Hair cuts, magical curling irons, & playing on the freeway (7QT)

1.  So last Friday I got my hairs trimmed.  I've had long hair for a long time now, but have been itching to change it up for a bit.  So while I was scared to death, I decided to hack a lot of it off...like 8 inches a lot.
Still getting used to it, but it definitely helps I can still put my hair up and curl it. 
Oh don't mind Pope John Paul II photo bombing in the back ground...


2.  Speaking of curling my hair, I was thrilled beyond belief to get this fancy pants curling machine.  Yes you heard me, machine.

Basically this machine sucks in your hair and spits it all nice and perfectly curled.  It works REALLY good, and for a gal who loves to curl her hair it was worth the $99 (thanks Ma and Pa for the birthday money! :)  You can choose different heat settings to get looser or tighter curls and they hold well throughout the day.
However, the only down side is you have to be VERY careful when sectioning your hair up.  It can easily get stuck in the heated curling chamber.  How do I know this?  Well there have been several times where I have broken out in a sweat screaming for Jim to help me untangle my horse's main from the heated chamber of horror.  Thankfully I have gotten the hang of it and am now able to curl my hair without adult supervision.

3.  Today I was a local Catholic school giving chastity talks to 6-8th grade girls all morning.  Two things about tween girls: First, if you come with candy to encourage participation they will love you for it.  Second, it never ceases to amaze me how open and honest young people get when I say they can ask me anything, because usually that is exactly what happens.
That being said, please pray for young people today.

4.  Over the summer, Jim and I went over to my sis and bro-in-law's place to watch the Hunger Games.  I loved the books and loved the movie even more...everybody was telling me throughout the movie to stop crying and asking questions.  Have I mentioned I am a little in touch with my feelings??
I rented from the library Catching Fire and we're all set to hunker down and watch it this weekend.  That way when the Mockingjay comes out in November we can go see it with the thousands of other fans.

5.  Guess what we're doing on Sunday afternoon?!?
We're going to go play on the freeway.  No for realz.
Since March, one of the main freeways in the Detroit area has been closed for a total and complete over haul.  Its been over 40 years since the freeway first opened and on Sunday from 2-4pm the city officials are opening it up for families to walk, bicycle, and play on the freeway to celebrate the re-opening in a few weeks.
Jim and I are thinking of bringing a Frisbee to toss around...why not? 

6.  I am so excited for our kick-off youth group meeting this Sunday.  The teens made an awesome video introducing the adult and youth leadership team which features the Harlem Shake in church.  Not gonna lie, kinda stoked.

7.  Paying off debt and budgeting is going pretty well.  We just paid off our first debt this paycheck!!! 1 down and 3 more to go!!!  Next one the list is paying off Jim's credit card, then my car, and my student loans.  Who knew saving money and being responsible could be so fun?!

Loving Mary leads to loving Jesus

I am so excited to have my lovely friend Susana posting here today!!  She is one busy Momma with 2 little boys (+ 1 baby girl on the way!), works in ministry, throws a mean party, and is the crafting queen.  Go show her some love, where she is serving up a beautifully crazy, caffeinated life...you'll leave her lovely place on the inter-webs feeling inspired and refreshed:)

Today Susana is reflecting on her devotion to the Rosary and how her love of Mary leads to loving Jesus...take it away, lady!!

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I remember the first time my family sat down to pray a rosary. We gathered at the kitchen table, my mom lit candles, turned off some of the lights and passed out these ropes with beads on them. I was around six at the time and had no idea what was going on. However, I was content because mom gave me a notebook to draw in while we prayed. After about 10 minutes I realized that I liked the rosary. It was calming, peaceful and it just felt….right.

Fast forward about 10 years.

My mom is pregnant with child number six, she sits on the couch, puts her feet up, and starts the usual evening call for the family rosary. Instead of being in awe and wonder like I was ten years earlier, I’m dragging my feet. I’m making a big deal about how it was already 9:00 at night. I had to get up early the next morning for swim practice so why should I have to stay up another 40 minutes (saying the rosary can take a while in a big family) just because we couldn’t sit down to do it sooner?

I begged my parents for us to just say Night Prayer instead of a full rosary. They said no. I suggested a chaplet. They said no. We were going to say a family rosary and that was that. But I wasn’t done. I turned up the volume on my angsty teen switchboard and began to make the whole family miserable with my attitude. Finally my mom had had enough. She sent me to bed and told me to think about my priorities. Victory was mine! I could finally go to sleep and be well rested for swim practice….or so I thought.

As I tried to fall asleep, all I could focus on was the gentle sound of my family's prayers. Suddenly I was wide awake. There was no going to sleep, not as long as my family was still praying. Sadness filled my heart as I realized that I needed to be out there with them. Too prideful to admit defeat, I pulled a rosary out of my desk drawer and finished the rosary with my family from the walls of my room. It wasn’t until we had finished that I was able to find rest.

I learned a lot that night. I learned a lot about my faith life and the things that I was putting ahead of it. There is no doubt that life can get crazy and priorities can be easily out of order. However, ever since I was a child, I have found that the rosary will put me back on track. I have always enjoyed praying the rosary and asking our Blessed Mother for her intercession. My love for this form of prayer has only grown in my adult life. In high school, the rosary became a way for me to enter into true discernment of where God wanted me for college.

Then when I was in college, it helped me focus on my goals and strengths, all the while reminding me that I am only an instrument and that it is through God that I accomplish things. It reminded me to say “yes” just like Mary did so long ago. There were a lot of trials and challenges that I faced in college but the rosary was always there to help guide me towards God’s Will for me...even if I wasn’t thrilled with the result. The rosary helped me find my now husband and one of my favorite things is when he and I say it together with our little boys.

I love that the Catholic Church has such a rich and beautiful prayer that centers me and guides me in my day-to-day life. Even in my parenting I can tell the days that we didn’t say the rosary from the ones where we did. The boys are better behaved and I’m a gentler parent. We laugh and smile more, too. At the end of the day when my house is a disaster, I don’t panic because we said the rosary and that’s more important.

Many Catholic families that I’ve spoken with explain that there just isn’t time for a whole rosary during their day. They mention that it would be impossible to get everyone to sit down and pray. But impossible things are Mary’s business and with her intercession you can expect miracles. Give her the opportunity to come into your family life and help guide you closer to her Son.


All you have to do is try. Our Lady will take care of the rest…

7QT on birthdays, kidney transplants, and the Pope coming to Detroit!?!

 1.  Last Saturday, Jim and I went on a date.  We went out to eat and then I was surprised to find out we were going roller skating.  Remember those awkward junior high roller skating parties? Yup me too, only this time I had someone to skate with during the slow skate.

It was a lot of fun, except the part where I totally wiped out on my butt from just standing still.  The later we stayed, the more raunchy the music and tweens skating got...but before we left Jim surprised me with cake and ice cream for my birthday on Tuesday.  Apparently he had to sweet talk to the manager to bring in all his supplies and prove we weren't going to smear cake all over the walls like the last party that came in.

2.  September 9th I turned 29.  I am excited to see what the year unfolds; looking forward to finishing my thesis, graduating, continue paying off debt, and start training for a 10K.
Next year when I turn 30, I will celebrate my new digits by getting a tat and running the Detroit half marathon.

3.  On Tuesday, we kicked off our weekly staff meetings at church again.  Not the most thrilling thing in the world, but before we started this week our pastor shared some AMAZING news with us all!!
Our associate priest (Fr. Beto) who has been waiting several years for a kidney transplant got a call from the hospital that they had one!  The surgery happened yesterday and went really well!  He received a kidney transplant several years ago but his body rejected it after almost two years!
It was so cool to hear on my birthday the exciting news that a perfect match was found!
Please keep Fr. Beto in your prayers as he recovers, and especially for his health and that his body doesn't reject the transplant.

4.  As if Fr. Beto's wonderful news wasn't enough, the folks at work surprised me with cake, singing, and pink jeweled tiara...I like pretty sparkly things so it works out well.  The only bummer is I had an evening class so I didn't get to see Jim until later, but a friend of mine took care of that and we out for tasty BBQ.

5.  Okay. This.is.way.cool.
So a letter writing campaign from students at Catholic schools in Detroit has begun to get Pope Francis to come to Detroit when he comes to Philadelphia next Fall.  Even cooler, the mayor of Detroit and the Archbishop are now behind it too....oh and did I mention they have a Facebook page too?!?  #socialmediaatitsfinest

6.  On my birthday I was on the phone with my Dad asking a question related to something church-y stuff.  We said goodbye and hung but then I realized Dad might have did forget my birthday.  I figured he was being a goof ball, which later was confirmed.  Apparently its a trend now for Dad's to do that? Anyways its fun to ease and joke with him about it...thanks padre, love you too! :)

7.  Fall is gearing up....youth ministry starts next weekend.  Grad school classes have begun and I have to write my thesis by December.  Retreats, talks, parent meetings...this time of year seems to officially kick off wonderful, crazy of my job.  Hoping I can balance work with school especially as I plan to graduate in the spring.


Happy Friday!! :)