Happy 2008!

Ok, yeah, embarrassing.

Allcare Dental <--- (this is so people who search Allcare will end up at my site)

Why am I always too late

to stop a swindler?

I sincerely wish that Jon and I had not patronized this business.

We went for routine cleanings,

and left with reason to contact the Better Business Bureau.

I know someday I will laugh at this,

but not today.

Okay, I did laugh a little when I reflected on one part of the experience that I cannot put into words. Okay, two parts.

Follow-Up:

For all of you interested in the details of our dental visit, I think you will find Jon's description telling and entertaining.....It is missing some key parts, like when the xray nurse did a little trail with her finger to Jon's heart indicating that if he didn't get xrays, (in a child-like voice) "it would go straight to his heart" AND when the consultation guy asked me if we had kids and then said how great they are and threw his arms up imitating young children saying "Mommy! Daddy!" Yes, I know this is hard to believe, but it happened! Maybe he was abusing the laughing gas??

Attached: Jon's Reflection/ Therapy

I also went to AllCare Drill and Fill earlier today! They saw both my wife and I and gave us a truly memorable trip to the dentist...memorable in the most negative sense of the word, as in nightmare inducing bad. 

We only went for a teeth cleaning but instead were treated to a more “thorough” plan of action since they vehemently insisted upon doing what they called a “dental examination" before hand. At first glance this seemed quite reasonable and was if anything an opportunity for my wife and I to brag about how uber-healthy our teeth are. Thus we agreed to the exam before our cleaning. 

Upon doing x-rays they quickly claimed that I had a cavity which was in serious need of drilling and used scare tactics in order to convince me of it: 1) I could die from infection 2) I would have to pay thousands of dollars later for what would only cost hundreds now (assuming I’m not already dead that is). 

Never-mind the fact that I had no pain, no sensitivity, etc, to indicate such a thing was actually true or as dire as they said, they remained highly insistent.

The real problem with this is that only 6 months prior my parent’s dentist back in my hometown (one of the few who have been honest with me) warned me about a SUPERFICIAL sign of decay on the exact tooth (and spot) they identified...saying that as long as I continued to care for my teeth (as I do) it could last many years before requiring work and that it would actually be better off left alone. 

Well I explained this to AllCare and they were insistent regardless claiming that to do nothing would mean the loss of my tooth or WORSE in the near future (like an exploding heart?)....this of course was all said to me after an extraordinarily cursory examination in which they failed to do a number of routine checks any good dentist should do. 

I reluctantly gave temporary assent to there assessment of the situation so as to prevent myself from accusing them of lying straight to their faces...a thing which I felt was prudent since I am not myself a dentist and because there remained the slight possibility that they were correct. (I made up my mind to get a second opinion because pretty much everything about this place told me that this was not going to be my dentist in the future.)

So from this point we went to see there “consultation” guy...a thuggish looking man in a small office adorned with models of teeth and dental procedures that I am sure he did not understand in the slightest. He also quickly engaged me with more scare tactics and unnecessary pressure, telling me that I should thank the dentist anytime he finds a cavity because of what it means for my health and my wallet (I would be allowed to live and for thousands less than if I waited!). Thanks!

Experience and common sense instead told me that this guy was full of it, as my wife and I both have been boldly lied to with regards to the need for drilling/filling numerous times in the past...usually forcing us to find a second opinion and a dentist we can trust (we move a lot).

We told him we would be getting a second opinion and of course he seemed bothered and then we told him that we would be canceling the teeth cleanings, which he was charging us $100 for (about $40 above what most dentists charge). We also added that would only be paying the $60.00 of examination fees, which we both knew were a rip-off considering how ridiculously short and halfhearted our exams were (we’re talking a matter of a few minutes a best and they completely failed to engage us in dialogue concerning our dental history, such as my large pirate-like gold inlays that they never even bothered to ask about!). This again visibly disturbed him, since he wasn’t making a sale that day, so he then proceeded to haggle as if we were in a cheap market stall somewhere in Mexico bargaining over curios. “For today only” he would reduce the price of cleanings to $70.00 from $100.00....we were not amused. He never seemed to grasp why this turn of events would be so disconcerting to us. 

To top this whole scenario off, he refused to give us my x-rays so that I might get a second opinion...at least not right away, they would need a week to be able to do so he claimed. This is also bogus because anytime in the past we have been able to procure them on request on the same day....but they were busy after-all so time will tell whether or not he will ever remain true to his word. Under no circumstances would I EVER go back to this place or to any one of their dozens of locations which are springing up all over the U.S. like some kind east-asian bird flu. They feed off of people’s ignorance and offer horrible customer service which borders on the criminal side of things. Avoid at all costs.       

Merry Christmas!

Our youngest guest

weighed less than our goose

Merry 1st Christmas Daniel III!

    

See, your life could always be worse:

You could be accosted by a snowman bandit

and only have birch arms to protect yourself.

In Your Face

Yes, I suppose if you were this thin lady, you

could wear this costume.

But, I'm not sure everyone at the party would like you.

Another Awkward Confession

Two months ago, Jon, my sister, and I spent our entire lunch debating whether this was an image of a goat, a sheep, or (my favorite) a kangaroo. I think the laughter was compounded by the person working there who could not tell us what it was (hello?) and another customer who treated us like we were cotton people without brains because we did not know what this animal was. This man got a good laugh when we deduced (or rather induced) that since the company was Australian (according to the employee who is now an unreliable source), then the animal must be--why yes--a kangaroo! I must say that Jon insisted all the while that it was a sheep; I admittedly got excited at the prospect that it was a kangaroo, which sounded more fun than a lousy goat or sheep.

Ultimately, the all-knowing customer told us cotton people that it was a goat, but Jon insisted that it was a sheep. I think I was still willing that it was a kangaroo.

For good measure, we should all see these images on trial:

Exhibit A:    Goat

Exhibit B: Sheep

Exhibit C:   Kangaroo

Two months later, I am still laughing about this whole thing.....

Me (looking at the Crazy Mocha "mascot"): Honey, but doesn't it look like that goat in Shrek?

Jon (in disbelief): No, Lauren, that's a donkey!

Okay, a confession many of our family and friends already know about: Jon and I are generally healthy eaters. Thankfully, all of our 'real' (j/k) family and friends have stood by our side as we have opted for whole grains and fruits and vegetables...except once a week, of course, when we go out for yummy sugary fattening food!

So, recently, a friend gave me three flavored coffee creamers--all of which intrigue me. But one stood out for its intense sweet smell. It goes without saying that it smells good, but I just had to hold it up to Jon's nose to see what he thought....

Me: So, what do you think?

Jon: Hmm....It smells like the circus.

*So okay we'll save that one for cheat day ;)

Unraveling the Scarf Mystery

Apparently there is more than one way to "tie" a scarf.
For 23 years, I have been struggling with scarves, 

always twisting them around my neck
in a haphazard (and sometimes hazardous) way. I almost decided to throw the scarf in.... 

THEN the light broke through

And--[insert long reading here]--I learned how to tie a scarf so it doesn't fall off at every move! WOW AMAZING! I NEVER KNEW!

It's like learning that there is a method to
tying your shoelaces...
or baking a squash.

Anyway, now that I am on this scarf fetish, I came across this website on how many various ways a woman can tie a scarf.....and THIS is what I found:

Hmmm..maybe, if you are at Joe's Crab Shack. Yes, this definitely could work.

Wait, isn't this considered a dress now??

WHAT the HECK is THAT?!

I should be ashamed of this post, but I'm not. I have worse stories.

Encore!

Like....

* I didn't know that Hawaii was part of the US until I was 16 yrs old and visiting one of the islands.

* I got off the plane and commented on the great desert sky (oops) and how great it was to visit another country!

* Noticed the American stop signs, which seemed curious to me

* And was then enlightened

* I thought the "L" button in the elevator meant "land" when I was 15...and I think even then I wasn't sure if it was the verb land, or the noun.

....and this is what I heard...."You mean lobby?"

Anybody have any confessions to share about things you really should have known earlier??

Come on, temper my public humiliation--it's fun and liberating.

AHHHHHHH!!!!!!

Maybe something happened when I was a kid that I am repressing...
But this scares me.

Jon felt left out, so I decided to find a chihuahua that reminded me of him.

This is how Jon has finished a number of my dinners, which I take as a compliment.
He does not do this in public.
Or with company.
And we are still discussing the pros and cons of doing this in front of our future kids.

Anyone who knows me, knows I am joking.
Anyone who knows Jon, knows that it is true.

I don't know why, but this reminds me of me.

Fumbalina and Prince Charming

As some of you know (especially my sister!), I am quite the klutz--or at least my husband and sister like to frame me as such.

One of my husband's endearing, yet sometimes relevant, nicknames for me is "Fumbalina"...I do drop a lot of things in the kitchen and find myself often breaking the inviolable "knife rule," which is to "Never Ever Under Any Circumstance, try to catch a knife that falls out of your hand." I don't know why, but usually the reasoning kicks in after it is too late.

Lately, Jon has been reminding me that there is ice on the ground outside because, for some reason, I just prance outside as if I lived in a rubber playground, only to be met by the slick unfriendly Ohio sidewalk, yikes! I trip, I bump, I crash, I roll, I drop, I break, I cut, I pretty much have no concept of space, grip, texture, or outcome.

For instance, in the span of a few days, I was able to drop an entire bottle of olive oil on our ceramic tile floor...AND a bottle of red wine only days after. Different occasions, same fine motor skills' deficit. Hence the plastic bottles you will now find at our house. Not to mention the plastic drinking cups, and anything else that my husband can buy to secure my "safety." We are very classy over here. Actually I feel like our place is already childproofed just because I live here!! I am too aware of the situation, however, to be embarrassed by this.

To complete this semi-long entry, tonight Jon and I were reflecting on some of the incidents that stand out from the last four years that we have been together:

(being silly)
Me: Remember when I had the surgery after the molar pregnancy?
Jon: Remember when you got food poisoning and dehydrated and went to the ER?
Jon: Remember when you cut your hand and had to get stitches?
Jon: Remember when you sprained your ankle?
Jon: Remember when you got shot out of a canon?

Umm, yeah.

Being inside a Tim Horton's is like being inside a huge food vending machine. And it tastes that way too.
But I'll still go there because I am desperate.

From the United States of Texas

Something is seriously wrong with this photo...and it's not a climate/state incompatibility

*****Now, why would a Texan ever leave TEXAS?


---I am sure most Texans would be proud if we made them get passports before visiting other states. So, let's just give 'em the pickle.

Linguistics 101

Since I like to do things in 3s, I decided to wait until I had a third to include, and now I do!

Three pieces of evidence that our current use of language is not serving us well...

1) "Father Tom married us" *scratch* You married each other; Fr. Tom witnessed and blessed and maybe went to the party.

2) "I lost my virginity" *scratch* You lose a quarter or your cell phone, you don't lose your virginity (like "oops! I lost it), you give it as a self gift to your spouse.

3) "Dr. Brown delivered my baby" *scratch* Dr. Brown was nice to show up and help out, but you were the one who delivered your baby (this is true even in a caesarean; birthing is not just a physical process, but is emotional, mental, and spiritual as well)

Any others?....

Two Confessions

I have two confessions to make--with my husband's gracious approval, of course.

First, I have heard of singing in the shower,
but not
philosophizing in the shower. (true story)


And, second, I found this "*I don't know what to call it*" the other day, read it to a friend over the phone, but was laughing so hard, it was almost impossible to get through it......

The High Order of the Peacock

-None shall be granted admission except under scrutiny of the high council
-The High Council is Jon Sorenson of the Mountain Pass
-Those granted admission by the High Council must swear an oath of: excitedness, punctuality, & good fashion sense, which thus shall fully consummate their admission and official membership in THOOTP. A certificate of peacockiness shall be administered at this time and rank granted of squire-cock & all of the rights and privileges that it entails
- Squire cocks are required to eat only vegetables
-The High Order of the Peacock hereby proclaims its sovereignty over all lands west of the Mississippi River and North of the Rio Grande, all the way to the Atlantic
-Citizens of these lands are expected to renounce US and Mexican citizenship & submit application to THOOTP immediately. Failure to do so will result in punishment by wet towel spankings to be administered by the High Council

My quotable husband..

After discussing the new movie about a golden compass, Jon was frustrated by comments (apparently ignorant ones) being made about that movie on certain websites.....

JON: "I wish I had a reality checkbook so I could pass out checks to people."

Everyone knows how cruel it is waiting 10 minutes to warm up your car
and then arriving at your destination in 12 min and
having to get out of the now warm and cozy place...

So tonight, after pulling up from the grocery store, Jon made an interesting suggestion..

"Let's live in our car; I'll cook with the cigarette lighter."

So, when's our flight home?

Eating at Damon's is great;
You get to pretend you're just visiting.

*Disclaimer: I love Franciscan University, but Steubenville, not so much.

Advance at your own risk...

There's simple, and then there's THIS:

So, I've been a bit of a hypochondriac lately living in our greasy apartment and was speculating that maybe I have bacterial meningitis because my neck hurts (quite the leap I know, but I told you I am being a hypochondriac..)

Anyway, while I am reporting my symptom to my husband who should be listening attentively and lovingly, he says:
Oh! My vision is blurry! Wait, I'm not wearing my glasses; this is how it always is!

Thanks honey.

Happy Thanksgiving

If you're wondering what to be thankful for,
just open your eyes.
-Father Scanlan

Jon was hungry

Usually when we drive past our church on the way home, we like to say hello to Jesus or a prayer like "O Sacrament Most Holy..."

The other day, however, when Jon initiated the prayer, he began: Blessed Us O Lord, for these thy gifts.."

I started saying the prayer in sync with Jon until my abrupt stop :

"Bless Us O Lord, for these thy WHAT?"

We laughed the rest of the way home... and fed Jon right when we got there.

--I don't know what it is, but these are the delightful moments when you just smile at each other and think about what a couple of dorks you are.

Steubenville circa 2000.

That's me with the one eyeball...

So, I have a small itty bitty fear that sometimes rules my life: I resist getting my blood drawn. No problem with needles at all--I'll take a shot anyday, a hundred if you please--but please no blood!
Anyway, so last time I went to get my blood drawn two months ago, I decided to go by myself so I could "conquer" this fear. The nurse took blood out and then discovered that she used the wrong tube, so oops! I got two bandaids that visit, one in each arm, you could imagine my face afterwards, a smile upside down, just looked like a 5 year old whose Lego castle was hit down by a bully.

Now, speed up to today, I went with Jon since we were heading out together anyway and was a little nervous, although getting better at this whole blood thing. I went in and sat down, put my arm out and the same nurse puts the needle in and then in shock starts panicking: "%)*&^$!..Oh where's the blood?! Oh my gosh, Oh my gosh *#%$@!"

OKAY--now imagine MY REACTION to THIS! "What? NO BLOOD?!" So, then she takes the needle out and decides to go in my other vein in my right arm. At this point I am worried but nothing like that can happen twice, right?? (btw, a nurse cursing that there is no blood while trying to take out blood is a veritable nightmare for someone already disposed to faint by a less traumatic experience) So, she puts the needle in, and again, nothing. So in the second panic of the day she calls for the other nurse to come look, meanwhile I am turning ghastly white (wondering if indeed I am a ghost who has no blood, or any other possible explanation for how I have been living without blood in my veins) and then the other nurse comes and tells her that she went too far, evidently past the vein in some way. So I get jabbed now a third time by the new nurse, and alas, I do have blood in my veins after all.
So, the end of story is this, poor pitiful me, oh feel bad for me, it ain't easy getting over your fears when they are accompanied by "%*@$*&#!!"
My worst nightmare about getting my blood drawn CAME TRUE.

Thanks Riesbeck's in Steubenville

Just happy to see some "covers" on the more scandalous magazines by the check-out line at Riesbeck's grocery store.
Confirms two things for me:
One, I am not the only person who would vocalize this concern to a business (hence, if I AM a crazy zealot for the protection of children and adults, then at least I am not the ONLY one and that feels good--No more "One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest" for me) And
Two, Riesbeck's responded as far as they could to the request, which does add a tally mark to their store in my mind
So, I still don't know who to thank personally, but I have a feeling there's a Steubie out there somewhere who deserves a thanks from all of us who are benefiting from their action...
So...THANKS!!

Protecting Children

I feel compelled to write a short note on protecting children. We all assume it is our daughters we must watch out for. So, we look up the sex offenders in the area, we always supervise them, we don't let them go alone to friends' houses. But, it is so important to be aware that these assaults can be directed toward our sons. And, not just by adults (adult males, as the most obvious and statistical offenders), but by other children who have been victimized themselves, and so perpetuate the molestation. Of course, all children deserve great love (esp the ones who have been brutally mistreated by others), but it is so important to protect our children while they are young and vulnerable. So, I hope that this note increases your awareness (for those who have children already or are looking forward to them in the future) of the existence of sexual molestation between children, even very young children, who simply do not understand the harm that it can cause.
God bless you all and keep praying for a culture of life that does not trample upon the joys of childhood and the true meaning of our sexuality.

From Father Frank Pavone on What "Pro-Choice" Means

"In the day that you eat of it," God warned them, "you
shall die" (Gen 2:17). What is wrong with knowing good
from evil? Aren't we supposed to know the difference
between good and evil? Why, then, is this the one tree
of which our first parents were not to eat?

The answer lies in the fact that the "knowledge of good
and evil" here does not simply mean "knowing." It means
that Adam and Eve would think they could decide the
difference between good and evil, that they would be
the ones to determine what was right and wrong, that
they would be the norm of morality.

This is the original temptation. "What's right and
wrong for me is up to me... What's right and wrong for
you is up to you... Do not impose your morality on
me... I will create my own values... I am accountable
to nobody but myself."

In other words, it's all up to my own personal choice.
The original sin is to put choice above goodness and
truth, to abuse freedom by trying to create what is
right rather than submit to it.

Jesus showed us the way of submission to the Father, of
obedience even unto death on a cross. That is why he
was highly exalted. Following his example, and living
in the power of the Spirit, we lead our culture from
the self-exaltation of "choice" that leads to death to
the self-sacrifice of obedience that leads to life.

I Love My Husband..

He couldn't find his rosary last night.
So used his giant wooden muti-colored one from when he was a kid.
You know the one. I usually leave it out for kids who may visit us.
It was hard not to laugh, I must say,
seeing him pray, 6'3", almost 26 yrs old,
with a scruffy beard, and
a giant kid's rosary.

Tang

is like drinking skittles

Potpourri

Wonderful day out in front of Planned Parenthood today..
Great encouragment...
Received a blessing from a young priest who was out there...
Prayed the Rosary for life...
Hmmm...yeah, just a lot of Catholic Love out on Liberty Ave,
Jon remarks:
What is all this popery I am smelling..and not the kind with pine cones.

Venting

[I received this in an email from my mom recently when I asked her to write me about the circumstances of my birth]

Doctor to my mom when she was pregnant with me: "Michele, you are so young and it might be the best thing."

WOW. I can't think of a line that has made my jaw drop so low. The BEST thing. How does this doctor know what the BEST thing is? Is he God? Is he the arbiter of life and death? of MY life and death? Is is best that I should have died at his hands, on his table, to his financial credit?
Is it best that I am not alive, not a wife to my husband Jon, not a daughter to my parents, not a sister to Natasha or Billy, not a cousin or an aunt or a gradndaughter or a niece or a godmother ? Is it best because my mom was 19 and that made my life less beautiful, less worthy.
Is this HIS decision to make?
Is it my mom's? My dad's?
No.
It's neither. It was God's decision and He made it, and THAT is what's best. BOOM.
Amen.

You know
I have to wonder about
Pro-abortion Ob-Gyns...
"Oh, I see, you're 6 weeks along. Do you want to terminate your pregnancy?" "Really, I think you are so young; it would be best"

It's like an optomestrist who says,
"You know, we really don't need to worry about this eye exam, I can just gouge your eyes out and then you won't ever have to deal with vision again."

Or a nutritionist, " Oh, so you need some help with healthy eating, let's just scrape your intestines -- really it's for the best." "What? another alternative? Why consider them when I am offering you the best one?"

Or a dentist, "Oh, wow, your teeth are pretty stained. Let's just remove them and then you can use bright white dentures for the rest of your life." "Oh, you're only 18, well, all the more reason to get dentures now." Huh?

*Really, I can't think of anything more counterintuitive than a doctor who is trained in prenatal care and delivery to suggest an abortion.

I also find it ironic, when thinking about ob-gyns, that "to doctor" something means to "to alter something." Interesting.

Love is like..

Crisp Autumn leaves
that shine and crunch under giddy feet
and fly up to your face
when the wind comes ---to blow soft air around
your Entire Self ---

And love is all you feel
when those giddy feet
rush toward You
through golden piles
And drag you down to play
On the October earth

__________________________________________
Enjoy Autumn all you lovebirds out there....

Ode to Learning

In high school, you read some books.

In college, you read a lot of books.

In graduate school, you read books about books.

And, for your PhD, you write books about books about books.

My thoughts today

As we are standing in front of Planned Parenthood in Pittsburgh...

1. Got flipped off by a man in a cool silver car with loud music (remind sister not to date any man who would flip off pro-lifers --doesn't make for a good father one day)

2. Same woman as last time passes by and delicately says "God bless you" to me and Jon (thank you Jesus for this woman and her meaningful support just in saying hello to us, i.e. not everyone wants to burn us with their cigarettes as they walk by)

3. Drunken man decides to come up and chat with us about our intentions and how he believes women should have a choice. I respond that the baby is already alive, the choice is whether the baby is born. He tells us that he has three children but wants to drink himself to death, and I remind him that he is special and that there is no one else like him. He says that we have an answer for everything, little does he know it is God who uses the weak and puts mercy in their hearts and the necessary words in their mouths. We asked him to come back and join us sometime at our vigil. He laughs and walks away....I do expect him back. After all, he did say that we had 'all the answers.'

There is so much that goes on when you are praying for the unborn and praying for each woman who enters and leaves these clinics. I am very grateful for these moments when we can get close to the cross and hold on tight. I even delight in being flipped off or figuratively spat on. It is wonderful to suffer for our unborn babies. I am also encouraged just knowing that there are so many others uniting their prayers to the 40 Days for Life.
Okay, time to make cookies for my husband so he has paper-writing food.

Now, Who Can Make a Bird?

This seems a most appropriate feast day to share a memory that I have of my grandpa. I can remember many times during my childhood, teenage years, and even into my twenties that my grandpa would point to a bird and with a face full of wonder and delight, ask me "Now, look Lauren, who can make a bird but God?"

It may be a simple story but it has lasting sweetness for me. Whenever I see a single bird or a family of them flying swiftly through the air, I think of my grandpa and his faith and humility before God. Birds are a tremendous gift!


St. Francis: "My brothers, birds, you should praise your Creator."



St.Francis, pray for us.

A Couple Updates for 40 Days for Life (that I foudn encouraging)

GREENVILLE, SC:

The beautiful Christian people who have come together
with overwhelming generosity of their time and talents
to join together in this, especially the few good men
covering the night hours. A shooting star appeared
directly over our clinic as 4 men were praying there
one night. A motorcycle roared up one night and the
rider in full black Harley gear got off and sauntered
over to the 2 men there. He huskily asked what they
were doing. They told him. He responded, "Oh, yeah, I
heard about that on Catholic radio." And he has since
pulled two all-nighters! Our abortionist talked to us
respectfully and we are praying hard for him.

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX:

The greatest impact 40 Days For Life has in Corpus
Christi, TX is to re-enkindle the zeal of many persons
since our Rescue days in the early 90's, and for
individuals who were not born then to join us in the
greatest cause of this counry & the world, and that we
will never stop our efforts to save innocent human
life.

BUFFALO, NY:

The greatest blessing so far has been the hope and
excitement that seeing young people show up at the
clinic gives the veterans who have been there
tirelessly for years.

Choice? http://www.40daysforlife.com/blog

From 40 Days for Life Blog:

* In College Station, TX, Planned Parenthood put up a
huge black tarp across their fence to block their
customers from seeing prayer volunteers or talking
to sidewalk counselors. What ever happened to giving
women a choice?

* In many locations across the country, Planned
Parenthood has launched its laughable "Pledge-a-
Picketer" campaigns, attempting to dissuade 40 Days
for Life prayer volunteers from coming out by
trying to convince them that they are actually
raising money for the abortion chain.

* In the media, Planned Parenthood has tried to
falsely portray 40 Days for Life volunteers as
violent, threatening, harassing, and hateful. For
anyone who has been out to a 40 Days for Life vigil,
you know that is the exact opposite of the truth...
but for a business that makes millions by killing
people, lying isn't difficult either.

Sadly, today at 10 a.m., a 22,000 square-foot abortion mega center was opened in Aurora, Illinois.

"In His great mercy, the Lord has given us an
opportunity to be truly faithful -- to continue to
trust in him even more deeply as we face the sorrow
of this day."

"So let us be sorrowful -- we must feel sorrow on
this day -- but let that sorrow rest upon a firm
foundation of hope. Let our refrain this day be:
'Jesus, we trust in you!'"

We are not to despair, but instead are called to look
to the future with hope. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

Went to pray with Jon in front of the Planned Parenthood today...then went to my Feminism class
I may look like a self contradiction
But really
I am a spy

An abortion presupposes something to be ended.

What is to be ended? Erratic Tissue?

No. Someone.

Abortion is the deliberate termination of a human pregnancy. What is that?

An embryo?

A fetus?

Yes. Of what?

A baby.

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40 Days for Life is a campaign from Sept 26-Nov 4th that is praying and fasting for an end to abortion. They are meeting in front of the Planned Parenthood every day in Pittsburgh from 6:30 a.m.- 8 p.m. and all night on Friday to join hearts and prayers for all of our precious unborn children, for their parents who suffer, and for the conversion of abortionists and all connected with this, our greatest tragedy against life. Jon and I joined them today and met some beautiful women who are out there standing up even though they are often insulted by passersby. They know the truth though and it is their concern for the unborn and for their mothers that keep them out there on their feet. Please call me if you want any information (915) 490-6988.


"When the time comes, as it surely will, when we face that awesome moment, the final judgment, I've often thought, as Fulton Sheen wrote, that it is a terrible moment of loneliness. You have no advocates, you are there alone standing before God -- and a terror will rip your soul like nothing you can imagine. But I really think that those in the pro-life movement will not be alone. I think there'll be a chorus of voices that have never been heard in this world but are heard beautifully and clearly in the next world -- and they will plead for everyone who has been in this movement. They will say to God, 'Spare him, because he loved us!'"

Congressman Henry Hyde

Creepy Man Who Lives in My Building

Hmmm...so I live in an apartment building where you have to access your own door from the inside, thus one door to get in the building and then one more door to get into my apartment. There is a creepy guy who lives in the building and whenever I am alone I am extra careful about getting inside. Anyway, I remember when I moved here, someone commented that it was safe that I had two doors...It occurred to me this week as I was juggling the front door and trying to get into my apartment safely all the while thinking about how the creepy guy lives in the same building, that it wasn't safe at all. This made me think of Robert Frost's poem that questions not only what we're walling out with a wall but what we're walling IN!
haha.. just something to think about

IQ Tests

Lauren: Yeah so I just took an IQ test online. I pretty much guessed on everything before even considering it, just to be done with the annoying thing. But then I still wanted a good score---like gratification without actually having to work hard.

Jon (laughing): I wish they just had a brain scanner so people wouldn't bother with things like that.

haha..
AGREED.

Proud Godmother; Look at her kick!

GO JON! I LOVE YOU TOO!

So I have been feeling runner's fever lately and finally cajoled Jon into chaperoning me to the track so I could run (I try to be careful with loose dogs and BEARS). Anyway, always good to have a big man around to take care of business should business present itself. Jon says that he is more worried about the mountainmen than anything else!

Anyway so I was so pumped and started jogging the track and Jon took his seat on the bleachers to read while I ran. He has terrible allergies so couldn't run outside (I have allergies too but I am the stubborn/slightly stupid one who does it anyway). Anyway, as I am making my first round and passing Jon on my right, he stands up fast and holds up a self-made sign that reads: GO LAUREN inside of a huge heart!

hahaha...That made my year!
:-) I will always remember that image today of my wonderful husband cheering me on all by himself :)

God's Mercy

First wave Feminism...
New immigrants coming to America
Big Catholic families
The poorer, the more children..

Problem of Poverty
Problem of Education
Problem of Eugenics (?) No

Catholics open free schools
Feminists open free abortion clinics



***Added 9/14: I am reserving the right to call birth control or "Sanger fertility education centers" (my euphemism and quotes) abortion clinics since they were in fact so, even though abortion per se was not legal until some years later. The mentality certainly breeded the reality. And Margaret Sanger, among many other Feminists, was a progressive Eugenicist. This mentality is still active today with the selective homicide of unborn handicapped children, children conceived by rape (and strangely) women who simply find motherhood "unpleasant." Ah yes we see the breakdown here.
---Definition of Eugenics: The science of improving a human population by controlled breeding to increase the occurrence of desirable heritable characteristics. It is interesting that 'the ones with the guns', or those with power, choose who is desirable or not.
Nough' said.

Toothbrush Conversations

7:00 am.

Jon: Why can't I be the 'poster boy' for "poster kids"

Lauren: Brushing...

99 Red Balloons

Initially, I thought I would use this blog as a temporary outlet while taking my Feminist class at Duquesne. I was ready to dig my heels in and really ruffle their feathers. I have something different in mind now. I admit, I was a little fury cloud when it all started, huffing and puffing, ready to blow the Feminist house down. I don't know how to express exactly how I feel without being cynical, abstruse, or just well, misinterpreted. But I am going to try anyway.

It just doesn't matter. Feminism isn't going to stick. Any attention given it is like trying to tie stones to a balloon to keep it from flying up up and away. It's got to come down sometime. And its sad little rubber pieces are going to fall on someone's head or in a backyard or some shrub somewhere, some time from now, and the person (if anyone in fact stumbles upon it) is going to pick it up and say: What is this garbage? Can you believe anyone used it? Who is the owner anyway?

Yes- those are the questions that will be asked as soon as Feminism comes down from its nowhere cloud into some anonymous forgotten scrap pile. It just won't matter. It is almost out of our schools, people are getting tired of it, it's no longer "edgy" like it used to be, it's washed up and meanwhile we are all in our Feminist class, the discerning ones scratching their heads and wondering how there is even enough helium left to keep this one class up.

And, alas, we already know the true Feminist genius of our time has spoken, and definitively, THANK YOU JOHN PAUL THE GREAT, A TRUE FEMINIST!

JPII, pray for us.

hmmm...I am, however, contemplating a book burning after the semester is through. As Language Log writers would say, the pages are only worthy to be nailed up as rescue paper in the pool house.

One of Our Car Conversations

Jon: So, you know how the father of the bride is supposed to pay for the wedding?

Lauren: Yeah

Jon: And how we want a big family?

Lauren: Yep

Jon (closing eyes and repetively praying): 8 boys....8 boys....8 boys....8 boys...

hahaha

A little note on marriage by Gregory Popcak

Turn your everyday married life into a prayer, because whether you realize it or not, everything you do in the context of your sacramental marriage -- from your work and other roles, to the little pecks on the cheek you give each other to your getting off the couch when you're tired in order to play with or serve your family, to the arguments you have, to your lovemaking-- is prayer. Marriage is perhaps the most beautiful prayer in the world. It is a prayer that was written by God at the beginning of time...It is the pearl of great price buried in your own backyard.

Feminism; It's Liberties and Abuses TBC...

Going to copy and paste this from an email to a friend because I am too lazy to create it again! But I think it will show how I plan to use this blog for some venting and also some dissecting of feminist thought as I learn the workings of it.

"I tried to go to Franciscan but they don't offer an English Master's. I was pretty upset last night after I got the syllabus because we have to read stuff by Margaret Sanger, the major birth control activist and feminist. It is obviously a very liberal bunch of women and I just know it is going to be a cross for me. There is also a beautiful crucifix on the wall and I just look at it and wonder why I am in the class at all. Jon says I should stay so that I know the methods of the liberal pro-contraception , anti-family camp. I just think my heart is too weak to handle hearing the madness. It's all crazy stuff. I already tried to read "Women and Economics" and it's about how we are animals and trade sex for food or something along those dehumanizing lines. It's so illogical really. And the whole feminist movement has turned on itself and exploded, women are not held in higher esteem now that they are dehumanized and treated as sexual objects to be desired and recycled (sometimes literally in pornography, which some feminists defend as empowering women). Anyway I was emotional about it last night and wanted to drop the class more than anything but I think I am going to stay now and just do my best with it all."

So, if you want to know from an insider what kind of propaganda is being dispersed and what reasoning is being used to support it, check back on this blog every once in a while!

Hope you all have a more profitable semester and keep me in your prayers!!

Kid Fare can be Very Different; Translated by Lauren

Rotten Potatoes= Au gratin potatoes

Chicken & Dumpings= Chicken & Dumplings

Cheesebooger= Cheeseburger

Ode to Steubenville

Steubenville oh Steubenville, why is your water undrinkable?
Steubenville oh Steubenville, why is your air unbreathable?
Steubenville Steubenville, oh how I love you.

Would You Clap for a Kiss??

Walking to our apartment..two old grannies sitting on a porch swing nearby...Jon decides to dip me for a kiss...hear a sound after, turn around and see grannies clapping for us!

Lauren Baboren

Found out my best friend has a new name. Sister Agnes Maria. Fits her well but it will take me a lifetime to remember it and to use it! I wonder if she even responds to it now..hehe.. I know when I married Jon I used my maiden name a couple of times by accident. I like Sorenson better than Frigo even though Frigo was easier to spell. And now my name rhymes..Lauren Sorenson..Could be worse, Lauren Soren. Yikes.

Amish Country

Went to Amish country today. Would like to take a ride in a buggy someday. Wished Catholics had some sort of community like that with buggies. Oh well--can't become a heretic just to ride in a buggy!

Laughter is a Gift!

A funny conversation between me and Jon...

Me: NOW I know why you want to homeschool: it's because you want to be the principal!

Jon: Well....that would be nice (smiling)

Lauren: How is this going to work, the teacher and the principal having such a close relationship? It might cause scandal.

Jon: No, it will mean more students for our school!

God's Omnipotence

Do you ever feel a rush of thanksgiving for someone. My sister thinks that I have been some help to her, but really she is a living example of the power of God. He can transform us and easily if we only abandon ourselves to him. I used to look at Mother Theresa (one example among many of the saints!) and think: Wow, it must be so HARD. I bet if I had ever had the opportunity to ask her, she would have said that it was easy, if only God was given everything to do his work. It is when we hold back that we find it hard to love. The Gospel, when lived in our hearts, becomes sweet as Jesus instructs us that his yoke is easy and his burden light. Ah yes counterintuitive you may say.

Power Muscles

Pulled a muscle in my neck lifting weights with the big boys..okay, 10 lbs can do the trick too (and I ONLY lift with my husband!) It's interesting how even the most simple movements can become painful and trigger that "yikes!" feeling. Our theology discussion at the Garlands last night has real meaning now. We agreed that human love is perfected in suffering. So this means that I am going to have really big muscles soon. Very soon.

Blogs only require one thing: They must be quippy

Here we are in Steubenville and I can tell that I am not going to leave the same. A blog sounds like a good way for me to let loose, risk it all, and really WRITE. Hmm..so much for candid writing; I think I must have re-written the last lines five different ways. Must work on being careless.