60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 29

*Post a picture that can always make you smile*

I'm back from the "Photo Challenge" break!  Here's something that can make me smile....ALL THE TIME!

I know what you're thinking....and yes, I KNOW Nutella is not Weight Watcher friendly.  But, I'm OK with that.  I can look at the picture, can't I?

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 28

*Post a picture of something you are afraid of*

Sadly, fear has had a very prominent place in my life ever since I can remember!  There are a TON of things I'm afraid of...but here are just a few:

Flying roaches!  These things DISGUST me!  This is the #1 reason I don't like living in Florida!

Flying...well, actually...I'm not so much afraid of flying as I am afraid of crashing!

Yes, I'm afraid of a recurrence.

Anyway, these are in no particular order and if you know me at all....these aren't a surprise.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 27

*Post a picture of yourself and a family member*

This is my favorite uncle.  I guess I was about two or three in this picture.  I have a very vague recollection of this bedroom.  I remember that I thought of it as the "purple bedroom".  Every morning when I would open my eyes, the room was a purple color.  It didn't last for long, only a few minutes but I loved that room!

Years later, I realized that the windows in my room faced towards the east and when the sun would rise in the morning, it would cast a purple glow on the pale pink walls.  I wonder if this is the reason that I am so fascinated with sunrises and sunsets.  I ALWAYS stop to notice the way the sky looks early in the morning and at dusk.  There is no painting in this world that is more beautiful than the canvass that God uses every day!  Sometimes I pretend that He made that painting in the sky just for me! 

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 26

*Post a picture of something that means a lot to you*

Ask this of me tomorrow, and you may get a different answer.  But today, this is what means a lot to me.....

The Church

Image Credit

The Blessed Sacrament and the Holy Father

The Catechism of the Catholic Church

The Blessed Mother

Image Credit

The Rosary

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 25

*Post a picture of your day*

Over the past two weeks, the days here in Jacksonville have been filled with smoke!  Apparently, there are several fires burning in the surrounding counties (and a very large fire in Georgia)!  It has been so HOT here...reaching into the upper 90's in the afternoon!  Between the heat and the smoke, it feels as though I'm living on the surface of the sun!  The smoke has made it hard to breathe.  As a matter of fact, I ended up with an inhaler because of irritation in my bronchial tubes and my lungs.  I can't really tell if it's allergies or the smoke!  My guess is that it's a little of both!  Anyway, here is a picture of my days....lately!

This is a photo of downtown Jacksonville on Wednesday of this week!  I've been keeping the kids indoors which means a lot of computer games, videos, board games and playing dress up....as well as several episodes of Spongebob (ew).  As a matter of fact...the following conversation transpired between Amelia (age 7) and myself yesterday...

Amelia:  Mom, is Bikini Bottom real?  Because if it is, I'd like to live there!

Mom:  Nope, it's not real, Amelia....it's a CARTOON!

Amelia:  Darn!

Please God, take the smoke away so my kids can go back outside to play!  Amen.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 24

*Post a picture of something you wish you could change*

I wish I could change the hearts and minds of those who believe that to be "pro-choice" is empowering to women.  True feminism is to not allow yourself to be exploited or oppressed (and that includes the unborn).    True feminism is to realize and embrace all that it means to be a woman, to respect all human life, to reject violence....especially in cases of a seemingly untimely pregnancy...or for convenience.  All human beings have inherent worth....simply because we were created in the image and likeness of God. There is a notion out there that abortion liberates women.  There is nothing farther from the truth.....and that's what I wish I could change.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 23

*Post a picture of your favorite book*

It's difficult to pick just one.  Over the years, I've had many favorites....from all of the Berenstain Bears books to the Catechism of the Catholic Church!  I really enjoyed the Twilight Series as well as reading all the Junie B. Jones books to my kids.  But, since I'm asked to post a picture of my favorite....I'd have to narrow it down to just two:

The Secret of the Rosary by St. Louis De Montfort

Hinds Feet on High Places by Hannah Hurnard

If you have not read either of these books, you are really missing something.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 22

*Post a picture of something you wish you were better at*

I wish I was better at gardening.  I don't know what color my thumbs are supposed to be, but I can assure you they are not green!  The soil here in Florida is very sandy...much different from what I'm used to in Northern California.  We've tried tomatoes (I got about 4 small ones), eggplant (this plant looked very healthy and gave me two gorgeous eggplants but that was it), red chili peppers (these are still going strong), and lettuce.  The lettuce did very well!  It gave me about 4 good crops worth.  Then, we had a particularly rainy week and I forgot to check the lettuce!  The next time I went out there....it had grown, grown, grown and had flowered.   The leaves were HUGE...but very tough and bitter.  I pulled the last of the lettuce up about 2 weeks ago.  I also tried growing some carrots.  They didn't get very big....

This was my lettuce before my first crop!  I think it did so well because the Blessed Mother was watching over it!

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 21

*Post a picture of something you wish you could forget*

No way around it....cancer sucks.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 20

*Post a picture of somewhere you'd love to travel*

See Photo Challenge Day 15.....

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 19

*Post a picture of you when you were little*

This was my 2nd birthday...celebrating with my Aunt JoAnn & Uncle Tom!  I can't believe that this was 44 years ago!

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 18

*Post a picture of your biggest insecurity*

I'm sure you didn't visit my blog today to see a list of my many insecurities.  I gotta be honest, I'm tempted to list as many as I can think of!  However, I'll spare you the gory details and just share a picture of two.  And by the way, these pictures are NOT of me (I don't think the rules on this photo challenge said that the picture had to be a real one)!

Believe it or not, I'm very insecure about my weight.  I think it has gotten worse since my mastectomy and hysterectomy.  It's all tied to self esteem....which I've struggled with for a loooong time!  Food has just always been a comfort to me during stressful times.  I'm 46 years old now and I'm not so sure that I can reverse this.  I try so hard to make use of other resources when I'm feeling particularly low or depressed but it always comes back to food.  I don't know if it's because of an "addiction" gene that I inherited (wouldn't it be nice to blame someone else!) or just simply the fact that I'm Italian and we Italians LOVE food!  Either way, it's a problem that I'm currently working on with a vengeance!

My other insecurity is my parenting skills.  What I find interesting is that if Dan and I wanted to adopt children, we would have to go through years of preparation.  We would have to provide a home study, financial records, medical records, detailed mental health history and so on.  However, when I went to the hospital to deliver Nathan, they just wrapped him in a blanket and said...here ya go!  He didn't come with an instruction booklet.  No one thought twice about handing him to Dan and I and letting us go...letting us LEAVE the hospital!  When we got home, we put him in the bassinet and stared at him.  We looked at each other and said, "OK, what do we do now?"  The point I'm trying to make is that there is no right way to parent.  I think a case can be made that there are several WRONG ways, but the jury is still out on the right way.  So what does a mother do?  You learn as you go.  This leaves SOOO much room for error!

It really hit me the other day that I could be seriously messing with their psyche.  Am I filling them with guilt the way my mom did with me?  Am I allowing them to grow?  Am I encouraging them to explore the world around them?  Am I hindering their creativity?  Are they going to hate me when they grow up?  When they act up at a restaurant or the grocery store, are the other people around us judging me?  Well, I don't know the answer to any of those questions but, I do know this.....I fall terribly short in my own expectations.  I guess I can only hope that my kids are easier on me than I am on myself and that God sees my heart and my errors and fills in those gaps!

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 17

*Post a picture of something that has made a huge impact on your life recently*

My recent trip to Rome for the beatification of Pope John Paul II (now Blessed) has had a very intense impact on my life.    Although I posted these pictures once before....Blogger somehow LOST that post and I haven't yet had the opportunity to upload them again.  If anyone ever tells you that standing in the middle of St. Peter's Square is not a moving experience (Catholic or no), they are outright lying to you!  I don't think there is anything that has so deeply affected me (not counting the birth of my kids) the way that St. Peter's does.  I know that I can't adequately express it, but my very soul was touched and uplifted.  It's something that affected me to the very core of who I am.  I can honestly say that I will never be the same after having been there.

OK..enough talk, here are the pictures from the Beatification on Sunday, May 1st, 2011.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 16

*Post a picture of someone who inspires you*

Pope Benedict XVI

Glenn Beck

My friend, Judy Dudich

George W. Bush

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 15

*Post a picture of something you want to do before you die*

Aurora Borealis

Grand Canyon

Crater Lake, Oregon

I have been very blessed over the years to be able to visit and live in some wonderful places!  The beauty of the Pacific Coast in California can't be matched!  The tall Redwoods and ancient Sequoia's, the sunset over the ocean, the snowy mountains of the Sierra's and the fields of flowers and produce in the Central Valley....all are incredible to behold.  But, the above 3 places are dreams I've had for a very long time.  Eventually, I'll get to each one...when the timing (God's timing) is right.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 14

*Post a picture of someone you could never imagine your life without*

My reasons for living (picture from Oct 2006)

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 13

*Post a picture of your favorite band or artist*

I'm not sure I can narrow it down to just one.  I'm going to break the rules today and post more than one picture!  And these are in NO particular order.

Journey

Kenny G.

Margaret Becker

Stevie Nicks

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 12

*Post a picture of something you love*

Well, I can not tell a lie....I LOVE this stuff!

However, it doesn't go too well with the Paleo way of eating!  So, I guess I'll just have to dream about spreading this smooth, chocolaty goodness all over my waffles....and have a pork chop instead!

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 11

*Post a picture of something you hate*

Hate is such a strong word.  I guess it should be saved for something that I feel strongly about.

This is a 'two-fer'.....this picture kills two birds with one stone.....so to speak.  I guess it could be said that I 'hate' the way this country is headed, and, I 'hate' the fact that it's legal to murder an unborn human being.  That just about covers it.

60 Day Photo Challenge - Day 10

*Post a picture of the person you do the most messed up things with*

Where do they come up with this stuff?  I mean, really.  What exactly does 'messed up' mean here?  I don't really do 'messed up' stuff, at least not anymore!  However, if I changed it to, "post a picture of the person you do the silliest stuff with"....well now, THAT I can answer!  That would be my BFF Becky!  Now, I mentioned my friend Kathy back on Day 2...and she's definitely the person that I've been closest to the longest.  But Kathy lives in California.... Becky, on the other hand, is my 'Kathy' here in Florida! 

Becky and I can be very silly together.  For instance, this picture was taken at the Jacksonville International Airport last month when we were leaving for Rome!  It was she and I that spontaneously decided to make this BOLD trip to Rome for the Beatification.  I can honestly say that she brings out the best in me!  She is a second mother to my kids and I feel very much at home in her house.  We are alike in many ways.  Just like Kathy, Becky will be my forever friend.  Hopefully, we will laugh together for many, many years to come.