Seven Quick Takes

-1-
This has been a Loooong week!. I can’t put enough ooo’s in long to represent how long this week is and we still have much to do this weekend. Somehow October is one of our busiest months. Pair that with an autoimmune disorder that like to flair up this month and well you get the idea. While I LOVE Fall weather, my body no longer likes the changes in the weather.
-2-
Halloween celebrations have begun around here, Apparently Halloween will last a month this year. We start with a School dance this week and culminate in the Annual All Saints celebration in about one month. So instead of the 5 days of Halloween this year we now have a month long celebration. Still the same number of events for us but much more manageable when spread out over 4 weeks. I have begun making the costumes with the help of my daughters. update. Peanut won 2nd place in the costume contest! My costume and Pi did her face.

-3-
We are participating in First Friday’s for Hunger at our house. This is no hard feat because we basically stick to the thrifty food budget. But I do want to bring your attention to the fact that not all people have access to thrifty healthy food like I and my family do. They live in areas where there is often one grocery store or if they are lucky just one store like a Dollar General. Yes I have seen families grocery shopping in some areas at the Dollar General. You will not find fresh meat or produce there. But now that Dollar General takes SNAP cards families can at least get access to some food, at a lower price than the local convenience store.
-4-
My youngest daughter did this – She climbed up the outside of our house from the first floor up and over the rail on the catwalk. She did it and was so proud of herself and wanted me to watch. I am (a) Afraid of Heights and can barely go out on our catwalk (b) her mother and did not want to have a trip to

the ER. She assured me she would not fall. “Mama”, she calls me Mama, “I won’t fall.” me “No one plans on falling.” So what do you think I did? I let her older sister take pictures of her while I hid in the kitchen were I could not see her. (In this picture she is about 10 feet off the ground) Guess what she did not fall! My brother and husband both having what I refer to as the climbing gene. Not only do they like to climb they are proficient at it. My kids seem to have gotten that gene. Not me, while I climbed trees as a kid, one of the few times I tried rock climbing I got stuck half way up the cliff, literally stuck. Not frozen in terror. My FOOT got stuck in one of the foot holds I was using. I had to take my shoe off hanging off the side of the cliff.

-5-
Do you pray to St. Anthony? I do and it really works. Yesterday we got unexpected good financial news in the mail. We have some money in a forgotten account. Not a lot mind you, but it will be helpful with medical bills. I made sure I put that envelope somewhere important yesterday. My husband searched all of our usual important places. This envelope was no where to be found. Earlier today I said a prayer to St. Anthony, patron Saint of lost things. As I was sitting here wondering what to write for #5 I looked at the table next to my chair and lo and behold the envelope was there. Prayers do work.
-6-

I love that my daughters, who are 11 and 13 still love to play, and that being dressed up does not stop them from playing. When they were little we started the idea of wearing bike shorts under their dresses and jumpers. Mostly because I did not like seeing their diapers.We kept that up when they were out of diapers so that they could be free and play. I have to admit I like to wear bike shorts under my skirts and dresses. For other reasons these days. It eliminates vpl. .

-7-
I am a fan of the human body in all forms. After all, God created it in his image. Recently some pics have been flying around the internet. Someone on my personal Facebook page took offense to this picture.

and today a friend posted a link to this one on her Facebook account. I think both of these pictures of naked people (and the others on ESPN are uplifting and powerful).