7 Quick Takes

— 1 —

Our Wedding Day

We drove down to Seal Beach today and spent the day at Brian's mom's house. I took a LOVELY nap when we got here, and then we went out to dinner at Ruby's Diner. We had our first date at Ruby's Diner, and we went there on our wedding day to take photographs. It's always nice to take a walk down memory lane.

— 2 —

This is my nightmare.

Tomorrow I am going shopping for a bridesmaid dress. This is my first time being a bridesmaid and I take this job very seriously, haha! I'm a little nervous about meeting the other girls in the wedding, since none of us know each other. Jennifer (the bride-to-be) also informed me that not only am I the youngest (by at least 3 years), but I am also the only married girl. Isn't that weird? I'm hoping they are all sweet and nice, and that Jennifer doesn't dress me in pink.

— 3 —

Brian is also trying to sell his car this weekend. We have been a one car family for awhile in Santa Barbara. In fact, it's probably been a year and a half since we decided to leave Brian's car at his mom's house. We are tired of paying the insurance and registration on it since we never use it, and we don't want to keep it as it only has two doors and we will eventually purchase something more practical when we start a family. Plus, it would be nice to have the extra cash right now!

— 4 —

I made Shepherd's Pie in the crockpot on Wednesday. It was a bit of a process, more so than most slow cooker recipes, but I really wanted to try it since shepherd's pie is one of my most favorite meals. While it did end up tasting pretty good, the mashed potatoes were a little bit watery. I had to throw the stoneware in the oven to try and evaporate some of the water that was on top. I don't think we ended up eating until almost 7:45! But, although it wasn't the most beautiful dish (hence no picture), Brian really enjoyed it and ate a lot of it. I think I will try it again with a few tweaks.

— 5 —

Finally watched The Help tonight - I read the book about a month ago. I have a policy about reading books before I see the movie, so I'd put it off until now. Anyway, am I the only person who thinks the book and movie were GROSSLY overrated? Actually, the movie was good. I'd probably give it three stars. I wouldn't have been that generous with the book. Someday I might actually sit down and do a book review of it, there were so many things wrong. For example, from the Huffington Post article:

Writing for Ms. Magazine, Erin Aubry Kaplan wonders, "Why must blacks speak dialect to be authentic? Why are Stockett's white characters free of the linguistic quirks that white Southerners certainly have?" The Christian Science Monitor notes the same problem, wondering about the "decision to convey only black voices in dialect, with nary a dropped 'g' among her generally less sympathetic Southern white characters."

For other critical reviews, see the NY Times article here and Cease and DaSista's review here.

— 6 —

On sale for $1? Do you have a wheelbarrow?

My crafting continues. My newest project is called "smashing". It's a bit like scrap-booking and journaling mixed together and I really enjoy it. I got my SMASH book from here, although some people make their own. They were at Michael's and I had a 40% off one item coupon, plus a 20% off entire order coupon. I also got my favorite yarn that was on sale for $1 each!

— 7 — 

Since #5 was so long, I'm taking this one off. Hope you all have a lovely weekend!

Catholic Review: Meet the Saints

Meet the Saints

The second book I chose to review through The Catholic Company was Meet the Saints. Now, when I received the book I have to admit it was a little bit smaller than I had hoped for. The entire text is less than 100 pages, not including the FAQ and Bibliography. So if you purchase this book, keep in mind that you will be meeting the saints, just a very select few of them.

On that note, I think this is the perfect book to "dip your toes" in the water. I would recommend this to someone who was not familiar with saints at all - a perfect gift for RCIA! It's an easy read and broken up into chapters that categorize the saints by what they were known for (Chapters include "Women Who Knew Jesus," "Male Founders," "Special Friends of the Poor," etc.). Each chapter gives a synopsis of three saints that fall into these categories, and lists their Feast Day.

My favorite part about this book are the "Stepping Out in Faith" sections at the end of each chapter. These are a call to action that really take the lives of the saints and put them into perspective as you try to incorporate them into your own life. Here is an excerpt from the first chapter:

Take advantage of the opportunities to do good. Follow in the footsteps of... 

* Salome, who transferred her skills as wife and mother to minister to the crowds that followed Jesus. Consider sharing your talents, abilities and knowledge in new ways within a parish ministry or social outreach effort.
* Martha and Mary of Bethany, who provided Jesus with the support of friendship and a refuge, a place apart. Invite your pastor or member of your parish staff to dinner or for coffee. Write a note to thank a minister for his or her efforts on your community's behalf.
* Mary Magdalene, who committed her life and possessions to Jesus and carried the news of the Resurrection to the apostles. Commit to more fully living your faith in Jesus and the promise of the Resurrection. What will that look like in your life?

The introduction by Bishop Robert F. Morneau has a great suggestion of taking the twelve chapters and studying one every week. This book could certainly be used as a jumping off point to learn even more about the saints featured in each chapter, to study their writings, research who they influenced, etc.

Therefore, I would recommend this book for those who just don't know where to get started. There are so many saints, it can be overwhelming to figure out who is who. The book also has a great FAQ section about saints, as well as an extensive biography list to look into. This book will definitely help you lay the foundation you need for learning about saints, and the "Stepping Out in Faith" sections will help you to implement some of their characteristics into your life. And who doesn't want to be more saintly?


This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more information on Meet the Saints. They are also a great source for a Catechism of the Catholic Church or a Catholic Bible. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.

I Am In Love...

...with LibraryThing. That is all.

READ THIS BOOK

She is the most important person in medical history - and no one even knows her name. That needs to change. This should be required reading for every student in high school. I cannot think of anyone who has made a more important contribution to medical science than her - and she gave her life to do it.

READ THIS BOOK.