Do It Yourself....with Ducks.

Last Novemeber Mom and I started working on Grandma and Grandpa's old table and chair set. It is a beautiful Oak set that they started married life with and has to be over 70 years old...original paint included! We spent several days trying to strip the paint until frankly we were nearly high and totally exhausted. You need the right tools for the job and we just didn't have them.

Now I am up in OH and spend the afternoon in Kathy's gararge with borrowed sanders re-attacking the furnature. And it is working!! Still have a loooot to do, but I can't beleive how much I got done in just 2.5 hours. Yay!!

And I had help, too. 6 Baby duckings squaked encouragement then took a break in the grass with me. Joy.

New and Improved

My first year of college was terribly unkind. I flew right past the freshman 15 and settled closer to 45. By Easter that year I was wearing size 16 jeans, and still didn’t really realize how bad it was. I walked everywhere, had a cute boyfriend who was forever telling me I was “hot,” and ate a salad everyday for lunch. But the problem was I was always at the cafeteria. As freshmen, we has unlimited access to “The Caf,” and would meet there in between classes to study or just hang out. I would grab a coffee from the mocha machine, and maybe some ice cream or a piece of pizza. Slowly but surely I grew and grew. Over Easter I stepped on the scale and discovered how bad it had become. Ouch.

After moving back home, I watched too much late night TV, as many college kids do. But one evening it paid off. I came across an infomercial for “Winsor Pilates.” My ticket!! It wasn’t a gimmick….if you did the workouts, you would get the results. Easy as that. I ordered the DVDs and got started right away. A few months later I was 30 pounds lighter and had abs I didn’t know I could have.

Overtime I got away from them. I joined a gym and continued to get into better and better shape. I switched to a Health major at a different school and began using the gym there. My efforts paid off. But graduation and a new job were a distraction, and a year of fried, sugary, greasy food during my overseas mission took a real toll. I’m still much slimmer than my freshman days, but not nearly as toned or energetic and I’m craving to be.

So….New Plan.

This morning I broke out my Winsor Pilates DVDs again. I had forgotten how much I really enjoyed doing them. Happy surprise. Just 20 or so minutes and I could feel all those muscles moving!

Happy. :) And Happy Easter, everyone!

La Semana Santa durante mi mision

Last year at this time I was celebrating “La Semana Santa” in Honduras, and with each special Mass and service, I find myself back at out parish of San José Obrero.

We began Holy Week with a mile long procession to remember Christ’s entrance into Jerusalem. Let by a dozen alter boys and our beloved paster, Padre Ricardo, we walked around the neighborhood with our large palms, singing and praying. The church was filled to over flowing and many of the little old ladies waved their palms for the majority of the Mass.

We celebrated Holy Thursday with many of the children at our house. Rita and Regina read from the bible and explained what happened on Holy Thursday, then Memo washed the feet of each child as I led the singing. It was a beautiful blend of shyness, joy, and giggling.

  

Good Friday was amazing. It was already blisteringly hot as we left our house around 9:30 to the starting point of Via Crucis, the Way of the Cross. With several hundred people we made our way through the streets, climbing to a high point of the city. Dozens of adults from the church were dressed as Christ, Mary, Roman Guards, and the sorrowful woman. As we came to each station, one of the priests read the scriptures and spoke about the station, as we watched it depicted before us. (By “Us,” I mean those taller than me, or quicker. I missed most of it, too sun sick to push my way through the crowds until the very end!) The most beautiful moment was the crucifixion…Christ hung above the whole city as we watched on in tears. It was truly beautiful.

The Easter Vigil was awe-inspiring. The entire band from “El Camino” (a catholic movement incredibly popular in Latin America) was there with over a dozen guitars and as many other instruments….the church was overflowing with people singing and dancing in their seats and I loved every minute of the nearly 4 hour Mass!!

What a blessing to have celebrated such an important aspect of my faith in an entirely different culture. The Catholic Church is Universal!! How cool is that?? Happy Good Friday, everyone. :)

What did you do yesterday?

I baked for hours....10 dozen of Grandma's homemake nut rolls. Happy Easter to me and mine!:)