Source and Summit of Life

So, anyone who reads my blog regularly (hi, mom!  hi, husband!) has probably realized I like to blog about funny things that happen, unexpected & indirect ways being Cuban has affected me, food, and other randomness.

I'd like to keep it that way.  

Our beloved parish, late winter

As I've said before, I don't like arguing and engaging in conflict on the internet.  

Receiving the Eucharist at our wedding mass

But there is something so serious and pressing that is threatening to happen in my beloved city that I feel compelled to take a break from regularly scheduled programming.

There is a black mass scheduled to take place at the Civic Center in September, on the feast of St. Matthew.

The Catholic mass is a biblical liturgy with two climaxes: a Gospel reading and the transformation of ordinary bread and wine into the body and blood of Jesus Christ.

It is also a constant in my life.  It's marked all major life events, from birth to graduations to the beginning of my marriage; what better way to mark time than to participate in the ritual that is both within time and beyond time, a piece of heaven on earth?

When I travelled to Russia, we attended many masses in the extremely unfamiliar Russian language, yet I was able to pray and participate through the familiarity with the form of the liturgy- and even sing the Regina Caeli in latin, along with everyone else.

In the past few months, often sleep-deprived and always distracted by my little babe, the rhythm of the liturgy allows me to pray and participate even in while nursing a baby or holding one of her cousins.

A black mass is not just a Satanic ritual, which is offensive enough, but it is an inversion and perversion of the Catholic mass. A true black mass involves the desecration of the Eucharist, Jesus' body and blood, with urination and other bodily fluids.  It often involves using the naked body of a (not free) woman as an altar.  Presumably, some of these details may change to conform to Oklahoma laws.


It is absolutely appalling that this is allowed to go on at a public venue.  So far, the Civic Center and the city of Oklahoma City have abdicated responsibility under the guise of the First Amendment's right to free speech.  They say they have no power because of this because it is protected speech under the First Amendment.

No speech is just "speech." Speech is always an act. But a black mass is not just a speech act about why Catholics are wrong, nor even is it poking fun of Jesus: it is a hate crime.  It is the desecration of a holy object. Would the same policy apply if a Neo-Nazi group came to desecrate holy Jewish objects on stage?


Additionally, this particular black mass is hosted by a registered sex offender who was convicted of sexual battery in 2009.  

Sometimes leaving with something is worse than leaving with nothing

A few weeks ago, my friend Abby, the baby, and I went to Wal-Mart with one purpose: ear piercing.

After wandering (and wondering) around, trying to find the jewelry department and getting distracted by all the STUFF (as usual) we were told that we would have to return later.

The jewelry department couldn't ear pierce then.

Shopping our local Walmart
(bag courtesy of Holiday Pop-Up Shops, press packet)

Well.  Fail #1.

Since every trip outside the house with a small baby is often an epic journey, I decided not to waste the Walmart outing.  We would finally, finally get a second car key to my husband's HHR.

More wandering around, trying not to get absorbed in all the little baskets or mason jars, to find the place that makes duplicate keys.

The automotive department.  Not where I expected.

We wait in line.  I hand the lady the key; she rummages through the keys on the counter to try to find one that will work.  No luck.  She turns to a box with the fancier keys, behind her.  No match.

Fail #2.

Luckless in two noble pursuits, we decide to get fancy chocolate.  We find the aisle easily and each pick our own bars.

Mmmm, Ghiradelli!  Mmmm, dark chocolate with sea salt caramel.

Fail #3.

Time to check out brought us to terribly long lines in at all the cashiered registers.  Two options were left: wait at least ten minutes or (further) compromise our morals by using the automated registers that replace an employment opportunity with a machine.

As you can see from the above photo, we chose the latter.

Walmart 4, Us 0.

The Interwebs

Sometimes it seems like the internet is either: a. “just a bunch of cat pictures or something,” (as my friend Anna says) or b. a big fight.*

 So, when I’m nursing a baby and surfing the web, it can be really discouraging when it seems like everything out there is designs to make the reader angry, either at the writer or with the writer, at something else.  

It’s even more discouraging when a piece written by a mommy blogger, intended to encourage new moms to relax, enjoy their baby, use their instincts and common sense about safety instead of stressing all the time, is ferociously attacked.

Or when people de-friend each other over differing political opinions.

This was the most discouraging thing about yesterday's discussion; many, many people stated proudly that the now knew who they "have nothing in common with" so purged them from Facebook.

Yes, we may have profound disagreements over things like the purpose of medicine, but that does not mean we have nothing in common.  We have a shared humanity, generally, plus lots of specific things in common with specific people.

So, in honor of yesterday's big fight, here are a few positive forces on the internet, from the lighthearted and funny to the inspiring and insightful.  So, if you: a. have lots of time to waste or b. are nursing a baby who won’t let you read a book but will let you read your phone,** here’s some sites to check out, from Serious Thinkers to outfit and food inspiration to actually good mommy bloggers:

The Faux Martha: Pretty pics, yummy recipes, and a good dose of keepin’ it real.  Only problem is her enthusiasm for Nutella.  And that's only a problem because Nutella is a little too delicious.

Orangette: Probably everyone reads this.  She’s, like, the best food blogger in the world.  Or so the London Times thinks.  Haven't read enough food blogs to know, but she's really good. I interviewed her about her new book here.

In Honor of Design: Lovely photographer, positive tone, and beautiful clothing that inspires me to actually get dressed even when I don’t really leave the house

Personalist Project: really smart people talking about personalist philosophy as relates to daily life- or, how to demonstrate the value of the human person in our everyday actions

Catholic Catalogue: Beautiful project aimed at anyone who is looking to live a more meaningful life, with small practices to start alongside book, movie, and music recommendations

Fike Life: Hilarious mommy blog.  (Don’t read it if you’re offended by an attentive mom who uses her common sense more than expert advice.) 

But, really. 

I thought mom blogs were a. opinions on the Best Way to Mother or b. 3000-word reflections on a small event in daily life that provided some piece of insight to the writer and is of interest only to those who know her and even then it reminds me of why print is not and should not die…. Editors… yes, editors are really good… no, great. 

I think I need one right now.

Anyway, Blythe Fike provided me wrong.  Mommy blogs can be comical retellings of little events, mixed with humble insight into the whole parenthood thing.

Verily: their tagline “Less of who you should be, more of who you are,” says it all; a different way to do a women's magazine, online.

The Billfold: subtitled “Everything you always wanted to know about money but were too polite to ask.”  Yes, I do wonder about how other people spend and save and earn their money.  I’m only a little ashamed to admit it.  Plus: a. I like their humourous style and b. I feel really good about how much I earn freelancing… and really bad about how little other people are willing to accept for what they write.

Any website recs from you, reader?

My real reading favorites.

*I mean, it was actually a (successful) career plan for some late-twenties guy to start a blog in which step one is to right “true” things that utterly lack compassion in tone and self-admitted actions (like leaving the grocery store mad at someone you disagree with) and then get upset because people think you don’t like them, when it’s really their actions you don’t like.

Yup.  And then, like, 10,000 people “like” the post about the distinction between not liking someone’s actions and not liking the person, because that is a real distinction… if you act that way.

**If c. you’re just looking for something new to read, I recommend a book.  Try: War and Peace, Father Brown stories (for all you mystery-lovers out there), Peace Like a River, Anne of Green Gables, Ceremony of Innocence, Tobit’s Dog, Pride and Prejudice, etc, etc.  This is just what I came up with off the top of my head; book suggestions are endless.  Feel free to leave more in the comments.

A Brief, Personal History of Settlers of Catan

My first exposure to a game that now ranks in my top two games* of all time came on a visit to South Bend circa 2010.  I say "exposure" as I can't properly say I played.  I arrived late.  The game was already in play among these friends of the North countries who journeyed from Milwaukee and Chicago for a Catan-meet-up.  An extremely modified version of Settlers of Catan, involving an absolutely giant board, anchored the room.

I became John Paul's teammate, leaving all decisions regarding play to someone much better versed in the game.  Someone who actually knew things like the rules.  And the goal.

But, as usual, I was no less invested in clenching the win.

College friends!

(We didn't.)

Fast forward to the fall of 2012.  My new husband and I had just moved to Oklahoma City, where we quickly became friends with a young family who love Catan.  It took me one game, played in their charming but small garage apartment while their baby slept ten feet away, to get hooked.

The game, like all the best games, takes skill, strategy, and luck.  It takes skill to pick the correct territories, to negotiate beneficial trades, to know when and where to build and when to save resources, and to know when to go for the longest road or largest army.  All of these skills are intertwined with strategy: planning for the future.

Luck keeps the game interesting.

And, sometimes more importantly coughbackgammontournamentscough keeps the peace when one person seems to win more than all the others.

Settlers topped my Christmas list.  My very kind and generous mother-in-law thought the game was along the lines of Dungeons and Dragons and bought it for me anyway.

By the end of the week, she had bought it for herself, too.

Klaus Teuber is now a household name.  In our household, anyway.

My greatest achievement in Catan and other geniuses of Hans came a few weeks ago.  Since January, Catan equalled embarrassment for me; never did I just lose.  I never even got going.

But all that changed when my brother-and-sister-in-law came into town for a Thunder game.  They arrived early, in time to play with the baby, eat cupcakes, drink beer, and, most importantly, to play Catan.

Victory was mine.

That same evening, my original instructors came for curry and Catan.

Again, victory.

The following day, nap time found us at my brother and sister-in-law's house for our inaugural game of Settlers of America.  I remain the only victor of this brilliant creation of Hans Kluber, board game genius.

Settling America, honeymoon style.
Well, its the West.
The one thing I learned in that game: westward expansion is advantageous
I mean, we were manifestly destined to settle the continent, right?

*Maybe three.  Why don't we play Spades anymore??

Construction Considerations

For road builders, there are many considerations: water ways, mountains, hills, rocky soil, and many other things I remain blissfully unaware of as someone who only drives on roads.

But in Iceland, there is another consideration: elves.

As you may have heard, road construction in Iceland was stopped when many were concerned that it would upset the elves living in the area.

Spoiler alert: it was resumed when the elves agreed to have their chapel moved to another location.

(h/t Conor McWay)

Pardon Me While I Pretend I'm a Food Blogger

At least with the pictures.

If you want recipes, it will have to be by request.

I guess I just want to show off the beautiful food I make.*

Maybe this is why people have Instagram.  

Do people Instagram food pics, bragging about their pretty (and delicious) food?  Or is it only their children and adventures they brag about?  

Or maybe it's funny things.  I could get into that.

Other people's food pics, though: not for me.

So I'll understand if my food pics aren't for you.

Without further ado:

Buttermilk Biscuit Breakfast Sandwiches!  Oh, we need to have those again, stat.

Polenta with White Bean and Roasted Red Pepper Ragout

Dutch baby cake (topped it with fresh fruit and powdered sugar, shared it with my love; well, the one that can eat, not the baby love)

Red, White, and Blue Sheet Cake; yes, that's fruit in there, so it's super healthy

*Lest I fill you with jealousy, not everything we eat looks like its from a magazine.  Nope.  Wednesday night, I realized my husband would need to take dinner with him to work in the morning, so I threw chicken breasts, chicken broth, whole potatoes, rice, celery, carrots, and chickpeas in the crockpot.  

True story.  

And it would have been good, too, if I just omitted the chickpeas.  They just made it weird.

Except, according to my husband as I write this post, even though he has no idea what I'm doing on the computer (for all he knows, I'm looking at clothes we can't afford), I could have put in more chickpeas.  

Well, you live and you learn.

What, exactly, I learned regarding the presence of chickpeas in thrown-together, made-up crockpot meals is still up for debate.

Clueless, Consumerism, and Catan

Okay, so no Catan.

Catan: Seafarers!

I just like alliteration.

(Though, I DID win three Settlers games in a row a few weeks ago.)

But!  Clueless.  And consumerism.  Well,  last summer my friend Christina wrote a blog post about quitting the whole consumeristic culture of buying lots of clothes, inspired by Papa Francisco and, well, Jesus.  It involved lots of personal insight and pictures of Cher with clothes strewn about the floor.

And after thinking, "Good for her," I thought --- well, actually I thought about how funny Clueless is.*

But after that I patted myself on the back and thought, "Consumerism.  Beneath me."

Then I went to the mall.

No, no, not with the intention of shopping.  I'm not that hypocritical.  I went because last summer I became a secret mall-walker, like those little old ladies who do laps, walking from Dillard's to Macy's to Penny's, making sure I round each column.  Yes, that's me, except my hair is only 40% gray. And I usually have a baby with me.

But, of course, I'd peer at the shop windows, glancing at Gap's almost-but-not-quite-affordable long dresses, the ethereal lace tops from Loft, the fabulous red suit-dresses from JCrew, and, of course, Williams-Sonoma’s five-ply stainless steel pots and pans.  And I’d want them. 
 

Darn you, Loft, and your 50% off shorts.

Even though, I, you know, don’t go to work.** 

And even though I already own the All-Clad ten piece set, complete with the free lasagna pan and The Essentials of Italian Cooking^. 

So, yes: my own desire for the Infinite and for Beauty is also very easily twisted into a vain, vapid consumerism.  

Ouch.

Thank you, red dress maker Zara, for being too cool and European for my middle-America city.  Absent temptation doesn't = virtue, but it sure helps.

GK Chesteron on consumerism here (don't be fooled by the title, that's what he comes around to, like when he says he's writing about cheese and ends up writing about big business.)

*My opportunity to watch it again came when my Jane Austen book club had its very first movie night after reading Emma.  Watching the Gwyneth version was considered a betrayal of the original intent.  Too many liberties in interpretation appeared.  So the Silverstone adaptation was quickly agreed upon.

** Yes, yes, every once in awhile I interview the Attorney General or something, but one business dress and one black pencil skirt with appropriate tops is more than enough for these rare occasions.

^All of which—not to fuel your desire to buy, buy, buy—is as fabulous as you might imagine, if you frequently imagine and sometimes enact elaborate cooking scenarios (like me).