Home from my retreat

I returned home Sunday night from the Cum Christo retreat. I was physically exhausted but spiritually renewed. It was a wonderful experience and I would highly recommend Cum Christo (or Cursillo) to anyone. I cannot provide details because I do not want to spoil the experience for anyone who might attend in the future.

Following Cum Christo comes Ultreya which are weekly meetings at the Cum Christo Center in downtown Columbus. We are required to attend the first 3 Ultreya meetings immediately following our weekend. Of course, the 3 required meetings fall on nights that my husband has meetings, too. He's skipping his meeting tonight but we have babysitters coming in for the next 2 meetings. The family down the street whose daughters are babysitting are very happy with us right now; 3 babysitting jobs in 3 weeks. The budget is groaning because of the unexpected expense but it will be worth it. We are encouraged to attend Ultreya on a weekly basis. I discussed this with Jon and although part of me would like to do so, I don't feel making the weekly committment is reasonable giving our family calendar. I have Adoration on Monday nights, I am in night school on Tuesdays through the end of July. The spirit is telling me that spending 3 nights a week away from my family IS NOT the thing to do. The spirit must have also seen my online checking account yesterday and realizes that paying for a babysitter 3 Wednesdays a month is not financially feasible, either. Jon and I came to an agreement that I will attend Ultreya on a monthly basis on the one Wednesday during the month that Jon does not have a meeting. I'm also not sure that I could physically handle 3 late nights right in a row. I've been lucky to be in bed by 10:30 PM each night this week. That might not seem late to some but when I'm up at 5:30 AM and leaving for work by 6 AM, it can wear on ya.

Jon and I also talked about trying to find a babysitter so that we can go and celebrate our anniversary. We received an invitation to an anniversary party for some friends which falls the day after our anniversary. We have talked about getting a sitter and attending the party except that I realized the party falls during one of Jon's monthly shooting matches. We need to discuss this further and decide what we want to do.

Well, I had better get back to work.

Blessings to all for a wonderful week!

My retreat starts tomorrow!

I am so excited because my Cum Christo retreat starts tomorrow evening. I have the whole day off work tomorrow and a contractor is supposed to come sometime tomorrow for general maintenance on our water purification system but I should have the day to myself otherwise!

Jon and I met for lunch yesterday over on main campus to try and spend some time together before I leave. We did get to talk some but a noisy food court in the medical center parking garage wasn't exactly relaxing. The next month is a blur with work, school, Jonnie's birthday party, and my sister-in-law's graduation party. I need to sit down and take a hard look at the calendar and find a night that Jon and I can go out. We have a babysitter coming in on April 28th but that's because Jon and I miscommunicated and we each committed to something thinking the other was going to be there to watch Jonnie. Oops. Our 11th wedding anniversary is coming up June 8th but I know we can't go out that night because all of our babysitters were given free tickets to the Clippers game that night because the church is taking the altar servers to the game. It has been so long since Jon and I have had a "date night" that I cannot remember when it was! We meet for lunch during the work week which is nice but rushed since both of us need to get back to work.

I was trying to find a summer camp for Jonnie but I had the idea entirely too late. I also was a bit disappointed that I could not find the "pack a knapsack, buy a sleeping bag, and send the kid away for two weeks" kind of camp. Most of the summer camps are only 4 hours a day during the work week. Uh, thanks, but I'll just keep my kid in daycare. I know it sounds awful that I want to send my son off to camp for a couple of weeks but I love my son dearly but I think the experience would be good for him to grow and it would give Jon and I time as a couple.

Unfortunately, I don't even have the option of sending him off for a week with his grandparents. I know my parents could not handle Jonnie for a week since both of them are 72 and my Dad's health has declined. My mother-in-law is in Kansas and I know she'd love to have him but with so many projects on her plate, it's hard for her to take time off. My father-in-law has a house full of people living with him and it might not be hard to stuff Jonnie in a closet to sleep for a week but is that fair to anyone?

I am hoping that my retreat this weekend allows me to connect closer to Jesus Christ and that this helps to fill the void I'm feeling right now by not being able to connect with my husband. I know it's not the same but I still hope it helps me cope.

Almost Retreat Time!

It's almost time for my Cum Christo retreat that I go to later this week. I leave Thursday night and get home late Sunday night. I've been working so hard to make sure I have all of my "ducks in a row" so to speak . I'm not allowed to take my cell phone or have any communication with my family while I am gone. Jon will have a number to call in case of an emergency. I think an emergency would involve bleeding or hospitals and not "Do I try the towels on low or medium?". I started packing my bag because I need to take linens with me as well as clothes because I'll be staying in a dorm. My sponsor recommends ear plugs so I need to dig through Jon's shooting bag to get a set although they would probably bug me worse than the noise.

Aside from trying to keep up with laundry so I don't have guys running around without underwear while I'm gone, I've been studying ahead for my night class since I am not allowed to take my course book with me to read. The only book I'm allowed to bring in the Holy Bible. When we were at the store this past weekend, I tried to make sure we bought enough stuff so that Jon doesn't have to mess with a grocery trip while I am gone. I wanted to try and cook some meals this past weekend and divide them up into containers so that Jon would only have to microwave something. We have leftover "speedy lasagna" and venison chili which will probably be eaten before I leave. It's a good thing that Jon knows his way around the kitchen and that he's comfortable driving through a drive-thru.

I'm looking forward to the time away yet I know I'll miss the guys and the cats a lot. I am hoping to have lunch with Jon tomorrow so we can have an hour to talk uninterrupted before I leave. I don't think Jon and chalk up 1-2 hours of time to talk as a couple in a week unless we get together for lunch during the work day!

I'd better close up for now. I need to head off to disaster recovery meeting. Have a wonderful week!

I am alive, belive it or not!

I know it's been a long time since I posted so I wanted to let everyone know that I am alive.

We survived Easter. I spent a couple of days with my parents and had a nice time. Jon and Jonnie went see his Dad. My mother-in-law came in for a marathon visit and left early Monday morning to drive back to Kansas. I got to ride from Ashland to Plain City with her and we had a nice visit. She and I started planning a graduation party for my sister-in-law Diane who will get her education degree from Kent State on Mother's Day. I'm sure Chris will help me keep my sanity the day before Diane's party when we have the birthday party for Jon's 4th birthday. She is always so good about helping me come out smelling like a rose whenever she's around and I'm throwing a party!

In other news, I submitted my application to take the Certified Manager Program exams and my application has been approved pending receipt of my college transcript and my check to pay for the exams. I have started taking some practice tests and so far I'm doing pretty well. I have to have the exams completed by July 2008. I complete the coursework this July. The young ladies that babysit for us will be happy because I'll probably be hiring them a lot so that I can take time to go and study. I personally would like to have the exams completed before the end of the year.

Jon and I are supposed to weigh in this weekend. Yesterday was a hard day for me as I was extremely hungry mid-way through my night class and completely ravenous by the time I got home. Jon came downstairs before I had a chance to eat something and I didn't want to eat in front of him since I've been pressuring him so hard to lose weight to reduce his cholesterol. He went back to watch TV upstairs so I grabbed a snack pack of cookies from the cupboard (still within my calorie range for the day). I heard him coming down the stairs and quickly shoved the food in my mouth only still to be busted. The fuel helped keep me going during our hour long argument over Jon's birthday party.

I'd better wrap up for now. I need to head off-site for some training today. Have a great rest of the week and try to enjoy your weekend. I know I'll be up at dawn both days. Jon has to go shooting on Saturday so I'll be getting up to study before Jonnie gets up and then there is mass on Sunday. No rest for the wicked!

New Look and quick updates

With Spring in the air until winter returns tomorrow, I decided to freshen up the look of my blog. I think the new background is more cheerful and pleasing to the eye.

Yesterday was Day 3 of healthier eating for Jon. We had grilled steak, corn on the cob, and salads. He ate a portion of steak instead of one huge steak and he has a piece left for his dinner tonight. I bought Jon a subscription to Men's Health and I've been on their web site trying to learn tips to help him. I got a strength training workout for him and I hoped to get him upstairs in the work out room so we could train together. I had things set so we each had our own space. I completed my 5 exercises with 2 sets of 15 each and Jon never came upstairs. The weights and the printout were still sitting in the workout room when I left this morning. *sigh* I tried to explain to Jonnie when we were driving home that Daddy needs to eat better and start getting in shape. Jonnie asked me "What shape is Daddy?". I said that Daddy's kinda round. Jonnie said "Let's make Daddy a rectangle". I agreed that a nice flat rectangle would be a great shape for Daddy. I'm not sure my hubby was thrilled when I shared the conversation with him.

I start night class again tonight and will have "3 a Day Tuesdays" through the end of July. What do I mean? It means that I'm eating all 3 of my main meals at work on Tuesdays. Let's just say the large Dale Jr. cooler bag Jon bought me last year will be getting a lot of use to carry all 3 meals!

I'd better get back to work! Have a great week and a wonderful Easter!

My First 5K is complete!

Yesterday, I completed my first 5K race. Although my time of 50 minutes, 17 seconds was a personal best, I did not score very high in the race itself. I finished 143rd out of 157 participants. I was 15th out of 16 in the 30-39 age group. Okay, so I have a little work to do but I am happy that I finished and that I'm not too terribly sore this morning!

I am working to revamp our eating habits as a family and not just myself. Jon has his health assesment on Friday and his cholesterol, glucose, and body mass index were all out of line from where they should be. His blood pressure was good which is a plus! I bought groceries yesterday and all of our lunch entrees I purchased were Lean Cuisine or Lean Pockets. I'm even starting with Jonnie by replacing his cheese balls with the Quaker Quakes cheddar cheese rice snacks. He didn't seem to mind yesterday.

I'd better close this up for now. I need to make my breakfast. I also have more reading to do for my night class which starts up on Tuesday. I'm very glad the instructor arranged that we could get the books prior to the start of class!

Enjoy your Sunday and stay dry!