Lots of stuff

Since I posted last there has been so much going on.

My fiance was in town for about 10 days. We spent a lot of quality time together including finishing our pre-cana activities and setting the date. I also gave him his own engagement ring, which is actually the One ring. I'm glad he loves it.

I figured out how to get the most important songs off of my iPod and onto the new computer so that I could sync it again.

I bought new shoes, jeans, and a Gir hoodie.

I learned how to eat with chopsticks.

There are a few new games in the house and a new Xbox 360 that the kids seem to be enjoying. Hopefully I'll get to try them sometime soon.

I'm also mildly freaking out about Nanowrimo. I know I can do it if things go right, but I'm worried that I will overthink things and overcorrect my writing, which will impede my progress. There probably won't be many blog posts in November because of this.

Anyway, blessings to everyone and anyone who reads this!

Computer woes

In the last week I have had to replace my family's computer. The old PC has been having problems with the power supply. It would turn off several times in the morning before it warmed up enough to stay on for the rest of the day. Annoying but tolerable. I should have paid heed to the warning though and backed up our files. I thought about it Friday but was going to put it off for a day or two.

A day was too late.

Saturday morning the PC would not turn on at all. No flicker of light, No hum (or even grinding) of the power supply. It was dead. And it took all of our data with it.

I know the data is salvageable, if you know how to put together and repair computers that is. Since I am unskilled in that area (as is pretty much everyone I know) the only option for us was to get a new computer and mourn our data loss.

I thought my iPod would be okay but iTunes won't let me download my songs from my iPod back into the new iTunes library. It only recognizes the songs I purchased from iTunes. So it will take some time trying to get my library back, including all the podcasts I had been subscribed to and all the CDs I had transferred to it.

Today there was a small glimmer of joy when a very important file was able to be recovered from an e-mail. The thought of spending a few hours recreating it was so daunting. Finding that attachment intact made my day.

Strange things

I heard a few strange things today:

1) "Can't you see the nerves in my toes?"

2) (In a big superhero voice) "I am JOSHUA!"

3) "Leave my gnome alone!"

4) "That decapitation was awesome!"

5) "Get that conjugal cranial parasite off of my nosecone!"

Influence

"Our body is a cenacle, a monstrance: through its crystal the world should see God." -St. Gianna Molla


I often wonder what purpose my suffering is for. Am I actively suffering for my own soul? For others'? Or is it because when I suffer I am an example to others? I must admit that I am most uncomfortable with the latter since I know how crabby I can be when I am in pain.

In order to keep going on, surviving with my suffering, I need to pray and to remind myself over and over that everything I do, including how I react to my suffering, has an influence on those around me and therefore on the world. I hope that my influence is a good and holy one.

Challenging myself

I haven't blogged much this past month. I've been busy with my kids, playing Halo: Reach, and preparing for my very first NaNoWriMo. I have refined and outlined my plot and settings. I have a good idea of my characters. I even thought of a title: Coffee Run.

I am still a tiny bit scared to death. I don't want to fail, but I don't want to be too scared to try either. So I'm stepping out in faith and determined to do my best.