St. Pancras and St. Timothy; Final Grades; Doctor Appt.; Costumes.

It took me a while but I finally have time to post a longer blog. :D

I don't know where I should start, really. Well, I should first say a thank you to St. Timothy and St. Pancras of Rome! For those of you who have read a previous post about how St. Timothy has interceded for me, no need to tell the story over again. St. Timothy is the patron saint of digestive and intestinal disorders and illnesses. For those of you who don't know who St. Timothy is, you can find out more about him at this page. St. Pancras of Rome is the patron saint against cramps, headaches, and against perjury/false witness.

On Monday morning, the morning of my English Lit midterm exam, I woke up feeling really sick. I'd actually gone to bed feeling a bit weird but woke up early with these stomach pains and cramps. I thought it was nothing so I went back to bed. when I woke up a bit later, the pains had gotten worse... and the cramps and pains had also traveled down into my legs. I took two different kinds of teas, Chamomile then Spearmint, because they usually help out my stomach but they weren't really doing much for me. So I asked St. Pancras (though I actually say his name in Italian - San Pancrazio) and St. Timothy to please help me get better because I was going to miss my midterm. I fell asleep and woke up feeling great... but too late to make it to my midterm. For me, my health is more important than my studies (plus I have an amazing professor who's letting me take the make-up next week), so I wasn't too stressed. Anyway, as a thank you to them, I promised to mention them in the next full length post I would write... and here it is. :D Remember their names when you're having pains. Trust me, they will come through for you. :D P.S. Also, thank you to St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Joseph of Cupertino during my exams and moments of academic wigging out. lol.

Oh, and before I forget, I PASSED MY OCEANOGRAPHY FINAL EXAM! I actually did 10% better on my final than on my midterm (how did THAT happen?!). I also got my final grade for the class which was... drum roll please... AN A! WHOO! Even if the professor hadn't graded on a curve, I would've gotten an A in the class because of my final exam! I was so relieved when I found out... mostly because Math and Science are usually my worst subjects. I'm more of a Philosophy/English/Music/History type of person. Now I know that all the stressing I did last week and the week before wasn't for nothing. lol.

Other good news I received... my EEG and heart monitor results came back normal! WHOO! I had my follow up appointment earlier today and all of my results came back normal. The doctor was perplexed as to why I've had to many test done at such a young age. He said I was perfectly healthy, nothing wrong with me, so he didn't understand. I had to explain that, because of my anxiety, the therapist recommended I have all the exams due to rule out everything. So, now we can safely assume that the rapid heart beat and the other symptoms are all anxiety related. I've had quite a bit of stress-related anxiety but I know it's because of how crazy the last few weeks have been. And, thankfully, it's not the intense panic and anxiety I had a few months ago. I'll be fine once this weekend is over because I'm caught up with all my work and I only have 3 classes to worry about for the next month and a half. :D Oh, that reminds me... I need a massage next week for the kinks and knots in my shoulders and back. lol.

Before I go (Philosophy assignments due tonight), I should mention that I do NOT have a Halloween costume ready for tomorrow. I originally did, and Rebecca from Modestia has first dibs on the pictures because she asked me on facebook, but I waited too long to get what I had planned. Now, I have to see what I can come up with from things I have at home. I have an idea but I won't share it because I'm going to wait and see if I can pull it off. I definitely had a hard time finding one that isn't too sexy or too revealing -- you know, like the majority of adult female costumes are. It's a problem most of us, who like to dress more modestly, encounter during times/events like these. You can also find out what Rebecca decided to wear by reading her blog on it.

Alright, well, Philosophy awaits. :D If I don't write a blog tomorrow, I hope everyone has a nice, safe Halloween. If it looks weird, don't eat/drink it! lol. :D

'Til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless! :D

St. Jude Thaddeus' Feast Day

Since it is St. Jude's feast day today, and since he is my main patron saint, I thought it was only appropriate to make a post today. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to rave about all the prayers he's heard and helped me out with but I am going to share some pictures of a statue of his at my parish. St. Jude isn't the patron of the parish but there's such a huge devotion to him. So, please enjoy the pictures. Click on them to see them bigger. :D

Pictures of the St. Jude statue in the courtyard.

From Journey of a Catholic Nerd Writer

From Journey of a Catholic Nerd Writer

A picture of a smaller St. Jude statue inside the Church. The words read "St. Jude Thaddeus, (Monetary) Offerings" in Spanish.

From Journey of a Catholic Nerd Writer

Alright, I'm off to finish the Philosophy assignments that are due tonight and the rest of the English Lit assignments I have due tomorrow. :D As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Election Novena

I strongly urge everyone to start the election novena and rosary today and conclude it on election night in hopes that the right candidate is elected and that the right propositions pass.

You can also find the novena to Our Lady of Victory here at Fratres.

I will hopefully have a full blog tomorrow. Busy night tonight. :D So, 'til next time, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Midterms? Final? HELP!; I Love Saints!.

Sorry it's taken me nearly a week to post another blog. This is the hardest week I'll have this semester, hence the lack of updates. I have my Oceanography final tomorrow morning (WHOO-HOO!). The English Literature midterm is on Monday morning. History of Great World Religions' midterm starts this coming weekend (the 30th) but that's an essay so I'm not too worried about it. After that, normal work until finals week... with one less class to do. WHOO!!! I would do a cartwheel right now if I didn't have these giants, painful stress knots all over my back. But, it's just 3 more days until the work lessens. I've had my crazy schedule for 8 weeks so far, I think I can make it 3 more days. lol. Despite my knots and occasional stress (the next door neighbor thinks she's the only one who lives in the area -- such loud music), I am pretty mellow about my exams. I don't know why. Might be because I've worked hard so far (though, I'll admit, probably not as hard as I should've) and because I'm pretty confident I will (hopefully) pass. I'll hopefully get my Oceanography final grade sometime next week. Fingers crossed it's a good grade. The man's grading on a curve, so I'm a little worried. :D

Quick note: We've officially started the Christianity section of the History of Great World Religions class and both St. Thomas Aquinas AND St. Teresa of Avila are mentioned. WHOO! :D

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE saints? I truly do. Last night, I was feeling horrible -- stomach pains, feeling faint, a gross feeling; most likely because of something I ate -- so I said a little prayer, "Oh, St. Timothy, if it's something related to my stomach, please help me get over this so I can go finish my History assignments that are due tonight". A little while later, all better. :D I made it 15 minutes under the deadline. That's how close I was cutting it due to the... well, whatever it was. Also, yesterday I received the WONDERFUL news that my financial aid appeal had been approved and I will be receiving aid for my books for the rest of the year. YAY!!! :D The Novena to St. Jude totally came through for me. :D Mom seemed somewhat shocked when she told me it was very apparent that I had such a strong faith/belief in the saints and their intercessions. Not only the saints, but in prayer. I feel like this is helping me out with my ultimate mission. What my ultimate mission/goal is... you'll have to wait until my next blog because I am exhausted (5 hours of sleep), I have confessions in a little while AND I still have to plan my attack on the final exam tomorrow. Hopefully I'll be able to write either Monday afternoon or Tuesday. We'll see. :D

'Til next time... thanks for reading and God Bless. :D

Hear My Voice Review; Vocation Signs?

Sorry it's taken a while to write another blog. So much classwork, so little time. :D I have a bit of time now, though, so I will get down to business. :)

I recently received a generous pre-release copy of the book Hear My Voice by Jonathan Stampf from the author himself. As I mentioned in the previous blog, I had seen the preview and liked what I saw. I was excited when I got the book and it did not disappoint one bit. The book's official title is Hear My Voice: A Children's Translation of Gospel Readings of the Catholic Mass for 2009... and that's exactly what it is! Mr. Stampf does an excellent job breaking down the Mass readings, from the First Sunday of Advent this year through The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ (the entire Liturgical Year). I know when I was growing up, they tried to explain things to me, such as how exactly the three wise men/three kings gave Jesus at His birth, but I just got more confused. "Frankincense and Myrrh"? At 5 - 7, I didn't know what that was. "Perfume" I got. The way things are translated in the book is fantastic. It doesn't take away from the readings, at all. The illustrations in the book help a child's imagination grasp the readings even more vividly so that they'll learn and remember them more easily. One thing: I feel like he didn't "dumb down" the readings or talk down to the intended readers. Sometimes authors try to write books for children and it feels like they have a "I'm a grown up so I'm more knowledgeable than you... so listen to me because you don't know anything" sort of vibe. Not at all with this book. It has a very friendly way of explaining things. Overall, I was very impressed with the book! If they gave me to me as a child, I would've probably paid closer attention and not let my mind wander off so easily. lol. Seriously, though, this is such a great book and I highly recommend it for all. And, hey, both the beginning of the new Liturgical Year AND Christmas are coming up. This would be a great opportunity to get it! Just click here to check it out for yourself (and hopefully get a copy of it). I'll also keep it under "Highly Recommended" in case anyone wants to find it at a later date. :D

I would like to thank Mr. Stampf for being kind enough to send me a copy of the book. Best of luck to you! :D

Now, I have a question for everyone... if you know what your vocation is, how did you figure out what it was? Lately, I feel like I've been getting signs as to what my vocation should be... or at least I think they're signs.

On Saturday, at church during confessions, I felt like I got three signs. First, when I got out of the car and started heading towards church, this gust of wind got me from the back and it made my oversized shirt puff up so that I looked pregnant. I even thought to myself, "I wonder if this is what I'll look like if I ever get married and have a baby." Second, the priest gave me a "prayer for vocations" prayer (written by Cardinal Roger Mahoney; who's the Archbishop of Los Angeles) and asked me to pray it at least once a day or two-three times a week. The prayer is mainly for more religious vocations, though. I've already ruled out the vocation of a nun/religious sister. I didn't know Fr. Juan would give me the prayer but he did. And third, when I came out of the church I saw this young couple who had just gotten married, getting their pictures taken, in the parking lot. The young lady looked a lot like a high school friend of mine, who has the same name I do. I even had to do a double take to make sure it wasn't her. It wasn't.

I also had a dream yesterday, in which I was a mother. I had a sleeping newborn baby boy in my arms. I felt so much love towards that baby. We were in a car so I thought, "I hope he doesn't wake up because I don't have a bottle to give him." I could tell he was hungry so I decided to sing him to him so he's stay asleep until we got home. I started singing a Spanish lullaby (which is specifically a traditional Spanish Christmas carol). The baby cracked open one eye and looked up at the ceiling. He then opened the other eye, turned his attention towards me and smiled. It was the sweetest thing in the world and I thought "He knows I'm his mom, and he's happy to see me." So then I continued singing, and he understood what I was trying to do so he covered himself back up with a makeshift blanket he was wrapped up in. Then I woke up.

I don't know if those were signs or not but it's interesting. There's a vocations thing, for young people, at the parish tonight but with the amount of homework I have, I won't be able to make it.

Alright, well, I actually still A LOT to do before tomorrow. I don't know when I'll be able to write the next blog because my week is insane. My Oceanography final is this coming weekend, I have a math assessment test on Thursday (trying to test into a specific class), my English Lit midterm is coming up and have loads of papers to re-write for it, my History of World Religions class has its midterm (a paper) due soon... AHHH! lol. I need to remember to breathe sometimes. :D

I've taken enough of your time. :D I hope everyone had a great weekend! As always, thanks for reading and God Bless. :D