7 QT vol 4

Head over to Jen @ Conversion Diary for more 7 Quick Takes!

1. Chris has been on his 2 week MVP (Mandatory Vacation Period) since last Thursday when we left for the Hamptons.  I, in a fortunate turn of events, have not had to go to work either.  So we unexpectedly have had all of this time together that I am absolutely loving!

2. Thanks to Stephanie over at Captive the Heart I started reading Fill These Hearts: God, Sex, and the Universal Longing.  I've always loved Christopher West so I jumped at the chance to read this, and let me just say, I am soaking it up.  I'm not even half way thru but I am trying to savor it, piece by piece.  Maybe I'll write  a "book review" of sorts when I've finished.  But so far I am loving the images he uses of the "starvation diet" the "fast food diet" and "the banquet."  It was interesting to identify for myself where I fell growing up (the starvation diet) and how I found myself moving towards the "fast food diet" at times in my life.  I can't wait to keep reading.

3. I finished the beach bag I had shared with you a few weeks ago...you may be saying, "Hey, Tiffany, that looks different than what you posted before."  How very observant of you!  It is indeed different because I messed up the other one...so I had to get some new yarn (the name of the color was "Ocean" so I thought it was appropriate)  Anyway, I love how it turned out and can't wait to use it!  If you're interested in the pattern I used, you can find it here.  The only changes I would add are that I used 3 balls of yarn and 3 of the thread.  This may be because I chained more in the beginning than it called for.  Also, when you start the next rounds of crocodile stitch, make sure you slip stitch over to where the "scale" will be between the "scales" of the previous row...that's where I messed up before.

4. Speaking of crochet, my newest "thing" is crochet dishcloths...I've done a few different patterns.  One is a bumpy dishcloth - found here (only change here is I just repeated row 2 for the whole dishcloth - for whatever reason when I followed the pattern the "bumps" didn't show up)

The other pattern was for a shell stitch dishcloth.  I followed a pattern in a book I have so if you'd like me to write it out, just leave a comment or shoot me a message

The third pattern is a tunisian crochet dishcloth...it's a form of crochet that uses a longer hook (called an afghan hook) and you can do a mock "knit" look with it.  Which is what the dishcloth is.

I'm not really sure what to call the final "style" of dishcloth but I found this super easy pattern here.  It works up quickly and while I haven't used this one yet, I can tell it will be a great dishcloth.

No more grimy sponges for the O'Hara household!

5. Chris and I are lucky enough that we get the change to get away again this weekend!  His best man's parent's have a house on the Jersey shore in Little Egg Harbor.  Their entire first floor was completely damaged by the hurricane and they just recently got everything fixed up.  Another relaxing weekend on the water up for us!  So excited.

6. Our poor pup is back on antibiotics and steroid and has another ear infection.  Poor thing, he seems so miserable it breaks my heart.  But the doctor has hope that hopefully this last round will be the end of it.

7. Next weekend we build our deck!  I am so excited, all I can do is picture coffee out on the deck...although as of now I have no idea where we will sit on it...ha!

I'm off to find a new bathing suit...I don't know how I was ever comfortable in a bikini (oh wait, I never was) but right now I am in search of something more modest and appropriate.  I am loving all the cute one pieces and tankinis they've come out with...although I'm hating the price tags attached.

Anniversary ABCs part 2

Annd lets begin with Part 2

Programs: Chris and I made our programs ourselves and had them printed from Kinkos.  And let me just say...we don't give graphic designers enough credit lol It was quite labor intensive and time consuming but I loved how they turned out!

Question Popping: You can read more about our story leading up to the question popping here

Rings: Chris and I had talked about rings and I had always talked about how I wanted something "antiquey" (not a real word, I know).  I cared more about the details on the ring than the diamond (not entirely true, but somewhat).  Chris' best man had recently got engaged and recommended a store and Chris coyly suggested we take a trip to the store.  He had secretly gone earlier to pick out rings he thought I might like and asked the owner to make sure they were out when we can.  I feel in love with one that he had picked out...although I didn't know it at the time.  And it had a matching wedding band so that was awesome.  Chris wanted something simple and strong so he chose a simple band of titanium.

Shoes: I love the look of high heels...however I was not born with much grace lol Therefore high heels + me often = me falling flat on my butt. So, knowing this about myself I knew I did not want very high heels and wanted something comfortable to wear all day.  I loved my shoes, they were the perfect height and super comfortable all night.

Tuxes: Chris and his groomsmen wore traditional black tuxes.  His groomsmen had gray ties while Chris wore an off white tie.  

Unique: Every wedding is unique in and of itself, isn't it?  But lets see...there were a few things that I would consider unique since we did them ourselves

     1. I wrapped votive candles in lace to be scattered around each table (do you sense the "lace" theme of our weddings? lol)

     2. I also made our place cards...this was a Pinterest find that I LOVED and  it fit into the "theme" perfectly.  I really loved how they turned out.

     3. Chris came up with the idea for our table numbers and guest book.  We bought 13 bottles of wine, printed out labels with numbers and then bought pens that would write on glass.  So each bottle was the table number and the guest book.  And, for each anniversary, we plan to drink that wine. 

     4. Something Chris used to talk about in passing was how he always wanted a bagpiper at his wedding.  I wanted to surprise him (and show him I do listen!) so we hired a bagpiper to play as people entered and left the church.  He was fantastic.

Vows: Chris and I spoke traditional wedding vows.  I remember being so nervous to be up in front of everyone talking but I just told myself to focus on what I was vowing to my husband, promising in front of God and our friends and family.  When the time came, it felt as though it were just Chris and I and the words we spoke were incredibly powerful.

I, Tiffany, take you, Christopher, to be my husband.

I, Christopher, take you, Tiffany, to be my wife.

I promise to be true to you,

in good times and in bad,

in sickness and in health.

I will love you and honor you all the days of my life.

Wedding Woes:  The only wedding woe there was, was in the morning when the florist delivered our bouquets.  My mother handles stress less than well and came to me in a panic.  The bouquets were nothing like what we had talked about and were literally doused with glitter.  My mom freaked and the woman re-did them as fast as she could.  Oh, the other wedding woe was that my father's tux was missing.  For some reason it had not been delivered when it should have and my dad had to drive to another neighboring town to retrieve it.  But honestly...thanks to my sister mostly and my bridesmaids I let these things brush off and trusted that it would all be taken care of.

eXit:  Honestly...I can't say that we did this...We stayed in the hotel that night and did not really have a grand exit or anything.  But I was ok with that.  Everyone was having a good time and once the party ended for the reception I know the rest of our guests went on to the hotel bar to continue the party while Chris and I slipped away to our suite lol

Zzz...The End:

His face cracks me up here

We love to sing and dance, can you tell?

And they lived happily ever after

Well, this was fun.  And such a great way to remember our special day one year ago.  We were, and continue to be, incredibly blessed

Anniversary ABCs

Well, I am no longer a newlywed.  I kinda love that lol  Our trip was fantastic, super relaxing, and exactly what we needed.

I noticed Patty over at Tales of Me and the Husband did something called Anniversary ABCs and it looks like a pretty fun way to take a trip down wedding day memory lane.  So, enjoy!

Attending: We had 130 people attend our wedding.  My mother's side of the family came all the way from Colombia South America and it meant the world to me that they made the trip.  It was stressful trying to "keep the numbers down" but ultimately we were surrounded bythe  family and friends who were a truly important part of our lives.

Bridesmaids: I had 7 bridesmaids.  My sister, Vanessa, was my matron of honor.  She helped me remain calm at the times when I could have freaked out and she helped remind me to keep my focus where it should be, on God.  4 of my bridesmaids (Leslie, Laura, Lindsay and Kelly) were friends from elementary/middle/high school.  Two of which I have known since I was 7.  My roommate from college (Lindsay) was also a bridesmaid and then my friend from graduate school (Danielle), a "kindred spirit."

From L to R: Laura, Lindsay, Leslie, Vanessa, Me, Kelly, Lindsay, Danielle

Cake: Our cake was made by a French bakery in Baltimore, Patisserie Poupon.  The owner and my mother have known each other for years.  They did my sister's wedding case as well.  And boy oh boy was this cake delicious.  It was layers of chocolate and hazelnut and then was decorate to look like lace.  The cake topper was loaned to us by Chris' father, and it is a Lladro that he got in Spain.  I loved it and it was so special to have something from his time in the Air Force.

Dress: I absolutely loved my dress.  It was everything I had imagine in my dress.  I knew I had wanted lace and I knew I wanted sleeves and something modest while still be stylish.  I remember watching "Say Yes to the Dress" and mocking the girls who would dry when trying on their dress...so naturally when I tried on my dress both my mother and I cried haha  When my bridesmaids later saw my dress they described it as "so me" which is exactly what you want in your dress.  We added a belt for a bit of sparkle.

Engagement: Chris proposed at the Grotto in Emmitsburg Maryland.  We had just gone to mass and were walking around and I was showing him my favorite spot.  It was all a dream come true.

Flowers: The flowers we chose were simple roses, white for me, pink for the girls with some dusty miller to tie in the gray.  The best part of the flowers were the arrangements in the church and the centerpieces.

Groomsmen: Chris' best man was his best friend Joe.  His brother's Bryan and Time were 2 other groomsmen and finally his friend from college Brian (we all called him Moy)

This picture cracks me up... imitating the photo

Honeymoon: I was still finishing my Master's degree after we got married so we decided to take our honeymoon in August, so it was a combination "Honeymoon, Graduation, and 25th Birthday"  We took a cruise to the Carribean...and it was amazing.  It was my first cruise and I can't wait to take another.

Invitations: Our invitations were beautiful, looked like lace, and to me, seemed in and of themselves a work of art.  

Justice of the Peace: Chris and I were married in a full Catholic mass by the priest from my childhood parish.  He gives the most amazing and inspiring homilies and we were truly blessed to have him witness our marriage.

Keepsakes: Our favors were porcelain flowers...this was sort of my mother's thing and was one of those "pick your battles" moments so I decided not to worry about this battle and let my mother do as she wished. They were beautiful flowers and we wrapped them in gray paper with a pink ribbon with our names and date of marriage.

Ladies Night: My bridesmaids surprised me with a night out in Georgetown.  We went to dinner in a cute little place and then went around to a few different bars in the area.  My favorite part was getting dressed up and spending some quality time with my girls.  

Music: The music during mass was traditional, and absolutely beautiful.  Our first dance was to the song Changed By You by Between the Trees and our DJ was fan. tastic.  He seriously kept everyone on the dancefloor all night and blended songs from all eras, and songs that we had on our must play list, perfectly.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3EBbKNp-OwE

Newlyweds: I guess we're not these any more...and I'm not really sure what to put here...but following suit, I'll post some pictures of us right after we were married

Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, Something Blue:

Old: Chris' mother gave me a hankerchief that had been given to Chris on his baptism.  It was a bonnet for his baptism and came with a poem explaining that it should be used for his bride's "something old."  Talk about something incredibly special

New: my Dress

Borrowed: I borrowed a Vatican rosary from my mom and wrapped it around the stems of the flowers in my bouquet

Blue:  I had my bridesmaids sign the bottom of my shoes with a blue pen

Part 2 Tomorrow!

Almost a Newlywed no longer...

This Sunday, June 16th, is our FIRST wedding anniversary.  I am so incredibly excited and am finding it hard to believe that a year has already flown by.

We decided to take a more economical approach and head up to the Hamptons in NY where Chris' grandfather has a house.  This way we are still "getting away" but don't need to spend any money on accommodations.  Chris tried to squash my mental image of the Hamptons which includes a lot of awful popped colars and women who wear 5 inch heels 24/7 while drinking a martini and ordering "the help" around.  This image brought to you by another guilty pleasure TV show, Revenge.  Apparently we won't be in that part of the Hamptons. Phew.

Honestly, I don't care where we go, as long as I get to spend some quality time with Chris remembering our wedding day a year ago and looking forward to our future together.

When I tell people that we were married last June, their first question is usually, "So how is it going?"  And when I enthusiastically tell them how much I am enjoying married life they tend to look at me like I've just stepped off a spaceship from another planet.  I remember getting fingerprinted for my job and the woman who was helping me commented on my rings and asked how long I had been married.  At the time it was more like 6 months.  She then asked the, "So how's it going" questions and I gave my response.  She then said how nice that was to hear since more often than not she usually hears from newlyweds how miserable they are within the first 3 months of marriage!  I was shocked...and then began to wonder if there was something wrong with Chris and I.  Were we a fluke?  Sure we've had our "spats" here and there, but over stupid things and they usually lasted oh...30 seconds.  Was this "too good to be true?"

Even when we were dating I used to ask myself why we didn't fight more (talk about a healthy view of relationships, huh)  Chris would patiently respond, "Tiff, I think it's a good thing we don't fight, not a bad thing.  We can actually talk about our differences without blowing up at each other"  Oh.  Yea.  I guess you're right.

It makes me sad that:

1. Our society has become so used to seeing couples married less than a year have some difficulties and promptly end said marriage.  What happened to the covenant, the vows they make before their friends and God, the sacrament they have entered into?

And

2. Apparently I have, in some small way, given into society's view.  How is is that I worry about my marriage because we enjoy each other.  We have fun together.  We laugh.  We openly talk about things and when things do get heated, we are able to come back down from it without leaving any wounds behind.  When did the images of a "healthy" marriage get flipped in my head?

Just some Wednesday morning thoughts...Thanks to those who sent me book recommendations, I'm going to either download or pick them up today to bring with me this weekend.

Before I go, I'll leave you with this cute "meme" that totally resonates with me...I can't find a picture to show up, but it says "A reporter asked the couple: "How did you manage to stay together for 65 years." The Woman replied: "We were born in a time when if something was broken we would fix it, not throw it away."

Amen.

7 Quick Takes vol 3

Read more 7 Quick Takes over at Conversion Diary!

1. Last night my co-counselor and I hosted an event for our students and their parents to help bridge the communication gap between young people and adults.  We pulled this event together in one week and I am incredibly happy with how it turned out.  I get so, SO very nervous when speaking in front of people, but the night was for a good cause and I loved seeing some lightbulbs go off in both parents' and kids' heads.

2. I have been praying a lot for discernment.  Discernment of what God's will is for me when it comes to my career.  There are many perks to my job, but many hardships and difficulties as well (some that resulted in many a crying session down the BW Parkway).  What's really missing for me though is a lack of spiritual groundedness at my job, which I guess isn't surprising since I am at a public charter school.  I want to be able to use my Pastoral Counseling degree in a more religiously affiliated institute. But, like I said, my job has perks.  The hours being one, and the fact that I'm pretty certain if I were to get pregnant my boss would listen to me make a case for working part time.  Maybe.  

3.  Speaking of planning for if I become pregnant...I have been thinking a lot about how I can get ready for pregnancy before I'm even pregnant!  Is that odd?  For example, I read an article a few months ago about a possible link between folic acid intake before pregnancy and a reduced risk of autism.  So I started taking prenatal vitamins.  You can read the article here.  I also read about health benefits to mother and baby of exercising during pregnancy...so I begged Chris to join a gym so I could get into the routine now (I can't find the exact article I read now, but theres a lot out there).

4. On Sunday Chris and I will be going to a "dessert club for catholic couples married less than 5 years."  Super long name, but we've really enjoyed going.  This will be it's third week and we've already met some amazing couples through it.  A mentor of mine who is also a Pastoral Counselor started the group to give recently married couples the opportunity to have some fellowship with like minded couples.  She is also a Marriage and Family therapist (MFT- something I would like to become one day) and gives us a "marriage minute" each time we meet which is a little anecdote supported by research on how we can improve marriage.  She has been married for many years and has 11 children so there is definitely a lot we can learn from her!

5. Student' last day is next Wednesday and I'm hoping our boss will give the counselors a little time off before the summer session starts.  Which means I will have time to read!!  I am looking for some good book recommendations, particularly spiritual.  Does anyone have some good recommendations??  I'd really appreciate them!

6. I am realizing I have a very bad case of crochet project ADD.  Currently I am working on 1. a beach bag 2. Chris' Jets afghan 3. dishcloths 4. a ruffle scarf (which I'm actually really excited about because I have been wanting to learn how to crochet with ruffle yarns for a while now)

7.  Our ONE year anniversary is NEXT Sunday!  I cannot believe it has been a year.  And what a year it has been!  I am trying to think of some good anniversary presents...A couple ideas I have are a "365 reasons I love you jar - one for every day" "52 reasons why I love you - on a deck of cards" or an "ABCs of our love"  All super cheesy but they also fulfill the paper tradition.  What did you all do for your first anniversary?

Happy Friday everyone!  I hope you can find your own bit of sunshine on this rainy day!  (Well, it's a rainy day in MD at least...)

The Check List LIfe

I love check lists.  I love the feeling of checking something off a list.  It gives me just an added bit of satisfaction that whatever I needed to get done, is in fact, finished.  Not to mention that with my tendency to forget things and put them off until the very last minute, check lists help me make sure things get done when they are supposed to.

Now, work with me here on this analogy.  I think that sometimes people can fall into a sort of "Check List Life"

Get your bachelors degree (check)
Get your Masters degree (check)
Get married to the man of your dreams (check)
Get a "big girl" job (check)
Buy a house (check)
Get a dog (check)
Have a baby (no check...yet)

As much as I love check lists...I want so much more for my life, my marriage, my family than for it to just be something to "check" off a list.  A few different things come to mind for me when thinking about combating this "check list" mentality.

First, I can remember a conversation I had with a good friend of mine back when Chris and I were still just getting to know each other.  I was confiding in this friend that I was worried about our differing life styles, namely, where we were in our faith journeys.  I was born and raise Catholic and stayed true to my faith my whole life.  Chris was born and raised Catholic but fell away from the church during his college years and never really went back.  When we first started talking he stated that he was "agnostic."  Well now, dating an "agnostic" was just not on my check list!  My friend Erica challenged me on this.  She talked about how often girls make a mental check list about what they want the "man of their dreams" to be like.  They need to be tall, handsome, virtuous, faithful, a man of faith, smart, funny...we might as well throw in there that they be faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive and able to leap tall buildings in a single bound (yes, that is a Superman reference).  I realized, I don't want my "dream" man, I want the man God has for me.  What is that saying?  "If you want to make God laugh, show him your checklist?"  No?  Not it?  Close enough, right?

My friend pointed out that I was not allowing any room for grace.  Yes Chris may be an agnostic now, but was he willing to grown with me in faith?  The answer to that was yes, he was.  And has.  We grow together everyday in our faith, we talk about the role of our faith in raising our family.  If I had not allowed this room for grace, acknowledging that God knows best, ignored that tug on my heart, I would not be here with him as happy as I am.

Now, granted, I do believe that women should have standards.  It is good to know what might be your "deal breakers."  But I am just saying that I wonder whether sometimes God puts these "deal breakers" in our paths to show us that HE is still in control of our lives, not us.

And then I think back to a conversation I had with my sister years ago.  My sister is my hero.  She suffered with infertility for 11 years before conceiving, naturally, my sweet niece (for those who read my Who Am I? post, that is why we call her our miracle baby).  My sister's story is a powerful one, and hopefully she'll write a guest post for me one day.  Anywho, there was one evening I was with her and we were talking about women having babies and how sometimes women have children just so they can "check it off their list."  I agree.  I think that people can postpone pregnancy for wrong, selfish reasons - saving for that new Camero, maybe - and I am wondering if people can have a baby for the wrong reasons too.  I am grateful to these women for giving their children life of course, but as a counselor, I wonder about their quality of life.  If all these sweet, innocent children are is something checked off a life list I hope they will still be given the love, time, and attention that they deserve.

One of my guilty pleasures is the TV show One Tree Hill...certainly not a model of morality, but it has it's entertaining moments.  As I'm talking about this check list baby mentality, Brooke's mother comes to mind...if you've seen the show,  you'll get the reference! :-)

I learned my lesson though in the past, and I am going to leave this open to grace.  Grace for these mother's to change their view of their child from a commodity to be had, an item to check of their list; to viewing their children as gifts from God.

All of this is just a random thought I had the other day and it would be super interesting to get some other perspectives as I have not fully fleshed this idea out and may be taking a super narrow view.

Happy Wednesday!

What I Wore Sunday #1

Linking up with the What I Wore Sunday crew today!

The skirt is super old...I think from American Eagle.  The top is from Kohls and the sandals I believe are from DSW or the like.  I always struggle with shirts like this because while it's not a spaghetti strap, it is still sleeveless and going sleeveless in church never quite feels right (not to mentioned I am always a good 10 degrees colder than most people around me).  I always try to add a sweater/cardigan but this morning was hot and I just jogged out the door forgetting my clothing staple.

Our pastor was back this weekend, he had a tragedy befall his family and was away for two weeks.    His homily today was wonderful.  He asked what meal we would like to have if it were the last meal we were to have.  People in the congregation mentioned a few different meals.  Our priest then took note of how their eyes lit up when talking about their favorite meals.  He then challenged us to have that same joy, energy, and animation when taking part in the Eucharist, when we receive the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ.  What better meal could we ask for.

I love sharing the time at mass with my husband.  Having him next to me, united in prayer makes me feel so much closer to him.

The rest of our Sunday was spent preparing for a dinner we were hosting for my parents and aunt who is visiting from Colombia.  We made Balsamic Chicken Tortellini salad, cheddar biscuits, and magic cookie bars for dessert.  Everything was delicious and it was nice to be able to show my aunt our home and spend that time together.

Weekends always go so quickly, don't they?  I am not ready for the work week.  Hope everyone enjoyed their weekends!