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Angie Mc
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Hey everyone,
Happy Wednesday, everyone! Better late than never! My questions is...last week the shoutout here received over 200 hits. Is there a reason more of you who are reading don't say hey?! Send me a PM or let me encourage you...I would be so happy to see you here 
All is well here and we're enjoying gorgeous weather. I just posted How to find and be a friend and would love your feedback. Please! I'm honestly very curious about how women build and maintain lasting friendships.
I reblogged about homemade cleaning products and here is a summary of the content I curated last week. If you are interested in a particular topic and can't find it, let me know and I'll get it to you.
Quote:
At Gems for a Happy Family Life you’ll find two steps to a more productive day, how to learn from and let go of mistakes, four ways to make quality family time, and my favorite tip: how to reduce stress by clinching your left fist.
At Family Food and Feast you’re encouraged to purchase your pecans NOW because they are only going to get more expensive. If you love cheese, you find amazing recipes with gorgeous photos. Do you know how to order a martini? You will now. And my favorite is a bunch of recipes to make from over ripe bananas, to include truffles. Can’t believe I just typed that.
At Family Learning wait until you see 100 things learned from watching 70 hours of TED Talks; quite a summary. There stuff on financial literacy and apps. And there’s a sweet blog by a teacher in New Zealand where children use technology to write, illustrate, and video their own stories.
It’s my experience that many bloggers don’t dig twitter. I do and am eager to help bloggers engage well and happily on twitter! If you have a question about twitter, please ask. And check out some great ways to enjoy twitter at Twitter 3F: Family Friends and Fun. |
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Have a great week!
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Erin
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Angie
I have lots and lots to say on this topic  surprised?  
Do you want me to respond here or on your blog post?
*Warning I could write a whole post in response. 
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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Martha
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I have committed to blogging once or twice a month. But I'm not joining twitter, bc in already have FB and I am limited FB more and more.
I keep forgetting to add to my scoop.it tho I save stuff in my 'to read' file for it all the time.
I've been pretty focused on getting my kids educated and myself healthier. Nothing tremendously exciting.
For getting and maintaining friendships...
I'm finding the older I get the more I need to just live kindly and let the rest either go or grow as it will on its own. I try to be kind. If it grows into a friendship - that's nice. But at this stage in my life, I'm more focused on friendships with my husband and young adult children. On family that is progressively growing older and whose time is ever more limited with us.
Even my current friendships seem to naturally recognize this stage. We go weeks without talking or seeing each other, and tho we miss each other, this is just a phase of life where we are focused far more deeply on our families than we thought we would be. We thought we would be focusing on lunch dates with our friends at this stage, but it turns out life with teens is way, way, WAY busier than it was when we all had a passel of little ones. I certainly never thought it would be like this, but I'm not upset about it.
I was thinking just this morning of how could I possibly slow down more and then dh came how and dropped the bombshell that he might be taking a new job that will have him traveling 80% of the year. So much for slowing down. Instead I'll need to ramp up my to do list.
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Martha
mama to 7 boys & 4 girls
Yes, they're all ours!
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Angie Mc
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Erin, I'm grateful wherever you choose to reply!
Martha, isn't it wonderful to grow friendships with our older children?! My daughter and I were just talking about this last night :)
I've had great fortune setting time aside weekly to meet one-to-one with a friend. This morning I went to breakfast at 6:30 and was home by 9 am :) Great way to start the day.
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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JodieLyn
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Well you know, some days even when it's busy (or maybe especially then) I pop in to just take a break from the chaos and regroup.. and I'll see a post and have lots of thoughts pop into my head but it takes too much effort to corral them into coherency to actually post.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
-Sir Walter Scott
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pumpkinmom
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JodieLyn wrote:
| Well you know, some days even when it's busy (or maybe especially then) I pop in to just take a break from the chaos and regroup.. and I'll see a post and have lots of thoughts pop into my head but it takes too much effort to corral them into coherency to actually post. |
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You are reading my mind!
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Cassie
Homeschooling my little patch of Ds-14 and Ds-10
Tending the Pumpkin Patch
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Willa
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When I was sick I realized how important my friends (and siblings and grown children) are to me and how I tend to be too careless about making sure they know I care about them. SO I am trying to do a better job about connecting frequently -- I hope I can, since I am flaky these days
I love texting and social media for those reasons -- that I can keep in touch with people who are far away.
When my kids were littler it was really hard to go out and connect with my community, and since I am rather an introvert, I usually just spent my down time on the computer or reading. Now that they are older, I feel like I want to move towards being out there more.
So in a way I guess I am trying to broaden my circles now that it is easier. I find the easiest way is to join something. My local Catholic Bible Study has been huge for me -- made such a difference in the feeling of our tiny mission church.
Very rambling here....
We've had a quiet week hereabouts so not much news to shout out about !
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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JennGM
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Lately my circles have been getting smaller, and I think it is of necessity. I've got my eyes on the goal of heart surgery, and so we're not doing much expansion except a super blessing of a friend who recently moved next door!
I'm not doing well in introspection on subjects I don't think about often. It's like I have blinders on...
I'm like Martha -- I don't do Twitter or FB. I'm on Pinterest for a bit, and I blog a bit. I read blogs, but can't always comment if I'm on my phone.
Email works best for me.
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Jennifer G. Miller
Wife to  & ds1  '03 & ds2  '07
Family in Feast and Feria
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Angie Mc
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Thanks, Jody and Cassie, I think that's in part why I stopped coming here daily. It works better for me to schedule a chunk of time on Wednesday to stop, think, and engage here. It also helps me to come here with something specific to contribute - my shout out. It helps me to focus. Then while I'm here, I hit the active button and chime in if I have something different to contribute.
Willa and Jenn, I'm extra loving you two! With both of you unwell, I can't help but think how precious you are to me. I know I'm not the best at staying in touch, but between here and our blogs (and me finally committing to being engaged via blogs) I'm just grateful...super grateful that our friendships continue. And of course, I'm praying praying praying.
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Angie Mc
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I'm back to email too! I abandoned it for a bit but now have it all connected to my time management stuff (email + evernote + google calendar).
You all can find me at angmcintyre6 @ gmail.com!
Love,
__________________
Angie Mc
Maimeo to Henry! Dave's wife, mom to Mrs. Devin+Michael Pope, Aiden 20,Ian 17,John Paul 11,Catherine (heaven 6/07)
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Willa
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Angie and Jenn,
I am really praying for your surgery, Jenn. At Maria Rioux's suggestion, I said a Fast Memorare Novena for you and will continue to say them for your intentions. I can only imagine how this affects your life and I pray that it will bless you and your family immensely even though it is hard to go through. I am thankful that you are willing to share updates as you have done.
Angie, I love your attitude!!  It's great to connect with you at this stage of your life! I am so grateful for you, too! BTW I love your daughter's blog, - I hope she keeps it up!
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AMDG
Willa
hsing boys ages 11, 14, almost 18 (+ 4 homeschool grads ages 20 to 27)
Take Up and Read
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Erin
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Willa wrote:
| When I was sick I realized how important my friends (and siblings and grown children) are to me and how I tend to be too careless about making sure they know I care about them. SO I am trying to do a better job about connecting frequently -- |
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Willa
I've been thinking about this since yesterday. I believe I can be guilty of this too. I've become a hermit since being badly hurt by a friend several years back and don't reach out to make new friends easily.
Willa wrote:
I love texting and social media for those reasons -- that I can keep in touch with people who are far away. |
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I just bought a touch phone so I could text my ds18 as he says that's his preferred medium (proud of me angie?- thought of you when I bought it) my dd20 prefers me to send her an email, not that she will respond but if I email 'ring me' she might.
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Erin
Faith Filled Days
Seven Little Australians
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MaryM
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Angie Mc wrote:
| My questions is...last week the shoutout here received over 200 hits. Is there a reason more of you who are reading don't say hey?! |
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Guilty of this charge...quilty, guilty, guilty....
Love ya - and you know I owe you a call...time just slips by so fast..."like sands through the hour glass, so are the days of our lives..."
to everybody shouting out this Wednesday/Thursday!
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Mary M. in Denver
Our Domestic Church
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Grace&Chaos
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My computer time is extremely low lately. Various reasons, mostly just busy. But reading through these posts ... I had a thought. When I do check in here and read a few topics I'm on my phone or iPad and honestly, I don't like typing responses with them...just frustrates me sometimes 
(sigh) technology 
I do love to know what you're all up to and pray daily for you ladies
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Blessings,
Jenny
Mom to dds(00,03) and dss(05,06,08,09)
Grace in Loving Chaos
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juliana147
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Same here... I check in now and then, but actually logging in and commenting... not so much, unless it's responding quickly to prayer requests. So, I guess I am guilty of contributing to that 200 number of hits and not responding.
I'm also constantly cutting back on online time in general, to focus on projects here. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done! It is much, much more complicated than when I just had little ones, but I have to say I am enjoying this stage of our lives very much.
Life has definitely changed since my kids are teens, and we've moved to a new community. I am in the car a lot more. Time management has become a real priority out of necessity.
And I never seem to get on here on Wednesday afternoons! But I am glad to know when others are doing well! Thanks for doing this, Angie!
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- Juliana
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juliana147
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One more thought- I think one absolute requirement for friendships is time. Nothing substitutes for that. And I think that is the major obstacle many women face these days... homeschooling moms, or not. When it is stretched too thin, we have difficulty focusing beyond our families, or circles of existing friends, the friends that we made when our lives were not so busy.
But good friends are a treasure, as we read in Sirach. It is worth the effort to reach out. Our lives are enriched so much by our friendships.
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- Juliana
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Barb.b
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I love the ideas of friendship shared here! I find my circle of friends small - but priceless. I have 1 very, very close friend - we cry, laugh, share . . . and as some said - not daily. She teaches my kids on fridays for a bit so we see each other then (sometimes quickly, sometime we stay and talk; all of us). But once in a while once or maybe twice per month we talk on the phone - just her and I able are to hear; say whatever is on our minds.
Then there is one gal I count as a friend and has been supportive in my difficult moments a while ago - but she doesn't share too much with me about her life. Thats fine - we get together maybe twice per year - keep in touch and generally catch up. I like to keep that up in case this develops into a closer friendship.
I think in todays world - I count myself lucky that I have 1 close friend. Also, I am very close to my kids (21, 16 and soon 11) and that is priceless.
Is is our changing society - but most of the people I know my parents age (70's and 80's) have lots of friends that they have had for decades (the same group for decades. . . . ). I used to think - whats wrong with me that I don't have that. But really - we live in a different world and that kind of thing is hard to cultivate.
Oh - sorry for rambling
Barb
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Barb.b
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Oh - forgot the best thing about the subject of friends. About a month or so ago my dd (16) and I were up talking about friends. She was basically saying what a lot of us are - she has alot of acquaintances but not many close friends (if at all really) - and then she said something like: "but then again you are my best friend". Said in a matter of fact way - not mushy or emotional. I think we started on the subject because she needed for church volunteering a peer to write down for a reference (that has known her for 3 years).
Barb
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MarilynW
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Hi Angie,
I am treating myself to some 4real time. I am so glad I checked in after a while as I see a lot has been going on (Jenn I will email you off list this weekend - so sorry to hear that you are not well)
Friendship is such a great topic to discuss. And like Erin I could write reams. But here are some of my thoughts as abbreviated as possible, as I have online time whilst my "babies" are doing their daily music practice
1. I think that the online world has made friendship easier and more difficult at the same time. Easy because it is so easy to keep in touch with people all over the world and connect at convenient times. More difficult, because i think friendship is also much more superficial -the whole Facebook "friends" thing. Also online frienships can be just wonderful - but can also make friendship "lazy" - there is not much effort or self-sacrifice. There is no substitute for an in real life friend - to meet up with, to share joy and suffering, to pick up the pieces with, hold their new babies, attend funerals for their loved ones.
2. I think everyone is so busy today - even as kids get older, I find people have less time to just sit and talk and get together and practice hospitality. I think back to my childhood, when everyone sat on their porches and talked, and showed up for dinner. Now it seems that everyone is in more organized activity, and less spontaneous generosity. We have tried to change this by always being open to anyone joining us for dinner (and believe me we have had 5 loaves and friendships situations!!) and having people back to breakfast after Mass on Sundays.
3. I like what Erin wrote on your blog - I think it was easier when everyone had little kids - friendships seem to be harder with teenagers, because people seem to find it harder to get over different parenting styles etc.
4. For me personally - I have different levels of friendship and they are all necessary. I have the "casual" kind where I meet people at church, playgrounds, homeschool events, soccer games - and have fun with them, and enjoy them at this level. I have online friends - some of whom I have met irl and are part of my life - and others who I "bump" into occasionally. And then I have the ones I really call "friends" - the ones whom the Bible says "a friend who is closer than a brother" - the ones who are there at births and deaths, at crisis and very much IRL. The ones I talk to often on the phone. Not many of them - but we don't need many.
5. I find that IRL friendship can avoid drama a lot more - I don't spend much time online and don't facebook - but it seems to me when I do there is often much drama and misunderstanding. That's why I prefer to pick up the phone or meet in person. Also - it is easy to give an appearance of being a certain way on a blog or on facebook - and then when you meet in IRL you find someone is really different. I always say that someone doesn't really know me unless they have met me, been to my house, seen how I am with my family etc
I will post a couple of my favorite friendship quotes in a different post.
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Marilyn
Blessed with 6 gifts from God
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MarilynW
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“Oh, the comfort — the inexpressible comfort of feeling safe with a person — having neither to weigh thoughts nor measure words, but pouring them all right out, just as they are, chaff and grain together; certain that a faithful hand will take and sift them, keep what is worth keeping, and then with the breadth of kindness blow the rest away.”
~ Dinah Maria Craik (1826-1887), English novelist and poet, from A Life for a Life
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Marilyn
Blessed with 6 gifts from God
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: Wednesday Shout Out: Question
