Yesterday officially ended Christmas so I decided to convert our Christmas lights back to being our porch lights before we got a letter from management. Yep that’s right, I’m admitting we keep our Christmas lights up all year! From the first day of Advent until the last day of Christmas the lights hang as “Icicles” and from February to November I rap the icicles around the wire and we use them as porch lighting. Multifunctional Christmas Lights … patent pending! (but not really).

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The Christmas tree went outside yesterday and it’s looking so much better for it. Maybe a little Vitamin D and water was all it needed. And I was going to throw it out with the trash. I was headed for the door when my husband reminded me of the promise I made to our tree. Yes I talked to our tree… who happens to be named Percy II. Percy the First was from last year. Yep I not only talk to my tree but I named it. Because talking to a nameless tree would be weird! … But I digress.

Last year was the first year we bought a small potted pine tree to use for Christmas. My intentions were to take it to Flagstaff once the season was over and plant it, but I neglected it and it ended up withering away until I just decided to throw it out.

I stared to do the same thing this year but that is when Mark reminded me how insistent I was that we take this tree to Flagstaff! So Percy II has been getting watered and lots of sun light until we get the chance to take a day trip north. *Fingers Crossed* we’ll be able to do that this Sunday!

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This past weekend we dog sat for a friend who happens to owe Maya & Chicle’s Big Brother from the litter before them. Willy is a very good dog in different ways than our own. For one he acts like a dog and keeps our crazy ones in check. He took the Alpha roll very quickly and our dogs are so well-behaved when Willy is around!

We love taking them to the dog park because Chicle is so much calmer and Maya has more confidence to roam around and interact with the other dogs while she has her big brother Willy by her side.

I asked Mark to try to get them to sit together so I could take a picture and this is the best I got, but it captures them pretty well. Willy and Maya doing what they are told and Chicle staring at the ball wondering why it’s not being thrown!

I’ve been posting lots of dog photos from the dog park, but it’s mostly because the weather in AZ doesn’t get better than this and in just a few short weeks it will be too ridiculously hot to go out midday.

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The art exhibit my love has been working as a curator for is opening tomorrow! Our lives have been consumed with it over the past few weeks. I say ours because HE has been consumed, which means I’ve had to deal with his quietness. When he’s stress and/or focused on something he doesn’t talk and I always need to talk so it’s been tough to learn when to back away. The time he was in grad school while we were dating I was in Texas so actually living with him through it all was definitely a learning experience. That could be its own entire blog post! (I need to write that idea down!)

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While he’s been focused, the kitchen has been neglected. But it sure has been cleaned for a while! He usually does all the cooking in our house but after going a week without breakfast and coffee I realized I am either going to starve or step up the meal game. See I learned! Maybe a year ago I would have whined about him neglecting something so little to help me before I GO TO WORK. Now I know more of what HIS JOB encompasses and I realize mine isn’t such a big deal. Only problem is I still can’t cook.

The other night after work I grabbed a pack of beer and a frozen pizza for dinner. As I was walking out with this large pizza and 18 pack of Tecate I thought “You know some man could probably look and me and think ‘Wow I wish my wife would bring me home an 18 pack and pizza’ because he’s tired of her lasagna or casserole or whatever he eats once or twice a week. But if he only knew how lucky he was!!!” That’s a regular dinner for my poor husband. I cannot wait to get job that gets me out early enough to at least attempt to cook something!

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This is a screen shot from my My Fitness Pal App  with my month weight recordings, though the graph could easily be confused with my stress level graph. (My husband would say it was an inverse graph of my running but that’s why I didn’t ask his comments for this topic.) Can’t argue the numbers. I’m so glad January is over!!

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 Valentine’s Day is around the corner! When we started dating we didn’t celebrate that day at all, and we still don’t to some extent but we realized there is nothing wrong with a day that helps us refocus on our love and have an excuse to show it in some material way! He actually explained it better than that but that’s the gist of it. Last year I made him Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting! This year (if I can get off work) I plan to go to a camping cooking class at REI! That way next time we go for a weekend camping getaway I can actually cook something and give him a break! I want to do something else for him on that day just haven’t decided yet. We shall see.

7 Quick Takes is hosted at ConversionDiary.com

I actually would have forgotten about today except for the fact that I’ve had a little traffic from Google search term “Candlemas”. Then I thought I had completely missed it because I’ve been a day off all week and thought it was February 3rd. It wasn’t until a few hours later that I realized it was in fact the 2nd. Can you tell how jumbled my mind has been?

I thank God for my our beautiful faith because without it who knows how long I would let myself drift into my self-destruction before refocusing. The Feast Day of the Purification commemorating the day that Mary obediently submitted herself to the Temple 40 days after the birth of Jesus, a purification that she had no need for.

Just like last year when I also didn’t remember it was February 2nd until late morning, I made a quick run to Pro’s Ranch Market for some of their oh so delicious tamales. This year I didn’t even attempt to make rice myself, I bought that too. The Ranch Market’s subtitle should be “The Solution for All Your Catholic Holiday Meals!”

On a similar note, Candlemas also tells us whether Winter is over or Spring is yet to come. Yea yea they call that groundhogs day and let a little rodent decide, but this feast day has done that job longer. Sure enough the weather on Candlemas was bright and clear and go figure the groundhog saw its shadow!

YAY for 6 more weeks of winter because it has been so warm so far, hopefully the next 6 will be more winter-like.

It’s my favorite time of year! Tax filing time! Despite knowing that it is our own money we are getting back I still get excited!

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This year I was really trying hard to keep our Christmas decorations and tree up until Candlemas, Feb 2nd, which is the end of Christmastide, but our little tree started leaning and the stocking looked droopy so I took them down on Thursday. I almost made it. Maybe next year. My Christmas lights still hang and the red table-cloth still covers our table, but I still feel like at my failed at my attempt to truely celebrate Christmas all 40 days.

I know the real importance is to focus on what his birth means. Now I’ll just have to try a bit harder without the visual elements.

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Finally getting back to reading. It’s been a while since I finished a book, not counting the Women of Genesis book I “read” via Audio Book. I actually am reading one book and have two in queue.

Born to Run is my main read now, and I’m enjoying much more than expected. I thought it was an academic book about running but in fact it turns out it’ a story that the author claims to be true. I say that because I don’t fully believe that he experienced all that he says, but who I am I make assumptions. It has a fun historical facts about Indigenous tribes of Mexico which is why I’m so intrigued.

Next up I have Memorize Your Faith. I actually picked up this recommendation while listening to a show on EWTN that Jennifer Fulwiler, the host of 7 Quick Takes, happen to be on!

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While I was sick this week I caught up with this season’s Biggest Loser shows on Hulu and I was so irritated because they kept playing the commercial by Kotex. It was the one where the girl said she using “covert tactics” to hide the fact that she’s going to the bathroom to change her tampon. At the end it says “Great protection. No Shame.” Since when was menstruating shameful!?!

They claim that the marketing attempt is to show there is nothing to be embarrassed and if that is true I feel they had a very poor choice of words.

Anyone else bothered by this commercial or am I just being oversensitive?

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I don’t think I’ve ever mentioned how much I love Father Barron’s commentary! I didn’t think he would bother to comment about that silly video discussing Jesus vs Religion but he did! Though I don’t think it was so much a desire as it was to being pressured enough into it. Either way it was an excellent response, as always.

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I mentioned in my last 7 Quick Takes that I was training again. It was a good week of training, then I got sick. I haven’t run since. Ugh. But I will start again! Sooner than months from now! More like today or at the latest tomorrow!!!

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I took my first pregnancy tests this week. I never expected to do that before we actually intended to have children, and I honestly had no reason to take it, except everyone was throwing the word “pregnant” around with such certainty! Apparently many of my symptoms that I had this week coincide with those of a pregnant woman. So after two days of requesting to go home early my managers were convinced that I was with child.

Me: I don’t know what wrong. I just wasn’t able to hold down my lunch. I think I have a stomach bug or something.
Manager #1: I think you have something else!

Me: Yea I’m going home. I just feel so nauseous.
Boss #2: You’re pregnant!!!

It was easy to write their opinion off. I know for Boss #2 it was wishful thinking because she’s always talking about wanting to be pregnant again. And for Boss #1 it was paranoid irritation of the idea of me being “unreliable” to them for 9 months and then the oh so inconvenient maternity leave. She doesn’t like children.

But what topped off the cake was when I told my doctor my symptoms and the VERY FIRST QUESTION he asks is “Is is possible you may be pregnant.” I wanted to say “Of course I’m a married woman who doesn’t pay enough attention to her NFP charting.” But instead I said “I don’t know. Maybe.” Something must have shown on my face because he quickly responded, “I ask every young woman who complains about nausea if that could be a possibility.” Thanks.

When I told Mark he just laughed at me. He said, “Neither one of our moms have called and ask ‘Monica is there something you need to tell me?’. Until then we know you’re not.” It’s true. No one can deny either of mother’s strong sixth sense.

7 Quick Takes is hosted at ConversionDiary.com

And here’s what I came up with from this past week’s adventure at the dog park.

This is my Chicle and he is usually the most beautiful dog in the world.

Except when we’re at the park and he is FOCUSED on his ball. Then he kind of looks a little crazy… or maybe a little more than a little!

But even though he is sometimes an embarrassing I still love this crazy dog!

Okay now time to get serious and clean!

Mark is currently make me some homemade chicken soup and I’ve been hitting up the OJ pretty hard along with the cough drops.

Guess there is only one more thing left to do to make me feel better. BSG marathon! Yes Battle Star Galactica. We’re serious fans now because we learned how to use the abbreviations to reference the show. “Oh you don’t know what BSG stands for? Hmph.”

Anyway, I’d say that I highly recommend the show but that would mean dragging more people into an inescapable force field of addiction that forces you to want to watch JUST ONE MORE SHOW after every show! And we’re only on season 2. Mark’s friend just told us today it hasn’t even gotten good yet, IT GETS BETTER! *sigh* What have we gotten ourselves into.

I leave you (by you I mean this post) now to go have some delicious chicken soup and indulge my addiction, because that’s all sick days are good for! If I don’t write ever again, call for help because this video could end up being an accurate portrayal of what happens to us.