Christmas Countdown green smoothie challenge

What have I got myself into this time of year?

I joined the 24 day countdown to christmas over at the Green Smoothie queens website. It starts tomorrow and I ain't ready.  I have not bought my leafy greens yet , the blender is not taken out either . It would seem I didn't get anything but really all's I want is to lose 5 lbs . The idea is to incorporate more leafy greans but we can still eat whatever we want .

You would think they'd remember to give us something to put on our blogs . I am not impressed so far . Big deal! I get messages in my inbox wooptydoo. Oh ya I got two ebooks perfect for sitting on my ass in front of the comp to read :/ or it's only two more books I have to send to UPS to print in booklet form and all's they are, are a bunch of recipes!  Maybe it's just me . bah humbug . I had a bad day today and I hope tomorrow is better.

Here are some suggestions I need to pick up at the grocery store for tomorrow . More money spent :/

• Spinach
• Kale
• Green/Red Leaf lettuce
• Romaine or Butter (Boston) lettuce
• Red/Green/Rainbow chard
• Collards
• Parsley
• Bananas
• Apples
• Pears
• Mangoes
• Papaya
• Peaches / Nectarines
• Plums / Apricots
• Berries
• Grapes

Here is what I got last time for joining a 3 day green smoothie challenge. A certificate . We had to share a recipe we made and my recipe is also on page 3 . I'm famous :)  I called it Sweet Smoothie Mango . You can see it also here  :)

Post- Its

The topic is D*E*N*I*E*D !

To make your own Post-It Notes click HERE! Then click the above button to join .

Advent Symbol

This graphic illustration depicts the meaning of Advent. Again and again Christ is portrayed in the liturgy as the rising Sun. (Luke 1:78-79) . The comparison is a good one, for there is nothing that can quite equal the power of the sun's rays to quicken, warm, and bless. Man, whether considered individually or collectively, is represented by the city of Jerusalem (to which he is often compared), which awaits its Redeemer and will reach the zenith of its development only on His arrival. Mary is represented as the lily because of her Immaculate Conception, as the morning star out of which rises the Sun of Justice, and as the one who crushes the head of the serpent.

From the Advent Family Workshop @ CatholicCulture.org

Are You Ready?

This is the homily for the First Sunday of Advent! Time to get ready for Jesus’ coming!!!

We often never learn our lessons because we don't pay attention to the homily and what is being said by the priest and today was no exception . Only I think it's not that I wasn't paying attention, it is because I merely forgotten(what else is new) the 3rd point that the priest made on HOW to get ready for the coming of Jesus Christ !

I know one way he said we can do that is to forgive others and another one was to essentially pray more as in develop a prayer attitude , as in PRAY ALL DAY!

Listen to Fr. Larrys audio homily and if you need to you can visit his blog here




This has been a weekly edition of Catholicism 101 . Are you ready? what have you learnt this week? Jesus is knocking , will you let him in or will you be like the innkeeper and have no room prepared for him .

So too, you also must be prepared, for at an hour you do not expect, the Son of Man will come.” Matthew 24:44

Advent Wreath Prayer

click to join

Sunday Snippets is a group of catholic bloggers who join weekly to share their best posts.

• Get some cute advent buttons for your sidebar .
• Spread the word about Catholicism 101 and feel free to join 
• I'd also appreciate if one more person would sign up for 201 A-list tips to rock your blog so I can get a secret video on how to write a blog post that goes viral. It's absolutely free. Thanks

God bless ! and Happy New Year Advent :p!  In the name of the Father , Son and Holy Spirit . Amen.

Feelings Are Mutual

Saturday Centus is a weekly writing meme based on a prompt. This week we are to use our horoscope as the prompt and write about the kind of day this horoscope "predicts".

At first I was shocked at the idea when I had read Toms' centus , because you know the Church says any form of divination is to be rejected . However, like a lot of others, I do not take these things seriously but you would not think so because of the seriousness of my post .

....anyway the part in bold is the horoscope .

Someone close needs an answer from you quickly, and you should be able to give them what they need. In fact, your decisiveness is peaking right now, so it may be a good time to make life changes, too.


It's about time! I was determined to find my purpose in life.

He hated us living apart. The feeling of  being alone and distant was mutual. I believe Love is stronger than anything else in the world which is something I felt confident he has for me.

Would I be stupid to let him go? Am I looking at this properly? I needed some guidance.

I had planned to go to confession to get myself back on the right track. So , I tightened up my boot straps, and headed to church .

What is your blog wanted for?

I'm thankful I don't live in the states because I'm afraid it might lead to this; besides I'm tired of hearing about it .

2jackies.blogspot.com

WANTED FOR THE MEEK DRY-HUMPING of a FAT TURKEY

$2100

What's Your Blog Wanted For?

Created by OnePlusYou

Simple Mac&Cheese

Can I give you a simple casserole recipe that even *I* can't mess up?

Take two boxes mac and cheese, 1 lb ground beef (or chicken or turkey), 1 jar salsa, 1 packet taco seasoning, and shredding cheese.

Make mac and cheese according to box directions.

Brown ground meat and season with taco seasoning according to package directions.

Put prepared mac and cheese and ground beef in baking dish that's been sprayed with cooking spray (e.g. Pam).

Add salsa, mix.

Put shredded cheese on top, covering noodles. If eating immediately, serve with sour cream, guacamole, and tortilla chips.

If serving later, let cool and refrigerate. Heat covered in 350º oven until warmed through (make sure cheese is on top to prevent noodles from drying out).

•  This recipe was from Amy left in a comment on another blog. Thanks .

Freaky Friday

Freaky Friday is a linky meme party where we can share freaky, weird or odd photos/articles found around the internet but please keep the content family-friendly. Come on, join the fun and participate in this meme party.

I think Slayer is pretty freaky but this Christmas light show is awesome . Enjoy the show!

Sons and Daughters

I thought this song fit well for the 1st Sunday of Advent and I would like to share it again because it is so beautiful - From TLIG. or click read more after the page break to read the song. 

Notice the last 4 paragraphs is talking about Our Blessed Mother (green font) . This is a true and noble saying "Mary has given the Savior to the world. The world will receive salvation again from Her."

I think Emmanuel's Song is beautiful because it speaks of Jesus our King and 'us' as true royal sons and daughters 'as if we were queens' it says in one stanza. Remember last week was the feast of Christ Our King ? In the readings of todays liturgy we hear that we are royal because Christ is king.

Somehow we have lost our identity . We are sons and daughters of the Most High and we descend from Royalty and Splendor .

"...I, your God tell you: sons! and daughters! you are the offspring of the Most High! you descend from the Sovereignty and Splendour, oh come! you belong to Us! you belong to Heaven...you are of Royal Descent..." (Ephesians 1:18-19)

Listen to it on audio file←(it's only 34 seconds) we belong to the Most Holy Trinity !

click to join

Sunday Snippets ~ A Catholic Carnival

UPDATE: This snippet was for last sunday November 21st. Ok now that I got that clear lol

please click to join in
Sunday Snippets

I forgot about Sunday Snippets that I had participated in a couple times last year . It was a little confusing but I think we are to share our best blog post from that week. So , let me remind you that you can still get those cute advent wreaths here for your blog if you want to express your faith Lol .

I also liked my post about Babylon-"Give her the Boot". It fits with the readings for November 25th anyway .
We read "Babylon the great city shall be cast down." —Revelation 18:21

I posted two links on sunday snippet mr. linky cause I want to get the word out about Catholicism 101 . I just started it last friday and so far it doesn't look like many people are interested . Is it the name? Anyway,  I know I am a little late but I hope to participate this sunday again . Care to reciprocate?


Did you know that St. Frances De Sales was the first to evangelize using tracts?
I never new that about him and I had him on my sidebar for so long too !
Apparently he is also known as the patron saint of writers. I didn't know that either.

St. Francis de Sales was a Catholic bishop and apologist of
the 17th century. He traveled through the heavily Calvanist
Switzerland and was able to bring 40,000 to the Catholic Church
by distributing handouts. He is the first person in history
known to have used religious tracts.

I also found out that St. Isidore of Seville is the patron saint of the Internet . cool .

Holy Mary , and all the saints pray for us .Amen.

Catholicism 101

Welcome to Catholicism 101!

The idea is to share something about the Catholic Faith . Everyone is free to join; you don't have to be catholic. It is a space where we can jot down our notes on dogma and doctrine, but also any little thing that helps clarify the intricacies and rich history of our faith. It can be your favorite quote - anything related to catholicism. It can be something you heard that cleared up some theological trouble you had, whatever you'd like .

You will have all week to think of something as I will post it sometime Thursday evening and it will stay live until the following Thursday or Friday.

When adding your link to the current week's Mister Linky just please be sure to :
1. Add the permalink url to the specific blog post, not your general blog address in the McLinky form below . If you need help just ask or you can look at this post for instructions
2. Include in your blog entry a link back to this meme! so that your readers can come and see what others have to say and have an opportunity to contribute! You can use the code below to add the banner to your posts or blog if you'd like.
3. Visit as many of the other participants as possible and leave comments! That's what makes it fun!!
4. Let me know if you have any questions, problems or need help!

If you want to participate don't forget to grab a button to place at the top or bottom of your post to show you are participating in Catholicism 101! Simply copy the code below in the box and paste where you can edit the html in your blog post.

<a href="http://2jackies.blogspot.com/search/label/catholicism%20101" target="_blank"><img alt="Catholicism 101" src="http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8321/cath101.png"/></a>

The Great Hospitality Link Up

Link your favourite recipes here .


This week mine is last minute Thanksgiving recipes from the Amateur Gourmet
Dawn Farias started this meme but she has decided she won't be blogging anymore so if you wish you can link your hospitality recipe in the mclinky I provided here but you can still link up to her site until whenever she decides to expire it.

Happy Turkey Day !

Canada celebrates Thanksgiving in October, [Oct 11th this year] because our harvest comes earlier. It is linked to the European tradition of harvest festivals. I'm thinking maybe halloween?

It is just a three day long weekend and a chance to visit family or last time to go camping or cottaging .

I personally don't have memories of this celebration but I remember one time I was invited to some christian home for thanksgiving but I don't remember my family doing it.

So anyway , I hope everyone enjoys spending time with friends and relatives this weekend and I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

Let us give thanks to the Lord

This has been a Thanksgiving Break Edition of Alphabe Thursday.

His Answer Prompts Me ~

I read something extraordinarily beautiful today. In fact, it is like it was speaking to me .

have desired God's will and I know that means living a chaste life . You would think this was so easy but in my world it's like rocket science .

Must I struggle to live a chaste life [without sex] and still date my boyfriend? I don't know if that is a real solution or if it is even possible.

Anyhow ,the editor of the Boston Catholic Journal wrote the following in response to a letter from a young woman who has been living with her boyfriend for over 4 years. I liked it as I could relate to it with a few exceptions of course.

Welcome Tracy!

Tracy from Welcome to Our World is a new follower. Welcome to my world !

I know I haven't done this before, so to those who follow me already please don't feel left out :(

I just think it's a cool way to acknowledge new followers. I know it has happened twice for me and it made me all fuzzy inside .

You probably will see this post show up in your dashboard thingy , yes it works haha so Welcome Tracy! :)

The media never fails to lambast the church's position

The Pope in the News!

The Pope isn’t saying that the use of condoms is justified but that they can display a particular intent, such as a moral responsible step , and that this intent is a step in the right direction.

Here's a helpful analogy:

If someone was going to rob a bank and was determined to use a gun, it would be better for that person to use a gun that had no bullets in it. It would reduce the likelihood of fatal injuries. But it is not the task of the Church to instruct potential bank robbers how to rob banks more safely and certainly not the task of the Church to support programs of providing potential bank robbers with guns that could not use bullets. Nonetheless, the intent of a bank robber to rob a bank in a way that is safer for the employees and customers of the bank may indicate an element of moral responsibility that could be a step towards eventual understanding of the immorality of bank robbing.

It is clear that the Pope’s remarks must be read carefully and that they do not constitute the kind of license for condom use that the media would wish.

Haiku

Popes words confounding

media's lambast of Church

Condoms not Okay

for more haikus please visit Aggie Catholics blog

All I want for Christmas ....

...is a Blendtec blender !

I just signed up for the 24-Day countdown to Christmas with the green smoothie queen and it would be nice to make my smoothie concoctions in it .


See the videos everybody is talking about at
WillItBlend.com





Demonstrations - Shows you how to get the best results from your blender by taking you through some delicious recipes!




New 3-Quart Jar

Patented five sided, BPA-free jar produces
a better blending vortex to micronize fruits and vegetables.

Post-It-Note Tuesday

Make your post-its here, and then click the button above to link-up. Have a nice day !

'Tis the season to be...

Amazed

Our silent coffee pot

Our coffee pot is silent...because it doesn't work !!! I bought this coffee pot about 3 years ago for about $50. What a piece of manufactured crap! I am thinking it should at least last maybe 5? 10 years at best but nooooooo it's too  much to ask for even 30 years these days .

Normally it makes all kinds of noise with the dripping and the gurgling . Ahh I love the sound of freshly brewing coffee in the morning!

I filled it up and the water strangely came out of the hole in the back. That shouldn't happen . wierd.

I will be needing another one soon , so we went to Tim Horton's for an extra large triple triple instead  .

Let’s Be Like These Geese!!!

We saw some geese flying south in their usual V formation today . It reminded me of a story I heard on small christian communities{3rd supplement to seminar 1} about how important communities are and how we can learn from them .


What can we learn from the Geese?

Fact 1:
As each goose flaps its wings, it creates an “uplift” for the birds that follow. By flying in the “V” formation, the whole flock adds 71% greater flying range than if each bird flew alone.

Lesson: No one is more holier than the other and that we all need one another and each of us make up the body of Christ.
"The eye cannot say to the hand, 'I do not need you.' " —1 Corinthians 12:21

Fact 2:
When a goose falls out of formation, it suddenly feels the drag and resistance of flying alone. It quickly moves back into formation to take advantage of the lifting power of the bird immediately in front of it.

Lesson: we're stronger when we stay together

Fact 3:
When the lead goose tires, it rotates back into the formation and another goose flies the other point position.

Lesson: share responsibility

Fact 4:
The geese flying in formation honk to encourage those up front to keep up their speed.

Lesson: Encourage each other

Fact 5:
When a goose gets sick, wounded or shot down, two geese drop out of formation and follow it down to help and protect it. They stay with it until it dies or is able to fly again. Then they launch out with another formation or catch up with the flock.

Lesson: I guess it would mean responding to our neighbours needs . something like that hey.

I also learnt something else from them :

..don't feed them bread cause they may get too fat and can't fly lol . It's also deadly for ducklings.

Lesson: Eat the Bread that is good for you . The Bread of Life - Jesus Christ! Amen .

Silent Sunday

Say Hi Sunday

Dawn Farias used to host 101 Wednesday but she has decided she won't be blogging anymore but you can still find her stuff here . I will miss you Dawn :(

Anyway she inspired me to start Catholicism 101.

The idea is to share something about the Catholic Faith . Use it, quote it, picture it, pray it, learn to better understand it and grow in it .

Please spread the word to your friends and if you like this blog button feel free to use it to link to Catholicism 101. Thank you.

Everyone is free to participate but the intent and purpose is to edify the Body of Christ . I will see you there .

Waking Up To Reality

He dreamt of winning the super lotto 50 million. After all the pain he had been through, the world and the hard labor sucked the life right out of him .

He felt he deserved more than what life had given him. Tom needed a vacation .

Without sounding too excited "Pardon me," said Tom T. Urkee..." "...can you tell me what this number is?"

The lady behind the till obliged "Would you like to verify your ticket? "

He had to make sure that it wasn't a mistake because he couldn't believe his numbers matched . The lady looked at him amazed his numbers were the same . 03, 07, 11, 15, 27,43.

Then the sound of his alarm clock went off

Bills and Frustration

I can't believe it was because Enmax partially cut my power that is the reason my stove appliance didn't work . Because I didn't pay the $100 deposit . They cut it on November 17th .

Since Phil moved out in October, I had to get Enmax switched under my name . I've been paying Phil's bill !

lol I distinctly recall paying Enmax but it was still under the old account jeez. I forgot to change the payee account number . You'd think someone would have realized this but I suspect they are crooks too .

So today I gave them their $100 deposit .

After talking to the repair man , who incidently told me that I had 1/2 the power I should have , which is 240 volts, I phoned my landlord and they told me to call Enmax .

Tada! I should be able to make that yummy pasta now :)

Don’t cry, I’m sorry to have deceived you so much, but that’s how life is.

Lolita, Vladimir Nabokov 

Welcome to Catholicism 101!

I need your feedback please.

I follow many catholic blogs so wouldn't it be nice if you could simply share your extraordinary and magnificent faith and blogging talent here each week.

Put the button in your blog post about some magnificent catholic tidbit Catholicism, that is all I ask, and then come and link up.
  

<a href="http://2jackies.blogspot.com/search/label/catholicism%20101" target="_blank"><img alt="Catholicism 101" src="http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/8321/cath101.png"/></a>

I've been thinking about 101 Wednesdays and how much I miss it so I've decided to start Catholicism 101.

With my limited knowledge of blogging and the Catholic faith, I will be hosting this linky every Friday  until further notice . Please link up and spread the word to your friends and blog it , use your faith , this is how we move mountains by sharing our faith and giving Christ Jesus to others.

I hope you will join in and everyone is free to participate....

•  just so long as it is EDIFYING the Body of Christ. 

The idea is to share the Catholic Faith , by means of a blog . Use it , quote it, picture it, pray it , learn to better understand it and grow in it.

God be with us in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Catholicism 101

Did you know Santa Claus punched Arius in the face?

Lol St. Nicholas aka santa claus stood up to Arius for denying Our Lords Divinity and punched him in the face at the council of Nicea .

Now that is cool and I love Santa claus even more now :)




This program is from RealCatholicTV.com

I never thought this would happen

Of all the things that could go wrong when planning a meal this was not what I expected.

After trudging in the snow wintery weather yesterday , buying all of 4 ingredients that I needed for this recipe , I was irrate and disappointed to say the least to find out MY STOVE ISN'T WORKING! We checked the fuses and breakers and nothing.

If you know me , I don't cook everyday but on the occasion when I do want to make something I expect at least to be able to boil a pot of water on the stove for cryin out loud.

It also makes me think of how "tough" times can be . I don't have a wood burning stove either but I also know there isn't any wood close by to chop down lol What can you do?

The repair guy is supposed to be coming today but hasn't shown up yet, and it's 12:44 pm already! I can't cook anything aside from microwaveable crap food or fast food , which I am so sick of .

I want to cook dammit! *sigh

Menu for the Week Contest

This recipe was made for Family Day and is brought to you by www.menufortheweek.com . It looks like a good thing to make for your kids anyday of the week.

I also am linking up with the great hospitality link-up  Please come and share your meal menus there by clicking the image below. Thanks

Crock Pot Meatball Subs

Makes 4 servings Active Prep: 25 minutes Cook Time: 6 hours

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/2 onion – chopped finely
• 1/2 sleeve saltine crackers – crushed
• 1 egg
• 2 jars spaghetti sauce
• 1 package hoagie buns
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

1) Combine ground beef with salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, milk, onion, crackers and egg. Roll into 1 1/2 inch meatballs – 1 lb should make about 13 balls.

2) Place meatballs flat in the bottom of the crock pot in a single layer. Pour spaghetti sauce over meatballs and cook for 6 – 8 hours (ideally closer to 6.)

3) Broil hoagie buns open face under broiler for 2 minutes. Place 2 – 3 meatballs on each sandwich. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese and place back under broiler for an additional minute – just long enough to melt cheese.

Now for the Contest. click

Enter to win a 6 Month membership to Menu for the week 

@pinkdandy chatter

I like Menu of the week

1. for their delicious recipes and you can get one free week of recipes .

2. I do not like to cook but these recipes look terribly easy to make.

3. I also like the fact they plan out your grocery list , so you don't have to.

4. It helps if you don't know what to make for dinner and when you go grocery shopping .

5. you can get 6 months worth of recipes if you enter this giveaway.