answer me this: pretty church pictures edition

1. Do you have a smart phone?

I do. It probably says something bad about me that I feel like I couldn't go back to life pre-iPhone. How else would I solve the argument about "That's the same actor who was in ____" without bothering to get up from the couch? In all seriousness, though, I use it as my planner, timer, reminders, music, primary camera, I look up medical stuff when I'm at work, etc.

It's kinda crazy though, right? Ten years ago we were all "la-di-dah, I'm out on the town, I'll find a payphone if I need to call someone" and now we're like, "OMG WHERE'S MY PHONE DID I LEAVE IT AT HOME I WILL DIE WITHOUT IT."

2. Which is your favorite meal of the day?

Dessert. Once the babies are in bed and I can eat ice cream in peace-- HEAVEN. Or maybe coffee. That counts as a meal, right?

3. Shower or bath?

Shower. Bathtubs are generally too short for me to be able to stretch out comfortably and relax. Oh, the woes of being a tall girl.

#tallgirlproblems (no, these aren't my legs.)

4. Think of a person you love. How many days have you been in love with that person?

2,788 days. Our first date was on October 13, 2006. I guess I don't know if I was "in love" with him then... but I think it counts, seeing as we've been together ever since!

5. What's the best church you've ever been inside?

The most beautiful church I've ever been inside is the Our Lady, Queen Of The Most Holy Rosary Cathedral in Toledo, Ohio. Yes, Toledo!! It's the church we used to attend when we lived there, and it's where I became Catholic-- Easter Vigil 2009!

Jack, me, and Fr. Singler after Easter Vigil

My favorite church, community-wise, was the parish we left when we moved to Guam-- St. Bernadette's in Silver Spring.

6. Happy Feast of the Visitation! Has anyone ever come to help YOU?

Yup. Right before Josie was born, we learned our au pair was going to be leaving a little earlier than we thought, which left us with no one to watch Faith when I went into labor. My parents drove down from Ohio and spent a couple weeks on the sleeper sofa in our guest room to help out. (My dad even sneakily vacuumed the whole house-- which we hadn't done in way too long-- while Jack was at work and my mom and I were out with Faith!)

Click here to head back to the linkup at Catholic All Year!

scenes

Whoops. Looks like I have to use the "time difference" thing to justify this counting as my Saturday post for the 7 Posts in 7 Days challenge.

Here are a few scenes from our life here lately:

***

Faith has been composing her own songs lately. Here's her latest:

"Jumpin' on the bed!
On the, on the,
Jumpin' on the bed!
And oh, and oh,
Jumpin' on the bed!
Oh, what! Oh, what!
In the moon-a-light,
Oh, what a sight!
Jumpin' on the bed!"

***

Yesterday Faith was being particularly whiny before dinner, so when we sat down to eat, Jack told me to pour myself some wine-- which I was happy to do. As I brought my wine glass and my mug of tea that I was still finishing over to my seat, I reflected that those two drinks are the perfect combination for relaxation. Right?

***

Jack is "on duty" this week-- which means that he's in charge of all pediatric patients admitted to the hospital, ER consults, parent phone calls, etc. He has his cell phone set so that whenever he gets a call from work, it yells at him in a Dalek voice, "Your mobile is ringing! Answer! Answer!! Or you will be exterminated!!!" We get a kick out of it, though he does allow that it's kind of embarrassing when it rings while he's in a patient's room.

***

Faith and Josie took a bath together for the first time last night. When I poured water over Josie's head to rinse out the shampoo, Faith started shrieking and crying, "Josie sad!!! Josie got water on a face!!!! Josie cry!!!!" Josie, meanwhile, was blinking placidly. Think someone is projecting her own fears, much?

seven quick takes friday - ed. 11

You guys, how does a week go by so fast?!  I'm such a blogging slacker!  But anyway, today is my 5th wedding anniversary (happy anniversary to MEEE!) so my quick takes will be pertinent to that this week!

("Today" being Friday the 20th when I wrote this, not Saturday the 21st when I hit "publish."  Work with me here.)

1. Jack and I met on the 2nd day of medical school. We had a classmate who was a mutual acquaintance, so we all sat near each other in the lecture hall.  Such a glamorous beginning.

2. We have 2 weird pet names for each other:  "hero" and "slacker." Both were born of Jack's love of mocking me (he would insist that it's a sign of his enduring fondness).  Jack thought it was hilarious that I would call people who skipped lecture "slackers," so he started calling me one.  The "hero" comes from one evening when he made me a cup of coffee while we were studying, and I exclaimed, "Thank you, my hero!" He thought that was hilarious too.

3. I kind of convinced him to go into pediatrics. I mean, I didn't blackmail him or anything, but he was pretty undecided and I kept expounding upon the joys of peds, saying, "You should do it tooooo!! That would be so fuuuuun!!" Etc.

4. It snowed the week before our wedding. It was beautiful.

5. When we were in med school, we were so inseparable that our classmates referred to us as Jemily.

6. He convinced me to love Mexican food and beer.  I convinced him to love Doctor Who and tea.  I think we're pretty even.

7. Here's an "awww" one:  Jack was my first boyfriend.  I spent my teenage years hopelessly nerdy and painfully shy, especially around boys.  I was (*cough*AM*cough*) terrible at flirting.  But luckily we made it past those barriers to WEDDED BLISS, and we've been living happily ever after ever since.  (Everyone who's married can laugh now.)

Go see Jen at Conversion Diary for more quick takes!