Faithful Friday: Ongoing Conversion

I never got around to posting last Friday, so this is a double whammy.

The previous week at RCIA we were to bring our favorite prayer to be put into a book that we will all receive late as a keepsake. Our class consisted of reading the prayer we brought and then signing it, giving it to the person who was going to bind them into a book.
We sang a few hymns and clapped for everyone who shared. It was very relaxing and and a fun evening.

This week I didn't go to class (gasp!). I know I'm horrible. I was having a very high anxiety day and had to sit in my car for 15 minutes after getting off the train before I was capable of driving home. Not a good way to start the evening, so I opted to stay home. I enjoyed my evening and I don't think I missed a whole lot. The topic was Ministries. Various people were going to give talks on their ministry and urge us to sign up.

I'm all for giving my time to the Church. Right now I don't have any. Someday, when I have the time to make the best of the opportunies I will be apart of a ministry. At that point I will ask questions about them and decide from there.

22/25: Diary of a Mad Bride

Diary of a Mad Bride was interesting and scary all at the same time. I am planning a wedding myself and at the beginning of the book I kept saying 'I've said that', 'I've done that'. This was definitely good to read early in the planning process. I know there will be certain things I will try to avoid.

Amy is an interesting character. She goes from anti-wedding chick to "the bride". I feel for her and her struggle between her job, her wedding, her fiancé, and their families.

It was nice to see however, that even if a lot went wrong, everything turned out in the end and she realized that even though it was 'the biggest day of her life', she ends up realizing it's only one day out of the rest of their lives.

Things I learned:

1. Involve your fiancé. He does actually have an opinion and does care.
2. Everything won't go right, and that's ok.
3. Ask for help! You can't do it alone.

I hope that I don't turn into 'one of THOSE brides'.

21/25: The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty

The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty is written by Ann Rice under the pen name A.N. Roquelaure. It's an erotica novel. On the Nest Book Club forum, we have a chance each month to sign up and be paired up with a fellow nestie and read a book together over the month. My buddy and I both had this book on our to-read list and decided to read it.

In the traditional folk tale "Sleeping Beauty," the spell cast upon the lovely young princess and everyone in her castle can only be broken by the kiss of a Prince. Anne Rice's retelling of the Beauty story probes the unspoken implications of this lush, suggestive tale by exploring its undeniable connection to sexual desire.

This was the first erotica novel (other than a few Harlequin novels) that I've ever read. Wow was I in for a shock. The back of the book says "Beauty is awakened by the Prince, not with a kiss, but with sexual initiation." Let's start by saying that this book focuses primarily on the S&M side of sex. I had a hard time at the beginning getting through this without thinking 'what kind of kingdom is this?'

I will admit that reading the first few chapters had me blushing and having to put it down before I got to hot and bothered. After that, the novelty wore off. The naked slaves became a normal occurance, and I became desensitized to it all. The story line was very simple. As part one of a trilogy, Beauty is introduced to being a slave for the Prince and must learn to be obedient and disciplined. She struggles with this greatly, but learns quickly what can happen if she doesn't follow orders.

The writting itself was good. Ann Rice has a way of writing that doesn't delve into too much detail and allows you to visualize easily what is going on. It was also very easy to read. It did not take me long to get through this one.

I am still undecided if I will continue with the series. I am the kind of person that needs more romance and love. The other two books in the series are:

Beauty's Punishment and Beauty's Release

Therapy Tuesday: Prolotherapy #2

I'm actually posting this entry on Wednesday since I forgot yesterday, but nonetheless.

Last Friday I had my second treatment of prolotherapy.
I was all ready to drive to the clinic when I realized after my treatment my hand falls completely asleep and useless. I drive a standard. I had to get Frenchie to come with me so he could drive home. Being the type of guy he is, he wanted to see the treatment. (He watched my laser eye surgery too). Frenchie was shocked by the size of the needle. He couldn't believe that amount of liquid would go into such a small area of my forearm.

The Dr. and I discussed my symptoms and pain level from the previous week. I told him that I lasted half a day longer on my pain level. He said that was an improvement, also reminding me it is a slow process and it will take some time. I had the same effect from the treatment. Hand was completely asleep by the time we got to the car.

By Tuesday night, I wasn't at all worried about my wrist being sore for pole class. That's an improvement again. The first treatment put me to Tuesday around noon without much pain. This time, I've lasted until Wednesday morning. That's an improvement and success in my mind.

I will be going for treatments now every two weeks. Hopefully the next update will be better!

Wedding Wednesday: Caterers, Dress and Diary of a Mad Bride

This past weekend when Frenchie was home, we went through a list of caterers and narrowed down from 5 to 3. I emailed those three requesting quotes and a larger menu selection. All of their websites said email for more selection. Annoying, but ok, I get you don't want your entire menu and prices online for the whole world to see and compare to.

As of Monday, I got one quote back. $6000 for the food and servers for 130 people. Keep in mind we are doing a buffet. I nearly choked! Needless to say, I spent the evening Monday and Tuesday emailing more caterers and getting more quotes. So far I've gotten some much more reasonable quotes, with more bang for the buck.

I'm hoping by the end of this week we will have a better idea of how much food is going to cost and how close it will fit to our budget. We should be able to pick one and meet with them over the next couple weekends Frenchie is home.

This weekend my mom and dad are coming up to see me try on the dress I want and help pay for it. I am so excited!! I haven't tried any on since I found that one, but I also haven't given the other two I liked any thought.

I borrowed a book from my sister called Diary of a Mad Bride. It fits perfectly into one of the tasks in the SBC but I also thought it would be fitting to read as I am a bride-to-be. So far the book is very funny. The character Amy has been dating Stephen for a year. Her best friend is getting married and said friend and her fiancé are bugging Amy about when her and Stephen will tie the knot.

Needless to say, she gets engaged and now needs to plan a wedding. I'm not that far in, but the quote that strikes me is this:

"How hard can this be?"

I said those words. I didn't think it would be that hard. I'm finding out first hand that planning a wedding is a large endeavor and should not be taken lightly.