Confession: I am a Former Liberal Democrat

C'mon, who's shocked? Oh wow.... really? Well, this may be a sort of "the gist of it" post because I have work so it has to be quick. I'll promise to explain as well as I can with my limited time.

Yes, I am a former liberal Democrat. The first presidential election I voted in was in 2004 -- the race between George Bush and John Kerry. This was almost two years prior to my reversion. I was young. I was incredibly ignorant and naive. I wasted my vote on John Kerry. I was apathetic to politics and my parents were registered Democrats so I went along with what they and my friends said. I didn't bother looking into the issues. All I knew was that Democrats supposedly helped the poor and the "little people" while Republicans were the opposite. Again, I was young and ignorant. Plus, Kerry was "Catholic" and, well, I was "Catholic" too so why not? Oh, how wrong I was.

I supported a lot of things that liberals support. I was poorly catechized and did not know my faith beyond reciting an Our Father and a Hail Mary. How on earth I was allowed to do my confirmation without proper study at 13 is beyond me. I look back and cringe at the things I said and did but, as I said, I was young and ignorant (and, yes, I will keep repeating this.) It's not a good excuse but it's the truth.

I wasn't living the best life then either. I've never drunk alcohol, done drugs, smoked, or done anything with anyone that I would be ashamed to tell my future husband. In that way, I have always been a "good girl." I did, however, do a lot of stupid things (i.e. lie over the stupidest things; part of why I detest lying so much now) and I was easily swayed. Even then, when my friends were all on the "ugh, religious/conservatives need to lay off" train, I wasn't 100% convinced.

Looking back, the first sign that I would soon leave that world came when my then best friend told me she was having an abortion. She was not the first friend to have one (another friend had had one at the age of 14). I was shocked. She already had a baby (a beautiful baby boy) so I couldn't understand why she would want to kill her own innocent child. Yes, even during those "lost" years, I knew that she was carrying a human being, not a "clump of cells" as some liberals repulsively call a baby. She told me that she simply couldn't have the child as she could barely handle her firstborn. I was against it but I "supported" her... and by "supported" I meant I would be there for her during the aftermath. I was against it and wished she would change her mind but I didn't think there was anything I could do about it. After that, I felt so disgusted that I pulled away. That, along with other factors, caused me to slowly leave those "friends" behind. To this day, I am so sad and so repulsed with myself for having said that I "supported" her when I really didn't... and more so for not saying anything. And, for the record, this and other things have long been confessed.

I was "against the war" (the way liberals presented it) though my high school sweetheart was (and still is) in the U.S. Army and my childhood sweetheart is in the U.S. Navy. I was grateful to them for their service but I as a "liberal Democrat" couldn't support it. Again, say it with me this time, I was young and ignorant. Oh, and don't get me started on the whole issue of gay marriage. You can probably guess what my thoughts were on it (again, received my information from the hateful liberal spew I heard on a daily basis), before I knew the true sanctity of marriage. This last comment will lose me some of my last liberal friends but I can't hide my beliefs. It wouldn't be fair to myself or to God.

When I returned to the Church, I saw that a lot of errors of my youth. (btw, my "lost years" were between the ages of 14 and 21.) The Roman Catholic Church did nothing to me... except show me the truth and love. I spent a long time hating myself for what I had once supported, though I had been told on a regular basis (by priests) not to be so hard on myself. While I had sinned, I had done it out of ignorance. As a poorly catechized young woman who was never taught that the things I supported were wrong, I didn't know better. Now I do.

While I haven't been too vocal about my support for a specific presidential candidate or anything of the like, I can say, with honesty, that this is the first time in three elections that I really looked at the candidates and the issues. The last one, I voted for McCain-Palin because of Obama's pro-choice record (which has since gotten worse). This time around, I will be voting Romney-Ryan. While I don't agree with everything on Romney's agenda, I believe that the unborn and religious freedom would be better protected with him as president than under Obama-Biden. While I'm not a registered Republican nor have I been a registered Democrat for a while now, I am voting as a Catholic. I am voting for life and for changes that will help this nation pick ourselves up from the economic and moral mess we're in. Needless to say, this is the second time I will NOT be voting for Obama. Also, every time I read this, I am reminded of how I should be voting this election:

"Put no trust in princes,
in mere mortals powerless to save." (Psalm 146:3)

First time young voters, please do yourselves, your consciences, and your souls a favor and vote carefully. Don't let the mainstream media tell you anything. Don't be swayed by anyone's sweet talk. Look at the issues and candidates for yourself. Pray that you and others make the right decisions because, as cheesy and cliche as this may be, this future really is in your (and my) hands.

... and this was officially longer than I planned. Oops. lol. Oh well. The little lady is coming over soon for tutoring so I shall go.

I hope we all stand together and make the right choices tomorrow. My prayers are with you. :)

And now, off to tutoring and trying to not feel crummy (cold-like symptoms are threatening once again).

As always, thanks for reading and God bless.

Seven Priests Cause Abortion Mill To Close

I wasn't going to post anything today since I have a lot of work to do but I couldn't not share this powerful video. This was originally found on tumblr. (side note: Click on the link in case the video can't be played on this blog or if you have a tumblr and want to reblog it yourself.) I have to admit, I cried as I watched this video because it hurts to know that babies are being killed at places like this.



"Seven Priests Cause Abortion Mill To Close!

Last year seven Catholic Priests gathered around the Rockford abortion mill and prayed prayers of exorcism. On that day two mothers choose life; the number of abortions fell by two thirds, and the abortion mill landlord was so unsettled that he stayed outside his abortion mill while the Priests were praying.

This year the powers that be inside the mill were taking no chances. Instead of trying to remain open in the face of such spiritual power, they found it easier to close their doors for the day. Thanks be to God because of these seven Priests, the Poor Clare Nuns who in the Corpus Christi Monastery in Rockford where uniting their prayers with the Priests, and every Christian who prayed this morning, not one child was killed in Rockford today.

A small group of abortion supporters showed up, thinking the mill would be open. When they saw seven Priests and over forty pro-lifers deep in prayer and the abortion mill closed, the pro-aborts appeared even more dazed and confused than usual.

The abortion mill landlord Wayne Webster, who seems to have a pathological hatred for Catholic Priests and has a history of skulking away from the abortion mill grounds when Priests are praying prayers of exorcism outside his killing center, was nowhere to be seen. In his absence he did leave some quite vulgar signs in his abortion mill windows attacking Priests.

On this day in Rockford, the presence of Christ through His Priests and His people could be tangibly be felt and experienced outside the building where over 60,000 human beings have been murdered.

On this day in Rockford ,Satan fled; Christians stood united in faith and love, and no children had to face a brutal, vicious death inside the Rockford abortion mill."

The unborn can't speak for themselves but I give major props to those who stand outside abortion mills and pray. If you can't make it out to one of the many 40 Days for Life scheduled dates, don't think you can't do anything. Pray for those who stand outside and receive abuse from pro-abortion folks.

Last year, there were only three of us outside a Planned Parenthood in the San Fernando Valley part of Los Angeles and one man spewed more hatred, despite us not doing anything but praying and talking amongst each other, than I could've imagined. Just because we were there. So, please pray for those the unborn, their mothers, and those who bravely stand up for those who need protection.

Profs Don't Like Me but Like Abortion

Okay, the title got your attention. Good. Complete truth. Let me fill y'all on how week one of my final semester as an undergrad went. It will be short because I have homework to do. ;)

I was really excited yet slightly nervous about starting the semester because it's my last one and I feel so pressured on doing well on my 40-50 page Thesis (by far the longest one from all departments at the school from what I've been told). Basically, if I bomb my Thesis I will not graduate. No pressure or anything. ;) The week started off well. I was kind of lazy and not wanting to do anything (hello, senioritis) but I still did things because I want to stay ahead. The faster I can get things read and written, the more time I will have to edit and polish my Thesis later on. I think things through. ;)

From day one my music professor made it obvious that she did not like me. I guess my reputation as the "traditional (read: orthodox) hell-raiser" ("if hell existed, which it doesn't") slash public enemy number one (again, because I am not liberal and I'm very religious -- a very dangerous combo in their eyes) proceeds me. I never had a chance. I tried. I'm a people pleaser... to a certain point. She's told me twice (in two days) to be quiet, even though all I did was mention the kind of music that I listened to... in a music class, so I'm going to stay quiet. She wants me to be silent, I shall be silent. Apparently I'm not allowed to contribute to the discussions in class... and no one else wants to contribute so... That's fine. It's not going to hurt me. :) I hope I'm wrong but everyone can tell that she's not too fond of me. I'll say a Hail Mary for her and just keeping on swimming. ;)

Another professor, who apparently does like me (even though and especially because our beliefs clash), basically sung the praises of birth control and abortion for about 15 minutes today. I literally felt like I am going to throw up. I felt physically ill the entire time she was speaking. No worries, though, I made my thoughts clear and she is totally okay with it. It's quite interesting that she (one of the few non-religious professors I've had) actually welcomes my opposing views... and she still smiles and makes me feel like it's totally fine to not agree with her. It's odd but I kind of like that. I know that I will be able to speak my mind (and I will when topics like abortion come up) and it will not affect me. It's refreshing because, as I said last year, I would've gotten marked down on my assignments for not being in agreement with any of the other professors. That is awesome. Talking about how birth control and abortion "save women" *insert eye roll* is not... but I can speak up against it and (FINALLY!!) not be penalized for it. I'm not going to go into everything she said but it's the usual feminist "birth control and abortion is the best thing for women" dribble most pro-choice people spew. I'm not going to be rude or argue for the heck of it but I will speak up if I feel, like today, that it is necessary. Gotta protect the babies. :)

By the way, there were no posts for a week because I was sick until a few days ago (nasty cold; I spent most of my days sleeping) and then I started the semester. My semester isn't looking too crazy; the biggest chunk will be my Senior Thesis (which is on Catholic New Media if you didn't know). I think I will have time to write quite regularly. Maybe not every single day but at least 2-3 times a week. I will try not to vent/rant about my classes but if something interesting happens, I will share. :D

That is it for now. I have a very exciting project coming up that I will fill y'all in on (whether it ends up materializing or not) as soon as I am able to say anything. Let's just say that it's in the direction that I want to go in after graduation. That's all I'm saying for now. ;)

I hope everyone who returned to school this week is having a better week than I had. If not, hey, we're all in this together. If you have a particularly bad professor or if the semester is looking pretty dismal, let me know and I'll start a novena for you. ;) Quite a number of us are graduating this Spring; if you are one of them, please let me know as I am going to start a novena for high school and college seniors next week. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless!

I Need Vaccines From Aborted Babies...?!

All day yesterday I was stressed out (to the point of a panic attack at 1:30 a.m. this morning) by the Health Center at my new school via an email asking me to get three shots that were missing -- for Hepatitis A and B. I got the first round when I was younger (and have the immunization record for one dose of each) but records are missing so we can't be 100% sure that they were completed. In the email I was told that they were mandatory before the start of school which stressed me out because the semester starts in two weeks and there's no way I can a) afford to pay for the vaccines out of pocket and b) the chance of my getting a last minute appointment with my doctor is slim to none. The usual wait is a month and a half to three months before I can be seen (oh, the joys of going to a county hospital). There's also the little fact that if I were to get the two rounds of Hep B vaccines I supposedly need, I won't be able to take them one after the other and would need to wait months. Palm, meet my face.

Now, I should say that my mom has sworn that I have all my shots done. I also remember the last round of vaccines being given at 18 and have no immunization records for them either. I tried calling and going to the clinic where I would've gotten them but they were no help. That gives me two options: taking the vaccines I supposedly haven't gotten (if I truly haven't) or trying to fight the school on the requirements.

Option one is the one I am most uncomfortable with, to be honest. It's not my intense dislike of needles and vaccines, or my constant worrying over the side effects of said vaccines because I tend to have a reaction to many medications... it's the fact that one of the vaccines, Hep A, is made with tissue from aborted babies! A few years ago, a U.S. Coast Guard officer refused to get the the vaccine on moral grounds and I would to! I know a few vaccines that I've already gotten also contain cells from aborted babies but these were given when I was still too young to know any better and therefore had no objections. My love of children makes me very pro-life and knowing that a vaccine contains things I am morally against makes me think and automatically reject it. Of course the Church does not right out condemn or approve of such vaccines but I can't on good conscience allow them to give me the vaccine. I did my research on the website of the web (and found interesting information) as well as the National Catholic Bioethics Center. Of course there is an argument that it is needed to help keep everyone and myself healthy but I am in either of the "at-risk" groups for either vaccine. Enter option two.

Option two has me fighting the school, and I do have a legit fight in case they try to force me to drop my classes this semester. First, I am not a nursing student. I'm a traditional undergrad student, albeit a transfer student, and according to the requirements they asked two months ago neither vaccine (nor the TB test which I got anyway) was mandatory. Furthermore, it said the Hep B vaccine was required for those 18 or younger which I certainly am not. Hep A vaccine is listed as recommended but not required as well. So why the email saying that I HAD to get them before the semester started and that it was mandatory? Why say one thing months before the semester starts and then say "oops, nevermind, you need this too..." two weeks before we can do anything about it? As I said, my mother swears I had all my vaccines done, and I should or else how would've I gone through school without them completed? I would ask for a blood titer to show that I either have or have not the immunity to either disease but I have a feeling it's going to take an absolute miracle for me to convince them of that and/or letting them drop this requirement. Any suggestions or thoughts are more than welcomed because I'm being pulled in all directions with this.

I'm going to try to not worry about it but it's kind of hard because I'm naturally a worrywart (something I am constantly working on). Prayers are more than welcomed. I will keep y'all updated. :)

*EDIT AT 2:37 P.M. PST: Received an email from the school nurse that I can take a blood titer on campus during the start of semester for a low cost. Now fingers are crossed that I have immunity so I don't have to take the vaccines. :D Thanks for prayers!*

That's it for now. :) Hope everyone has a great weekend!

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.

Giveaway Winners; Feminism, Part One.

Note: Started this post two weeks ago but haven't been able to finish and post it until today -- May 28, 2009.

Thank you to all who participated in the St. Dymphna giveaway. If you won, I've already contacted you via Twitter because all the winners entered through Twitter. :D And, to be fair, I'll post the answers.

For the Rosary Chaplet:
1) I've mentioned St. Dymphna MANY times in this blog before. How many entries have I mentioned her name, in one way or another? 34 Entries
2) What was the entry (post) name in which I included scanned photos of a St. Dymphna's prayer card? Go Liverpool!; Anxiety and Catholicism, St. Dymphna (It's the entry most of the google searches landed on prior to the Fr. Alberto Cutié scandal.)
3) Which fellow saint helped St. Dymphna during her escape (and was also martyred with her)? St. Gerebernus

For the Prayer Cards:
1) Where is St. Dymphna originally from? Clogher, Ireland (I'm going to be there very, very soon)
2) Where was she martyred? Gheel, Belgium.
3) What is she the patron saint of (besides anxiety)? Insomnia, Sleepwalking, Mental Health, Epilepsy, Neurological Disorders, Psychologists, Therapists, Possessed People, Princesses, Loss of Parents, Family Happiness, Rape Victims, Incest Victims, Runaways.

Again, congrats to all the winners. :)

While I'm still discussing St. Dymphna, let me just say what a great inspiration she and saints like St. Maria Goretti are for young women. They also, with the other female saints and, of course, our Blessed Virgin Mary are the true defintion of the word "feminist."

I recently wrote an essay for one of my classes on Feminism and the literature during the 1970s Women's Movement. It reminded me of a Women's Studies class I took a few semesters ago. I was at war with my professor who is the common definition of the word feminist. Why were we at war? Because I was very vocal about how some of the things "feminists" are "supposed" to do to show their independence from man were more damaging than helpful. She use to single me out in class and ridicule me for waiting until marriage. I will never forget the first time she asked if anyone was actually still waiting and I was the only one who raised their hand. Jaws dropped. A few girls told me after class that they admired me for doing so and that they would do the same if they could go back in time and change things. Still, from that point on, I was picked on by the prof. Any time a subject like a V-Monologues (which she urged us to go to and which I lost points on for not attending) or anything of that nature would come up, she'd get in her little jab... even if it was a "No offense to Emmy who knows nothing about what we're talking about" or a "Emmy, you have no right to answer this because you've never experienced it."

I hate it when feminists take saints like St. Maria Goretti and criticize her for "wanting" to die instead of letting her attacker have his way with her. I would've done the same thing St. Maria Goretti did. In fact, I have... in a way.

When I was a freshman/sophomore in high school, I attended a public high school. I worked as a counselor's assistant the summer between my freshman and sophomore year doing office work. One day, when the counselors had a meeting, the other counselor's assistant, a young man 4 years older than me, cornered me in the office. Since everyone knew the counselors had afternoon off, no one came in and the guy apparently thought it was a good time "to be alone." I was in no one attracted to him nor did I ever make it seem like I was. As I was re-stacking the papers and pamphlets in the office, he grabbed my arms and pinned me against one of the tables. He told me these things I will not repeat but let's just say I could have slugged him for it if both of my arms weren't being restrained by his hands. I was so disgusted, and frightened, that I found a physical strength I didn't know I had and I pushed him off of me with all the force I was able to get. I may look small in size and age but I pack a wallop. (There have been a few guys who have been on the receiving end of my slaps and sucker punches.) I pushed the guy so hard, he wound up stumbling on the table in back of him. I was ready to punch and kick him when an administrator came in. They did nothing to the guy and the few people I told basically said to forget it because he was so beloved that no one would believe me. I did have two wonderful friends who not only believe me (because they know the kind of person I am), but one of them, a guy, stayed with me at the office for the rest of the summer. I left the school a semester after the incident and it's part of why I got anxiety at 15.

The point of me sharing that is that feminists will take a story like mine, which is NOTHING compared to what happened to St. Maria Goretti or St. Dymphna, and put their own spin on it. I'd probably get props for not letting a man take control of my fate, and standing up for myself. but then the question would come up... if I were in real danger, would I give in to save my life? Or would I do what it takes to preserve my purity? No question, I'd do the same thing both of the saints I've mentioned, as well as others, and fight. This is where feminists would have an issue. I can just hear them now "Don't be stupid. Rape is something you can get over, death isn't." Then they'd probably lecture me on how the Catholic Church has "brainwashed" me into thinking that I shouldn't express my "needs and desires." These type of things I've heard before and each time I feel bad because they just simply don't get it.

Of course, feminists usually advocate being in charge of what one does with their selves. Their argument is usually "I'm taking charge of what happens to my body. I can take care of it." Then they say things that contradict each other. "Pornography is horrible because it objectifies women... but if a woman wants to do it and is control of her body, let her do it. It's her freedom."... "If a woman dresses provocatively, men will objectify her. But, if she wants to dress like that because she wants to feel sexy, then let her. It's her body." Then, there's my all-time favorite (please note the sarcasm) phrase, "If a woman wants to have an abortion, let her. It's her body and she can do what she wants with it." Yes, please let women take the life of an innocent child and completely destroy her body in the process because she doesn't want to have a child. *rolls eyes* I'm actually doing my last essay for my Philosophy/Ethics course on why abortion is morally wrong... which will be the second part to my Feminism posts in the near future. All I will say about this, for now, is that my presentation/essay ends with the phrase "You can keep telling us to keep our rosaries off your ovaries, but your ovaries NEED our rosaries."

If these so-called feminists stopped their whole "Equality for all!" dribble they could see that what they're actually doing is putting women at a greater risk. As much as they'd like to think that women can do EVERYTHING men can do, that's simply not true. Likewise, there are things (like giving birth) that women can do that men can't. We were not designed to do the same things. Even if we take religion out of the equation, it's still be clear that we're not all alike and trying to put this front about how we're supposed to "get out of the backwards teachings of religion and the 'Leave it to Beaver' era" is actually harmful to women. Our minds, souls, and bodies are temples and should be treated as such. "Know you not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid." (1 Corinthians 6:15)

I will stop this post here because I have to go continue studying for finals... and because I have a second post that I will hopefully post as soon as I finish my finals. I know this post will both shock and upset some of my friends because only a couple of people have known about this. All I have to say about what happened to me is that I forgave the guy for what he attempted to do and I pray for him.

Alright, that's enough stalling. lol. I hope everyone has a good weekend... I hope I do, even though my birthday "curse" has already began to strike. Long story. lol.

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :)
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Our Lady of Guadalupe and Recent Crime in Mexico; Freedom and Volunteering.

I want to share with you a picture I took at my parish, after Mass, last Sunday. I love how they put this picture of Our Lady of Guadalupe next to the altar, with flowers surrounding her. I especially LOVED that they put the Mexican flag behind her. :D Dad said that the celebration, decorations, and flowers are 10x more ornate in Mexico, but that's to be expected.

Oh, and something interesting that we heard a priest say about Our Lady of Guadalupe and Mexico. As many of you know, Our Lady is the patroness of all the unborn children, in addition to being the patroness of Mexico and the Americas. Here's something that made us think: There has been a recently crime wave in Mexico. Innocent victims get killed. Celebrities get kidnapped and held for ransom.... or the get held up or robbed blind. Musicians are getting killed in broad daylight, in crowded streets. Mexican politicians are having accidents, getting killed, or are generally having misfortunes. People are genuinely afraid to go to Mexico because of all this. When did all of this start to happen? When the Mexican government signed the bill which made abortions completely legal for all women in the country! We hadn't even thought about that until we heard the priest say it. Then my father and I (especially my father who keeps up with news about Mexico) came to the realization that he was absolutely right! We thought about it and all of these misfortunes did happen around that time. Could it all possibly be a sign from above to remove that law? I honestly think it's no coincidence and that the government should really think about it. I don't want to even think about what would happen here if Obama does sign the proposed law that would make abortion legal. Let's all pray that that doesn't happen!

Anyway, moving away from scaring you poor people (haha)... I am officially a free woman! WHOO! lol. I finished my last final exam yesterday morning. I would've written yesterday but my entire body ached, including my head, and I was feeling crummy. I still feel kind of blah today, though much better than yesterday. It is no doubt the "residue" from my stress.

Speaking of anxiety, I miraculously did NOT have any panic attacks. I was very afraid that I would, given the amount of stress I had, but nothing. My shoulders and back had knots from the stress and I had some anxiety symptoms but no actual attack! Thank you, God! I will also say a BIG thank you to Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati. I started a novena and asked him for help to calm my anxiety down while doing my exams. I also asked for another important thing but I won't share that until it comes true (and I have a lot of faith and hope that it will come true). :D

Since I now have A LOT of free time until the Spring semester (which begins in February), I was thinking about what I was going to do. Finish the novel, read books, go watch my little "sister" Delaney in a production of Music Man (P.S. Happy 16th Birthday, De!)... but what else? I racked my brain as to what I can until I remembered the Advent: Saint Quiz I took on XT3 (Official WYD/Catholic Social Network site) a couple of days ago. The quiz is about how you celebrate Christmas and which saints you are most like because of it. My answer was actually tied between 3 different categories: "Mostly Bs: For you Christmas is a season of good will", Mostly Cs: You have a real devotion to the mystery of Christmas", and "Mostly Ds: For you, Christmas is a time to celebrate". I remembered that I really wanted to be most like Group B... in which Blessed Pier Giorgio was included in.

As previously stated in an earlier blog on what Bl. Pier Giorgio has taught me, I've been inspired by him to become so much more selfless. I feel like I've been very selfish and I want to change that. Because of that, I've come to the conclusion that I will donate my free time to doing things for other. This is Los Angeles... there are more than enough soup kitchens I can volunteer at. I've already put up a notice on my facebook to see if any of my friends want to join me. I already have one of my best friends on board and I hope others will want to as well!

I am not posting this as a way of saying "Ooh, look at me... I'm selfless. I should be admired!" Not at all!!! I do it in hopes that others will do the same in their towns/cities. With so much commercialism, people have started to forget the real meaning of Christmas. Volunteering at a soup kitchen, donating money, clothing, food, or other things to those who need it -- this is what this time of year should be about. Just think about this: Jesus was born poor, in a manger. Despite his humble beginnings, he did all he could for others. We, who have so much, have absolutely no excuse not to do the same. So, I honestly encourage you to do something... even if it's buying a sandwich for a homeless person.

Alright, I think this post should be long enough to last for a few days... or until I have more to write. :D I hope everyone is enjoying their vacation! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D

P.S. Check out Catholic Everything who were kind enough to contact me about joining their blog list. :D
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Changes on Blog; Register to Vote!

Semi-quick blog tonight because I have an appointment at the optometrist. My eyes are getting worse. I can't even see properly with either glasses or contacts anymore. I made it through an hour and about 10 minutes (leaving a bit early) of my English Lit class because my head and eyes were seriously aching. On the bright side, my group's pretty much ready for the presentation in that classes; we just have to rehearse. Is it bad that I'm looking forward to dressing up one of the guys in the group as a girl? Hey, it's Shakespeare and it's historically accurate (not to mention hilarious). Teehee. lol.

I changed the blog template as well as removed some widgets. I also added some new links and things. After 10 months of the same thing, I needed to change it a bit. I'll hopefully personalize (change) the template even more when I have time to work on it. I think the simplicity of this new one. Whoo! :D

I do not normally discuss politics because I try to avoid conflict and arguments. I will say that I am about to change my political party. I registered (on the day of my 18th birth date, no less) as a Democrat because both of my parents are Democrats. Of course, since coming back to the Church and really learning about the Dems and the Republicans, I decided I needed to change my affiliation. Man, a lot of change going on today, eh? lol. Anyway, I've decided to register as not having a political party. Yes, you can do that. Well, at least in California you can. I don't agree with much of the liberal points of the view in the Democratic party, but I also dislike some Republican points of view (especially when it comes to discrimination against illegal immigrants -- don't get me started on that topic!). Remaining neutral is best. When it comes to nominating the NEXT candidate for president in another 4 years, I might re-register if I feel strongly about a candidate.

One more thing... I stumbled on this video of Eduardo Verastegui urging voters to make the right decision this coming presidential election. It's in Spanish but it has subtitles for those of you who don't speak or understand Spanish. (Thank goodness my parents raised me bilingual!)


Makes you think, doesn't it? I'm going to get A LOT of grief from some of my friends for what I just posted but I needed to. I don't even want to think what they'd say if they knew how I was voting on the California Prop 8. If you know about the proposition, it doesn't take much to guess how I'm voting. I have some friends who aren't Catholic, or even Christian, so we don't see eye to eye on issues like these. In fact, I've lost two close friends because I'm against things (like birth control and abortion) that they are in favor of. Yes, seriously.

And... funny thing, I received this in the mail while writing the blog. (Love the coincidence.) :D

From Journey of a Catholic Nerd Writer

Alright, well I must go. Keep your fingers crossed that my eyesight won't stay this crummy... or get worse! Nope, I'm gonna be optimistic. :D As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Gregorian Chant; Pure Love Club; Application to Date Daughter.

I've been listening to A LOT of Gregorian chant music in the form of "The Catholic Mass" album by the Brotherhood of St. Gregory and Sisters of Mercy. I've also been listening to songs from the "Chant - Music For the Soul" album that the Cistercian Monks of Stift Heiligenkreuz released. If you haven't heard of the story of how the they (Cistercian Monks) got a record deal, you should totally check it out. And, you can learn more about them at their site (Stift Heiligenkreuz). I've linked it to the English translation for you guys. :D I remember reading about them around the time it the record deal happened and I was so happy to hear of it. There isn't enough of this beautiful music... at least, that's my opinion. There's something so... I don't know how to describe it except saying "beautiful", about it. It centers me, especially when I'm praying. I'm the type of person who CANNOT concentrate unless there's some background noise. Well, okay, the only time I love total silence is when I'm praying. Otherwise, I need some music or something. I've found that Gregorian chant actually works better than classical or cool jazz (yes, jazz music is cool but I mean the sub-genre "cool jazz") for me. If you've never tried using the music when you want to relax or even to help you get in the mood for prayer, I strongly suggest you try it! :D

Another thing I suggest you check out is this website called Pure Love Club. The website has all these wonderful features to help people stay pure and chaste. They have a great Chastity Q&A that covers all topics that you could possibly think of, including the Morality of Birth Control, How to Stay Pure, Dating, and Vocations. I really liked this website, from the first time I visited it, because I think it's important that young Catholics really get informed on these topics. There's so much propaganda about things that the Church frowns on (ie birth control, abortion, etc) in the mainstream that it's easy to get mislead. So, please, take a moment to check it out. I think you'll like it. :D

And... one more thing I think you guys will get a kick out of. My "little sister" DJ sent me this a few months ago and I think it's something we young women should have copies of (and young men should be prepared for). It's called "The Application to Date my Daughter" and it's super awesome. Let me tell you, even guys have gotten a kick out of it. :D Just click the following link to download the file that contains the application. (I uploaded it myself). http://www.sendspace.com/file/bbf2f8

That is all for today. I want to go watch the "Therese" dvd I got from Netflix. I've heard many great things about the film so I can't wait! I hope they do St. Therese of Lisieux and her life justice!

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D
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