Good Friday

The alter is bare and the crosses are draped in black...It's Good Friday and Sunday's a comin'.
All day I've been mindful of the good that would and will come out of the bad so many years ago.
I sit here watching The Passion of Christ with anticipation....but in this moment I reflect on who Christ is to me and what today means for my life...
Sunday's a comin' but today is Good Friday...

Could a step back from technology really be a couple of steps forward?

I deactivated my Facebook page! I know...no more FB...why....for how long...what will you do with all that time you used to spend on FB? I'm sure these are some of the questions that popped into your head. They're questions I'm asking myself actually. In all honesty, I've been thinking about doing this for a while (maybe since the beginning of the year). As my "friends" list began to grow, it occurred to me that I hadn't seen, talked to or even thought about many of the people that I was now letting into my world, my personal space. I was sharing the special occasions in my life, my thoughts, the growing up of my daughter...and I was doing all of this with "virtual" strangers. Don't get me wrong, on the flip side, I was able to see into people's lives and have "shared" experiences with them without actual interaction. Maybe I opened my world up to too many "friends". I probably would have been better served by keeping my circle small and intimate. The funny thing about that is I have less than 200 "friends", of whom I'm certain only a handful have even noticed that I no longer exist on FB, and that number IS small for a FB roster. With all of that going on in my head, it didn't help that I recently watched "The Social Network". It's the movie based on Mark Zuckerberg and the founding of Facebook. Now, I'm not certain how much of the movie was fact versus Hollywood, but I was put off by Zuckerberg's character and the the way it all went down. I've had the discussion with some as to whether or not I am being oversensitive to the way he was handling business and how he was a genius who was just in his own head all the time and how the twins who sued him were the real jerks of the movie. I've even heard that Zuckerberg says he isn't really like his character in the movie. I get it... and I'm probably being ridiculous seeing as how I'd stop using a lot of goods and services if I saw a movie about they way they came to be. Nevertheless, I was feeling a certain way about this particular thing and ,just for now, took action. To reactivate my page is as simple as logging into my FB account with my email address and password. They make it very easy to return to my "friends". In the meantime, I have the phone numbers and addresses, both physical and virtual, for the "friends" I actually want to access and vice versa. I guess I'll have to spend more time reading or writing or playing with Grace or surfing the internet for other favorite pages to visit. I'll also have to find another way to distribute this post...as FB made it easy to publish for all my "friends" to read. Given all that, I still have to wonder if my step back from that piece of technology and social networking won't somehow be a couple of steps forward for ME in the long run. Only time will tell. So, until I return to FB, call me, email me or send me a letter...."friends". I'll miss you while I'm gone.

It really is a charming life....

It's a Sunday afternoon and I know people don't really want to hear about how nice it feels to be relaxing as my Bath and Body Works Stress Relief Aromatherapy candle burns. I mean, we went to church this morning and got our praise on, and now Grace is napping and I'm vegging out! We've had so much company lately, WHICH WE LOVE, but it also feels good to be back to our normal; to level set and get back to base. I realize that this "blog" is more like an online journal. I share too much and too intimately, but the release is the best part. I also hope there's something in my routine that may encourage, uplift or tickle you. At any rate, the reality is that we have been sooo busy until I haven't been focusing on my Lenten disciplines as much as I should and certainly not as much as when Lent started. Our lives have been filled with randomness that's been nice. For instance, I received an online dress order for Grace. It's a blue smocked dress with two ribbons on the side of a center cross. She'll wear it to take her picture with the Easter Bunny! YAY!
I enjoy Easter and the newness it symbolizes. Last year's bunny looked like a rat. This year's bunny is actually kind of cute...in a "bunny with a pink satin vest on" kind of way.
Grace's God parents were here to love on her and go to the Master's practice round. Dale also went but because we were told Grace needed a ticket too, I didn't go. I got a nice visor though! I celebrated another birthday, as I've probably mentioned.
We've found a church and are in a groove. It feels nice to have a regular place of worship and fellowship. Grace even went to her first birthday party yesterday. It was an invite from one of our church members. She had fun...which meant I had a blast.
It's all so mundane and normal and the stuff mom's and families do all the time.
It's our normal and ....it really is a charming life!

What what!....a lesson from my Radio Shack clearance purchase

I know...the "what what" IS a bit over the top, but so is my latest purchase from Radio Shack. It's the clearance Turquoise Tiki I-3 Case-Mate. Yep, I got a new phone case. I'm so late....my phone is a model ago, soon to be two models ago. Now, my phone case is the latest in clearance purchases for my old phone. Clearance reeks of being...not quite the latest. Anyway, I had a choice of the one I got and a clear snap-on case for a whole $10 more. My first thought was "What am I going to do with a turquoise tiki phone case." I laughed in the store with the sales girl and told her I could hear my husband saying "what is that on your phone". I had a thought of stepping into a newsroom or conference room or church or even pulling my phone out at a friends house and hearing a big gasp (or seeing a purposeful stare). I'm chuckling even now. Then it hit me that Grace would love it. It's bright, playful and filled with a neat design that will hold her attention for at least 3 minutes, and that's long enough to refresh my coffee if not go to the restroom. I decided it was a great purchase for a mom who wants to offer and share life experiences with her daughter. It was the perfect clearance purchase for my stage in life, and even if I end up getting a more conservative case for my more up to date I-4 phone, I'm going to enjoy the latest purchase. It was more than just a clearance purchase, it was a lesson learned....Now is what we have; it's what matters even as we prepare for "the future". As I finalized my purchase, I remembered the lilies of the field and how they take no thought for tomorrow. Tomorrow will take care of itself but today, I bought a Turquoise Tiki Case-Mate (SMILE!)