Favorite Nicholas Sparks Quotes Part II

I am a quote collector. I collect quotes from famous people, from television shows, movies, books, etc.. One of my all time favorite people to collect quotes from is Nicholas Sparks. The romantic in me loves the cheesy factor of the quotes, but at the same time there is a very great message that comes from them as well. I know I have made a post before about some of my favorite quotes of his, but recently I have stumbled upon a few more that should be added to that list... :)

"Sometimes you have to be apart from people you love, but that doesn't make you love them any less. Sometimes you love them more.
~The Last Song~

"Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. Remember that."
~Message In A Bottle~

"I have faith that God will show you the answer, but you have to understand that sometimes it takes awhile to be able to recognize what God wants you to do. That's how it often is. God's voice is usually nothing more than a whisper, and you have to listen very carefully to hear it. But other times, in those rarest of moments, the answer is obvious and rings as loud as a church bell."
~The Last Song~

"Passion and satisfaction go hand in hand, and without them, any happiness is only temporary, because there's nothing to make it last."
~Dear John~

"The emotion that can break the heart is sometimes the very one that can heal it."
~At First Sight~

"Love wasn't possible in just a couple of days. Love could be set in motion quickly, but true love needed time to grow into something strong and enduring. Love was, above all, about commitment and dedication and a belief that spending years with a certain person would create something greater than the sum of what the two can accomplish separately."
~True Believer~

"He finally understood that God's presence was everywhere, at all times, and was experienced by everyone at one time or another."
~The Last Song~

"Never forget that God is your friend. And like all friends, He longs to hear what's been happening in your life. Good or bad, whether it's been full of sorrow or anger, or even when you are questioning why terrible things have to happen."
~The Last Song~

"But I'm different now than I was then. Just like I was different at the end of the trip than I'd been at the beginning. And I'll be different tomorrow than I am today. And what that means is that I can never replicate that trip. Even if I went to the same places and met the same people, it wouldn't be the same. To me that's what traveling should be about. Meeting people, learning to not only appreciate a different culture, but really enjoying it like a local, following whatever impulse strikes you. So how could I recommend a trip to someone else, if I don't even know what to expect? My advice would be to make a list of places on some index cards, shuffle them, and pick any five at random. Then just go and see what happens. If you have the right mind-set, it doesn't matter where you end up or how much money you brought. It'll be something you'll remember forever."
~The Guardian~

"I don't think we're meant to understand it all the time. I think that sometimes we just have to have faith."
~A Walk To Remember~

"Advice From Somewhere"

Advice from Somewhere

ONE.

Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully.

TWO.

Marry a man/woman you love to talk to. As you get older, their conversational skills will be as important as any other.

THREE.

Don't believe all you hear, spend all you have or sleep all you want.

FOUR.

When you say, "I love you," mean it.

FIVE.

When you say, "I'm sorry," look the person in the eye.

SIX.

Be engaged at least six months before you get married.

SEVEN.

Believe in love at first sight.

EIGHT.

Never laugh at anyone's dreams. People who don't have dreams don't have much.

NINE.

Love deeply and passionately. You might get hurt but it's the only way to live life completely.

TEN.

In disagreements, fight fairly. Please No name calling.

ELEVEN.

Don't judge people by their relatives.

TWELVE.

Talk slowly but think quickly.

THIRTEEN.

When someone asks you a question you don't want to answer, smile and ask, "Why do you want to know?"

FOURTEEN.

Remember that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

FIFTEEN.

Say "bless you" when you hear someone sneeze.

SIXTEEN.

When you lose, don't lose the lesson.

SEVENTEEN.

Remember the three R's:
Respect for self;
Respect for others;
Responsibility for all your actions.

EIGHTEEN.

Don't let a little dispute injure a great friendship.

NINETEEN.

When you realize you've made a mistake, take immediate steps to correct it.

TWENTY.

Smile when picking up the phone. The caller will hear it in your voice.

TWENTY-ONE.

Spend some time alone.

"Good Friday Ideas For Families"

I found this article and thought I would share it as it does have a number of good ideas. Enjoy!

Good Friday Ideas for Families

Catholic schools will be closed on Good Friday so the children will be able to participate in family observances of this solemn day. If possible, the entire family should attend Good-Friday services together, or at least make a trip to Church to make the Stations of the Cross (see section on Stations). Following are a few other suggestions.

a.. Hot Cross Buns. The familiar hot cross buns are sweet rolls with the sign of the cross cut into it, and they are one of several traditional European breads marked with a cross for Good Friday. According to tradition, these buns originated at St Alban's Abbey in 1361, where the monks gave them to the poor people who came there. (You may have your own recipe for sweet-rolls to which you can add currants or raisins before shaping and cut a cross in the top before baking; or you can buy them.) These Good Friday buns were very popular, and were sold by vendors who cried,

Hot cross buns, Hot cross buns! One a-penny two a-penny, Hot cross buns! If you have no daughters, give 'em to your sons! One a-penny two a-penny, Hot cross buns!

• The Three Hours. Some churches hold prayer services during the three hours of Christ's suffering on the Cross. It would be appropriate to observe a period of silence at home, for devotional reading and private prayer (e.g., no radio, television, etc.), especially between the hours of noon and 3 o'clock in the afternoon.
• Each member of the family might choose a particularly unpleasant job which has been put off for a long time - like cleaning the garage or a closet, or scrubbing the bathrooms (we're sure you can think of something!)- to emphasize the dreariness apropriate to the day.
• Good Friday was thought to be a good day for planting seeds (a reference to the Gospel about the seeds which must be planted in the ground to bear fruit as a metaphor for Christ's necessary death and His burial on this day) so if the weather permits, this could be a worthwhile activity with children. (Don't forget to explain the symbolism.)
• With very young children keeping silence during the Three Hours is virtually impossible. You might help them make a miniature Garden of Joseph of Arimathea in the yard. Mother or Father can teach children about the circumstances of Christ's burial and resurrection from the tomb by telling the the story of Joseph, Christ's friend who donated the new tomb where Jesus' body was buried after He was taken down from the Cross. Children can gather small stones, sticks, acorns. etc., for the little garden.
• Older children can be given a drawing or coloring project. Perhaps they could draw one or more of the Stations of the Cross. (See also sections on the Cross and Christ symbols).

"Understanding Women"

UNDERSTANDING WOMEN

A Woman's Vocabulary, Keywords and Meanings (as taken from an interview with a woman)

FINE
This is the word we use at the end of any argument in which we feel we are right, but need to shut you up. NEVER use 'Fine' to describe how a woman looks. This will cause you to have one of those
arguments.

FIVE MINUTES
This is half an hour. It is equivalent to the five
minutes that your football game is going to last before you take out the trash, so I feel that it's an even trade.

NOTHING
This means something and you should be on your toes. "Nothing" is usually used to describe the feeling a woman has of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down, and backwards. "Nothing"
usually signifies an argument that will last "Five Minutes" and end with the word "Fine".

GO AHEAD (with raised eyebrows)
This is a dare. One that will result in a woman
getting upset over "Nothing" and will end with the word "Fine".

GO AHEAD (normal eyebrows)
This means "I give up" or "do what you want because I don't care". You will get a raised eyebrow "Go Ahead" in just a few minutes, followed by "Nothing" and "Fine" and she will talk to you in
about "Five Minutes" when she cools off.

LOUD SIGH
This is not actually a word, but is still often a
verbal statement very misunderstood by men. A "Loud Sigh" means she thinks you are an idiot at that moment and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing".

SOFT SIGH
Again, not a word, but a verbal statement. "Soft
Sighs" are one of the few things that some men actually understand. She is content. Your best bet is to not move or breathe and she will stay
content.

OH
This word followed by any statement is trouble.
Example; "Oh, let me get that". Or, "Oh, I talked to him about what you were doing last night". If she says "Oh" before a statement, run, do not walk, to the nearest exit. She will tell you that she is "Fine"
when she is done tossing your clothes out the window, but do not expect her to talk to you for at least 2 days. "Oh" as the lead-in to a sentence usually signifies that you are caught in a lie. Do not try to lie more to get out of it, or you will get raised eyebrows and a "Go ahead," followed by acts so unspeakable that I can't bring myself to write about them.

THAT'S OKAY
This is one of the most dangerous statements that a
woman can say to a man. "That's Okay" means that she wants to think long and hard before visiting on you major retribution and tribulations for what ever it is that you have done. "That's Okay" is often used with the word "Fine" and used in conjunction with a raised eyebrow "Go Ahead". At some point in the near future when she has plotted and planned, you are going to be in some mighty big trouble.

PLEASE DO
This is not a statement, it is an offer. A woman is
giving you the chance to come up with whatever excuse or reason you have for doing whatever it is that you have done. You have a fair chance to tell the
truth, so be careful and you shouldn't get a "That's
Okay".

THANKS
A woman is thanking you. Do not faint, just say you're welcome.

THANKS A LOT
This is much different than "Thanks". A woman will
say, "Thanks A Lot" when she is really ticked off at you. It signifies that you have hurt her in some callous way, and will be followed by the "Loud Sigh". Be careful not to ask what is wrong after the "Loud
Sigh", as she will only tell you "Nothing".

Words Of Wisdom From Fr. Bill

Some things that I believe will impact your potential of growth and success in life:

1. Learn to accept life as it is. Life is hard. You won't get everything you want, but blaming others and being negative is the road to misery.

2. Maintain a positive attitude about life, especially about others. Look for the good in others. Don't waist time looking for people's faults. We all have them.

3. Care for other people. Truly there is no greater road to happiness. A selfish life is a very lonely life.

4. Have a dream, set some goals. Find your purpose. You can change the world just by changing one life.

5. Don't be afraid of hard work, which is another way of saying "give your best." It is truly satisfying.

6. Always have high moral standards for yourself, in particular be honest. Having high standards for your conduct is very freeing. It helps you know what to do in any situation.

7. Develop a relationship with God. There is a restlessness in each of our hearts, and truly it can only be filled by God. Learn that early. A lot of people waste a lot of time chasing after things that they think will fill them - money, prestige, power, achievements. Without God, they are hollow.

30 Day Photo Challenge: Day 1 Complete. :)

On facebook there is a huge challenge called the 30 photo challenge. Normally I try to avoid such challenges, but this one looks like it would be fun so I decided to go along with the crowd. Since there are some interesting photo challenges I figured it would also be fun to put it up on here as well.... :)


Day 01 - A picture of yourself with ten facts


1. Full name is Teresa Allison McConnell
2. I am the very middle child of five in my family
3. I am very Catholic. I LOVE my faith. :)
4. Recently I have decided I want to buy a beta fish and name it Charlie... Originally I wanted to name my first lab Charlie... either way one of my pets will be named Charlie.
5. I work at St. Charles Daycare and absolutely LOVE my job.
6. I am a country music kinda girl
7. I have given my car the name "Old Timer" because it is a grandpa car which has been very good to me.
8. I play the piano and the song I have most recently mastered is the song "Only Hope." The Mandy Moore version, not the Switchfoot version, because the Mandy Moore version just sounds better on the piano.
9. I am a bookworm. I love reading books... I am in the middle of a few right now. :)
10. My favorite flowers are daisies. :) They make me happy. They are also fun to doodle when I am trying to stay awake during nap time at work....

Sleep... Who Needs Sleep? Sleep Is For Babies! Ha!!!

Considering I have spent the majority of this past week-end sleep-deprived, along with the rest of my group, I decided to post the top 10 benefits to being sleep deprived. I got a laugh out of them....

10. Sleep deprivation allows you to speak your mind.

9. Sleep deprivation provides more time for productivity.

8. Sleep deprivation lets your family see your emotional side.

7. Sleep deprivation can lead to lack of rationality, which can lead to creativity.

6. Sleep deprivation gives you excuses to try gourmet coffee.

5. Sleep deprivation provides you with an excuse to nap.

4. Sleep deprivations gives you a free pass when you forget important information.

3. Sleep deprivation allows you to fast forward through boring situations

2. Sleep deprivation can give you a pretty good buzz by the end of the day.

1. You can see the sunrise and the sunset in one day!

Good-bye 2010 And Hello 2011!!!! Bring it on, Baby!

Here it is again... another New Year's Eve. Another evening filled with hope for what may come in the next year. Another night when most everyone sets out on some new resolution to better themselves. Another night....

This year I do not seem as excited as I normally am about the new year. I took a look at the resolutions I made this time a year ago, and felt like a failure seeing as how I did not finish any of those things I set out to do. I set out with every good intention to follow through, and I know I did pretty well for awhile, but somewhere through the year I must have forgotten I made them. So... what does that lead me to do this year? Make more resolutions that may seem far-fetched at the end of the year? No... I do not like that idea at all. So instead here is what I am going to do....

1.) I promise myself that I will make it to Mass at least three times a week...
2.) I promise to make it to confession AT LEAST once a month. No putting it off, because really that is just being lazy.
3.) I promise to keep in better touch with my great friends who no longer live so close by to me.
4.) I promise to try and uplift those around me through little things... maybe little notes, or random uplifting quotes... little things that make them realize how precious they are and how much I love them.
5.) I promise to be more selective about the things I watch on television...
6.) I promise to work-out at least five days a week for thirty minutes. unless I am on vacation where I cannot find a decent place to work-out. This seems to be much more attainable for me than the everyday one I made last year.

Even though I just said I was not totally excited about the New Year I have to take that back because there are a few things I am incredibly excited about.... Moving into my own apartment with my sister, graduating, the Matt Maher concert, retreats I will get to help out with, and also the d.c. March for Life trip I will be going on in just a few weeks. :) Who knows what else will be happening in this new year, but here's to whatever craziness that may ensue. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!! Bottom's up! (But also stay safe. :) )

"My Grown Up Christmas List

This is one of my very favorite Christmas songs.... Especially now as I am no longer a kid anymore. Even though today is the day after Christmas I did not have a chance to get on here and post it earlier with the all the hustle and bustle of my own Christmas celebrations with my family... I hope you enjoy this song too. :)

My Grown Up Christmas List

Do you remember me
I sat upon your knee
I wrote to you
With childhood fantasies

Well, I'm all grown up now
And still need help somehow
I'm not a child
But my heart still can dream

So here's my lifelong wish
My grown up christmas list
Not for myself
But for a world in need

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
and wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list

As children we believed
The grandest sight to see
Was something lovely
Wrapped beneath our tree

Well heaven only knows
That packages and bows
Can never heal
A hurting human soul

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end
This is my grown up christmas list

What is this illusion called the innocence of youth
Maybe only in our blind belief can we ever find the truth
(there'd be)

No more lives torn apart
That wars would never start
And time would heal all hearts
And everyone would have a friend
And right would always win
And love would never end, oh
This is my grown up christmas list
This is my only life long wish
This is my grown up christmas list

What I Am Most Thankful For

Since I may not have the chance to blog once my family arrives than I figured I would do one more tonight before I go to bed. There are many things I am grateful for... Here is a list. :)

I am thankful for:

The family God gave me,
The friends God put into my life,
a country where I am free to not hide my Catholic pride.
I am thankful for the roof over my head,
the clothes on my back, and the food and clean water to fill my belly.
I am thankful to be able to work at a job where I look forward to going to everyday.
I am thankful for the love of music my parents have instilled in me.
I am thankful for electricity so that I am able to blog and watch tv and keep warm when it is cold and cool when it is hot.
I am thankful for the many good memories I have had in my life, luckily so far they far outweigh the sad ones. :)
I am thankful for times when someone makes me laugh when I would rather cry and calm me down when I have been so angry that I might act without thinking.
I am thankful for so many more things. If I wrote them all here it would be an incredibly long list...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FRIENDS! :)

My favorite Devotions

So a friend of mine tagged me to do this quite awhile ago. I am just now getting to it....

So, here are my personal favorite devotions...

Mass

Eucharistic Adoration

Stations of the Cross (during Lent)

Saint of the Day :)

The Angelus


And now I am supposed to tag three friends to tell about theirs... Enjoy!

Suzanne's Shorelines

The Long Journey Into Light

Just A Small Town Girl...

Striving For Sainthood Through Little Ways

The other night I was hanging out with my friends and we began discussing how we are all called to be saints. We then bounced around different ideas on how we can work on making Catholics have a positive rap here in my liberal college town. So, here is the list we came up with...

Remember to smile. Everyone enjoys seeing a happy friendly face.
Listen patiently when someone needs to talk... after listening, instead of forcing advice on a person offer to pray together about what the other person needed to talk about. Bring problems to God.
No matter where we go to eat remember to always pray... and when we make the sign of the cross before and after make sure it is not a quick gesture, but a proud one.
Volunteer helping out at the local community kitchen or homeless shelter
whenever we meet someone to always think in our heads "you are worthy of being loved." By thinking this hopefully it will help us remember the other person is also loved by God.
Invite a friend to Mass
Always strive to learn more about our faith so that when people do come to us with a question we can be prepared. At the same time there is no way we can know everything there is to our faith. Part of being Catholic is knowing that we don't know everything, but we want to learn as well. It is a lifelong learning process.
Try not to gossip. this is a hard one, but the more we avoid talking about people behind their backs the more people will begin to respect us.
Dress modestly, but in a confident manner.
Be polite and courteous.
Be proud to do things like the Eucharistic Procession...
Enjoy wearing catholic t-shirts, or retreat t-shirts.
When in a group of friends who want to do things that are anti-catholic try to suggest to them in a friendly manner something else to do. If they don't want to go along with you, that's fine. Just politely say you are not interested in that and excuse yourself from their plans.
Remember to be a role model for those who you never know are looking up to you. Do not do something that you would regret seeing a younger person, or peer do.

These are just a few of the points we thought up. I wish I could tell you I remember them all, but I don't. We talked about a LOT of different ways.

"You Know You're A Proud Hoosier When..."

• You think the state bird is Larry.(as a kid yes for awhile....)

• There's actually a college near you named "Ball State."

• Your feelings get hurt whenever someone points out the acronym for Purdue University is PU.(Not really... considering I am from Bloomington, that one was used quite frequently and it is kinda funny)

• You've never met any celebrities.

• Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor on the highway.

• "Vacation" means going to Indiana Beach or Holiday World (Santa Claus, IN). (So True!!!)

• At your county fair, you see all the biggest bands ten years after they were popular.

• You measure distance in minutes.

• You know several people who have hit a deer.

• Down south to you means Kentucky.

• Your school classes were canceled because of cold.

• Your school classes were canceled because of heat.

• You've ridden the school bus for an hour each way.

• You've had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

• Stores don't have bags, they have sacks.

• You've heard of Euchre, you know how to play Euchre, and you are the master of Euchre.

• You've seen a running car, with nobody in it, in the parking lot of the grocery store, no matter what time of year it is.

• You end your sentences with an unnecessary preposition. Example: "Where's my coat at?" or "If you go to the mall I wanna go with."

• You install security lights on your house and garage, then leave both of them unlocked.

• You think of the major four food groups as beef, pork, beer, and Jell-O salad with marshmallows.

• When asked how your trip was to any foreign, exotic place, you say, "It was different."

• You carry jumper cables in your car regularly and your wife/girlfriend >knows how to use them.

• You drink "pop".

• Kids and dogs ride in the passenger seats of cars and the backs of pickups.

• You think nothing of it in spring and fall to be stuck behind a farm implement driving on the roads. You just hope it's not a hog truck >or a manure spreader.

• High school basketball games draw bigger crowds on the week- >end than movie theaters, IF you have a movie theater.

• Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.

• Newspapers have international news &headlines on one page but requires six for local sports.

• You can repeat the scores of the last eight NBA games, but, unless the MVP is a Hoosier, you are not sure who he is.

• You can see at least two basketball hoops from your yard.

• The biggest question of your youth was IU or Purdue.

• Indianapolis is the BIG CITY.

• Getting stuck by a train is a legitimate excuse for being late to school.

• You know several different definitions as to what a Hoosier really is.

• Everyone knows who the town cops are, where they live, and whether they're at home or on duty.

• To you, tenderloin is not an expensive cut of beef, but a big, salty, breaded piece of pork served on a bun with pickle.

• You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over his snowsuit.

• You know all four seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter, construction.

• You actually understand these jokes

"13 Things Your Child's Teacher Won't Tell You"

I found this article off the internet and found it pretty true... As a pre-school/daycare teacher myself, I have to say the first, third, sixth, eighth, ninth, twelfth, and thirteenth are all right on!

A look inside a teacher's mind could help you understand lesson plans and maybe even guide your child to perform better.

1. If we teach small children, don’t tell us that our jobs are “so cute” and that you wish you could glue and color all day long.

2. I’m not a marriage counselor. At parent-teacher conferences, let’s
stick to Dakota’s progress, not how your husband won’t help you around
the house.

3. We’re sick of standardized testing and having to “teach to the test.”

4. Kids used to go out and play after school and resolve problems on their own. Now, with computers and TV, they lack the skills to communicate. They don’t know how to get past hurt feelings without telling the teacher and having her fix it.

5. When I hear a loud belch, I remember that a student’s manners are a reflection of his parents’.

6. Your child may be the center of your universe, but I have to share mine with 25 others.

7. Please help us by turning off the texting feature on your child’s phone during school hours.

8. Guys who dribble a ball for a couple of hours a game can make up to $20 million a year. We educate future leaders and make about $51,000 a year.

9. We take on the role of mother, father, psychologist, friend, and adviser every day. Plus, we’re watching for learning disabilities, issues at home, peer pressure, drug abuse, and bullying.

10. Kids dish on your secrets all the time—money, religion, politics, even Dad’s vasectomy.

11. Please, no more mugs, frames, or stuffed animals. A gift card to Starbucks or Staples would be more than enough. A thank-you note: even better.

12. We love snow days and three-day weekends as much as your kid does.

13. The students we remember are happy, respectful, and good-hearted, not necessarily the ones with the highest grades.

My August Rush

This month of August has been shaping up to be the most fun month of the year for me. Granted I will be busy with lots of different things, which means I may not have much time for blogging... not that this fact is totally new. The past few months it has been hard to find the time to sit down and actually write out some blog entries. So what will I be doing this month???

August 5th - "Holiday World" outing. :)
August 7th - State Fair and Rascal Flatts concert!!!! :D
August 14-15 - Nashville, Tenn. week-end trip.
August 23- classes start back

Along with those dates I will be busy trying to find deals at garage sales for the new apartment my sister and I will be moving into, going to Zumba classes, and other church activities, plus catching up with friends who I have hardly seen all Summer. It will be a great time! I am excited. :) I just hope the weather stays nice for most of this month as I will be doing a lot of traveling. Time to pray even harder for sunny weather!

"Becoming A Woman Of Excellence"

Becoming A Woman Of Excellence

A woman of excellence
Is what I long to be
Filled with your godly wisdom
So it is part of me

A woman of integrity
No matter what I face
Standing up for righteousness
And for your saving grace

A woman of destiny
Living out your plan
Knowing where you’d have me walk
Being guided by your hand

A woman of promise
Standing on your word
Holding on to all the truths
While carrying out your work

A woman of compassion
For the ones in the dark
Those that do not know your love
And have darkness in their hearts

A woman that will never
Compromise the faith
With what the world may offer
But will keep the narrow way

A woman who loves Jesus
And will only follow Him
Gladly to give up the world
So His light can shine within

Lord this is my earnest prayer
As a daughter by your grace
Grow in me these qualities
As I walk with you in faith

© By M.S.Lowndes

Some Dating Advice From Yours Truely

The other night I was hanging out with a group of friends which happened to be made up of mostly males. They each had great fun asking me and the few girls who were with us about dating advice. It was kind of fun answering their questions because of the look on their faces. It was like they were holding onto every piece of info we were giving them... They did not even notice the few times we were being completely sarcastic about a question they would ask. It was hilarious... So after this little encounter I thought I would have a fun and random post about some do's and don'ts of dating... Most of this is pretty easy to get, but apparently for some not as easy as others.

For cheap first dates a guy should NEVER take a girl to the Mall. Never! It will not go over well... the only time it is ok to take a girl to the Mall as a date is when you are in Middle School pretty much. Other than that not good.

Also the guy really should always pay for the first few dates... and it is even more impressive if they keep paying for all the dates... It is understandable to have the girl and guy share the costs, but not when they are just starting out. Not so cool.

Always be courteous and show good manners. Hold doors open. Help her put on her coat if it is cold outside, walk her to the door... these things are simple enough and really do impress the ladies.

Be respectful. Look into the girl's eyes when she is talking to you. It lets her know you are interested in HER...

On a first date do not tell everything there is to know about you. Hold a lot of that back. It ruins the mystery if you tell everything and she will lose interest pretty fast. Seriously, no likes to have their life stories told on a first date. It gets old fast.

It is extremely cool to ask your date to go to Mass or Adoration with you as part of a date. A girl who takes her faith seriously will be incredibly impressed with that move and will happily say yes.

Do not talk about how other girls look in front of your date... (Seriously, I thought this one would be an easy one, but apparently not so easy for some of my guy friends to get... They wondered why girls get annoyed with them after they do this one... uh. Hello!?!?!? Duh!)

Girls like random dates... It is usually the more unique dates that girls remember the most. Dinner and movies are good every so often... but after awhile it gets old.

Please do not say "I Love You" unless you really mean it. Playing around with a girl's emotions is so not cool... but when you do mean it say it often enough that she really knows you mean it.

Please have some patience with us. Sometimes us girls cannot make up our minds. As a girl I do have this problem. The truth is not one of us really knows what we really want. We get moody. Go a little crazy. It is just a fact. All of us girls have this problem... It is how it is... so please do not take offense too much with our craziness. :)

Exercising Is So Addictive!

Jogging... Pilates... Zumba class... Tae-bo... These are pretty much my main ways of working-out. I enjoy working-out. If I do not work-out for a couple of days I get so thrown off...I am not one for doing the same things over and over again. I get bored with it after awhile and search for something new to keep me entertained. Even now I look at that list and if someone were to ask me which one is your favorite I would not be able to answer. I tend to use them with my moods.

Jogging when I want to go by myself and have some reflection time. When a lot of things are going on in my life and I just want to take some time to myself I like to jog. I do not have to worry about anything else but taking the next step and breathing. It is a mental tug-of-war kind of game. My body will tell me do not take another step, and as soon as I listen to it I usually find myself defeated. I have to fight to ignore that little voice in my mind saying I can't go another yard. It is an exercise in a way that helps me also fight temptations from sin... I also tend to pray a lot while I jog. It is good one-on-one time with God.

Pilates I enjoy to keep my core strong. It is a pretty methodical exercise for those who have never done it. You have to breath just right while doing the different floor exercises. In some ways it can be the most awkward exercise I have ever done, aside from yoga. People tend to put yoga and pilates in the same kind of category, but they are so different from one another. I tend to do this on days when I have so many different things going on that I can only fit a shorter work-out in, and it totally does the trick.

Zumba is like a big dance party. I tend to always go with friends and it is a blast. Zumba is a mix of latin ball room dancing moves that really burn calories. You sweat like crazy while figuring out the different moves the instructors throw at you without too much warning. It is also very nice because all the people that go there are girls too so it is just some fun without worrying about looking cute for whatever guy may walk in. No worries there. I tend to really do zumba on days when I want to have a work-out that is fun. It lasts an hour, but it sure does not seem like it.

Tae-bo is the one I use when I am really angry, annoyed, frustrated, aggravated, hurt, so forth and so on. I get to let the steam out on a positive way. In my mind I can pretend that I am punching or kicking whatever is causing me frustration. Afterwords I feel so much better and not so angry anymore.

Top Ten Types of Blog Commenters

I found this list on facebook and could not help but pass it on. I thought it was too funny. It is a compilation of the different types of people who leave comments on blogs.... Enjoy!

1) Encouragers - These leave simple, encouraging comments like, “great post!” Or, “wow, this totally changed my life.” But they don’t instigate further conversation or offer anything additional to the post. (FYI - Bloggers love these kinds of comments.)

2) Non-contributors - These are similar to Encouragers, except without the encouragement. Their comments say I was here and I read your post...like, “I also have a fish named Dorothy,” or “Thanks for this post.”

3) Contributors - Contributors usually leave the best blog comments because they offer something new to the conversation. A new perspective. Additional information. A new insight. They are thoughtful. And they can either respectfully agree or disagree with the post. Overall, they contribute to a healthy conversation and they make the blog post more valuable and helpful for other readers.

4) Destitutes - These are people in need. They might be depressed or struggling with something. They just want somebody to talk to. Somebody to listen. Sometimes their comment is on topic, often times it is not. Many times they have serious questions.

5) Slackers - Slackers are people who don’t read the post. They just read the title of the post and then want to say something. So they write it in the combox. They often strongly disagree with you while making your point. Or they soundly defeat a straw man and feel better afterwards. Or they ask things like, “Well what about X?” When the post spent paragraphs 3 and 4 answering precisely that about X.

6) Brawlers - Brawlers love to fight and argue. They aren’t interested in learning, giving the benefit of the doubt or considering that it was just an accident when I spilled my drink on them.

7) Angries - An Angry is somebody who is just angry at something. They often take the form of brawlers, but worse. They don’t even want to argue or fight about it. They just want to express their anger about something. Often times it makes them feel better to bring others down in the process. Their comments are often inappropriate and hurtful. And they usually end up accusing somebody tangentially related to the post of something tangentially related to the topic and then lumping everyone together and concluding that “You people are all a bunch of losers.” They can turn into real trolls too.

8) Posers - Posers pretend like they don’t care about the topic when they really do. Their comment basically says “I don’t care about this, but I still took the time to comment and tell you. That’s how much I really don’t care about this. And now I’m going to get really defensive about something you said…but I really couldn’t care less about it.”

9) Self-promoters - These people range from spammers and link-baiters to honest people just trying to promote something good. But their comment is all about promoting something else, not contributing to the post directly.

10) Aliens - Aliens leave comments that make absolutely no sense at all. It’s like they just landed on the planet Earth and thought they would leave a comment.

Top memories of my twenty-second year. :)

My 22nd year started off with a bang... and finished off in somewhat of a bang... It was filled with ups and downs, hellos, and goodbyes, family drama and fun, hanging-out with so many great people... I have a lot to be thankful for. :)

With that being said... my favorite moments of my 22nd year are...

My 22nd birthday party last year. It was so much fun. :)

My good friend, Steph P.'s birthday was also a highlight. That was a blast!

St. Charles' youth group Summer Bible studies and ultimate frisbee games afterwords

Teaching confirmation classes this year

Helping lead the Antioch retreat

"Holy" hours and drop-ins with St. Paul's

Christmas break- too many fun things happened over that break. :)

Being with my sister while she was in labor with Keegan.

Kairos retreat!!!!

Hanging-out with my Kairos small group after the retreat was so much fun!

St. paul's S.L.T. camp-out was so much fun!

The ice cream sundae party I had at my house almost a month ago.

Officially becoming Keegan's Godmother, and the nice get-together after. :)

There are so many more memories.... Thank-you, God, for blessing me with these times that I had with all the great people in my life. :)