Getting to Know Bek

When Bek @The Contemplations of a Daughter  read my post many moons ago updating my 2014 Goals she noted that one of my goals was to form more friendships through the blog world and suggested that we do a Q&A of each other and post it on our blogs.  Well isn't that a howdy do.  Well I was doing this thing called finishing college and wasn't always the most timely with getting back to her but she was a patient gal and finally here we are nearly two months later finally publishing the post.  Maybe this post is like wine, it gets better with age.

Without further ado or yapping, here is a Q&A seesion with Bek @The Contemplations of a Daughter.  And if you hopped over here from Bek's blog, hello and come back again!

The lovely Bek (she is the one in black and her bestie Samara is in white)

Bek's Answers to my Questions:

1. Why did you start blogging? I started blogging for fun, just to see if I could conquer Blogger {still working on it!} and because it seemed like a cool thing to do for a 20-year-old college sophomore. Also because typing things out was faster than handwriting impersonal thoughts in my journal.

2. Dog lover? Cat lover? Both? Definitely a dog person, but I won't go so far as to say dog lover. My sister is the real Dr. Doolittle of the family, but I did enjoy our family dog while she was with us.

3. My favorite Scripture verse right now?  John 1:1-5  "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it."

4. Favorite pair of shoes? I know they're really trendy, but I have a pair of ankle boots that I love. They are a great heel, make my feet look small, and I can wear them in Seattle's rainy-sunny spring weather!  Also, I love my slippers. My parents gave them to me for Christmas, and they are Tardis slippers and I love them and wear them all the time. I bring them to other people's houses to wear. I know I'm weird, but at least I'm comfy, too!

5. If you could have any career where time being education and pay didn't matter, what would it be? I think I would run some crisis pregnancy clinics. That is my goal, actually, to direct some clinics, hopefully with Care Net. We're working on a mobile unit, which would be incredible. I'd also love to spend some time with Save the Storks {mobile ultrasound units}, and if I could spend some time with Katie Davis in Uganda, I think I might stay there forever, too

Bek's Answers to her Questions:

 1. Describe your family: My family is my parents and my three younger sisters. We are loud and crazy sometimes and quiet bookworms some other times. My sisters and I can sit around the kitchen table for hours laughing and laughing at and with each other. I really enjoy Christmas shopping with my sisters, because we usually pair off and buy gifts for the sisters we're not with at the moment, then we rotate. It's pretty great.

2. If you had a whole day off with no commitments or responsibilities, what would you do? Sleep in! Then read in bed, both a devotional {going through the 1000 Gifts journal} and some fiction {currently in "Infinite Jest"}. At some point, I'd get up and want to hang out with people, maybe go to dinner, and play some cards. Cookie baking is also on the list.

3. What are your favorite books? Three Christmases in a row, I read "A Tale of Two Cities," but I think I'm over that cycle. I loved Les Miserables and frequently re-read Jane Eyre. The Fault In Our Stars is a favorite, and He Loves Me is the non-fiction book that I breathe in regularly.

4. What do you love most about blogging? What do you love least? I love the people I've "met" through blogging! The blogging community is a wonderful group of people who are passionate about whatever they're passionate about, and I love reading about what makes people tick.  Writer's block is my least favorite part of blogging, for sure. I hate when there's stuff going on in my head that I just am unable to articulate on the blog. That part is lame.

5. If you could live in any location, where and why? Mmm, I'm with you: somewhere warm is definitely calling my name! I'd also love to go to Kentucky, because that's where my heart already is, and I think Berlin would be pretty awesome also. 

Sunday Ramblings

And here I am sitting back on my parents sectional.  I am officially moved out of Steubenville and living at home until an undertermined time.  I do NOT plan on being here for any more than the summer.  I have to take my NCLEX and get a job but I have an apartment waiting for me in Pittsburgh. Until then my life is all studying and enjoying summer.

So on to the ramblings.

Yesterday I was incredibly blessed to attend the ordination for the Diocese of Cleveland where six new priests were ordained.  I can't just not mention six men joining the holy priesthood here on the blog.

Source: stmarysem.edu 

The third from the left came from my home parish and was actually a CORE member while I was in LIFETEEN in high school.  He is an incredible man and is going to do amazing things at any of the parishes he will be serving at over the coming years.  It was a blessing not only to witness the ordination but also Fr. Max's first Mass at my parish. There is just something incredible about a priest saying the words of consecration for the first time.  The priesthood is truly incredible.

As I was at the ordination Mass I realized I really hope one day, Lord willing, I can be at an ordination Mass and watch a son of mine become a priest.  Anyone else ever hope and dream that?

So now onto a prayer request.  My mom is having her knee replaced tomorrow (Monday).  Please keep her in your prayers tomorrow and the weeks ahead as she heals and rehabs.

More posts are to come.  Anything in particular you guys want updates about?

NAS: Religous Life

While most of us feel called to marriage, it is important to see the beauty in all vocations! If/when you were discerning religious life, which communities interest(ed) you? What do you see as the positives of that vocation?

Well howdy!! Here I am living the grad life.  I have NCLEX prep class this week but I do have diploma in hand.  I really should write a graduation post but give me a wee bit of time to process it all.

I am actually really excited for this Not Alone Series post because I have always wanted to write something on this topic but have never really known how.  It is a very intimate part of my life and relationship with the Lord that absolutely does not belong on a the interwebs however I think I can pose something.   

So to get to the heart of the story, this past fall I went on a vocation discernment retreat with the Franciscan TOR sisters that minster on campus.  It was because of this extraordinarily blessed retreat that I am confidently pursuing marriage. I went on this retreat because I felt like The Lord was asking me to "date" religious life by going on a retreat with a community.   While there, The Lord first of all showed me that religious life wasn't for me by me realizing the lifestyle felt like an ill fitting coat that looks beautiful but just doesn't fit right.  However, He also completely confirmed it through prayer and clearly through prayer teams.

Because of this experience I had, I strongly encourage others to allow themselves to consider religious life and visit a community.  Don't let it be a scary thing but just a typical Catholic thing.  The Lord will rock your world and whisper on your heart to pursue religious life, He will confirm your calling to married life or maybe just throw you into a beautiful confused state.  I feel like going on this retreat was a gift to my husband and children because I am confident in my discernment and I can be praying for them now in a very real way.

I think it is very appropriate that this topic came up as this school year came to close because going on this retreat and The Lord pursuing me by showing me clearly my vocation was probably one of the most important things that happened to me this year.

This is in no way a exhaustive discussion of the topic but gives a glimpse into a topic that is very important to me.  If we are ever sitting down over a cup of coffee or glass of wine I would be thrilled to show you The Lord's glory and love and tell you the whole story of my discernment. I end by saying if you feel any sort of tug on your heart to consider religious life, do it.  The Lord will hold your heart and take you in an awesome adventure.

Let's Talk Oils

Let's talk essential oils.  And when I say let's talk I mean very basic.  So when I confessed I was a crunchy hippy, I had numerous people comment that they wanted to know more about essential oils.  I am no expert on how or why they work but I do want to show you what a beginner essential oiler looks like to show you it doesn't have to be hard or overwhelming.

Now lets talk brands.  Before I started buying essential oils I did a ton of research.  The two really popular brands are DoTerra and Young Living.  And really my research didn't find one clearly victorious over the other.  Many other less expensive brands were in the running, one being Eden's Garden.  Personally, my verdict is still out.  My Thieves is Young Living and my Grapefruit DoTerra, both bought off ebay.  All the rest I have bought through Eden's Garden.  They are significantly cheaper and defiantly a great choice when you don't have alot of money to spend and want to try out essential oils however some of them don't smell as good as the more expensive brands (I have a friend who is a big fan of essential oils and has a good amount of Young Living oils, hence how I could compare).  I don't regret buying oils from Eden's Garden and will continue  to do so but will probably mix in more Young Living and DoTerra once I start getting real nurse paychecks.

They call Thieves the gateway oil and there is a reason.  It is the first oil that I used and it hooked me.  It is called Thieves because during the Bubonic Plague there were four thieves running around cities stealing from the sick.  When the authorities caught them they were told they could only be released if they revealed how they weren't getting sick even though they were exposed to all these people who were sick.  They spilled the beans and reported that they rubbed this blend of oils on themselves.  To this day people are still protecting themselves from illness with this oil blend.

So why did I even start using it?  If any of you remember I got sick twice over winter break and had been sick multiple times during the fall.  It wasn't ok with me and I had to do something because I couldn't keep getting sick.  I figured it wouldn't hurt to try Thieves.  Through the winter and cold and flu season I would roll this oil onto my feet every morning before I put my socks on.  (Sidenote:  You can put oil on "neat" meaning directly on your skin or you can dilute it with a carrier oil, I use Grapeseed oil from Kroger.  Some oils for some people irritate and burn the skin if applied neat.  I keep my Thieves in a roller bottle diluted just to make it easier in the morning.)  My roommate is currently battling a cold so I have put it on my feet the past few nights just to protect myself even though I have stopped using it daily now that the weather is nicer.  I am happy to report that since using it I have only gotten one mild cold and call me crazy hippy but I really believe the Thieves oil is to thank for not getting sick the rest of winter.

My second most used oil would be Lavender.  This oil is pretty self exclamatory and most people have used it in some way.  I use it to help me sleep when I have night shift or just to help me sleep deeper.  I put it on my wrists and pillows a few nights week and as needed.

Other oils I use a few days a week are my lemon and grapefruit oil.  The main reason I use grapefruit oil is it helps with water retention.  I was having some issues with water retention and between grapefruit oil, putting my feet up when possible and being consciousnesses of my sodium intake it has been so much better.  

When I have a stress headache or just particularly anxious I will rub stress relief oil blend on my temples and wrists, respectively.  Deep breaths....

I use Peppermint in my chocolate protein shakes for taste and a little wake me up.  I have also rubbed Peppermint in my navel to help with nausea and indigestion.  Recently I had an unusually bad headache so I rubbed some Peppermint oil on my temples and the headache melted away.  I was in disbelief.  Do not underestimate this oil, a little goes a long way.

When I had that little cold I mentioned I added a few drops of Breathe Easy oil blend to coconut oil and rubbed it on my chest to help me breath easier through the congestion and cough.  Think Vick's here.

So did I spit enough information at you?  What more do you want to know?  I really want to share with you as much as I know so that you can see how beneficial, easy, and inexpensive essential oils can be.  Anyone else an oil user?  Anyone want to try them out?

This and That

So I really wanted to post a 7QT with random things that have been floating around my head lately just waiting to hit this here bloggity but my computer is on the fritz (it lasted until school was over so I can't complain) and couldn't write a post on Friday so instead I present to you random ramblings of this and that in no pattern or order and maybe if your lucky I will throw a picture in for good measure.

Did you read that up there....."until school was over"?  Yeap, I AM DONE WITH NURSING SCHOOL.  Wait let me say that one more time I AM DONE WITH NURSING SCHOOL.  I started crying when I called my mom to tell her the good news because you have no idea how many times I literally didn't think I was ever going to finish. And when I say literally I mean I didn't get into the program the first year I applied and I failed a class.  I took my last final on Saturday morning and I know I have achieved something huge.  I am going to relish in this achievement before I start super freaking out about NCLEX, a job and such.

So when I got back from Florida over a month ago I was washing my swimsuit and I realized I was in serious need of a new one.  Any suggestions on good quality swimsuits?  I like to wear a tankini top and skirted bottom and preferably a little bit of oomph in the bust area.  I am not really liking any of them off Land's End and need help.

On that note, anyone want to tell me what brand of tablet they have and how they like it.  Since this computer is limping along and eventually going to utterly collapse I am thinking about just getting tablet for now.  Right now I am still debating I-Pad v. PC, like maybe a surface.  I am kindof leaning towards the I-Pad at this point though.

Also in really exciting news, I have an apartment I can move into once I get a job.  Lord willing (aka when I get a job in Pittsburgh) I will be living with my lovely household sister, Maggie who blogs @ the pursuit of happiness.  She moved in today and once I get a job I can start paying rent and move in too.

And what would a post be without a shout out to the newly cananized Saint Pope John Paul II.  This is one that should be celebrated for a long, long time.

Well that's all folks.