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Monday, September 08, 2008

  • so I act like a wife

    Today I woke up a little after six a.m. I am staying at my sister's sister-in-law's house now. She lives...oh, about a block and a half away from Mark.

    I made lunches for both Mark and myself.

    I went to "work".

    Mark and I made dinner together. Well, I heated up Velveeta & Rotel, while he made rice, beans, and guacamole. We walked down the street to my sister's house for Mexican Monday dinner. (She provided the chips and chicken enchiladas. Yum.)

    I did the dishes back at the carhole. (I actually don't mind not having a dishwasher. Usually.)

    And then I cut Mark's hair.

     

    Today was a pretty good day.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

  • longest entry ever...?

    It's been over four months since I've xanga'ed. And probably over four years since I've used that word. Xanga'ed. Oh, those were the days.

    It's a good thing I talk to you people in real life, right? That way I won't have to write about every detail....

    I'm mostly writing because Mark's watching football. College football apparently began tonight. I'm not really a fan. And right now, it's NC State vs. South Carolina. I've never even been to either of those states. Anyways, I'm nice and football's on. He's ironing. How cute, huh? He's ironing his uniform.

    Mark is an APO. Apprentice Police Officer. That's his title while he's in the academy. They started July 1st and will graduate December 19th. Time feels like it's flying to me, but I'm not the one doing pushups every day or getting bruises on my face from shooting a shotgun so much. I'm really proud of him.

    I've started my sixth year of college. After five years of living in a dorm room (I <3 OK Hall) and spending hours in classrooms, I've finally made it to my rotation year. I'm at a Walgreens for my first four weeks. It's gotten better, but I was so overwhelmed the first few days. That place is...intense. It's a good thing I'm a red and khaki girl. I had a great internship with Target this summer, they're letting me work an occasional weekend, and get this...

    ...they even offered me a job for after graduation. I'm so freakin' happy about that. It was quite the adult moment when they told me the salary over the phone.

    I've called myself homeless this summer, and that's been an experience. When Mark and I both moved out of our parents' houses at the end of May, he brought his belongings to the carhole, and mine stayed in my car. Okay, not really. A lot of my stuff is at the carhole too. I doubt he'd claim the framed "Sound of Music" record or the orange pig pitcher. Quite a bit of stuff is still at my parents' house. Some will make the trek later, but others, like prom glasses and my baby quilt, just seem to make more sense there. 90% of my clothes are at Marianne and Jon's house. I think I have a laundry basket still in Eli and Kristen's guest room closet. And I have a toothbrush permanently residing on a shelf in Kate and Rob's bathroom. I sure am lucky that my siblings are so nice to give me a spare bed or a spare couch, but I'm really ready to just live here.

    This summer has felt a little bit like a proper college romance. Mark and I live in the same town and that's kinda new. We see each other on a daily basis. We go grocery shopping together. We make dinner together. A nice thing about our situation is that I have older siblings around and it reminds that I need to head back to wherever it is that I'm crashing for the night.

    When I logged on to type this up, I realized my last post was all about NFP. Mark calls me a "sexual crusader". I'm not sure how I like that nickname, but it's pretty true. We attended NFP classes and although I knew the basics before, I am more amazed by the whole thing. I'll stop at that.

    I could spend hours at apartmenttherapy.com. Check it out and its sister sites. Especially you, Marianne. Look at this. 

    I have a four-day weekend that I'm majorly psyched about. There's no preceptor scheduled at Walgreens tomorrow, so I can't work. My plans for the day?

    -get my tag for the car and see if I can switch my voter registration to here
    -return some items to Target and Walmart that I've been meaning to for weeeeks
    -make lunch for my sisters
    -make dinner for Mark
    -organize the closet in the carhole
    -watch Project Runway

    Maybe I'll let you know how it all goes.

    Saturday, I'm working 9-6 at Target (yay!) and then Mark and I are grilling pizzas. Yummy. We've also got "Lars and the Real Girl" netflixed.

    Sunday will be an early day, as I've got to catch a mass before working 9-6 again. After work, it's off to a sisters night. Fun times.

    Monday is Labor Day, o' course, and there will be the obligatory family cookout. I should find my camera and take pictures.

Thursday, April 17, 2008

  • FCP and ABC

    Just attended an FCP (Fellowship of Christian Pharmacists) meeting...

    I'm sorta proud of myself, but then again, I still feel like I was a coward and bit my tongue.
    I'm proud because I spoke up more in that hour and a half than I have in the past five years of college classes. (Although I may have said "It's not called the Rhythm method anymore, FYI" a little too rudely. :$) I feel like a coward because I didn't point out more discrepancies that I felt were conveyed. (I took a poll. I don't think ovulation ALWAYS occurs 14 days before the onset of menses. Oh well.)

    I went to this same meeting a couple of years ago. Dr. Davis was the guest speaker and the forum was oral contraceptives, Plan B, and abortion.

    The basic overview was: oral contraceptives have such a remote chance of being an abortifacient why worry?, Plan B gets a little more hairy in regards to morals because fertilization is more likely to have occurred, and abortion is awful, especially partial-birth.

    This view isn't completely out of line, but as a pro-life person, I think any chance of being an abortifacient is not only reason to worry, but reason to not use hormonal contraceptives. Of course, that's not my only reason, and I'll touch on them later...But regarding the abortifacient claim:

    http://www.thepill.com/thepill/aboutortho-how.html     "Secondary method: Taking the Pill causes the lining of the uterus to change, which makes it hard for an egg to be implanted." And from a study I can site if so requested: "For the combined oral contraceptive pill, it has been estimated that the pill doesn't prevent ovulation 1.7% to 28.6% per cycle." Basically, if you're on the pill, you could ovulate, and if you're having sex, sperm could fertilize an egg, and a thinned uterine lining could prevent implantation. Lots of coulds, yes. I'm betting it still happens.

    Anyways, I did briefly hit on the fact that Catholics (ahem, in theory) are against ABC not only for the potential abortifacient effects, but for the moral issues and spiritual consequences. And to hit on a couple of them, I'm going to link Janet Smith's eye-opening lecture, Contraception: Why Not?. It is a long document to read, but is also available in mp3 format or available to order as a CD for free here. I think every person in the world should hear these words. Especially if you're in a contracepting relationship (or anticipate being in one in the future). Especially if you're a female.

    Here are some nice thoughts:
    • Most people don't know that every Christian church up until 1930 taught that contraception was wrong. Catholics didn't just up and decide to be against this one day. (In fact, on a sidenote, Catholics don't tend to just up and decide anything "one day". Our core beliefs, including things like honoring Mary and the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, have been around far longer than any Protestant religion.)
    • Pope Paul VI, in Section 17 of Humanae Vitae, made several predictions about what would happen if contraceptives became widely available and widely used in society. (This was in 1968.) These predictions, which are discussed in detail, are as follows:
      • a general lowering of morality in society
      • a general disregard for the physical and psychological well-being of females by males
      • governments would use family planning programs for coercive purposes (China, anyone?)
      • we would begin to treat our bodies as though they were machines
    • A social scientist attributes 45% of the increase in the divorce rate to increased use of contraceptives. Why?
      • those who use contraceptives have fewer children and have them later in marriage, and this leads to weaker marriages (more details in the talk, of course)
      • there is much more adultery than there was before
      • women are financially more independent
    • "Has it made for fewer unwanted pregnancies? The statistics on this are wild. In 1960, some 6% of white babies were born out of wedlock. Six percent. In 1992, 22% of white babies were born out of wedlock. Almost a four-fold increase, and it's rapidly rising. Rapidly rising. In 1960, some 22%, same figure, 22% of black babies were born out of wedlock. Anybody know the percentage now? Sixty-eight percent. Sixty-eight percent of black babies are born out of wedlock. That took thirty years. I don't think it will take thirty years for the 22% of whites to go up to 68 if we follow down the same path we are currently following."
    Oh man. I'm not even halfway through skimming the transcript of her talk, but I've hit some good stuff about why contraception is not good for society. But why isn't it good for a marriage? It's easy to say contraception isn't good when it's used outside of a marriage, because...hmm, well, not even most, but some people can understand that sex outside of a marriage isn't good for society. But what about in a marriage? What if you're married and you don't want kids right away or you want to space them out qutie a bit?

    Natural Family Planning. :) As effective as birth control without the nasty side effects. So what's the difference? Aren't you avoiding pregnancy? I liked this article.

    Here's simply how I see it. Wait, it seems simple, but I had to do research to realize it. Which is why I like to share this stuff with people. It seems so simple, but if you've never been exposed to it, you'd never think about it. Anyways, to sum up a lot from what I've read and learned:

    Sex is for bonding and babies. Sex should only be within the covenant of marriage. (Which basically means you need to be open to life as soon as you're married.) Covenant means the giving of two people. If you're contracepting, are you really giving completely of yourself? No. It's keeping your fertility from your husband. Fertility is a gift, not a disease. The body doesn't need to be manipulated to fix what's actually working correctly. However, God knew what He was doing when he created woman. We're not fertile 100% of the time. And He gave us signs to know when we are and when we aren't. He set it up to naturally plan your family, to avoid pregnancy when necessary.


    And because I mentioned this at the meeting, here's a link to the article about the Yale student's horrendous "art" project : http://yaledailynews.com/articles/view/24513


Thursday, April 03, 2008

  • I accepted a job as a Target Intern for this summer. I don't have all the details yet, but I do know that I'll be working at some Tulsa store, starting in early June (maybe?), and I'll make more money per hour than I have in my life. Yay!

    I traveled 90 miles on foot in the first three months of the year. My next plan is to run/jog (I won't count any walking this time) 90 miles in the next two months. I'm already a little unsure because I've taken the 2nd and the 3rd off due to...what else, leg pain. Hopefully I'll give it a go tomorrow.

    Each passing day of class I find it harder and harder to pay attention. I fill my notebooks with letters to Mark. Lists of what we could buy for the carhole, things I want to accomplish in May, places to travel to someday. It's so amazing to me that in five weeks I'll move away from this town forever. I'm a little sad, but way too excited about the future to give it too much thought.

    I better get back to studying pharmacy law....


Monday, March 10, 2008

  • 1. Ever given your all to someone who walked away?
    ohhh, i suppose not.

    2. Does someone love you?
    i'm guessing more than one someone.

    3. Is there someone you know you should hate, but you can't?
    pretty sure i shouldn't hate anyone, right?

    4. Do you like someone as more than a friend right now?
    oh yeah. i like mark like a fiance and my family like a family, and so on and so forth.

    5. What does your 8th text say?
    no clue. my phone's across the room. ahem, i mean ACROST the room.

    6. Have you ever lost anybody close to you?
    yup

    7. Is there anyone you trust even though you should not?
    no

    8. Ever loved someone that wasn't good to you?
    no

    9. How's your heart lately?
    very happy!

    10. The last song you listened to?
    not sure. i closed itunes a few hours ago. probably fergie. i'm magalicious.

    11. If you could change your name to anything, what would it be?
    i wouldn't change it, but if i had to, maybe agnes because then everyone could see that it COULD be a cool name.

    12. Would you move to another country to be with the one you love?
    yes, but i'd prefer not to!

    13. Which one of your friends do you think would make a good prostitute?
    gross...

    14. Are you afraid of falling in love?
    no, sir.

    15. What are you wearing right now?
    ducky shorts and jack bauer for president tshirt.

    16. Favorite juice?
    can gatorade be a juice?

    17. Have you had the chicken pox?
    many moons ago

    18. Ever been to Mexico?
    si. voy a vas vomitar.

    19. Are you a forgiving person?
    i hope so.  fortunately, i'm not wronged too often, i guess.

    20. Are you talking to someone while doing this?
    no. it's late!

    21. What school plays were you part of in elementary school
    don't know the titles and i can't remember the plots, but i was a penguin one year and an owl the next.

    22. What do you want to do with your life?
    be a good wife and momma. and work for the Church in some manner.

    23. If a bear attacked you, would you know how to defend yourself?
    no, but i'd guess with all my might.

    24. Do you think it would be more fun to model or to shoot the photographs?
    probably shoot.

    25. Are you younger than 21?
    no.

    26. Do you like winter?
    not at the moment. i'm ready for warm weather.

    27. Are you in a relationship?
    yes'm.

    28. Do you like fruit?
    i do!

    29. How clean is your room?
    it's horrendous, actually. monday's always a good day to clean up, though.

    30. What are you excited for?
    spring break and moving to tulsa in may!

    31. Do you have feelings for anyone?
    mmm-hmm! warm and fuzzy ones.

    32. Do you fall for guys/girls easily?
    nope. i like to say i'm easily amused, but not easily impressed.

    33. Do you know someone named Dan?
    my future father-in-law.

    34. What color is your couch?
    1985 brown

    35. Has anyone ever mistaken you for a family member?
    yes, more than once. and my mother has definitely called me by each of my siblings' names, even the brothers and the dog.

    36. What do you currently want to scream at the top of your lungs?
    nothing, it's quiet hours!

    37. Favorite ice cream flavor?
    ice cream sounds good now. i'd eat almost any kind. no nuts though. or coffee flavors.

    38. Do you think that hair extensions look skanky?
    noo..

    39. Are you named after a grandparent?
    nope

    40. Say you were given a pregnancy test right now. Would it say positive or negative?
    negative!

    41. Favorite pop-tart flavor?
    strawberry with icing

    42. Do you know anyone in jail/prison?
    is martha out yet?

    43. What are your plans for the weekend?
    well, this weekend is the start of spring break, so my main plan is to enjoy not having class the next week! but i also intend to go to tulsa to visit and to celebrate mark getting his pilot's license.

    44. What book are you reading right now?
    just finished 'the time traveler's wife'. i'll probably start the st therese autobiography i bought on saturday. also i'm reading a book on the passion and will finish it before easter!

    45. Who was the last person to send you a text message?
    hmm. mark or an RA. i think mark.

    46. Favorite kind of candy?
    peanut butter m&ms. i really wish i had some right now...

    47. What did you do yesterday?
    oh goodness. hung out with my dear sister mari, visited a fun Catholic store, had lunch with mark and megan, then we went to visit eli, kristen and baby emily, mark and i went to keri's wedding in stroud, he left after dinner, i danced all night with the girls, and then it was an OkRA slumber party in the city at a hotel. we all were asleep within minutes.

    48. Have you ever been on your school's track team?
    yep, but not by choice

    49. What jewelry are you wearing?
    my e-ring. (ha, i never call it that, but that's what all the knotties say)

    50. If all your friends were going on a road trip, would you go?
    i'd want to! road trips are my fave.

    51. Do you untie your shoes every time you take them off?
    no.

    52. Have you ever crawled through a window?
    once. good times.

    53. Do you still watch cartoons on Saturday mornings?
    no. i'm not really into cartoons.

    54. Have you ever changed your clothes in a vehicle?
    sure. it's sometimes inevitable.

    55. What is your ringtone?
    beats me. not a real song.

    56. What were you doing at 12am last night?
    which 12 a.m.? dang daylight savings. i was either riding in the PT, or in the hotel room.