Quick Takes Friday

1.  Before I get into the promised "lighter" posts, I wanted to share 2 recent articles on the blogosphere.  What makes them unique is that the authors are both guys and the topic covers infertility.  My brother wrote this post reflecting on the Joyful Mysteries of the Rosary relating to IF.  A doctor of theology at Notre Dame penned this post about his experiences with IF.

2.  A family of cardinals has moved to our yard.  They are my favorite birds; I never saw them until moving to the Midwest.  The male cardinal's red plumed feathers are particularly attractive.  I've named the dad Carlos the Cardinal (yeah, I love alliteration).  He often feeds food to his chicks. I try to leave bread for them, but often the chipmunks or blackbirds get it.

3.  Some friends and I made a spiritual bouquet for a friend going through a rough time.  Some blogger friends offered prayers too; thank you!  Here's how the bouquet turned out:

4.  I've become a Pinterest addict!  Yikes!  One of the many benefits has been the discovery of new recipes.  Of all the ones tried in my kitchen so far, this recipe for crock pot chicken tacos is my favorite.  Three ingredients plus a slow cooker equals my kind of recipe!! If you try this recipe, be sure to use frozen chicken  (not thawed! it will dry out!) and LOW SODIUM taco seasoning. 

5.  This past weekend we went to Nebraska for the baptism of our godson.  I have 3 college friends (hi, Marisa) and 2 former youth group teens who live there.  We had such fun catching up with friends and seeing the NE countryside.  The weather was hot and humid, as my bushy hair can attest.  I even discovered a delectable new drink: the Carmelicious Latte by Scoo.ters Coffee.   

6.  KB did great on the plane ride to NE.  She's becoming quite the traveler.  As the only child in a family with half of its relatives on the West Coast, she has to learn to tolerate airplanes by necessity.  We even discovered that Chicago O'Hare has an indoor children's play area.  That sure made the layover better, if not relaxing.  Maybe I won't loathe that airport as much as in the past.

7.  Since February, I have lost 16.5 lbs.  It's made quite a difference in my health and wardrobe.  :)

Have a great weekend!