Only Forty Bags?

I have six children, I educate them at home, and I'm married to a man who loves books, and 
is the son of a man who has Collections and who buys gifts to show affection.  One of our 
sons finds sentimental value in almost everything, and collects nature items galore.
And, OK, I like thrift shopping for recreation, and I hold on to things like fabric and rags and 
potentially useful craft materials. And the children all have clothes that they are always 
outgrowing, or receiving as hand me downs! So, yeah. We have a lot of stuff.
Spring cleaning has been a significant, freeing thing for us here the last couple of years. We 
are in not too bad shape now, in the garage and basement. But, gosh. We still have a lot of 
stuff. 

So! I'm going to take inspiration from Ann Marie at White House Black Shutters and join in 
Forty Bags in Forty Days. This takes impetus from lent, and includes deliberate, systematic 
decluttering. The ''forty bags" can be any size, any number. The point is to take a look at 
your stuff, and decide what needs to go. Then get it out! 
I'll be going systematically through my house with a Goodwill bag and a trash bag. 
I think I'm also going to forbid myself any recreational Goodwill shopping during lent. 
That should give me a good twenty bucks that I can give to St. Vincent de Paul.
Here's the first bag! (Ironic that it says "shop your way"?)

--- 1 ---

I am new at this blogging thing, and am appreciating suggestions from my friends about how I can make my blog better. I just added a 'follow' and a 'search' gadget. Also a list of the blogs I love to follow! My friend Maile recommended I put a facebook 'like' thingy on here, too. I'm going to try and figure that out today with my consultant, my twelve year old. But I know I mainly need to focus on content. *Edited to add: Speaking of which, here's a summary I pretty much agree with about the blogs I really like. A lot to aspire to, although first of all I'm writing this to meet a need in me.

--- 2 ---

Diana said lovely things about my blog, but objects to my photo of myself. It doesn't show my true beauty, because I'm not smiling. Oh, boy. Not my favorite thing, but I am taking pics of myself today. This post should really be 'Seven Photos of Me with My Eyes closed':

I'll spare you, and limit it to six.

--- 3 ---

Kristen of When at Home has a helpful post about how to set up your blog smart, making it viral ready. I'm not thinking my blog will ever go viral, but I am concerned about things like watermarking my pictures; (like the one of me nursing 'on' a toilet). Please comment if you have great suggestions about this!

--- 4 ---

I get to go out to a fancy dinner with my husband tonight, dressing up and leaving six children with a super babysitter! I don't even have to make sure I can nurse in my outfit!! What am I gonna wear?! I'll take a pic after I get dressed.

--- 5 ---

Speaking of photos, there is an ungodly number of 'selfies' taken by Leia.

--- 6 ---

I am really liking being a bit more detached from the internet, by staying away from facebook. It truly gives me more time to pray or read; and also lots of moments throughout the day to stop and reflect on the day, and what I should be doing next. I have decided to read once again Fr. Jim's book The Jesuit Guide to Almost Everything.  I highly recommend it!

--- 7 ---

I am in one of those stages in life when it is hard to read an actual book. Too tired and distracted most of the time. I don't know when was the last time I read the assignment and attended my book group. But I've decided to go anyway. The company is great, and it is just so good to be with other smart, reflective, fun adults without all our little ones. Last weekend Fyodor and I attended our parish's Trivia Night, and had the best time. It stayed with me all the next day, the refreshment of being with friends (and winning).

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Time for a link up with Like Mother Like Daughter!
I just read the first {Pretty. Happy.Funny.Real} post Auntie Leila did, and (true to form) it has a beautiful bit of philosophizing and some very good suggestions. If you want to know what it's all about, read here.

{Pretty}
(This is right up Auntie Leila's alley, since she has just written a book on the subject). This is our little icon, Scripture and prayer area. We have morning prayer before starting school, and set up a little table with the lit candle and a few other things, in front of this buffet, which is also our entertainment center, and has a TV mounted on the wall above the other side. I know; TV and prayer table, not an ideal set up! But this side, all set up for lent, looks pretty to me. The image in the black frame is of the prodigal son repenting, and is from a set of art prints I bought from Catholic Heritage Curriculum. The purple covered thing is a wonderful icon of the resurrection, which I want to unveil in glory at Easter. I could say something about each of the other items, but in total, this area is pretty and meaningful to me.

{Happy}

My new kitchen faucet and dishwasher! I am so thankful for my Fyodor, who has taught himself to install such things. We had just shopped for a new faucet the day before the old one broke off! Thank the Lord for tax return time, when non-urgent needs can be addressed. (Though I think we all agree, breaking in half makes the kitchen faucet urgent. But I didn't have to get the lowest of the line replacement!) I wanted a tall enough gooseneck that would allow me to fill a stockpot even when the sink has dirty dishes in it. The dishwasher was just rusted out and the racks falling to bits. Isn't the new one beautiful? And the other thing we all notice, as always with new things, is that the surrounding things look awful! Sanding and redoing these cupboards in on my list, believe me!

{Funny}

My husband and son looking handsome, and my cute daughter being funny. She is twelve, and I love to see her smile unselfconsciously!

{Real}

This photo was a sensation on facebook. This is me, at the store looking at faucets, and realizing my poor little baby was super hungry! Never thought I'd resort to sitting on a toilet to nurse in public ;)  Baby's gotta eat when baby's gotta eat!
I was super tickled to have my husband take this photo. I love how this captures my care for my baby, and that it is super modest!

That's it! Check out what everybody else has for {p,h,f,r} over at LMLD!

Fat Tuesday, and other bloggers' thoughts on Lent

Mardi Gras!

Some interesting things about Lent from the web this week:

This post about clothing and evangelizing culture, using Lent as an opportunity.
http://femgenius.com/skirting-up-lenten-challenge/

And this response to it
http://clan-donaldson.com/2014/03/going-out-with-a-bang/

I don't agree with either of them 100%, but I need to think more about it.

I think this post from Catholic Catalogue is great. Since our children 'bury the alleluia' in their
Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atria, 
we like to get in lots of alleluias at this end of ordinary time! I like the reference to heaven as a 
celebration that we need to work towards!
http://thecatholiccatalogue.com/misc-bury-the-allelulia-throw-a-fat-tuesday-party/

This incredibly delightful YouTube:
http://youtu.be/CQo2FJPLeQk
looks like a taste of heaven to me!
These babies remind me of our little Bilbo, five months old:

How' bout some photos of Mardi Gras celebration here? Our homefried doughnuts. Once a year decadence, fried up in *bacon fat* and dusted with powdered sugar!

I pipe these into the wok, and some of them turn out wonky. But so good. The kids and I are allowed to eat as many as we want. And then no one wants more than a little fruit for lunch, for some reason... (They are gluten free, made from a recipe in Bette Hagman's book More from the Gluten Free Gourmet).

And how about a King Cake? Hermione made this all by herself using store bought bread dough and giving it the deluxe treatment, inside and out. It turned out awesome.
Since I am gluten free by necessity, and wheat flour worries me like other people would be worried by iocane powder all over their kitchens, I like to let kids enjoy the delights of dough without making it from scratch.

Here are Haldir, age ten, and little Leia enjoying paczkis. A South Bend Polish tradition.

One more good post on lent from my dear, dear Auntie Leila:
http://www.likemotherlikedaughter.org/2014/03/a-suggestion-for-lent/

And another from Kendra, whom I admire so much:
http://www.catholicallyear.com/2014/03/how-to-win-at-lent.html#more

I am not putting much original content here this time! But, since I have resolved to stay off facebook this lent, in order to use the time for prayer, reading and other important things, I hope to reflect and post more on here.
Happy Fat Tuesday! Gonna go eat some roast lamb. Here's a poor photo to give a glimpse of the deliciousness: