January's Quick Takes

Sometimes it's easy to stop blogging. Like around Thanksgiving and other holidays. The easiest way I've found to jump back in is with some Quick Takes! Fair warning: this is going to be incredibly random.

1. It's November 30th already! Happy Feast of St. Andrew! It's the first day to pray the beautiful novena. (Thanks to Becky for the reminder and the gorgeous chaplet).

Hail and blessed be the hour and moment

in which the Son of God was born of the most pure Virgin Mary,

at midnight, in Bethlehem, in piercing cold.

In that hour, vouchsafe, O my God! to hear my prayer and grant my desires,

through the merits of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, and of His Blessed Mother.

Amen.

2. As I was eating breakfast this morning, my cat started chasing something. Something that I couldn't see. But it wasn't just that she had the crazies, where she sprints all around the house. It's clear that something very tiny was there to chase. But she kept stopping and looking around, like she had lost it. And now I know that there's something so small that it's nearly invisible somewhere in my house. Eek!

3. November and I, we have really deep discussions. Like this week, when we talked about pee. The pee of children. The pee of cats. Pee being in really, really wrong places in the house. Yes, anywhere that is not a toilet, diaper, or litter box is the wrong place. It's amazing how something as basic and ordinary as pee can ruin a mother's day or add strain to the marriage of cat owners. I think this take will ensure that you think of us next time you encounter pee where it doesn't belong.

4. Speaking of...children, the brother and SIL of one of my best friends had a baby this week. They lost their first baby in utero to a terrible physical defect, so the healthy birth of this baby is quite the blessing. Speaking of pee (ok, I went there again), baby boy was born with only one kidney, which at this point doesn't seem indicative of any other problems. I'm hoping it stays that way!

5. Like everyone else, I was crushed to learn that Carla's son Henry passed away this week. I am so thankful that he got to know the love of a family during his lifetime on earth. Praying in a special way for his mom, dad, and siblings.

6. Tomorrow is World AIDS Day. There have been years (mostly in school) where I've observed this, and years where I missed it completely. I live near (and used to live in) a U.S. city where there are a staggering number of HIV and AIDS cases; the percentages rival underdeveloped countries on other continents. I have absolutely no answers or good ideas for this huge problem, but I finally feel connected to the problem, because I am in love with Marjorie and many of the little kids who are HIV+ on Reece's Rainbow. Let's do what we can to prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. Even if the best we've got right now is to pray.

7. By the way, Marjorie just got a huge donation to her adoption fund! It wasn't there yesterday, I promise. This means other people are looking out for her too! And maybe her fund will get big enough that adopting her will be easier. Someone out there needs her in their family! Maybe you know them. Please let them know that Marjorie is waiting.

 

For more Quick Takes, visit Jen at Conversion Diary!

January's Quick Takes

I'm pressed for time, so these quick takes will be quick. I'm not even going to go find the template. Visit ConversionDiary.com for more quick takes, people!

1. I had my pre-surgical appointment yesterday. Since my last surgery was only two and a half weeks ago, I didn't have to go get lots of blood drawn or any lab stuff. Just talked to Dr. R and signed papers.

2. This time, though, I do have to do a, um, there's no delicate way to say this, bowel cleanse. Ughhhh. I have the feeling that Sunday is going to be muy unpleasant. My Aunt T gave me her advice, which I shall share with you: chew a piece of mint gum right after you drink the stuff to get the flavor out of your mouth, eat lemon italian ice, use soft baby wipes and desitin, even if you don't think you'll need it. She apparently has a friend who, when needing to do this, rents a hotel room the day before her procedure. That allows the chaos in her household full of husband, children, and animals to go on without her, and she gets to enjoy being in a hotel room alone. I'm not springing for that, but it sounds like a pretty good plan to me!

3. I was a little stressed after the appointment for two reasons. First, apparently it's unknown whether Dr. C will be assisting Dr. R now, due to scheduling at her office. Aunt T (she's a nurse by the way, and has lots of brilliant advice) encouraged me to call Dr. C's office and explain very clearly that I want Dr. C there. She may not know that this is actually important to me.

4. The other reason I'm a little more stressed is because Dr. R said to expect not to go back to work for 4 weeks. Four weeks?! Whoa, that is crazy talk. I think I have close to 2.5 weeks of sick time left, but I have not been preparing for so much time out of the office. He did say that many people go back after two weeks, so it's going to just depend on my recovery rate. Regardless of whether it's 2 or 4, I'm going to have an unpleasant surprise for my boss and assistant when I get to work today. We'd all been preparing for 1 week, maybe 1.5.

5. When I'm stressed, I like to cook. And I haven't really cooked since my first surgery. No wonder I've been a little crazy lately! Last night, I had planned to make an Asian-inspired chicken soup for dinner (think snow peas, lemongrass, lime, ginger, Sriracha). I also had to bake a pie (twist my arm, right?) for Carpool Buddy's office baby shower. I went with blueberry peach. A bunch of us baked pies (ok, yes, I suggested that pie and ice cream would be a good food theme) and some folks less inclined towards baking are bringing vanilla ice cream. Yum!!

6. It's bagel and donut day, the one day a month my company buys any food stuff for the employees. This is a treasured day. Also, I promised the co-workers with whom I've been eating lunch and do the crossword that I'd bring them the manicotti that a friend brought me this week. It's delicious, but after my mom's stuffed shells last week, the manicotti this week, and the lasagna my MIL plans to bring next week, there's only so much macaroni layered with sauce and cheese a girl can really take. After lunch, the shower. Holy mackerel.

7. On a totally different note, Husband asked me last night what I thought of him quitting his job. He does not yet have a new job, but this job makes him SO MISERABLE now. He's gotten paranoid that his office is bugged or something. It's distressing to see him this way. I told him that he's not to do it today, because he needs to use his time off next week to get paid while he takes care of me and applies for more jobs. After that, I told him it would be ok with me if he quit. We have enough savings to get through a few months with zero income, and we'll still have mine (I hope - they wouldn't fire a girl for getting pre-ovarian cancer treated, would they?). More thoughts on this later, but I just had to get that out.

Happy Friday, friends!
-Jan

Jan's Quick Takes

--- 1 ---

I am a little sun-kissed, a few pounds heavier, and a lot overwhelmed at work. Why, January, you must have just returned from vacation! Indeed, I did. My parents still invite Husband and me to our family beach vacation at no cost(!) and it remains the highlight of our year. As in, Husband starts bringing it up in January, and we're still reminiscing about it in December.

--- 2 ---

I had my pre-op appointment on Wednesday. The only thing that really surprised me was just how involved it was: urine sample, pap smear, and a blood draw of 4 vials! I signed the paper that said I acknowledged the risks and was opting for the surgery. The big day is August 21st. Here we go!

--- 3 ---

Husband and I get pretty obsessed with the Olympics. If we could take the whole two weeks off of work to just watch Olympic play, I know we would. I do get annoyed with the "primetime" broadcast, because I cannot stay up until midnight for more than one or two nights in a row. Last night, I told Husband I was going to fall asleep on the loveseat, and he was to wake me up and put me to bed after it was over, and tell me who won what. Sounds like Team USA had a great day yesterday!

--- 4 ---

As I write this, I'm watching a recording online of the women's judo competition from yesterday. I've never seen judo before, and I cannot figure out this scoring. That hand to hand combat looks, well, exhausting. Those ladies are hardcore! I love it.

--- 5 ---

Husband and I watched the cycling with much interest over the weekend. Earlier this summer, we talked about getting bikes, so I've started trying to save a little bit for that.

--- 6 ---

It will probably be some time before we get bikes, though, because we have made a renewed effort to pay down our credit card debt. We get it under control, and then we lose control again. This time, right when we made that decision, an angel of mercy in the form of an unexpected check arrived to speed us on our way in these efforts. Thank you, God!

--- 7 ---

Finally, I'm going to Chicago next week for work. I hope it's a productive trip! As I mentioned before, things are rather overwhelming at work, but my new supervisor is the first person who is confident not only in me, but also in himself. He's also advocating for me with the big scary president, who really likes him. Yesss! He's coming into the office next week before I leave for Chicago, so we're going to spend some time working on my acquisitions plan. I'm a little nervous, but mostly excited. If I am going to stay in this job, and frankly this career, I am grateful that I'm getting to learn from my new supervisor.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

January's Quick Takes

My thoughts today lend themselves to some quick takes, so here goes:

--- 1 ---

Even though yesterday was a fine day at work, the late afternoon found me sitting in my car in the parking lot of Panera, sobbing into the phone with my mother-in-law. My general theme: No matter how much I like my job, I should not stay if I find myself sobbing in the Panera parking lot. God bless her for listening to me babble and hiccup.

--- 2 ---

Husband and I stayed up until 1:30am last night talking about life and careers. We got to share some really honest, personal thoughts. My general theme: Maybe it's time to take a risk. You should know that Cautious is my middle name. It might be Husband's first name.

--- 3 ---

I told Husband that I want us to move back to our hometown and open a bookstore. Husband said he saw that coming. I cannot believe I am so transparent! Haha, just kidding. I'm like cling wrap; just look at me and you know the thoughts and feelings I have on the inside.

--- 4 ---

I also told Husband that if I find an amazing job in my current field in another city, we should be willing to move for me to take it. At this time, we have no babies and we don't own a home. Husband has previously demanded to stay where we are because this is the perfect place to live if he were to pursue a career in the field that he studied in school. However, he's not doing that, he's doing something else, and that something else can be done in so many other jobs all over the country. When I told him that my career needs to be of equal importance to his because "Hello! I'm not staying home raising chillens any time soon," he eventually agreed. So, look out other cities! You are suddenly on my job search list!

--- 5 ---

Husband proposed that we leave everything behind and become missionaries in Africa. I told him "Absolutely not! Are there any books about people being missionaries in Africa where things go well? I can answer for you: no."

--- 6 ---

I took out my contacts, which were making it hard to blink at this point in the evening morning, and as I looked in the mirror at myself, the last, big, risky thing that's been on my heart leapt to my lips. I went back over to him and said "What if I got a nearby, less-stressful job, full or part time, and we became foster parents?"

--- 7 ---

"I know there are lots of reasons not to consider it, including that we've never been parents before, we try to avoid bringing unnecessary drama into our lives, and I don't know how well we'd handle saying goodbye or, frankly, any of it. But I want to bring it up because you keep saying that I need to do something pro-life with my life, and I think there may be nothing more pro-life than taking in children who need a home and need people to show them that they matter, no matter what."

That struck a chord with him. It struck a chord with me. I'll keep you posted on the Cautious couple and our risk-taking endeavors.

-January

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

January's Quick Takes

--- 1 ---

I spent the weekend in Charlotte, NC, for my college best friend's bachelorette party. We haven't seen each other in ages, and not for more than a day or two at a time since we graduated. I can't believe how long it's been! But when we got together, it still felt right, like we'd be best friends all over again if we lived near each other.

--- 2 ---

However, I am way too old to be sleeping on the floor or to be going out dancing until 3am, especially two nights in a row. I think it was a really appropriate pre-Fat Tuesday wild time, though. Although, I really wasn't that wild. I'm pretty tame. Even the other married girls out-partied me.

--- 3 ---

I discovered the web magazine altcatholicah yesterday. I haven't explored it too much, but I'm looking forward to reading every article I can. Has anyone heard of it before? Maybe even contributed an article?

--- 4 ---

I knew giving up television for Lent would be hard, but I did not realize just how dependent I am on it. When it gets to be the end of the work day, or when I'm driving home, different shows pop unbidden into my mind. "Oh, I should watch that tonight!" I think. Then I remember. No TV for you, Jan! I'm home alone a lot, and television shows have become my faithful companions. While I don't think that's horrible, it's certainly not ideal. Hard as it is proving, I'm glad that I decided to take the no TV plunge.

--- 5 ---

I have fallen asleep really early for the last two nights. This probably has at least something to do with the aforementioned partying until 3am, but I think it's also because the TV isn't there to keep me up. On the one hand, it's harder to stay awake until Husband gets home, and I really want to get to see him. On the other hand, wow, I feel well-rested!

--- 6 ---

I've started reading a book called The Selected Works of T.S. Spivet by Reif Larson. It published a few years ago, and I recognized it on the shelf at the library. It's narrated a 12-year-old boy genius cartographer, and what makes it so neat is the marginalia on every page. The author has drawn maps and diagrams, and added lots of notes and asides. This means it takes a long time to read, but it's just beautiful and so creative. I'm also impressed that the publisher was on board with this literary experiment.

--- 7 ---

Baby J is being baptized tomorrow morning. I can't wait to see this new little fella be welcomed into the church!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!