7 QT 35: Alto, Cilantro, and Bananas


It's Friday!! This week, Joseph and I have been compiling all of our tax information so we can send it off to the woman who is preparing our taxes. Last night we crossed the final step off of our to-do list, so that means it is time to celebrate. But before we relax, here's a look at the adventures in the Langr household this past week: 


1. How low can I go?

Since I can remember, I've had an alto voice - and I've loved it. Tuesday at the bookstore, a customer came in with earbuds in and did some reading before making a purchase. When he came up to the counter to pay for his book, I asked him if he'd found everything okay. He did a double take and commented that I had a much deeper voice than he expected to hear from someone like me. 

Thank you? I guess? That's the first time I've heard that one. 

Are you an alto, too? You'll love this hilarious song about the sometimes inconveniences of having a lower voice.   


2. Our bed sheets are now "Pre-Vatican II"

I have a habit of writing reminders on my wrists and hands - if I write them on sticky-notes or in my phone, I either lose the sticky note or forget to look at my phone notes. This past weekend, I needed to remember to ask a priest about a question about something in Catholic Church history pre-1960s, so I wrote the prompt "pre-vatican II" on my hand. 

Then that night, when I went to bed, the ink from my note on my hand transferred onto our bed sheets - which are now proudly stamped "pre-vatican II". 

The good thing is, Joseph got me a great gift for Valentine's day - wrist notes! So I've gotten them out of my desk drawer and am going to start wearing them on a regular basis so our sheets don't get even more decorated with grocery lists, phone numbers, and the other random things I write on my arms. 

wrist notes.jpg

3. Podcast listening for your weekend

Are you taking a road trip this weekend? Turning on some music or podcasts to listen to while you get a jump start on Spring cleaning? Just need some good podcasts to add to your que? Here's my top three picks for the week:

- "Who is Jordan Peterson"  One of our friends mentioned Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist whose been making waves lately for his commentary on our culture. Bishop Barron and Brandon Vogt talk about Peterson in their latest episode. If you, like me, had never heard of Peterson before, this is a great introduction to his work. 

- "Lent Through the Eyes of Peter" Joe Heschmeyer and I are continuing our Lenten series with an episode discussing Peter. He's a stubborn fisherman who overestimates his own strength (and we think gets a pretty bad rap). Take a listen to learn about how Peter tries to create his own personal Jesus, and how we can avoid falling into the same trap.

- "A Letter to the Woman With a Cluttered Closet" Mary Elizabeth Sperry, author of the new book Making Room for God joins me on Letters to Women this week. We talk about how Spring cleaning doesn't have to be awful, and how Catholics are called to declutter their interior life and exterior homes, too. I learned so much from Mary Elizabeth's story! 


4. Julia Child wouldn't approve of my kitchen plants

When someone asked Julia Child if she would ever eat cilantro, she replied: "Never. I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor". Well, Julia, you'll have to get through me if you want to throw my cilantro on the floor. Because those tiny little seeds I planted a week ago? THEY'VE SPROUTED, FRIENDS.

That's right. I have four little tiny cilantro sprouts peeking up through the soil. I planted six seeds, so I don't know where the other two went. But four of them are growing strong! 


5. I'm taking Italian coffee breaks these days

Italy is on Joseph and I's to-visit list within the first five years of our marriage. We're slowly saving back for that trip. But that gives me plenty of time to learn some Italian in the meantime. A friend tipped me off to "Coffee Break Italian" on Spotify. It's a series of short podcasts taught by an Italian native speaker and a Scottish host, working on brushing up his Italian. It's great -so far my pronunciation is awful. But, as the Italians say, "Sbagliando simpara" - by making mistakes we learn. 

Okay, I've listened to one episode so far. But I'm working on it! It'll be totally worth it if I can order my coffee in Italian when we go over there to visit someday. 


6. Pre-run jitters

The 10K I've been training for since last fall is in 9 days. Gulp. I've run the full run distance before and my run time continues to improve, but if I'm being honest, I'm pretty nervous. Any tips from the veteran runners out there on what I can do during this last week to calm down and enjoy my time running? 


7. Wilson goes bananas

We've been eating a lot of bananas during Lent (click here to read more about our simple meals). But this week, our bananas were ripening faster than we could eat them. So Wednesday we asked Wilson to help us eat up our fruit before it went bad - and he went bananas. The little guy definitely has a sweet tooth, so he only got a nibble of banana. But let's just say that we found another food that works as a great incentive for Wilson and we were able to finish our bananas before they spoiled. I'd call that a win-win.