So I need to brush up...

...on my geography! Oops!

(The only thing that helps me is that I can see maps in my head and mentally "scan" them for country names.)

68

The first time it was only 55! EEK!

How many can YOU name?

pinch me.

it's snowing. in dallas. in march.



is this REALLY happening? ... spring break starts today! woo! classes were cancelled for tonight so its officially "relax" time for me... except for my 40-50 hours of work at the hotel. whatevs.


be safe, everyone.

Where'd she go?

Not too far. :) I'm still around... working, sleeping, eating. You know.. the usual. My birthday is coming up fast and as I approach "adulthood" I still feel like a child! Big surprise, right?

A lot has been changing again (story of my life... and yours too, I'm sure). Friends have fallen by the wayside and new friends have emerged from the bushes (???) and sometimes making sense of it all seems impossible.

I can tell that 21 is going to be a big year for me. I think when 22 rolls around I'll be a happier, more confident person.. or at least it's what I'm wishing for when I blow out the candles.

Speaking of being happier and more confident... why is it that when you say those things out loud to people, they laugh? It happened not once, not twice, but THREE times. Yes, three. Sad.

Alright... nothing to say (clearly) so I'm going to go again. To those of you who still check back, better luck next time on finding something worthwhile to read. ;)

Gone Once More

I am not the most consistent blogger. Anyone who has been here for more than a few weeks knows that well by now. It's not that I'm not interested in writing, or that I have lost all interest in blogging, but rather that I have not found the time to write as often as I used to. I'm not one of those people who has time to sit and write each and every day and I have not discerned, thus far, that it is good for me to make time.

I know I have written about this a number of times in the past and as the days and weeks pass, it only becomes more true. My priorities are being "ironed out" and blogging just isn't at the top of the list.

There is a calendar hanging in one of the offices at work. It belongs to a co-worker who also happens to be Catholic and is the one published for her parish. At the top of each month is a picture, the month, and a quote. This month's quote reads:

"Our gifts from God include the spiritual treasures of faith, hope and love.

They also include all we cherish: our health, our human genius, our skills, our families, and our friendships.

When asked, stewards will give a faithful accounting of how each gift was nurtured."

How fitting! Each of us will indeed be called to give an account of our lives when we meet our Maker. When I stand before Him, I want to tell Him all of the wonderful things I did with His gifts to me.

This is not to say that blogging is not an expression of love and a fitting use of God's gifts by any means. This is only to say that I, in my life, am not called, I do not feel, to blog so much as I am to do other things.

I sometimes feel very overwhelmed by the number of "things" I have taken upon myself. From my work with the apostolate to my day job to my babysitting to choir to theatre to finding time to spend with my family and friends, I often find myself tired and strung out. I worry too much about doing that I often lose sight of the doing well.

If this blog is to continue, it will most likely continue with posts about the things that I am doing and not so much my thoughts on issues. I do not imagine this will disappoint as I do not have too many visitors anyway. ;) If it does not continue, however, I thank each person who has taken a moment or two to read what I have written. Those moments have helped to assure me that my efforts were not in vain.

May the Lord bless each of you abundantly and keep you always. Pax!

A Glimpse of Remnant -- The Band

New York Catholic Underground


Catholic Underground Part 2

Happy Birthday, Nick!

It's a very special someone's birthday today! Nick from phatcatholic apologetics is celebrating his 27th birthday today. He is a great blessing to all of us and I thank God for his life. He's a good friend and will always have a special place in my heart.


You may recognize the photo from Julie's birthday. I don't mean it to be less special at all.. just love this picture!

Playing 'Grown-Up' for a Day

I'm sure there are a lot of people that wonder why I babysit so much. Nearly every weekend of mine is spent with gradeschool children and younger. Shouldn't I be out partying or watching movies with girlfriends? What about shopping or grabbing coffee and getting my nails done? Those things are all well and good, and on some occassions I do do those things, but I like spending time with these children. I don't do it for money. I don't do it because I feel obligated. I do it because I want to.

There is a family that I sit for on a very regular basis that is such a part of my life, they're practically family. Their four children feel more like siblings or nieces and nephews than just kids that I watch. I love them. I enjoy being with them whether we're watching a movie, playing outside, or jamming to music in the play room. Each is so beautiful and has been such a blessing in my life.

When I first met these kids they were very shy. They didn't talk much except to beg to stay up an extra fifteen minutes past their bedtime. Over time, however, they started to open up. The youngest one, who, at first, threw fits when Mommy left, was now excited to see me. He and I get along very well now and I just love watching him grow. I love watching all of them grow.

It's neat to be a part of someone's life like that. I'm not their mom, dad, uncle, aunt, sister or brother. I'm their 'babysitter' and yet, it never feels that way for me. It feels like I'm going to hang out with my lil' buddies. And at the same time that I am so relaxed and easy going and happy to be with them, I also am the adult in the house. I'm the leader, the one in charge, the 'go-to' when anything goes wrong.

It's an awesome responsibility to have I think and I am very grateful that so many trust me with it. So little of what I do is for other people. This, though, always feels rewarding in that way -- like I'm doing something good for someone else. I am taking responsibility, for a couple of hours, for these precious lives. I, for a day, am playing 'grown-up' and doing something truly important.

I pray I always see the beauty of God in these little faces. They have changed my life.

A few pics from the road trip...

I decided to do something I don't normally do: post pictures from our fantastic road trip. I will edit this post as the day goes on to tell a little more about what we did. For now, enjoy the shots. (Or don't.)

I took the day off Friday in order that I might have more time to pack and clean and get ready for the trip. It also worked out perfectly as it was a first friday and I needed to get to Mass and adoration. Waking up that morning I was both excited and nervous. I had never made a trip like this and I'd never traveled alone with these girls. I love them to death but we were about to be thrown into a bunch of unknowns together and I was just praying it would all go smoothly.

I started out the morning with Mass. I love daily Mass, as I'm sure I've mentioned before, because it is so very different than a Sunday Mass. Both are absolutely beautiful and I could not choose one over the other. Anyway, I was able to pray the Divine Office, attend Mass and then adore Christ in the Most Blessed Sacrament immediately following. What made my morning even better, you ask? I also had spiritual direction! Yes, quite the morning. Praise God!

After that I went home and piddled around with laundry and packing. It wasn't until I got the phone call from Elizabeth telling me she was in Dallas (and about 15 minutes away from my house) that I really put myself in high-gear. After packing and cleaning the car we head out to Arlington to have dinner with another of our friends (plus one of our friend's friends). We ate at a cute little restaurant that couldn't figure out what to serve. When I say that I mean that they had Italian and Mexican cuisine.. yes, quite the mix. It was dark inside, which made finding our tiny friend quite the challenge, and I never really figured out why. It could be that management is attempting to save money (which would explain the parking lot as well -- broken up gravel and rocks...) or that they were going for a 'romantic' feel. Perhaps it was both? Perhaps. We'll give them the benefit of the doubt, though, and say it was meant for lovers. After all, it is called the Candlelite Inn. The booth was.. cozy.. and the jukebox fun. Our waiter was a bit overattentive, if you know what I mean, but the food was good. Overall it was a pleasant evening and I'm satisfied with the experience.

After dinner we all headed out to Hill's choir concert. She had a solo and I was looking forward to hearing her perform. Unfortunately we were running behind and missed her by only a couple of minutes. Her director was quite the show though. Melodramatic does not even begin to scratch the surface of this woman's conducting style. Can you convey melodramatic in conducting? Yes. She proved that you can. Believe me. Anyway, the choir sounded wonderful and I instantly missed singing with my high school choir. It was nothing like my church choir. It was big and always challenging. I loved singing with so many people and being able to make such beautiful and varied sounds. (That's not to say that my church choir isn't challenging or that we are not capable of beautiful music. Like with the Masses, they are just different.)

After some mingling (mostly done by Hill while we all waited on our starlet friend), we headed out to the car. We were on our way! ... or so we thought. Shortly after getting in the car, Hill started screaming about her skin burning. It started out with her mentioning something wet/sticky that was on her skin and THEN she started screaming. At first I thought she was kidding. I quickly realized, however, that she was being very serious. I frantically searched for something to get it off of her (water or a towel or something) and begged Elizabeth to give her something. Elizabeth could find nothing but I did find a couple of paper towels on the floor. I darted out of the car, towels in hand, and sprinted to a puddle in the middle of the street. (The street was within the parking lot. Don't worry, I'm not that stupid.) Having soaked the towel in puddle water, I opened up Hill's door and started wiping her skin, quickly but delicately. Within just a minute or two we had successfully removed the liquid from her skin and, if I remember correctly, the pain decreased. What caused this comotion? Turned out to be some pool chemicals that had been left in Elizabeth's car. The same chemical also ate a hole in her carpet.

After about three hours of driving, we arrived in Austin. Finding our hotel proved challenging but being the smart girls that we are, we did eventually find our way. It was a beautiful hotel. We were on a very high floor, which for me, because I'm afraid of heights, was quite intimidating.. but fun too. The room was spacious and the bed luxurious. Too bad we were only there for one night! After settling in (aka: throwing our bags by the wall), we headed out to see one of my friends from high school that goes to UT. We had planned on brunch the next morning but knowing that most college students are dead on Saturday mornings, I figured we should meet up that night. So we did. And it was fun. I hadn't seen her in about two years so it was great to not only see her but also get to see where she will be living in the fall, meet her boyfriend, and enjoy some laughs. As an added bonus, I saw another friend from high school who kept me laughing the whole time she was around. Good night. Before leaving we decided that we would still do brunch but at 11 am instead of 8 or 9.

The next morning, after touring my h.s. friend's sorority house, we found ourselves enjoying a fabulous brunch at Kerbey Lane, a cafe native to Austin and reminiscent, at least for me, of Cafe Brazil. To our surprise, the cafe was celebrating it's birthday. I can't remember which year it was but I can remember that the cake was fabulous. So not only were we at a fun, hip cafe with excellent food, we were able to share in celebrating it's history! If ever you find yourself in Austin, ask someone where to find the original Kerbey Lane -- it's on Kerbey Lane. *wink* (I had the migas. So good!)

After passing the capitol, and taking a picture of it like every good non-Austin-native Texan would do, (and picking up our car since my friend had driven us to KL) we were off to San Marcos for shopping, shopping, and more shopping. I was both excited and bummed. It wasn't even fifteen minutes after leaving when I wanted to turn around and go back! Seeing dear friend again reminded me how much I missed her!

Anyway, we spent several hours in San Marcos. Elizabeth did most of the shopping but I did find a couple of things for myself. By the time we left (in the early evening hours) we were spent. Hill and I could barely keep ourselves up and moving any longer. It was so nice to be back in the car, knowing that in just a short while we would once again have a nice hotel room in which to rest.

The second hotel, this time in San Antonio, was nice but not so much my style as the first. No complaints though as we stayed at an excellent rate (considering that it was full service) and enjoyed a comfy bed and a hot showers. When we arrived I did some laundry (I had overpacked and then insisted on wearing the same jeans twice) and we watched a movie. Shortly after that we called a cab to drive us down to the River Walk. Once there we had dinner at Rio Rio, my favorite restaurant on the river. No one really wanted to wait for seating on the river so we went inside and enjoyed very fast service by a waiter named Juan. The food was good, I think, but we were all so hungry that we filled up on chips, queso, and hot sauce before our real food even came. We took lots of pictures there and each was coupled with a hearty laugh. Good food and good company.. yep. Good night. That is until we left...

Elizabeth really wanted to go dancing and Hill and I really just wanted to lie down and chill. But since it was E's birthday trip, we walked to find some place to dance. The first place we found was for 21+, a problem we had anticipated. They did, however, recommend another place that was 18+. In most cases that would have been great and appreciated. Unfortunately, all we had was the name of a place and one street. Not being from San Antonio and not having any clue which direction to even head to find the street they mentioned, we were at a loss. Still, we walked. And walked. And walked. Finally we reached the Alamo. I needed to fix my shoe (rocks, especially in heels, are not comfortable) so we sat along a wall just in front. There we decided that we had no idea where we were and that the chances of finding the place were too low to keep trying.

We had grabbed the local taxi number back at the restaurant and attempted calling it. After being on hold for at least twenty minutes, we finally were being transferred when the phone cut off! *sigh* We tried again and after another long period of waiting, ordered a cab to our corner. I was relieved to see the cab arrive shortly and nearly ran to jump in. Our driver was nice -- and fun. That concluded our night, for the most part, in San Antonio.


** to be continued **

On the road again..

Please pray for Elizabeth, Hill and I as we set out for Austin, San Antonio and San Marcos in celebration of Elizabeth's 19 years of life! (As if we needed a reason to go.. but I do say it's a pretty awesome reason!) It'll be a lot of driving so it's a good thing I really like these gals! Please pray that we remain safe and make good time! Also, please keep in your prayers J and her family as they travel to Florida to visit Disney World! +Lord keep them safe in their travels and adventures.

Thanks to all and don't forget to pray for the babies tomorrow!
(Yes, I'll be making Mass and adoration tomorrow morning before I leave.)

Been Busy Again

Sorry for my lack of posting again lately. I'm sure most people understand the 'post what you can, when you can' situation and that's definitely me. My schedule has been so solid for the past couple of weeks that sitting down to type something out for a blog post just hasn't been possible. In fact, it's not really something that even passed through my mind. Between work and friends and rehearsals and book club and babysitting and Mass and confession and family and the occassional breather (TV), I've just been exhausted!

Anyway, please keep me in your prayers while I am away. This is a year of a lot of change for me! Not only is it a 'big birthday' year, I have plans to move out on my own and start back to school again. Because I pretty much stink at 'dealing' with change, I'll need all the spiritual support I can get! On the one hand, change is very exciting. It's fun to have new things in your life. But even with that I have a hard time 'coping' with it. It's all too new and too different. I'll get better eventually but for now.. just pray! Haha.


God bless you all richly! Be holy!

For All the Stay-At-Home Moms Out There

This is for you, stay-at-home mom...

A man came home from work and found his five children outside, still in their pajamas, playing in the mud, with empty food boxes and wrappers strewn all around the front yard.

The door of his wife's car was open, as was the front door to the house and there was no sign of the dogs.

Proceeding into the entry, he found an even bigger mess. A lamp had been knocked over, and the throw rug was wadded against one wall.

In the front room the TV was loudly blaring a cartoon channel, and the family room was strewn with toys and various items of clothing.

In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, breakfast food was spilled on the counter, the fridge door was open wide, dog food was spilled on the floor, a broken glass lay under the table, and a small pile of sand was spread by the back door.

He quickly headed up the stairs, stepping over toys and more piles of clothes, looking for his wife. He was worried she might be ill, or that something serious had happened. He was met with a small trickle of water as it made its way out the bathroom door. As he peered inside he found wet towels, soap and more toys strewn over the floor. Miles of toilet paper lay in a heap and toothpaste had been smeared over the mirror and walls.

As he rushed to the bedroom, he found his wife still curled up in the bed in her pajamas, reading a novel. She looked up at him, smiled, and asked how his day went.

He looked at her bewildered and asked, "What happened here today?"

She again smiled and answered, "You know every day when you come home from work and you ask me what in the world I do all day?"

"Yes," was his incredulous reply.

She answered, "Well, today I didn't do it."

Who are you anyway?

I received an email recently from a fellow blogger curious about who I was. She knew bits and pieces but nothing substantial. I guess that's because aside from a few minor life updates, I've never really said a lot about who I am. I've always figured those that want to know will ask and those who don't won't have to filter their reading. However, I think it may be time to just throw out a little about this author. I've been getting quite a few new visitors each week (it's all relative, really) and it seems like a good time to do this. We'll start with something easy and fun... quiz results!

You Are Red Orange

You are a very genuine person, although it takes a while for you to show the true you. A bit introverted, you desire respect and affection from those close to you. You are quite empathetic, and you have a true concern for the well being of others. Many people have warm, heartfelt memories of you - even if you don't remember them well.

What Color Red Are You?

Okay... now for the details:
My name is Laura and I'm 20 yrs old. I live in the heart of Texas -- which any Texan will tell you is the best country in the world -- in my parents' home with my two younger siblings. I'm not currently enrolled in school though I do plan on going back in the fall. I'll continue to pursue my degree in nursing and will (hopefully) one day end up at either Baylor or TWU (Texas Woman's University).

I work full time at a hotel not too far from my home and though I often complain, it's been a blessing. I've learned a great deal about patience and humility while working at the front desk.. and now I can do six things at once! That's right.. SIX. (I know, I've got mad skills.)

I'm a member of a local apostolate called Remnant Catholic Apostolate. The group has been together for about a year now and is the creation of Matt Gill and his wife Angela. Of course they had lots of outside support but it was their vision that was the very beginnings of our group. I've posted a few times about the group and some of our activities and programs but for more info see this site. The apostolate is doing very well and has been booked, if I remember correctly, all the way through the end of April. (Yes, God has truly blessed us!) I look forward to my future with this group. They are amazing.

At my parish I'm working with the St. Frances de Sales choir and the Cantors Guild. Both ministries have been a great blessing to me. Not only do I LOVE the people I work with, I love music. Our practices are always fun and I always crack up at least once. On Sundays I sing at least twice, once in the morning and once in the evening at the youth Mass.

Once a month I join with a few other ladies from the parish for a book club. I love books and I love sharing time with beautiful Catholic women -- which is why this is perfect for me. Most of the ladies there are older than me but I learn so much from them.

Most of my friends my age don't live anywhere near me which if often times a problem. 'Easily cured' say some but to me, it's difficult. I don't relate well to a lot of people my age. I tend to find good company in people 'more experienced' than myself and find them to be more genuine. They don't stay out until six in the morning and they don't get so smashed they can't walk straight. This is not to say I think all young people are this way, just that most of the ones I know are. And that's not to say that I would object staying out until the early morning with someone whose company I truly enjoy.. just not on a weeknight. You see... I have the attitude of a 35 yr old woman with children. (Sometimes this is good, sometimes it is not.)

One of my absolute favorite things to is sing though I'm not very good at it. I've taken voice lessons for a number of years and have seen improvement but I'm still waiting for my voice to really take off. It may never happen but from what I'm told, your voice continues to mature into your late twenties. In other words: I have some time. It's not only choral music that I enjoy, either. I do love it very much but I also love rock. Growing up my dad used to play his CDs for us all the time and so I grew up with music from Journey, Dave Matthews Band, Kansas, Chicago, the Eagles, and the like. I still love them today.

My first cassette tape was Phil Collins and my favorite song was "Another Day in Paradise". Some people feel sorry for me when I tell them that... I still like it. It may be a sentimental thing now, though.

I'm not really sure how well I'm doing at this. I'm not used to telling people about me and my life....

I give out directions all day long at work (from other states even) but can't seem to go outside of Dallas without getting lost. Every time I'm in my car I fear for my life - at times to the point that I decide to take up bike-riding again instead. Obviously I haven't done that or I would be thin again... but whatever. My friends from the other side of the Metroplex give me a hard time about it every time they see me and laugh when they spot me pulled over in a parking lot carefully studying my map and directions. At least I can read a map, right? (I also know at almost all times if I'm headed North, South, East or West.)

I like to think I'm pretty crafty but most of my projects are total flops. I enjoy making cards for people I care about anyway. It's not always the cheapest thing but it's the most fun for me and I get to put all of my love into it. I also like to build things - which may have come from my father. He's a carpenter and though he sometimes does not take pride in what he does, I do. I love that he can build me anything and will let me help. He takes time to show me how to do things and I love that. I love working with power tools (however clumsily) and to that end, I guess I'm a bit of a tomboy.

I like putting on my make-up and doing my hair, slipping into my favorite outfit and enjoying a night on the town with the girls. I love my friends very much and I never grow tired of their company. Most of my friends could be professional comedians so it's not surprising that we always have a good time.

I see God in everything and get great pleasure out of the small treasures in life. I stare in awe at water, both falling from the sky and gently rolling in the lakes. My favorite flower is the daisy and I pretty much freak out when I receive them from someone I love. I love raking the leaves in our backyard and gardening with my family. We have a birdbath in the backyard that we plant flowers around every spring and it's becoming one of my favorite things about our yard.

I've done only a little bit of traveling but hope to do lots more in my adult years. To date, the only time I've left the country for any real length of time was when I went to World Youth Day in Canada. I loved it and want to go back very soon. I've also been to Mexico, though I hardly consider a few hours much of a trip.

I guess that's really all I can think of right now.. and probably more than she EVER wanted to know! Hah!

Until next time... be holy!

Quiz... because I'm that lame.

What horrible Edward Gorey Death will you die?

You will perish of fits. Repeat this to yourself: "Things can work out even if I don't get my way. Things can work out even...."
Take this quiz!

Thanks to Julie D. at Happy Catholic!

Quiz Fun

What do you do when you're stuck at work nearly an hour after you were supposed to leave after already covering for your manager who called you during Mass to ask if she could switch shifts with you because her back hurt?

You take a quiz!

You Are a Frappacino

At your best, you are: fun loving, sweet, and modern At your worst, you are: childish and over indulgent You drink coffee when: you're craving something sweet Your caffeine addiction level: low

What Kind of Coffee Are You?

Test your Catholic IQ

Yep... test your general knowledge of Catholicism. Basic concepts within the faith... major events... so on and so forth.

Test your knowledge here!

Time yourself... the picture.

Cookie me silly.

I love cookies. This one via Happy Catholic.

You Are a Chocolate Chip Cookie

Traditional and conservative, most people find you comforting. You're friendly and easy to get to know. This makes you very popular - without even trying!

What Kind of Cookie Are You?