Nope...that was just the TV playing tricks on me.
I feel like there's some sort of reference I'm not getting here...see Jen. And now see Erica. (Just to be clear, I do not mean that I've missed the whole hurricane-hitting-the-east-coast disaster. We may live out in the boonies, but I still get TV and internet. I'm talkin' bout the title. Pure coincidence? I'm leaning toward no. So fill a sister in!)
Completely off topic (wait, have I established a topic yet...?), but 30 Rock is on in the background and Jenna just said, "There's no 'I' or 'me' in America." Liz is standing behind her, shaking her head, and mouthing, "there's both..." Baha!
I had the opportunity to babysit on Sunday. At one point, I asked the little 3 year old if she wanted some fruit. She replied, "No. But thanks for asking." Too cute :)
And now for the meat and potatoes of this post. I probably should have decided what that was going to be before I started typing...hmmm...this very bright white page is not inspiring at all. I could probably spend some more time droning on about friendship woes, buuuut let's see if we can come up with anything else first. Got it!
Things I have to think about at home that never crossed my mind at school:
1. I've got a little less than a quarter tank of gas left. Better fill up before I go home or I may not make it home and back to the gas station since the nearest one is 20ish minutes away.
2. I'm hungry. Order a pizza you say? I can't--no one delivers out here.
3. How many MB of data does watching this YouTube video use? (and the answer is always 'how the heck would I even go about figuring that out??) Yeah....unlimited high speed internet doesn't exist out here so no catching up on TV shows on Hulu or watching that funny/cute/horrifying video making it's way around Facebook. Apparently Comcast doesn't think it's worth their time or effort.
4. I wonder which church has mass today. There are 3 Catholic churches within a 7 mile radius but none of them have mass every day.
5. I better make a list of every single errand I need to run because I won't be going back into civilization for a few days.
6. How long has it been since I've actually talked to someone? (At one point, I think it was 3 days because my mom was gone for the weekend and I didn't have anywhere to go. I finally broke the fast by talking to the girl working the Dairy Queen drive-thru...)
7. If I sit on the edge of the chair with the phone tilted at a 34 degree angle on the right arm, I get one bar of signal. However, I lose it if I switch to the left arm.
8. I wonder if this light breeze is going to knock our satellite TV out like it did last week.
9. As we're baking cookies, "oh shoot we're out of butter!" "Well, put the partially made dough in the fridge and we'll finish it tomorrow after we go grocery shopping."
10. You mean I can just leave my clothes in the washer or dryer and no one will move them?? Or if they do, they'll move them to the proper place?? (aka the dryer or my bed :D)
11. Where are all the other 20somethings?!
As always, thank you for not judging the randomness that is my thought process and have a wonderful night :) Oh! And sorry for the lack of pictures lately--can't risk going over our allotted data usage again. I'll try and steal some internet from Barnes and Noble the next time I'm there ;)
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Does anyone else do this?
I've decided to take a break from all my deep thoughts about friendship for a day. Please hold your applause until the end. So today I'm going to mix it up and tell you about some of the weird stuff I find myself doing. Hopefully I'm not the only one ;)
1. I put my pants on the same way every.single.time--left leg first. I tried to do it right leg first one time and almost fell over.
2. Sometimes after reading a friend's Facebook status, I post something on their wall about it instead of commenting on the actual status because I don't want to get 138 notifications from all the people who will eventually find the gem of a status.
3. I get reeeeaaally excited when I see that little red 1 at the top of the page when I first pull up Facebook. However, my joy quickly turns to rage when I find out that it's a farmville request.
4. I feel like I'm tempting fate every time I eat spaghetti while wearing any color shirt that's not red or black.
5. I live on a dead end street in the middle of nowhere, but for some reason I still find myself putting my turn signal on when approaching my driveway. Safety first, right?
6. Our garage is like 5 steps away from our house, but I'd rather stagger under the weight of two fully loaded grocery-bag-filled arms (and end up with a bag of chip crumbs) than take more than one trip from car to house.
7. I can never seem to leave a normal voicemail where I don't sound like a 12 year old boy going through puberty struggling to ask a girl out, so I've stopped leaving them and just assume the recipients of my calls will see they missed it and call me back.
8. There's a field behind my house that we use as our personal compost pile. I hope the farmer doesn't mind the old orange peels and moldy cottage cheese.
9. I've decided it's okay to go to movies by myself.
10. I put my seatbelt on before I start the car because I don't like the dinging noise reminding me to put it on.
11. Upon finding a new blog to read, I can't decide if I should go back and read all her past posts or just start reading from the point I found it. I mean, if she's been blogging for 5 years, how will I ever catch up on every post??
12. I feel like I know more about what's going on in the lives of the women whose blogs I follow than I do with my own friends in some cases. Something doesn't seem quite right here.
13. I always get too invested in TV shows and books, so it amazes me when people tell me they don't like one or the other. What do those people do for entertainment? Talk to actual people?? That's just preposterous.
Welp, that's probably enough for one day. I'm off to finish watching Hocus Pocus :)
1. I put my pants on the same way every.single.time--left leg first. I tried to do it right leg first one time and almost fell over.
2. Sometimes after reading a friend's Facebook status, I post something on their wall about it instead of commenting on the actual status because I don't want to get 138 notifications from all the people who will eventually find the gem of a status.
3. I get reeeeaaally excited when I see that little red 1 at the top of the page when I first pull up Facebook. However, my joy quickly turns to rage when I find out that it's a farmville request.
4. I feel like I'm tempting fate every time I eat spaghetti while wearing any color shirt that's not red or black.
5. I live on a dead end street in the middle of nowhere, but for some reason I still find myself putting my turn signal on when approaching my driveway. Safety first, right?
6. Our garage is like 5 steps away from our house, but I'd rather stagger under the weight of two fully loaded grocery-bag-filled arms (and end up with a bag of chip crumbs) than take more than one trip from car to house.
7. I can never seem to leave a normal voicemail where I don't sound like a 12 year old boy going through puberty struggling to ask a girl out, so I've stopped leaving them and just assume the recipients of my calls will see they missed it and call me back.
8. There's a field behind my house that we use as our personal compost pile. I hope the farmer doesn't mind the old orange peels and moldy cottage cheese.
9. I've decided it's okay to go to movies by myself.
10. I put my seatbelt on before I start the car because I don't like the dinging noise reminding me to put it on.
11. Upon finding a new blog to read, I can't decide if I should go back and read all her past posts or just start reading from the point I found it. I mean, if she's been blogging for 5 years, how will I ever catch up on every post??
12. I feel like I know more about what's going on in the lives of the women whose blogs I follow than I do with my own friends in some cases. Something doesn't seem quite right here.
13. I always get too invested in TV shows and books, so it amazes me when people tell me they don't like one or the other. What do those people do for entertainment? Talk to actual people?? That's just preposterous.
Welp, that's probably enough for one day. I'm off to finish watching Hocus Pocus :)
Monday, October 29, 2012
Some musings on friendship
After thinking a little more about last night's post, I've decided to dedicate this week of blog posts to friendship (aka I thought of something that I didn't get to say yesterday and I need an excuse to bring up my friends again). With my track record, we're looking at anywhere from 2 to 4 posts since I've never had something to say every day for a week. But friendship is something we've all struggled with at one time or another so maybe I'll break my record this week.
Aaaaaaanyway, we're headed back to Saturday night on the floor of my friend's room for today's thoughts. At one point during our emotion-wreaking catch-up session, the conversation turned to being vulnerable. Both of us have been hurt by friends in the past (as I'm sure everyone who's ever had a friend has experienced), and, like you, we developed defense mechanisms for dealing with the pain. Instead of dealing with the emotions, we find ourselves pulling away from other friends and getting lost in our work. We over-schedule our days and stretch ourselves too thin. We join more clubs or volunteer to pick up someone's shift or actually read the book assigned for class. We put all of our energy into proving something--proving we're good students or good athletes or good workers. Anything to keep from having even 5 minutes of unplanned time during the day where we'd be forced to think about how much it hurts when our friends pull away from us. But what we don't realize is how much worse this approach makes it. Sure it might seem like a good plan for awhile--hey we're not getting hurt, right? WRONG. We are hurting; it's just in a different way. Maybe we've stopped ourselves from feeling some of the pain of no longer having that friend in our lives. Actually, is that even true? I don't know about you, but my thoughts seem to go straight to whatever it is I don't want to think about as soon as I get in the shower or settle into bed. So it doesn't even matter how jam packed I make my day, the hurt still finds a way in. But I digress. There are two things I think we lose when we choose to bury our feelings.
First is the chance to learn from the experience and reflect on what, if anything, we could or would do differently next time. I tried to convince myself that I did this after the whole falling out with L from the last post, but oh how wrong I was. My "reflection" consisted of a decision to essentially stop contacting my friends. I would sit around and wait for them to ask me to do something or invite me to go somewhere because I was so worried that I would be imposing myself on them. I wouldn't even suggest something as small as what route we should take to get to class. This worked out about as well as you'd expect and resulted in me becoming pretty good friends with my TV and couch. It wasn't until I started my journey to Catholicism that I started taking more time to see how absolutely asinine this approach was and how little reflection I had really done. I wasn't reflecting at all; I was simply responding to being hurt by doing the exact opposite of what I had been doing. And yes, it was important that I stop doing some of the things I had been doing (texting incessantly, being jealous, and expecting her to hang out with me every weekend I went home). But not all of my actions were bad. And that's what I didn't see before. I should contact my friends and tell them how great they are (because who doesn't love hearing that??). I should be the one who comes up with things to do sometimes (because no one wants to have to suggest things alllll the time). I also learned how important it is to have more than one friend (you don't say...). It just had never been a problem for me before. When you both only have one friend, it just doesn't come up I guess. Anyway, moral of this point: I've realized how important it is to honestly reflect on experiences, especially the painful ones.
The second thing I think we lose by refusing to be vulnerable is our ability to be a good friend to the ones we still have. What does it mean to be a good friend? I think half the battle is being available and the other half is being vulnerable (any other halves you can think of?). Sometimes that's all we need--someone to be there when we need to vent about our sister, cry about our boyfriend, or laugh about our creepy blog-stalking. We may not even need the other person to say anything; it's enough to know they're on the other end of the phone/bed listening to us pour our hearts out. But if we're too busy being busy so that we don't have to deal with our wounds, we can't be available to our friends. And while they may understand in the beginning (after all, we all have to cancel plans for whatever reason every now and then), I've discovered that you'll quickly find yourself wondering why no one has called or texted you all week asking if you want to grab coffee if you never commit to any plans. You just can't be friends with someone you never spend any time with. And when you are spending time with a friend, I think it's important to be present and vulnerable. How many times have you been in the middle of an intense story only to have the person you're talking to check whatever text just came in? Does that bother anyone else? I mean, if we're just sitting around watching TV or talking about my cat following me into the bathroom every.single.time I get up to go, then fine, check the message. But come on, know when it's okay! (I almost tripped getting off my soapbox there.) Anyway, I just think it's important to be vulnerable if we want something more than surface friendships. This is something I'm still struggling with, but within the past year, I've realized how vital that vulnerability is to any good relationship. But it's hard, isn't it? It's hard putting yourself out there without knowing how the other person is going to react to whatever you have to say. It's hard letting someone in when it's caused so much hurt in the past. But isn't it harder never having anyone to share things with? Isn't it harder not being able to bounce ideas or insecurities off of someone else? Maybe it's just me, but I need others' opinions on things. I don't know everything, nor have I experienced everything life has to offer, so I value the insights others can offer. And even though there's a chance that I may get hurt by opening up to a friend, I now know that God gives me those opportunities for a reason. We're not meant to be alone, so we might as well make the most of the friendships we're blessed with, even though it means facing whatever fear or insecurity we're plagued with. I can't promise you'll never get hurt again; we're human and can't help making mistakes. But I can tell you that I've never had better friends than the ones I've made since letting go of some of my fears and telling myself it's okay to be vulnerable. I have to remind myself of that every time I question whether or not I should leave a comment, make a phone call, or offer a shoulder to cry on.
Don't worry, I'll get back to the lighter posts soon! I promise I don't always spend this much time thinking about things :)
Aaaaaaanyway, we're headed back to Saturday night on the floor of my friend's room for today's thoughts. At one point during our emotion-wreaking catch-up session, the conversation turned to being vulnerable. Both of us have been hurt by friends in the past (as I'm sure everyone who's ever had a friend has experienced), and, like you, we developed defense mechanisms for dealing with the pain. Instead of dealing with the emotions, we find ourselves pulling away from other friends and getting lost in our work. We over-schedule our days and stretch ourselves too thin. We join more clubs or volunteer to pick up someone's shift or actually read the book assigned for class. We put all of our energy into proving something--proving we're good students or good athletes or good workers. Anything to keep from having even 5 minutes of unplanned time during the day where we'd be forced to think about how much it hurts when our friends pull away from us. But what we don't realize is how much worse this approach makes it. Sure it might seem like a good plan for awhile--hey we're not getting hurt, right? WRONG. We are hurting; it's just in a different way. Maybe we've stopped ourselves from feeling some of the pain of no longer having that friend in our lives. Actually, is that even true? I don't know about you, but my thoughts seem to go straight to whatever it is I don't want to think about as soon as I get in the shower or settle into bed. So it doesn't even matter how jam packed I make my day, the hurt still finds a way in. But I digress. There are two things I think we lose when we choose to bury our feelings.
First is the chance to learn from the experience and reflect on what, if anything, we could or would do differently next time. I tried to convince myself that I did this after the whole falling out with L from the last post, but oh how wrong I was. My "reflection" consisted of a decision to essentially stop contacting my friends. I would sit around and wait for them to ask me to do something or invite me to go somewhere because I was so worried that I would be imposing myself on them. I wouldn't even suggest something as small as what route we should take to get to class. This worked out about as well as you'd expect and resulted in me becoming pretty good friends with my TV and couch. It wasn't until I started my journey to Catholicism that I started taking more time to see how absolutely asinine this approach was and how little reflection I had really done. I wasn't reflecting at all; I was simply responding to being hurt by doing the exact opposite of what I had been doing. And yes, it was important that I stop doing some of the things I had been doing (texting incessantly, being jealous, and expecting her to hang out with me every weekend I went home). But not all of my actions were bad. And that's what I didn't see before. I should contact my friends and tell them how great they are (because who doesn't love hearing that??). I should be the one who comes up with things to do sometimes (because no one wants to have to suggest things alllll the time). I also learned how important it is to have more than one friend (you don't say...). It just had never been a problem for me before. When you both only have one friend, it just doesn't come up I guess. Anyway, moral of this point: I've realized how important it is to honestly reflect on experiences, especially the painful ones.
The second thing I think we lose by refusing to be vulnerable is our ability to be a good friend to the ones we still have. What does it mean to be a good friend? I think half the battle is being available and the other half is being vulnerable (any other halves you can think of?). Sometimes that's all we need--someone to be there when we need to vent about our sister, cry about our boyfriend, or laugh about our creepy blog-stalking. We may not even need the other person to say anything; it's enough to know they're on the other end of the phone/bed listening to us pour our hearts out. But if we're too busy being busy so that we don't have to deal with our wounds, we can't be available to our friends. And while they may understand in the beginning (after all, we all have to cancel plans for whatever reason every now and then), I've discovered that you'll quickly find yourself wondering why no one has called or texted you all week asking if you want to grab coffee if you never commit to any plans. You just can't be friends with someone you never spend any time with. And when you are spending time with a friend, I think it's important to be present and vulnerable. How many times have you been in the middle of an intense story only to have the person you're talking to check whatever text just came in? Does that bother anyone else? I mean, if we're just sitting around watching TV or talking about my cat following me into the bathroom every.single.time I get up to go, then fine, check the message. But come on, know when it's okay! (I almost tripped getting off my soapbox there.) Anyway, I just think it's important to be vulnerable if we want something more than surface friendships. This is something I'm still struggling with, but within the past year, I've realized how vital that vulnerability is to any good relationship. But it's hard, isn't it? It's hard putting yourself out there without knowing how the other person is going to react to whatever you have to say. It's hard letting someone in when it's caused so much hurt in the past. But isn't it harder never having anyone to share things with? Isn't it harder not being able to bounce ideas or insecurities off of someone else? Maybe it's just me, but I need others' opinions on things. I don't know everything, nor have I experienced everything life has to offer, so I value the insights others can offer. And even though there's a chance that I may get hurt by opening up to a friend, I now know that God gives me those opportunities for a reason. We're not meant to be alone, so we might as well make the most of the friendships we're blessed with, even though it means facing whatever fear or insecurity we're plagued with. I can't promise you'll never get hurt again; we're human and can't help making mistakes. But I can tell you that I've never had better friends than the ones I've made since letting go of some of my fears and telling myself it's okay to be vulnerable. I have to remind myself of that every time I question whether or not I should leave a comment, make a phone call, or offer a shoulder to cry on.
Don't worry, I'll get back to the lighter posts soon! I promise I don't always spend this much time thinking about things :)
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Calling All Friends
I think the only way I can describe my weekend is...interesting. Nothing turned out as I planned (some of it wound up being better(extended time with a friend I haven't seen in what felt like ages!) while some was a bit disappointing (turning into the third wheel at a dinner meant for 2). I'm still trying to figure out how much detail my faithful readers actually want to know, so I'd really appreciate it if you could help me out with that, Morgan ;) And even though I'm sure you're just dying to hear a step-by-step account of everything so you can feel like you were there with me, I think there are easier ways for you to get your nap in today. So instead, it's time to get personal again.
Last night, I was sitting on the floor of a really good friend's room listening to her talk about the struggles she's been having with her friendships lately. It got me thinking.
Have you ever had a friend say something in the middle of an argument that has continued to question your confidence 4 years later? Well I have, and it's not a pleasant experience. My old "best friend" once told me that I was overbearing, and I've never been able to forget it. And even though I'm sure I deserved the comment at the time (I was a freshman in college who was NOT adjustingwell at all to that new chapter in life and was desperately missing said friend) it has had serious ramifications on my life ever sense. Because, even worse than not being able to forget what she said is seeing the effects it has on my current friendships. It doesn't matter that I know she was just saying it to hurt me. It doesn't matter that I can look back now and see how crappy our "friendship" actually was, which should negate any opinion she had of me. It doesn't matter that I've never had another friend tell me that ever since. All that seems to matter is that someone that I used to be very close to told me that I was essentially too much. I don't even see, much less talk to, the girl who said it anymore, but still, every time I think about calling up a friend or sending an email/text, I question my decision. When was the last time we talked? Will I be bugging them? Do I actually have anything to say that they'd be interested in? And yes, as I type out these questions, I realize how dumb it is. If they didn't care about what was going on in my life, we wouldn't be friends. Friends don't bug each other. They may call at inconvenient times (while you're showering, working, or writing a blog post), but that's why voicemail was invented. And I know how much I love when my friends do these things for me. I know all of these things in my head, so why can't I know them in my heart, too? Why do I have to focus on that one stupid comment instead of all the positive ones?
Because I haven't allowed myself to truly reflect on the problem. That's the conclusion my friend and I both reached about our situations actually. We've both avoided dealing with the pain that old friendships have caused. Instead, I've ignored it, pretended like we were never friends at all, and simply written off those few years. I thought that was working for me, and maybe for a little while it was. But when it causes me to question whether or not I should comfort a friend in need, it ceases to work. So how do I fix it? How do I transfer the information from my head to my heart? And how do I know if I'm starting to be overbearing? So many questions, so few answers, and I'm running on 3 hours of sleep so I need to head to bed. The more I think about it, the more I think I should probably wait to post this until the morning so that I can make sure it makes sense. But where's the fun in that? Here's hoping something in all this rambling resonates with you :)
Last night, I was sitting on the floor of a really good friend's room listening to her talk about the struggles she's been having with her friendships lately. It got me thinking.
Have you ever had a friend say something in the middle of an argument that has continued to question your confidence 4 years later? Well I have, and it's not a pleasant experience. My old "best friend" once told me that I was overbearing, and I've never been able to forget it. And even though I'm sure I deserved the comment at the time (I was a freshman in college who was NOT adjusting
Because I haven't allowed myself to truly reflect on the problem. That's the conclusion my friend and I both reached about our situations actually. We've both avoided dealing with the pain that old friendships have caused. Instead, I've ignored it, pretended like we were never friends at all, and simply written off those few years. I thought that was working for me, and maybe for a little while it was. But when it causes me to question whether or not I should comfort a friend in need, it ceases to work. So how do I fix it? How do I transfer the information from my head to my heart? And how do I know if I'm starting to be overbearing? So many questions, so few answers, and I'm running on 3 hours of sleep so I need to head to bed. The more I think about it, the more I think I should probably wait to post this until the morning so that I can make sure it makes sense. But where's the fun in that? Here's hoping something in all this rambling resonates with you :)
Friday, October 26, 2012
Quick Takes (3?)
This has turned into a fantastic week so I apologize if some of these are a little longer than they need to be. I'll try and keep it quick!
1. My friend and I decided to become pen pals a few weeks ago because we both love getting fun mail! I haven't had a pen pal since I was in grade school, but it's been a ton of fun (mostly because I used to just exchange letters with my aunt where I'd ask her a million very thought-provoking questions like "what's your favorite color?"). Anyway, I got a letter yesterday and it made my day :) Anyone else have a pen pal?
2. My town isn't big enough for a library so, instead, we have a bookmobile from a neighboring town that comes twice a week. This week it brought me a ton of the CDs I reserved so I've been listening to new tunes. My favorite so far has been the new Keane album.
3. I was doing a general perusing of all the blogs I follow this week and just happened to notice that the vast majority of them are written by moms. At first I thought it might come off as a little creepy since I don't even have a boyfriend, much less a husband and kids. Then I read all their latest posts and decided everyone can take something away from their hilarious, heart-warming, and helpful posts. So thank you moms for sharing your stories with us :)
4. I got my first two comments this week from new visitors, and they both put the biggest smile on my face! Thank you, ladies. I'm always a little hesitant about posting a comment, but now I'd love to give someone else the joy that these women gave me so look out!
5. Before Wednesday's religious education class started, we were sitting in the gym with all the students. One of the little girls came up to me and the other teacher and said "so and so just asked me if I wanted a wet willy and then she stuck her finger in her mouth and put it in my ear." Okay, how the heck am I supposed to respond to that!? I tried really hard not to laugh because I definitely wouldn't want a wet willy, but I wasn't expecting to ever have to scold someone for something like that! Luckily it didn't turn into an on-going problem since I saw the girls playing together later.
6. If the stat-checker is right, I've got readers in Germany, Russia, China, and Canada! (and if it's not right, don't tell me). Hahaha!
7. I started reading The Brothers Karamazov again. I think this is the 3rd time I've attempted to read it. A friend told me it's her favorite book so I figure it must be good. It's just reeeeeeeally long. So far I've enjoyed it, though! I'll let you know how it goes.
Have a wonderful weekend! Head on over to Jen's for much more stimulating posts!
1. My friend and I decided to become pen pals a few weeks ago because we both love getting fun mail! I haven't had a pen pal since I was in grade school, but it's been a ton of fun (mostly because I used to just exchange letters with my aunt where I'd ask her a million very thought-provoking questions like "what's your favorite color?"). Anyway, I got a letter yesterday and it made my day :) Anyone else have a pen pal?
2. My town isn't big enough for a library so, instead, we have a bookmobile from a neighboring town that comes twice a week. This week it brought me a ton of the CDs I reserved so I've been listening to new tunes. My favorite so far has been the new Keane album.
3. I was doing a general perusing of all the blogs I follow this week and just happened to notice that the vast majority of them are written by moms. At first I thought it might come off as a little creepy since I don't even have a boyfriend, much less a husband and kids. Then I read all their latest posts and decided everyone can take something away from their hilarious, heart-warming, and helpful posts. So thank you moms for sharing your stories with us :)
4. I got my first two comments this week from new visitors, and they both put the biggest smile on my face! Thank you, ladies. I'm always a little hesitant about posting a comment, but now I'd love to give someone else the joy that these women gave me so look out!
5. Before Wednesday's religious education class started, we were sitting in the gym with all the students. One of the little girls came up to me and the other teacher and said "so and so just asked me if I wanted a wet willy and then she stuck her finger in her mouth and put it in my ear." Okay, how the heck am I supposed to respond to that!? I tried really hard not to laugh because I definitely wouldn't want a wet willy, but I wasn't expecting to ever have to scold someone for something like that! Luckily it didn't turn into an on-going problem since I saw the girls playing together later.
6. If the stat-checker is right, I've got readers in Germany, Russia, China, and Canada! (and if it's not right, don't tell me). Hahaha!
7. I started reading The Brothers Karamazov again. I think this is the 3rd time I've attempted to read it. A friend told me it's her favorite book so I figure it must be good. It's just reeeeeeeally long. So far I've enjoyed it, though! I'll let you know how it goes.
Have a wonderful weekend! Head on over to Jen's for much more stimulating posts!
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
God is So Good.
Like I said yesterday, I've been busy discovering things about myself lately. It all started this weekend. But I guess I should back up and explain some things first. Now the question is just how far back to go...Well, I guess if I'm going to get personal, I may as well start in the beginning of it all. I hope you're in the mood for a story.
About a year and a half ago, I started my journey of becoming (fully) Catholic. I had been baptized as a baby, but my mom didn't practice so the only experiences I had with anything concerning the faith were a few masses that I went to with my grandparents. Basically, I didn't know anything about anything. That all changed during the middle of my senior year. I was becoming closer friends with a girl who was really starting to look into her faith. She had grown up Catholic but wanted to start understanding it more. Her mom sent her a giant stack of books that she began making her way through at a rapid speed. Every time we hung out (which was almost every day), she'd tell me about whatever it was she was reading at the time. Something about it was really intriguing to me. Then she gave me one of the books to read--Surprised by Truth. Maybe you've heard of it. If not, it's about 11 different people who converted from various other Christian faiths to Catholicism for one reason or another. After reading that, I became hungry for more information. My friend invited me to go to mass with her, so I began attending each week. Boy was it hard at first! I never knew when to stand or when to kneel (or what the significance was to the posture changes) or what the mass responses were (though a few months later, everyone else was in the same boat as me!). Anyway, after a few months of going to mass and continuing to talk about things with my friend, she told me I should look into RCIA classes if I was truly serious about learning more. I made the call the next day and was told that St. John's offered the classes but they wouldn't start until the following school year. So I put my name on the email reminder list and kept doing what I was doing for the next 4 months. Then August finally came and my life was basically turned completely upside down. I started meeting so many amazing friends who I immediately clicked with. I finally felt like I was involved in things, and the joy I was experiencing is hard to describe. I think I met all my best friends last year and I can't believe I've only known them a year or less. I could go on and on about the blessings the Lord poured down on me that year but it would take forever so let's just say it was a very formative year for me, and when I received my first communion and was confirmed at the Easter vigil, I couldn't stop smiling for days.
Now fast forward 6 months, a graduation, a mission trip, and a whole roller coaster of emotions later and we're back in the present time. Here things don't always seem as warm and fuzzy. I'm missing my friends and the support I had last year. I miss running into people everyday who really knew me and, even more than that, wanted to know me. I miss the peace. I miss the reverence at mass. And for the past three months, I've just been lonely and mopey and kind of lost. I've struggled to find a community at home, both for friends and faith. This longing and sadness has been exacerbated by my less than stellar prayer life. It's been pretty dry and nonexistent at home. But I couldn't seem to find the motivation to do something about it. Or I would sit down on my bed and pray for a few days but then I would make excuses for not doing it the next week. Basically, I was spending more time feeling all woe-is-me than I was looking for a solution to the problem.
Then this weekend happened. I went down to champaign in the hopes that I'd be able to distract my friend from her heartache. Turns out I shouldn't add that skill to my resume just yet as I'm not sure I accomplished anything other than saying all the wrong things at all the wrong times, though I'm sure she'd never admit that. I'm just glad she wasn't alone all weekend. At least I fulfilled my role as friend in that respect! Anyway, the weekend proved to be a pivotal time for me, or at least the beginning of a pivotal time. After listening to the talk I mentioned last time and spending some time with Jesus, I ended up having a not-so-mini breakdown in front of my friend Sunday night. All of the frustration and loneliness I had been feeling just sort of poured out, despite my insistence that we didn't need to talk about it. I knew what I needed to do (spend more time in prayer, make God the highest priority in my life, become more intentional about getting to know people, get out of my house, exercise, etc.) but I just couldn't seem to do it. Luckily for me, telling someone about my plans (even if they aren't fully formed yet) makes me more accountable. Mostly because I don't want to have to tell them the next time they ask that I'm still having the same problems because I haven't tried any of the suggestions they gave me last time.
So, I left Champaign late Monday morning with all kinds of hope that this would be the time when I'd actually follow through with my plans of changing my situation at home. I got home and spent some time meditating on scripture. Then I went to Bible study that night prepared to ask the girls for their help in keeping me accountable, too. I shared a little about my situation, and it turns out one of the other girls is going through similar problems, especially in the loneliness department. We wound up being paired up for prayer partners by the end of the night, which gave me the chance to get to know her a little better. After the study was over, I talked to another one of the women, who I'm a little closer to, and got to exchange struggles and prayer requests with her on the way to our cars. It was just so apparent that God was at work that night, telling me to spend more time getting to know these young women so that our friendship can grow. I definitely left feeling better than I arrived.
Then this morning happened. It couldn't have been any clearer that God was answering my prayers. I snoozed my alarm twice, leaving just enough time to throw some clothes on and brush my teeth before rushing out the door for mass. I still ended up being one of the first ones there, though it's not surprising since only 9 other people were there. But back to the point. After mass, one of the women approached me. I would try to guess her age but I'm even worse at that than I am at consoling friends. Let's go with somewhere between 25 and 35, but I can't pinpoint it any more than that. Well, we've seen each other before but neither of us could remember the other one's name so we re-introduced ourselves and ended up talking for 30ish minutes. It was so beautiful. I told her about my problem finding a place to pray and she told me about a chapel that has perpetual adoration! We made plans to go together on Thursday.
This post is getting really long and it's probably sounding more and more like rambling, but I'm just so blown away by how quickly God responded to my prayer requests after just a little bit of faithfulness from me. He's obviously been trying to get my attention for awhile, but I just wouldn't listen to Him. It's sad that it took me this long to respond to His longing for my heart, but I'm glad He made me go through it. I doubt I would have said that or understood the significance of suffering before my conversion (reversion? fulfillment of the sacraments?). And I'm not saying I enjoyed the suffering while it was going on. I don't like feeling alone, but I don't think I would have had my faith renewed had it not happened. I would have continued thinking that I only needed to work on my relationship with God on my own terms, when I felt like it or when my friends brought it up, instead of understanding how important it is to put God first.
I still haven't thought through everything that's happened so I'm probably missing some of the ways the Lord has been working in me the past couple days. But I wanted to get some of my thoughts down, and I thought this was a good way to do it. Hopefully it's easy enough to follow. I'm sure my very faithful readers will let me know ;)
About a year and a half ago, I started my journey of becoming (fully) Catholic. I had been baptized as a baby, but my mom didn't practice so the only experiences I had with anything concerning the faith were a few masses that I went to with my grandparents. Basically, I didn't know anything about anything. That all changed during the middle of my senior year. I was becoming closer friends with a girl who was really starting to look into her faith. She had grown up Catholic but wanted to start understanding it more. Her mom sent her a giant stack of books that she began making her way through at a rapid speed. Every time we hung out (which was almost every day), she'd tell me about whatever it was she was reading at the time. Something about it was really intriguing to me. Then she gave me one of the books to read--Surprised by Truth. Maybe you've heard of it. If not, it's about 11 different people who converted from various other Christian faiths to Catholicism for one reason or another. After reading that, I became hungry for more information. My friend invited me to go to mass with her, so I began attending each week. Boy was it hard at first! I never knew when to stand or when to kneel (or what the significance was to the posture changes) or what the mass responses were (though a few months later, everyone else was in the same boat as me!). Anyway, after a few months of going to mass and continuing to talk about things with my friend, she told me I should look into RCIA classes if I was truly serious about learning more. I made the call the next day and was told that St. John's offered the classes but they wouldn't start until the following school year. So I put my name on the email reminder list and kept doing what I was doing for the next 4 months. Then August finally came and my life was basically turned completely upside down. I started meeting so many amazing friends who I immediately clicked with. I finally felt like I was involved in things, and the joy I was experiencing is hard to describe. I think I met all my best friends last year and I can't believe I've only known them a year or less. I could go on and on about the blessings the Lord poured down on me that year but it would take forever so let's just say it was a very formative year for me, and when I received my first communion and was confirmed at the Easter vigil, I couldn't stop smiling for days.
Now fast forward 6 months, a graduation, a mission trip, and a whole roller coaster of emotions later and we're back in the present time. Here things don't always seem as warm and fuzzy. I'm missing my friends and the support I had last year. I miss running into people everyday who really knew me and, even more than that, wanted to know me. I miss the peace. I miss the reverence at mass. And for the past three months, I've just been lonely and mopey and kind of lost. I've struggled to find a community at home, both for friends and faith. This longing and sadness has been exacerbated by my less than stellar prayer life. It's been pretty dry and nonexistent at home. But I couldn't seem to find the motivation to do something about it. Or I would sit down on my bed and pray for a few days but then I would make excuses for not doing it the next week. Basically, I was spending more time feeling all woe-is-me than I was looking for a solution to the problem.
Then this weekend happened. I went down to champaign in the hopes that I'd be able to distract my friend from her heartache. Turns out I shouldn't add that skill to my resume just yet as I'm not sure I accomplished anything other than saying all the wrong things at all the wrong times, though I'm sure she'd never admit that. I'm just glad she wasn't alone all weekend. At least I fulfilled my role as friend in that respect! Anyway, the weekend proved to be a pivotal time for me, or at least the beginning of a pivotal time. After listening to the talk I mentioned last time and spending some time with Jesus, I ended up having a not-so-mini breakdown in front of my friend Sunday night. All of the frustration and loneliness I had been feeling just sort of poured out, despite my insistence that we didn't need to talk about it. I knew what I needed to do (spend more time in prayer, make God the highest priority in my life, become more intentional about getting to know people, get out of my house, exercise, etc.) but I just couldn't seem to do it. Luckily for me, telling someone about my plans (even if they aren't fully formed yet) makes me more accountable. Mostly because I don't want to have to tell them the next time they ask that I'm still having the same problems because I haven't tried any of the suggestions they gave me last time.
So, I left Champaign late Monday morning with all kinds of hope that this would be the time when I'd actually follow through with my plans of changing my situation at home. I got home and spent some time meditating on scripture. Then I went to Bible study that night prepared to ask the girls for their help in keeping me accountable, too. I shared a little about my situation, and it turns out one of the other girls is going through similar problems, especially in the loneliness department. We wound up being paired up for prayer partners by the end of the night, which gave me the chance to get to know her a little better. After the study was over, I talked to another one of the women, who I'm a little closer to, and got to exchange struggles and prayer requests with her on the way to our cars. It was just so apparent that God was at work that night, telling me to spend more time getting to know these young women so that our friendship can grow. I definitely left feeling better than I arrived.
Then this morning happened. It couldn't have been any clearer that God was answering my prayers. I snoozed my alarm twice, leaving just enough time to throw some clothes on and brush my teeth before rushing out the door for mass. I still ended up being one of the first ones there, though it's not surprising since only 9 other people were there. But back to the point. After mass, one of the women approached me. I would try to guess her age but I'm even worse at that than I am at consoling friends. Let's go with somewhere between 25 and 35, but I can't pinpoint it any more than that. Well, we've seen each other before but neither of us could remember the other one's name so we re-introduced ourselves and ended up talking for 30ish minutes. It was so beautiful. I told her about my problem finding a place to pray and she told me about a chapel that has perpetual adoration! We made plans to go together on Thursday.
This post is getting really long and it's probably sounding more and more like rambling, but I'm just so blown away by how quickly God responded to my prayer requests after just a little bit of faithfulness from me. He's obviously been trying to get my attention for awhile, but I just wouldn't listen to Him. It's sad that it took me this long to respond to His longing for my heart, but I'm glad He made me go through it. I doubt I would have said that or understood the significance of suffering before my conversion (reversion? fulfillment of the sacraments?). And I'm not saying I enjoyed the suffering while it was going on. I don't like feeling alone, but I don't think I would have had my faith renewed had it not happened. I would have continued thinking that I only needed to work on my relationship with God on my own terms, when I felt like it or when my friends brought it up, instead of understanding how important it is to put God first.
I still haven't thought through everything that's happened so I'm probably missing some of the ways the Lord has been working in me the past couple days. But I wanted to get some of my thoughts down, and I thought this was a good way to do it. Hopefully it's easy enough to follow. I'm sure my very faithful readers will let me know ;)
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Weekend Update and Beyond
A lot has been going on in my life the past few days. I spent the weekend in good ol' Champaign with one of my best friends. Everyone should have a friend like her--someone who's joyful, caring, strong, compassionate, loving, just plain amazing, and the list goes on and on. She's so wise and her ability to put others at ease is something I really admire. As I was saying... I got down there early Friday night and basically spent the whole time surrounded by people I've missed. I won't go into all the gory details because I'm sure it wouldn't be exciting for anyone, but there were definitely a couple of highlights that I'm gonna hit.
1. There were so many times throughout the weekend that I just found myself sitting back and listening to the flow of the conversation around me, and I couldn't help but think how blessed I am. I have some of the most wonderful friends who support me when I'm feeling down, challenge me to continue growing, fill my life with joy, and offer unending love. And before I get too sappy, I better wrap this point up. I'm just so thankful for the support system God has given me, and it was made very clear to me this weekend how much each of them mean to me.
2. We got to go to the farmer's market Saturday morning, and there's a couple there who make cupcakes with COOKIE DOUGH BAKED IN!! How could I turn that down??
3. Sunday night we cooked dinner for a bunch of student leaders. After everyone finished eating, a couple of them gave their testimonies. One of the speakers was a good friend of mine who talked about the importance of putting God first in your life. I wish I had had pen and paper handy while she was talking so that I could remember all of the great points she made without butchering her message, but all I've got to go off of is my memory...bear with me. Basically she was saying that we won't have the confidence to go up and talk to others about our faith unless we've spent time alone with God and allowed Him to fill our chalice. We need to empty ourselves of everything--our longings, desires, attachments, expectations--so that we can rely fully on Him to fill us with what only He knows we need. It's not until we do this and have our own chalice filled that we can expect to be able to have the trust, conviction, and ability to start those faith conversations with others. We can't give what we don't have ourselves. The message just really struck a chord with me. I've been struggling with making time for my relationship with the Lord lately, and I've been wondering why I've been feeling so down. After hearing this beautiful message, I finally felt the motivation returning.
4. I spent some time in prayer and realized how much I've missed having the opportunity to sit in a silent chapel and just talk to Jesus. I haven't been able to do that much back home because the church is only opened for mass during the week and then they lock the doors right after the closing blessing basically. I know you don't have to be in a chapel to pray, but knowing that I'm in the presence of Jesus just makes me more able to focus my prayer and open my heart. I just don't get the same feel sitting at home on my bed, so I was thankful for the time I had and for the insights I received.
I'm guessing I've almost hit the you're-about-to-lose-me-if-you-go-on-much-longer threshold, so I'll wrap things up. I realize I started this post by saying a lot has been happening, though it may not seem like much from the little bits I shared today. I promise that I'll share more of the exciting ways God's been working in my life tomorrow. Warning--it may start to get personal up in here.
Have an amazing Tuesday!
This post is (very unofficially) sponsored by C.S. Lewis: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
1. There were so many times throughout the weekend that I just found myself sitting back and listening to the flow of the conversation around me, and I couldn't help but think how blessed I am. I have some of the most wonderful friends who support me when I'm feeling down, challenge me to continue growing, fill my life with joy, and offer unending love. And before I get too sappy, I better wrap this point up. I'm just so thankful for the support system God has given me, and it was made very clear to me this weekend how much each of them mean to me.
2. We got to go to the farmer's market Saturday morning, and there's a couple there who make cupcakes with COOKIE DOUGH BAKED IN!! How could I turn that down??
3. Sunday night we cooked dinner for a bunch of student leaders. After everyone finished eating, a couple of them gave their testimonies. One of the speakers was a good friend of mine who talked about the importance of putting God first in your life. I wish I had had pen and paper handy while she was talking so that I could remember all of the great points she made without butchering her message, but all I've got to go off of is my memory...bear with me. Basically she was saying that we won't have the confidence to go up and talk to others about our faith unless we've spent time alone with God and allowed Him to fill our chalice. We need to empty ourselves of everything--our longings, desires, attachments, expectations--so that we can rely fully on Him to fill us with what only He knows we need. It's not until we do this and have our own chalice filled that we can expect to be able to have the trust, conviction, and ability to start those faith conversations with others. We can't give what we don't have ourselves. The message just really struck a chord with me. I've been struggling with making time for my relationship with the Lord lately, and I've been wondering why I've been feeling so down. After hearing this beautiful message, I finally felt the motivation returning.
4. I spent some time in prayer and realized how much I've missed having the opportunity to sit in a silent chapel and just talk to Jesus. I haven't been able to do that much back home because the church is only opened for mass during the week and then they lock the doors right after the closing blessing basically. I know you don't have to be in a chapel to pray, but knowing that I'm in the presence of Jesus just makes me more able to focus my prayer and open my heart. I just don't get the same feel sitting at home on my bed, so I was thankful for the time I had and for the insights I received.
I'm guessing I've almost hit the you're-about-to-lose-me-if-you-go-on-much-longer threshold, so I'll wrap things up. I realize I started this post by saying a lot has been happening, though it may not seem like much from the little bits I shared today. I promise that I'll share more of the exciting ways God's been working in my life tomorrow. Warning--it may start to get personal up in here.
Have an amazing Tuesday!
This post is (very unofficially) sponsored by C.S. Lewis: "I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."
Friday, October 19, 2012
7 Quick Takes
I've been a little MIA for a few days since nothing post-worthy has been happening, but what better way to make a comeback than by joining Jen and company for some quick takes??
1. I've been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls lately. I forgot how much I love the early seasons. Plus Rory is pretty much the epitome of modesty in the all the episodes I've watched so far. Gilmore Girls for the win! *
2. On Wednesday, we had our first religious education mass for all the students. It went about as well as you would expect a mass with a church full of 100+ kids younger than 13 would go. And it ended with me being spit on by one of my 1st graders...
3. After the aforementioned mass, we asked the kids what they remembered the priest talking about. Most of them raised their hands and said "God!"or "Jesus!" (Good answers, kids, but let's try and be a little more specific here.) But then one of the little boys who usually doesn't talk (except of course when we're in the middle of explaining the next activity) says "it's good to be on God's team so that we're never alone." And that's exactly what the homily was about :)
4. Did anyone else watch Grey's Anatomy last night? I do love me some good drama. On TV of course. I can't say I'm a big fan of it in real life. (Half of my post is about TV so far. Clearly I've had a very busy week).
5. I just finished week 2 of cat sitting. The cats still refuse to be within a 10 foot radius of me. I'm going to start taking it personally soon. I even showered before I went yesterday! Maybe they don't like my soap.
6. It's beginning to look a lot like hot cocoa season! Especially when the heat is set at 63 in the house. Eek!
7. I renewed my library card yesterday. And yes, that's the only other exciting thing I can think to add...don't judge me! (Do provide some book recommendations though :) ) How did I use newly renewed card you may ask? By reserving 20 new CDs! including Mumford and Sons "Babel" because I think I may be the only person in the universe who hasn't listened to it yet. Probably.
7.5 (Because no post is complete without a picture).
Have a wonderful Friday!
*As I was writing this post, I was watching Scrubs (another great show) and Ted referenced Gilmore Girls! What are the odds?
1. I've been watching a lot of Gilmore Girls lately. I forgot how much I love the early seasons. Plus Rory is pretty much the epitome of modesty in the all the episodes I've watched so far. Gilmore Girls for the win! *
2. On Wednesday, we had our first religious education mass for all the students. It went about as well as you would expect a mass with a church full of 100+ kids younger than 13 would go. And it ended with me being spit on by one of my 1st graders...
3. After the aforementioned mass, we asked the kids what they remembered the priest talking about. Most of them raised their hands and said "God!"or "Jesus!" (Good answers, kids, but let's try and be a little more specific here.) But then one of the little boys who usually doesn't talk (except of course when we're in the middle of explaining the next activity) says "it's good to be on God's team so that we're never alone." And that's exactly what the homily was about :)
4. Did anyone else watch Grey's Anatomy last night? I do love me some good drama. On TV of course. I can't say I'm a big fan of it in real life. (Half of my post is about TV so far. Clearly I've had a very busy week).
5. I just finished week 2 of cat sitting. The cats still refuse to be within a 10 foot radius of me. I'm going to start taking it personally soon. I even showered before I went yesterday! Maybe they don't like my soap.
6. It's beginning to look a lot like hot cocoa season! Especially when the heat is set at 63 in the house. Eek!
7. I renewed my library card yesterday. And yes, that's the only other exciting thing I can think to add...don't judge me! (Do provide some book recommendations though :) ) How did I use newly renewed card you may ask? By reserving 20 new CDs! including Mumford and Sons "Babel" because I think I may be the only person in the universe who hasn't listened to it yet. Probably.
7.5 (Because no post is complete without a picture).
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| Will he catch them or not?? |
Have a wonderful Friday!
*As I was writing this post, I was watching Scrubs (another great show) and Ted referenced Gilmore Girls! What are the odds?
Sunday, October 14, 2012
My Weekend in Pictures
I'm sure none of you were wondering where I was all weekend, but I'm gonna tell you anyway because that would be part of my blog's mission statement if such a thing existed. Luckily for you, there won't be much readin' or ritin' going on. You can just stare at (mostly) pretty pictures. So without further adieu--
Always gotta have a to-do list. Would you be impressed if I told you we accomplished all but one of those items? No? Is it because you're not a Cards fan either?
Let the journey begin!
Our first sighting of the Arch!
Figured I'd get a little artsy for my viewer.
When you're gonna spend all day walking, you might as well be surrounded by beautiful fall foliage.
If you can ignore the fact that I should have either zoomed in or stepped forward about 38 feet, you'll enjoy this one more. And if you're bad at ignoring things or using your imagination, just stare at the pretty pink water.
The more entertaining photos were taken by my fellow traveler.
Inside this Panera look alike was a "very famous" German actor and singer (though he wasn't on Wikipedia's list so how famous can he really be...?)
What we learned at the zoo: Lemurs looooooove apples. If we had given him more time, he probably would have found a way to get through that glass.
One of the four animals we spotted before all the children (aka why there's a picture of him).
Who doesn't enjoy a good elephant (or two!)??
One of the perks of being Catholic--beautiful Cathedral Basilicas.
Reminds me of Notre Dame.
Sighted on the way there and back!
Road trip (and blog post) over.
**Update** If you like more words and more funny, go to Morgan's first and second account. Not sure why I didn't at least link to her blog in the original post, but I know she'll forgive me. :)
Thursday, October 11, 2012
Tidbits
A collection of funny goings-on.
1. I was talking to my friend the other day about my failed attempt at running. (I think I made it 60 steps before deciding to turn it into a walk). Ever the encourager, she says "just try getting yourself to make it to the next stoplight next time." While a thoughtful suggestion, I deemed it near impossible since there aren't any stoplights within a 10 mile radius of my route...
2. My grandma used to refer to herself as "Aunt Carol" to one of her children because she didn't want people judging her for having 2 kids within a year of each other... I wonder if Mrs. Duggar has the same fear.
3. Today my mom was staring at our obese cat and admiring how easy her life is. I believe she ended her envy with something along the lines of "it's a shame it's not attractive to be as fat as Tubby." I couldn't agree more, especially since I'd like to have dessertfor after every meal.
4. We got our cell phone bill in the mail today. Upon opening it, my mom asks, "Did you recently develop carpal tunnel?" Apparently I only sent 200 texts this month compared to her 900 and my sister's 1000. (She may have been referencing the one time I sent ~8000 texts in one month...don't ask me how I did it. I still don't know).
5. Should I be worried about that top blue line there...? I'm a little scared to even click the link.
Welp, l thought I had more gems than that, but it doesn't look like you'll be getting anymore today. For more entertainment, google image "smiley baby." You won't be sorry :)
1. I was talking to my friend the other day about my failed attempt at running. (I think I made it 60 steps before deciding to turn it into a walk). Ever the encourager, she says "just try getting yourself to make it to the next stoplight next time." While a thoughtful suggestion, I deemed it near impossible since there aren't any stoplights within a 10 mile radius of my route...
2. My grandma used to refer to herself as "Aunt Carol" to one of her children because she didn't want people judging her for having 2 kids within a year of each other... I wonder if Mrs. Duggar has the same fear.
3. Today my mom was staring at our obese cat and admiring how easy her life is. I believe she ended her envy with something along the lines of "it's a shame it's not attractive to be as fat as Tubby." I couldn't agree more, especially since I'd like to have dessert
4. We got our cell phone bill in the mail today. Upon opening it, my mom asks, "Did you recently develop carpal tunnel?" Apparently I only sent 200 texts this month compared to her 900 and my sister's 1000. (She may have been referencing the one time I sent ~8000 texts in one month...don't ask me how I did it. I still don't know).
5. Should I be worried about that top blue line there...? I'm a little scared to even click the link.
6. I got this email today. I should probably send the money, right? I mean he didn't even have time to put in any periods, so it must be urgent.
Welp, l thought I had more gems than that, but it doesn't look like you'll be getting anymore today. For more entertainment, google image "smiley baby." You won't be sorry :)
Wednesday, October 10, 2012
The Story I Promised You
You've probably forgotten about the story I said I'd tell you, but I haven't. So get excited. More excited. Now you're ready.
My mom was telling my grandma and I about the festival she went to with my aunt and uncle this past weekend. I'll spare you the details (mostly because I don't remember any of them), but she finished with a story about an old woman and her cat. And now I'll retell it to you :)
There's an old woman (I think mom said in her 90s) who lives up by my aunt's parents. One day she and her husband went to the humane society and found a cat that she really liked. Unfortunately for her, her husband said no because they already had a cat. Well, sometime later, their 18-year-old cat died. Then shortly thereafter, her husband died, too. (I'm not sure of the exact timeline here but I think you can still follow the story). One day, she heard a cat crying at her back door. She gave him some food and then decided to let him come in. The cat looked just like the one she wanted from the shelter. And it turns out the cat showed up on her husband's birthday. So she named the cat Frankie after her late hubby. *Cue the awwwwww*
I thought that was so cute :) (despite the fact that I have sub-par story telling skills).
But it gets better!! This woman taught the cat tricks! He can shake, give high fives, shut the door after he comes inside, and PLAY THE PIANO! The little old lady will say "Frankie, play me a song" and he'll go over to the kiddie piano on the ground and hit a button that plays a song. If my mom's cat could do all that, maybe I'd enjoy her a little more. But the only trick she can do is eat so fast that she vomits it back up. I can't say I appreciate that one. She is pretty photogenic, though.
My mom was telling my grandma and I about the festival she went to with my aunt and uncle this past weekend. I'll spare you the details (mostly because I don't remember any of them), but she finished with a story about an old woman and her cat. And now I'll retell it to you :)
There's an old woman (I think mom said in her 90s) who lives up by my aunt's parents. One day she and her husband went to the humane society and found a cat that she really liked. Unfortunately for her, her husband said no because they already had a cat. Well, sometime later, their 18-year-old cat died. Then shortly thereafter, her husband died, too. (I'm not sure of the exact timeline here but I think you can still follow the story). One day, she heard a cat crying at her back door. She gave him some food and then decided to let him come in. The cat looked just like the one she wanted from the shelter. And it turns out the cat showed up on her husband's birthday. So she named the cat Frankie after her late hubby. *Cue the awwwwww*
I thought that was so cute :) (despite the fact that I have sub-par story telling skills).
But it gets better!! This woman taught the cat tricks! He can shake, give high fives, shut the door after he comes inside, and PLAY THE PIANO! The little old lady will say "Frankie, play me a song" and he'll go over to the kiddie piano on the ground and hit a button that plays a song. If my mom's cat could do all that, maybe I'd enjoy her a little more. But the only trick she can do is eat so fast that she vomits it back up. I can't say I appreciate that one. She is pretty photogenic, though.
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| Who says these things aren't toys? |
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| Night vision! |
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| Is it time for dinner yet? |
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| So. Tired. |
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| Nope, they're not dead. They just reeeaaaaaallllly like catnip. |
Monday, October 8, 2012
Overheard
I know you've all been wondering where I've been the past few days because you've been on the edge of your seats waiting for my next inspiring post, and I wish I could tell you I was off doing something great like finding a cure for cancer or climbing Mount Everest. But since I'm neither a researcher nor an extreme athlete, I regret to inform you that that hasn't been the case. My apologies. As a reward for sticking with me through my hiatus, though, I've got a ridiculous story and a cute story to share. We'll start with the ridiculous--
I went with my mom to her doctor's appointment this afternoon. A mother and her teenage daughter were sitting across from me in the waiting room having a conversation about Gardasil. The first thing out of the girl's mouth was "I don't believe in vaccinations." Really? You don't believe in them? What exactly does that mean? Now I understand that people have different reasons for not getting their children vaccinated, but when you're able to eradicate a disease with a simple vaccine, I have a hard time finding too much fault with vaccines in general.
But that's not even the most ridiculous part of the conversation. She goes on to say (while talking about HPV) that "it's not like smallpox. You can't catch it from someone else." Umm...Am I missing something here? I think that's exactly how it's transmitted...and I hope someone tells her soon...
But wait there's more-- "it's only 99% effective." Since when is 99% 'only'? If someone walked up to me and told me I had a 99% chance of winning the lottery today, you better believe I'd berunning driving to the nearest gas station and purchasing a ticket. If someone told me there was a 99% chance I was going to be hit by a car today, I'd make sure to put on a helmet and avoid going outside. Though if there really were a 99% chance, I'm not sure how I'd be able to avoid it. Needless to say, I think most people would trust those odds, even if our brains can't understand probability properly (argument #4).
Then she throws out this gem--"you're never 100% sure you don't have something until you know." She's right, you know. You just don't know until you know. I think that's actually the definition of the word know. (I also think that's the most times I've ever typed the word 'know' in 4 consecutive sentences before.)
And just when I thought I couldn't control my laughter anymore, mom pipes in with "one person in a million was harmed by the vaccine so I don't want you to do it." Now I know we don't understand probabilities so maybe she's got a point, and I'm not saying her daughter should get the vaccine (mostly because the disease they're talking about is sexually transmitted and I don't condone premarital sex), but 1:1,000,000 odds that something bad will happen may not be the breaking point for most decisions... (And in case you were curious, here are some other things that have one in a million chance of happening).
Needless to say, this doctor's visit was quite entertaining. I learned a lot about vaccines, probabilities, and other people's beliefs. I think I need to spend more time in public places.
I think I'll save the cute story for my next post. Gotta make you keep on coming back for more ;)
I went with my mom to her doctor's appointment this afternoon. A mother and her teenage daughter were sitting across from me in the waiting room having a conversation about Gardasil. The first thing out of the girl's mouth was "I don't believe in vaccinations." Really? You don't believe in them? What exactly does that mean? Now I understand that people have different reasons for not getting their children vaccinated, but when you're able to eradicate a disease with a simple vaccine, I have a hard time finding too much fault with vaccines in general.
But that's not even the most ridiculous part of the conversation. She goes on to say (while talking about HPV) that "it's not like smallpox. You can't catch it from someone else." Umm...Am I missing something here? I think that's exactly how it's transmitted...and I hope someone tells her soon...
But wait there's more-- "it's only 99% effective." Since when is 99% 'only'? If someone walked up to me and told me I had a 99% chance of winning the lottery today, you better believe I'd be
Then she throws out this gem--"you're never 100% sure you don't have something until you know." She's right, you know. You just don't know until you know. I think that's actually the definition of the word know. (I also think that's the most times I've ever typed the word 'know' in 4 consecutive sentences before.)
And just when I thought I couldn't control my laughter anymore, mom pipes in with "one person in a million was harmed by the vaccine so I don't want you to do it." Now I know we don't understand probabilities so maybe she's got a point, and I'm not saying her daughter should get the vaccine (mostly because the disease they're talking about is sexually transmitted and I don't condone premarital sex), but 1:1,000,000 odds that something bad will happen may not be the breaking point for most decisions... (And in case you were curious, here are some other things that have one in a million chance of happening).
Needless to say, this doctor's visit was quite entertaining. I learned a lot about vaccines, probabilities, and other people's beliefs. I think I need to spend more time in public places.
I think I'll save the cute story for my next post. Gotta make you keep on coming back for more ;)
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Beauty Is.
Today I started rereading a book I read over the summer. It's called Captivating, and if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. I mean, if you love a book enough to reread it two months later, it's gotta be good, right? Unfortunately I can't give a review of it because I'm awful at that sort of thing. Just ask any of my friends who have ever asked me about anything I've read or watched. My summaries usually end with me saying something like "you'll just have to see or read it for yourself. But it's really good!" after I've tried to make the idea of joining a circus sound serious... Sooo instead, here's what Barnes and Noble has to say.
Anyway, back to Captivating. The chapter I finished up today was about, you guessed it, beauty. (Sorry if you didn't guess it, but come on, the title pretty much gave it away...). So many things stuck out to me, but I'll try to keep it short. And what better way to do that than a list? ;)
1. "Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Which is to say, beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses" (page 34).
~As soon as I finished reading this part, I looked outside my window and saw a scene similar to this one. If that's not beautiful, I don't know what is. I wonder how much better off the world would be if we all took the time to find 5 beautiful things each day. (anyone up for the challenge??)
2. "Beauty invites." (page 38).
Anyway, back to Captivating. The chapter I finished up today was about, you guessed it, beauty. (Sorry if you didn't guess it, but come on, the title pretty much gave it away...). So many things stuck out to me, but I'll try to keep it short. And what better way to do that than a list? ;)
1. "Nature is not primarily functional. It is primarily beautiful. Which is to say, beauty is in and of itself a great and glorious good, something we need in large and daily doses" (page 34).
~As soon as I finished reading this part, I looked outside my window and saw a scene similar to this one. If that's not beautiful, I don't know what is. I wonder how much better off the world would be if we all took the time to find 5 beautiful things each day. (anyone up for the challenge??)
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| Source |
2. "Beauty invites." (page 38).
~It invites us to listen, to see, to feel, to experience. I don't know about you, but when I find a new song I like, it gets listened to on repeat for days hours. Everyone has those go-to songs that never get old. According to my iTunes, mine is I and Love and You (which I may or may not be listening to now) but after rereading another book (I really need to find new books...), I've recently discovered this guy. And it's not just music. How many people go to the beach at sunset just to watch the sun go down over the water? What are art museums other than a chance to (hopefully) experience beauty? We crave beautiful things because they invite us to experience joy.
3. "Beauty inspires." (page 39).
~When I hear stories like this or like this, it makes me want to go out and do good. I've got a friend whose goal this year is to find small ways to bring joy to people, even if it's just by genuinely smiling at them or taking the time to talk to the person in line ahead of you, because we could all use a little more joy in our lives. When I heard that, I immediately wanted to adopt it as my own goal. When did we get away from exchanging simple pleasantries with each other? Why do we stare at the ground as we walk by another person? Is it really that hard to smile and say a quick hello? (Do I smell another challenge??)
Well, it's probably about time for me to get off my soapbox. I'm really excited to continue reading this book, though. I may not be able to change the world, but I can follow the way of St. Thérèse and do little things that could change someone's world. As she said, “Miss no single opportunity of making some small sacrifice, here by a smiling look, there by a kindly word; always doing the smallest right and doing it all for love.”
Monday, October 1, 2012
We don't have the time or we won't make the time?
How many times have we heard the phrase "I don't have time for that"? Or better yet, how many times have we said it ourselves? Heck, I've probably uttered it three times today, and if anyone has time to do things, it's this girl. I couldn't have more time if I tried. So why is it that the only things I've accomplished today are watching more hours of ER than I care to admit, doing a few sit-ups, and attending a Bible study? Well, I can think of a few reasons excuses.
1. I don't have anything that I need to do. I'm "between jobs" (aka my internship doesn't start for a few more months and I can't fathom working at a department store during the pre-holiday craziness). Does this scene frighten anyone else?? Though I would like to know what they were fighting over...
2. I'm having a hard time making friends. This has never been that hard for me to do in the past, mostly because I've always been surrounded by 20+ (or in some cases 40,000+) people my own age. I definitely took school for granted in that sense. But how do college graduates make friends, more specifically college graduates who aren't working?? Where do you go? Where do all the cool kids hang out?
3. I haven't taken the time to come up with any alternatives. Obviously, there are other things I could be doing. But what? And why don't I just sit down to write a list? Oh right, because that would require thinking aaaaand it would take away from TV time. So many problems, so little time.
My friends, I think I've made it painfully clear that I need help. I need accountability, since I've already proven what I'll do if left to my own devices. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if it was a one-time thing. But it's not. I've only got two planned events all week and the rest of the time is spent...wasting time. And that needs to change. As one of the go-getters in a movie I went to by myself (story for another time...) said, "What are you going to do with your one and only life?" Well I sure don't want "Faithful TV Viewer" to bethe only label anywhere on my tombstone.
1. I don't have anything that I need to do. I'm "between jobs" (aka my internship doesn't start for a few more months and I can't fathom working at a department store during the pre-holiday craziness). Does this scene frighten anyone else?? Though I would like to know what they were fighting over...
2. I'm having a hard time making friends. This has never been that hard for me to do in the past, mostly because I've always been surrounded by 20+ (or in some cases 40,000+) people my own age. I definitely took school for granted in that sense. But how do college graduates make friends, more specifically college graduates who aren't working?? Where do you go? Where do all the cool kids hang out?
3. I haven't taken the time to come up with any alternatives. Obviously, there are other things I could be doing. But what? And why don't I just sit down to write a list? Oh right, because that would require thinking aaaaand it would take away from TV time. So many problems, so little time.
My friends, I think I've made it painfully clear that I need help. I need accountability, since I've already proven what I'll do if left to my own devices. Now, this wouldn't be a problem if it was a one-time thing. But it's not. I've only got two planned events all week and the rest of the time is spent...wasting time. And that needs to change. As one of the go-getters in a movie I went to by myself (story for another time...) said, "What are you going to do with your one and only life?" Well I sure don't want "Faithful TV Viewer" to be