Pictures From Our Anniversary Weekend In San Diego

Saint Rita

There is a Nation Shrine To Saint Rita Of Cascia, and it is beautiful. I hope that someday I am able to go there, hopefully on her Feast Day. That would be wonderful. If you go to the website you can take a virtual tour. Just click on the link above.

This Song's For Paul

On October 3rd 2007, My Sweetie asked me to marry him. We were on the beach and he brought his guitar to play me a song. When he started playing I thought "Oh, how cute cute it's Hey There Delilah" but it wasn't. The music was the same but the words were his own. I cried through the whole thing, and the last line of the song was Paul asking me to marry him. It was amazing.

Last night on the radio I heard another song by the same band, and I thought "that's exactly what I would sing to him".

So, Sweetie, on this St. Valentines Day, I dedicate this song to you.

I love You!

Validation

This is one of the cutest videoes I've ever seen.

It might even make you cry.

St. Catherine de Ricci

St. Catherine was born in Florence in 1522. Her baptismal name was Alexandrina, but she took the name of Catherine upon entering religion. From her earliest infancy she manifested a great love of prayer, and in her sixth year, her father placed her in the convent of Monticelli in Florence, where her aunt, Louisa de Ricci, was a nun. After a brief return home, she entered the convent of the Dominican nuns at Prat in Tuscany, in her fourteenth year. While very young, she was chosen Mistress of Novices, then subprioress, and at twenty-five years of age she became perpetual prioress. The reputation of her sanctity drew to her side many illustrious personages, among whom three later sat in the chair of Peter, namely Cerveni, Alexander de Medicis, and Aldo Brandini, and afterward Marcellus II, Clement VIII, and Leo XI respectively. She corresponded with St. Philip Neri and, while still living, she appeared to him in Rome in a miraculous manner. She is famous for the "Ecstacy of the Passion" which she experienced every Thursday from noon until Friday at 4:00 p.m. for twelve years. After a long illness she passed away in 1589. Her feast day is February 13.

http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=587

The View

I took my mom to the dentist this morning and while I was sitting in the waiting room I read magazines and watched TV. Unfortunately "The View" started while I was out there. Now, from what I can see Joy is the only original person on the show (besides Barbara) and I can't understand why. Most of the things that come out of her mouth make are either incorrect or just make no sense. I don't mean to Joy bash, but I just have a hard time understanding how people can stand listening to what she says. If any of you out there are Joy lovers or even lovers of The View please explain to me why that is, and what makes her or the show so appealing.

Judd vs. Palin

In one video Ashley Judd pleads for the saving of lives of wolves, and has probably spoken out for other animals as well, but in the other video she is pleading for donations so that woman can continue having the right to KILL their own babies, to take the life of these innocent unborn little people. What kind of a world has this become, when the life of animal if more important or valuable that another HUMAN BEING?

Medical Treatment

Every time I know of someone who has been to the doctor for a medical problem and after I've heard the results that the doctor gave them I turn to the web to do my own research, and I also have other docs around me that I can get info from. Now, my question about that is, do I talk to my friend about what I find, or keep my mouth shut since they usually trust their own doctor's? Also, more and more of us are started to research illnesses on the web and are being accused of self diagnosing. Is that a bad thing? Should we simply listen to what our docs tell us or should we inform ourselves and discuss what we know with our docs?

Please let me know what you think.

Children in Church

It amazes me how different some children act during Mass, some cry non-stop, jump all around the pews and scream at the top of their lungs, and other's are quiet, somewhat fidgety but non disruptive and pretty well behaved. Now, I understand that the fact that I do not have children means that I might not understand how difficult it is to keep them under control, but what amazed me most was noticing that the children in the larger families of our Parish are often more well behaved than the families with 1-2 children. Now, I'm not putting anyone down, I'm just found myself wondering, why?

Asking this question caused me to do a search on tips on children behaving in Church, the article I found is really good. There ideas for infants and toddlers.

Here's the article: http://www.cuf.org/FileDownloads/LayWitness/MA03Kuharski.pdf

Rumors

I was visiting Fr. Daren Zehnle's blog and he posted something about rumors and how someone in his parish had started one about his leaving the parish. Fr. Zehnle makes it very clear that it was a false statement and was bothered by the rumor because it caused those who heard it to become sad and upset.

Reading it made me realize how easy it is for rumors to start, all it takes it someone suspecting something to be true and mention whatever it is to another and it just keeps going and going. I promise to make a conscience effort not to repeat things I hear from others, not matter how insignificant it may seem.

A rumor of any kind can be hurtful, no matter how small, there are always feelings that are hurt in the process.

One of the things that Fr. Zehnle says is "I've said before that no sin will lead us faster to hell than gossip."

How true!!

Octuplet Mom (selfish??)

The story of the woman who gave birth to octuplets about a week ago (link's below) was very fascinating to me, not in the I think she did a great thing kinda way, but it had me wondering what kind of person is this, what is going through her mind? While the news kept asking the question "are the choices this woman made selfish or not?" I had already made my opinion, and in reading the comments from an interview given by the mother on MSNBC, she has proven me right. The decision to have these babies (all 14) was a completely selfish act. What kind of person intentionally brings a child into the world with out a father, a good chance for a healthy life, and the love and care, and attention that they deserve? Read the interview and really pay attention to how many times she says "I feel" or "I wanted", it's amazing how much I this and I that there is in the story. What about what's best for them?

What's your take?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29038814/

"Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind the stronger the trees."

Our First Anniversary

Our Anniversary was on February 2nd and instead of catching up on things like I had planned on over the weekend, I was kidnapped!!! Just a couple of hours after golfing Paul came home and told me to get dressed and pack a bag, "you're being kidnapped" is what he told me. So upstairs to pack I went, while I was up there he came in to give me an early gift, I was soooooooo excited when I opened it, he had bought me the camera I had asked for, that was a great surprise as well.

We ended up in San Diego near Seaport Village, we stayed at the Manchester Hyatt (gorgeous), and spent most of Saturday walking around Seaport. It is full of cute little shops and we went into almost all of them, ate frozen yogurt & popcorn. We had a great time. Sunday we woke up early had a great breakfast and then we went to walked around a bit and went to Mass. The Church was St. Anne's and it was very cute. The pastor is Reverend Carl Gismondi, FSSP, and all Masses are Traditional Latin Masses, I wish there was one closer to us.

Later that day we drove to Balboa Park, there are many things to see, so we started with the Japanese Gardens and it was simple but very calming. Next was the Botanical Gardens and it was nice, a lot of the plants we had never seen before. After that we stopped by one of the museums for a bit, the lower gallery's had a lot of modern artwork, which I don't really care for, but upstairs was the Masterpiece Gallery and both Paul and I really enjoyed that. The last thing we did was go to the Science Museum and watch an IMAX film on the ocean life, the IMAX part of it was great and we even learned some minor interesting facts, but the message was to much about global warming, I found that to be pretty annoying, but it was still fun. Once the movie was over it was back to the hotel and find a place to eat.

Monday we were up early picked up some coffee and went for a nice walk while everything was closed, made our way back to the hotel for the BEST BREAKFAST BUFFET EVER, and headed home.

It was a great weekend, I love leaving all the worries and stresses of live once in a while to just focus on enjoying each other's company. Since Monday was our actual Anniversary we ordered pizza, watched a movie, and exchanged gifts. The end to a perfect mini vacation.

I have pictures put haven't put them on the computer yet. I'll post them soon.

Thank Goodness!

I'm so glad the weekend is finally here. I have a lot of stuff to catch up on today, I just hope I get them all done. My sister's birthday is tomorrow so I have to find a gift for her, and the older she gets the harder it is.

Yesterday I decided who I'm rooting for in the Big Game, I heard the story of Kurt Warner and his family, as a result I root for Arizona. Here's a link to his story.

http://www.truthorfiction.com/rumors/k/kurtwarner.htm

I hope everyone has a wonderful SUPER BOWL weekend!

"If you work on your mind with your mind, how can you avoid an immense confusion?"

Chain Emails

One of the blogs I check regularly had posted an email that they had received, I'm sure it was one of those chain emails that get passed around, and I hope people keep passing it. I may have even read it before. After reading it again I thought, she's right to post the email, this should be posted in as may places as possible, you never know who may read this at just the right moment.

-------------------------------------------------

A worried woman went to her gynecologist and said: 'Doctor, I have a serious problem and desperately need your help! My baby is not even one year old and I'm pregnant again.

I don't want kids so close together.

So the doctor said: 'Ok, and what do you want me to do?

'She said: 'I want you to end my pregnancy, and I'm counting on your help with this.

'The doctor thought for a little, and after some silence he said to the lady: 'I think I have a better solution for your problem. It's less dangerous for you too.

She smiled, thinking that the doctor was going to accept her request.

Then he continued: 'You see, in order for you not to have to take care of two babies at the same time, let's kill the one in your arms. This way, you could rest some before the other one is born. If we're going to kill one of them, it doesn't matter which one it is. There would be no risk for your body if you chose the one in your arms.

'The lady was horrified and said: 'No doctor! How terrible! It's a crime to kill a child!''

I agree', the doctor replied. 'But you seemed to be ok with it, so I thought maybe that was the best solution.

'The doctor smiled, realizing that he had made his point. He convinced the mom that there is no difference in killing a child that's already been born and one that's still in the womb. The crime is the same!

Be Positive Every Day

Life is a mixture of moments-

some happy, some sad,

and most in-between.

Make the most of each day

as it happens.

Don't listen to those whispers of doubt;

ignore any voice that says

you can't do something.

You're worthy,

and you can go as far

as you dare to dream.

Life will lead you

according to your perceptions.

Let your viewpoint be filled with hope,

and keep your eyes focused

on the positive.

~ Barbara J. Hall

"When something has happened, do not talk about it. It is hard to collect spilled water."

Oral Contraceptive & Breast Cancer

Oral contraceptive (OC) use has been linked to increased risk of breast cancer, largely on the basis of studies conducted before 1990. In the Case-Control Surveillance Study, a US hospital-based case-control study of medication use and cancer, the authors assessed the relation of OC use to breast cancer risk among 907 case women with incident invasive breast cancer (731 white, 176 black) and 1,711 controls (1,152 white, 559 black) interviewed from 1993 to 2007. They evaluated whether the association differed by ethnicity or tumor hormone receptor status. After control for breast cancer risk factors, the multivariable odds ratio for 1 year or more of OC use, relative to less than 1 year of use, was 1.5 (95% confidence interval: 1.2, 1.8). The estimates were similar within age strata (<50>

Lynn Rosenberg, Yuqing Zhang, Patricia F. Coogan, Brian L. Strom and Julie R. Palmer
Correspondence to Dr. Lynn Rosenberg, Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University, 1010 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02215 (e-mail: lrosenberg@slone.bu.edu
'//-->
).
Received for publication July 1, 2008. Accepted for publication October 10, 2008.

http://aje.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/short/kwn360v1

Checking In

Well I started working again (part-time) and Tuesday is always the busiest day, but I got to work with my honey today so it was worth every minute. Anyhow, I just wanted to say that I haven't forgotten about my blog, I just haven't had the time. I'll probably be back tomorrow.

:)

"Charity may be a very short word, but with its tremendous meaning of pure love, it sums up man's entire relation to God and to his neighbor." ~ St Aelred of Rievaulx

Giving Scandal

I have found some entries on other blogs and websites in regards to giving scandal, and found them interesting enough to share. At the bottom I will give the links so that you may read the entire articles.

All offenses by which we injure the soul of our neighbor are called sins of scandal. This word "scandal"

Q. 1277. What is forbidden by the fifth Commandment?
A. The fifth Commandment forbids all willful murder, fighting, anger, hatred, revenge, and bad example.
Q. 1278. Can the fifth commandment be broken by giving scandal or bad example and by inducing others to sin?
A. The fifth commandment can be broken by giving scandal or bad example and inducing others to sin, because such acts may destroy the life of the soul by leading it into mortal sin.
Q. 1279. What is scandal?
A. Scandal is any sinful word, deed or omission that disposes others to sin, or lessens their respect for God and holy religion.

(Baltimore Catechism)

Giving scandal or leading others into sin also finds manifestations in more ordinary circumstances of daily living. First, there is the scandal of couples who live together prior to marriage. Fr. Christ Pollard, my predecessor and I, about a year ago, were comparing notes in regards to how we conduct our marriage preparation for engaged couples. We estimated that nearly 7 in 10 engaged couples that we minister to are living together. In this culture, there is little shock or surprise or disappointment at such living situations. In fact, many young people almost expect to live with their future spouse prior to marriage in a so-called "trial marriage." The sin of scandal is not in the shock - there is none anymore. The sin of giving scandal exists when Catholics who are preparing for marriage and are cohabiting lead others to believe that it is perfectly normal and accepted to live as husband and wife prior to marriage, a blatant disregard for the sixth commandment. Some couples are incredulous when I explain to them that their living together prior to marriage is telling everyone else that neither of them have a problem sleeping with someone to whom they are not married and that in a supposed act of love, they have actually led their future spouse into mortal sin and thus risk eternal damnation - not a very loving act at all.

Another way that we can give scandal is when we attend weddings of Catholics that occur outside the Church without the Church's permission. I remember a time after I was in college before I entered seminary, I was asked to be a groomsman for a wedding of a very close friend. He was a Catholic but decided to be married outside the Church without attaining the proper sacramental preparation and dispensation from the bishop. I declined the invitation to be a groomsman and I explained to him that by my witnessing to such a union, I would be telling those present at the wedding and my friend and his bride that a practicing Catholic like myself had no problem witnessing to an invalid marriage that did not constitute a sacrament and actually celebrated the sin of disobedience to Church law. I told him that this would be a cause of scandal for others. Obviously, this put the friendship on the rocks. Months later, however, my friend and his fiancée had a change of heart and eventually married with the Church's approval. If I had succumbed to the weakness of human respect, I could have easily caved-in, under the false pretense of being a good friend or fear of losing my friend. As far as I was concerned, my firmness in this decision made us even better friends. Authentic friendship and love does not mean allowing our loved ones to do whatever they want and expect us to look the other way. Authentic love means sometimes practicing tough love - holding our friends and family accountable to God's law - the law that truly sets us free. In my estimation, I would not sell out the faith over saving the friendship. It was a special grace not to succumb to the desire for human respect.

If we look around about us in the world we can see that giving scandal is quite common. Thousands and thousands of people are engaged in writing, printing, selling, and lending books, movies, and music that positively teem with indecencies, blasphemies, and speculations of all kinds, things which neither young nor old can read, watch or listen to without sin. Such things are eagerly devoured by multitudes. Pornographic or sexually explicit movies and pictures are made, painted, printed, and reproduced an indefinite number of times and they would be difficult for anyone to look at without sin; yet this is the class of objects which rivets the eyes of thousands upon thousands each and every day. It permeates television and the internet and is accessible by even the most innocent children.

The pronouncement by Jesus Christ: "He that shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.” These reasons should be powerful enough to deter any Christian from the sin of scandal.

Further, let us review the results and consequences of scandal. What are its results? First, it causes him who actually gives the scandal to commit sin, and next, it leads into sin those who take it. These last are generally no small number. Many listen to and laugh at unclean, unrestrained conversations in shops, factories, schools, and even in places of worship. Those who have been tempted themselves tempt others in their turn, repeating these jokes and songs, and so making for others the same occasions of sin that they have had themselves.

http://www.dacapofoundation.com/ClickYourSelection/APriestSpeaks/CycleBHomilies2002-2003/CycleBOrdinaryTime26thSunday.htm

http://slatts.blogspot.com/2008/08/scandal-and-other-sins-against-our.html

Birth Control Pill Inventor Regrets

Carl Djerassi, the 85-year-old Austrian who helped invent the Pill, says his creation has led to a "demographic catastrophe." Now he tells us! Dr. Djerassi says Austrians are committing national suicide.
He's right. Take a look at this animation. By current projections, come 2050 -- that's a little more than one generation from now -- about 20 percent of Austrians will be under the age of 25. Thirty-four percent will be over 65. It's a dying nation. The coroner will rule suicide.
Same kind of animated charts for Germany, France, Italy, and Spain (which looks like a mushroom cloud, appropriately enough) -- all show similar results.

http://blog.beliefnet.com/crunchycon/2009/01/birth-control-pill-inventor-re.html#more

Talented

My aunt has posted pictures of the cake she made for my cousin Laurens birthday which is today. Happy birthday Lauren! I was so impressed with it, I thought I'd post it here as well. My aunt has made many beautiful cakes, and I am very proud of her. This one is really exciting to me because I know Lauren will be thrilled, her being a shoe-aholic of course.

John Bradburne

I have just read the story of John Bradburne's life, and I am so glad that I did. It takes a special soul to be able to make the choices he did and stand by them. I hope you take the time to read his story.

It is easier for me to give you a link to click than for me to cut & paste it, you'll see why.

Please let me know what you think.

http://www.johnbradburne.com/story.php

My Other One

I created a new blog a few weeks ago, and I thought I'd let everyone in on it. I really enjoy Faith Of A Convert, and I will still continue to post here. Becoming Me is more of a journal, just some thoughts and feelings on life, and I would love to hear those of others as well. I hope you'll stop by sometime.

"Kindness should become the natural way of life,not the exception."

I love this store.

For My Sister

Well, I finally loaded the pictures from the France trip that were taking with my regular camera, and they look great. The color is a lot better, so I think I will definitely start using this one more often.

These pictures are from a cemetery that we just happened to stumble on the first night we were in Carcasson.

The first picture was taking that night with the digital, and since the cemetery was closed we went back the next day.

The rest of the pictures are with my Pentax (not digital), and they are beautiful, and I thought that my sister would love to see them and maybe even take a copy.

"The quieter you become, the more you can hear."