Seven Quickies

Thank you as always to Jen, who finds time to host this every week in spite of having baby #4 in the last month.  

1. Little Girl is in a dance competition on Saturday - her first - and is both excited and nervous.  Excited because her class knows their stuff and are ready, but nervous because she is going to be on stage at a real performing arts center in front of people she doesn't know.  She's painfully shy (though she's a truly friendly child), and the thought of strangers watching her dance - strangers who aren't a part of the dance studio "family" - almost made her refuse to participate.  I think she'll be glad when it's over, both that it is over and that she participated despite her introverted nature.  I think the latter will be a real victory for her.
   
   Update: This is the song she's singing and dancing to:
   
   
   
   
2. Big Girl is gearing up for Spring soccer.  This will be her first year on one of the "big kid" teams.  Up until now, she's been on the 6-8 team, which they allow girls to stay on until they are no longer 9.  But now, she'll be on the 9-12 team.  This means bigger kids, bigger boys, more strict following of the rules.  She is going from being one of the most experienced kids on the team (and one of the biggest) to the bottom of the totem pole.  It's going to be interesting to see how she adjusts to the new environment.
   
   
3. Travel Man has donned his Super Travel Suit again.  He's gone every week this month, and all but two in April.  But on the "non-travel" days for March, he's working from home.  This is nice for us girls, who get to give him drive-by smooches as he works from the kitchen table.  Plus, he gets to avoid work on his birthday (next Friday).  He doesn't want some big fuss, over the hill nonsense, black balloons, etc.  So instead, he'll stay home and then go work the Fish Fry at the parish, where I'll bake that chocolate cake that floats on a layer of melted chocolate.  Oh, yeah, baby!  I'll be posting that recipe ASAP.  (Sorry, Stacey, for not getting to it sooner!)
   
   
4. My work is going well.  Well, my JOB is going well, but I sometimes lament not being able to focus properly on my VOCATION.  However, we are really humming along on that debt snowball.  I just keep my eyes on the prize and plug along.  The girls know that when we pay that last debt off, we'll save up and take a trip to Disney World.  THAT is their motivation and what helps them put up with Mommy working from home.  I enjoy the job, really, but it's tiring, and I'd much rather spend these beautiful Spring days at the park with the kids, feeding the ducks and new baby ducklings.  Soon, though.  It'll happen again.
   
   
5. There was a poll somewhere (Fox News?) that asked who was most at fault for the financial meltdown.  The choices were: Congress, Greedy Businesses and CEOs, or Greedy Comsumers.  Hallelujah!  The third answer is probably the most correct, though I doubt ordinary people see themselves as the problem.  I was a part of it, even though we didn't default on anything.  But we were absolutely greedy - purchasing things on credit that we couldn't afford, not wanting to wait for something, buying into the consumeristic lifestyle that our country has become mired in.  What is really sad is when I hear commentators say that our economy is driven by debt and loans.  And then we get angry that Congress doesn't balance the budget!  You know that old addage that says if you don't vote, you haven't got a right to complain?  Well, I propose that if you don't balance YOUR budget, you can't complain about Congress not doing it.  If everyone stopped borrowing money to buy crap they don't need and paid off their debts, then started paying cash for everyday purchases, we'd be a whole lot better off.  But enough of that soapbox...
   
   
6. I'm finding that I can't watch the news without feeling totally aggravated.  I'm aggravated that Congress didn't read a bill they passed, then complain about the contents.  I'm aggravated that the president tsk-tsk's at us over carbon usage, then flies out to California on Air Force One just to make read some stupid speech about his glorious plans.  I'm aggravated that we're such a bunch of peeping Toms that we have to gawk at some family's loss just because the couple involved are "celebrities."  I'm just sick of it.  I'm avoiding the news more and more these days, choosing to read here and there online instead.  
   
   
7. Spring is just around the corner now!  Our household has Spring Fever, big-time!  Flowers are popping up, the Lilacs are nearly in bloom, the grass is green (thanks in part to three solid days of rain), and we are able to shed our winter coats much more frequently.  Pretty soon, I'll go ahead and post some pictures of the happenings in the garden.  But have you ever given thought to just how beautiful it is in the Spring, how it mirrors the promised Resurrection?  Yes, Passover is in the Spring, and that has to do with why Easter is, but God planned that from the beginning of Time.  So that, as the Earth awakens from its slumber and begins life anew, we also remember Christ's death and resurrection and the new life promised to each of us who know, love, and serve Him in this life!  I feel oh-so-proud of myself when I am able to plan an elaborate meal so that everything is finished at the same time.  Can you imagine planning all of time so everything goes off "just-so"?  Of course, He can do anything.  But it's still amazing to consider.

[image source: "GREED"]