thursday's ten: st patrick's day

abbreviated today because my life this week = i.n.s.a.n.e




it's no secret that i'm fiercely proud to be Irish and German (*mostly.  some other random stuff thrown in).
it's also no secret that in both those lineages are things that i'm not thrilled about.
lots and lots of occult and pagan stuff in irish history especially

and yet, on this day i remember
that the irish are a deeply spiritual folk
(which is likely why they were so faithful in their worship even in pre-Christian ireland.
and is likely why the fighting among christians has been so strong there.
we irish are awfully stubborn
and when we think something is right it's pretty hard to tell us otherwise)

they're (we're) also a fiercely optimistic bunch.
and a resilient population as well.
(hellooo potato famine, several invasions, etc, etc, etc,)

i tend to think it's my irish side that tries looking at situations from the most positive perspective possible.
after all, it could be so.much.worse
(almost always)
and the irish...well, are quite colorful at getting that point across.

i think you'll see a bit of a glimpse of that in the following irish blessings i've collected.
some are favorites from years ago.
some are recently discovered.

i hope you enjoy...and i pray that you're blessed.

May God give you...
For every storm, a rainbow,
For every tear, a smile,
For every care, a promise,
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share,
For every sigh, a sweet song,
And an answer for each prayer.

May the roof above us never fall in.
And may the friends gathered below it never fall out.

Christ be with me,
be after me,
be before me,
and be at my right and left hand.
May everything I do be for Christ.

May those that love us, love us.
And those that don't love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn't turn their hearts,
May He turn their ankles
So we will know them by their limping.

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Christ be with me
Christ before me
Christ behind me
Christ in me
Christ beneath me
Christ above me
Christ on my right
Christ on my left
Christ where I lie
Christ where I sit
Christ where I arise
Christ in the heart of every man
who thinks of me
Christ in the mouth of every man
who speaks of me
Christ in every eye that sees me
Christ in every ear that hears me
Salvation is of the Lord.

Dear Lord,
Give me a few friends
who will love me for what I am,
and keep ever burning
before my vagrant steps
the kindly light of hope...
And though I come not within sight
of the castle of my dreams,
teach me to be thankful for life,
and for time's olden memories
that are good and sweet.
And may the evening's twilight
find me gentle still.

Sleep, my babe, lie still and slumber,
All through the night
Guardian angels God will lend thee,
All through the night
Soft and drowsy hours are creeping,
Hill and vale in slumber sleeping,
Mother dear her watch is keeping,
All through the night
God is here, you'll not be lonely,
All through the night
'Tis not I who guards thee only,
All through the night
Night's dark shades will soon be over,
Still my watchful care shall hover,
God with me His watch is keeping,
All through the night

Wherever you go and whatever you do,
May the luck of the Irish be there with you.

Wishing you always...
Walls for the wind,
A roof for the rain
And tea beside the fire.
Laughter to cheer you,
Those you love near you,
And all that your heart may desire   

St Patrick's story is a great one.  may i point you to a couple of my previous st patrick's day posts: the veggie tales version of his story and one of st patrick's prayers

and her name shall be heidi

remember my list of wants in a car?

allow me to refresh your memory. and i'll add a bit of commentary (in green)

1. sunroof (or a convertible...haha)
done. combo moon and sunroof

2. a color that i love. this is different for me based on what kind of car it is, since different cars look good in different colors to me.
i didn't think i would...but the silver looks pretty awesome, i must say

3. i'm not picky about leather or cloth interior...but IF leather, then i must have heated seats
boy, do they ever heat. in fact, i forgot the other night to turn them off after i got home, and couldn't figure out the next day why the ac was running full blast and i was still warm...

4. good sound system (i'm not one of those lovely bass boomin' people at stoplights, but i do like to get in a groove)
so.much.better than any car i've had

5. a sporty look. please, please, no boring sedans. sedans with a sporty edge, sure.
sedan, with a sporty edge

6. good gas mileage. i'm not opposed to an SUV, i just want it to get decent mileage
not only does it get good gas mileage, it tells me at all times it's current gas mileage is, as well as an average of the "trip" you're on

7. lowish mileage. i drive a lot. i have family scattered all over. i'd like to get a few years out of the car.
it's relatively low for being the year that it is...and for the make/model, it's SO not a big deal

8. trunk access in a car (rear fold-down seats, preferably 60/40 split). suv, well that doesn't so much matter.
60/40, easy easy fold down

9. FUN to drive
OH yeah. in fact, anthony drove it this past weekend for the first time and didn't give me back the key for quite awhile! and it's a fun key too :)

10. a good value. i don't want to rip anyone off, but i certainly don't want to be ripped off either. i would prefer not to use my entire insurance settlement...i'd like a few hundred dollars leftover to stock away in savings for awhile.

i bought it at an auto broker for well under blue book. amazing, amazing deal.

so...wanna see her?
that german engineering is the reason for the german name
(and i've told a couple of friends that i feel like i need to put an irish flag decal on it so that i have both sides of my heritage represented!)
sorry the pic quality isn't that hot...but there you have it. a 2003 volkswagen passat...loaded...luxery...and mine
God is GOOD
(just in case you wondered)

and i...
am thrilled
:)

Indy trip: the hometown edition

Our trip home went fairly smoothly. Here are a few highlights!

First stop: the Schnitzelbank where we treated mom and dad to their birthday meals. They both ordered the salad bar (huge sigh) which is typical...but Anthony and I both enjoyed some great German food!

Next was the M's house. I told Anthony on the way up that we should stop there because they have an obscene amount of Christmas lights. He was confused about my use of the word "obscene" until he saw it for himself.

We ended Friday by going home and to bed...pretty much. Lots to do the next day!

Saturday dawned with my parents fixing breakfast for the first time in ever. This slowed us down considerably, but we finally headed out the door to meet my friend Nicole for coffee at P-burg's very first coffeeshop and cafe. It was amazing. No one had coffee. I saw they had sweet tea and immediately jumped on that. You can't get that just anywhere in Indiana!

From there to Dotty's house where they had a huge meal of roast and potatoes and all the sides...even cake and ice cream. We chatted with them awhile and then rolled our full bodies on out the door...

for the P-burg Christmas parade. Anthony experienced his first small town parade. It began with every ambulance and fire truck in the town, sirens blazing (heaven forbid someone have an emergency during the parade!)

contained tractors and golf carts

bagpipes (?!?)

flatbeds and tow trucks
(I lost count)

Anthony's favorite part was seeing all the backed up traffic at the end
We went back to mom and dad's after this and packed up the car...but I had to say goodbye to Squeak first!
On to Indy, which I'll blog about tomorrow!

Wednesday Weekend Recap

So much for getting this on at 9 pm central! It's 2 hours later, and I've been dealing with computer issues. Suffice it to say, this one is dying and I've got to get in to buy a Macbook (I'm making the change) asap!

Meghan, Laura,Izzy and I did the Oktoberfest in Nashville on Saturday early afternoon. The rain held off for just a few hours so we could enjoy being outside!

and eating

...and eating...

Sunday was a crazy busy day, ending with our trip to LP Fields to see the Titans and Colts first match-up of the season. Unfortunately, the Titans seemed to think that they could go home after the first quarter...

I told several friends that since I love both teams (after all, I grew up in Indiana and now I live here), I would have been happy with the outcome no matter who won. However, it would have been a much more fun game to watch had it been more of a game! Ah well.

On the way to the stadium with an hour til kickoff...tickets in hand...I didn't notice the sign in the background until I uploaded the pics...how ironic!
(if you can't read it, it says "dead end")

The courthouse was all lit up for Code Blue
A not-so-hot pic of the boyfriend and me
I was layered. Colts t-shirt, Titans long-sleeved tee, Colts sweatshirt, Titans hat. And a Code Blue t-shirt giveaway that we got when we walked into the stadium.

Crossing the river--more Code Blue lights!

Walking up the ramps to our seats: skyline

and big crowds below!

The Colts make their way onto the field

followed by the Titans
One of the many Colts touchdowns. I was going to get a Titans touchdown. But they never went for one. No, really. Not.A.Single.One
More football action

The final score
Most of the fans were gone...but we stuck it out to see everyone from the teams flood the field. A was ready to go by the beginning of the 4th quarter, but I wanted to stay to the end of my first football game, dangit!

Bad Haiku Friday

Going to Clarksville
Oktoberfest is tonight
Hope there's no traffic!

(Last time we went to Clarksville for funsies in October...we got stuck on the interstate for HOURS because of a hazardous waste spill...oy! Here's hoping that history does NOT repeat itself!)