Saturday, January 31, 2009

Hallelujah!

I've FINALLY finished my freelance assignment! A courier will pick up a hard copy of my work next week and my spreadsheet will be e-mailed to my supervisor, probably on Monday. I'm so relieved that it's over. Now I can properly concentrate on my day job.

Here in North York, more snow has been quietly falling this afternoon. This evening I'm meeting a friend for dinner at a nearby Indian restaurant. There are a lot of things on my to-do list, including phone calls I want to make to some long-neglected friends.

It will be nice to rest a little and catch up! :)

Saturday, January 24, 2009

"And so it begins..."

I know that phrase is no longer novel to those of us who've seen The Lord of the Rings a few dozen times, but sometimes it's most appropriate...

President Obama signs legislation to fund abortions overseas with taxpayers' money.

The Federal Drug Administration approves the first human trials of embryonic stem cells.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

36th Annual March for Life

Tomorrow, the Annual March for Life will be held in Washington, D.C. My thoughts and prayers will be with all those who are marching to proclaim and protect the personhood and life of the unborn baby.

This might be a good time to look back at a 2002 article by Gregory Koukl.




This image is from the Illinois Right to Life Committee website.

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

Words Matter

Here's a link to the full text of Obama's inauguration speech. Much of it is well-written. Some phrases jumped out at me while I was listening to it on streaming video today during my lunch hour:Add Image

"The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea, passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness."

"We will not apologize for our way of life, nor will we waver in its defense, and for those who seek to advance their aims by inducing terror and slaughtering innocents, we say to you now that our spirit is stronger and cannot be broken; you cannot outlast us, and we will defeat you."

Meanwhile, the news reports that as one of his first presidential acts, Barack Obama is planning to lift a ban on federal money going to international family planning groups that support and provide abortions. He is also considering lifting restrictions on embryonic stem cell research.

Please pray that President Obama will take the words of his own inauguration speech to heart and apply them to the unborn. For the good of the United States and of the world, I pray that he will be a good President.

Again, Thank You President Bush!

The Anchoress bids farewell to President Bush.

I found this photo on Kathy Shaidle's site.

Thank you, President Bush, for remaining gracious and committed to the objective good even when so many people were demonizing you and mocking you. May God bless and protect you and your family.

Friday, January 16, 2009

TGIF!

Well, it's been a busy week. My freelance assignment is nearly complete. I think I should be able to submit everything by sometime next week (yay!). My day job has also been busy - I feel like I have much to learn, but I think I'm making progress.

Since I didn't blog yesterday, I first want to say Thank you, President Bush, for keeping America safe since 9-11, and for nominating John Roberts and Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. I admire President Bush for putting principles before popularity, and I pray he will soon enter the Catholic Church, just like his brother did.

Secondly, Welcome to Toronto, Father John Harvey! My favourite priest on the planet is in town until Tuesday. He has a busy itinerary, speaking to various groups of people, including youth and seminarians. But we (my Mom and Nana and myself) are spoiled - we have him all to ourselves on Saturday evening and Sunday! We will, however, share him with a fun Catholic writer on Sunday evening. :)

Finally, I started a course on Thursday evening, to help me manage my fear of speaking before others. It's called the Christopher Leadership Course, and it looks like it's going to be quite enjoyable - the first session was very encouraging. Will write more about it, as the course progresses!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Just because...

Dusty Springfield singing "I Only Wanna Be With You"

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Getting There

I haven't had much time or energy for blogging this week. After working each day, I continue to spend my evenings and part of my weekends completing my freelance assignment - can you hear the violins playing? Please pray that I will be able to finish that assignment soon - I start to get a little testy when I don't get enough down-time from working. I do remain grateful for employment though! :)

A lot has happened this week, and since I still don't have energy to write about it, I'll link to other folk's articles:

Fr. Richard John Neuhaus passed away, may his soul rest in peace. An article Fr. Neuhaus wrote and published in 2000 entitled "Born Towards Dying" is worth reading.

Anti-Israel rallies are held in Toronto. I wish I'd gone to support the counter-protest. Dawn Eden also has a thought-provoking post on the topic.

On a much, much lighter note, The Anchoress posts an amusing piece about the show "Hollywood Squares" (which dates those of us who remember it). :)

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

For the record...

...I LOVE Ann Coulter!



Sunday, January 4, 2009

Epiphany

Today, Father spoke of the wisdom, humility, generosity, and perseverance of the Three Kings who came from far off bearing gifts for the Christ child. He encouraged us to show our love for Christ, by bringing our own gifts forward in service to others, especially in our parish.

I'm thinking of ways in which I can participate more fully in the life of my parish, beyond just attending Sunday Mass...

At home, we mark Epiphany with the all important arrival of the 3 statues of the Wise Men at the manger scene. Throughout Advent & Christmas, we usually move them closer and closer - this year I forgot to do that, and today the Three Wise Men took a giant leap from the far end of the table to the heart of the manger!

Friday, January 2, 2009

It's that time of the year...

...when I suck it up and publicly proclaim my New Year's resolutions. I figure that declaring my commitments where anyone in the world can read them will prompt me to actually follow through on my word!

Last year, I achieved two of my previous three New Year's goals: I paid off my credit card and I completed my Master's (thank God!). I did not however consistently stick to any kind of diet and exercise plan, except for occasional bouts of low-carbing it. Fortunately, Mom says I don't presently look overweight and Mom is quite honest with me about such things - she once told me that I'd gone from looking as anorexic as Karen Carpenter to looking like I'd swallowed Karen Carpenter, may her [Karen's] soul rest in peace...

At any rate, here are my resolutions for 2009:
- to take good care of my Mom and Nana
- to save a particular amount of money (Mom knows the actual amount I'm aiming for)
- to get rid of as much clutter as possible
- to take a course in public speaking

I also have some spiritual goals, but I'll keep those between me and God for now. I'll probably be writing about them from time to time throughout the year...

Thursday, January 1, 2009

Happy Feast Day of Mary Mother of God!

This is the interior of Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral (Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde) in Montreal. It's the Cathedral Church of the Archdiocese of Montreal and it's the third largest Church in Quebec.

It was just a block away from our hotel.

Happy New Year!

I know the following video clip has been on the internet for a while, but I just saw it again recently as a link on Ann Coulter's site, and I thought it would be a nice way to start off the New Year.

Steve Harvey (Comedian) introduces Jesus Christ: