Quick Takes (Vol. 15) Twer.king, Glutened, Retreats and More!

Happy Valentine's Day and Visit Jen for More Quick Takes! 

1. Recently I got home from an evening follow up and I asked my husband what he did while I was gone. With a look of childish excitement on his face that actually made me think he ate a whole bunch of chocolate he says, "I looked up twerking!" Then he proceeds to instruct me on the proper way to twerk "hands on hips, squat a little, push your pelvis forward with your thumbs and push it back with the rest of your hand sticking your butt out just a little bit." At this point I am laughing so hard, I finally calm down and ask him why he looked up twerking. His answer was "don't you remember we were wondering where the term came from? Then I thought why not try it and see what all the fuss is about." Oh the power of goo.gle and free time is a dangerous combo for my husband. Now I have him twerking all the time; when he gets home from work, twerking the car door shut, when he washes dishes and the best part is he has me doing it too! People have got to be kidding if they think this dance move is attractive, it really just makes you look ridiculous.  It's really reminded me you really shouldn't take yourself too seriously; sometimes you just need to be ridiculous and do a little twerk in the privacy of your own home.

2. Last weekend we hung out with our good friend we haven't hung out with in awhile. We have known him for quite some time, JJ has known him since they were in grade school. It was so good to catch up and build one another up in our states in life. While we were out we went out for a scoop of ice cream at a place that has delicious old fashioned ice cream. I got the salted caramel and didn't bother to ask if it was gluten free. Well it wasn't and about 2hrs. after going to bed I woke up and was so sick! My stomach was a mess the following two days and this week its still felt a little off. I was wondering if it may have been the dairy, although since I added it back in I haven't had any issues. I called the place and they said they do have gluten free ice creams but their flavors that have any kind of candy, cookie or cake flavors are not gluten free. I specifically asked about the caramel and they said it is not gluten free. For anyone who thinks people can't really get sick from only having a little gluten they are SO wrong. I am not faking this I wish I wasn't gluten intolerant, but I so am. Lesson learned always ask or you will be glutened! 

3. I am planning a retreat for couples dealing with IF and or miscarriage/stillbirth. It will take place May 24, 2014 for couples and individuals in the Southern California area. I think it is a great way to reach more couples and cover more topics than what we cover at the support group. There is a priest I asked to speak and I am hoping he is available. There is so much planning and organizing that goes into a retreat and I am not new to retreat planning but I am new to this type of retreat. I love coming up with the flyer and design, that is the fun part. Its nothing fancy believe me, I like doing graphic design stuff but I know I am no professional because it takes me hours just to place things where I want them.

I have talked to our NFP/Marriage Prep. person for the archdiocese who our support group is technically under and she thinks the retreat is a great idea. She is even interested in me speaking with our NFP teachers at the next enrichment day about IF and miscarriage and being sensitive to those who are taking NFP to achieve a pregnancy! The name of the retreat is My Portion is The Lord, once things are more settled with the retreat I will post the flyer and info. Please keep me, the speakers, the retreat and the couples that will be attending in your prayers!

4. Speaking of planning I volunteered to host an engagement tea party in March for my friend M who will be getting married in June. It will be about 10 of us gals and I have come up with a menu. I am not good at decorations so a couple of other friends will be taking care of that. I am so glad we each have gifts and I am happy to admit creativity with decorating is not mine. Give me food, I can do that and I can organize people. I am excited as this is my first tea party I will be hosting! I was going to make invites but I think I am just gonna do evite because I know I don't have the time to make cute invites. I have been looking at pin.terest and I think I am totally addicted to all the cute ideas on there!

Speaking of pin.terest, it is a recent discovery and I love it! I am not the craftiest person but I like that I can get ideas from it. That is definitely an app that has been a great discovery lately, two other great apps are songza and ibreviary. Oh my goodness there is an ibreviary for the ipad, my heart swoons! I can go on there at anytime and get the mass reading or the liturgy of hours. Since my daily prayer depends on my schedule for the day I love that I can click on the day prayers and get them for ANY time of the day. Songza has been great for working out and other things. It picks a station based on the activity that you are doing. I have learned that when I am doing work on the computer the "happy pop" station keeps me going and when I am in the kitchen "cocktail jazz" or Ella Fitzgerald and Louie Armstrong duets are my thing. Someone suggested it in the IF face.book group, so thank you!  

5. "You don't have time for invites" you say, "well why ever not?" Well because I am starting the paperwork for my FertilityCare Centers of America affiliation and my AAFCP certification. Which means lots of paper work and organizing my files making sure they are in tip top shape. I am usually organized with my client files but I just want to make sure that everything is filled out. Oh.the.paperwork. Paperwork is my least favorite part of my job and I am terrible at being motivated to do it. While I am doing paperwork I really do feel like I am being tortured by a medieval stretcher device. Ok it may not be that bad but it is still tedious.

I will be affiliating as a satellite center of this already existing center! I am so excited and I think it is only appropriate as the lead practitioner here was my practitioner. She is my wiser practitioner sister and I am so blessed to have her prayers and support. More prayers would be appreciated as I go through this process.  

6. I had my spiritual direction appointment today and I am excited to be moving forward in my discernment. It was a shorter appt. than the 1st time but so beneficial. I don't think I am someone who is suppose to have long term spiritual direction, I am pretty self aware and I think to guide me in my spiritual life would be too much of an undertaking for one priest. That's why I like going to certain priests about certain questions. There are some things that have come up in my prayer and journaling that I wanted to hammer out with Padre and get some feed back but it just wasn't the right time for the appt. Those things are for a whole other blog post. It really does help to have a priest that I trust to walk with me and guide me through this discernment where as a melancholic I can often get lost in the details and ideal that I never actually move forward with something. I analyze and over analyze, then I process what I analyzed which this all done internally. It is no wonder that I was able to pursue my vocation, I know it was God's grace!

Speaking of spiritual direction, I am reading this bible study book with a group of women. It has been so good to give me some focus! The 2nd chapter is called Sacrifice: The Way to Joy and they use the story of Hannah and I could not get through that chapter yet so I know it hit a soft spot. I have some reflections about sacrifice and feeling self righteous when you feel you have already suffered/sacrificed so much. Purification, sometimes it hurts but it is so good.

7. Lastly, thank y'all so much for the support and kind comments on my last two posts about the miscarriage. I do read them although I don't always respond to them. Sometimes I want to respond with a whole new blog post about your comments and all I really want to say is thank you! You can read Part one here  and Part two here if you haven't yet. It is difficult to share our struggles so openly sometimes but I hope someone somewhere gets comfort and knows that they are not alone. I am working on part 3 but I have been so busy it has been difficult to string together a good reflective piece right now.   

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!