Happy Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul!!!!

It's the Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul today! Very apt timing, since they both did so much in the way of preaching the Gospel relentlessly (even when others disagreed with them), which is something we can surely learn from and imitate today. So pray, evangelize by your words and lives, and eat some dessert!

Story time: when we moved in on Friday and started unpacking, the smell of maple flooded into our ENTIRE apartment. We found our bottle of maple flavoring, but it hadn't leaked. So something magical happened. And all weekend we were smelling maple. So, today we are getting some maple bars to celebrate the saints!

A Few of My Favorite Things from "Laudato Si"

Hello, friends!

I JUST finished reading "Laudato Si," Pope Francis' latest encyclical (a much more fruitful occupation than reading through or participating in Facebook arguments about Friday's decision. I'm not a fan of what happened--for many reasons--but Facebook arguments rarely, if ever, do anything good for anybody. But I digress). Some of his discussion points went a little over my head, but I tried to read and understand what I could. He said a lot of fabulous things which The Media and General Public have failed to mention (like his anti-abortion comments, or Sunday rest). 

Well, in case you haven't had a chance to read the document yet, I offer you some of my favorite quotations from this encyclical (but I have lots more, I really had to cut the list down). I even combined some of the quotes with my photographs, just because the Pope's words made me super excited (feel free to use these images, if you so desire)!
 Without further ado, let's read the words of Pope Francis!

When the Saints Decide to Pop Up in our Adventure

Happy feast of Sts. Thomas More and John Fisher!

Today, we applied for an apartment, so we're hoping and praying that in a few days we get a "you're approved, come sign a lease" phone conversation! Jacob and I are extremely happy and relieved that we found a good, safe, affordable apartment to apply for. There were two final contenders, but as we thought and prayed about it, we both were feeling that this was the place. 

For me, the feeling that "this is it!" wouldn't go away because of the saints. 

Living Behind Screens

In some of my conversations with different friends before graduation, we discussed technology. We had noticed that other friends who had graduated college had begun “living on the internet,” in a way. We talked about the challenges of building communities after graduation, but the importance of not living online. Today’s blog is some of my further reflections on this topic.

During my final two years of college, I lived in an apartment without internet. My husband and I, since we had just gotten married and leased an apartment, figured that we didn’t need internet at home. We could drive 3ish minutes to campus and use internet. We could use internet during and after our classes. We could drive 5-7 minutes and get to the downtown library. Many times, I really appreciated the separation between technology and the “rest” of life. When we were home, we were fully present to each other without the distraction of computer technology. There were times that the lack of technology was irritating. If we wanted to make a certain type of food and didn’t have the recipe, we would have to drive to The Internet and find it online. If we wanted to know the weather forecast, we would have to drive someplace. My husband was working towards a degree in computer science, and is a “technology guy,” so it was rough for him at times (especially with some homework assignments). 

The Adventure Continues (The challenges of apartment-hunting, the peace of Mass, and that one time we met OKC firefighters)

Happy Thursday!

  This week is quickly becoming one big, somewhat exhausting blur, so I'd like to share a few more bits of our adventure while they are still fresh in my mind.

Lots of Red Dirt and Friendly People: The First Several Hours in Oklahoma!

Hello! Blessed be God!

On Saturday evening, my husband and I arrived in Oklahoma. Here are the first thoughts that popped into my head as we drove to our friends' house:

Food and a Blessedly Insane Life!

I love food. I love meal planning, I love grocery shopping, I love making food (especially with my husband), and I love eating food. Growing up, I always loved going to parties at my Grandma’s house. She, a feisty German woman, would cook up heaps of food. We would then spend hours talking, goofing off, and enjoying the meal. When I journeyed to Europe as an eighteen-year-old, I really enjoyed mealtimes. Our tour group would sit together, take time to relax and talk over wine, and enjoy food. At the close of the trip, we were rushed, and only took about 40 minutes for one of our final meals. I felt rushed. I will venture to say that, for many Americans, 40 minutes would be uncomfortably long for a meal where all of the food has been prepared and laid out. I mean, then people would actually have to talk, get to know each other, and discuss pressing issues in a reasonable manner! Oh wait, they’d all be on their iPhones.

I don’t think that the European “dining experience” (which I have enjoyed several times, in my three separate excursions abroad) is an unreasonable expectation for Americans. I think that we can maximize our experience of community and enjoyment of food quite simply. But how do we do this? Allow me to sail off on a tangent briefly.