Garden pics

That's my little garden buddy there :) This was last week, it's kind of exploded since then! I've got teeny green beans and zucchini that's almost ready to pick!

My garden is looking great! I'll try to post pictures this weekend. This year I have tomatoes, corn, lots of zucchini, cucumber, and green beans. Dh has been using the little mantis tiller on it every week to keep the weeds at bay, and I put some nice black compost I've been working on for a couple years all around the bases of the plants. Saw my first zucchini blossom yesterday, my beans are starting to flower, and I have a bunch of little green tomatoes. I have one that's getting big, it'll be picked soon and fried. I absolutely LOVE fried green tomatoes!

Strawberries were on sale last week so I bought a bunch and made and canned some jam. Very tasty! I'm trying to find an all fruit recipe though, I don't like how much sugar it takes (7 cups!!!)

Hope everyone has a good 4th!

Review: Sexual Authenticity

I was a little unsure of what I would get when I ordered Sexual Authenticity: An Intimate Reflection on Homosexuality and Catholicism by Melinda Selmys. It was described as a "personal reflection" of a woman who had exchanged "secular lesbianism for Catholicism," so I was a bit worried I'd end up with a book in which a "former lesbian" is saved and now preaches from the hilltops on how all those sinful homosexuals could easily be saved, too, if they'd just throw off the shackles of their sexuality and embrace Jesus. Quite the contrary, the author is openly critical of such approaches.

Sexual Authenticity is partially a personal reflection on Catholicism and homosexuality, but it's also a very sharp and introspective look at the theological truths of sexuality, marriage, children, gender, as well as the influence of the media and secular society. Selmys is brutally honest about her personal life and her struggles, which allows her to confront an extremely sensitive topic in a way that's truthful and sometimes necessarily uncomfortable without being self-righteous or accusatory.

Selmys' extremely sharp mind and penchant for philosophy make for explanations of complicated theological arguments that are at once cerebral and easily accessible. She manages to explain the Theology of the Body in a way that is soundly logical and nearly irrefutable, but also simple enough for lay people and non-Catholics to grasp.

Her insights into the inner workings of humanity are just as impressive. More than once her frank assessment of common human failings shook me to my core. Selmys has a way of nonchalantly destroying every wall and straw man you've built up for yourself that's innately disarming, but also inviting because it's rooted in truth and shared experience.

Sexual Authenticity is a powerful book that will make people on all sides of the homosexuality issue uncomfortable. But it's a necessary discomfort that forces us to discard societal labels that divide us and recognize each other as people, as children of God, first, no better or worse than the other. Only then can we even attempt a meaningful dialogue or understanding of such a intimate issue.

This review was written as a part of the Catholic book reviewer program.

Booooo

I'm having a negative day. I think it's PMS. Because I'm late and I've taken two tests and they were negative. Boy, am I a grouch. And very tired. And I have a headache. I want to be pregnant and it doesn't look like I am. Humph. At least I finally got the kids to watch TV and stop jumping on my head and using me as a human jungle gym.

I feel disconnected spiritually as well. I think this is because I haven't been to confession in 8 or 9 months. I always feel more connected when I confess regularly. The priest/parish I want to confess at only has confession at 11am on Saturdays, when dh is sleeping. I suppose I need to just suck it up and confess with my priest (whom I've only confessed to once...my very first confession...it didn't go well...) otherwise I'll end up not fulfilling my yearly obligation.

I took my girls and my mother to a natural baby fair last Saturday, we had fun! My LLL group had a booth set up, but they had enough volunteers to run it, and grandma was chasing my toddler (and the baby was in the mei-tei on my back) so I just got to relax and enjoy it! Usually I'm manning the LLL booth at such things so I don't really get a chance to look around. We won one of the raffle prizes so my oldest was extremely excited, it had some nice things in. I also talked to a mom who makes cloth diapers and think I might be able to get mine fixed (my water is very hard, which makes them very rough, but regular fabric softener makes them repel water...it's a viscious cycle, to say the least). If I get them stripped and softened successfully I'll let you know how I did it!

Dh and I talked and I decided to go ahead and start working on getting my certification to be a birth doula. It's something I've been discerning for a few years, but until now, I haven't had anyone I trusted to watch the girls if I had to leave in the middle of the night. A friend of mine that the girls adore lives just down the road now and is happy to be my night time baby sitter, so problem solved! It will probably take me at least a year, if not two, to get my certification completed, but I'm excited!

Honest Scrap Award

Well, since Nikki and Lara both gave me this award, I suppose I should put it up and answer it, right? :) Thanks to both of you!!

There are 4 steps that need to be taken in order to fully accept this award.

1. Say thanks to the presenter and give a link back to their site.
   
2. Share "TEN HONEST THINGS" about yourself.
   
3. Pass this award on to 7 people whose blogs you find brilliant in blog design and/or content. Or pass it on to someone that you find inspirational.
4. Let your chosen award winners know that they have been awarded with THE HONEST SCRAP AWARD.

Ten Honest Things about Just Another Catholic Mom

1. I'm only 26 (27 in September!) and yet my hair is going gray. A gift from my mother's side of the family! No one ever believes me, until they get up and take a look. The reaction is usually "Oh my gosh!!!!!!"
2. No one ever comes close to guessing my weight correctly. I must carry it very well. Or, people realize how much I actually weigh and are just being polite :P Maybe I'll post a full length picture and let you all take a stab at it :)
3. I feel completely lost on disciplining my almost 8 year old. My current method is "yell a lot and get exasperated" which doesn't seem to be working.
4. I very much doubt dh and I will have more than 4 children. Unless he gets a job somewhere that pays considerably more than he makes now!
5. I am absolutely the least organized person you will ever know. I have 2 calendars AND a day planner and still can't keep things straight. My filing cabinet is a joke. My closets are a bit terrifying. Anyone who has a type A personality should never come to my house.
6. Being disorganized doesn't mean my house isn't CLEAN, though! Cluttered, sure! But it's pretty clean. When things are dirty it makes me feel crazy and very anxious.
7. I am not a morning person. Not even close.
8. Going with that, I start every morning with 2 cups of coffee. And by coffee I mean large amounts of liquid creamer with just enough coffee to warm it up.
9. I love violent, gory horror movies. Especially zombie movies.
10. I'm discerning becoming a birth doula.

I would like to present this Honest Scrap award to:

1. Angel @ And Baby Makes 8
2. Anne Marie @ East of Eden
3. Heather @ Heather's Blog
4. Angie @ Many Little Blessings
5. Elizabeth @ My Mark of Humility
6. Jana @ The Cat in the Hat & Things 1 through 4
7. Lucy @ A Little House in a Big City
   

Spring Cleaning update

Well, I faced a set back due to my surgery last month, but I have managed to get some things knocked off my list!

• GET THE BABY IN HER OWN ROOM! This is top priority, but it's going to take a long time. Which means the computer room needs to be emptied, scrubbed, painted, and the carpet needs clean. I also have to pay the internet provider $75 to reroute.
• Sort through all the kids old clothes and pack away according to size (right now everything is just thrown together, which makes trying to find the next size for whoever's grown a pain)
• Clean out my bedroom closest as well as the linen and entry closests
• Get the garage cleaned out (dh's job)
• Get the open pantry in the garage cleaned off, buy a pantry that closes (help keep pests away) and reorganize what I've got
• clean out and organize the chest freezer
• clean off the shelf in the kitchen that's piled with junk and cookbooks
• clean out school drawers after our last day of school
• clean out the dressers in our bedroom (they're full of junk)
• clean out from under the bed (dh has shoved tons of junk under it!)

Did the entry closet earlier, hopefully I can get to the linen closet today as well!