictures from it as soon as I get the chance... After the play, we had birthday cake for Christa who was turning 21 and then a group of us went over to Tully's and had pizza and pop until the boarders had to leave because of dorm curfew. :) Joey and I stayed up until amost two in the morning (!), talking and looking at pictures and stuff like that.
Saturday morning, Rose, Mom and I left for Kansas City at 7 am... we went to Andy and Anna's wedding, preceded by a choir practice for Rose and Lindsey and succeeded by speedy preparations for the reception that followed immediately. (Since Anna was Lindsey's roommate - up until now! ;) - Linds had a big part in the prep work, so we helped as well.) We had to leave as soon as the bride and groom got there though, because I had to be back in McCabe by 5 o'clock... so back we came.
Rose and Joey came with me to the theater at 5. They were kind enough to take pictures and video-tape during the performance which - if I dare say so myself - was REALLY good!!!! There was a little bigger of an audience than Friday night and the play went very well! (If I am able to get some mpegs from it uploaded, I'll post a link.) I was VERY happy with the way the play went (at least my performance - I was able to really get into the character last night - even if I am "just" a chorus member)!
Mom couldn't be there because Dad had shot a doe!! :D (Eventful day!) It was earlier to bed last night than the night before. ;)
I went to 7:30 Mass this morning and have to be back up at the theater in about two and a half hours, so I'm gonna go now and try to use this time to squeeze some homework in! :)

Take care, everybody!
~Monnie

Four Years Ago...

So many changes; so many things unchanged!!

Halfway through November!

Can you believe it?! Those of us in college are now a little ways past mid-term... and we're halfway into another month already!!! Four and a half weeks more and we'll be on Christmas break! YIKES!! I'm not ready for Advent, for Christmas shopping, for holiday baking, for exams!!!!!

Okay, Monica, slooooow down. One day at a time. Deep breaths. ;) We'll cross that bridge when we get to it!
(Don't worry about the "we" in that last sentence. I used to be schizophrenic, but we're okay now.)



............alright, alright. Old joke. I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist. :P
Anyway! Life rushes on. Isn't it amazing how sometimes it feels like things are just dragging and going absolutely nowhere and other times they seem to be whizzing by at the speed of light - ever feel that way?

I think that God has sped up the rate of change as a mercy to the human race and to those who are faithful to Him... because, if it weren't for this, I think there would be no faithful souls left at all.
But that is for another day, another post. :)

As far as news goes, we got our first snowfall of the season today!!!!!! YIPPEE!!!! :D I love snow. *sigh* We had an Ethics test this afternoon... that could've been better. :/ Our Liturgy mid-term is tomorrow. As well as nine hours of play practice. Oh boy. The big night is this FRIDAY! I can't believe it!! I hope everything goes okay!!!!

Anyhow ~ that's my random rant for now. Can you tell my mind has been in a hundred different places in rapid succession recently? I believe I'm losing it! (Another mercy. :P) ........nah. Not really. But it's a nice excuse for some of my weirdom. :D

Okay. Whatever. This is a weird post. Thanks for bearing with me and wading through it (always assuming that my good and faithful readers did)!! I'll see if I can't be more coherent in the next entry.....

Ciao, omnes! A bientot! Tata~
(Amn't I just SOOO multi-lingual??? *cough* ahem!)
BYE.

That Super-Complex, One-Syllable Word...

L-I-F-E

Sara has inspired me by a post of hers to write... that is... to TRY to write a bit about this thing we call life. I think I must be a philosopher at heart, because it really has me so often intrigued and I can't ever seem to come to the end of pondering this concept and what it means.

Why are we here?
Most people sadly don't know the answer to this question. They can't face it themselves and they can't answer you if you ask them point-blank. I'd love to take a survey at... say... Walmart... one day and just see what sort of answers I'd get to that! I'd almost bet money that the majority would be a blank stare or at least a pronounced and puzzled hesitation. What really is the purpose of this life?? Why have we been given existence??
The Catechism provides us with the answer. We have been placed here, now, in order that we might know, love and serve God in this life and thereby be happy with Him for all eternity in Heaven. A fundamental truth and so little known. But what ramifications this short answer has! Indeed, it must determine the very path our whole life must take.

To whom much is given, much is expected. And how very much I have been given!!! A thoroughly Catholic education from kindergarten through college, in a day and age where this is unheard of. A wonderful family; one that is secure and whole and entire, unlike the average American family; one that is loving and giving; one in which we all have the common, ultimate goal of Heaven. He has blessed us with peace, prosperity, daily Sacraments, life in a small, safe and Catholic town, true friends (those who help us reach sanctity), priests and sisters close at hand, and so much more! It is really staggering. And I - for one - don't appreciate it enough until I get outside of what we affectionately (if sometimes 'frustratedly') term "the fishbowl." Not until I attend Mass at a mission chapel or spend a week in a big city - where so many people stumble through a godless life - do I realize what I've got!!

But I digress...
Life. It means so many different things to so many people. To me, life is going to school, interacting with friends, good days, bad days, very predictable days, and family life... much less predictable! ;) Who knows? To someone else, it may mean a lonely house with only a TV for company after a day spent working at a computer screen.
Which brings me to a poem I find most appropriate in this consideration of our existence...

"Without and Within"

If every man's internal care
Were written on his brow,
How many would our pity share
Who raise our envy now?

The fatal secret, when revealed,
Of every aching breast,
Would prove that only while concealed
Their lot appeared the best.

~ Metastasio

Appearances are never to be judged by... it is occasionally proven to me first-hand that things are seldom what they seem: skim milk masquerades as cream. Only today, I was given the opportunity to have a lengthy and very good conversation with a friend of mine... I only had an inkling that something MIGHT be up. It wasn't until after the conversation that I realized the whole of it... and I doubt even still that I can grasp the whole of her troubles. Probably only a slice. Yet, it was enough to make me remember that it will never do to envy someone else their lot in life. Our crosses are perfectly fitted to us... and they say that if you cannot feel your cross, then you know you are carrying it well.
As Fr. Griego reminded us in Sunday's sermon, there is the story of the man who had the opportunity one day to talk to Our Lord. He asked him if he might exchange his cross for another as it was much too hard for him to bear. Our Lord permitted him to enter a room with many, many crosses of all dimensions. The man walked along and each cross seemed bigger than the next. All much too big for his strength! At last, he came to a little cross resting in the corner of the room. He exclaimed that this is the one he would take! Our Lord then gently pointed out to him that this little one was the cross he had laid down next to the door upon entering the room!

We all have different duties, different crosses, different lives. But we are all given the graces we need to turn these into opportunities to practice sanctity. And this is what life is all about... perfecting ourselves, through the grace of God, so that we might praise Him for all eternity in Heaven. Life ought to be the sanctification of ourselves through the perfect fulfillment of our daily duties.
If we fall in this - and we all do, sooner or later - it is only for our humility. Thus, we see once again the ineffable goodness of God who does ALL things only for our good! They say hindsight is 20/20... and it is often only post-facto that we can see Providence's touch in our lives. It's always there and we must be sensitive to its presence so that it might guide our lives. The lives we are responsible for... responsible to our Creator, Almighty God.

Thus, I can truly say,

C'est la vie!!

A Year Ago...

November 14, 2004...
So recent and yet so long ago!!

Bishop Fellay's conference in Kansas City...
Joey's now taller than me!
Rosie looks so little!
I wonder where we'll be a year from now...

Thoughts

Ay, ay, ay.... where to even start?!?! I feel like a very complicated person. More than one person offered me "a penny for your thoughts" this evening (I must've looked awfully preoccupied! ;)) ...the first time, I had a very difficult time just funneling my myriad thoughts into coherent speech... and before I could, we were interrupted. The second time, I did manage to speak what was on my mind, but before we had gotten very far in that conversation (one that was important to me), we were interrupted. It just wasn't my night! ;)

I was in a very melancholic mood tonight. Not depressed, but very pensive. I sat out in the beautiful night air for a couple of hours and did a lot of thinking... not even thinking in actual THOUGHTS so much as letting my mind drift and rest as it pleased. I couldn't tell you to save my life all the things my mind flitted over! It was so nice to just get out in the fresh air, away from some of the noise, and just ..... think. Beautiful.

I have become convinced that life is a most intricate thing. (I know, that's probably very fundamental and basic, but it takes me awhile to discover these things for myself! :D) Life is really such a gift, a great gift. But it can be DARNED confuzzling ;) at times!! So many characters and personalities to mesh together... so many variables... so many why's and and why not's that won't be answered until the hereafter.

I have recently come to appreciate more than words can express the security that being with old friends can give a person. I still don't feel wholly secure - I probably never will - but when you can confide in old friends, ask their advice and listen to their troubles, it's such a consolation... especially when you are in the ever-ongoing process of forming new friendships that haven't yet reached that stage of trust. You just notice it all the more. So I want to thank MOST heart-felt-fully any "olden-golden" friends who might be reading this for their loyalty and friendship. It means so very much.

...So many thoughts... so little time... that elusive time that ticks ever on. Too quickly when you are cherishing a moment or enjoying yourself and too slowly when at a disagreeable task. Ever-relentlessly on through the night. And so, although it would be easy to make this post last much longer, it must be truncated and published so that it's authoress might retire to bed. ;) She is in desperate need of her beauty sleep. :P
Forgive me if the above is very unorganized! That's the price to be paid in the post-midnight hours. ;)

For now, God bless and good night!!

Human Nature...!!

Yes, indeed, we ALL have human natures. :D

Veterans' Day

Just Stopping By... :)

Hello, my dear readers!

Although I would love to be able to sit and chat, I really can't spare the time this evening. It's been yet another VERY BUSY day!!! So much to do and get done - and so little time to relate recent events.

Thank you all for checking up on the blog and I'll post again as soon as I get the chance. I'd like to remind everyone that ANY of you can comment! ;) :P I know there are some of you out there that read the blog at least semi-regularly and have never left a comment!!! :O :D ...hint, hint... ;)

Anyway, I must run! I'm supposed to be in bed within the next 30 seconds or so... or my coach will turn back into a pumpkin! :P

Good night!

~Wednesday~

Hello, all!

Just checking in briefly to relate the day's events. ;)

This morning, I walked to school for a change! That was pretty nice... outside of the facts that the wind was messing up my hair :P and that I was carrying a very heavy bookbag on one shoulder at a time. I made pretty good time and got to school in about 15 minutes. The sole class of the day was Liturgy... our mid-term in that class is a week from today.
After Liturgy, I found my History mid-term in my box. I had gotten an 88 - not the "90's" grade I thought I might've gotten but still a pretty good grade for that class.... AND I beat my 'rival' ;) by six percent!!! :D :P

Sarah gave me a ride home.... after lunch, we test drove a Lexus that's for sale. It was a NICE ride!!! :) I hung out a little bit, not doing much, and then I had to go to play practice. (Meanwhile, Rose was at her singing lesson and Dad and Joey had gone hunting.) I walked down to campus again... easier this time without the bookbag! ;)
Play practice went pretty well. There were some blocking changes - the week before performance!! :O - but they were all for the better. It was hard to stay in character today - so many funny things that I wanted to laugh at. Hopefully, the night of, everything will seem very real, so I won't have such a hard time! :) Our next practice is Saturday - a full run-through as exactly as possible. ...I walked home after practice and left again shortly thereafter to study Theology at Froggy's with Jozef. That time I drove. ;)

While I was at Froggy's, I got a call from Rose asking if I knew where Mariann was... Dad and Joey had shot a couple of deer and Rose was going with them and Mr. Cooney to help find them... she wanted to ask Mariann if she would be interested in helping out also. It took some doing to find the elusive Mariann, ;) but at last I caught up with her. She seemed happy to go and we left immediately for home. She and Rose, Joey and Dad left, picked up Cooney and went out to the woods. Mom and I went to the cemetery and said a Rosary in St. Anthony's honor to help them find the deer. Meanwhile, Mars was the first to spot the downed doe! Dad called us and we called Buzz (the butcher guy) and arranged for Dad to bring the carcass over once they found it.

About an hour later (~9:15), they arrived home. They had only found one of the does, but that was better than none!! ...Mars changed out of her borrowed hunting garb and we took her back to the school almost immediately because curfew was drawing near, and even nearer than that was the computer lab curfew - and she had left her homework in the lab! So we took her 'home' and when we got back, Dad had left to take the doe to Buzz'.
Not much else exciting took place... I guess that was enough activity for one day! ;)
And "so it goes." (As Fr. Harber likes to say. ;))

For now, goodnight! God willing, I will wake to see another day and then I'll let you know how that goes too. ;) Thanks for reading!

Oh yes!

One MORE post - to make four today!

I just wanted to let my readers know a bit of follow-up to my previous post about the family in the Philippines who desperately needed money to survive. Having just had their fifth child and trying to do God's will, they are very badly off at the moment. I had asked people to please be generous in their donations. Really - even $3 or $5 is something. Just SOMETHING. Please... it's a work of mercy.

Money is definitely still needed, but I wanted to update anyone who was interested... a couple of days ago, the $120 mark was finally reached and so the first donation was able to be wired to this family in need. The timing was perfect. They had just used THE LAST of their money. They had nothing left and they were crying and praying, hoping to find some way to go on after that. It was that evening that the money was able to be sent to them. It is helping them go on, but more is still needed. The goal for November is $300.

Please, for the love of God, do what you can to help this Catholic family out. I can assure you that this isn't a scam - the money IS getting to them. It requires a little faith, but really - what do you have to lose if you donate only $5 or $10?! To donate, please click here.

THANK YOU!!!
God bless~

~Tuesday~

I know I've already posted twice today, but while I've got the time I thought I'd post again. :D

Today was a long day (...as predicted). It was nice weather but for some reason, things just didn't move along very quickly. It probably had something to do with the fact that I was tired. I had Physical Science (two hour lab), Theology, Latin, History, and Ethics. The good news of the day was that Thursday will be a light day... only 2 classes instead of the usual 4, thanks to the priests' monthly day of recollection! :) After school, I took pictures of the sunset (about 5:10). It was pretty neat tonight... A little later, I went with Dad to take the van to L&L for a tune-up and to fix the right rearview mirror which fell out a week ago. We dropped the 'white apple' ;) off.... hopefully it won't be too long before my ride is back. ;) Dinner was a crock-pot roast and a new veggie casserole of sorts - it wasn't bad! :) After dinner, I walked down to the cemetery and said the Rosary with a group of the college students, around Sean's grave. Sarah and Mariann came back up to the house with me where we gathered Rose and Joey and headed to Wamego for ice cream. :D (Yeah, ice cream in November. Sounds crazy. ;)) Rose had gotten a free McFlurry coupon so we redeemed that at McDonald's and then went over to Sonic where the rest of us got ice cream. :) That was very enjoyable! We got back about 9 o'clock, dropped them off at the college, then went by the clinic briefly for Rose to do some photocopying and finally home.

Another day in the life... ;)



.......Here is one of my sunset pictures... the leafless trees give it a rather desolate look, don't they??

Home They Brought Her Warrior Dead

by Alfred Lord Tennyson

Home they brought her warrior dead:
She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:
All her maidens, watching, said,
‘She must weep or she will die.’

Then they praised him, soft and low,
Called him worthy to be loved,
Truest friend and noblest foe;
Yet she neither spoke nor moved.

Stole a maiden from her place,
Lightly to the warrior stepped,
Took the face-cloth from the face;
Yet she neither moved nor wept.

Rose a nurse of ninety years,
Set his child upon her knee—
Like summer tempest came her tears—
‘Sweet my child, I live for thee.’

Being a Melancholic-Sanguine

Do you ever get to feeling so frustrated and so helpless with life and with the people in your life?!?!

I do.

My Sanguine side loves to socialize, to be with people, to have fun. My Melancholic side likes to observe people, likes to feel appreciated, and wants people to live up to expectations. It isn't too hard to satiate my Sanguine side at school, but when it is mixed with my Melancholic traits... that's when I feel about ready to tear my hair out!!!!!!! How can I engage in conversation with 50 people in a day and come away feeling so very alone?! Why do I feel like I'm putting on an act and nobody really knows who I am?!?!
I suppose it's my sensitive nature that makes some people seem callous. I try very hard, but sometimes I feel so unknown, unwanted, unappreciated.... just UN! I don't feel like I have a niche and, although I do love to get along with everyone like I generally do, it would be nice to have a close friend who understood me, who would be there for me. I do have at least one such, but she's not here at present. And so I must content myself with doing things with all various people, but never the same person or people on a regular basis. It all seems very superficial, though perhaps it isn't quite as it seems. It makes me wonder if I'd leave a gap at all if I were to die tomorrow.

Ah, well. Such is life. Although this feeling seems to be closing in on me more and more frequently of late, I'm sure that it too will pass in time. I just had to vent, but didn't want to bother anybody..... at least if you've read this post, you've done it of your own free will and not because you couldn't get me to shut up, right?? ;)

Maybe tomorrow my Sanguine will win out and I won't be too bothered by the slew of thoughts that seems to follow everything. Or if my Sanguine didn't show through at all, that might be okay too. I'll see if I can't just live life one day at a time and avoid getting complicated like this! Thanks for bearing with me - I guess it's my Sanguine once again that wants to get the Melancholy off my chest! ;) ........enough for now, though.

God bless~

Another Weekend Under the Ol' Belt

Goodness! Can it be?! Another weekend (and thus, week as well) gone already?! You must be joking... but no. You're right. Time goes ever on.

Now, to tell you about my weekend... but first I must explain that the reason I seem to only talk about the weekends in my posts is that..... well, I guess that'd be pretty obvious! :) My weekdays fall into a very synonymous pattern (can "synonymous" be used in that sense?)... similar day after day. Not too exciting and very repetitive! But my weekends afford a little interest to my life ;) (...I'm exaggerating - I really don't find life as boring as it sounds! :D)......... so on to my weekend, for all interested readers! :)

Friday night was uneventful. (...Wups... did I just say my weekends were more colorful than my weekdays?!) I cleaned in my room and talked with Rose for awhile. There was something else about Friday, but I can't remember now. I don't think it was the History mid-term that I'm thinking of, although that was Friday too.... oh well.... whatever.

Saturday morning, I cleaned my room, beat the carpet and vacuumed. Then it was off to play practice at noon. We had a complete run-through of the play, which was really good - I lose perspective sometimes when we only practice little parts at a time. The play is really starting to come together (it's a good thing! ....after all, opening night is in less than two weeks!) and that's exciting. We've got some really good actors and actresses on our hands. :) Ben is like another Kenneth Branaugh!! He's fantastic!! Actually, all four main characters are REALLY AWESOME.
Anyhow, I got home from rehearsal about 4 o'clock. Rose and I worked on homework for a couple of hours - until dinner time. Right after dinner, I was off to babysit. I babysat six kids (ages one to ten)... the best-behaved kids I've ever babysat!!! They were amazing - a real joy to watch! I got some homework done after they went to bed and got home about 11:40, to go to bed myself a little after midnight...

Sunday morning, Rose woke me dark and EARLY - 5:30. (Felt especially early after the post-midnight bedtime. :/) Mom, Rose, Joey and I went to the 6 o'clock Mass after which Mom, Rose and I left for Kansas City for a choir practice for Anna's wedding which is on the 19th of this month. (*gasp for breath*) The practice went pretty well (what I heard of it ;)) and provided me with an opportunity to write a letter that I owed to a friend in NY. Afterwards, we left to eat brunch with Lindsey at Waid's (the KC crowd's regular hang-out)... on the way there, we briefly saw a VERY old friend (well... he's not actually OLD... we just go waaaaayyyyy back) whom we haven't been in touch with for the past 4 or 5 years. We couldn't talk long, since we were at the stop sign with cars behind us, but it was nice to see him again!
Brunch was really good! (Waid's' food always is.) After dropping Linds off at her car, we headed home. We stopped in Topeka for a few necessary items and arrived home, in one piece but very tired, at 4 pm. Before dinner (which was grilled outside... yummy!!), I made chocolate chip cookies for a very close friend of mine. While I was making them, I talked to Dave on the phone so I had to promise to give him some too. ;) He told me he'd call and let me know when they were leaving for the cemetery to say Rosary there and I could meet them. ....Well, he forgot and called me about 7:15 to let me know that he had only remembered during the 5th decade!! I threatened to withhold his cookies, :P but he sounded so contrite I couldn't do it. ;) (So I gave them to him today.) After packaging up a box to send to aforesaid-close-friend, I started watching a movie with Mom. We didn't finish it, but plan to... however, lunch making and other various things interrupted it.
*interjection* I just remembered what else about Friday night! Rose and I got REALLY wacko (as she'd say :)) after dinner. Details shall not be here disclosed. Suffice it to say, we had to let off some steam and did so unabashedly! :P We wanted to take a walk with Nick and Dave but by the time we got ahold of Dave, it was kinda late. So we satisfied ourselves with various activities in the basement. :D
...back to the regularly scheduled program... ;)
Sunday night, I got to bed 'bout 11:30. (I don't know why I give all these gory details!)

This morning was a Monday morning. (I guess that's sorta obvious. :D) The weekend had come to an end and the ordinary life began again. ;) It was a beautiful day, especially for November!!! Dr. Strong was nice and didn't give us a quiz in Physical Science today - instead, we answered some of the questions aloud in class. Tomorrow, we have a lab on specific heat. We got our Latin mid-terms back in that class. I did pretty well... one very thoughtless mistake cost me the "100" I probably would've gotten otherwise. Grrrr.... that'll teach me to be confident! :/
Lunch... free hour... History... free hour... end of the school day.
After school, I went to Froggy's with Jozef to study Theology for the impending test... err... celebration of knowledge! :P At 7, we left and joined with Dave, James Hoffman, Nick, Sarah Brown and Mariann to walk up to the cemetery for Rosary. Dave did remember to call me tonight, but there was no need to as I was already there! ;) The night was illuminated by a half-moon and we said the Rosary at Sean's grave. Back at the college, I sat on the steps and talked with Sarah (and later Mariann also). That was nice... since she's a first-year and I'm a second-year, we don't actually have much opportunity to talk during the school day. We talked for about 45 minutes and then I finally pried myself away :P and came home.

You're probably thinking, "Good grief! How she rambles on!" Well, I have good news!! :D ...I'm done now!!! :) ........at least for the time being.
That brings you up to date and it also brings me up to bed-time! ;)
....I'm hoping to get my History mid-term back tomorrow.... Tuesdays are long days as far as the number of classes goes, but they generally go quickly.
Tata for now~
Until the next time,
I remain
~ ~ ~ ~
Monnie

Albuquerque, eh?

Not entirely accurate, but here 'tis anyway!

Your personality type is RCOAI

You are reserved, moderately calm, organized, accommodating, and moderately intellectual, and may prefer a city which matches those traits.

The largest representation of your personality type can be found in the these U.S. cities: Albuquerque/Santa Fe, Norfolk, Oklahoma City, Nashville, Tucson, Dallas/Ft. Worth, San Antonio, Indianapolis, Memphis, Milwaukee, Orange County, Los Angeles and these international countries/regions Indonesia, Ukraine, Denmark, Middle East, Czech Republic, India, Caribbean, Romania, Hungary, Greece, Guam, Israel, South Korea, Norway, Mexico

Extroversion |||||||||| 33%
Emotional Stability |||||||||||||| 56%
Orderliness |||||||||||||| 60%
Accommodation |||||||||||||| 60%
Inquisitiveness |||||||||||||| 56%

What Places In The World Match Your Personality?

I Love This Place!!

I ask you! ...at how many other colleges could you get up and go to class and leave your things just as they are, without any fear of them getting taken or even messed with?!?!? I think, none. But at SMC... Leave your headphones, laptops, cell phones, and keys and you can be sure that when you come back an hour later, they'll be exactly as you left them. As it should be. And as it so rarely is. Thanks be to God for a college like ours! This is only one indication of the Catholic order and morality that ought to be in all places, and isn't.

Weather

We were two degrees short of breaking 1964's record high of 82 on November 2... it's been unseasonably warm, but there has been a lot of wind and the trees that looked like Autumn trees now look like Winter trees. I can only assume that the wind will also bring the cold weather with it. This weekend is still forecasted to be in the 70's, but we'll see what follows. Hopefully, there will be lots of snow this winter!! :D ....because - as we all know - lots of snow means lots of snow days! ;) :P
Anyway, there's your weather report, whether you were interested or not! ;)

The Meaning of Love

A bunch of little kids were asked, "What does love mean?" ...here are some of the best answers. They're really good! Children's perceptions of things can be so profound!! (It's also amazing what they reveal about their background, if you read between the lines.) I've only posted the better/best ones...

"When my grandmother got arthritis, she couldn't bend over and paint her toenails anymore. So my grandfather does it for her all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That's love."
Rebecca- age 8

"When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You just know that your name is safe in their mouth."
Billy - age 4

"Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."
Chrissy - age 6

"Love is what makes you smile when you're tired."
Terri - age 4

"Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."
Danny - age 7

"Love is what's in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen."
Bobby - age 7

"Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well."
Tommy - age 6

"Love is when Mommy gives Daddy the best piece of chicken."
Elaine-age 5

"You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot. People forget."
Jessica - age 8

And the final one -- Author and lecturer Leo Buscaglia once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child.
The winner was a four year old child whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man cry, the little boy went into the old gentleman's yard, climbed onto his lap, and just sat there.
When his Mother asked what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said,

"Nothing, I just helped him cry."


Wow.



....It's somewhat refreshing the number of times the element of self-sacrifice comes through in their perception of love. At least, it's still out there somewhere (as children learn so much by example)! You begin to wonder if the selfless aspect of love (is it only one aspect?? Methinks it is the very definition of love...) has been completely lost in this world, in our day and age.

November Sky ....or.... Cloudscapes

I just thought this was a cool picture. Some of you already saw it over on my Pixies blog, but for those of you who didn't, I'm posting it here. Fantabulous, huh?!?!

A Beautiful November Day!!!

Today has been GORGEOUS!!!! Sorta windy, but the temperature has been glorious. My guess is mid-70's today, though the high might've reached 80. ON NOVEMBER 3!!!!!!!! :O :O

Yesterday was a really busy day. I went to the 9 am Masses... the three said for the Holy Souls, specially on that day. Immediately thereafter, I had Liturgy. From there, I came home for lunch and changed into painting clothes and went back up to the school to paint sets and rehearse for "Antigone." Dress rehearsal is two weeks from yesterday (and we'll have a small audience for it)!!! I made a trip to the cemetery and then came home for dinner and studying. Latin mid-term today and History mid-term tomorrow!! :/

Today, almost all of my spare time has been studying History (except for a little bit of Latin just before that test). I am home now, for the time being, but will be leaving again to group study. HOPEFULLY, that will go well. Sometimes, it's a really bad idea to group study. ;) Anyhow, I feel like I've put sufficient effort (and then some) into this test, so I'm not too, too worried. I don't think I'll ace it (after all, it's History), but I certainly don't feel like I'll go blank on anything.

Well..... that's all for now! Pretty boring post; sorry!
TTFN~

Feast of the Church Suffering... and a Request for Help!!

This is the only day of the year in which the Poor Souls are given a feast day. All other days are reserved for the members of the Church Triumphant. Prayers for the suffering souls in Purgatory are especially effective today and in the octave following. Be zealous, then, and strive to save at least one soul!! They never forget the help they get from you and will return the favor if and when you should need it also.

But in today's post, I'd also like to ask your generosity for the Church Militant:
There is a Catholic family in the Philippines who have just had their fifth child. Because of the situation they are in, with the mother being out of work, they have next to no income at all. They are having a very difficult time just putting food on the table and have been obliged to start rationing the remainder of their food to make it last. A traditional Catholic family - close friends of theirs - have started a way to donate money to help them through these tough times. An excellent opportunity to practice Christian charity and you can be assured that the funds you donate WILL reach the family you intend them for!!
Please do something towards this. Surely all we Americans can spare a little to help someone who needs it much more than we do. It's the month of November - the month of the Holy Souls. Even if we have our debts and such, can we not spare a few dollars and give up that rented movie, that cappucino, that pack of cigarettes... that luxury, whatever it may be...?
A single American dollar goes as far in the Philippines as ten would here in the States. Please do what you can to help a fellow member in the Mystical Body of Christ! The goal for November is $300 for this family. To donate using Paypal or a credit card, please click here!! (I don't know of any other way currently being used to get the money to them.) THANK YOU SOOOO MUCH!!! I'm sure it qualifies as a corporal work of mercy, not to mention the graces received from such an act of generosity and the prayers of these children that you will surely get in return!
In addition to financial aid (or if you truly can't afford anything), please keep this family in your prayers! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Friendship

by Dinah Maria Mulock Craik

Oh, the comfort--the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person,
Having neither to weigh thoughts,
Nor measure words--but pouring them
All right out--just as they are--
Chaff and grain together--
Certain that a faithful hand will
Take and sift them--
Keep what is worth keeping--
And with the breath of kindness
Blow the rest away.

100 Posts!!

HAPPY FEAST OF ALL SAINTS TO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!

This is my 100th post on the blog! Sounds like an awful lot. But that's one hundred posts spread out over about eight months. :D Anyhow, just a statistic!

Take care, everyone, and welcome to November, month of the Holy Souls!
God bless~