Quick Takes (8)

1.

I'm back living on the lake. This is the third of four weekends that I will be house hopping. Next weekend will be my last as the home owners will be back in China and I will be back to house sitting for the foreseeable future.

2.

My husband was shown a promising opportunity at work that might involve some big changes. It is a long shot because he is still relatively new to the company but it would be quite exciting. I will give more details if we do get offered (and accept) the position.

3.

Work is still going well. I'm enjoying working with the students but there are some big frustrations that go along with the job. For example, I find it very hard to not get upset when my students are sent to school without their communication device or with a dead battery. I know I wouldn't like it if someone prevented me from talking all day!

4.

I have once again fallen into lazy summer habits - eating junk food and not working out as much. As I type, I am in my workout clothes trying to summon the motivation to workout. My general rule is that if I make it into workout clothes I must workout. I'm hoping my mother-in-law has on demand because I love exercise tv and I don't feel like running.

5.

I'm out of my house and that means no camera. Sorry for those of you waiting to see a pic of my haircut (which would have been a good before and after comparing it to the picture in the paper). Maybe next week.... at least I sent a picture to my sister using the camera on my phone - not the greatest quality though. Hopefully a good picture will come soon.

6.

This weekend is ladies' weekend on my MIL side of the family (and the guys go away for their own fun). It's really interesting because all the cousins are guys so the guy's weekend is huge. The girl's weekend includes four sisters, one daughter (age 9) and me. It's always a little interesting but fun. Who needs to hang out with people their own age anyway?

7.

I'm a little surprised I made it to 7. Have a great weekend everyone!

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NFP awareness week cont'd

Wow has this summer flown by fast! Work is keeping me busy and I will once again be temporarily leaving my house so I have more packing to do. I was sent this video and I'm torn...

I have an issue with the tone. I feel like if I didn't already believe this I would just get mad at the guy. I was sent the video as an idea of something to use for my NFP classes but I'm thinking no. What do you think?

NFP awareness week

It is NFP awareness week but I honestly don't know who organizes it. Is it the US Catholic Bishops? After all, NFP does seem to be a Catholic term for fertility awareness as a means of planning your family size.

If it is organized by the Church, I wonder why it is not talked about. Honestly, I need to criticize myself first for not really looking into it - I mean I work on awareness all the time right? I just find it a little sad that the church I went to yesterday while I was up north had no information and no announcement. How can we raise awareness like that, and who are we trying to educate? Maybe I should try to find the answers to that, or maybe I should work on building awareness that I have another class starting in September that I haven't let anyone know about - oops! Yep, I guess first on my list is building awareness for my class.

What have you seen that relates to this week?

Quick Takes (7)

1.

I can't believe this is my seventh week doing this...

2.

My week at the in-laws was great. I gave up the house I was house-sitting to the owners so they could stay there. In the bargain, I got dinners cooked for me, evenings on the lake, and a real master suite (attached bathroom)! I really can't complain or pretend it was much of a sacrifice :-D

3.

Over the weekend, besides getting photographed, I went to a wedding shower. It was fun to see family and nice to go on a road trip and not participate in driving. It was a little sad to stay with family and have everyone attend Mass the next morning except the happy couple. They were awake with plenty of time to spare but decided to write thank you notes instead - we already got them in the mail! I'm not trying to judge, it was just sad because I felt like something was missing at church and I really enjoyed the homily and think it would have promoted some good discussions.

4.

School is going well. I'm enjoying being para and not feeling the responsibility of always keeping track of how all the kids are doing. With autism we have a lot of individual time because everyone is so different and it is hard to know 7 different plans at once.

5.

Thursday we stayed at our house again! Only for one day though since we are heading up north today. We will get 4 more nights at home (while owners are in St Louis) and then it's back to the in-laws for a week. Although I love it and can't complain, I will say this is making a busy summer seem even busier - I'm a homebody that really thrives on being at home. A week away feels busy even if I don't do much. Now that I've had my mini-rant, I'll remind myself that all the benefits more than make up for it!

6.

I finally got a new swimsuit. Some of you have really made me think about modesty and what that means at the beach. I found a long skirt bottom (seriously, it's longer than what many girls walk around in) and a fun teal printed tank for on top that is also quite long so there will be no little piece of stomach showing. I think I look really cute an my husband agrees :-) He doesn't think it makes me look old fashioned at all - I think the bright color and design helps with that. Now I have two skirt bottoms so I can mix and match with some other tops.

7.

I cut off about 10 inches of my hair this week. I found out that Pantene partners with American Cancer Society to give wigs to women and they only ask for 8 inches. That made the decision that I would be able to stick it out and donate - I knew I wasn't going to make it to 12 inches!

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My 15 minutes are over

Well Monday was a lot of fun. I was in the paper and got to brag about how I made it to the front page. I felt almost famous and glad the paper came out. Then I saw there were over 300 comments on the article. Most were negative, and many were ignorant rants - no problem. I knew we would get that response because we are reaching the secular spheres! How amazing is that?

So what is my reaction now once the spotlight is gone? It's hard to put into words. I'm excited people heard about the effectiveness and the fact that 25 yr olds actually use it, but it is hard to convince someone of anything through one article as evidenced by comments. People read it because they wanted to see for themselves how outdated the system is

. One person even argued that we are stuck in the 50s and 60s even though the article made a clear distinction between rhythm and scientific modern methods. So how do you convince people?

I've talked a lot to my co-workers (none Catholic) in the past weeks since it was what was happening in my life - hey I got interviewed! I got photographed! It's on the front page. Lots of discussion have started about how I like the method, it's not that much abstinence, it's healthy and safe and less annoying than barriers. The response "I support you and your getting the word out, but I don't believe the same thing."

I have been solidly reminded that we live in an age of moral relativism. I'm glad you believe that and practice what you preach - that's what is right for you. That's not what is right for me. Maybe I'm making a leap to put those words in their mouths. Or maybe I'm not, because if they are supporting me that means they think I'm doing something right, but they don't want to practice it themselves? Either they are lazy or don't think that is the "right" thing for them - meaning there are different rules for different people.

So to conclude - I would rather have nasty comments than acceptance in word but not in action. There is nothing harder for me to take than someone that agrees this is important but doesn't evaluate how it could be important in his or her life. Think Athiest turned Catholic or Paul after he converted - those stories are amazing. Then think of lukewarm responses that don't get applied to life. Matthew 6:37: Simply let your 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No'; anything beyond this comes from the evil one.

300 comments didn't bother me, but just a couple co-workers did even though they were trying to be nice. I think this topic is pretty much closed for now, but anyone have ideas how to get the lukewarm out of their discussions and put some meaning back into them?

NFP article

The article actually made it to the press! I feel like have my 15 minutes of fame, but not everyone is very nice. Of course the article, written in a secular press, will get a lot of flack. If you're interested - here is the link.

http://www.freep.com/comments/article/20100719/NEWS05/7190355/Forget-contraceptives-go-natural-church-teaches

Quick Takes (6)

1.

I'm a day late because I was moving out of my house yesterday...

2.

I moved out because I am house-sitting and the family is home for a couple of weeks. I took food, clothes, computer, pillows etc to my in-laws to stay for a while. We have a luxury sweet with an attached full bath, but right by the door. I definitely heard what time my brother-in-law came in last night. On the bright side, I currently live on the lake :-D

3.

I got my picture taken this morning for the paper! Hubby and I will be in the free press discussing how awesome NFP really is. It was awkward getting our pictures taken though. He said act natural - but I never really succeed at that when there is a camera in my face. I wouldn't be very good at being famous I think...

4.

We are about to go out of town for a wedding shower. I love the fun of seeing family and this one is a couples shower so no silly games, just catching up with people from out of town. Here's hoping the the sleeping arrangements in the basement don't prevent me from getting some rest - I don't do well when I hear snoring. Let's hope my husband never starts that...

5.

This week was my first week at my summer job. I have been very busy! It is hard work, but I love the kids.

6.

My aunt is also in from out of town. So this week has been crazy! It is good to see her and my cousin and we're going to a Tigers game on Monday - but I wish some of these things would spread out. Everything seemed to fall in this weekend and we couldn't say yes to everything.

7.

Wow - I made it to seven before I was told we are leaving - I think this is the fastest that I've ever written a post - hope it made sense! Have a great weekend everyone

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