(Man in the Mirror?)
(Spring Training, Baby!)Just like a good New Year’s Resolution or (already for some of us) our Lenten Commitments, blogging has fallen to the wayside. I swear I do plenty of blogging in my head, but alas…
RENOVATIONS…
RENOVATIONS…
It seems the biggest venture (in a very literal sense) has been the mass construction in the final wing of the Briones house. It looked like a reality show on HGTV… only it kind of felt more appropriately like “Hell’s Kitchen” in the final days. In spite of our excessive trips to Lowes and Home Depot, we failed to run into the House Crashers (we believe in them like five-year olds believe in the Tooth Fairy). My husband lives for this kind of stuff. Everyone asks me if I am sick of the house projects. To an extent, yes. But at the same time, all this building and creating and designing and constructing is Joshua’s passion. I can’t imagine not supporting him in doing the hobbies he loves. And, as we’ve been saying all along, we are making our house Our Home and I love it.
The granite came first, then the tiling (special thanks to Raul who offered his professional assistance and put up with my lack of professional assistance), then the painting, cabinet work, prepping, more painting, and the antiquing (which involved… more painting). Our house looked like a combo of double-dare and Ghostbusters. If you want the details, ask Josh. He did 85% of the work – he’s amazing like that; I was more of his apprentice. I enjoyed being part of the process and learning how to do it. I did not enjoy the learning involved in painting all the cabinet doors only to discover the next evening how poorly I did them and I needed to re-sand and paint the whole set. I enjoyed spending time with my husband seeing our vision come to fruition. I speak on behalf of my fingernails when I say, I do not enjoy sandpaper and I’d rather spend a lifetime sleeping with a cat in our bed than sand cabinets again. I enjoyed the expulsion of the remaining 1980s motif. Getting rid of popcorn ceilings is like a good cleanse. The 80s had beauty but I would say it came in the form of NKOTB, not home design and décor.
So after a few weeks of the coffee pot in the entry way, the pantry food in the guest bedroom, the microwave in the living room, and the dishes in the dining room, our lives are back to normal. It’s nice to come home from work and relax in the den instead of suiting up to put on a layer of primer. It’s also nice to look around at the work we did and to be proud we did it ourselves. All this was completed in good timing as baby T is now on the move. While he’s not crawling, he can do a good 360. My favorite was witnessing Tressan try to crawl forward only to end up going in reverse. He’s close, folks.
My TOP FIVE KITCHEN FAVS
1. I can reach ALL the cans in the cabinets. This is a big deal when you live with someone who is a whole foot taller than you and doesn’t mind things in the back of the top shelf.
2. Kids can no longer lick the trash can when they come over.
3. Joshua built a mail shelf. A home for mail. YES!
4. Another Pinterest Idea: Hanging measuring spoons and cups. A home for measuring spoons and cups. Yes!
5. The lights Joshua installed under the cabinets. It’s like mood-lighting for dishes. Love.
All = WINNING!
RELATIVES...
Grandma and Grandpa Hahn returned to Dallas the first weekend of February (couldn’t get enough of the little one). And, it was Grandpa’s favorite time of the year – Groundhog’s day. Tressan got a real taste of Texas at the Rodeo in Fort Worth. While everyone enjoyed the bull riding, I still love the part with the 4-H teens running around, throwing themselves at the calves, and trying to pull them into a designated box. Would love to try and pass for 15 just to have a shot at it. We concluded our Fort Worth trip at a new Latin restaurant with fabulous margaritas. The grand finale involved a stop at Sweet Sammie’s (where you can get a custom-made ice cream sandwich!!!) – GENIUS! Those of you in the Metroplex have to put this place on your radar. We saw it on the DFW Foodies network and it exceeded expectations. Would I offend anyone if I said it was the best of Superbowl weekend?
Our pre-Valentine’s Day weekend was eventful. Grandma and Grandpa Briones took good care of T while Joshua and I saw “The Vow” (B rating). Our good friends, the Osterbergers, hosted a lively wine-tasting party out of their home. Let’s just say that every party should be a wine-tasting. Sunday, we celebrated Great Aunt Marie’s 90th Birthday at her church in Lindsay. The church, St. Peter’s, is full of splendor. The stained glass windows, murals, stations – all are so captivating. Really draws you to heaven. Favorite was the huge mural of St. Benedict to the right of the altar portraying his arms raised in prayer before his death. Good choice. Aunt Marie donated so much to the church’s restoration, and it is such a gift. The reception truly honored the gift that SHE is with many of her pictures, mementos and crafts on display. We reaped the blessings too as it gave us time to visit with so many including Grandma Betzen, Aunt Robin, Aunt Diedra, Abby, Valerie and sweet baby Royceton. Tressan made his mark at the reception by peeing on me and then pooping on the changing table before we left. Oh son.
REFLECTIONS...
1. Valentine’s Day: How beautiful is this?... Rose is a sweet, kindly, witty little old receptionist we have at Ursuline. Her husband of a ridiculous number of decades died last summer. On Valentine’s Day, I pulled onto campus behind her. Rose parked her car and got out at the guard station. I watched her hand the security officer a cup of coffee or hot chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Adorbes. Spending Valentine’s Day with around 800 15-18 year old girls is pretty dramatic. They want flowers and candy and baby bundt cakes and notes. Most of these teens like to call it “S.A.D.” (Singles Awareness Day). But the beauty and grace of Rose that morning who had recently lost her husband, really brought to life a Crystalina Evert quote I use in class, “Being single does not mean being alone. Being single means having the opportunity to live for others.” It’s not about what we get but about how we give.
2. Bananas and Pears are entirely underrated for their entertainment value. See video...
1. Valentine’s Day: How beautiful is this?... Rose is a sweet, kindly, witty little old receptionist we have at Ursuline. Her husband of a ridiculous number of decades died last summer. On Valentine’s Day, I pulled onto campus behind her. Rose parked her car and got out at the guard station. I watched her hand the security officer a cup of coffee or hot chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Adorbes. Spending Valentine’s Day with around 800 15-18 year old girls is pretty dramatic. They want flowers and candy and baby bundt cakes and notes. Most of these teens like to call it “S.A.D.” (Singles Awareness Day). But the beauty and grace of Rose that morning who had recently lost her husband, really brought to life a Crystalina Evert quote I use in class, “Being single does not mean being alone. Being single means having the opportunity to live for others.” It’s not about what we get but about how we give.
2. Bananas and Pears are entirely underrated for their entertainment value. See video...
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3. The Healthcare Mandate: I am so proud to be Catholic these days. I am proud of a Church who, rooted in Christ, stands tall behind her teachings. For anyone who thinks the teaching on contraception is outdated (I’ve heard this from many in casual conversation), I am saddened and slightly insulted by that. Joshua and I fully believe in NFP as do so many of our friends. I don’t say this with an uneducated or judgmental perspective; I say it because I believe it proclaims the fullest sense of what love is. The truth does not restrict and confine. The truth gives life and sets us free.
4. Faculty Day of Service: Presidents’ Day. While some were relishing a day off, Ursuline designated a day of service. I spent the day playing BINGO at a nursing facility. It was priceless. Example: I told one little old woman, “I love your glasses,” and she quickly chirped, “Well, I love you.” We were told that 50% of the residents are left at the nursing home and never receive a visitor again. It was so sad to see the men and women and think of how forgotten they are. It was hard for many of them to stay awake (myself included) after 1.5 hours of continuous BINGO (that’s a lot of BINGO), and despite my efforts to entertain her one of the ladies at my table fell asleep. I couldn’t help but notice how much she resembled Tressan when he falls asleep sitting up. I thought of how precious my baby is when he sleeps like that and how precious this woman was. Another just wanted me to hold her hand and walk with her to the dining room. I hope to go back. Totes. And I hope to be a person much like the staff that lives daily by bringing dignity to the least in the kingdom.
5. I’m really sick of that KIA commercial with the gerbils dancing.
We are so BLESSED. Even just watching our little boy laugh so often and so freely reminds me of how good we have it. My heart is swelling and moving me beyond complacency. Makes me want to live radically and to pour myself out. What is the goal? Together, for Joshua and I to increase God’s life and love in the world. What is next? Where is he calling us? I don’t know, but we go on faithfully. I pray we may not belittle His will by our fear, hesitation and excuses. The group that led our inservice following the service project at Ursuline mentioned a Vatican II document. Since then, I’ve been praying about the “gap between existing realities and untried possibilities.” However God calls, our duty is to try. May our 40 Days of Lent be transformative and a gift to the world. To whom much is given, much is to be expected. Thank you, Lord.
4. Faculty Day of Service: Presidents’ Day. While some were relishing a day off, Ursuline designated a day of service. I spent the day playing BINGO at a nursing facility. It was priceless. Example: I told one little old woman, “I love your glasses,” and she quickly chirped, “Well, I love you.” We were told that 50% of the residents are left at the nursing home and never receive a visitor again. It was so sad to see the men and women and think of how forgotten they are. It was hard for many of them to stay awake (myself included) after 1.5 hours of continuous BINGO (that’s a lot of BINGO), and despite my efforts to entertain her one of the ladies at my table fell asleep. I couldn’t help but notice how much she resembled Tressan when he falls asleep sitting up. I thought of how precious my baby is when he sleeps like that and how precious this woman was. Another just wanted me to hold her hand and walk with her to the dining room. I hope to go back. Totes. And I hope to be a person much like the staff that lives daily by bringing dignity to the least in the kingdom.
5. I’m really sick of that KIA commercial with the gerbils dancing.
We are so BLESSED. Even just watching our little boy laugh so often and so freely reminds me of how good we have it. My heart is swelling and moving me beyond complacency. Makes me want to live radically and to pour myself out. What is the goal? Together, for Joshua and I to increase God’s life and love in the world. What is next? Where is he calling us? I don’t know, but we go on faithfully. I pray we may not belittle His will by our fear, hesitation and excuses. The group that led our inservice following the service project at Ursuline mentioned a Vatican II document. Since then, I’ve been praying about the “gap between existing realities and untried possibilities.” However God calls, our duty is to try. May our 40 Days of Lent be transformative and a gift to the world. To whom much is given, much is to be expected. Thank you, Lord.
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