Advent

I returned from Mass with the hauntingly beautiful O Antiphons still ringing in my ears. May you, dear reader, have a lovely and contemplative Advent season.

Back

Hello everyone! I'm back from seeing family this Thanksgiving, and checking my blogroll to catch up.

This Single's Bingo from the Orthogals definitely caught my eye. Turn all that agony over nosy relative's questions into a game instead.

via Orthogals

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hello friends,

Things have been very busy around here as I've been getting ready for the holidays. My family is celebrating Christmas at Thanksgiving since my sister is moving to Australia the first week of December. That means that I've had to complete 90% of my Christmas shopping very early, on top of wrapping up a busy work week. Whew! It's done, thankfully.

I expect blogging this week to be light. (No 7QT for this week or next week.) I hope to have a few things up, but no promises. :-)

Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Sunday Morning!

We have the first snowfall of the year, so I will see if it clears up to go to Sunday evening Mass.

In the meantime this cracked me up!

On Loss- 5 Quick Takes

1.

Some days are tough. I had to say goodbye to my sweet bunny yesterday after 9 1/2 years. I'll miss you, sweet friend. You were loved by all my friends, not just me.

2. 

I'll never forget how I got out of a traffic ticket because you were in the car with me. The state trooper saw your cage covered in a sheet and was instantly suspicious. I always wondered what he thought I had. Drugs, probably. Instead he saw your cute fluffiness and your floppy ears. He let me off with a warning.

3.

You never were afraid of the cat. And chased the dog around. They both remember their bunny friend and wonder where you've gone.

4. 

Greedy and mischievous you were. We could never walk through the room without paying our toll of treats. You repaid us by eating the carpet, then looking up innocently as the bits stuck on your whiskers.

5.

November is a month of loss. All Saints and Souls and the lost in war. You too, dear one. Yet I'm so thankful I turned around and brought you home.

Veteran's Day

via http://friendak.com/1112/Red_poppies_1280x1024_wallpaper.jpg

Happy Veteran's Day to my veterans. Boyfriend, grandfather, uncles, and friends. Since becoming Catholic I've always found it appropriate that Veteran's Day is right after All Soul's Day. It's a nice couple weeks to care for my dead. Although I'm too far away from the graves to tend them, I still pray for their souls.

If WWI Was a Bar Fight

Via Tickld:

7 Quick Takes

1. 

Well, it's been a tiring week.Dealing with stupid cattiness can be draining. I also got to deal with a tax issue that consumed most of my day.  But thank you internet for this awesomeness! This is becoming my theme song for the next bit.

2. 

I love this movie! It's turning 25.
http://www.today.com/popculture/steel-magnolias-turns-25-13-things-you-didnt-know-about-1D80257300

3.

Early detection of cancer is becoming an issue in South Korea. Ignorance is bliss? Well, I can see that some cancers might be very slow moving and never impact a person's life. Sometimes the benefits do not outweigh the costs. From the story.

An epidemic of diagnosis is not good for anyone’s health. Resources are needlessly diverted; people are needlessly scared. But the biggest problem is that it begets an epidemic of treatment.

 4. 

Oh please. The solution isn't married priests... it's loyalty to a vow.
Sure, I know that attractions happen between priests and women. Priests are human. The reality is that the priests make a vow, just like a man who gets married makes a vow. I seriously doubt that these women would be petitioning the Vatican to allow them to have extramarital relationships with anyone they pleased.

There's certainly room to discuss the possibility of allowing Roman rite priests to marry without the crass emotionalism. There is no denying that celibacy is a long tradition with incredibly strong theological roots.

The rest of the story here: In Love with a Priest

5.

Hahaha! Speaking of celibacy, thanks for the laugh, Babes in Babylon! Here's a list of the stereotypical chastity speakers that come though youth groups across the country.

She’s glamorous in an 80s kind of way, all big, blown out blonde hair and red skirt suit. She may or may not hold a beauty pageant title. She tells a tale of woe that would make the ancient mariner sit up straight and reach for the popcorn.

 It's good to have talks with youth about chastity, I just think it often backfires. The kids are often either scared of having sex ever, or premarital sex winds up sounding unintentionally glamorous.

6. 

I haven't forgotten about the review of Ceremony of Innocence I've just been overwhelmed.

7. 

Happy Bunday!Via cute overload

 and here are some pics of my bun!

St. Salk

Okay, so he's not a Catholic Saint, but he greatly relieved suffering.

Small-Town Michigan, 1951. An energetic seven year old boy named Michael experiences flu-like symptoms and headaches. They don’t go away. Within a week, he is feeble, lethargic, severely aching all over. His mother prays as his father notices his stiffness, his slowing reflexes, and they both know they must rush him to the doctor.

Via Rational Catholic

Perspective

   Today I went through the day annoyed at a catty coworker. The complaint is warranted, as this person repeatedly tries to present me in the worst light possible. It's mean, immature, and unwarranted behavior from the coworker.

  This evening has put today in perspective. While it's quite annoying to deal with hostile coworkers, there are much bigger things in life to worry about. My dear friend is pregnant after a heartbreaking miscarriage, and just found out that her ultrasound is abnormal. I don't know details, but St. Gerard, pray for her.

   There are also people who have been falsely accused in Pakistan, and have just lost their lives because they were Christian. From the story:

The two victims, Shahzad Masih and Shama Masih, who had four children and were believed to be in their mid-20s, both worked as laborers at a local brick kiln. The accusations against them began after burned pages of the Quran were said to have been found in their trash.

And to think that I was upset by cattiness! May God have mercy on the souls of this couple, and console their young children.

7QT!

1. Yes, Saturday

Okay, I know it's Saturday, not Friday... Friday just didn't turn out as expected, so was short on blog time. Which brings me to...

2. Vampires

I had a doctor appointment at on Thursday, so I went down to the lab to get the routine blood work. When lo! The fire alarm started ringing, which meant I had to come back on Friday to get it done instead. Thankfully the phlebotomist wasn't dressed as a vampire. While very appropriate, I don't think I could have gone through with it if she had been dressed as a vampire.

3. Parking Garages

While parking in the parking garage to get to the lab appointment, I was thinking of my sister's misadventures in cooking. She recently thought that a rice cooker and a crock pot were the same thing. (In case you don't know, they are NOT.) She's smart, but certain common sense parts of life are things that she has had to learn, they don't come naturally to her. I chuckled to myself, parked the car, and took care of the blood work.

I came back out to the same level I had left, and I couldn't find the car. I kept my cool and decided to nonchalantly walk down the ramp, certain my car would be there. I couldn't find it, so I walked down the other ramp with a rising sense of panic. This parking garage is huge! Fast forward 20 minutes. I go inside, up the elevator to the ramp above, and start walking down again, wondering how I can call a security guard to help me find the car. I get to the end of the ramp, no car. I turn around to go call for help, and THERE IS MY CAR!

As I got in, I noticed that the parking garage spaces are numbered. Duh. Remember, pride goeth before a fall... and sometimes that fall is wandering around cold parking garages.

4. Girls Night!

This Halloween I had girl's night. It didn't start out that way, but when the one other guy that was coming got free tickets to a hockey game, boyfriend decided that 3 women and a chick flick was not his scene. Smart man. We had a great time, complete with white chicken chili I made, and apple cider.

5. Roast Chicken

I've realized that I have spent too much money on food, so I've decided to roast a chicken once a week and make separate meals out of it. So far I've gotten 5 meals from the chicken, and have at least 4 more. Since I'm cooking for 1 person normally, I will probably do this every 2 weeks instead of every week. If I made my own lunch I would finish the chicken in one week, but I go out to eat with boyfriend during the week.

6. Happy Hallowe'en!

I didn't dress up this year, but hope that everyone had fun! I did get lots of candy, which certainly isn't helping the diet.

7. Happy All Saint's Day!

In honor of All Saint's Day, here's the Patron Saint Generator from Jennifer Fulwiler. Edit: Here's the link: Saint Name Generator Tell me who your patron saint is!

My saint was St. John of God. He's the patron saint of booksellers, which is perfect for a blog called Papyrus and Parchment. He sounds like quite an interesting guy!

7QT- Will Be Up Soon

I'll have the 7QT post up soon...