Quick Takes: Apocalypse/Rapture Edition!

So according to a minute number of Christians, the world is supposed to end tomorrow.  That means this could be my final post.  Yeah.  Seriously, did these guys ever read Matthew 24:36?  Jimmy Akin penned a humorous article to explain everything.  Oh well, might as well do a Quick Takes, since my blog has been so neglected, not because the end of the world is tomorrow.

1.  Tomorrow to celebrate the end of the world (just kidding), we will attend the priestly ordination of the deacon who baptized KB.  Not only is our dear deacon a wonderful friend, he has been an incredible spiritual director too.  Most of our sessions have taken place at Star.bucks.  How cool is that?  I know he will become an incredible priest.  He was so compassionate during my infertility struggles and rejoiced at KB's arrival.

2.  I was a horrible time manager before KB.  It's gotten even worse.  With my school year ending next week and full-time motherhood kicking in, I need to make some changes.  Pronto.  Easier said than done.

3.  KB caught my stomach bug, so we have spent the majority of the week cleaning up fluids and making sure she stayed hydrated.  Her puking was prolonged enough to warrant 2 visits to the doctor.  Thankfully, she has recovered.  The episode forced me to not take her health for granted.

4.  Please, will someone invent an App to automatically mute political commercials?  We don't have an advanced TV or cable system that allows us to fast forward through those dastardly ads.

5.  My new guilty pleasure is "Ex.treme Coup.oning" on TLC.  It's so fascinating to watch these people pay so little for groceries.  However, I see disadvantages too, particularly the stockpile.  Come on, do you REALLY need 12 bottles of mustard?  Even large families we know do not have that large of a number.  Still, some of the couponers' techniques are useful.  My friend Jennifer started a blog called Jennifer Saves (love the name) where she chronicles her own savings.  She actually follows the rules at stores, and has pointed out to me that many of the TLC couponers do not.  Interesting!

6.  I am so. in. love. with this jewelry.

7.  Unlike Sew, I have not been able to lose baby weight.  The extra pounds sting even more because a mere year ago, I had lost a bunch of weight to prepare for a South Korea adoption BMI requirement.  Now that KB is 6 months old (and I can't use the "but I had a baby" excuse), she can attend the kids club at my gym AND swim in the pool with me.  Hopefully the exercise will help decrease the poundage.

8.  (sorry to go over the limit).  My friend K, who has 3 babies in heaven, will soon give birth to her twins.  I'm so glad God FINALLY turned her sorrow into joy. Her post reminds me of Always Giving Thanks's recent post, who compared her time of waiting to that of Joseph's in the Old Testament.  Infertility felt a lot like that well Joseph got thrown into: empty, dark, and seemingly no way out.  But God was (and still is, although I think He takes too long sometimes) faithful.  Keep praying for all of our IF friends out there.

I look forward to posting on Sunday, just because. :)

Of Derby, Mother's Day, and May

The school year is winding down and the days fly by.  In fact, today Miss KB is 6 months old! I cannot believe how much my life has changed since her arrival.  Not to mention she has grown quite a bit.

Here in the bluegrass state, the K.entucky D.erby is on par with the Super Bowl.  People around here have parties to celebrate the "most exciting 2 minutes in sports."  We didn't have a party, but KB got into the various Derb.y traditions:

Attempting to choose the winning horse...

Donning a Der.by hat (thank you, Auntie Beth!). Sorry for the blurry picture.

KB spending her first Mother's Day with me outside the womb.

I know it sounds cliche-ish, but after all the painful years of longing, this day was much sweeter.  Although I must admit, the idea of trying to raise this child and keep her from getting too warped by the world seems like a scary task.  KB and I always pray for all IF sisters out there still waiting. She loves her blogger aunties!

Great Article: Catholic & Infertility

Thanks to a friend's FB post, I came across this article that poignantly discusses the struggles of going through infertility as a Catholic.  One of the IF blogosphere's major stars, This Cross I Embrace, was interviewed for this article.  The author explores the very tangled web of IF, made difficult sometimes by some of the unique Catholic experiences such as judgement by others of your family size.

The only addendum I would like to mention is that I do not see my baby as some sort of "reward."  The Bible may allude to that, other moms may say something similar, but that is not my opinion.  I see my baby as a huge gift, one that I am so unworthy of receiving.  Just wanted to clarify that, in case any posts (despite my best efforts) say otherwise. :)

Easter Wishes and Lenten Prayer Buddy

Happy Easter, everyone!  We had a very rainy Easter weekend, complete with a Tornado warning on Good Friday night.  Thankfully we had attended a Good Friday service in the afternoon instead of the evening service punctuated by thunder, lightning, and power outages. (!)  KB looked delightful in her little Easter dress while my hubby and I marveled at where we were just a year ago.

My prayer buddy this Lent was this lovely lady.  Such a privilege to pray for you.

Cyber Intercessory Prayer

Apologies for the long blogging break, everyone.  My sister came to visit last week and the Percolating Petals home has had lots going on. And did I mention that my students all have spring fever?  *sigh*

I've been wanting to post a list of online prayer intercession sites for a while.  As I mentioned on Hannah's Tears, various Catholic religious orders and organizations have been posting online submission forms or email addresses for petitions.  What an efficient way to gather the problems and struggles of the world and offer them to God!!  Asking these orders to pray for an intention is just like asking a friend...except these orders spend a great deal of their time praying.  You don't even have to be Catholic.  I also like the anoniminity of it.   Every time I have a prayer buddy, I try to email a few of these orders to pray for her.

Here's my beginning list; if anyone has more to add, please list in the comments.  Thanks!

http://www.e5men.org/petitions.cfm  An organization of men who fast for the women in their lives.  Follow this link to send a specific intention and one of the men will fast for it.

http://desertnuns.org/ Cloistered Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration.  Click "send a prayer request."

http://marian.org/prayerline/index.php The Marians of the Immaculate Conception have a lay group called the Marian Helpers.  They run a phone prayer line.  At the bottom of the page is a button for sending an online petition.

http://www.carmelitesistersocd.com/Requests/ One of my favorite religious orders, the Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Los Angeles.

http://www.tyburnconvent.org.uk/foundress/prayer.html Across the pond in England, a group of cloistered nuns pray near the sight of the infamous Tyburn gallows.  They also have a display of relics from many of the English Martyrs.  This link leads you to email a prayer intention.  The nuns will pray for it and also ask the intercession of their foundress Mother Marie Adele, whom they have submitted for canonization.  The rest of the website it worth looking at too; you can learn a lot about what the martyrs endured for their faith.

I hope to find more online petition sites soon.  In the meantime, this short list can get us started.  A little extra prayer goes a long way!

Quick Pic Friday

Since this has been a crazy week I only have time for photos.  First of all, try to guess who we are rooting for in the NCAA tournament.  I doubt Big Blue will prevail over Big Red, but it's fun to dress up KB:

KB also support her Irish ancestry, as modeled in this St. Patrick's Day pic with her Daddy:

God bless all bloggers and lurkers!

The $14 Cake Mix Experiment

My last few posts have been on the serious side, so it's time for one of a lighter fare.  I had hoped to post this on Fat Tuesday, but time got away from me.  And it just seemed wrong and hurtful to write about cupcakes on Ash Wednesday, a day of fasting.  Warning to all of you who gave up sweets for Lent: this post involves tasty cupcakes.

So, I have a love-hate relationship with Willi.am-Sonom.a.  I love browsing the various kitchen gadgets, indulging in the samples, and occasionally taking a cooking class.  I loathe the insanely high prices.  One item that has always perplexed me is the Spri.nkles cupcake mix, costing $14 a can.  Seriously, $14?  I could make 13 boxes worth of cupcakes for that price.  Behold, the famous can:

Well, this past January W-S put a can of Spri.nkles mix on clearance.  Finally, I had a chance to give into my curiosity of why a small can costs so much.  A girlfriend from a Catholi.c prayer group offered to make a dozen cupcakes from store-bought mix so we could compare the two at the next gathering.  The showdown was set!!

To start off, I was rather dismayed to discover that the can only makes 12 cupcakes. Most box mixes make 24.  In addition, the can only contains the mix and the iconic Sprin.kles logo sprinkles.  Oh, and a recipe card.  Yea.  The mix required the addition of 1 stick of butter, milk, eggs, and oil (?).  In my haste to keep KB fed and happy, I accidentally added 2 sticks of butter ("Just call me Pau.la Dean," I told my husband).  Then came making the delicious butter cream frosting, which called for 2 sticks of butter.  That's right, those 12 cupcakes upon completion contained FOUR STICKS OF BUTTER.  I can visualize the painful winces of my general physician.

I brought the butter-laden cupcakes (sans the Spr.inkles decoration) to the prayer group meeting.  My friend brought her cupcakes for the all-important taste test (my cupcake is on the right).

After our in-depth analysis of the delicious cupcakes, we determined that both taste great.  The W-S cupcake had the consistency of a from-scratch cupcake.  But then again, perhaps the butter caused that texture.  Perhaps I will add a stick of butter to my next boxed cake mix.  Anyway, the boxed mix cupcake had a more moist consistency.  We agreed that the homemade butter cream frosting would work well on any cupcake.

The findings of this tasty experiment?  The $14 cupcake mix is SO not worth the price.  Better to make your own from a box or indulge in one of the many cupcake bakeries around town.  :)  Perhaps when Lent is over I will come up with another food experiment.  Feel free to submit any ideas in the comment box!