New Mass Translation

Thanks Katie for helping me put this into perspective! :)

Tidbits

1. I feel guilty for not posting often enough. I feel like I should be using my time more efficiently, but work takes what little strength I have out of me, and at the end of the day it's easier for me to just zonk out watching the television or sleeping.

2. Love this post by Nikki on being Thankful. 

3. Please congratulate Mandi over at Catholic Newlywed on the birth of their first child, Lucia Rose! I'm so happy for you Mandi - I'm looking forward to reading about this new stage in your life!

4. I am so over watching terrible football teams play on Monday night. It's really just not a good start to the rest of my week. Tonight, however, I will be watching Marshawn Lynch because I need him to score less than 12 points so I can win my fantasy football game. Seriously. These things are important to me.

5. Christmas Shopping - how I loathe thee. I have no idea what any of these relatives want and I know I'm going to spend too much money trying to figure it out. I should just spare myself the insanity and get everyone a gift card to Amazon. Which, incidentally, is where I will be purchasing all your gifts.

6. Every year I make homemade ornaments for friends and family. They are made by folding cloth squares over and over again and pinning them down into a pattern. I haven't started making any yet. Christmas will wait until I get around to it, right? Oh crud.

Thankful

I'm going to be honest - I've had a real hard time finding things to be thankful for in the past couple of months. Since I was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis [link warning: includes descriptions and pictures that are not for the faint of heart or squeamish], returned to a stressful job full time after many months sick at home, and made not one or two, but THREE medication changes...well, let's just say it's hard to be thankful when your sick.

But I'm still here. And I'm thankful for that, and more:

Pumpkins for Otters at our Zoo

Beautiful, full lakes

Unexpected visitors

Hilariously ironic wildlife (Wild Turkeys on Thanksgiving)

Sushi dates with my husband

I'm sorry I'm not around as much as I used to be. I still enjoy reading all your blogs and try to comment occasionally. I hope your holidays have been full of joy and thankfulness!

7 Quick Takes

I set this to post last Friday. It didn't. Blogger stinks.  

— 1 — 

My 24th birthday was last Friday, November 4th. I'm thinking this year is going to be pretty good for me - I've always preferred even numbers. Plus I'm looking forward to a lot of great things to come in 2012! Brian took me out to dinner to my favorite restaurant and I got some lovely presents. I'm excited to see my family when we travel down to Los Angeles this weekend.

— 2 —

Speaking of my birthday dinner, we ended up sitting next to an older couple who were very nice and seemed interested in what we were celebrating (at least the wife did, the husband wasn't very talkative). Just as we were finishing our entree and our server came over to us, they tapped our server on the shoulder and told her they would be paying for our dessert! I've never had that happen before! It's always nice to have something sweet and unexpected happen.

— 3 —

I would love to live where the leaves change.

 Fall is my favorite time of year. I love football, the cold weather, and Thanksgiving. I can't wait for it to start raining here! Although, compared to most places in the US, we get very little rain here in Southern California. Still, some is better than none.

— 4 —

We got some exciting news this morning. Brian's brother and his fiancee have eloped! They got married at the courthouse on Wednesday and landed in Kauai as of Thursday afternoon. They will be having a short beach sunset ceremony tomorrow night, on 11/11/11. Although we are a little sad that we were unable to share the special moment with them, we are nonetheless excited to welcome Sasha into the family.

— 5 —

But wait - there's more! Sasha is eight weeks pregnant! It's a little hush hush right now (they don't read my blog so I'm not worried about saying anything here), but I had a feeling that might be the case when they got engaged. We are so excited for Robert and Sasha, they are due in June! Hopefully their little one will have a cousin not too far behind as well. :)

— 6 —

Yes, he is still this cute. And tan. Not fair.

 My little brother is also 21 today! Happy Birthday Christian! Can't wait to celebrate with you this weekend!

— 7 —

Skyrim. It's coming. (For those who don't know, I am a huge gamer girl). I sense game of the year. I will not sleep this weekend.

  Please head over to Conversion Diary to get your fill of 7 Quick Takes and discover great blogs!

Happy Halloween

Can't wait to have a little munchkin someday so my husband and I can dress them in Star Wars costumes. Hope your Halloween is full of candy, fun, and lots of love!

180

What I've Been Doing With My iPhone 4S

I'd blog about my real life, but it's nowhere near as entertaining.

I Am Disturbed

I'm beginning to notice a trend in the Catholic/Christian community that has me scratching my head at best, and pulling out my hair at worst.

Depression is a disease, not the devil.

When you suffer from poor eyesight and realize things you used to be able to see aren't clear anymore, do you blame the devil for distorting your vision? Do you pray to God to restore your eyesight and banish this "demon"?

NO. YOU GO GET GLASSES.

Why is is that we are so uncomfortable with diseases of the mind? Do not be afraid! Recognizing you have a problem, and taking steps to correct that problem, are a sign of courageousness!

I was diagnosed with depression at age 15 in my sophomore year of high school. I can't begin to explain how dark a tunnel I had to travel through to finally allow people to help me. I had been suffering from attacks of despair, uncontrollable anger and/or crying, and self hatred for a number of years. In fact, I first began displaying signs of childhood depression at age four, and my pediatrician mentioned this to my parents, though I continued to go unmedicated for 11 more years. The ages of 12-15 were what I refer to as the Dark Ages.

There's no doubt in my mind that there is a huge stigma surrounding depression/anxiety, and not just in the Christian community (though I find it far more pronounced there). It certainly doesn't help that psychiatrists have been handing out prozac like candy for the past decade as soon as the first teenager mentions they're feeling sad. But for those of us that truly suffer from a disease that never goes away, medication is hope.

If you feel that you can manage your depression/anxiety without medication, then I commend you. But please, keep the demons out of it.

Wannabe Farm Girl

We spent Saturday afternoon at my coworkers hobby farm in Lompoc/Buellton. They invited everyone down for a fun get together that included grilled cheese, pumpkin pie, apple pie, wicked pickles, lemon curd, etc. Aubrey and James have been slowly building up their hobby farm for awhile, and it is so cool! I really admire them for having the guts to leave city life behind and embark on this new journey. Now they make all kinds of homemade products including wildflower honey, pies, farm fresh eggs, applesauce, etc. I've got a jar of wicked pickles (wickles) in the fridge right now!

Baaaa! His name is Dirty Chai and he has a cashmere coat...so soft!

My coworkers little sweet pea enjoyed the goats.

Sweet little pygmy girl goat.

Looking for some lovin.

James and Aubrey actually have beehives! Wow! They make their own wildflower honey.

The goat box. They got scared of someone's little dog and ran for safety.

Santa Rita Hills

Habanero/Ghost pepper hybrid - spicy!

Alpacas next door.

Harvest feast with their garden in the background.

I am so envious of their rural yet still close to city lifestyle! I've always been a wannabe farm girl, and hopefully someday I can convince my husband to live the semi-rural life with me. I would love to have chickens, goats and a garden. I think I'll leave the bees to them though. Hope you all had a relaxing weekend!

7 Quick Takes

I'm always a day late and a dollar short with quick takes, but I find this template to be the best way for me to sum up what's been going on in my life. I just can't seem to make it happen on Fridays!

— 1 —

Brian started school again and is teaching Writing 2 at UCSB. He lovingly refers to these wide-eyed freshman as his children and he takes great pride in teaching them. I'm so proud of him and his accomplishments, and as an added bonus I get to see him in dress slacks, dress shirt, and tie twice a week. What a handsome guy!

— 2 —

I enjoyed a rare night out with the girls from work on Monday - we went wine tasting at the Canary Hotel rooftop in downtown Santa Barbara. $20 bucks gets you four tastings of wine, fruit, crackers, and cheese galore. We had some good laughs and then decided to head down to a taco bar and have our fill. All in all it was a good night, even if those tacos were way overpriced. I've also hit my alcohol quota for the rest of the year - I can't remember the last time I had a drink.

— 3 —

Do I really need to start this again?

 But if I keep looking in the mirror at myself I might have to start drinking on a more regular basis. I am going to be 24 years old next month - why in the world do I still have teenage acne!? This is ridiculous. In the last two years I've finally started to look my age and now I'm back to looking like I'm 17 again. Dear face - seriously, you need to stop. Thanks.

— 4 —

It's a little like this.

 Speaking of needing a drink (I see a trend here) I had my Annual Review at work on Friday. It's a little like subjecting yourself to torture in the hopes that there will be a reward. Doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Anyway, I'm glad it's behind me and I can MOVE ON. You know, as soon as the nightmares pass.

— 5 —

So Amazon released their Kindle Fire this week. Great, thanks Amazon. Like I'm not addicted to buying stuff from you enough, now I've got to shell out $200 for a ridiculously awesome tablet. You know why they named it Fire? Because it's burning a hole in my pocket. Then again, it's a lot less than investing in an iPad (by the way Steve Jobs, where is my iPhone 5?).

— 6 —

So I recently discovered TOMS. I'd seen the shoes around but didn't know there was this whole hippie movement. When I started looking online and discovered that they give a pair of shoes to a child in need for every pair that you buy, I was a quick sell. The shoes are super cute, comfy, and go with just about anything. They use sustainable materials and some of their shoes are even vegan. I purchased the Snow Leopard Classics and have already gotten a ton of compliments on them. These Bottle Green Cords are next on my list - they look perfect for fall!

— 7 —

Can I just take a moment to express how much I want to be a stay at home mom? I know some women are career driven and have passions outside of the home, but my passion has and always will be children. I've wanted to be a mom since I was a little girl, and proudly proclaimed at age 11 that I would have at least 4 kids (my mom still laughs about this). I want so much to be able to stay home, cook dinners, bake bread, sew, craft, cuddle babies, and raise children. I want to see my husband off to work every day and give him a kiss. I want the house to be clean and refreshing when he gets home. I want to bathe my babies in the sink and play with them on the grass. And while I know we're getting closer to that dream, right now it feels so far away.

Alright, there's my serious moment for the day. Hope I didn't scare anyone!

Please head over to Conversion Diary to get your fill of 7 Quick Takes and discover great blogs!

Yosemite

Pleasantly surprised to find champagne waiting for us to celebrate our anniversary. Thanks Tenaya!

Is that a spa tub? OH YES IT IS.

Rockin the new boots.

Entering Yosemite Valley

Bridal Veil Falls

Yosemite Falls. No we didn't go rafting, don't be ridiculous!

Bangin some beats and eatin some beef jerky. You know how I do.

Half Dome

I look like a bean pole with hips. Anyway, Brian made me hike Sentinel Dome - don't even get me started.

I swear I almost died. Here I am trying not to pass out at 8,000 feet.

Turns out I made it to the top. I'm a survivor!

I tried to convince Brian these were dinosaur footprints.

This tree needed a good deep cleaning. You don't wanna know what was in there.

Apparently turning your barn into a giant flag is really fancy in rural America.

All joking aside, we had a great time and it was pretty rough going back to the real world. Friday was the end of the quarter at work, so for the past two weeks I've barely had time to eat lunch. It has definitely affected my blogging schedule as you can see, most days I was just coming hope and taking naps after work.

We've been making some changes in our life around here which I hope to be able to blog about soon. Until then - I'll be reading all of your blog entries and kicking my feet up. I mean, more than I already do.

Wordless Wednesday

I left my brain back in Yosemite - be back soon!

7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

 It has been quite the busy week at work. So busy, in fact, that the coordinator of the Children's program at Church called me on Thursday and I still haven't called her back! I put my name down to volunteer on occasional Sundays in the Little Church program at our church. It's for ages 3-5 on Sundays during the 9:30am mass. Now I feel bad about not getting back to her...

— 2 —

Brian finished his two weeks of training (or boot camp as he likes to call it) for the writing program, which he is teaching this semester. He had to be there at 9am each morning, so we carpooled. Normally he would take the bus but since I was headed in that direction it wasn't a problem. Except that he made me late to work everyday this week. :) I'm glad things will be back to normal next week.

— 3 —

Tenaya Lodge

 Our Yosemite vacation starts tomorrow! We are leaving around 10am, and we should get there around 3pm, then we can check into our hotel. All our anniversary presents are wrapped and ready to go...lots of fun surprises on Sunday I'm sure! Still need to pack though...

— 4 —

Speaking of packing I can't find the tops to my swimsuits. In my endless wisdom I separated my bottoms from my tops, putting my tops somewhere less than obvious in a place I would never have remembered. So I have nothing to wear in the pool. Unless I want to go topless. I make things so easy for myself. The next time I decide to put something "where I won't forget" somebody smack me.

— 5 —

Bayar is my favorite. Since they're not my kids I get to choose.

 I have Babies on the brain. Literally - I'm talking about the documentary. Have you all seen it? It's one of my favorite movies of all time and I highly recommend it. I love learning about how other cultures raise children. I've watched it on Blu-ray four times now!

— 6 —

Three weeks ago my doctor moved me from my suppository to two oral tablets. I tried it for two weeks, and not only did it make me nauseous, but it also didn't work. At all. By the middle of this week I was ready to go to Urgent Care all over again. Thankfully they switched me back and I'm taking the stuff that works again, now once in the morning and once at night. Yeah, it's a suppository and that's not really cool, but at least it works.

— 7 —

Disclaimer: This is not my baby and I am not pregnant.

 Speaking of babies, my husband and I always disagree over whether or not we want to find out the sex of our baby on the ultrasound. I want the first one to be a surprise (I was a surprise) - but Brian NEEDS to know. Like, IreallyneedtoknoworIwilldieofanticipation know. What do you guys think - wait until the day of or find out as soon as possible?

Please head over to Conversion Diary to get your fill of 7 Quick Takes and discover great blogs!

I Hate Change

I especially hate change when I've already got something good going for me...but, sometimes it's a necessity in life. Hence, I got new glasses frames and new sunglasses. My old glasses frames ate the dust in Germany, and they've been hanging on by one replacement screw since I came back. My sunglasses are 5 years old so I am excited about getting new ones.

Anyway,  here are the pictures. For some reason my camera wouldn't focus on them, so they're blurry. But you get the idea!

Black with a grape colored purple

Black with light green inside

I get them in 7-10 business days...hopefully I'll still like them given that I dropped $325 for these two beauties (with insurance!). Dang, glasses are expenses.

Look for some fancy modeling pictures in the coming week or two.

Guest Post

Well, I reached outside the comfort zone of my own little blog, and did a guest post for Mandi at Catholic Newlywed. I am so thankful for the opportunity and very happy to be able to contribute to her On Marrying Young series. You can view my guest post here:

http://catholicnewlywed.blogspot.com/2011/09/on-marrying-young-guest-post-age-gap.html

Thank you so much Mandi!

Wordless Wednesday: Angel Game

Husband and the nieces