7 Quick Takes, vol. 4

~1~
Last Saturday I went to a baby shower! I haven't been to one in 4 years, mostly because many of my friends who have been having babies were already on their 2nd or 3rd babies. There was another one I could have gone to a little over a year ago, but it was shortly after my son died and only a month before what would have been his due date. Definitely not a good time for me to be celebrating someone else's good news. But this one was different!! This baby shower was for a friend who had thought she'd never get pregnant and had started the adoption process. She hadn't gotten far in the process when they discovered they were expecting. I know how hard this wait has been for her and I was delighted to be able to celebrate this time with her. Her and I took a picture together at the shower that I had hoped to post, but she hasn't sent it to me yet. ::smile::

~2~
Oh my goodness, what a rough week I have had. I could probably go on and on about this week, but it would just be too much of a downer. I had moments when I thought I was going to pull my hair out and other times when I just wanted to cry. I can't believe that having my email hacked on Monday was actually not the worst part of the week. But we have great IT people at work and I was pleasantly surprised when on Thursday they could pull a backup from Tuesday and recover some of the data I had lost through no fault of my own. In the end things worked out (and I was able to take today off!!). Glad this week is over though!

~3~
Speaking of computer issues, I also learned last week that the website I currently use to read all my RSS feeds is shutting down as of October 1. I had been debating on switching to Google Reader anyway, but wasn't expecting to be forced into the move so soon. Oh well, I still have my Bloglines account active, but I have pretty much switched to Google Reader now. Still trying to figure it out (for example, how many times do I need to unsubscribe/delete a feed before it actually deletes it?? Three times? Four??). Google Reader is a little more cluttered, I miss the clean look of Bloglines, but I think I'm starting to get into the right mindset for Google Reader.

~4~
Going on vacation? We are. What must be done before leaving? Using up all the leftovers! Hubby sometimes gets creative and he did this week. Early in the week he made apple turnovers, but couldn't get all the apple filling in them. So we had a little bit leftover. To use it up he baked up a couple of tortillas, essentially making cinnamon chips, topped them with the apple filling, added some vanilla ice cream in the center (had that sitting in the freezer too that needed to be eaten), and then he made a caramel sauce and drizzled it over all of it. It was yummy!! And now we have leftover caramel sauce. But we're working on eating that up too!

~5~
I think I'm becoming an insomniac again. ::sigh:: I don't nap during the day, never have, I'm exhausted when I go to bed, and yet I still lay awake for a couple hours (or more). I'm still getting up early, regardless of how tired I am. Oh, I hate this. One solution, I've been slacking on any sort of exercise for several weeks now. Maybe adding that back into my routine will help.

~6~
Some good news!! My promotion file is complete!! It better be, because today is the deadline and I'm not at work today, which is really another bit of good news! This is for my promotion to Librarian I (which is equivalent to full professor on the teaching faculty side). Now the wait begins. I should know the library faculty's decision by January (I think) and then the final decision is sent to the Provost's office. Sometime next spring I'll get the final decision. Yep, it's a long wait.

~7~
My second "job" is picking up. Actually it's my volunteer job with the Cursillo movement in my diocese. I'm the Pre-Cursillo chair and we have a retreat weekend approaching in a little over a month. All applications and deposits come to me, I keep in contact with all our sponsors and candidates as they all prepare for the weekend, answer questions, and arrange for transportation for everyone. With just over a month left, things are definitely picking up. Please help us by praying for all those who are making the weekend, for the Team members who are working hard on putting together their talks for the Weekend, and that the men who need to be at this retreat will listen to God's call and allow themselves to be led to this wonderful weekend. St. Paul, our patron saint, please pray for these men attending and working on this Men's Weekend.

To enjoy more Quick Takes, check out the list of blogs participating in 7 Quick Takes at Conversion Diary. Thanks to Jen for hosting!