What a week, no?

We had the Pope shocker. Ash Wednesday. Valentine’s. The Downton Abbey vs The Grammy’s showdown. (Downton Abbey won the coveted DVR space by a land slide.) There’s lots to talk about but little time to do it so you’ll get the Quick Take version. 🙂

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The Holy Papa – There is no need for me to write my thoughts because there are numerous other people who have done so. Some are eloquent and encouraging, some are quoting end of the world prophesies (maybe the Mayans weren’t so off after all) and some are downright idiotic (hello, main stream media).

This pretty much sums it up.

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I will say that the one line that really stuck with me was from a speaker on EWTN Live. He said, “Pope Benedict, as he now moves into a phase where he’ll live a life of prayer, perhaps his greatest contribution to the life of the church may be yet to come.”

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No Burgers for You – I can’t believe that Lent is here already. Heck, I’m still finding random Christmas decorations around the house. Thursday night I was up late and all of a sudden I had a huge craving for a big, juicy burger. I looked at the clock and yeah, it just hit the stroke of midnight. It’s going to be a long Lent. 😉

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I Should Have Given Up Procrastinating – Do you have your Lenten plan all figured out? Unlike Advent, which I was so prepared for, Lent just crept up on me. I have a couple things in mind that I know I need to do but I haven’t sat down and really prayed and thought it all through. I’m happy it is a 3-day weekend because the extra day will give me time to do so. I have a few posts starred in my google reader with Lenten ideas, so I want to read through them for some inspiration. If you made a blog posts about what you are doing for lent, please leave the link in the comments. (Or just leave a comment if you don’t blog.) I’d love to read it!

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Another Excuse to take Photos A Photo Lenten Reflection – I am participating in two Lenten photo journals. The first is Beth Anne’s #40daysofphotos. I had such fun doing her Advent photo a day (and even won a prize!) that I was excited to see she was doing another. The second one I am doing is the Catholic Sistas Lenten Instagram Photo Journey. (#CSLentIPJ)

It may seem a bit frivolous to take instagram photos during Lent but it can also be a Lenten reflection. For example, here is the photo from Day 2 – what I pray with… (I like my prayer book new school with iMissal but my journaling old school with a pen.)

As I was thinking about what to photograph, that is when I realized that I’ve been neglecting my daily rosary. I felt God calling me back to it so I knew that would be one of my Lenten promises. Frankly, it has felt so good to get back into the routine of saying the rosary, or at the very least saying a decade. So the photos are more than just fun. They are a reflection to something deeper too. 🙂

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Add to the Blogroll – Speaking of CatholicSistas.com, why have I never seen this website before?? It has become a favorite! I love that the contributors vary in age so you don’t feel too young or too old and there is always something to touch your heart! Check it out!

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Source: EML

I Heart Chocolate Day Valentine’s Day – Then on Thursday it was Valentine’s Day. Since Brian and I just went out to dinner at Pebble Beach the other week, we had a stay at home date night instead.

Speaking of loving your hubby, my sister has an awesome post called 10 Ways to be A Better Wife. She may be my younger sis but she is wise beyond her years. (She’s also the one that stole all the homemaking genes I should have gotten. 😉

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 Lastly, this week had three family/personal anniversaries of my own.

• It was on Valentine’s Day 12 years ago that I found out I was pregnant with Bella. (I love you, my sweetie girl!)
• This week was also the six year anniversary of my first miscarriage. Speaking of miscarriage, there is a beautiful post by Catherine Boucher called The Roller Coaster Ride over at CatholicMom.com. Go read it…but grab some Kleenex first.
• Finally, this week is the anniversary of when Our Lady of Lourdes pulled me out of the darkness I was living in and put me on the road back to Christ. (I typed out my conversion/reversion story years ago. I am cleaning it up and I’ll post it some time next week.)

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In my inbox this morning was another email/comment about the photo I took for Theme Thursday: Trees. She asks in all caps, “WHERE DO YOU LIVE??” I live in California along the Central Coast, specifically on the Monterey Peninsula. It is ridiculously gorgeous here and if you are thinking of visiting the area, I HIGHLY recommend it. I am putting together a post of the top places you should visit. (Then I’ll dedicate it to Cari.) I’ll post that next week too!

Until then, have a great holiday weekend! I’m sending a little Cali warmth your way! 😉