7 QT 34: Kitchen herb gardens, road trips, and campus center dogs
This Friday, I'm patting myself on the back for getting the trash out to the curb just in time before the trash truck came by. But before we clock out of work and celebrate the weekend, here's a quick look back on what's new with the Langrs this week:
1. A growing green thumb
I haven't killed our orchid yet, so when Joseph and I were at Menards this week, we picked up two little plant growing kits. It's always been a dream of ours to have a little spice garden for the kitchen, so we started out with basil and cilantro.
So far, I've flooded them while trying to water them, and knocked Basil over when reaching for the dish soap. They're resilient little buddies, though, so I'm confident in seeing little green sprouts peeking up in about three weeks - I'll keep you updated.
2. Fulfilling our Olympic dreams
Since we spent so much time watching the Olympic ice-skaters over the past few weeks, Joseph and I were pumped when some of the women from my small group invited us along to go ice-skating. Let me rephrase that - I was pumped about the idea of ice-skating, but since I haven't actually been on the ice since my freshman year of high school, I didn't have high expectations for myself. No triple axles or lutz jumps for this girl.
But I'm pleased to report that I only fell down once - and it was for the sake of avoiding a collision with an ice-skating little. For little kids just learning how to skate, the ice rink gave them little walkers, so they could have something sturdy to hold on to. But the result was little kids wandering around the ice like baby horses just learning how to walk. They were adorable - but unpredictable.
I may not have conquered skating backward, but I did get pretty speedy around the rink. It gave me a whole new appreciation for ice-skaters!
3. Mid-week road trip
Wednesday, Joseph and I drove about four hours out to Hays, America, where I gave a talk at their Catholic Campus Center. I talked about four things I wish I would have known before I discerned my vocation.
It was so good to see people who I haven't seen in 3 years, meet new friends, and have some great heart-to-hearts with students striving towards sainthood.
The campus center at Fort Hays was recently named the most hipster campus center, and I quickly found out why.
THERE ARE TWO DOGS THERE.
Check out what was posted on their fridge - I'm loving it.
Unfortunately, Cappy (short for Captain Kirk, of course) had not been praised the heck enough, since he had a minor accident inside during our time there. It's okay, Cappy, keep striving.
4. The holy grail of soda
This week I happened across the holy grail of soda - caffeine free Dr. Pepper. Well, one can. And, well, it was because I took it. From a pile of 3 dozen cans. In the apartment complex breeze-way of a friend. Because she said they'd been sitting there for a week and no one had claimed them. It's okay, I'm going to confession again before Lent is done.
Are you thoroughly unimpressed with my excitement because caffeine free Dr. Pepper makes a regular appearance in your local grocery store? Let's chat- I'd love to find out where you find this rare gem of soda cans and how I can get my hands on more.
5. The Catholic Podcast!
We counted down all last week 'til the launch of The Catholic Podcast and we're live now! Check out our new website and find us on iTunes and Google Play. It's been so beautiful watching people's reactions to listening to the show - I'd love to know what you think!
Want to know more about the new podcast? Here's an article I wrote earlier this week about the launch!
6. Linus, Cletus, Clement. . .
Have you ever found yourself at Mass, listening the the Eucharist prayer when the priest starts saying the names of saints? You know some of them – Saint Joseph, Saint Peter, Saint Paul. But then there are some who you’ve never heard of – Cyprian? Linus? Wasn’t he Charlie Brown’s friend?
I recently wrote a piece on Epic Pew: "Do You Know the Saints Mentioned in the Roman Canon?" I'm going to be on Mater Dei Radio's Coffee and Donuts morning show talking about the article and why it's important to know about our Heavenly family! If you live in Oregon, keep an ear out! If you don't live in Oregon, don't worry. I'll be sharing the link to listen on my Facebook page!
7. Wilson's new big boy water bottle
When we adopted Wilson, we realized that we didn't have a large, rabbit sized water-bottle. But we did have a water bottle for him - a guinea pig sized one.
So in an early celebration of his adoption anniversary, we bought him a big rabbit water bottle. He's loving it (and we're loving that we haven't had to refill it since getting it on Monday).