I love foreign films. I love their originality, their honesty, their non-Hollywood budgets, and their normal-looking actors. If the film includes food, then even better. I present to you my current list of favorite foreign films. Some of the trailers are a little cheesy – it’s amazing how the quality of trailers has dramatically improved in the last decade. Enjoy!
Continue reading “My Top 10 Foreign Films”
Hello blog, it’s been a while. My husband went away on a business trip and then cycling across the gorgeous Canadian Rockies. It was definitely a bucket list item for him, so I’m super happy that he got to do it. In his absence, however, I went into survival mode; my greatest ambition was to keep the kids alive and take the occasional shower. But now my knight in shining armor is back and all is well.
Anyway, happy warm weather season! While it’s been the coldest, rainiest spring in years, it hasn’t kept us from venturing out on family bike rides and stone-skipping adventures. That is, when we’re not working on our wayward garden, aka our character-building activity.
Here are some of my favorite things this past month:
Continue reading “My Favorite Things – A podcast about love, dating advice, and I know what I’ll do this summer”
This post is for all you mammas of pre-potty-trained toddlers. This year we are celebrating a very special milestone in our parenting journey. For the first time in 12 years, we are diaper-free! Honestly, we never thought the day would arrive.
Before potty training becomes a fond, distant memory, I’ll share my humble thoughts about it all. While we were in the midst of it, I found it an intense, exasperating, and sometimes hopeless experience. This may sound extreme but it is, to this day, one of the hardest things I’ve done as a parent. And then, one day, the kid gets it. And then, another day, he goes to the toilet without you having to prod him like a broken record. Then another glorious day, he stops wetting at night! It really does seem magical. It’s like learning how to read, except way messier.
Continue reading “Musings from my 12-yr Residence in Diaper Land”This is the third and last post honoring British entertainment (check out my favorite novels and TV series). Without further ado, I humbly present to you my favorite British films.
Continue reading “From Across the Pond: My Top 10 British Films”The British sure know how to make good entertainment (thank you, BBC). When it comes to TV shows, I love that each episode is often like a mini-movie, each lasting more than an hour. And the Christmas specials are to die for. I even watch the Dr. Who Christmas specials (but I do leave the room when those darn Daleks show up, because I have limits).
Continue reading “From across the Pond – My Top 10 British TV Series”
In honor of birth of baby Archie (congratulations Harry and Meghan!), I’m dedicating the next few posts to my favorite British novels, TV series and movies. I love all things British: the history, the urban and rural landscapes, the architecture, the food, and best of all, the accents. I love it all: Arthurian legends, C.S. Lewis, Oxford, G. K. Chesterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, Jane Austen, the Bronte sisters, Charles Dickens, The Seven Sisters cliffs, Fortnum & Mason, Liberty fabrics, Bath, Cornwall, Afternoon Tea, Jamie Oliver, Michael McIntyre, and the duck sandwich at the Borough Market. If I believed in reincarnation, I would swear that I was a British lady in a past life. The few times that I have traveled to England, it has felt like coming home.
Continue reading “From across the Pond: My Top 10 British Novels”
Just like the Five Love Languages, I didn’t learn about the Four Temperaments until later into my marriage. But boy, an earlier understanding of them would have saved us some grief. Some years ago I attended a talk by Art and Laraine Bennett, the authors of The Temperament God Gave You. I purchased their book and the number of aha moments I had while reading it must have broken some world record.
Continue reading “Marriage Saver #4: The Four Temperaments”
Happy Easter! As practicing Catholics, Easter is the happiest season of our liturgical year. As I get older, I am learning to appreciate and even look forward to the season of denial and sacrifice that is Lent. But when Easter arrives, bring on the feasting!! I’m back to browsing dessert websites (UnwrittenRecipes is my latest obsession). Hello love handles, it’s nice to see you again.
In no particular order, I share with you my favorite things of the month:
Continue reading “My Favorite Things – A Silent Retreat, 3 Awesome Books and All about Hospitality”
In Necessariis Unitas, In Dubiis Libertas, In Omnibus Caritas
Author UnknowN
Translation: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity”. It sounds so intelligent in Latin, doesn’t it? This phrase has been attributed to several authors, among them St. Augustine. Illustrious leaders, such as a Pope and a U.S. President, have used this principle to guide their missions. We first learned it at a friend’s wedding, during the father of the bride’s speech. As soon as we heard it, my husband and I looked at each other like two lit up light bulbs. Since then it has become one of the guiding principles in our marriage.
How do I understand this phrase? I have no doubt that minds greater than mine have written profoundly on the topic, but here is my humble take as it applies to marriage.
Continue reading “Marriage Saver #3: The Latin Principle”
“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only – and that is to support the ultimate career.” C.S. Lewis
This quote by the great C.S. Lewis was on the welcome page of the program guide at the Great Homeschool Convention event in Texas last month. As soon as I read it, I knew I was in the right place. I see my role as a homeschooling mom as my calling, my vocation, and my profession. I’m often asked by strangers if I’m “qualified” to teach my children. Since I don’t have a teaching degree, this question used to fluster me and leave me feeling, well, unqualified. But after years of reflection, I can confidently assert that I’m qualified. Like a true professional, I’m dedicating thousands of hours to master my trade. I actively engage with veteran homeschooling moms, curriculum creators, and experienced teachers. Undoubtedly, however, one of the best ways in which I invest in my professional development is by attending homeschooling conferences.
Continue reading “Attend a Homeschooling Conference!”