7 Quick Takes: March + Me = Blogger ExtraordiFAIL

I'm back, YAY me. Let's do like me in real life and skip the small talk:

1. 

Excuse for Not Blogging Numero Uno - BiRtHdAyS. Three of them. Specifically, mine. Also, two sisters (the oldest and the youngest). Three days in a row. Good times. This year our "baby" turned 16, so her birthday was a big deal. But I'm just 25 so I'm over birthdays...NOT. I had no idea what I wanted to do but after being harangued to please think of SOMETHING by my poor parents I somehow managed to get a lot of raspberries, protein-powder-chocolate-mousse, and a giant Vera Bradley bag out of the whole thing so I feel like it all came off very well, really. Also my sweetheart wrote me a poem about my eyes, so...Possibly with his permission I will just share it sometime. Or I just might horde it. You just never know.

2. 

Excuse Dos - 40 Days for Life. My dad joked the other day that Dorothy has two seasons: "40 Days for Life is HAPPENING" and "40 Days for Life is COMING." I said he was joking but no, not really, it's pretty much true. I realized a while back this was my 9th campaign and...mmm. That is a lot. But this campaign is very well covered, thanks be to God, and is going smoothly so far. You can still sign up though. And you should. Do it. Do it, do it. In other news, one of my favorite things about the campaign is this sweet lady who emails me while 40 Days for Life is happening and asks for my prayer requests. She's housebound but she's a lovely writer and we have the loveliest email exchanges. I enjoy her just, so much, she's very encouraging and she definitely helps with her words and her prayers. All that to say, don't think you have an excuse not to do SOMETHING to end abortion because there's always, you know, something.

3. 

Excuse #3 of the reason I've blogged less is that I was cooking more. Way more. I did that Arbonne detox fancy-schmancy thing and Oh. My. Goodness. I've really enjoyed it, and even though my 28-day detox technically ended last Sunday, I've pretty much stuck with it because I've enjoyed the food and the feeling so much. I did eat chips  and half a sopapilla at a restaurant last night, but decided afterwards they probably won't have much of a draw in the future. Now, that has as much to do with the "Made to Crave" bible study as it does the detox food, but in all honesty, I enjoyed this:

A lot more today than I enjoyed the chips yesterday. The chips were good (the salsa was AMAZING) but I totally enjoyed my southwest-ish salad-y thing tonight, even with a sistah eating buttered pasta right across from me. I've struggled with food for as long as I can remember, so between "Made to Crave" and Arbonne...this is pretty amazing.

4. 

Still fixating on food for a few fun moments longer: I so need to try some new recipes. My sweet Gina friend sent me a glowing recommendation of this healthy version of Chick-fil-a's nuggets, and my Elizabeth friend (responsible for getting me hooked on Arbonne) shared a recipe for falafel-lish "Chick-en" nuggets which I'm so trying...tomorrow. No, really, I am making those tomorrow. Fridays in Lent are the ideal time for falafel nuggets, amiright?

5. 

Not that you asked for it, but an update from the land of growing-out-my-pixie-cut...French braid! I did one today. It has an itsy little knob of hair at the end, and there may or may not be two bobby pins assisting the sides, but...whatever. It is a french braid and I feel pretty legit about it. So, yes. That happened.

6. 

There are three packets of Chick-fil-a ketchup and a tiny maraca(s?) sitting on the shelf in our entry way. This is from my adventure at the mall this past...Monday? Yes, Monday - adventure at the mall on Monday with my Big Sister and her bebes. This was a lot of fun for several reasons. One of which was that they have these tiny fedoras and the two eldest were wearing them. Apparently they are good for smuggling, because the 4-year-old's head rattled when I patted him upon it after we arrived inside the mall. He had stuck the little maraca (maracas?) inside the fedora, which a homeschooling mom would probably have turned into some sort of multicultural commentary. Being only a lowly aunt, I settled for congratulating him on this clever method of carrying. I was then informed by his mother that he was meant to have left the thing in the car. At which point I withdrew my congratulations, and also the maraca, or, as the nephews call it, their "shakey". I stuck it in my purse-bag, forgot to give it back, and on my way into Mass the next day, found my purse-bag was making the same distinct rattling noise the eldest nephew's head had been making the evening before. Hence: the "shakey" is now on the entry way shelf, stowed next to the ketchup packets I also accidentally absconded with. Note to self: in future check the purse-bag before departing the nephews.

7. 

Back at the mall: At one point the baby stole a fedora and decided it was best modeled sideways. Like so:

which you can see was surely correct.

Happy Friday, peeps. And I mean you, not that weird candy. You have a happy Friday.

The Foolishness of God

Recently I went into an Adoration chapel and lit a St. Joseph candle. Two, actually. I needed (read: NEED) help with something which I consider quite significant and he's my go-to man. 

Now, possibly I'm the only one that does this, but I always have a "thing" about which candle to light. If I feel like I need to be humble about something, I light one on the lowest level, if it's urgent I go high, if I'm just being casually conversational (like that ever happens, but if it did) maybe mid-range. 

This particular candle stand happens to be right between the Blessed Sacrament and St. Joseph. Sometimes I go more towards Jesus but usually I go more towards Papa Joe. I feel Jesus is no more offended about this than I would be if one of my friends walked in and started talking to my dad, which is exactly as much as not offended at all. Besides, St. Joseph is just going to turn around and start talking to Jesus about it anyway (snitch), so it's all the same conversation anyway.

Back to this particular visit: after a moment's hesitation I lit ones as absolutely close to St. Joseph as I could get and thought with some vehemence: "You. Yeah, you. You know all about trusting and being in hard places and not knowing where you'd end up and working hard for a living and doing things that looked crazy to other people and your feast day is coming up so here's your chance to go big for the big day so YOU. YOU FIX THIS."

He seemed very understanding about the whole thing, really.

I know exactly what my problem is though.

As an annoyingly wise person informed me once, "Be careful what you ask for - when you ask God for a gift He gives you chances to use it."

My problem is...I prayed.

For trust.

Also, patience.

Stupid redhead.

Trust is for fools. Waiting on God's timing is for fools, too.

Then again, so is letting someone smear ashes on your forehead.

And sitting in front of something that looks like a golden sunburst with Bread inside. 

Yet here I am. Here we are, twenty centuries later. Sitting in front of our silent sunbursts, staring into His Face. Smearing ashes on our foreheads, looking to be humble in our hearts. Praying for trust and patience while we try to muster the heart-strength to soldier on in the dark.

"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

For it is written:

'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,

and the learning of the learned I will set aside.'

Where is the wise one? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made the wisdom of the world foolish?...For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength. Consider your own calling, brothers. Not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful...Rather, God chose the foolish of the world to shame the wise, and God chose the weak of the world to shame the strong." 

1 Corinthians 1:18-21, 25-27

Foolishness...it can be quite a matter of perspective, can't it?

Lent has a real knack for adjusting perspectives. The liturgical calendar fits in and around life amazingly well. 

As does G.K. Chesterton's poetry:

"The men of the east may spell the stars

and times and triumphs mark,

But the men signed of the Cross of Christ

Go gaily in the dark.

...

You and all the kind of Christ

Are ignorant and brave,
And you have wars you hardly win
And souls you hardly save.

I tell you naught for your comfort,
Yea, naught for your desire,
Save that the sky grows darker yet
And the sea rises higher.

Night shall be thrice night over you,
And heaven an iron cope.
Do you have joy without a cause,
Yea, faith without a hope?"

There is hope, and more than hope. May we all pray boldly to find the foolishness God has for our Lent and our lives.

Why We Love Personality Quizzes (A Theory)

Seems like those little "Which Person/Place/Thing from FillInTheBlank Are YOU?" quizzes have been everywhere. I liked those when I was a kid. Pfft, who am I fooling? I still get kind of a kick out of them now. So, while I started wondering why that was, I started taking a few of the more appealing looking ones. I know you're curious, so I'll overshare a little bit to humor you:

Which Once Upon a Time Character - Belle. I think it was gonna be Ruby after I said my preferred pet was a wolf, but then, I said my dream job was librarian SO we know what that means.

Yup.

Which Disney Couple - Anna & Kristoff. Redhead & Nordic dude. So very appropriate. However, my Nordic dude is cuter than her Nordic dude. Just sayin'.

Redheads is redheads, though. Badder Baditudes than your average chick...

Which Avengers Character - Hawkeye. Apparently I answered most of the questions with some variation of "Actually, I'd rather just be alone."  That's the introvert showing. Hmm.

Ask me if I wanna have a giant birthday party one more time...

Which Broadway Musical - The Sound of Music. Apparently I answered most of the questions with some variation of "Actually, I would rather just stay home and be alone...or with my family." Clearly if I actually like my family (or am in introvert) I belong with the Von Trapps. Whatevs, man, I can deal with that. And no, I am not watching the Carrie Underwood version. As if.

Julie Andrews 4ever, yo.

Which Downton Abbey Character - Matthew Crawley. Totally thrilled and totally not surprised. And before you ask, NO, I have not watched the new season. In fact, I missed a good chunk of the last one too. I refused in a deepdarkanddefinite way to watch a single episode more once I found out about you-know-what. Matthew is dead. I don't care enough about the rest of them to subject myself to that nonsense. Feel free to join the club and try to convince me to jump back on the bandwagon. You can get in line. Behind some of my best gal pals, my sisters, and mi madre. But nothing you say will change the fact that Matthew. Is. Dead. 

This is my "Conversation's over," face.

These quiz thiings are fun and mildly addictive, and I'm not the only one who thinks so. Why else are they showing up alllllll over Facebook? 

When I started considering why this might be, I thought of two things. The first was a book I found fascinating in my sectional reading  (meaning I read sections, not yet the whole) of it: The Temperment God Gave You, by Art & Laraine Bennett.

The second thing I thought of was a dear priest I know who, when temperments were once being discussed said, "You really need to be careful about things like this. It's easy to start blaming behavior on your temperment, instead of making an effort to overcome defects."

That remark is actually the reason I enjoyed the Temperment book by the Bennets. They're a Catholic couple who wrote the book in consultation with several priests, discussing the temperments of different saints, and stressing throughout that understanding your temperment should be the key to overcoming defects, not an excuse for failing to try. 

For example, when I started reading the book, I went to my mom with the skeptical comment, "None of these things sound like me." She got me to read the melancholic description again (including the part about "melancholics don't tend to believe in the temperments,") and gently reminded me, "This isn't where you're stuck. This is where you start."

Here comes the theory: we like the personality quizzes because they sate the desire in us to know. To know where we stand, how others perceive us, what we look like from the outside. They can't fulfill those desires, of course, because the "perception" they offer is shallow, but they do sate it to some extent. I guess you could say personality quizzes are popular because we have souls. Who knew?

It appears to me that those are important desires to address. How many saints have told us that self-knowledge is a key to growing in holiness? A lot. How many different retreats have encouraged us to make an examination of conscience every evening? All the ones worth their salt. How many different ways did St. Josemaria find to say, "First, consider...Then, make some resolutions." Uhm, about twenty bajillion. So why is this desire to know ourselves an important one? Because, handled rightly, it's a desire that can help us win the fight for sanctity. Now, please hear me right: used wrongly, it can make us self-centered, self-obsessed. Used rightly, it can lead to the solid self-knowledge we need to work on our defects.

Personality quizzes can be fun, but what we really need to satisfy this desire is the self-knowledge that comes from time spent with Christ, asking Him to show us what we need to know. Examining our consciences, regular Reconciliation, spiritual direction, studying the saints and Scriptures...those are the things that help us move out of being self-centered and into being Christ-centered.

Or, as my dad said so eloquently when we were discussing it this morning, "We start by knowing ourselves. We should end by knowing God."

That said, here's one personality quiz you should definitely try.

Five Favorites - Sort of Detox-y, Sort of Not

Linking up for the fun at Hallie's.

1. Justin's Vanilla Almond Butter

Major shout-out of major gratitude to my sweet Gina friend for introducing me to this magical thing. There is maybe not enough in all the places for me to get as much of this as I want, which is good because I can practice all that self-control I'm getting to pray for in my #2 fav. I have liked almond butter for a long time, but after I tasted this I realized I'd been doing it wrong. I got mine at H-E-B, but good luck finding some because Gina and I are stockpiling. We need to not run out of this, everatall.

2. Made to Crave

I heard about this book a lot when it first came out, and I actually read the book itself about a year ago. My sister and I started the Arbonne detox (which I super-like and which deserves its own Favorites post, because, amazing) and we decided to do the Made to Crave Bible study while we were at it. This book has been such a blessing and hopefully soon I can get to the many many blog posts I feel it inspiring. If you're thinking about checking it out...do. You won't be sorry.

3. Jane Austen Buttons

I'm not really sure why I didn't know these existed before, but....!!! Does anybody know where I can get some? I need to decide who I want though - and I'm not sure why the Sense & Sensibility button says WILLOUGHBY and not Brandon or Ferrars. #Rude.

Also I need to decide which one I would want...I don't know. It's so hard.

4. The Paperless Post

Cutest e-cards and super awesome app. Just sent out invites for an event using this puppy and they are So. Cute. You can customize a lot if you want to pay a wee sma' fee, but there's lots of fun freebies there, too.

5. This Woman.

Miscellany - Volume I

There's been loads of great pro-life stuff out there lately. Since Rodeo season is upon us (in Houston, it's a Season) I thought I'd do a little round up for y'all.

The Bad News:
I hate to tell you these things, I hate more that they're happening and need to be told, but if you don't know they're going on, you should...
Belgium has become the first country in the world to approve euthanasia for children of all ages.
While you process that, keep in mind that this euthanasia business quickly and easily becomes a booming and unregulated business, where things like an 85-year-old woman having herself euthanized over "losing her looks" can and do happen.
Praying, people - it's what we need to be doing.

Better News:
Who is Planned Parenthood's Newest Member? This article is short 'n sweet 'n packed with awesomeness. It'll take you two minutes or less and if you don't finish it with a huge grin on your face...there's something wrong with you and you can leave now.
Priest conceived in rape hears his father's Confession. I have no words...
Aaaand this one is super cool: a 3D printer could allow blind parents to "see" their unborn babies.

Videos:
First of all, this "Listen to the Beat" video is incredible:

Finally, you possibly have seen the "My Beautiful Woman" video about Jane and June by now. If you haven't, ohemgee, you really need to. If you have seen it, did you know it's one of a series? There are two more, and Live Action's article about them has links to all three. They're so beautiful...each and every one is worth the minutes you'll give to watch them. The crazy thing is that Wacoal, the company producing these gems, is actually a lingerie company. Imagine if You-Know-Who's Not-So-Secret Secret had this much respect for women.

Imagining...Mind. Blown. Anyway, watch the videos, please.

Any other favs? :)

Five Favorites - With no particular theme

Joining the link-up!

1. This non-goth nail polish

Normally I favor my mitt-tips on the dark side. For example: the polish to the far right is one of my latest favs, and it's called "Pat on the Black." Technically it's like a dark purplish color, I don't wear ACTUAL black. But amazingly, I recently snagged a pink I do like, as shown in the middle(ish). And by like I mean I didn't scrub it off after 36 hours as typically happens when I attempt to wear pink. The nombre es "Fuschia Power" and they're not kidding about that Xtreme Wear business - we're on Day 8 with this mani and lookin' pretty slick. The Revlon Base Coat is also a Secret Weapon for serious nail painters and Sally Hansen's Insta-Dri top coat is da bomb dot com. Verily's tips for long-lasting nail jobs are a lifesaver for cheapskates like me who get wallet pangs when we even think about paying for an actual manicure. Also the trick of submerging freshly painted nails just past the sticky-dry-phase into a bowl of ice water to set the polish. It's like magic. Arctic magic, but whatever. Beauty knows no chill, or something like that.

2. Popes. And their "Quotes".

On a less shallow note: I run across stuff like this all the time, and just this week found a gem from each of our past three Papas.

They are so full of good advice. :)

3. Hot Rollers

Aaaand back to the shallows: about a year ago, I chopped off my hair. Or, rather, I somewhat nervously paid someone to do it for me. The resulting pixie turned out to be on of my Most Favorite Haircuts of All Time. However, I eventually decided that I really did enjoy styling my hair too much to leave it that length. Or abandon the other lengths, as the case may be. Anyhoo, it's finally getting to be some kind of length and I was actually able to use !!hot!!rollers!!. There are a lot of exclamation points because I am actually a big fan of hot rollers as opposed to curling irons. I used the hot rollers the other day in most of my hair (had to pull out the flat iron for some flat iron curls at the end, I ran out of pins) and ended up looking like Rachel Peabody from Eloise. That was good news in itself, because, hello, Rachel Peabody:

But also good news due to not having to roll-hold-release-roll-hold-release a bajillion times with the flat iron. I mention this because I need new ones! Hot rollers, that is. Any favorites to recommend? We have an old set where the curlers came in three different sizes, which I really like. Suggestions?

4. Archbishop Chaput and His Awesomeness

 “There's a very old Christian expression that goes like this: ‘Hope has two beautiful daughters. Their names are anger and courage; anger at the way things are, and courage to see that they do not remain the way they are.’

Are we troubled enough about what's wrong with the world -- the killing of millions of unborn children through abortion; the neglect of the poor, the disabled and the elderly; the mistreatment of immigrants in our midst? Do we really have the courage of our convictions to change those things?

The opposite of hope is cynicism, and cynicism also has two daughters. Their names are indifference and cowardice. In renewing ourselves in our faith, what Catholics need to change most urgently is the lack of courage we find in our own personal lives.”

- Archbishop Charles Chaput

5. This Book, which I Really For Sure NEED. ASAP.

I just got the email from Magnificat about this today. It instantly became the top (and only) item of importance on my wish list. My birthday is coming, so surely someone will get me one...or even better, a few someones, because then once I have read it and can attest to its marvelousness, I can give some away. So, somebody just needs to get me one. And not worry about if they're the only somebody.

The Lorica + St. Joseph: The Best Ever EVER

While I was driving to work this morning, my sweetheart was reading a prayer over the phone. I've heard bits and pieces of it before, but never the whole thing together. It's called either the Breastplate of St. Patrick or the Lorica (which means "body armor") of St. Patrick. It is beyond amazing and one of my new favorites.

I especially like "Through the strength of the love of the cherubim," "God's ear to hear me," and "Christ in every ear that hears me." Amen and amen.

It would deserve it's own blog post EXCEPT: today is the day to start the novena to St. Joseph. I do recognize his feast day is in March, but this is a 30 Day Novena. It's a little more time consuming than most of us will probably feel comfortable but it is Worth. It. It's a little tricky to remember to say it every day for 30 days (and by tricky I mean I haven't actually managed to do it yet, even after approximately seven attempts). When I miss a day I just add it on to the end of the novena. One of my tricks for remembering to do it is to have it as the page my phone's internet browser opens to. No Facebook or anything else until after I get through the whole prayer.

In perfect honesty: I am not a perfect pray-er, but I truly do love this novena. So much that I'm doing two of them back-to-back. St. Joseph is a tough habit to kick. ;)

Pray it up, y'all!