I'm numbering this because I'm assuming I will write many more posts with this title.

Planning ahead.

I saw Swan Lake on St. Valentine's day! The whole night was crazy and stressful and I felt like such a mom. Our group was 13 (!!) strong and we all had to get on the city bus and ride into downtown Pittsburgh and then find the theater. Also, one of the students, Alex, was talking to another student about her birthday and she said, "Date, Month, 1995".

1995.

I don't even remember what the date and the month were because I was shocked at how recent that sounded. 1995? I mean, I was born in '90 so I'm not that much older than her, but 5 whole years seems like a lot.

Essentially there were a lot of freshman in the group and, God bless freshman, but they were all just flirting the whole time. Like, poking and hair pulling. For real. So by the end of the night they were all calling me "Mom" but whatever I just care about their hearts and their souls and no one died.

But the ballet was beautiful and it was great to hang out with more students and get face time with some of the more elusive ones.

My only issue with the ballet was that the bad guy, Von Rothbart looked like Greg from the Old Gregg youtube video. He's like swamp monster...the video is inapprops so don't watch it.

Old Gregg:




Von Rothbart (this is from the NY performance, the PA one didn't have horns, he had a ginger mane):

To Do Updates
A little while back I posted a To Do post and now I'm going to update you all because I need some accountability in my life.

1. Stop being afraid of St. Therese
This one is hard. The good news is that she is everywhere. And a student (Alex, born in 1995) will occasionally text me St. T quotes, which is nice and thoughtful and makes me cry because I'm a big fat sap.

2. CHARTING
So, I'm doing this! I've only missed one day of taking my temperature. Also, to clarify, you don't have to take your temperature vaginally which, for some reason, I thought you had to! So once I read that orally is fine then I jumped all over this charting train. I'm sure you all already knew that, but, whatever I didn't.

3. Planking
Booo. So I haven't been doing a good job with this. I blame it on my own lack of self control and maybe the worst cramps I've ever had. But, I'm through that so now it's back to planking.

4. Cook things
I baked bread! I'm also going to be more adventurous in the future so get excited.

Have a great Monday!

I love Sundays. I love them especially now that I am a missionary and not in school. No more are Sundays full of panic and hasty attempts at homework, now I sleep and go to a late Mass and pray and (apparently) bake bread.

Crystal (one of my teammates here) gave me a recipe for a whole wheat free-form loaf that doesn't have milk or anything. She said, "it's easy!" and I was like, okay let's try it.

I know, you might be thinking back to the post where I regaled you with a "recipe" for cereal bars. Don't worry, I actually can read a recipe and operate an oven.

Finished product:

Perhaps you read this blog because you are waiting for me to help you level up in areas of domesticity.

Well, consider your prayers answered.

Here is my first official recipe.

A Joyful Duty's Measuring-is-for-Ninnies-and-I-ain't-a-Ninny Cereal Bars

Ingredients:

-1 bag of marshmallows (big ones, minus one because you wanted to make sure they were fresh. They were)


-A big scoop of margarine (you aren't about that lactose life)

-two big ole scoops of peanut butter, chunky because Mama didn't raise no fool.

-about half a box of Wheaties (breakfast of champs). Rice Krispies are too mainstream.

Microwave 'mallows and butter together. In a microwave safe bowl, in case that needed to be specified. I don't time things, I don't like numbers, so microwave it long enough so that you are like, yes it's all melty.

Chuck that pb in, mix it really fast, dump the Wheaties in and mix it real fast!

Panic because you forgot to grease a pan and that cereal mixture is like quick-dry cement. Avert crisis by multitasking frantic stirring and greasing of pan. You got this.

Dump in a greased pan. Drizzle some chocolate if you're fancy (which you are). 

Super easy, just in time for St. Valentine's day! Take a high quality, Instagram/Pinterest worthy photo of your creation on a paper towel. You're welcome.

Two posts in one day? It must be important. Or I'm late night (almost midnight here) blogging from bed on my phone because I've had A Day.

I've been praying for detachment, an ordered relationship with the world and things in it, a greater dependence on God, all those good things.

I thought I was pretty good at those things; I got a unique job that assigns your location, I moved to PA, said temporary good-byes to my friends and family, joined a new team of insanely smart people, and am serving a campus I would never be accepted to.

And then my car got trapped in an icy death grip because of street parking and front-wheel drive and I was like, alright. No big deal, I'll just wait for the eternal winter to end and for it to thaw.

Then last night I popped out my retainer to answer my phone (charming) and it broke in half.

I tried to roll with it, but right now as I'm contemplating the benefits of wearing two parts of a retainer, I'm sort of overwhelmed.

Oh, trust me, I know how this sounds. Like I'm spoiled, whiney, and vain, maybe even a control freak. My top teeth move at a freakish pace and in no time I'll be sporting a Michael Strahan gap on the top and the bottom.

 But if this gets me to rely on Christ more and myself (looks, material things, comforts) less then praise God. I'm sure He will love me even with crooked teeth.

Wow, such drama.

I hope you all have late night epiphanies.

Peace.

Mondays, right? Woof.

Let's just cut to the chase

Here is my To-Do list for 2014

1. Stop being afraid of St. Therese
I always have been. I'm one of the 1% of Catholics who are scared of the Little Flower. I mean, seriously, what is my deal. But not anymore. I've decided now is the acceptable time to get to know her, fight that fear, become bff, etc.

So I'm going to read "Maurice and Therese" as soon as I can buy it because apparently it's really good and not intimidating.

2. Start charting, dang-nabbit
I have been preaching about the importance of women knowing their cycles, understanding their fertility, checking mucus, blah blah blah but I haven't been walking the walk. So, now I'm going to. I don't have the nifty Creighton Model chart with baby stickers (which is fine because there is no baby-making happening in my life right now) so I'm using the Kindara app on my phone for the time being.

3. Do some planking
My legs are getting a great work out with all the hills and walking I do in Pittsburgh but the rest of my body is getting fluffy. I have no workout equipment, I can never motivate myself to use the gym in the CMU Union (all the walls are made of glass...it's in the middle of the union building, no thanks) so I'm going to start planking every morning before I hop in the shower.

Ugh. I regret saying it already.

4. Cook things
Yesterday I cooked chicken and spagetti squash for me and my roommate and I forgot how much I enjoy cooking. Not that microwaving squash and cooking up chicken is cooking but, baby steps. So, I'm going to do more of that because I've been eating mostly oatmeal and frozen vegetables. I am the picture of health.

Maybe I'll get y'all posted.
Call it, Motivational Mondays
Or like, Mo' excuses-why-I-didn't-plank Mondays.
Ever the optimist.

Peace

Here's something I've decided to do. Every Friday (hopefully) I am going to share links to some places that I would encourage people to donate/tithe to.

All day yesterday I was like, remember to take a picture of what you're wearing because that's a bloggy thing to do!

I obviously forgot. I'd like to blame the Super Bowl but I barely watched it, and what I did watch was not that exciting. I have decided that Bruno Mars would be beautiful woman. That bone structure? Unreal.



I also realized that some of my font gets weird on this blog when I put in a photo...I think the blog design thinks it's a caption so I apologize for the teeny tiny font that comes after photos.

Anyway, here is a g-l-a-m-o-r-ous photo of what I am wearing today.

artistic filter via vscocam

Sweater: T.J. Maxx
Scarf: a gift
Shirt: threadbare, but my favorite, from Target
Jeans: Uh...jeans store
Topknot: Lazy
Glamour: that radiator and a radiant 8am glow.

That weird face? I haven't quite mastered photo booth and that is a look I like to call, "Unprepared". The ones where I am "prepared" are even worse...so you're welcome.

To further up the level of glamour in my life I want to point out that there was left over pizza in the Newman Center fridge today and I definitely ate some even though I'm lactose intolerant. WHAT is wrong with me?

ALSO Nickel Creek released a new song?? I can barely even comprehend it. I love love love Nickel Creek. Check it

Also happy feast day of St. Blaise! I love getting my throat blessed and the priest who did it here today put my neck in a long-candle-vice-grip so I know it extra counted.

That's probably not true.
I'm a Catholic missionary, #Lordhavemercy

Excuse me while I rejoice heartily in the fact that January is over.

It's not that January is an objectively terrible month but I'm just glad it is over. Moving and starting a new job is hard, but I feel like the first month doing something new is the hardest and now it can just be smooth sailing.

Yeah, right.

Also, February is a little baby month so I have no qualms about taking it down. Furthermore, hoping that it will continue to get warmer so our pipes don't freeze again because nothing is more fun than diarrhea and a lack of running water. TMI? Nah, we're close.