— 1 —

Did you see the guy walking on the wire over the Grand Canyon today? Insane. If I were part of his family, I would not be happy with his decision to put his life in jeopardy. Why not wear safety stuff?

— 2 —

Did you hear about the #ExposeCPC tweetfest? I’ve been on it off and on all day (and some last night). It’s been interesting. Never, ever, have I heard so many lies at the same time…I’ll definitely be writing a post on it in the next few days.

— 3 —

Today was day 11 of my Jillian adventure, and the first day of the level 2 workout. I love that it’s short, but it’s extremely intense. I’ve never sweat so much in my life! I mean, it literally makes me drip (is that tmi?). It’s good though, and my endurance has really improved. I’ll work on coming up with a playlist for it so I don’t have to listen to her talking about how “YOUR NECK IS NOT INVITED TO THE PARTY” and “I would do anything to get abs like this”. Dude, that’s not why I work out. And plus, I think she can’t really count because in workout 1 when she says you have a “couple” reps left, she means 10. I counted.

— 4 —

I love being busy! This week is almost all full with work, and I’m loving it. Things are picking up at one of the pregnancy centers I’m working at, and it’s interesting experiencing so many different family lifestyles while babysitting.

— 5 —

Baking sounds like a good idea this week! Anyone have a favorite recipe (sweet or not) that I should try out?

— 6 —

I think I’ll tick off a few things from my summer list this week! I really want to do some of the walkie-talkie things, but need to figure out logistics with my siblings first.

— 7 —

Right now I’m in the thick of Rediscovering Catholicism, which is going to take me a while to finish. I’ve got a Catholic book on healthy eating in the mail (which should get here tomorrow!), and I’m looking forward to starting that after seeing recommendations online.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Happy Father’s Day! What more needs to be said? Thanks to all the dads out there (and all types of father figures) for all you do.

— 2 —

Did you know the USCCB is having another Fortnight for Freedom? It starts on the 21st, so check it out here before it starts! Come August 1st, it may be time for good-ol’ civil disobedience.

— 3 —

This week I’m starting to be busy with babysitting jobs on top of my other 3 jobs. It sure is nice to be busy and constructive with my time, on top of helping people out! It’s funny because the 2 (now 3) part-time jobs I have haven’t been as many hours as I was expecting. So now I’ve got lots and lots of requests for other work lined up. Good thing I just bought a new planner (and a cute one at that) to keep everything straight!

— 4 —

Do you have TV shows you watch when you have free time? I don’t follow any shows (used to for Psych, but not since it’s turn more inappropriate, LAME) but like watching some on Netflix every once in a while. My favorites are Nanny 911, sometimes Extreme Couponing, and Undercover Boss. For some reason, Netflix just took Nanny 911 off of instant watch though…..

— 5 —

I failed in the exercise department this week. After feeling so good and exercising consistently last week, I don’t know why I didn’t continue. It’s just easy to stop once you skip a day I guess. I’m starting fresh tomorrow though, and don’t plan on stopping this time!

— 6 —

I know there are a lot of important legal cases going on right now, but I’ve been terrible about doing anything about them. I feel like a bad pro-lifer. For example, I know AB 154 could legalize abortions by non-doctors in CA, and we have the whole HHS thing taking effect on August 1st, and the pain-capable something rather act that would make any abortion past 20 weeks illegal. These are terribly important, and I should be doing more about them. Anyone have an interesting lead I could look at to start researching to write about them?

— 7 —

Since finishing the Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic, I wanted to read a book for fun next – not a religious one. But the funny thing is it’s been SO long since I’ve read a “fun” book that I don’t event know where to begin. So….I started reading Rediscover Catholicism (it’s great so far, by the way, and the intro alone was crazy!). Everything I’ve been reading for the last few years has been for school or something pro-life or Catholic. While I love those books, and learn so much from them, I would like to read some things that I can sit down and just devour like when I was little and would read up in our apricot tree or on the hammock. I just re-found a list recently from a summer where I read nearly 100 books, and have many fond memories of staying up super late to finish a good book. Any suggestions? I tend to go for historical fiction. We just got the hammock back up recently, so I may have to start trying to beat that old record….. 🙂

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Check it out! I took a while to write this post about Mass behavior because I’ve been seeing some not-so-great stuff going on at my local churches. I learned a lot through the research, and want to definitely continue covering different parts of the Mass. It’s fun learning so much while writing about something I care so much about!

— 2 —

SUMMER WEATHER! California weather is the best. Period. It was 95ish yesterday, and cooler today – the best part is when there’s a breeze during the day and it cools off at night 🙂

— 3 —

Our local pool will finally be open on weekdays starting tomorrow! I’m looking forward to taking my little sister there when it gets super hot and I’m taking a break from work.

— 4 —

We’re having pulled pork for dinner tonight! It is seriously better than any restaurant or store-bought version I’ve ever tried. The homemade spice mix with the oh-so-tender pull-apart meat is SO yummy. Here’s the recipe!

— 5 —

Did you see these cool maps? Check out how people’s pronunciation changes around the country.

— 6 —

So…..I started Jillian’s 30 Day Shred last Monday. I did it until Friday, and haven’t done it today (or yesterday). It really wasn’t nearly as hard as I thought it would be most days, except day 2. That was hard because I was so sore already. It’s still not easy, but much better, AND it feels GREAT to be working out more. The annoying part is finding the right time to work out so I can shower.

— 7 —

And now, since I can’t think of much else to write about, enjoy this picture of these precious babies. I need to find someone to babysit for.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Summer is here…finally! For the first time in a LONG time, it was over 90 degrees yesterday. Whoohoo! I’m loving the weather, sweat and all 🙂

— 2 —

Is college really worth it? I read this article recently which basically said that degrees are not always necessary and college is not really worth the debt you get into. Well, here’s a thought: you don’t have to get into the $150,000 debt they estimated. I honestly don’t understand how someone could go into college knowing they would have to take out that much money. That is not an option for me. I am proud of the fact that I opened my local bank account when I was 12, and have been working hard to earn money ever since then. I have been blessed with job opportunities, and am thankful to be able to pay for the majority of my college education with some loans (though MUCH less than what they estimated). It’s taken a lot of work on my part, but HELLO? It’s called responsibility. How do people end college with that much debt? I don’t know. That’s just not even something I would consider doing. This deserves an entire post of its own, so I’ll just stop now 🙂

— 3 —

Just finished my first book of the summer! The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic is officially done, and next on my list is Rediscovering Catholicism (which just came in the mail, yay!). The Four Signs book is FABULOUS, and I highly recommend it to absolutely everyone on earth that is literate. And if you’re not literate, have someone read it to you. Wait, you wouldn’t be reading this if you’re not literate. Darn. Well, literate person, go find an illiterate person to read it to! Seriously, it is so good. I’m so excited to write an On My Bookshelf review of it this week.

— 4 —

My friend Heather started up an awesome Tumblr blog on Modesty recently, which is rather awesome. It’s called Mod Gurl. She posts cute modest clothes, encouraging articles, pictures and quotes, so check it out! Here is the site, here is its Pinterest, and here is its Facebook page. Go modesty!

— 5 —

I’m starting Jillian Michael’s 30 Day Shred with one of my older sisters tomorrow! Here’s a video of the level one workout (you do 3 levels, each for 10 days). It doesn’t look as deathly hard as I thought it might be, but we’ll see what I think after doing it tomorrow.

— 6 —

Enjoy a laugh at the expense of this hilarious bad lip reading video. I don’t know who in the world has time to do these things, but they are hilarious!

— 7 —

It’s good to be back at work and feeling constructive. There have always been things that are tough about working at pregnancy centers, and those things are still there. But the projects I’m working on will greatly help the places. The work is incredibly important, so it’s good to be a part of it as best I can. I’m also working on counseling training as part of this, so I’ll be able to start sidewalk counseling soon. Whoop! I am SO pumped as I keep planning next school years pro-life activities!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

— 1 —

Happy Memorial Day, and thank you all who have served our country.

— 2 —

These summer days keep getting away from me…..I almost forgot to write this again 🙂 Now that I’ve had some down time, I’ll be starting work this week. I’m excited to begin work and very ready to start being more constructive with my time!

— 3 —

I’m reading the 4 Signs of a Dynamic Catholic right now, and am loving it! A lot of research was done for the book, and it’s really fascinating to read about the traits and habits of dynamic Catholics. I’ve got a lot to work on! If you’re looking for something to read, I would highly recommend it. It’s easy to pick up and put down, and not drowning with theological language. BTW you can order a free (not including S+H) copy of it here. Next on my list is Rediscovering Catholicism. I’ve heard so many good things about it and am looking forward to its arrival in the mail soon.

— 4 —

Speaking of mail, snail mail never gets old. It’s still somewhat of a competition who will get the mail around here. Of course, it’s mostly junk mail now . . . But on the rare day someone gets something from an actual person, it’s quite lovely. I’ve been going through old mail lately and can’t throw any of it away. Knowing that someone hand-wrote what I’m holding is so cool. Someday they’ll probably end up in the trash, but for now I love re-reading people’s thoughts and seeing their handwriting too!

— 5 —

The Dollar Tree Store rocks. Seriously. Today a couple of my sisters and I found cloth box/basket cubby hole type containers that we were planning to buy elsewhere and they are awesome. Pinterest wedding? I think not. I’ll go with the Dollar Store.

— 6 —

Have you seen this dramatic hamster video? Apparently it was rather popular . . . My siblings and I are thinking of doing a reenactment.

— 7 —

This week I figured out what Bloglovin’ is! If you don’t know what it is, it’s a site where you “follow” blogs you want to read. Then you can choose to be notified when they post something new (or not and just check it when you want). I’m finding it to be MUCH more convenient than subscribing via email to the blogs I like to follow. To follow My Drop in the Ocean on Bloglovin’ just click the widget on the right-hand bar. Happy reading!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!