7 Quick Takes, Volume 42

ONE

We've had a pretty eventful couple of weeks here. Last week Curly did this to his arm,

playing a game called "Balance Beam Dodge Ball."

Now he's sporting a green cast that reaches past his elbow, and is trying to do everything one-handed. I've gotta hand it to him; he's coping very well, learning to write with his left hand and even insisting on tying his own shoes and buttoning his own shirt. He sure is a trooper.

TWO

Last weekend Moe decided he wanted to spend some of his allowance on an air-soft gun, so Joe drove him to Wal Mart and bought him one. He and Curly have been spending much of their free time shooting cans and paper targets and seeing how many times they can make the little plastic BB's skip on the lake.

Much more fun than video games, don't you think?

(Curly, the one-armed bandit...)

THREE

I posted this on Cooking Nick's Books a while back, my second ever attempt at cooking lamb. I will have to say that it was amazingly delicious, despite my fears that it would be a disaster. I hope you'll head on over and check it out!

I'm hoping to put up one or two more posts there between now and Ash Wednesday, before I give up social networking for Lent, so stay tuned!

FOUR

I've been torturing myself these last couple of weeks, growing more and more angry and frustrated and upset. Every time I read anything related to Obama's health care mandate, I become more and more convinced that Our Dear Leader is a deceptive, coercive, backstabbing, two-faced, lying jerk who is willing to do anything, anything, to get re-elected, including throwing the first amendment out the window and picking a fight with the Catholic Church. He paints himself as a Christian, and I'm not one to judge a person's heart, but in this case? He's either lying or deceiving himself. He listened to the devil and fell for it. The same can be said for Kathleen Sebelius, who has said "F*** You" to her own Catholic faith and decided that SHE knows what's best for America, and whoever disagrees can go jump in a lake.

And anyone who believes the lies spouted by Obama and Sebelius and Pelosi and Planned Parenthood that women have the RIGHT to free contraception and sterilization and that all those religious right-wing nutjobs are just trying to take away your birth control pills, needs to wake up and smell the Kool-Aid. This isn't about women's health. It's about government leaders deciding they're more important than God, and to hell with that inconvenient first amendment. (And that little tweak they announced, the one that said religious organizations would not have to directly pay for contraception and sterilization, but the insurance company would? It's crap. It doesn't change a thing.)

FIVE

Now that I have that off my chest, I need to make one thing clear. I judge no one for the personal choices you make. (And right now I am not willing to share the details of my own sex life and the choices my husband and I make; you can make any presumptions that you wish, but I'm not going there, sorry). Whether you use birth control or not, whether you've had your tubes tied, even whether or not you've had any abortions is none of my business. But the fact is that the Catholic Church has always condemned the use of birth control and sterilization, because the Church teaches that God made both men and women in order for them to marry each other, have sex, and bear children. Sex is a gift that God gave us to enjoy with the one who we marry, and any attempt to separate that act from its intended end (procreation) is considered morally wrong. Whether I agree or disagree with that teaching is irrelevant. If I work for an organization or a company that does not offer a health insurance plan that covers contraception, and I want to be on the Pill, I can either: a. pay for it myself; b. buy another insurance plan that covers it; or c. find a job somewhere else. That is the way it has always been, ever since contraception became widely available. Employers and insurance companies could decide whether or not to cover it. Now the Powers That Be have decided that it MUST be covered, even if your religion condemns it. THAT is what I have a problem with.

(Oh, and please go here and sign the petition to have the mandate rescinded.)

SIX

The other day I went for another little hunt for a geocache. Can you see it?

The weather was lovely, so I took a little stroll through a churchyard nearby.

Want to learn more about geocaching? Visit geocaching.com for more. Nowadays it's easier than ever, because you can do it right from your smart phone.

SEVEN

I'm giving up social networking for Lent; specifically Twitter and Facebook. I'm not sure about blogging; right now I'm thinking I'll probably refrain from reading blogs, maybe allowing myself to post once in a while on a Sunday. We'll see. Anyhow, if anything it should keep me from reading so many articles online about our screwed-up government and their crazy mandates, and allow me to focus on other things--like my own relationship with Jesus. I think it will be very refreshing!

For more Quick Takes, visit Hallie Lord's blog, who is guest-hosting for Jen this week.