7 Quick Takes Friday

1. This weekend is the first in a while (and for a while) when we do not have a lot going on. I am very excited!

Tonight I am having Thai food (yummy and very vegetarian for Lent) with a friend I honestly haven’t really seen since the wedding (three months ago today!). I will have this:

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2. I have decided, after a life-long phobia of running, to give it a try. I have several friends who are training for races, and my husband is running his second half-marathon in June. I would like to be able to jog for about 20-30 minutes without needing an oxygen tank.

I found a training program here: couch potato to 5k running plan. It is a 9 week training plan to make one able to run 3 miles in 30 minutes (a 5k race).

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

You run three days each week, with rest in between each run. You begin by alternating jogging for 1 minute, walking for 1.5 minutes, for a total of 30 minutes. I started on Wednesday morning. I thought; I live in a city, I walk everywhere. Even though I don’t run, this week should be no problem.

HA. At the end of the workout, I thought I might die right in front of the 7/11 on the corner of Webster and Lincoln. Today, two days later, my legs are still angry at me. BUT, it felt good to complete the workout. Tomorrow morning is workout two, the same circuit.

3. Saturday evening husband (I still need a good nickname for him on here) and I are going to attend a speaker series at a local parish, St. Stanislaus Kostka. They have a first Saturday speaker series; Mass followed by rosary, then a speaker and social afterward. If you live in Chicago, check it out! http://www.ststansk.com/

This month’s speaker is Catholic wife and mom Kathleen Beckman, talking about her experience of healing through Mary and the Eucharist in Lourdes, France. http://www.ststansk.com/images/speaker%20series.pdf to learn more

I am so excited to hear her speak. Lourdes is a place I long to travel to so much. April is also the month of St. Bernadette’s feast day (April 16). She is my patron saint. 🙂

4. I was shocked to discover while reading the following article on a new law proposed in Oklahoma, that domestic violence is the second leading cause of death of pregnant women in the U.S.

Oklahoma has proposed a law that would allow a pregnant woman to use lethal force to defend her unborn child from attack. Read about it here: http://www.koco.com/cnn-news/19082604/detail.html

5. I love Holy Week! I cannot wait for Palm Sunday, the triduum, and all of the beautiful, stirring prayers and rituals observed during what I think is the most wonderful time of the liturgical year.

6. My husband and I were married three months ago today:

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