Joining Bloglovin'

Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

I'm trying desperately hard to get back into my #CathSorority community!

Oasis week - 7QT, Volume 48

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*
How'd I do? Two weeks of a blog desert and then I hit you with five posts in one week!

*2*

Did you know that contraception is a 3000-year-old practice? Yeah, Ancient Egyptians would put animal dung inside a woman's body and use other methods to maker her womb uninhabitable. Centuries later, physicians concocted potions and spermicides that often sterilized or killed the woman. Talk about preventing pregnancy...

If you've ever wanted a bite-sized explanation of NFP spoken by the impressive Jason Evert, here you go.

Many people have staunchly challenged me by saying NFP is the same thing as contraception. I can never come up with a sufficient explanation to rebut this inaccuracy. Jason does a great job of explaining Dr. Janet Smith's analogy of bulimia and dieting as they reflect the difference between contraception and NFP. Check it out!

*3*

Haunted houses confuse me. You willfully enter a house with the promise that someone in there is PAID to scare the poo out of you. And then their co-worker does it again.

See some rockin-horrible faces from a haunted house scare!

*4*

I posted my first YouTube video this week!

And at the end of it I invite you (especially young women) to email the Bright Maidens with your own video, introducing yourself, and we'll post it to the channel. Then we can get this #Cathsorority project started, gathering young, female voices of triumph for Christ and His Church!

*5*

Guys, I didn't forget about you. Far from it, I actually called you out a little. I mean it well and I say it because Jesus trusted you with this message first:

"It is my wish, then, that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument." - 1 Timothy 2:8

*6*

You may have remembered that I traveled to the Seattle area a few weeks ago. Here is your first peek into what I did there! The lovely Allie Terrell has graciously hosted me on her blog where I wrote about a cathedral my beau and I visited in Victoria Canada.

Delight over the unique mesh of Native Canadian art and traditional Victorian decorations!

*7*

Next week the Bright Maidens will tackle the admittedly tough subject of scapulars. This is a very Catholic-specific topic and my research is leading me in some interesting directions. Whether you like them, hate the, don't understand them or make them in your spare time, I hope you join us on Tuesday!

Remember to visit this post if you would like to subscribe to our Google Calendar alerts and know about topics in advance!

Oh no, she's vlogging

That's right, folks. I did it.

I put my dorkiness on camera.




If you want to post your video on the channel, email the Bright Maidens here.

Catching water - 7QT, Volume 47

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

I did it! The GRE is over, so far, the profuse additions to my vocabulary are still in there. The better to make more cogent arguments, m'dear.

Not only did I feel good about the GRE, but I also surpassed my goal, so thank you for being patient with me! It was not in vain!

*2*

Last week, the Bright Maidens joined YouTube! Subscribe to us because a myriad of lovely ladies (gentlemen are also welcome) who will post short videos there!

If you're interested in posting a video, but you don't want to set up your own YouTube channel, email us! This isn't a "Bright Maidens" thing, it's a #Cathsorority (and #Cathdudes) thing. We like the idea of a video hub full of young voices upholding the Magisterium on YouTube!

Also, don't forget to subscribe to our Google Calendar to be in the know for future topics and dates.

*3*

Sometimes life feels a little like this:

Hat tip to my wonderful beau for the image that made me smile in the middle of the week. I guess all we can hope for is the patience of this little kid who never gets upset that the water disappears right when he reaches for it.

*4*

Of course I'm upset by this post, which explains how a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission-made training course targets Catholics with negative stereotype. I also acknowledge that Catholics are not the only ones targeted with negative stereotypes in these kinds of forums.

Consider the volatile hatred that Muslims face in this country. Hate is never right.

But we don't want to let things like this Catholic-stereotype foster or grow. We need to be the lights that show how ridiculously untrue a stereotype like this is. If you read the post, you might agree that the stereotype is far off base. I've never heard a Catholic say anything like that to someone.

Stand up to this.

*5*

There are a lot of words in these quick takes....

Facebook ad for a free nun test!

Another fun ad I ran across

Yeah... I'd pay $178.55 for that... who doesn't want to look like they have a glow in the dark butterfly on their chest? Plus, wouldn't that chain tickle your stomach as it hangs?

*6*

My VirtuousPla.net contribution this week: "Engage, the other E-word."

*7*

This week we covered a topic that I think most women are reticent to say is something with which they struggle. It's a topic that doesn't get much breathing room outside of gaggles of women or out of our own minds.

Thank you to those who posted with us this week! You're brave to put your experiences out in the open so that others may learn. If you're reading this and you have young sisters or daughters, please share these with them.

I wish I knew then what I know now. Heck, I wish I know NOW what I think I know now.

Trista, "Daydream Believers and Emotional Disasters"
Julie, "Cootie shots and conundrums"
Mine, "Easy Bake Love Story"

Mary, "Is he wearing a ring?"
Sarah, "What would Miss Austen do?"
Rebecca, "The 'thing,' the 'friend zone,' and becoming who we ought to be"

Bright Maidens Calendar

Hello folks! I'm alive... for now. I'm just popping in to share with you an exciting development...

The Bright Maidens have created a Google Calendar! We're posting our topics ahead of time, so those who like to plan ahead (my peeps) can be in the know. To receive these calendar updates and to view the calendar in your own calendar, email us here!

Update: Chloe tells me that she clicked on the "+Google Calendar" button at the bottom of this and it added itself to her calendar. Don't you love technology?:

 

Facebook Days of Yore - 7QT, Volume 46

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

I'm here to complain about all of the complaining for a second...

This is how I feel about the changes:

Thanks for letting me get that off of my chest. In exchange, I'll offer a few new Facebook tips I've figured out in the last few days:

*2*

It's possible I'm the only one who utilized the old lists format on Facebook. If I'm not and you're worried what happened to those hours you slaved away categorizing your friends (first world problem of mine, I know), Facebook kept your lists here. 

They hide your old ones until you click on them from this page, then they will be readily available on your left sidebar.

*3*

The only "complaint" I can file to Facebook for the new change is bittersweet for me... it makes it a lot harder for organizations, companies, and other non-people to show up on my newsfeed. 

It takes me back to the days of yore (2005, when I first joined) when I only saw my friends, acquaintances, and people-I-barely-know-and-friended-after-one-meeting on my newsfeed. However, I work with social media as my profession... I want you people to be gobbling up what I'm feeding you on Facebook!

I can only imagine what kinds of complaints we'll hear from the big fish in the form of lawsuits (I sure hope they see the irony in suing a company that provides access to millions of consumers for free), but for now it is making my day job more difficult.

In case you don't see our Bright Maidens or VirtuousPla.net posts very often after the new format, don't forget about us!

*4*

"Am I doing this right?"

Speaking of VirtuousPla.net...

My post this week is a intro piece about dating and chaperones.

It's an "intro piece" because I don't think I did an effective job of covering my original intent. So you get to enjoy more of my musings later on.

*5*

Ladies and gentlemen, please direct your attention to two marvelous women and their marvelous announcements. Ahem, Emily and Kendra. Thank you for your attention.

*6*

Happy, happy birthday sister o'mine!! I love you!

*7*

The Bright Maidens (and manly man, Tony) concentrated on the distinction between "sexy" and "desirable." As always, we had some great responses and a breadth of perspectives!

Trista, "Sensible, Courageous, and Very Beautiful" - Trista is not Megan Fox because she is worth seeking and far more than the shell of sexiness that Megan Fox represents.

Julie, "I have confidence in confidence alone!" - Sexiness and desirability overlap, but to make "being sexy" one's purpose, and with a disregard for love or the other human beings who are present, is a distortion of a person's inherent goodness..

Elizabeth, "Revealing" - Make sure you don't overcorrect and start punishing yourself for being an attractive woman of feminine genius.

Liesl, "Bringing Sexy Back" The sexual revolution stole the definition of the word sexy and is holding it ransom. We need to get it back for the chaste health of our people!

Tony, "Should we be 'desirable' ... or "sexy?'" - Tony, in his unabashed bravery, tackles the concept that the traits which make a woman a desirable wife, or a man a desirable husband, don’t always make him/her a desirable sexual partner (and vice-versa).

Clare, "Cherished" -  Clare took on the perspective of how women perceive men's desirability and sexiness. Very pertinent!

IdiOH-What? - 7QT, Volume 44

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

I'm going to dedicate the next few quick takes to the funniest, most random idioms I've ever heard:

*2*

"It's as slick as a mole's belly."

My co-worker said this during an icy winter. Do you have an image in your head?

*3*

"I'm so mad I could spit!"

My mom says this pretty frequently.

*4*

An Italian one, for flavor: 

"Capita a Fagiolo" = "It is understood by the bean"

My sister tells me this originates from when beans were a staple food, so this translates roughly into "Duh!"

*5*

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO MY MOM TODAY! 

Yesterday was Mother Mary's birthday and today is the birthday of the mother who changed my diapers, taught me how to sew, and continues to teach me to Love. What a great week!

*6*

Here is a fun piece of code (fun code?). YES fun code! If you ever want to embed only PART of a video add "#t=XXmXXs" to the end of the YouTube link's random list of numbers and letters. The Xs, are obviously numbers for the time at which you want the video to begin. You may have to delete some, beginning with "&" from the end of the link -- for example, "&feature=related."

I may have just confused everyone because I think I just got lost myself. Take a looksee at this example:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSXFEvAUUio#t=00m14s -- for giggles, go watch that.

After you have the altered link, embed it as you normally would.

Sometimes I just want readers to see a video several seconds in and this is a great help!

*7*

We missed y'all this week! I was late to post (what's new?), but I finished my post about "Feminine Genius: The Interior" during my lunch break. The diligent and wonderful Trista and Julie finished theirs the night before...

But unfortunately we didn't get to see anymore explanations of the elusive Feminine Genius. If you have time to write one this week, post it to our wall!! We want to hear from you!!

Yo, yo, yo homeskilletz - 7QT, Volume 43

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

Back on the safe east coast... oh wait. We had an earthquake in Virginia when I was on the west coast. Irene spared Florida and then pummeled the northeast. Yikes! Hopefully my plane flew back fast enough to turn the world back to the way it was before my Seattle trip.

*2*

I am not asking you for money.

I'm asking you to consider giving money to this nice young man, Steven, and his FOCUS mission. I randomly picked Steven from the FOCUS list of missionaries and I've been happy to receive his newsletters explaining how his work has effected young people at college!

How can you say no?

Now, like many of us, he's looking to use Fr. Robert Barron's Word on Fire "CATHOLICISM Study Program Leader's Kit" to evangelize, enlighten, and energize the students at Florida Gulf Coast University. Also like many of us, it's too expensive for his missionary budget.

If you're willing to spare $5 to send this great resource to Steven, please do! His FOCUS page is here (look for the lime green button on the right side of the page) and the Florida Gulf Coast University FOCUS page is here.

*3*

Don't YOU want a copy for yourself?





I bet Steven and his FOCUS team would be happy to let you travel down to Fort Meyers, FL and participate. Just let him know in advance, so he can save you a seat.

*4*

To explain my less-than-Elizabeth title...

Yo, yo, yo homeskilletz. The LIZ-I-E is in the hizzouse... So I'm not hip or with it, but I do know about Twitter. Learn more here.

*5*

I met two lovely ladies on Twitter yesterday! Leah Jacobson with the Guiding Star Project and Kristin Detloff at Living the Sacrament (also on Twitter here).

Yay for the Feminine Genius and the New Feminism!!

*6*

From Brandon Vogt's Facebook feed:

"Commentary on today's Gospel from Archbishop Fulton Sheen:

'Do you think that the reason St. Peter denied Our Blessed Lord is because He healed St. Peter's Mother-in-Law?'"

Make sure you check out his new book, The Church and the New Media.

More info

*7*

Thank you for your patience, Bright Maidens (and Gentlemen)!

We switched the "Feminine Genius: The Interior" from last Tuesday, to this Tuesday, September 6, 2011. We'll see you on our Facebook page with your own interpretation, right?

How to Cath-Tweet

First of all, please excuse me as I recite the Blogger's Lament:

I'm sorry I've been out of touch lately. I have been traveling and "suffering" from Quarterfinishitis. I have about 25 posts that have ideas and outlines, some with intros and body paragraphs, but none of which are finished. I'll settle back in soon enough.

For your learning pleasure, I'm at VirtuousPla.net today, offering a professional's beginner tips and tricks for tweeting with a Catholic edge. I doctored two photos for this and I hope you enjoy them:

Friends, we have come to a crossroad. To tweet or not to tweet?


For those of you grumbling and threatening to move your cursor over to Stumbleupon or Catholic Answers, hang on a second. I have been on Twitter for two and a half years now and I’m convinced it is a valuable idea sharing tool.

Yes, it is also valuable for telling the world about the fly you found in your water glass and your bite-sized review of the Winnie the Pooh movie. Believe it or not, it can go deeper. The Pope is on Twitter (and he uses an iPad to tweet). Twitter had a hand in getting the three original Bright Maidens together. It scrolls article after Catholic article in front of my face, daily.


In short, it is a giant Facebook newsfeed with each status limited to 140 characters.


If you’re on Twitter already and want some tips, I hope you can find some new ones below. If you’re considering joining the conversation on Twitter, read on, my friends, read on!


1. Love your neighbor. Even if they’re antagonizing you and picking a fight. Many anti-Catholics and/or anti-theists use certain hashtags to “bring to the light” their criticisms of that which involves the Church. Don’t bite. If they reach out to you directly, gauge your patience and either respond up to two times or none at all.

Read more...

Announcing: VirtuousPla.net, website for young adults

Readers o'mine, do I have a treat for you!?

The answer is both yes and CLICK HERE!

Welcome to a new world where a group of young adults who uphold a dedication to the Magisterium gather to write on one website about a myriad of topics relevant to young adults!

We launch today, on the Feast of the Assumption, with the prayer that Mary, Our Mother will help us direct people to her Son.

Please, if you like what we share today (and you look forward to seeing more) bookmark Virtuous Planet, tweet about us, post a link on Facebook, tell your friends, email your grandmother, spray paint the URL on your roof....

Let's pour some more Christianity into the Internet streams, what do ya say? UPDATE: Now we're at IGNITUM TODAY

I'm more than Pinterested - 7QT, Volume 38

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com


*1*

I pulled a muscle patting myself on the back an hour ago.

Not really, but I am happy that I posted three "substance" posts and one mini-announcement about Fire of Thy Love's Say Yes to Life blog carnival this week!

*2*

Speaking of the blog carnival, here are the contributions:

• Fire of Thy Love: My Post, The Truth About Sex 
• Fire of Thy Love: My Wife’s Post, Her Take on NFP  
• Day in the Life:YES to Life and No to Birth Control
• Isidore’s Digital Doorway: Say Yes! To Life 
• Team Orthodoxy 
• Startling the Day: Freedom 
• The Fringe Economist: Dissecting the Lies of the Pro-Choice Movement 
• Accepting Abundance: Six Years Later 
• The Corner with a View: Evil Don’t Look Like Anything 
• The Nerdy Wife: Children are Always Blessings 
• Rowles Family Four: Summer Loving 
• The Emmaus Road: Why the Pill is a Problem

*3*

Leah responded to my reaction to the Turing Test. She concluded that the test was ethical because it allowed for those being tested to know the potential consequences of their participation.

I respectfully point out that her test-making ethics were not in question. It's the intent of the test, where the rubber meets the road, that concerned me and Stacy (and Bryan). We didn't want to fill in a digital bubble to guess what someone's belief systems probably were when so many factors go into our faith.

*4*

My beau and I can't wait for World's Toughest Fixes to come back with new episodes... however, I fear this TV show has gone the way of many excellent shows that came before it. It's like Freaks and Geeks all over again. 

This guy cracks me up.

*5*

I think I decided I'm going to submit for this sketchbook project. I need to get back in the habit of indulging my visual creativity and this is a great kick-start. On top of that, I can attempt to use it as a forum for Christian witnessing! 

We all "know" what "most" artists feel about religion? Their stereotypical reputation precedes them... I will submit a sketchbook full of non-tacky, Christian messages.

That is, if I can get around to filling one. I'm almost done with my original.








*6*

Kendra, Emily and I discovered this week that our love for Pinterest may have reached obsession. Their servers were down for a full hour (I know, right?) and, as Kendra pointed out, we had to hold open tabs with those items we wanted to "pin" until it was back up and running.

Sound intriguing to you, run, don't walk, and get your own Pinterest account.

If this makes you think #FirstWorldProblems, then I will direct you to this link.

Preview: The Domino's Pizza tracker is not working. Now I don't know when to put my pants on.

*7*

Did you have time to hop over to see the Bright Maidens topic this week? Fr. Corapi and the importance of Christian witnessing.


Trista's, "Believe Me If You Like"
Julie's, "There’s A Wideness in God’s Mercy, And No Measuring Tape Can Reach"
Mine, "What do John Mayer and the Catholic Church have in common?"


Paige at S'aint Easy
Tony at Outside the Asylum

Needle and the damage done

Tattoos

"Ain't Tat Something" by Julie at The Corner with a View
Trista at Not a Minx, a Moron, or a Parasite

"Needle and the damage done" by Elizabeth at Startling the Day

The "Bright Maidens" were originally three from the oft-mentioned, widely-speculated upon demographic of young, twenty-something Catholic women. Now, we all take up the cross to dispel the myths and misconceptions. Welcome!

How appropriate that we review a topic like tattoos after one of the most shirtless days of the year!

In April, I made a little comment about the calf tattoos (calftoos or calftats, if you will) I saw when running in my first anything-K race. I took a dip in my gym's pool yesterday, taking a look around at the surplus of Americans celebrating America's day.

Then I started calculating how much all of that ink was worth.

A friend once showed me his three inch ankle tattoo and told me it cost him almost $200. It costs at least $60 for the tattoo artist to touch the needle to your skin. You better know what you want because not only are you paying a hefty amount upfront, but you're generally stuck with it. No pun intended, but pun emphasized.

Let's get out of my penny-pincher mind; what are the teachings and why?

Many Protestant theologians teach that the Bible forbids it, often citing this: "You shall not make any cuttings in your flesh on account of the dead or tattoo any marks upon you: I am the Lord" (Lev. 19:28).

If these preachers stick to this (look, another pun), then I assume they also don't wear blended fabrics. Leviticus is certainly an important part of the Bible, but we need to be careful not to pick and parcel out what we want to believe from what we don't want to believe. That's how the Protestant churches lost sight of the true teaching of the Eucharist.

So what does the Catholic Church teach? The consensus among Catholic biblical scholars is that this teaching on tattoos is not part of the unchanging moral law.Cite 

Like many parts of the Catholic Church's teachings, they leave it up to the church members (you and me) to discern. The Church teaches that it is not in opposition of the Bible to tattoo oneself, but they offer sound principles explaining why, in some situations, it is sinful to be tattooed.

Sinful? Now, no one wants to hear that! Do you know how much I paid for this?! It's a picture of my dog playing a keytar, get a grip, Church!

A lot of pain for no gain. Gross.

Calm down for a second. For example, if one gets the tattoo with a bad intention, like in spite of one's parents, that person is sinning against them. If the intention of the tattoo is not one of love ("I want to piss off as many people as possible, because I can"), the evil intention makes it a sin, according to the Church.

To get a clearer understanding of these principles, read here. 

Back to the pool

After hanging out at my gym's pool, my family held a little Independence Day shindig (Happy birthday, Gramma!). One of our guests was a man who went to the Naval Academy. You would think a midshipman who is officially a member of the Navy would have dozens of tattoos by now, easily hidden, of course.

He surprised me by vehemently exclaiming that he can't think of one item he would want to have on his body for his entire life. How succinctly put!

Tattoos have a special, quiet place in my opinions. I have so many that they nestle quite nicely among the spiky, bickering items like abortion, justice and crunchy vs. creamy peanut butter (crunchy, obviously).

I have wanted a tattoo (or several) for the last fifteen years. Throughout those fifteen years, if I shared that tidbit with friends they scoffed in surprise; never could they imagine their quiet, somewhat-goodie-two-shoes friend inking herself. Part of me still wants to shovel out the ridiculous amounts of money to get one.

Much like I know not to date bad boys or have multiple drinks at a cocktail party, I know I won't get a tattoo. 

First of all, the double standard on tattoos makes them very undesirable on female skin. Yes, that's still true. No, it hasn't changed.

Second of all, after youthful days pass me by, I'm more likely to find a jalapeno pepper in the exact same place I had once paid someone to ink a strawberry.

Thirdly and most importantly, I ask myself, why do I want to get a tattoo? I can't think of a single answer at which I wouldn't roll my eyes. 

So often, tattoos are a fad that fades with youth. They skipped my parents' generation, perhaps proving their trendiness.

When I ask myself, why don't I want to get a tattoo?, I have a thousand answers. The big one: I don't want my future kids to see a tattoo on their mom.

Because of my remaining desire to get my own tattoo, I don't judge people who have their own (except to think, how in the heck did you pay for that?).  We make our own decisions in life.

Like any decision that affects us for the rest of our lives, we shouldn't take the decision to go under the needle lightly. 

7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 35

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

in't this the truth?

Me: "The Vatican needs a new webmaster."
Julie: "Yeah, it's probably a cardinal being punished."



It turns out that they might have a new webmaster, as the site looks slightly different... Here is Brandon's (The Thin Veil) reflection on the NEW Vatican news website. Follow Brandon on Twitter, too!

*2*

ow cool is our Pope? Pope Benedict XVI tweeted about that NEW news site for the first time this week from the Vatican News Twitter handle, @News_va_en.

And what from what did he Tweet? An iPad.

 I guess that settles any debate about Mac vs. PC, right?

*3*

ne of the treasures of college that I miss the most is history and art history classes.

 Enjoy this video as it scans through 500 years of female portraits.

Ahhh culture, I love it.

*4*

f you have yet to learn about the University of Seattle's permitting Planned Parenthood on campus for student internships, please read here. To sign the petition, click here.

When it comes down to it, this is a CATHOLIC university. 

There are probably professors and students at the university who support abortion on principle or in general. There are people on campus (or who know about the issue from anywhere in the nation) who support abortion... this doesn't matter. 

Disclaimer: I don't think many people hold this opinion anymore.

This is not a political issue because this is a Catholic university. It receives funding from the Catholic Church, a body that opposes abortion and supports LIFE in every doctrine of its Magisterium.

Some Planned Parenthood offices cannot perform abortions. However, the organization funds all of its offices; all of that money is bloody. This university should become a public institution before it allows this publicly funded firm to offer opportunities on its campus.

I wrote my "Judgement for bloggers" post three days before I published it this week. I think it's well-timed because this is a topic that ruffles a lot of feathers. We who oppose abortion should always choose to love the women who have abortions and love those who hold a pro-abortion opinion. 

I love them, but I hate the sin. I hate how many people in my generation are not around today because of organizations like Planned Parenthood. I'm not going to keep my mouth shut on this one.

*5*

hat was heavy. Please enjoy this mental break:

*6*

y goals for July:

*Carve out the time to read and comment on more of YOUR blogs.

*Attempt to use a coupon or discount on every single thing I buy this month (attempt) and add up the savings, just to pat myself on the back.

*7*

eminder! The Bright Maidens are tackling the topic of "tattoos" on Tuesday!


If you haven't participated in a Bright Maidens post before, please join us! Write a little blurb that approaches the topic, grab our image here, and post the link to your POST on our Facebook wall on Tuesday!

Tattoo Tuesday... it has a nice ring to it!


The last topic was "Catholic Modesty" and it turned out really well! Lots of dicussion. Check out the full list of posts here.


Sure enough, Simcha offered her hilarity for the modesty debate (coincidence).

Sneak preview:

"It’s true that women have a responsibility to dress decently so as not to deliberately provoke lust in men. But they do not have a responsibility to make it impossible for men to lust after them."

7 Quick Takes Friday, Volume 33

Click here to read the original post at ConversionDiary.com

*1*

Coolest stumbleupon gift of the week: a color palette generator. Upload or paste the URL of a photo on which you want to base your room and it spits out a color palette. DUDE.

*2*

I feel the pressure. I feel it and I'm trying to decide whether or not to give into it.

I am, of course, referring to the Wordpress pressure. The general consensus is that Wordpress is a more attractive and versatile host blog format and I agree that it looks more professional.

But what a pain in the buttocks. I'm trying to teach myself how to build something I can live with. I'm not going to switch over until/unless I like it. If I can't figure it out, I'm going to be a petulant child, take my ball, and go home.

Booooo. (If you clicked the link and you want to give me a lashing for the boredom I put you through, please comment below).

*3*

I don't own the rights.

In the last several months, this picture from Sound of Music has brought a hefty amount of traffic to my blog. How, you ask? The magic word:

Pininterest. And now I'm hooked.

It's an image-grabbing, link-bookmarking, theme-organizing tool you can access by logging in. I have no idea how they make money. I click "Pin It" on my bookmark bar at least once a day and save those pictures I would otherwise forget about.

My mind is easily stimulated by images. Most of my ideas come to me in the form of images, which I translate into words. This is going to revolutionize my idea basket.

*4*

We hear about priestly discernment, we hear about nun-ly discernment, until we said goodbye to Homeboy McCoy, we read about monk-ly discernment...

What about the Diaconate? Ask Joel of The Practicing Catholic.

*5*

I'm not sure if I've been honest with y'all. There's something I need to disclose, otherwise we cannot be pseudo-bloggy friends:

I'm a Grobanite.

Click here... the video I had posted stopped working.

My birthday present, which I just got to enjoy on Tuesday, was a private box at my THIRD Josh Groban Concert. I've found him swoon-worthy since high school and the feelings haven't faded. What's not to love?

He's adorable, hilarious, goofy, geeky, and he has a killer voice. It was a wonderful night with my family, great family friends and my (trooper) wonderful beau. He said he enjoyed it (and I really believe you...), but I know Josh Groban is not everyone's cup of tea.

Thank you all!

*6*

This is a message I want to make sure everyone reads.

Please share it.

*7*

Didya hear? We have a topic for this Tuesday, June 21!! The topic is for EVERYONE because it affects EVERYONE in different ways.

"Catholic Modesty."

I can't wait to read yours!