7 Quick Takes – Vol. 19

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

7QuickTakes

— 1 —

Happy Sunday from me and my little sista! We’re enjoying a chill sort of Sunday 🙂

Hi.
Hi.

— 2 —

This week my family and I went strawberry picking. There’s one place we usually go to, but they were all picked-out already. We tried a new place with all organic pesticide free strawberries that ended up being a little naturally moldy as well. They were much smaller than the ones we’ve picked in the past, so it was a little tougher. But I made 10 jars of jam yesterday with one of my sisters, so yum!

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Yumminess boiling away 🙂

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This week I’ve completed up to day 15 of the 30 day Jillian thing. It’s hard to make myself do it simply because I really hate having to change into workout clothes, get sweaty like nobody’s business, and then want to change and shower right after (because who wants those Gila Radner sweat balls hanging off your nose anyway??). I saw Jen’s playlist to the workout a while ago and then made my own with my younger brother who’s been doing it with me. Here’s what we’ve been sweating to:

Dental Care by Owl City (3:11)

Eye of the Tiger by Journey (4:03)

So What by Pink (3:34)

I’ll Make a Man Out of You from Mulan (3:22)

Raise Your Glass by Pink (3:25)

That Don’t Impress Me Much by Shania Twain (4:26)

Animal by Neon Trees (3:32)

Litany by Matt Maher (2:15)

You can play this list on grooveshark here. Jen has it down to a science, so you can make your own playlist if you want. Just have a warm-up song around 3:12 and a warm-down song around 2:10 with about 22:15 in between.

— 4 —

This week was somewhat depressing with all the DOMA, Prop 8, and SB5 things going around. But I take solace in the fact that no matter what happens, the Church is constant. We’ve been around for thousands of years and have gone through much worse. If it comes to martyrs in the next decades (which I don’t rule out as a possibility) then fine. They’re just helping us get to heaven. But we’ll continue to fight the good fight because hello! We’re Catholics, and it’s kind of our thing to stand up for truth and against injustice, ya’ll.

— 5 —

Do you think you could stand for like 11+ hours (can’t remember how long it was) talking about your support for abortion? I mean, I hope you don’t support it (talk to me if you do), but still….who can stand for that long without eating or peeing? I mean, I’d do it to support an important pro-life piece of legislature if I had to (are catheters that bad? I don’t have any experience…). And fasting isn’t a foreign concept to me. But I just can’t imagine doing that for something as heinous as abortion. I could talk about joyful stories of women choosing life, and the tragedy of those who are hurt because they did not. But getting up there to have some long emotional rant about how women need the right to kill viable babies is beyond me. Completely.

Hey Wendy Davis, what do YOU think?

— 6 —

On a more joyful note, this week is the 4th of July. I’ll be enjoying the company of family as we celebrate our wonderful country that needs to get it together 🙂 Here’s my favorite patriotic song.

And here’s one I heard for the first time recently. More people need to hear this!

— 7 —

And lastly, go check out an awesome “Life of the Week” article I wrote  this week about Hannah Rose’s inspiring story from abortion to pro-life speaker!

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!

Setting up Bloglovin’

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Follow my blog with Bloglovin!

Something went wrong with my Bloglovin’ account, so I’m having to set this up again….head on over there to stay updated if that’s how you do it – especially if you’ve been reading on Google Reader 🙂

Gay Marriage & DOMA: What’s not to love?

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This morning when I woke up, I was thinking about the outcome of SB5 in Texas (did you know they called for a second special session?) and the huge impact the Supreme Court decision on DOMA and Prop 8 could have. When I got online, there were all sorts of things people were saying about DOMA and Prop 8: some people were calling this a historic moment, and others sounded defeated. But in fact, it is not the day for either.

The court basically dismissed Prop 8 (which CA voters voted for twice) and we’ll see what happens with this. The court is now on the books as ignoring the voices of millions of CA voters (7 million, I heard).

The significant decision on DOMA confused a lot of people, myself included. Was gay “marriage” legalized? What are the repercussions? What happened (as far as I’ve read) is that the Supreme Court decided to basically leave it up to the states. They didn’t re-define marriage across the board, contrary to what many people are saying. States that do not recognize same-sex “marriage” are not going to be forced to recognize even the legally accepted unions of other states. The parts of DOMA that were struck down were “limited to only those marriages already recognized in the states that allow same-sex marriage”.

There is much more to learn about what this means for America, and I’m sure more information will become available in the coming days.

These rulings are not a reason to have a pity party or a hernia. While this is not encouraging news, it’s actually not the end of the world. I’ve been thinking about this all day and trying to put my thoughts into words. This is my attempt.

Gay “marriage” is not an issue that is going to be swept under the rug soon, or something that we’ll stop talking about. So I wanted to share more of my own viewpoint on this issue with you so you can see where I’m coming from.

As a Catholic, I don’t ever want to see gay “marriage” recognized as valid. It’s not because I hate gay people, or because I’m afraid of them. It’s because the Church recognizes the universal call to holiness, and urges all people to live a life ordered to our ultimate goal of heaven. This means that all people, regardless of sexual orientation, are called to comply with the demands of a chaste life.

Living a chaste life doesn’t mean you’re a prude. This is what it means:

As the Church says in the Catechism:

“Homosexual persons are called to chastity. By the virtues of self-mastery that teach them inner freedom, at times by the support of disinterested friendship, by prayer and sacramental grace, they can and should gradually and resolutely approach Christian perfection.” (2347)

“This inclination, which is objectively disordered, constitutes for most of them a trial. They must be accepted with respect, compassion, and sensitivity. Every sign of unjust discrimination in their regard should be avoided. These persons are called to fulfill God’s will in their lives and, if they are Christians, to unite to the sacrifice of the Lord’s Cross the difficulties they may encounter from their condition.” (2358)

“[T]radition has always declared that “homosexual acts are intrinsically disordered.” They are contrary to the natural law. They close the sexual act to the gift of life. They do not proceed from a genuine affective and sexual complementarity. Under no circumstances can they be approved.” (2357)

As a Catholic, I have a duty to support and uphold the teachings of the Church.

As someone who views marriage between men and women as a sacred institution, today is not the end, but it is a moment of clarification for me to sit down and really think about this. The movement to support traditional marriage is growing exponentially, and I am proud to support it.

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And so, my friends, this is why I don’t want gay “marriage” legalized. I do hope that this opens the door for people to discuss these issues honestly and openly. I welcome any discussion you may be interested in.

8 Tips for Parents of the Babysat

~ Laura ~ 7 Comments

tipsforparentsofthebabysat

I’ve been babysitting quite a bit recently, and have been for several years. Because of this, I’ve experienced a wide range of family lifestyles. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes not. Oh my. But I stick with it. The people I babysit for are generally people I already know (though not all the time, sometimes a friend of a family we know). But every once in a while, I think there should be some sort of instruction manual for parents out there so as to avoid awkward situations and babysitter burn out. Here’s my take, from experience, on some things the parents of the babysat should know.

1. Please contact me with enough warning time.

I’ve been called and asked “Can you babysit tonight?”. Sometimes you’re in a pinch, but this really puts a babysitter on the spot. Please try to give me as much notice as possible so I can plan accordingly and not go crazy at the last minute.

I can see you, Calvin.

2. Your kids are not perfect angels, but I’m probably not going to tell you everything they did.

Your toddler ran around the house naked for half an hour because he didn’t want me to dress him, and you might not know about it. I don’t think this is a big deal, but if you want to know details like this, please ask. Kids don’t always listen to me (“Don’t grab that toy”, “Please finish eating _____” etc.) but I don’t know what is important to you to know. Instead of asking “How’d it go?” maybe ask specific questions like “Did So-And-So have a hard time at all?”, “Did they play nicely together?”, or “Did you have any trouble putting them to bed?”. Of course, only ask if it’s something you want to know. Kids are kids and don’t always get along, and I’ll tell you if anything major happened.

3. Please arrive home at the time you told me you would.

Arriving slightly early can be fine. Arriving late is honestly rather rude, unless you contact me and ask if I can stay later. Please take into consideration that I might have some sort of time constraint. Personally, I don’t like driving super late at night. And it’s really hard to stay awake sometimes when you’re gone for hours after the kids are in bed.

4. Please warn me about any pets you have.

I’ve babysat for a couple families who have pets (cats, dogs) and forgot to tell me about them ahead of time. It’s not the end of the world, especially since these were well-behaved pets. But it would have been a bad situation had I been allergic to them.

5. If you have a routine you want me to follow, please write it down.

When I’m new to a house and am told where everything is at once, plus when to put the kids to bed, and everything in between, it’s easy to forget a detail. How do you do dinner? Do you read books before bed? Say specific prayers? Brush the little one’s teeth for her? Just jot down the important details.

6. If you’re going to be out late into the evening, please let me know.

This goes along with #3. It’s hard to stay awake if you’re out significantly late into the night, especially if the kids go to bed early. If this is your plan, let me know so I can bring something to keep myself occupied.

7. It’s really much easier for me to babysit when you’re gone.

Not only is it slightly awkward to babysit when you’re here, but the kids will probably not want to listen to or play with me if they don’t know me well yet. If they’re younger, they probably won’t want to see you go. Spend a little time acquainting me with your house and kids, then skedaddle stealthily. Your kids will be okay if you hired a trustworthy babysitter. Honestly. I’m not a serial killer.

8. Ask me ahead of time about rates and preferred type of payment.

I’ll let you know my rates ahead of time, but I would really prefer if you were the one to ask. Personally, I would prefer to be paid with a check because I deposit it right into my bank account and it doesn’t get mixed in with my wallet. It doesn’t matter too much, but just talk about it ahead of time. And if it’s been a rough day, consider tipping a babysitter who has done a good job 🙂

That’s a wrap! If you have anything to add, let me know in the comment section!

 

7 Quick Takes – Vol. 18

~ Laura ~ Leave a comment

7QuickTakes

— 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!