If you have missed the previous installments related to this post, you can read them here, here and here.

Now that Christmas has come and is nearly gone with the coming of Epiphany soon, I would like to comment on how my Advent observations/Christmas preparations went this year.  My “fasting” from certain foods during Advent turned out to be super easy for me to abide by.  Apparently it is easier for me to give up something that I do not need than to get into the habit of completing tasks that ought to be completed.  I say this because I never got into the habit of spiritual reading like I had originally intended to originally during Advent.  I did complete more spiritual reading than normal, however, and now receive a couple of spiritual thoughts newsletters, so I cannot say that my efforts during Advent to incorporate more spiritual reading into my life were fruitless.

While doing some post-Christmas shopping I found a wooden Advent calendar that I intend to hang on my wall next year (actually, for as many Advents as it holds up, which will be many, I hope) and fill with scripture passages correlated to the appropriate passage of the liturgical cycle.  I did not come up with this idea on my own, however, as it was born from the Advent calendar that Arwen mentioned recently.  The use of an Advent calendar will help incorporate spiritual reading into the Christmas preparations of my entire family next year.  Honestly, it is not likely that I would have planned this had I not been focusing on incorporating more spiritual reading into my life during Advent.

All in all, I would rate my Advent preparations as successful, though not as sucessful as I had hoped originally.  Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year to everyone!

Although I could tell you about my week and outline at least a couple of seemingly-good excuses regarding why I did not manage to complete my daily spiritual reading as I set out to do, I am certain that God would not buy them.  If I was to discuss my lack of spiritual reading, despite my talk about how I was going to do better this week, with God, it would sound something like this:

Me:  You see, I did not feel well for a couple of days, and I was really busy with…

God:  You could not manage to read a page or two of a daily spiritual meditation, yet you found time to check email and blogs?

Me:  Ummm…..

So this week I am going to try completing my spiritual reading and meditation from a different angle.   I plan on using the Catholic Update along with The Journey as my guide, hopefully this will enable me to complete my daily spiritual reading and meditation as I had planned for this Advent.  I’ll check in again next week to let you know how my spiritual preparation for Christmas is going.

In order to better monitor my progress this Advent, I will be checking in with a weekly self-review of how well I am (or am not) doing in regards to my Advent goals this year.

Project Advent 2008 is going so-so.  I have been contemplating the coming of Christ and its impact on my life, I have stuck to my modified “fast” (no junk food), but my daily reading has not happened every day.  I am sure to read the missed passage, but part of the purpose of the reading exercise was to 1. discipline myself to do some spiritual reading every day, and 2. to contemplate the passage during my daily activities. If I miss my passage one day, I am not quite accomplishing what I wanted to.  I am doing more spiritual reading than before, however, so I have taken a step in the right direction.

As you can probably guess, my particular goal for this week is to remember to take the time for my spiritual reading every day.

I just wanted to post this badge recognizing that I completed NaBloPoMo this year.

As of this post, I have completed NaBloPoMo successfully!

There were days in which I felt uninspired, and other days in which I did not have adequate time to turn out superb posts.  Through it all, I managed to post every day this month, however.  The hardest week was the “boot camp” of the first week, in which I had to get into the habit of posting everyday.  After I had completed the first week, it got easier.  Even though my blogging levels had been nearly non-existent during September and October, I was able to get back into blogging on a greater and more rewarding level than ever before. As an unintended side affect of blogging more often, this blog as seen an unprecedented level of traffic this month.

I do not plan on blogging everyday during the coming months, but you can be sure that I hope to make a more regular habit doing so.

Today, courtesy of the Meme Express I will be blogging about my interaction with fantasy fiction.  Apparently, both C.S. Lewis and Madeleine L’Engle were born on November 29, so the questions are linked to their writings.

Have you read any of Madeleine L’Engle’s books? Yes, but only one.

Which is your favorite? By default, A Wrinkle in Time.  I read this book when I was in fifth grade, it was a good read, especially for a fifth-grade student.

Have you read any of C.S. Lewis’ books? Yes, several.

Which is your favorite? The Screwtape Letters.  This book does not fall into fantasy fiction, but it was a wake-up to all the “little, harmless actions” that can lead to sin, as well as the nature of sin and its place in my own life.  Maybe I should read this book again as part of my Project Advent 2008.

Do you like fantasy fiction? Certainly.

Are you a science fiction fan? Not as much as a fantasy fiction fan.  My husband is though, and I have become more interested in science fiction through my exposure via him.

What is your favorite genre of book? Alas, I cannot choose one and only one.  When I am reading for pleasure, however, I stick with fictional literature.

It’s 7 Quick Takes Friday again!  Head on over to Conversion Diary to see everyone else who is participating this week.

1. Our Thanksgiving went well. We had an enjoyable time with family, and partook of a feast that was everything that I predicted it would be.  We did have a minor glitch in that the car got a flat tire on Wednesday night, but all was taken care of by the Wal-Mart Tire and Lube Center.

2. It makes no sense (or cents) for the Wal-Mart Tire Center to be open on Thanksgiving, at least in our town. Note that I am not complaining since we required their services yesterday and that we may not have attended the family Thanksgiving I mentioned in #1 had they not been open.  The gentleman who fixed our tire told J.R. that he has worked the past three Thanksgivings, and that NOBODY has ever came in to have their car fixed on Thanksgiving day.  It does not take a mathematician to determine that fixing one tire at $9.50 and paying a worker at least minimum wage for the entire day (they did not even have a short work day for the holiday!) equates into a net loss.  Additionally, they did not even plan on anyone coming in, as it required two workers’ signatures in order to release the tire, and only one worker was there, so J.R. was held up for twenty minutes while they got a worker from a different department to sign off on the purchase.

3. My cellphone was found. One of my guesses regarding its whereabouts was correct, as it was in the snow outside of my in-law’s barn.  I expected to find that my phone had finally “died.” I took out the battery and SIM card, let it dry out/warm up, put it back together, charged it, and found that it was actually working better than when I lost it, however.  I imagine that the phone suffered some water damage, but at least I can limp along with it for a little while longer until I decide what to replace it with.

4. The Housing Search of 2008 continues. We have a few viable options, but nothing that makes us want to move, even though we should.  We had decided to go with the house that I mentioned last week, and acted on our decision promptly, but have reason to believe that someone else got to it before us. I have a couple of places that I will be checking out in the next few days, however, so we are hoping that one of them leads to a winning solution.

5. Gabriel and I did a little Black Friday shopping today.  Since we live in a town that is close to a large city, most people head to the large city to shop, which equates into the ability to get good deals without waking up super early (or even in the morning, for most deals).  Both Gabriel and I have new winter coats courtesy of our shopping excursion, though it does not seem quite right that my coat cost less than his.

6.  The majority of my Christmas shopping is done already. I pick up things throughout the year as they are on sale/clearance for most gifts, including birthdays, Christmas, and pretty much everything else if I know far enough ahead of time to plan for it.  One of the best gift basket ideas that I have found is to do an “Our first Christmas” basket for wedding presents.  If you wait until the 75% clearance (usually around January 1), you can make a really nice gift basket for a quarter of the retail price, or give someone much “more” than you would be able to budget normally.

7.  It is November 28. This means that I have completed NaBloPoMo almost!  It also means that that I am about to begin into Project Advent 2008, during which time I plan to work toward rejuvenating my spiritual life.

In honor of Thanksgiving, I have decided to make a list of a few things that I am thankful for:

1. My family, they have been a greater blessing to me than I could hope for.

2. My health. My family’s health as well.  I cannot imagine what life would be like if one of us were to be stricken by a life-threatening and/or debilitating illness.

3. Plenty of good food and a nice, warm place to call “home.”

4. My faith.

5. Having everything that I really need and many things that I only “want.”

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Tomorrow J.R., Gabriel, and I will pack up and head north to my aunt and uncle’s house for Thanksgiving.  After having spent last Thanksgiving driving home from North Carolina, I am looking forward to spending this Thanksgiving with my family eating a traditional Thanksgiving meal (last year I had beans and rice, and J.R. had Burger King because almost nothing was open).  One of my favorite parts of Thanksgiving with my mother’s family is the immense amount and variety of food with the (relatively) small output on behalf of each family.  Everyone brings a dish or two to pass, which yields a perfect Thanksgiving dinner.  Additionally, pretty much everything is homemade from scratch that appears on the Thanksgiving table:  turkey (my parents raised a few turkeys this year especially for the key feasting holidays ahead), mashed potatoes, rolls, corn, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie, and everything else that adds up to “the works.”  I’ll be honest, I have been to restaurants for a holiday meal or two, and they cannot compete with the likes of the feast that I will behold tomorrow.

Of course, the best part of Thanksgiving is the fact that I will be spending it with family, and that my own little family will have most of the day to spend together after the meal.  Additionally, I plan to reflect upon all that I have to be thankful for in my life, as God has blessed me abundantly.

As I was perusing The Children’s Place website recently in a search for potential clothing for Gabriel, I noticed that The Children’s Place is selling pajamas for adults now, so that “even mom and dad can get in on the fun!”

Take a look for yourself.

Now, we like the pajamas from The Children’s Place very much FOR GABRIEL, but I cannot imagine J.R. or myself making good use of their pajamas for adults.  From my experience, adults like comfy clothes, and pajama pants are a favorite staple of my own wardrobe for at home use, but pajama pants are the only part of a pajama set that I would wear.  Thinking back over my years during junior high, high school, and college, I cannot remember seeing anyone wear a matched pajama set beyond middle school, unless it was for “pajama day” at school, or something of a similar nature.

The “family” in the promotional photo on The Children’s Place website looks kind of cute (though not particularly excited) wearing a matched set of pajamas.  Perhaps my personal experience with adults and pajamas is not the norm?  Are there families out there that wear coordinated pajamas because that is just what they do on a regular basis?  Maybe there is someone out there who can enlighten me – or maybe the concept of “family pajamas” will fade away altogether.  As you can guess, I would not be surprised if the latter happens.