Hooray for many photos (many that I already posted on instagram (follow me there))!

Linking up with Kelly with these 7 Quick Takes. Mostly I'm documenting this so I can forever memorialize one of the few times in my life I felt truly embarrassed. Warning: this is an embarrassing story while I was at the OBGYN so beware of anatomical (and childish nicknames) terminology.

ONE// After experiencing some really awful emotional PMS nonsense, I finally woman-ed up and made a doctor's appointment. Also I haven't been to the doctor in like, forever. Last time I went to the doctor I got a colonoscopy so I think my hesitations are pretty valid.  ALSO I got married and got sexually active (as you do) and received much bullying from some other married friends on the need for an gyn visit. Ugh, helpful friends.

TWO// So I live in Denver and everyone talks about how amazing Bella Natural Women's Care center is. Including my blog crush, Jenny. So I make an appointment there (and cry on the phone a little while talking to the sweetest receptionist ever) and wait in mild agony for the day to arrive.

THREE// I drive to the center, enter into the swankiest waiting room I've ever seen, and do a quick scan to make sure I don't know anyone in the office. I know that's a crazy thing to do (especially because now I'm writing about it for the internet) but I have a lot of pride and I didn't want to admit, in person, to anyone that I'm not perfect and my body is a bit of a mess.

First scan, complete strangers. Score.

Filling out paperwork. Wait...I know her. John's previous team director and a good personal friend of ours is my nurse.

I immediately get sweaty as we walk over to the scale because I'm horrified that beautifully flawless Cindy is going to know how much I weigh.

This should have been the least of my worries.

FOUR// Cindy is the picture of professionalism while I spiral into a sweaty-nerves-fit that is so bad that my vein refuse to release blood for a sample. But then I realized that she's a nurse! She does this! This is her job. She won't tell anyone how much I weigh nor will she tell people how it took me an embarrassingly long time to pee into a jar (classic nervous pee situation). She leaves, the doctor comes in, we talk, he types, and then he tells me that he is going to step out while I get my robe on so he can finish the exam.

I say, cool!

He says, I'll be right back with Cindy.

I say, wait...what?

FIVE// So Cindy saw both my boobs

SIX// And my vagina.

SEVEN// But she, unlike me, was incredibly professional. My doctor was the sweetest man and overall it was a really positive first grown woman doctor appointment. Just initially unnerving to have a former teammate/former co-workers/newly-established-friend as your nurse.

But the good news is that Cindy and I are hanging out soon. So seeing my ta-tas and va-jay-jay didn't scare her off.

I don't know. Probably not the worst embarrassing doctor story in the world. I'm sure I will top it in the future.

What's your most embarrassing doctor story? Should I do a link up so we can all feel cathartic and horrified at the same time?

You're great. Happy Friday.

I'm a feeler. I think I've mentioned this before. There was a brief time in college when I convinced myself that I wasn't a crier or a feeler but that was a farce.

Here are some things that are causing me feelings this week!

//1//

Stinkin' Nike Commercial

This makes me cry. Sometimes just eye-tears that don't leave and (mostly) silent-slidey-face-tears.

//2//

Moving

The idea of moving, the prep for moving, other people talking about moving, all of it makes me cry. We are moving again in May and I'm a little unstable about it all. I'm very excited about it all, I'm excited to be in Denver, but the actually moving process, with the boxes and the packing and the lifting and the U-Hauling is not my favorite thing

//3//

Kittens inspired by Kittens

It has been so long since I've done one of these that I went to Jen's page first...awkward. But super jazzed to link up with Kelly who makes me laugh and also makes me want to quit blogging because I will never be as funny as she is.

//ONE//

Like this cool and hip thing I do with slashes? I'm trying to stay relevant. Okay number one, I know yesterday I posted about board games and how I don't watch a lot of visual media but I married a film buff so we still do the Netflix shuffle now and again.

And most recently we watched this:

They had a photo booth at our national conference (SEEK2015) and I love photo booths. Pray for these awesome students. Alison (purple glasses) is a hired missionary for next year, Nigil (the only boy) is maybe applying for staff but he has an amazing job lined up already at Motorola, and Paloma (cowboy hat) is my favorite and is leading a Bible study and is a total blessing. Mushy missionary talk.

Thanks for listening.

Have a great weekend you guys!

//BONUS EIGHT: Husband quote//

"I bolded our names in the newsletter to add some sex appeal"

Do you ever have those weeks (months) where the last thing you are able to comprehend is what day of the week it is? Seriously, I don't know why this has been such a struggle but my days all run together and about 50% of them are Mondays.

My teammate Carlos is pretty much one of my favorite human beings in the whole world. He's hilarious and insightful and brilliant and also sometimes just waaaaay too gullible. While we were in Napa I asked him to take some egg shells out to the compost pile and I was met with the blankest of all stares.

"What...?"
"The compost pile...?"
"..."
 "Carlos, the compost pile?"
"What is that?"

 It literally took forever for him to get to the actual question.

Other things that are hard, what is a plus-one, and the difference between lemons and limes.

Later he asked when we would grind up the compost pile to make dirt.

Berkeley is amazing because the people here are straight up weird. They say whatever, wear whatever, do whatever. This poses some problems as missionaries, but it also makes getting dressed in the morning really easy because no one cares.

We had dinner with our Newman Center priests last night and, because we are near wine country, we had some wine. It was CVS wine, but still.

Specifically, it was Menage a Trois wine. It's a mighty unfortunate name because the wine itself is pretty good for cheap wine, but a sketchy name. Anyway, Fr. Al who is literally almost 100 years old (93) looked at the bottle of wine, turned to Carlos and said, "That's a pretty sexy name for wine." And then he laughed and laughed.
And we nervously laughed.

Will you guys pray for us? Missionary life is hard and trying to do everything at the start of the semester is pretty overwhelming.

I also accidentally spilled the beans to John that I have a blog. He wasn't aware of it. Whoops. So now I need to zip back into the archives and make sure there isn't anything embarrassing about him written on it before he finds it. If y'all find something, holler at me.
 

kids these days

Left side, by the blue flag, maybe the only Asian kid?

SIX

Guess who's back back in Pittsburgh. Me. So that's why I haven't posted in many moons. I only received one threatening text from Hannah so no harm no foul. So because I've been sans internet for a long time these Quick Takes will be really easy to whip out, right?


Right.


Shout out to my past-roomie Michelle with a very happy (very belated) birthday wish!

killin' it. swim skirt style #modest

Michelle is probably one of the biggest reasons why I didn't quit staff at New Staff Training/run away/become one with nature and live with the gators/cry at EVERY moment. I just cried at most moments. Also we both have a fear of St. Therese so there's a whole lot of bonding between us.


Speaking of St. Therese, I finished this book! And it was so good. I will recommend it until the cows come home and then after that as well. Seriously. I read it and expected to feel a strong connection to St. Therese but I read it and found myself relating to the emotional and flighty Maurice instead. Which, I think, is the point. The book doesn't highlight Therese's little soul but how she responds with great love to the "little" soul of Maurice. I can confidently say that I am no longer afraid of St. Therese.


The novio is coming to Pittsburgh in less than a weeeeeeeeeeeeeeek.


Have you visited Call Her Happy's Etsy shop yet? It's hella cute and makes me want to be crafty.


I'm starting a Bible study on CMU's campus this Tuesday. It's a bilingual study with students who speak Spanish. I studied Spanish in college and I'm rusty beyond rusty and I am very nervous. So, please spare some prayers that the study goes well and that whatever God wills for it, happens. Thanks a whole bunch.

 Shimmy on over to Jen's for some funner takes.

Have you heard of SoulCore? One post I wrote about it and thought about buying it and then I did and today I did it with my mom and we loved it. Let me be clear, I hate working out. Hate, hate, hate. But the beautiful women who do SoulCore combine something I've always wanted to do (yoga) with something I always need to do (pray the rosary). I highly recommend it. It's no nonsense yoga (like, my core is quivering, sweat all over, etc) and she provides beautiful meditations and some scripture. I'm all about it. I'll probably write a whole post about it...


I have loved being in Lincoln and it makes me realize how much I miss it. I miss my friends and family so much, so I'm going to do a better job at staying connected. Like, I might even use the phone and call people, yikes.
The next time I see Hannah, bebe Almanzo might be born. Also the bebe might not be a boy and probably won't be named Almanzo, but I like it...so...there's that.
I had dinner last night with Hannah (see #3) and our friend Katie and most of the dinner conversation was about birthing stories (other people's) and tub births and placentas anddddddd....
...A cow given birth c-section style. Katie had photos on her phone and we looked at them, at dinner, in a restaurant, in public. Lincoln, Nebraska.
I went to Whole Foods today for the first time (!!) and got Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramels and I won't take a pictures because the container is basically empty.
There are no pictures in this post because I'm blazing through it so I can enjoy a glass of red wine with my mother and sit in the sun with my dad. Thanks, Lincoln, you've been real.

 Prayers as I head back to Pittsburgh would be great.

 Thanks, Jen, for hosting!

I'm not linking up this week because it's Thursday and I'm cheating and writing this now, so unfortunately my blog view count will remain at a meager 4 and not the rowdy 30 it sometimes does when I link up with Conversion Diary.