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I started this post on Wednesday but I didn't get to finish it until today. Sorry for the delay!

For the next few Weigh-in Wednesdays I'll be doing a book study of Hallie Lord's Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter .

Previous posts:

Chapter 1 - How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself by Jen Fulwiler's.

Chapter 2 - "Style: Balance, Beauty and You" by Hallie Lord

Chapter 3 - "God and Godiva" by Karen Edmisten

Since this chapter was about sex I am splitting it up in two sections. The first will be geared towards sex and the single female. Next week I'll discuss the second half of the chapter which is geared towards sex and the married woman.

The Single Life - In some ways, my single life seems ages and ages ago. In other ways, I an still remember the struggles of being single and trying to live a chaste life. I grew up in a sheltered life and pretty much stayed out of trouble in grade school and high school. I went to Catholic schools and homeschooled a couple years in high school. However, in my early 20's I drifted away from the church and God.

I still attended Mass to keep my parents appeased, but I was not living the Catholic faith spiritually or morally. Like many others, I wrongly believed that as long as I wasn't actually having intercourse I could do anything else and still be considered a virgin. Eventually this kind of life was destroying me interiorly. I hated myself and the double life I was leading. Yet, I was weary of "turning over a new leaf" because I knew that eventually I'd fall back into my old sinful ways. By the grace of God, my heart was changed and I gave my life back to Christ and repented of my sins. Jesus was able to restore my life and show me a love I had never really experienced before.

Elizabeth sums up my feelings when she says:

"Once I developed a relationship with Christ, I was amazed by the inherent dignity and worth I found in his true love. Christ listens to our arguments, but doesn't fight back. He doesn't lie, pressure, or humiliate us. Having a relationship with him doesn't require any compromise with virtue. If there is a way to live chastely as a single woman -- and there is -- it's through him."

The Effect of Sin - "When I did turn my life around and came back to God I broke away from the people and places that led me to sin but the damage was already done. I struggled for a long, long time with being chaste and not falling into sin again."

Elizabeth felt the same way:

"And yet, I still struggled with chastity. I knew sex before marriage was wrong, but I didn't know what was considered appropriate physical contact. Many of us grew up thinking that anything goes, as long as you don't have sex. But if anything goes, sex often follows. 'How far is too far?'"

Elizabeth gave some great advice about setting boundaries while you are dating. I, too, had to eventually work through this and relearn what sex and chastity were all about. A few years back I wrote two articles for our website in regards to chastity. I reread them today and I still feel the same way so I posted them to the blog.

Chastity Part I - Living Chastely and Loving It (This was a synopsis of living chastely, no matter what your vocation of season in life.)

Chastity Part II: What If the Spirit Is Willing But the Flesh Is Weak? (This is practical advice that helped me with my struggles to be chaste.)

When You Find "The One" - I remember after my engagement, my mom talked with me and told me that now that we were engaged the temptation for Brian and me to be more intimate will be even stronger. I didn't believe it would be any worse than it already was but later I found out, she was right! We made mistakes but thankfully, by the grace of God, (and I think my mom's prayers!) we were able to wait to fully share our love on our honeymoon.

Elizabeth was able to do the same:

"We met for Mass after work. In the evenings, if the smooching got too hot and heavy, we'd stop to say the Rosary. Anything beyond kissing was a danger zone for us. We put a strategic plan in place to help us avoid sex before our wedding. Both of us had a gut feeling that God had chosen us, one for the other, and we wanted to honor his plan by staying faithful to his teaching.

Dating chastely, we were free to be at ease, to play, to be companions rather than lovers. We went for walks, made dinners, and hung out with our families. Our engagement was one of the happiest years of my life, and with the help of the sacraments our wedding night was the first time we were together."

What If We Already Crossed the Line - I remember getting an email one time from a girl who was engaged to be married but she and her fiancé were already sexually active. They came to realize that they were wrong and they wanted to stop but were having a hard time. I emailed her some advice and she gave me permission to post the email online (without her real name.) In it you'll find advice that I think would be beneficial for those who have fallen and those who want to prevent falling. Here's the ink.

RoL Q&A: I'm Engaged and Really Struggling with Chastity...

Suffering from Past Sexual Abuse - Although this topic wasn't mentioned in Elizabeth's chapter, it has been on my mind and it seems appropriate to mention it here. For those girls and women who have suffered sexual abuse the road to true sexual freedom is much more difficult. I have never suffered such a heavy cross myself but someone close to me has and I have seen the damage it had on her physical, mental and spiritual well being. However, I have also seen the amazing power of God's grace and healing in her life. Our Lord helped my friend out of the pit of darkness and despair and healed her heart so she could love purely once again. There is nothing too dark that the blood of Jesus cannot heal. It won't be easy but it is certainly possible to feel whole once again.

There is a new book out by Dawn Eden and although I have not read it yet I have heard excellent reviews. It is called My Peace I Give You: Healing Sexual Wounds with the Help of the Saints and in it she shows how the lives of the saints have given her hope and aided her journey of spiritual healing after childhood sexual abuse.

You can also read Jennifer Fulwiler's recent interview with Dawn Eden. I posted it here.

That's all for now but feel free to post your comments or email me at rol@revolutionoflove.com.

This week, hosted by Hallie at Betty Beguiles.com.

Good morning! Matthew just fell asleep and the boys are watching Cars 2 and re-enacting scenes from the movie so I have a small window to write before I have to tackle a long list of To Do's so let's get going!

I'll Have A Scoop of Chocolate with Nuts - Remember the car accident I was in a few weeks ago? The lady involved has gone above and beyond to make sure we get our car fixed and that she covers any expenses we incur. She even offered to pay for a babysitter to watch the kids while I have to get the car fixed etc. Thankfully the damage was minimal and the only inconvenience was being without our minivan for 5 days and having to squeeze three car seats in the back seat of the rental, but we survived. Yesterday I got a letter from the lady with a check to cover some last expenses that her insurance didn't cover. She also enclosed a $50 gift card for Cold Stone Ice Cream for the kids (I assume to ease their emotional distress.) How sweet is that? So thanks, Ms. X! If I had to get hit from behind in the rain, I'm glad it was you. LOL. :-)

Toonton Abbey - Yesterday I had to go through my DVR and deleted a bunch of stuff since we were almost full. Even the kids had to go and trim their saved items. For Bella it would be Good Luck Charlie and Austin & Allie, although I let her keep Radio Rebel. For Andrew it's Team Umi Zoomi and the Octonauts (did I spell those right?) and for JP it is Pocoyo and Max & Ruby. Last night Brian and I only had 45 minutes to watch TV so we caught up with The Middle and Modern Family. My two favorite lines of Modern Family were both by Mitchell. First: "Everybody's looking at us. I haven't been judged by this many people since I forgot my canvas bags at Whole Foods." Hahaha!! The Second: "Okay, it's Toontown, not Toonton. You've been watching too much PBS." This was funny since I used to think Downton Abbey was Downtown Abbey when it first aired. LOL.

Next on the Reading List - I saw a post on Catholic Mom.com last month about a new book called Lessons in the Journey by Patrick Dawson. Despite the fact that Hallie is suspicious of books about women written by a man, I'm going to give it a try since the Kindle edition is only $2.99. I'll let you know how it goes.

What Kind of Nap Was That? - Unfortunately, Matthew just woke up but he only slept for 15 minutes. I think he has a tooth coming out because he is drooling again like crazy. I picked him up and he fell back asleep in my arms so I'll just hold him for now. But if you see more typos than usual, forgive me since I'm typing with one hand.

Put to the Test - As I am sitting here I can see that some guys from the C.A. Wastewater District have arrived at our house. They stopped by yesterday to let us know that the neighbor below us (we love on an inclined street) believes that water from our drainage system is leaking into her yard. They said they'd come by tomorrow to test it out and see if there is a fault in our drainage. I certainly hope not. They are running the tests now so we'll find out one way or another shortly. Oh, wait! The guy's knocking... Okay, that was timely. He said everything looked fine and the overflow of water is not coming from our house. Phew. (And thanks to the burly teddy bear of a guy for whispering so he wouldn't wake the sleeping baby in my arms. :-)

Mama's Day & Gift - Do you have any special plans for Mother's Day? I want to do something outdoors so I was thinking either the beach or Point Lobos but if the weather is too cold and windy (since we have runny noses in the house right now) we may stick to a walk where it is a little warmer and maybe pack a picnic lunch as well.

As for a Mother's Day gift, I just ordered it this morning. (Brian can take a cue from Fred Mertz: 'What did I give you?.. (cough)... I mean, how do you like what I gave you?") I have been working on putting together a home management binder but it is taking me forever to first, find the time to work on it and second, figure out what to put in it and third, create the spreadsheets on my computer. I finally gave up and went to my favorite organizing girl Jen at i heart organizing and ordered her Personalized Household Binder "Everything" Printable Kit. I have already used Jen's printables before (as seen in Operation Clean & Organize) and they are perfect for what I need. I mentioned with my order that this was a mother's day gift so she rush ordered it and I have the order completed already! I'm so excited. I'll post about it later!

And the Winner Is... - Okay, the last take is the moment you have all been waiting for! The winner of the RoL Birthday contest! We put all the names in a hat and Andrew did the honors. (He even closed his eyes.)

He picked .....

Congratulations to Laura S. of MS! Your RoL care package will be on it's way soon.

Now, I must say that John-Paul was upset that he was not able to pick out a winner so I told him that I'd let him choose a name and that person would get a smaller RoL care package. So he picked his name...

And the winner is...

LOL! He picked his own aunt, my beloved sis EML. So a smaller care package is on your way too!

That's it for today. Thanks for all who entered! Have a wonderful weekend!!

As I mentioned last week, for the next few Weigh-in Wednesdays I'll be doing a book study of Hallie Lord's Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter . I had been making notes over the week but yesterday I was ready to forget the whole idea.

Yesterday was an awful day. Seriously, it wasn't the usual busy and stressful day of mishaps. It was different and I couldn't put my finger on why. When Brian came home I went to my room, locked the door and begged God to help me and literally cried myself to sleep. I haven't felt like that in a long, long time.

A half an hour later I opened my eyes and came out of the room like a weight was off me. Brian hugged me and asked if the demons had been attacking me. It clicked. That is exactly what it felt like. The interior struggles were like familiar demons that I have not battled in a long time. In my experiences, usually when there is a "spiritual attack" it means God is preparing a turning point... some good fruit that will come out of a particular situation.

I am not sure what that situation is. Maybe it's my own personal growth as I am studying this book. Maybe it's the trip Bella and I are taking tomorrow. Maybe it's something I am not yet aware of. Whatever it is, yesterday I thought I'd never post this book discussion because I was the last person that should be sharing lessons with you. But now that the fog has lifted and I am at peace again, I'll go ahead and post what I've written so far. If you haven't read the book yet, hopefully it will encourage you to pick up a copy. It truly will be one of the best $10 you ever spent. :-)

I love Jennifer Fulwiler's writings and was pleased to see that she covered the first chapter of the book: How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself. After wiping the tears of laughter from my eyes from her Dukes of Hazzard's van story, I was hooked by this paragraph.

"I had a specific idea of what the authentic Catholic woman was like: She was the picture of joy and grace every time she went to Mass and always had an emotionally powerful experience upon receiving the Eucharist; she kept her home tidy; and she joyfully crafted elaborate celebrations for each liturgical season."

I could relate to Jen's feeling of inadequacy. In fact, this is a topic God has been drilling into me for the last 9 months. It all started last summer when I wrote the post Those Perfect Catholic Moms Are Killing Me. I had been reading a number of Catholic mom blogs and seeing all their accomplishments at homemaking and motherhood was making me feel like a loser.

As days and weeks passed I told myself that I can't help it if I was messy and disorganized and that I couldn't sew a button or keep a plant alive more than a week. So what if I get impatient and fired up at the slightest mishap, especially on the days when I forgot to spend time in prayer because I was too busy checking my facebook and emails. That's just how I am.

But it was bothering me. Is that it? Am I to resign myself to "just being myself." I knew there was plenty of room for improvement. Then I started reading the book The 10 Habits of Happy Mothers - Reclaiming Our Passion, Purpose, and Sanity by Meg Meeker, MD.and the first Habit was called Understand Your Value as a Mother. In my post about it I talked about feeling inferior, rediscovering my talents and listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In one part I wrote:

"It's funny that once I stopped comparing myself to my perceived super moms (after all, I am seeing a tiny, sanitized glimpse of their lives,) I started seeing that I possessed some of those same talents that I admired in them. It is as if my creative side woke up. I started posting on my blog again because I love having an outlet to write. I've tried new recipes and found cooking fun again. I've started organizing small sections of the house and realized I, too, could be organized. (Relatively speaking. ;-)"

That got me to thinking - what is "me" and what's a warped vision of me? Then I read Jen's words:

"To uncover your unique brand of holiness, you have to sift through your God-given quirks and talents from your sins."

Suddenly the light bulb clicked on. That's it! (If I was an Oprah fan I'd say it was my AHA! moment.) That's what the Holy Spirit was trying to tell me! Separate the quirks from the sins. I had my own unique calling and vocation that matched my personality and my temperament. I didn't have to become a carbon copy of mom A, B or C. I just had to be the best version of me and slowly God is showing me how to achieve that.

Jen sums it up using one of my favorite quotes:

"St. Catherine of Siena famously stated, "Be who God meant you to be, and you will set the world on fire." We tend to focus on the second, more dramatic part of the statement, but the first is just as important: Be who God meant you to be. Embrace the one-of-a-kind brand of holiness that God has chosen for you. Reject your sins, but love your quirks."

Perfectly stated.

At the end of the chapter, there are a number of questions for deeper reflection. I'll share one of the questions and my reflection with you.

#4. What saint has challenged your ideas about what holy people are like? What did he or she do that surprised you?

A saint that forever changed the way I think about holiness is St. Francis de Sales. My old parish was named after him and I remember the pastor once giving a talk about his life. He said St. Francis was known as the "gentle saint." He was a model of kindness and patience in guiding souls to Christ. He said this was ironic because St. Francis actually had a fiery, sometimes violent, temper and it did not take a lot to set him off. However, with God's grace he was able to tame his temper, transforming his greatest fault into his greatest strength.

This also reminds me of what a priest once told me in confession years ago. I was struggling with certain temptations and feeling overwhelmed by them. He said that if we surrender ourselves to God and rely on his grace, we can turn our biggest weakness or sinful tendencies into the very path that will lead us to heaven. He gave me the example of St. Mary Magdalene. She was a prostitute, a woman undoubtedly who dealt with sins of immorality. Yet, when she gave heart to Jesus and repented of her sins, something in her shifted.

Mary Magdalene found false love in the men she was involved with, but with Jesus, she found true and pure love. Her desire became not to please men but to please Jesus. We know that she succeeded in purifying her heart and loving Christ deeply because she was granted the grace to be the first person to witness the risen Lord. Like St Francis de Sales her weakness was transformed into her strength. It doesn't mean that they did not struggle but they relied on God's grace and they slowly became their "true" selves.

Now that I am following Jen's advice of separating my sins from my unique quirks, God is helping me to overcome those sinful tendencies. When I fail I like to remember St. Francis de Sales. I'm encouraged to know that God's grace can do anything so I pick myself back up and continue on the path chosen for me.

When I first heard about Hallie Lord's new book Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter I was ecstatic to find that many of my favorite Catholic writers/ bloggers/ moms were contributors. I preordered my book and when it finally arrived I planned to devour it immediately. Unfortunately, family circumstances prevented me from having much free time and when I did have a moment the book was never within reach. Finally I downloaded the book onto my Kindle & iPhone so I could read it anytime I had a spare moment. I'm so glad I did!

When I told a fellow mom the title of the book she was a bit skeptical - "Style and Sex?" Those were not high on her radar at this time of her life. Another single friend didn't consider buying the book since she figured it was only for married moms. In reality, there is something here for every Catholic woman (and as this reviewer shows, Catholic men too!) The authors and topics covered are...

Jennifer Fulwiler - How I Fell Out of My Minivan and Found Myself (Catholic Womanhood)

Hallie Lord - Style: Balance, Beauty, and You

Karen Edmisten - God & Godiva

Elizabeth Duffy - Sex, Passion, and Purity

Anna Mitchell - Single and Seeking God's Plan

Rebecca Ryskind Teti - What Works for You?

Rachel Balducci - Fruitful Friendship

Danielle Bean - We Said Yes (Marriage)

Simcha Fisher - Receiving, Creating, and Letting Go: Motherhood in Body and Soul

Barbara Nicolosi - Plugging In and Embracing Discipleship in the 21st Century

I breezed through the pages loving the sense of humor and honesty displayed but I found myself time and time again stopping and re-reading a sentence because it was as if the Holy Spirit was tapping me on the shoulder and telling me to pay attention to the lesson He was trying to teach me.

Although, I read quickly through the book, it is not sufficient to stop there. I really need to go back and think about the points that stood out to me. There are also excellent discussion questions after each chapter that can be answered alone or within a book club. Because of this I've decided to read the book over and dig a little deeper. For the next few Wednesdays (starting April 18) I'll share with you my thoughts about each chapter. Feel free to read along and share your own thoughts as well.

If you don't already have a copy you can order it at Amazon (paperback or kindle) or enter the RoL Birthday Contest to try and win a copy - along with some other goodies! :-)

As a side note: This book is also a great gift! At the last baby shower I attended I gave the new mama a care package of tea, chocolate and this book. A perfect treat when she finally gets five minutes to herself! ;-)

Have a great day and we'll start our discussion next Wednesday (4/18) with Chapter 1. :-)

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

TTIF Already? - How can it possibly be Friday already? The days we were absent from school has thrown me off so in my mind it feels like it's only Wednesday. On the one hand, that's great news since it is the weekend already. On the other hand, I'm two days short with the things I had to get done this week. Oh, well. That means I better quickly get this done and get back to work.

BaSP Blog Contest - First things first, I have to tell you that you must go over to my sister's blog Barefoot and Sometimes Pregnant and enter her Year 3 Blog Birthday contest. She is simply fabulous! Whereas I share with you my struggles to keep a clean house or get more crafty or not kill my garden within the first few weeks, EL is a Martha Stewart-like chica. She is the sister most likely to be in labor with her fourth child and in between contractions she'll manage to bake a loaf of bread, can a jar of preserves, gather vegetable in her garden for a homemade stew, milk the cow, sew a new outfit for the baby and whittle a baby crib. I kid you not. She amazes me. Anyway... she says:

Since barefoot and sometime pregnant is all about homemaking, I am giving away the perfect gift for any homemaker or future homemaker. Enter to win a copy of Style, Sex and Substance by Hallie Lord (if you already have a copy, you can give this one away to a friend), an All-in-one Organizer from the company thirty-one, and a custom apron. Yes, I will sew you an apron of your choice! (I will give you some pattern types to choice from and fabric options.) The giveaway will close on Sunday and I will post the winner on Monday.

Click on over and tell her that I sent you! ;-)

Call Me Aunt B. - Oh, and also keep my sister in your prayers because she is now 39 weeks pregnant and any day she could have baby #4 (although she tends to go late.) We are all excited to meet our new family member! I can't wait to see if I'm an auntie to a little niece or nephew.

RoL - Speaking of Blog Birthdays, this year our original website Revolution of Love.com will be ten years old in November! Can you believe it?! We started it when we were newly married and only had Bella. I had a lot more time to write back then! Since I was still new to mommyhood I wrote more for newly married couples and Catholic singles. There are a few articles about dating/courtship and chastity that still get a lot of hits. That's why we haven't pulled the site off the web. Over the next few months I'll be reposting some of those articles here since the blog gets a lot for traffic that the website does.

Man, I'm Old - As for this blog, next month I'll have been blogging for nine years! My first post was back in 2003. That's just crazy. Although I've been around awhile, some years I only posted a handful of times. In 2003 I have only 22 posts. (Although, I did delete a few that had dead links or outdated info.) I think 2011 is the first year that I posted consistently with over 100 posts. Okay, okay. Useless facts. I'll celebrate next month and, inspired by my sis, I'll put together a little contest too. :-)

The Hunger Games vs The Flu - My mom called while I was typing and she asked me how the movie was last week. I forgot I was going to mention that. (Thanks for the reminder, mom.) As I mentioned last week, I had just finished reading The Hunger Games and planned to go see the movie on Saturday. That is a story in itself. Friday night my stomach was a little queasy but I didn't think much of it. Matthew woke up at 6:30 AM but I was really feeling awful. Brian took the baby, I got sick and then went back to bed and slept until 10 AM. I woke up feeling a bit out of it but not too bad. I figured I must have gotten food poisoning. Brian said if I was up to it I could go ahead and go to the movies since I already bought my ticket and who knows when I'd get another afternoon off. True. I got ready and went. The movie was packed but luckily I found a secluded seat where I wouldn't be touching anyone, in case I really was sick.

The movie started and from the get go it was amazing. I thought they did a great job making the book come alive on the screen, editing what they needed to but still keeping the tone of the book. I certainly think you'd get more out of the movie if you read it first because there are a lot of subtle things that you won't pick up on unless you've read the book first. And although it was not gory-graphic it was still incredibly disturbing to see little kids get murdered like that. More disturbing was the fact that it was also viewed as reality tv/entertainment. With the current obsession with reality TV and the growing lack of disrespect for life, it does not seem too far fetched to think that we could one day return to the days of the martyrs in the Roman Coliseum.

As the movie continued we got to the part where Katniss was looking for the hurt Peeta and we lost our picture. We could hear it but not see it. We sat there as they tried to fix it. The manager came in and told us they were working on it but they couldn't rewind what we missed because it would throw off the show times for the people behind us. The theater nearly had a District 11 riot (that was one of the last scenes we just saw) when he told us that. Finally they got the movie back on and they rewound it to the part where Rue and Katniss were together. We yelled, "NO!!!" We were not going to sit there and watch Rue's death all over again. It was hard enough the first time when we could hear people in the theater quietly sobbing. Fifteen minutes later, they found the right spot and continued the movie. The end seemed a little rushed but I still loved the movie. Did you see it? What did you think?

After we were leaving the theater, the manager gave us all free passes so at least I got a free movie out of it! Plus, I got over my phobia of going to the movies alone, so I am ready to go! On a side note, however, I got home and by the end of the day I was much worse. I realized I had the flu and not food poisoning. As I lay on my bed dead to the world I kept praying I didn't get anyone sick in the theater...from touching the seat or the handrail or the door handle. I kept picturing the movie Contagion. Sorry, my fellow movie goers!

Tiny Bubbles - That's it for now. I better get back to my boys. While I type I'll often put the bubble machine on the bookshelf and they play happily trying to pop bubbles or catch them on their tongue. (Ew.) Here is a photo of them right now still in their pj's. Although Matthew looks like he's ignoring the bubbles and looking for a good book. Maybe he'll have a little more Brian than Bobbi in him. ;-)

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

I am sorry to say that I am only half awake this morning. I was up at 3:30 AM with Matthew, who was either teething or feeling sick. Whatever it was, he was not happy and not sleeping. I can't say that I felt much different at the time. After two hours I was finally able to get him back to sleep so I could catch another 30 minutes before I had to get up with the rest of the kids. It's times like these I think I should start drinking coffee.

The other day I met an acquaintance I haven't seen in awhile. She remembered me when I was pregnant with Andrew. When I told her I had four kids now she actually gasped. She stared at me for a minute and said I don't look like I have four kids, which got me to thinking... What is a mom with four kids supposed to look like?? I don't know but if she saw me right now she'd be saying, "You look like this and you only have four kids?" Grr. (Okay, let's think of something more upbeat...)

I am in the last month of our school fundraising and Brian and I were actually able to solicit some nice gifts to be auctioned off. It is surprising that I am on the committee because I am terrible at sales. I like helping people but when it comes to talking them into buying something (or giving me something for free) I can't bring myself to push it. There is another mom on the committee that has the ability to walk into a business cold turkey and she walks out with a complimentary deluxe package worth $500. I walk into a business and say, "You don't want to donate something, right? No, I didn't think so. Okay, thanks anyway." Every once in awhile I do get a positive response to which I say, "Oh, you do? Are you sure? I'll understand if you don't. I know money is tight so don't worry if you can't..." Yeah, I'm not a salesman. The other mom said I had a pleasant demeanor so they would donate. "Pleasant"? I don't know. That sounds an awful lot like the blind date with the "great personality." Oh, well. I'll take what I can get.

At least the soliciting of donations has put my "mommy cards" to good use. What's a mommy card? It's like a business card but geared towards my business - mommyhood. It's great for when I need to give people my contact info quickly. Above is the one I use, although my personal info like my last name and phone numbers are edited out. They have a lot of cute ones at Vista Print.com. They have an offer for 250 free cards but the selection is limited. You can also choose the $10 special (with the $5 off savings) and have a large selection. Just search "mommy card."

Last Friday I was going to tell you about a book I read - Stealing Jenny by Ellen Gable - but I was so preoccupied with the my vomit shower and Matthew's near death experience (how's that for an upbeat topic?) that I never got to it. Here's the summary, "After three heartbreaking miscarriages, Tom and Jenny Callahan are happily anticipating the birth of their sixth child. Their neighbor, however, is secretly hatching a sinister plot which will find Jenny and her unborn baby fighting for their lives." The story is well written and although the kidnapping is a harrowing tale, the book is also touching as it explores the topics of love, courage, forgiveness and trust in God, both in the main plotline and the flashbacks of Jenny and Tom's beginning friendship. I may not recommend this book if you are a pregnant woman prone to worry (especially if like me, you recently saw a documentary about real life women who were in similar situations. Scary!) However, to the others, I wholeheartedly recommend the book. You can get it in paperback or download it to your kindle for only $2.99.

After the suspense of that story I was looking for something else that would keep my interest. A number of people I know have been taking about The Hunger Games and there has been so much hype about the movie that I downloaded a free sample chapter onto my kindle. Let's just say that I read the first chapter and was drawn in immediately and downloaded the rest of the book. That whole day I was sneaking my iPhone out and trying to read pages in between whatever I was doing. Finally after everyone was in bed I read well into the night and breathlessly finished the last page. There is a great Book Review and Parents' Guide of The Hunger Games Trilogy from a Catholic perspective over at Catholic Lane.com. It begins:

"The Hunger Games is a futuristic, sci-fi series that draws heavily on themes of violence, war and power. It is set in the dystopia created by the Capitol, the ruling class that satiates its own pleasures at the expense and oppression of the 12 Districts. The Districts, which are made up of the working class, provide the Capitol population with everything it needs to continue its own survival and remain in power.

The story commences with Panem, the country that emerged from the civil war ruins of what was once North America, preparing for the annual Hunger Games. The Games are televised live and are mandatory viewing for every citizen in the nation. They were instituted as a punishment for the Districts' attempted rebellion against the Capitol years ago. Every year each of the 12 Districts must provide one boy and one girl between the ages of twelve and eighteen who will fight to the death on live television until only one child is still alive. The Games exist to remind the people in the Districts that not even children are beyond the reach of the Capitol's power..." (Continue reading.)

The guide reviews all three books so Spoiler Alert if you haven't read them already. There is also a list of topics and discussion starters for those parents with older children who will want to read these books.

To show you how much I loved reading The Hunger Games, Brian suggested that he watch the kids and I take an afternoon off since I've been so busy with household stuff and the school fundraiser ect. I told him I'd like to see the Hunger Games movie this weekend. He was surprised since I've never gone to the movies alone but he was more that happy to give me some time off. So I've bought my ticket and have my handkerchief and a bag of peanut M&M's in my purse. Tomorrow afternoon this mama will be ready for 2 1/2 hours of action and drama. After that I'll be ready to come home and kiss my husband and kids and hold them close!

In the meantime, have a great weekend and may the odds ever be in your favor.

(Usually hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.) This week hosted by Hailey at Betty Beguiles.com.

Until Next Year, Dear Downton - It's been a busy week and these Quick Takes will be perfect to catch you up. For Valentine's Day Brian got me the Downton Abbey Season 2 Blu-ray. We were so excited to finish the series. It was a Valentine treat! I won't tell you what happens but if you don't want even a hint then please skip to the next Quick Take. This episode wasn't as emotional as others have been but there were two moments when I reached for a hankie - one was sad tears and one was happy tears. Brian thought this episode was a little anti-climatic but I think that was because one major storyline was resolved but a number of other storylines were not. After all, Season 3 needs drama too. The one thing I did not enjoy was the various Ouija board scenes. We could have done without that. But all in all it was a great season and I can't wait for season 3!

That's Amore - Speaking of Valentines, I was looking through a box of mementos looking for an old cassette tape of Dean Martin's greatest hits. (Yes, I am so old I can remember when we used to have ghetto blasters and Walkmans!) I wanted to find it because when Brian and I were married for our honeymoon we went on a road trip to Northern California and we played that tape over and over again. (There are a number of greatest hits CD's but none of them had the exact songs from that cassette.) Whenever I hear Return to Me or You Belong to Me or Memories Are Made of These I can't help but think of our courtship, our long distance relationship, our honeymoon etc. (Music can be powerful like that - transporting you to the places that your memories hold!) I know he loved that tape and I wanted to find the list of songs from it so I could download them for him. I burned a CD that he could listen to in his car or download into his iPod. He was so touched and excited. :-)

Love "Letters" - I also found in my treasure box a collection of love letters - the traditional hand written ones but also old blank cassettes that were "letter tapes" that Brian and I made when we were dating. We lived 400 miles from each other and we tried a number of things to bring us closer. We each had small tape recorders and we'd leave them in our cars. Whenever we were in the car (at the time I was commuting to San Diego a few days a week) we'd turn the recorder on and just chat about how our day was going, what was on our mind etc. I found my old recorder and started listening to one of the tapes. It was recorded shortly after we made it "official" that we were in love and were thinking about marriage in the future. It was funny to hear him talk about a possible job opening at Pebble Beach. (He had just left the seminary before we met and was doing various temp work. He got his current job at PB two weeks before we were married. Talk about trusting in God to provide!) He shared about his hopes for the future and how much he loved me. It brought tears to my eyes because he has kept his promise to love me and take care of me and our future children. He has been a better husband and best friend than I could have ever imagined. I think now I'll go back and listen to one of my letter tapes that I recorded and remind myself of the promises I made to him to be a good wife and mother to his children. :-)

Free Kindle Giveaway -I know that many of us in this Catholic blogging mom community are eagerly awaiting the release of Hailey Lord's (beloved blogging mom, fashionista and this week's QT host) new book Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter. If that wasn't exciting enough, if you preorder your book you can enter to win a new Kindle Touch. Fun! Just place your order and then head to Betty Beguiles.com to enter. I'll be ordering and entering as soon as I'm done with this post!

Pampered Chef Online Party - My sister-in-law Maria is hosting a Pampered Chef online party. I found out about Pampered Chef a few years back through a friend. I bought a few products and still love using them today. So if you are looking for some kitchen items, please feel free to browse Maria's Pampered Chef page. (Orders due 2/26.) These are some of my favorite products.

Sick of Spam - You may have noticed that a week or two ago I switched the comment box to allow people to comment without having to sign in. It did allow for people to comment more often but it also allowed the spambots to easily post spam comments. Normally it's not too bad and I just delete them at the end of the day but the other night my inbox was filling up like crazy. It downloaded over a hundred spams in minutes and they kept coming. I had to turn the comment box to requiring you sign in first. Sorry about the inconvenience. By the way, why do they call it spam? Is it because they both are poor substitutes for the real thing?

That's it for today. I was going to post about the boys speech therapy and preschool decisions but it became too long for a quick take so I'll post about it later today if time allows.

Have a wonderful weekend!!

Hosted by Jen at Conversion Diary.

I've been reading a lot on other blogs about resolutions. I hate resolutions because I'll do well for a day or two then go right back to where I started. Instead, I have a couple of work-in-process projects. I've been working on two areas specifically last year. One was to get my house more organized. For those who know me or have been reading my blog, you also know that my three sisters are neat and organized and I'm the one most likely to appears on "Hoarders: Buried Alive." Okay, maybe I'm not that bad but I could appear on the show "My Desk Is Covered with So Much Junk I Can't See My Computer Monitor" as seen here. That is why I started Operation Clean & Organize. I haven't done much since autumn with all the holiday busyness but things have settled down now and I can refocus.

The second work-in-progress is to eat healthier and move more. (Do you ever watch Good Luck Charlie on Disney? As the overweight Bob Duncan was told - "Less bacon and more shakin!") I already joined Weight Watchers and I've lost the baby weight but, again, once the holidays came everything stalled. I stopped keeping track. I kept what I lost off but I haven't made any progress on the still long road ahead. So that, too, must be refocused.

The last two are more mini-goals than projects. And they are more "fun." The first - don't be afraid to try some "feminine touches" in how I dress. When I was younger my favorite colors were navy blue, army green and burgundy. I wore either converse of doc martins. However, as I've gotten older, I have finally let go of that more "tomboy" mentality. I still hate wearing dresses or skirts and run from any shoe that has a heel more than ½ an inch but I can now say my favorite colors are red, orange and yellow - bright and happy colors. I like wearing pink and buying things that are less boyish and more cute. I think I have also been influenced by Betty Beguiles and have learned to better embrace the feminine side of myself. For example, when I see my sisters wearing pretty flowers in their hair or a really pretty accessory I think to myself - that looks great on them but I couldn't wear it. Well, Bobbi, why not? So I experimented with little things. For Christmas I wore a flower clip in my hair. I also love headbands so I wore this crocheted one I found that had a pretty crocheted flower on it.

I liked it and no one laughed at me. (Do we ever get over those negative junior high feelings that sometimes creep up on us?) And who knows, in the future I may even be blogging about the day I wore one of those cute dresses I pinned on Pinterest. After all, I do believe in miracles.

The other mini-goal is to watch a little less TV. Having cable TV and a DVR, I can pretty much record whatever I want and just watch it later, especially when I am up with the baby. However, it has gotten a bit out of hand. I have had to delete some shows that have just become time wasters. (Sorry, Mom, if I can't discuss the latest person voted off Biggest Loser or why I voted for so-and-so on American Idol.) I will still watch favorites with Brian in the evening and I will certainly still obsess over Downton Abbey (See, Mom, we can still discuss how much we can't stand Vera Bates and how we long for Mary and Matthew to finally get together.) but paring down on TV in general will give me more time to read a few of those books I wanted to get into and read some of the mom blogs I've wanted to follow.

Speaking of reading more, I have already started reading more on my new Kindle Fire. Yes, as I mentioned in last week's quick takes, I finally decided to use my Christmas money to buy one and I don't regret it! I love my iphone but reading on the kindle is so much easier. Plus, I can also read my magazines (did you see that the National Catholic Register is available on the Kindle?) and my Google Reader is a lot easier than on my phone. It is perfect for the evenings when I am trying to get the baby to sleep and have extra time to myself.

And speaking of mom blogs, I first came across By Sun and Candlelight when I was reading a post about Downton Abbey. (Great comments in the com box. btw!) I started browsing around and I am really enjoying Dawn's posts. You should check it out.

Lastly, Dawn (from above) also mentioned that she got the book The World of Downton Abbey for her birthday. I browsed through the pages they had on Amazon and it looks so pretty and informative. It's the kind of book a Downton geek would love. (It is available on Kindle but a book like that, you have to hold it in your hands and feel the paper.)

And I do happen to have a few dollars of my Christmas money left...and it is burning a hole in my pocket...and who wants to bet that for next week's {pretty, happy, funny, real} you are going to see a photo of that book sitting on my desk. I'm just saying... ;-)

LOL! Have a great weekend!

xoxo,
b.

I was so excited to hear that one of my favorite bloggers, Hailey at Betty Beguiles, has a new book coming out in spring. It is titled Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter and features many of my favorite Catholic female writers, including Simcha Fisher, Danielle Bean, Rachel Balducci, Betty Duffy, Jennifer Fulwiler, Rebecca Teti, Karen Edmisten, Anna Mitchell and Barbara Nicolosi. How cool is that?

Here is a summary of the book.

In Style, Sex, and Substance: 10 Catholic Women Consider the Things that Really Matter, ten of the top Catholic female writers come together to offer tips, encouragement, and a bit of humor for their sisters in the trenches of daily life. From the difficulties of fitting in prayer time to the impact that lots of babies have on intimacy to the unique challenges of the single life, each author digs deep into the issues that real Catholic women think about. With the tone of a group of gals gathered around a bottle of wine, it is sure to be a hit with all Catholic women, whether they need practical tips in areas in which they struggle, words of encouragement, or just a bit of entertainment after a long day.

Although the book will be released in March, preorders are available at Amazon today. You can get in line after me. ;-)

Congrats to Lisa Hendey for the release of her new book A Book of Saints for Catholic Moms: 52 Companions for Your Heart, Mind, Body and Soul. I'll be ordering it this week. Hope you'll do the same!

I loved Gillian Anderson's portrayal of Lady Dedlock in Charles Dicken's Bleak House. I eagerly await her upcoming role as Miss Havisham in Dicken's Great Expectations, which is coming to Masterpiece Theatre.

Gillian Anderson To Play Miss Havisham In New Great Expectations On Masterpiece

Gillian Anderson will star in the iconic role of Miss Havisham in a bold new adaptation of Charles Dickens' Great Expectations. The cast of the star-studded Masterpiece on PBS/BBC coproduction also includes David Suchet (Poirot) and Ray Winstone (Sexy Beast).

"I can't wait to see Gillian delicately sink her teeth into the role of the beautiful, mysterious and manipulative Miss Havisham. She's one of the most intriguing female characters in literature," says Masterpiece executive producer Rebecca Eaton. "Gillian's hypnotic portrayal of Lady Dedlock in Bleak House showed that she and Dickens are a perfect match."

Ms. Anderson's 2006 performance in Bleak House -- her first television role after rising to stardom as Agent Dana Scully in The X-Files -- earned her rave reviews and Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

The Masterpiece broadcast of Great Expectations will air in April 2012, during the bicentennial of Dickens' birth. Including Bleak House, Masterpiece -- celebrating its 40th anniversary on PBS in 2011 -- has aired nine Dickens adaptations equaling nearly sixty hours of television to date, including Little Dorrit, the winner of seven Emmy awards in 2009, and David Copperfield, which introduced Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) to American audiences.

As part of the Dickens bicentennial, Masterpiece will also partner with the BBC on The Mystery of Edwin Drood, an unfinished work that will be given a new ending by writer Gwyneth Hughes (Five Days, Miss Austen Regrets).

Widely considered one of Dickens' greatest novels, Great Expectations tells the story of Pip the battered orphan boy, who rises from blacksmith's apprentice to gentleman under the patronage of a mysterious benefactor, who assures him of "great expectations." As Pip grows up, he befriends Magwitch, a convict, becomes the pet to Miss Havisham, an insane heiress, and falls in love with Estella, her cold-hearted ward. A series of shocking setbacks teaches Pip the true source of moral worth.

David Suchet, who will play Jaggers, and Ray Winstone (Magwitch), are well known to Masterpiece audiences. Suchet is renowned as the Belgian supersleuth in the popular Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot series, and Winstone's portrayal of Henry VIII on Masterpiece was called "a brilliant tour de force" by the Hollywood Reporter.

Great Expectations begins filming in London in July.

UPDATE: Great Expectations will be playing in the USA on Masterpiece Classic on April 1, 2012.

Watch the full episode. See more Masterpiece.

Congratulations to Downton Abbey, which is nominated for 11 Primetime Emmy awards (including outstanding miniseries). The show was awarded the Guinness World Records title for "highest critical review ratings for a TV show."

Masterpiece had 25 nominations for the 2011 Primetime Emmy® Awards -- the highest number of nominations the series has received in its 40-year history. (We're also rooting for Upstairs, Downstairs, even though we didn't like it as much as Downton Abbey and Sherlock, which we thoroughly enjoyed. As for Any Human Heart, I couldn't get passed the first episode. Sorry, didn't like it at all.)

I purchased this cross from FlorLarios and I love the way it looks in my kitchen. So pretty. And a nice reminder to turn my mind to the Our Lord and Our Lady as I'm busy in mommyhood.

I loooove this shot. It's a rare occurrence when I can snap a photo and have more than one person smiling and happy at the same time. Which makes me happy. Yay!

Andrew may be my oldest boy but he has the smallest frame of the fellas...as seen with his body sitting in this rather small wagon. (JP can get his rear in but his legs, not so much.)

Brian loves the novels by Michael O'Brien and he was excited to purchase his latest book A Father's Tale. When I saw the cover I though, "Oh, how nice...."

But then I saw how thick it was and gasped. It's over 1,000 pages! Dang, Brian can forget about reading in bed and holding that book up. If he accidentally drops it, it'll give him a concussion.

This morning I was looking through the Days of Faith Student Planner that Bella's teacher gave her and I love it! It is brightly colored and inviting and there is a lot of great general Catholic info - about the bible, the rosary, saints, the Church. There is also the daily saint, Gospel summary for that week and a weekly personal goal to work on. This would be great for a Catholic student or homeschooler. The 2011 Primary grade planner is sold out but the intermediate grades (that's what Bella has) and junior/senior high are still available.

Speaking of books, I recently came across the blog Family Menu Planning Book.com by Catholic convert Elizabeth Hawbaker and saw her e-book Family Menu Planning: A Practical Guide to Mealtime Management. I just downloaded it and I'm loving it so far. Some of the shopping tips I already mentioned here but there is a lot of great info that will help me with my meal planning. The e-book is only $3.99 for the Amazon Kindle version. It is worth it.

Note: You don't have to actually have a Kindle to read the book. You can download kindle onto your PC or smart phone. I have mine on my iphone and I'm using Amazon Cloud (until Apple gets their cloud!) so I can read it on any computer.