Pondering, Praising, Positivity

Eva Marie Saint from "North by Northwest"

Pondering: Just what does one wear on a train? I'm taking my very first train trip to Austin this weekend for my best friend's hen weekend. (Thanks to my pal Lee Anne for introducing me to the British slang.) I have grand delusions of decking out in a smart little train suit, train case in gloved hand, hat on head. Seriously. It's more than a dream -- it's within my reach! Well, okay, not really. I don't have the suit. But I'll be damned if I'm wearing jeans! You can't make me!

That being said, I have a yen for something new. Something smart. Classic. Oh, and affordable. Definitely a skirt -- or slim pants. Oh, Lord help me! (And thanks to The Vintage Traveler for the train station image.)

Praising: This week I am praising the Lord's ability to hook me up with the coolest, most inspirational people. I'm talking about real life here. For the last, oh, year and a half? My life has been "Six Degrees of Domini" or something. Between church, my old job as a crossing guard and my current workplace -- it's starting to get scary. If scary means extraordinarily blessed. Online has been much the same. I mean, I had no idea there were so many cute, inspirational, faithful and FUNNY Catholic women blogging out there. It's just crazy. And none of you know me. Dun-dun-dun!



Positivity: It's difficult for me to think of anything specific for this entry. I'm trying to stay positive that I'm actually following God's will and not just delusional. You know how that is, right? I'm so damned headstrong sometimes I just can't see another way other than my own. Did I just admit that? Yeesh. Not at all shocking then that I have birth to The Most Stubborn Boy in the World. Who, by the way, has finally earned his talking Sheriff Woody doll. Thank you, Amazon.

Really, I'm just trying to stay positive about everything in general. It's particularly difficult in this world, and because now that I'm on the Internet all day at work I can't escape from all the bad news. So instead of hardening my heart, I'm praying. It's all I can do.

Maybe this is why I suck at planning ahead

Boy, oh boy, do I have a lot to say. Jennifer Fulwiler, in this poignant post, managed to touch on a subject near and dear to my heart, mostly because I struggle daily with it -- God's plans vs. our plans. I'm not a good planner at all -- I mean, even something as useful and easy as a meal plan makes me feel boxed-in. I'm terribly unorganized, even though I know where just about everything is in the house. But I love to make Plans -- the big kind, like remodeling to make a laundry room. Having another baby. Painting each room of the house. Landscaping. Homeschooling. Stuff like that. Pair this tendency toward Planning with my tendency to always think I know what's smartest, best and most important for our family, and it spells disaster, spiritually speaking.

More on this later.