inspired

Lent is officially over and it definitely went out in triumphant glory! Like I mentioned in the last post, I went on Holy Thursday which was pretty amazing. It is quickly becoming my favorite Mass. The Archbishop washed the feet of some randomly selected parishioners and everything! Good Friday I went at noon, and then again to the Tenebrae service which were both so heart wrenching, the Veneration of the cross in particular, accompanied by the Palastrina-esque motet sung by the choir. Holy Saturday was the three hour Vigil, of course and it was as gorgeous as ever. Eight hours later, my final Mass: Easter Sunday! And what an absolutely perfect cap to my Lenten experience: upon walking into the Cathedral, the man handing out the programs asked my sister and I if we'd like to bring up the gifts.........!!!! So we would get to bring up the bread and wine....to the Archbishop of Milwaukee....on Easter Sunday. This was definitely one of the most awe-inspiring moments of my life! I will forever remember the beautiful smile on Archbishop Dolan's face as my sister and I walked up the long aisle of the Cathedral to the alter. And after sitting down, it all just hit me. And how amazing is it to have such an experience after really trying to put my heart and soul into Lent this year? I'd like to think that it was more than just a coincidence ;)

In other List news...
44. Recipes
4.4 (2/4) I made that mushroom risotto, which was pretty good, but not as good as the squash risotto I made a couple weeks ago. And what's funny is that with the squash I totally cheated on the rice portion...I didn't "toast" the rice, or add wine, or stir constantly, adding cups of broth water every few minutes. Instead, I did this with the mushroom recipe, and it didn't turn out as creamy or anything. I have a feeling it has something to do with the squash being creamy in and of itself. Well you live, you learn!
4.8 (3/4) Then yesterday morning I made a potato recipe for my fam for Easter brunch! Cubed red tatos with olive oil, fresh rosemary, some random other spices in my mom's cabinet (steak seasoning and such)...baked for quite some time. In fact, I baked them for at least 45 minutes and they were still nowhere near done, so we microwaved them for another 8mins or something ridiculous. Then, once finally finished baking, I topped them with a sauce I made of dijon, cider vinegar, sugar, and olive oil. And topped THAT with some dill and Parmesan cheese. TASTY!!

I know I mentioned something about taking part in the 26Things photography project...well I checked it out online and turns out they only come up with a list ever few months! And they had JUST finished up the list for March. BOO!!! So who KNOWS when the next one will be, but it probably won't be in April :( So I'm going to have to focus on another creative project. I took some photos of my Easter Lily this weekend and it's seriously flower porn. I mean because I was focusing on the lily's pistil/stigma/anther "sexual organs" (don't worry, I had to wikipedia those terms). So I'll post those one of these days...not on the list, but creative nonetheless.

I've got some birthday cards to make, so that's on the immediate to-do list. I should get on a cd today to drop off somewhere!

That's all I've got for today...carry on!