The Lovely Bones

hello tuesday

So, remember a few weeks ago when we missed Trainwreck in theaters? Well, guess what was playing the same night as the Glow in the Dark 5K…why must it always be All or Nothing? (There were also rumors of a pie in the face challenge but it was postponed)

I’m kind of regretting getting involved here on Post. Not seriously, I’m happy with what I’ve done this summer and the people I have met, but I’m not looking forward to starting fresh. Wait, let me clarify that. I’m looking forward to being in a place that seems to have a little more life outside the Post Bubble. But I’m not looking forward to starting over with Church.

I’m not a big Church goer. I usually go to Church with my parents when I’m back East. For me, I can’t just go mindlessly to Church; the Priest and the style of Mass has a lot to do with it. I’m sorry if that sounds offensive, this is how I feel and for the first time in my life, I actually enjoy going to Church. The Senior Priest has a lot of good things to say and he knows how to cut to the chase. His voice is strong and engaging and he seems down to Earth. I thought this after attending Mass these past few months but it was confirmed Sunday as he led our RCIA class.

It was just a pleasant experience. He didn’t make me introduce myself when I entered and he spoke to us. He wasn’t expecting us to have answers and I actually learned a lot. For example: God is just like any other relationship and just like any relationship we can either accept it, deny it or allow it to die. And Three ways we build a relationship are:

Phone (Prayer)
Write (Scriptures)
Visit (Sacraments – Yeah, I assumed Church as well)

CWOC went well this week.
A huge thank you to my cousin who shared his recipe for crustless mini quiches.
They were a big hit!

In CWOC, we’ve been listening to lectures by Fr. Barron, he’s going over the Seven Deadly Sins and afterwards we have a discussion. Today we went over Pride and Humility. How Humility comes from the word Humas, The Earth or other words, “reality.” That Pride isn’t just about ego and cutting your nose off to spite your face…

Pride is as simple as that terrible feeling you get when you’re over thinking a situation. Instead of being in the moment and enjoying life, you’re caring way too much about how you’re coming off to the world. Sorry to geek out, I just thought it was interesting. And speaking of geek, or rather nerd. Next week CWOC is having a nerd theme and we’re supposed to dress up as nerds and our families are invited! I would say we’d just have to go as ourselves but only one of us is a nerd.

After CWOC, I went to the library in hopes of finding a copy of Charlotte’s Web…not sure what sparked the urge to reread this classic but unfortunately someone shared that same idea. Fortunately, I stumbled upon another old friend:

Have you ever read The Lovely Bones or see the 2009 film, starring Saoirse Ronan and earned an Academy Award nomination for Stanley Tucci. I don’t think the film is bad, it’s just a much watered down version of the brilliant writing of Alice Sebold. There’s one part that is a little more satisfying than the book, yet in reality that’s what makes the book, sadly, much more realistic. If you’ve only seen the film then I highly suggest you pick up a copy. It’s been about five years since I last read the book and I honestly am having a hard time putting it down.
But be warned, it is intense especially the first chapter.

Friday- Stan was released after lunch so we got to participate in the Glow Run after all. Now, I’m no stranger to 5Ks but I haven’t run one since last August with my cousins…

…and BOY am I out of shape! For my own self-respect, I’m going to blame the heat and low “air density”..yeah…air density.

This run was in honor of those heroes who have passed away. There was a point in the run where they lined rows of pictures on either side of the track. Big poster boards with American flags flying overhead. Written on the poster boards were the names, birth places and how each solider had passed. I had to pause for the lone female soldier among them. Stan said that there are photos in his office of fellow soldiers who have been killed in action. He says seeing those faces are very humbling. It’s often hard to believe just how unpredictable life is. That women my age and younger are dying every day. You hear about it on the news and it’s easy to become desensitized.

It’s important to be reminded of those we lost, not just within our own families but those who were lost in tragedy. We see a news report and think how terrible but time goes by and we forget. But the tragedy lives on daily in the lives of their families. This is what makes The Lovely Bones so beautiful. It deals with the aftermath of tragedy once the world puts it aside.

We got to witness a baptism during Church. Off the top of my head, it’s been 10 years since I attended my last baptism, Calla’s baptism. It was a beautiful moment to be shared and I couldn’t help but think of someday being up on an alter with my loved ones surrounding us and…well you know…

Saturday- Stan wanted to stay in and relax, so we celebrated his free weekend with another drinking game challenge. And this time, we decided to watch the newly released horror film, Unfriended. I highly suggest to do this, the film is not terrible, it’s just much more enjoyable with the game…

Sunday- We bookended our weekend by finally hiking up Blackie Mountain.
It didn’t seem that high from the bottom but it was quite a hike. Our first one as a family:

And to celebrate the last day of August and the completion of my 30 Day Abs & Squat Challenge, I made Spaghetti Pie. The 30 Day Abs & Squat challenge was tough at times and I’m not really sure if it made a difference? Stan says I look different and hey, I’m glad it had me doing some kind of exercise each day, so that’s good enough for me.

I really enjoyed having some kind of challenge to accomplish each day
and so I’ve decided to take on a few more for the month of September.
I’m going to work on a few creative projects but I’ll share my healthy one with you now: