Thanksgiving Thoughts; Remix Fun.

I hope all my fellow Americans (wow, sounds like the beginning of a speech) had a great Thanksgiving yesterday! I wanted to make a post but I was stuck in bed with a cold. I can't complain too much though. Yes, I did feel gross, I was all achy, and all I spent nearly 2 days in bed... but I got caught up on my prayers and I got a head start on my History of World Religions paper. That one is due tonight (eesh!).

I am skipping on today's big sales because I'm not fully recovered from my cold and it's (finally!) cold outside and I have to write that 10 page research paper on the sacred art of 3 different religions. I have 4 BIG art history books to go through. I'm just thankful that my Philosophy of Logic professor spared us work yesterday.

You know what else I'm thankful for (in the past year)? My amazing parents. My overprotective older brothers and sister -- and their families. Both of my younger adoptive sisters (one of whom gave me a blog award that I will post next time :D. Thanks D!). My friends who are like family (which consists of virtually all my friends; many of whom have asked my mom to adopt them, lol.) That my father was able to beat his cancer for the second time. That one of my best friend was able to beat her ovarian cancer. That everyone is happy and healthy. That I've been healthier than I have been in years. Most importantly, I am thankful for everything God has done for us. I am grateful that I've been able to get closer to God and have been able to do the same to my parents. You guys have NO idea how happy I am that my parents have started praying and going to Mass more often! I could continue the list but it would get much longer and I still have to work on my paper. lol.

Oh, and I'm also thankful for iTunes, and cell phones, and books, and digital cable, and TCM (Turner Classic Movies), and french fries, and Mexican food, and airplanes which take me to different countries, and laughing babies, and babies named Charlie who bite their brothers' fingers... HAHA. I'm not (entirely) serious here. :D

Alright, I should go work on my paper, but before I do, I will leave you with a video I thought was so awesome. During YouTube Live (yeah, I missed it) they had a lot of big youtube names performing. One of them was DJ Mike Relm and he remixed two videos that were HUGE on youtube. The second remixed video is probably my favorite.



Okay, back to work. :D Oh yeah, and if you haven't vote on the poll, please do so. It ends tomorrow night. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Complaints Challenge... Ay!

Hello there everyone! I'm still pretty much confined to my bed (you darn cold!) and all but I thought I'd get up for a few minutes to write a little something.

You know what I've noticed? Everyone complains an awful lot. I know I do. Yesterday I noticed that I was complaining to my mom about how my History of World Religions professor didn't let me know that I had an extra something due (well, my name wasn't attached to a particular group) until the day before or day it was due. The last time I'd checked it, on Wednesday, my name wasn't on there. When I checked last night, minutes before it was due, I noticed she'd added my name. I hadn't checked on Thursday or earlier in the day yesterday because I'd been stuck in bed. That's when it hit me that it could've been prevented and that a lot of things we complain about usually can be. So, I've decided to challenge myself. Every time I feel like I'm going to start complaining, and it was preventable, I will remind myself that it was my fault for not being more careful. I'm going to learn from it and try to not make the same mistake again.

If it wasn't preventable, I am going to turn it around into something positive. Example: I feel miserable with this cold and it's slowing me down in terms of finishing my coursework BUT I've been finding more time to pray so this cold has becoming a blessing in disguise. I was having less and less time to pray because of my chaotic schedule. Since I've gotten this cold, I've been able to slow down enough that I have time to give thanks to God, and all the saints I've asked for intercessions, for all the wonderful things I've been blessed with lately.

Any else up for this challenge? Let me know if you'll consider it! :D

Alright, it's back to bed for me. I need to get well as soon as possible. Ever since my anxiety's diminished significantly (thank you God and St. Dymphna!), I haven't been wanting to stay indoors. Yup. lol. Okay, I'm done. lol. :D

Hope everyone has a great weekend! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D
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Cold, You are NO Friend of Mine; Dreams: End of the World (Again).

I think I have my first actual cold (not just cold-like symptoms) in nearly 3 years. Yes, you read that correctly. The last time I had a full blown cold/flu was in November 2005. You see? I'm pretty healthy, except for my anxiety. :D This blog won't be too long because I want to get back into bed soon. Hopefully my anxiety won't get worse. Prayer to St. Dymphna will definitely be said today! Mister Cold, you are definitely NO friend of mine! I missed my British Lit class yesterday... and my paper was due! UGH! But, trust me, I spent most of the day in bed because I felt like passing out. I only went to the hospital to get the heart monitor taken off. Hey, maybe the whole episode on Sunday was just a warning that a cold was on it's way. Ah!

I had yet ANOTHER end of the world dream. It's been quite a while since I've written about my dreams, eh? I've only had one dream about what happened after the world ended (which I wrote about a few months ago). Most of my dreams that are about the end of the world never get beyond what's happening as the world is ending. Only that one in April has been about what happened afterward -- walking through Purgatory and all of that with my parents and maternal grandmother. Last night's dream was typical except that it went a little further than usual.

In the dream, we looked up to the sky -- the sun was setting behind us and we could see the sky getting darker and all the stars shining like little diamonds in the sky. Then I saw three bomb explosions happening right next to each other in the sky. The explosions were very golden but think of the color of 10 karat gold. That light golden color. Then I saw something silver/metallic coming down from the sky and the earth began to shake violently. I remember going to grab the Our Lady of Guadalupe framed picture that's up on my way and then grabbing the St. Jude statues (kind of like what I do in real life when there's an earthquake) and hold them close to me. I remember seeing a life sized crucifix, with Jesus nailed to the cross. I remember it getting nearer and nearer but then I woke up. Yeah. It's been quite a while since I've had any dreams like that.

Dreams are just weird, man. I haven't told Fr. Leo any of my recent dreams but I know he's interested in them. As Fr. James once told me, my dreams are better than movies. lol. He's absolutely right. :D Hopefully I'll be able to chat with him once my cold goes away. I need to talk to him anyway, see if he can help me with something. :D

Alright, well, I need to get back to bed and drink plenty of fluids. I want this cold out of me as soon as possible. One positive thing about this cold, I have more time for prayer and for movies about saints! WHOO! lol. Hey, when I get sick, I find more time to devote myself to the Lord and prayer so I see it as a blessing... despite the gross feelings. :D

I hope everyone's doing well. As always, thanks for reading and God Bless.
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Birth Control, Palm Sunday Mass, St. Teresa of Avila and Our Lady of Guadalupe.

I know, I know. It's been nearly 2 weeks since the last update. The big gaps between entries is completely unplanned. First I was hit with debilitating anxiety that kept me in bed for a few days, followed by my first cold since November 2005 (oh yeah, my immune system's pretty awesome) and topped off with stomach pain for a few days. As someone who my friends consider lucky, I really haven't had much luck in the health department lately.

Without getting into details, one of those things I was/am "suffering" from made me think about birth control. And, okay, a discussion on the Roman Catholic (Global) facebook group about abortion inspired me to write about this was well. I won't go into what I REALLY think about birth control and abortion because I sincerely have no time to go through hate messages from Pro-Choice people but I will make it known I'm very Pro-Life. One thing that always irritates me is when nurses and/or doctors assume I'm either on some sort of birth control and/or having sex. I vividly remember the last time I got really upset over this. A nurse was taking my vitals before I could see the doctor and she straight out asked me "What kind of birth control do you use?" I looked at her, blinked and said "I'm not on birth control." She looked at me shocked and said "Then what do use when you have sex? Nothing? That's dangerous! So many STDs." That's when I got upset (and, I'll admit, kinda overreacted) and said "I use it because I don't need birth control! I'm not having sex! Even then, I won't use it!" The rest of the conversation is a little fuzzy but I do remember saying that I was offended that she assumed I was having sex and even moreso because she knew the kind of person I was/am. I also mentioned that I was going to wait until I was married until I had that type of intimate relationship with someone. I understand she'd say something like that because, statistically, young "minority" women have high birth rates and are very likely to engage in intercourse at a very young age. Still, I would think it would've been more appropriate to ask me if I was sexually active before assuming I was and asking me what type of birth control I was on. I wrote this on the facebook group and I will write it again... if I had a penny for every time I was asked what kind of birth control I was on, or asked why I wasn't on birth control by doctors and/or nurses, I'd rich.

It's amazing how not many people know about Natural Family Planning (NFP). I personally am not an expert on the subject since I've never had a need to learn about it (as in, I've never been engaged or even thought about marriage with someone I was dating) but I know it's the only "birth control" officially accepted by the Catholic Church. And it's not actual birth control either, hence the quotation marks. If/when I get married, it'll be what I'll be using. I know it's going to probably get a frown from the family doctor but I don't care. There's far too much pressure from society (on women) to be on birth control and I have no desire to give into that, especially knowing it's a mortal sin. There's a good article I read on the topic at Catholic Online which can be found here. Okay, moving away from this subject...

Today (well, it's technically still Sunday here in California) is Palm Sunday! This is one of my favorite times of the year. I was so bummed out that I didn't make it to Mass... yet again. This time, it wasn't my fault. When I was ready and willing to go to Mass, my father didn't want to take me. When he was ready to take me, I felt too sick to go. See, in the morning I felt fine and I actually want to go early. My dad said he wanted to go fix the car and/or go shopping. I couldn't convince him otherwise so I went to my room and ended up falling asleep watching the Manchester City vs Tottenham game (by the way, whoo for Man City winning! I'm a fan of Nery Castillo's!). In that time that I took a little nap, dad managed to sneak away and he didn't end up getting home until after the last English Mass was over. Ugh. I planned on walking to a nearby parish (which, I hate to admit, I am not too comfortable attending Mass at) but then I remembered it was the 6 o'clock Mass and that lead to me falling into a "fit" of tears because I knew there was no way I would be able to make it through the mass. The 6 o'clock Mass at the nearby Parish is the most crowded and the parish is smaller than the parish I normally attend. Last time I tried to be at that Mass, I ended up leaving after only 2 minutes because of the claustrophobia that turns into panic. For those who've never experienced a panic attack, I will hopefully write an entry about it sometime this week (hopefully tomorrow) to help y'all understand a bit better. Anyway, because I began getting very lightheaded and everything, I ended up missing it... but not before I shed a few tears. Mom tried to console me by saying that I'd watched Pope Benedict XVI give the live Palm Sunday mass at 2 in the morning last night and therefore got his blessing but I still felt bad. My dislike of missing Mass makes me very prone to having the waterworks open. What can I say... I don't like being disrespectful by not attending Mass. I know it's not my fault, especially with my anxiety, but still... it's doesn't feel right.

Something else that doesn't feel right... not going to confessions every week. Even if it's for something like a curse word that came out without thinking (as in, I didn't consciously make the decision to curse), I don't feel right. I just start counting down the days until Saturday when I can go to confessions. The priest who I've confessed the most to lately, Fr. Hoang, knows me so well that he doesn't really give me much to do as penance. Sometimes I do a little more than asked because I feel like I am getting away too easily, even if I'm probably getting exactly what I deserve. Anyway, something I came across while reading the first couple of chapters of St. Teresa's autobiography... she was the exact same way. In fact, the more I read about her life, the more I find similarities between herself and I. I honestly had to stop a couple of times and think to myself "It's almost like she is reading my mind... over 400 years after she wrote it." I am starting to think she might be my patron saint because of the similarities. I've never had so much in common with a saint. Honestly. I've found a saint I can relate to on so many different things. And, speaking of her autobiography, I am about to wrap this blog because I promised Our Lady of Guadalupe to get through 75 pages before I fell asleep. (Oh, and St. Teresa is now on my Patron Saints list on the right hand column).

Our Lady of Guadalupe has really done miracles for me lately. I had trouble sleeping a few nights ago (a lot of those nights ended with my on the verge of panic attacks and other screwy feelings) but since I've asked for her intercession, I've been feeling better. I promised her I'd go to Mass but, unfortunately and completely out of my hands, you all know why I couldn't make that happen. Mom said Our Lady would understand because she knows just how sick I get. I also asked Our Lady for specific help yesterday night and we got a call this morning that is basically an answer to my prayer to her. I also feel like she gave Fr. Leo a little push to call me to set up a meeting because he called pretty late (after 8 p.m.) and I didn't think he would even set up a meeting with me. Ask Our Lady and she will do her best to help you!

Okay, I should really get going because I'm already half asleep and still have 75 pages to read. I should eat something to help keep me up longer. Hmm. Anyway, that is all for now. If I am able to write an entry tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to write about a few things I want to write about... such as how my novel is coming along, how Jane Austen is trying to give me unrealistic expectations about love *cough*Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice*cough* (and how I am okay with that, lol), and how I've discovered cheese-less pizzas while dealing with a broken skylight. Oh yes. lol. Until next time, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Weather, Mass, JPII, GodTube, That Catholic Show and Dreams.

So, my cold -- or possible cold -- continues to rear it's ugly little head. Dad's also starting to get cold symptoms so if we both get a cold, it's because mom brought it home last week. lol. We're not blaming her, though. She works in a hospital so stuff like that is bound to happen. I'm still hoping it's just allergies, which would make sense because it's been unusually warm and windy lately (it was 70 degrees fahrenheit yesterday, a little warmer today). Even as I was sitting in church, during mass, I had to (discreetly) take a sip of water because it felt really warm. I should also mention I went to the noon mass (the second and last mass in English on Sundays) so of course it was at it's warmest. Last night was the first time in months I had to sleep without my blanket because it wasn't cold. Hopefully it won't be too cold tonight... which I doubt it will be because it's supposed to be 75 degrees tomorrow. *groan* This is why people get sick... because the weather keeps on changing without warning.

Even though I was really thirsty and warm in mass, I was very happy that I finally made it through an entire thing without either one of my parents getting sick, or me getting sick. I was so stoked that I was finally able to attend the English mass, too, because I usually go to the Spanish one with my parents. My parents also went with me, which was even better. It had been years since I'd gone to an English mass and I sure missed it. I'm most likely going to attend more of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if I went by myself because of the language thing (though my parents speak English, they're not fluent). One of the things I loved about the noon mass was how lovely the stained glass windows looked at my parish. I took a picture of the one that was facing west to share:


There are different windows but I decided to share this one because I love how it looks in the noon time sunlight. :D Tomorrow we're going to another late evening mass so I'll be looking at the windows to see how they look.

I'm going to share the following video of the late Pope John Paul II (which is in Italian, sorry) because I just love(d) watching him speak.

What a sweet man. Even though he was the only Pope I'd known in my lifetime (prior to his passing, I mean), I feel that he has been one of the most beloved Popes. And, did you see him waving his hands in the air with all the youngsters? Cute! It'll be 3 years, this April, since his passing and he still really missed. It's a good thing that GodTube exists so I can always search for more videos of him, and other religious things.

Ah, yes... GodTube. It's basically youtube for religion. It's mainly Christian but more and more Catholics are making their presence known. I've known about this website for a while now but today has been the second time I've actually visited it. It's definitely interesting -- though I don't appreciate some of the anti-Catholicism videos I've come across. There are some really funny videos I watched last time. I wonder if they have That Catholic Show on the site.

That Catholic Show is AWESOME! It's done by the same husband and wife team that does the Rosary Army podcast (both That Catholic Show and Rosary Army can be found on iTunes or sqpn.com). I think their videos are great, especially for those who don't know much about the Catholic faith. Here's just a sample of the type of videos they do:

To watch more, click on the link above or on the SQPN link on the righthand side under Favorite Websites.

I feel like this blog is getting too long so just a quick little story about yet another awesome, but scary, dream I had last night. So, last night I had a dream that there was something evil in the house -- which was almost pitch black for some reason. I had this white crystal cupped in my hands, which was almost blindingly white, and I went around the house with it touching different things to make the darkness go away. I finished in the living room (at the location where my PC is in real life) and I got on my knees and touched this thing (I forgot what it was) with the crystal and the next thing I knew, all the darkness had disappeared. I went to look outside, and I saw this little boy (who was about 7 years old and had this semi-long blonde hair) who was holding something white in his hands as well (I do remember it was an animal; possibly a dove) and he looked up at me and asked me where another little girl was. I told him I hadn't seen her. I knew he'd known what I'd just done (getting rid of the darkness in my house) and, still looking at me, said something along the lines of "I believe in you" but in Spanish. At that moment, I thought to myself "Oh my... that's the Child Jesus..." and he just smiled at me. I woke up shortly after that. No clue why I keep having these dreams about saints, and now the Child Jesus, but I am sure glad I did. It definitely beats having other types of dreams.

Okay, well, I still have to eat (it's almost 7:30 p.m.) and I haven't prayed the Rosary today (bad me!) so I am going to try to get those things done before I pass out from the icky, fatigued feeling.

Thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Colds, Pope JPII: The Movie, and a Saint Dream.

There hasn't been a blog in a few days because I've been feeling really icky lately. I think I'm getting a cold... probably caught it from my mom when she had it last week. Bah! To be fair, I haven't had an actual cold in over 2 years (last one was in November 2005) but still, I don't want one! lol. I really hope my sore throat and fever-y feeling (I don't have a fever; I just feel warm) are allergy related and not a cold... or worse, the flu. *shudders* That is seriously the last thing I need right now. Please let it be allergies, or a mild cold... please it it be allergies... or a mild cold. lol. *crosses fingers and hopes for the best* I hope my health is in better shape than Liverpool's recent form. That game today was not worth my getting up at 6 in the morning to watch. Ugh. But, moving on...

I watched the "Pope John Paul II: the Movie" DVD a few nights ago... and it was awesome! It was definitely a movie that made me think about a lot of things I normally wouldn't, which is always great. It did make my mom and I cry (moreso me than her) because it's difficult to watch something that was based on JP2's real life and see everything he went through and suffered. Watching his friends being killed by Nazi invaders, seeing him get hurt and shot (even though they were re-enactments) was very difficult to watch. Despite it being emotionally charged, it's such a great movie. We gave it thumbs up all around. I've gained so much more respect for him than I had before (and it was a lot prior to the movie). I think I'm going to put it on my wish list for the next time I buy some DVDs. I also got a movie about the Nutcracker ballet (which has been on my list for months) so I'm going to try to watch it by Monday morning so I can send them both back to Netflix and get myself more movies.

Two nights ago I had a very cool dream about saints. I was standing up on a cathedral's dome looking down at saints walking around in a garden. And, yes, they were actually alive in my dream. The cathedral was big and white and so were the stairs one had to take to get up to where I was standing. As I was looking down, I noticed St. Dymphna and St. Jude walking around. I don't remember if I called their names or if they just looked up but they looked at me and I knew they were going to come up to talk to me. So, I went inside and waited for them and then I saw other saints walking in from different hallways and staircases. It was almost like a parade, there were so many. I remember St. Theresa of Avila was there but I don't remember talking to her or just knowing she was there. In fact, I don't remember talking to any of the saints. I know they acknowledged me and made it clear that they knew I was there. Since it's been a couple of days, details are starting to get fuzzy. Either way, it was such a lovely dream. This is the first time I've had a dream where I interacted with them. It's always been me seeing them as apparitions or in statues but never as living people. It was amazing! I won't even try to decipher what they mean... I'm just very happy to have had it. :D

Alright, I'm not feeling too hot... or I should say I'm feeling pretty warm and not too well, so I'm going to try to go lie down or eat something before I go to bed. I'll go watch "the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" in the meantime. :D

Thanks for reading and God Bless.