Can We Please Stop "Throwing Shade"?

Before we begin, here's the definition gf you're wondering what "throwing shade" means. Urban Dictionary (the dictionary to slang) defines it as "to insult or judge someone discreetly or indirectly." All caught up? Awesome... let's continue.

Can we please stop throwing shade on social media... or in general? Whether it's at each other (and I've seen an increase of this these past couple of days) or at the new Papal encyclical (which has yet to be properly, officially released), there's a lot of comments that are completely unnecessary being thrown out there. Yes, this is the peacemaking side of me coming out.

Look, we don't have to agree on things. It's impossible for every single person to agree on everything. We don't have to like the decisions made or the words others choose to use when they're trying to make their point. You're entitled to your feelings and ideas... but why engage in a way that is counterproductive?

Do I need to remind others (just like I have to remind myself when I am upset) that God commanded us to love each other? This doesn't mean we have to like e everyone and/or what they stand for, but it does mean we should try to treat them in a way we'd like to be treated ourselves; in a way we'd treat Christ. "Ugh, but Emmy... that's so corny/cheesy/idealistic/*insert excuse*" you may say. Go ahead, give me your excuse. Do you have your excuse ready? Okay, now imagine you saying that exact same thing to God. "Ugh, but God... *insert excuse*" Do you think He'd say "Okay, you can throw shade because your feelings got hurt / because you disagree with them / because they made you mad"? I'm pretty certain He would not.

I'm not sure why the majority of us (and I do count myself in this because I've not been happy with how some people choose to interact with me on Twitter) seem crabby online but I think we owe it to ourselves to try to be more civil towards one another. It's not easy. I, myself, am pretty easygoing but once you push all my buttons it gets harder for me to not be feisty. See? I'm not saying "you guys do this..." No, I'm just as guilty of losing my cool online from time to time. So, as someone who totally sympathizes with y'all and knows how hard it is to turn the other cheek sometimes, I'm asking y'all please to at least try.

If someone is bothering you, block them... mute them... distance yourself from them. Do what you must (especially if you've already tried to diplomatically reason with/talk to them) to eliminate contact so that you don't fall into the never-ending cycle of throwing shade and subtweeting them. If the friendship is important enough that you want to work on it, pray for them, pray for patience for yourself, and try to communicate with them. If it's a troll... ignore. Do not feed the trolls!

As for the whole papal encyclical thing... I'll be the first to admit that I'm not always in 100% agreement with everything that Pope Francis says and does. He challenges me in ways I never expected. Despite not being a Pope Francis fan-girl (like I fan-girl over Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI), I still acknowledge and respect the fact that he is the Vicar of Christ. This is just a friendly reminder for you non-sedes who are already starting to throw shade his way. Just saying.

Anyway, I just wanted to say this because I feel like people expect me to take sides in some arguments/disagreements (including over the encyclical) and I'm here to tell you that I'm not. I'll have my opinions about each situation, as well as the encyclical which I plan to read for myself to create my own opinions over it, but I'm not going to participate in the subtweeting. Sorry, it's just not going to happen.

By the way, with perfect timing, Sr. Helena Burns recently talked about subtweeting and being more conscientious about how we use social media on last week's episode of Life on the Rock. I highly recommend watching it if you haven't already.


Let's all take a deep breath, pray a Hail Mary (and a pray for St. Michael Archangel and/or St. Jerome if you're feeling particularly upset), and try to refocus our attentions on things that matter. Don't forget that the Evil one loves this kind of stuff. Don't let him win!

That's it from me for now. I'm going to get something to eat before the #USWNT vs Nigeria match in a bit. :)

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

I've Decided to Pray Like a Child

As I got through the rest of the Catechism (took me 2.5 years, on and off, but I finished it!) and reading Too Deep for Words: Rediscovering Lectio Divina by Thelma Hall, I became aware of how poor my prayers can be. I'm not saying that I don't do it -- I literally schedule time out of my day to pray at least twice a day (morning and night) -- but sometimes I just pray without really paying attention to the words I'm saying.

Some days (really, most days), I get easily distracted while praying. When I read about how we, as children, pray without really paying attention to the words, I recalled how it was the opposite for me. As a child, I really got into the words in each of the prayers... and this was early as 5-7 years old; certainly before my First Communion at age 8. It was when I remembered how much I loved it as a child that I decided to pray more like a child and less like a busy, distracted adult.

Those who've read the Catechism of the Catholic Church know how beautifully it breaks the Our Father. As I read it, I kept remembering about how I used to pray it as a little girl. This prayer has a special place in my heart because it was my favorite prayer when I was a little lady. Being raised bilingual (thank you, mom and dad!) I learned it in both Spanish and English but praying it in English always sparked my imagination.

When we attended Mass, I would be mesmerized by the words in the prayer. In my vivid imagination, I would break down the prayer, line by line, and actually try to imagine what the words meant... as much as I could understand them at that age. I still remember, 20+ years later, exactly what used to come to mind: sun shining down on grassy hills, full of birds, trees, and (really) the natural beauty God has blessed us with. And then, as the prayer continued, I would imagine bread being broken, forgiving people... basically, whatever was being prayed.

Fast forward 20+ years... it's not the same. My faith and knowledge has grown but I have yet to pray as I did as a child. These days I sometimes rush through prayers because of poor time management. Other days I let other things like text messages, whatever is TV, or online distract me. I'm not proud of it but it's reality. The closest I get to praying as I used to is during the Rosary. I can sometimes very easily visualize each mystery (that vivid imagination of mine still exists though it is only tapped into when I write). The Sorrowful Mysteries will reduce me to tears every time that I can put all my attention on it. But, still, it's not the same.

When I realized all of these things, I decided to revert back to how I used to pray when I was a little lady. There were less distractions... distractions, which, really, are mostly due to technology. Technology isn't bad but we have to be careful with how we use it... especially when social media is involved. Unfortunately, I've used the excuse that a majority of my friends have moved away from L.A./So Cal as an excuse to overuse social media. "I need to stay in touch with everyone," I say as an excuse. No, Emmy. Stop.

I've noticed that pacing/walking around my apartment while I pray helps me focus on the words. I need to physically remove myself from my room (where I have a TV; where I leave my laptop, iPod touch, and cell phone) and I pace around the living room while I pray in the morning. At night, I wait for my mom to go to sleep (she has the best timing and manages to interrupt my prayers on her days off so I've learned to work around her schedule) and then I do my nighttime prayers with more pacing. It's getting easier for me to do this... except now I have to learn how to work with distracting thoughts.

My spiritual director has suggested that I allow the distracting thoughts pop into my mind while I pray. As soon as I figure out why they've come up, I can push it to one side and continue praying. Sometimes these thoughts come up for a reason. It's been working lately (the stopping, dealing with the thought, and then resuming prayers) and I hope that I eventually get the hang of it so I can focus more on the prayers in between distractions. Baby steps, y'all.

I know that these changes I've decided to implement won't happen overnight and that's okay. As we grow in our prayer life, we find out what works and what doesn't work for us. I've learned what causes distractions (technology, worries, hungry, sleepiness, certain times of the day when the apartment building is as its noisiest, etc.) and I've been reminded that using my imagination to visualize the words of the prayers helps the words have more meaning to me. Now let's see how long it takes me to improve my prayers and prayer time. :)

Anyway, this was just something I've been wanting to write about for a couple of days now but hadn't had a chance to because of a busy schedule. :)

Alright... this is my blog post for today. I'm trying to wean myself off of social media and being online most of the day so I should give my laptop a break. Yes, I will still live tweet the USWNT and other football (soccer) matches later today and this weekend. Hello, it's me. ;) In the meantime... I've downloaded two audiobooks and I have a mountain of books to read before the start of grad school so I can stay away from my laptop and social media without much trouble. Again, baby steps. ;)

I hope y'all had a great week and have an equally great or better weekend. ;)

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

Why I Remain Catholic

I started seeing tweets with the hashtag #WhyRemainCatholic floating around Twitter a couple of days ago and I was immediately intrigued. I finally found the source and thought it was a brilliant idea. Elizabeth Scalia (a.k.a. the Anchoress) issued a challenge to all of us Catholics in social media (as well as those in the public eye) to share why we are still Catholic, despite what the Pew studies report says. Though I am of little to no importance in the Catholic world, I thought I'd share why I'm still Catholic.

I'm still Catholic because it has filled a gaping void that existed while I was away from the Church. From ages 11 through 21, I was Catholic in name only. I rarely attended Mass. I was poorly catechized and therefore knew very little beyond the basic prayers. I sought things such as popularity amongst friends and classmates and even when obtained, still felt incredibly empty inside.

I'm still Catholic because a lot of what I believed while I was away from the Church still aligned with Church teachings. I didn't believe in abortion and couldn't bring myself to support friends who obtained abortions in my late teens because I knew that it meant the killing an innocent child. I believed these things despite never having heard the word "pro-life" or knowing what the Church teachings were on this topic.

I'm still Catholic because, despite being poorly catechized as a child, I still knew the beauty that existed in the Church. When I was a 5 year-old I used to tell people I was going to become a nun when I grew up. I loved attending Mass and paying close attention to what was going on.

I'm still Catholic because my life changed for the better upon my reversion. The years of anxiety, stress, dumb teenage decisions, and emptiness have only made me appreciate the love, joy, and peace I've felt in recent years.

I'm still Catholic because it's helped me get out of the stereotypical selfish Millennial mindset that I should pursue things that make me happy and that things were made for my comfort. Those thoughts created a number of stresses, sadness, and anxieties when they were not obtained. It was only until I stopped trying to control things and let Him lead me down the path He wants me to take that life had a better and more beautiful meaning.

I'm still Catholic because everything taught in our beautiful religion has made sense. As a former Religious Studies major, I had to study different religious and philosophies yet the only one I agreed wholeheartedly with was Catholicism. Even when I was an "open minded" teen, Catholicism still made the most sense.

I'm still Catholic because I love Him too much to ever deny Him. When my time here on earth is over, I want to spend eternity with Him and I believe the only way I can achieve that is to continue to be Catholic and do His will for me.

I'm still Catholic for these reasons and more. The list would be too long to actually write out but at least you get the gist of it. :)

Anyway, this is just a short list. I wrote this out while experiencing chest tightness (ah, acid reflux/ GERD...) but I still soldiered on (after a break) to finish it. That's how important this post was to me. :)

I hope y'all have a wonderful weekend. If there's anything I can about for you, please let me know. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

How I Celebrated My 30th Birthday

I've been asked what I did for my golden birthday (30 on the 30th) by a couple of people so -- in order to save time -- I thought I'd blog about it so I can just link everyone to a single place. :)

My 30th birthday was very quiet yet wonderfully "Emmy"... and quite possibly the best birthday I've had since about 20 or 24. Yes, this introvert (who usually celebrates her birthday at Disneyland) had a very low-key birthday and it was absolutely perfect.

A co-worker of my mom's offered to work Saturday (which is my mom's last day of the work week) so that she could have the day off to celebrate my day. As many of you know, I drive my mom to work in the 4 a.m. hour so that meant I got to sleep in a bit. Hooray! No, really... after weeks and months of getting up at that hour, the body and mind gets tired so it was so welcomed.

In the morning we went to the only known (to us) parish that has confession before noon on Saturdays. No, let me rephrase that: the only known parish that was not the cathedral; they were having the ordination Mass that morning so no confessions. Mom and I actually arrived at the parish a bit early (and, coincidentally right before the morning Mass began) so we were able to enjoy that day's Mass before confession as well as some time in the Adoration room/chapel before and after confession.

After Mass, I drove to my favorite vegan bakery, Buttercelli. Since it was going to be just mom and I, I got a couple of their vanilla-vanilla cupcakes as well as one of their new vanilla donuts (my first donut in years!). It was my first time since my 24th birthday that I had any sort of cake (yes, I'm counting cupcakes in this statement) for my birthday so it was a real treat. Something very lovely that happened while we were there, right as we were paying, the Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong version of "Dream a Little Dream" (my favorite song) began playing at Buttercelli. It was like my own little sign that my birthday was going to be a good one.

Not much happened the rest of the morning into afternoon. The Hallmark Channel aired a couple of my favorite movies (seriously, it was like they knew!) so I watched a couple before taking a nap. I had some weirdo dreams the night before and didn't get as much sleep as I'd wanted so the nap was necessary.

In the afternoon, I got up from the nap and we got ready to attend the Saturday Vigil Mass at our home parish. We headed to our parish earlier than usual because they were having the annual fiesta that weekend. I found parking at the end of the long block but didn't mind the walk. I had on the blue mantilla my bestie had given me for my special day and was glad that I was getting a second Mass that day. :D

Mom tried to surprise me by having my name added to the Mass intentions but I knew beforehand. Still, I blushed and looked down when my name was read along with the Mass intentions. After Mass, the visiting priest prayed over me and blessed me. I was able to see my spiritual director right after, too. We reached him while a cover of "Celebration" by Kool & the Gang was being played so he made a joke that they were playing it for me. We stayed at the fiesta for a bit before going home.

We counted down the minutes until 8:45 p.m. PST since that was the time I was born. I ate my cupcakes (saved them for the right time) and that was that. :)

Really, that was the most exciting of it. As I said, it was very quiet but very perfect for me. I got to spend time with my mama, with God, and with some of my favorite priests so it was wonderful for me. :D I don't need a big party or gifts (though I did get some wonderful ones from friends who ignore my "no gifts" request every year); I'm perfectly content with simply going to Mass and having a cupcake that day. :)

There you have it. It will seem very boring to most of you but that's okay. I'm a simple gal and I'm glad my day was peaceful as opposed to drama-filled. :)

Anyway, just wanted to share with those who were asking. :D

And now I should go attempt to finish reading the Lectio Divina book my spiritual director recommended. I have my next meeting coming up in exactly one week from today so I need to prepare for it. :D

I hope y'all are having a great start of week. :D

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D

The Skinny Jeans Debate

As I wrote in the Warm Weather Bucket List post, one of my wishes is to "give my wardrobe a much needed overhaul... and do it on a budget." This isn't a "style makeover" per se; I just need to upgrade my wardrobe in a big way. I should also say that it's been YEARS since I last gave it an upgrade.

Do you know how old my recent (I just donated a bunch of clothes to Goodwill last week) wardrobe was? I still had clothing (in good condition) from junior year. Seriously, I had a skirt that I wore in 7th-8th grade. Other pieces were from my early 20s (jeans included). What can I say? I take good care of my clothes. My mom is the head of the laundry department at the convalescent hospital where she works so she's picked up tricks that made clothes cleaner and last longer. (side note: in case you're wondering... no, I'm absolutely not embarrassed that my mom works in the laundry; it's honest, hard work and I'm so proud of her.) So why the sudden makeover? Because clothes were either no longer fitting me or because it's no longer appropriate at 30.

Now that my weight has been (thank goodness) within low-normal range for my height, a lot of the clothes I've worn over the last couple of years have not been fitting. Those that were in good condition (and others that I had worn only once or twice) were donated. Other clothes either still fit and are faded or falling apart or look like something a teenager would wear, not a young woman of 30; these clothes will be replaced (little by little) over the next couple of weeks and months. I've been using Pinterest (*gasp* I know, I finally have a legit reason to use it) to figure out outfits and accessories but I've come across one big inner debate: whether or not I would want to to get myself a pair (or two) of skinny jeans.

A big reason why it's an inner debate is because of the modesty issue. See, I personally have not liked wearing shirts, blouses, and sweaters that don't cover my tush. It's just a personal preference thing. Though my mom is the same way, she has never told me to do this... it's just what I've felt most comfortable with. The reason why I'd like skinny jeans is because of boots. I love wearing boots in the autumn and winter and I think they look best with skinny jeans. I love my boot-cut jeans, too, but they don't always look good with certain boots (despite their name). With my preference of shirts and sweaters being long enough to cover my tush, I don't see a modesty problem... until I then hear that the jeans are still too tight.

I don't like very fitted clothing so skinny jeans are an exception. I like my skirts and dresses to be A-line. I don't like pencil skirts because of how tight they are. I don't like shirts and blouses to be tight. I'm not "shaming" anyone here; this is just my personal preference. However, the last time I did own a pair of skinny jeans a couple of years ago, I felt (basically) shamed for owning them. "They're not modest!" "They're still too tight and should be worn looser!" This debate keeps going on in my head as I rethink wardrobe changes. Thankfully, I have several weeks to think it over (we're starting summer weather in L.A. and it'll probably continue through early October) but I'm wondering what y'all think about this whole skinny jeans / modesty debate? I don't want any lectures or any debates telling me what to do (some of you mean well but...)... I'm just interested in hearing what others think about this whole thing.

So, leave me a comment on here, on the blog's FB page, or send me a tweet on Twitter if you'd like to chime in. :)

Anyway, that's what's been on my mind these last two days.

I hope y'all had a great weekend and have a great week!

As always, thanks for reading and God bless! :D