7 quick takes Friday

1- Lenten resolutions:
My resolutions were:
-pray with consistency the complies. And if possible do it with DH.
- eat oatmeal for breakfast, no snacks and light dinners
-save money from outing and pick a charity to give it to
-no crap TV during lunch break
- + read the book of proverbs
well resolutions... lost somewhere...
-DH was gone for a week last week, and we haven't prayed together since!
- I eat oatmeal OR cheerios. ;)
- still not too much going out, only cheap places on Sunday. Last Sunday we went sushi, to celebrate Mr. L. coming home :) It may be a small donation anyway..
- no crap TV during lunch break. More or less kept this week. :) Only I turn on the TV in the afternoons sometimes (like around 5PM)
- book of Proverb 2 more chapter.
Actually this is not tooooooo bad.

2- Also I decided to spend more time with DH in the mornings, sometimes instead of getting up and going to church I stay home with him, cuddling and sleeping in.. It feels nice, it's a good time to be together and to start the day.
But I also realize how much I miss morning mass when I don't go for several days in a row. It's not that easy to be joyful and thankful... Also I go to a very private mass, just 5 people on big days, and there is no homely or anything, it's 20 min max, but we spend 10 min in silence before the last prayer, and that is a very good time for praying. :)
So now my next resolution would be to find a better balance between family life and morning mass!

3- I may work in the morning. For the afterschool program they could have tutoring at... 7:00 AM! The school is litteraly 2 blocks away from my house, and they kids are there anyway, waiting for school to start. Man, these are long days for the children!! We have them in the afterschool program from 2:30 PM to 6:00 or 6:30 PM. It's almost a 12 hours day! No wonder they are tired, impatients and not focused... I would do tutoring....hmmm I think I'll look into homeschooling ideas to make it fun. At least they could see it as a game :)

4- I lost 1 pound. Not much but still in the right direction. :) That's 5 pounds so far. :) 15 more to go! Today I saw a dermatologist (for my myriad of moles), I told her about the regular doctor telling me to lose weight, she said "oh yes, that would be good for you!!" Like duh! Yes you need to loose A LOT!
I was quite surprised.. I don't feel I'm that big... Sure I have some padding on the behind, but this is my personal reserve for winter and recession...

5- Tomorrow we go on with the art project. Finishing "Solomon Temple", and the sky, and a tree to hung all prayers... I'm really happy about it!

6- Thursday we start the discussion group with the teens. The teens in our program are awfully rude, disrespectful and crude. So we're going to give a try to the theology of the body for teens. Actually it's very broadly inspired, because we also want to include a lot about optimism, positive critism and responsabilities. These kids should be upset at all the injustice in the world, ready to rise and make a change, instead they are whining, complaining and insulting. Let's try something, can't get much worse right now. Sometimes all you need is a little thought provocation... Crossing fingers and praying hard!

7- I didn't report about EMC yesterday. I saw only one girl. We talked a lot (by we I mean she, I mostly listen and ask a few question to help her consider all options). And more than ever I try to follow 2 guide lines:
first Love. As simple as it sounds it's difficult for me to not look down at some people who make several poor decisions. It's very humbling to realize that I'm not better and to see how human and limited we all are...
second is that when you face a crisis-pregnancy, the problem is the crisis, not the child.
So I listened to that girl, and I pointed that out to her. Even if you get your abortion, what is going to happen? You're just going back to where you come from!
When her "boyfriend" found out she was pregnant he broke up with her. Good riddance. (I agreed). Her problem is that she has 2 other little ones and she has problem to have them cared for when she works. My point is that this new little one already helped her get rid of that awful guy, now he could also be a great motivation to find a better solution to her working and day care schedule..
As bad as your situation is, "terminating" the baby is not going to help you, it just sends you right back where you come from. Whereas as a pregnant woman you can get much more help, and you get the motivation to get yourself out of bad situation...
Sometimes I get really upset at some unknown entity called media, or "society", or "culture", especially when I hear a mom telling me how hard it is to get food for her children, and how difficult it is to pay the bills: rent, electricity, cable, cell phone, nails... I mean since when the last three have become necessities ? Seriously? Your nails are on the list BEFORE feeding your children???
waouh. Just waouh.