Stop Copying Me

I know I'm kindof copying my sister Maria (http://mariatrueblood.wordpress.com/) in re-starting my blog and including pages, and therefore betraying my lack of creativity, but it's a good idea, and if people only try to think of new ideas and don't copy already good ideas, I think that shows arrogance and a lack of ability to recognize the good in other people. So thank you, Maria, for the good ideas and take it as a compliment that I am copying them.

I hope by adding pages it will keep me interested in blogging and more focused since they are more specific topics. Since one of my New Year's resolutions is to read more books, I've added the Book Remarks page which will have thoughts on the books as I'm reading them or shortly after I've finished them. The Theological Thoughts page was born of my study of theology and my resolution to read the entire Bible and Catechism this year. Finally, as I am a still fairly new parent (Charlotte turns 6 months old on Friday) and have already experienced many amazing and amusing things as a parent, I think the Parenting Shenanigans page will be a fun place to post about those experiences.

I'll still keep posting regular blogs on things that don't fall into those categories, but all of the pages I have added are things that I feel like I will write about a lot and so it's worth it to make them their own pages.

New Year's Resolutions

I don't always make New Year's resolutions, mostly because whatever I think of usually is a temporary thing that wouldn't last the whole year or it's too big to be a New Year's resolution (such as "be a better person"; vague and undefined and more of a lifelong project, and therefore not a good resolution). This year, however, I came up with quite a few resolutions for the year that are both more defined and will also help me reach my broader goals of being a better person and living a more fulfilling life. Now that we're almost 2 months into the new year, I felt like I should assess how I am doing in keeping them and in doing so share them with the rest of the world. I have 3 main resolutions and some smaller things, so I will share the 3 big ones.

My main resolution for the 2011 is to read the entire Bible and Catechism. I found a plan online that divides it up for me into daily readings so that as long as I stick to the plan I will reach my goal. And so far I have been doing great. It's been hard for me to find time on the weekends to read, so instead of reading one day every day of the week, I don't do any readings on the weekends and I do 2 days worth of reading on Mondays and Fridays instead. It fits my schedule and my life a little bit better, and since this is my most important resolution I need to do what will work for me. I have finished reading Genesis, Exodus, Matthew, and about 1/3 of the Psalms, and a portion of the Catechism (through the beginning of the Jesus part of the Creed, if you know how the Catechism is divided). I've just started Leviticus and I think the next couple of months are going to be tough since I have Leviticus, Numbers, and then Deuteronomy coming up. They are definitely denser and more difficult to hear the Word of God in, but I will keep plugging away and hopefully be able to take away something. That is something that I sometimes have to remind myself during the more difficult readings when I don't get the point or don't know how to apply it to life today: it is the Word of God and I have to understand what that means for the different portions of the Bible. Reading the Catechism has so far been great too because it is a nice little compendium of pretty much everything the Catholic Church teaches. Not all of it is new (actually, so far not a lot is that new, probably because I grew up Catholic, and studied theology in both undergrad and grad school) but it has a lot of good information and is a good way to brush up on a lot of areas of the faith. I'm really hoping to expand my own personal knowledge of the faith and the Bible and grow spiritually as a member of the Catholic faith and as a person.

My second big resolution is to read at least one fiction and one non-fiction book each month. I could probably do more, and so far have done more, at least with the fiction books, but with a baby and hopes of finding a job at some point (see resolution #3) I thought I should stick with something that is manageable with almost any schedule and lifestyle changes. Currently I am reading the Lord of the Rings trilogy (I just finished The Hobbit) and each month I read a book for a book club I'm in, so I've read quite a few fiction books since the new year started. I've only read my requisite 2 nonfiction books but I'm hoping to add in a few more if time allows. Given my interests I've been focusing on theology books but I also want to read some history and other genres too. There are still 10 months left in the year which gives me plenty of time and options. If any one has any suggestions I'll happily take them.

Finally, my third major resolution is to find a job. After being in school for so long I'm finding the transition into employment difficult. There are many reasons for that. One, I just had a baby and so have been enjoying staying home with her. Two, I've never had a real full-time job before and so my work experience is probably slightly weaker than other people who are applying for similar positions, although my education is definitely an asset. Three, my range of opportunities is limited given my specific interests and education, which would normally be a good thing because it means I'm more qualified for those jobs, except the bad economy has caused a lot of those positions to be cut. Most churches start posting open positions later in the spring, so my hope is that I will have a job by midsummer. Maybe earlier, if positions start opening up, but technically as long as I have a job before 2012 I will succeed in fulfilling my resolution. I sincerely hope it won't take that long.

There they are, my big resolutions for 2011. Overall they are going well, or if not it is because they are out of my control at the moment.

Follow-Up to Yesterday's Post

Eric and I were supposed to go to a couple of stores today, but actually managed to stay inside all evening because of the snow. Taking a step in the right direction. Of course, tomorrow night we're busy and so we won't have a chance to run these errands for another couple of days. Ah well, it's progress anyway.

It looks like snow is in the forecast...guess it's time to run some errands!

Eric and I have a terrible problem during winter. We always seem to go places during the worst snowfalls of the year. If it's snowing, chances are we are out driving in it, in our tiny Toyota Corolla. It's not usually intentional, we just have bad luck and some what bad foresight.

The very first snowstorm this season was Maria's wedding, so obviously we were out in that. The second snowstorm, and the biggest one this winter, came on the weekend we were celebrating our anniversary (4 months late due to Charlotte's birth) at a hotel in Wisconsin and had left Charlotte at my parent's house for the night. The trip is only about 2 hours, but it took over 4 hours to get back. It was also one of the most terrifying driving experiences of my life. A couple of times I had to lean out the window and try to scrape snow and ice off of the windshield wipers, and we saw more vehicles in the ditches and on the side of the road than I ever have in my whole life. We didn't want to be out in it, and anyone smart was inside that day, but we needed to get back to our baby and once we started out in it we didn't have much choice but to continue until we made it back. Luckily, we did. Probably because I said so many Our Fathers and Hail Marys--I'm not kidding, I don't know when the last time was that I prayed as hard as I did then. Then again today we decide to go out and do some errands and some shopping, and we actually got a fairly early start and were out and about before the snow started, but of course shortly into our day it starts coming down and we had to do most of our shopping in poor weather, once again.

It just seems like every time we have any snow worth mentioning, Eric and I are out in it for some reason or other. Somehow we've managed to make it safely to wherever we are going, which is amazing considering what vehicle we drive. We're resolving to have more foresight in the future and actually pay attention to what the weather will be like before we decide to venture out in what could possibly turn out to be a snowstorm.

25 Years in the Life of Emily

Today I am 25 years old. A quarter of a century. In honor of that, here is a summary of my life until now.

February 17^th, 1986: I was born.

            June 23^rd, 1986: My future husband is born

May 6^th 1987: My reign as the youngest child came to an end (the shortest reign as youngest child in the Novak family). Battle Emily vs. Theresa begins and will last until college. Though we fight like crazy, we also defend each other against mean kids at school.

September 1991: My first first day of school. I have Mrs. Alexander for kindergarten. My love of school and learning started here.

1992: Mrs. Woody, one of my all-time favorite teachers, is my first grade teacher. As is the Novak tradition, I get my ears pierced for my 7^th birthday.

1993: 2^nd grade. I have my first crush, first pair of glasses, and when I grew up I wanted to be everything I could think of (to name a few: actress, chef, president, world traveler, author)

1994: 3^rd grade. I get the worst haircut in my life. It is a boy haircut, yet I’m pretty sure I kept it for a couple of years. I don’t know what I was thinking, and looking back I have no idea why my mother didn’t intervene. I guess she believes in letting her kids make their own mistakes. This is one I learned from, and feared making again, and I let it grow out and didn’t cut it again until college.

Throughout elementary school I became involved in dance, soccer, and softball. My love affair with reading began and grew. I loved reading series, especially Nancy Drew, Boxcar Children, and Babysitter’s Club.

1997-1999: Middle School.

In 6^th grade I read Number the Stars which is still one of my favorite books. I was in my first play, “It’s a Wonderful Life” and thus began my acting career. I was still convinced of becoming an actress at this point, and had a role in every play performed at the middle school during my time there, save one. For the Wizard of Oz I did the sound. In 6^th grade I also met my 2 oldest friends, Emily Powell and Julie Fox. I joined youth group and became actively involved during both middle and high school. Epiphany Youth Group is probably a huge part of why I studied theology in college.

During the summer after my 7^th grade year I went on my only mission trip, to Chicago.

During 8^th grade I got contacts, and finally started looking slightly less geeky and somewhat more normal. The summer after 8^th grade I went to the big Stubenville conference in Ohio. Oddly, I remember ankle socks were a big east coast “trend” that people claimed would soon be hitting the Midwest (apparently we still wore tube socks all the time), and I scoffed at that. Of course, now I can’t imagine not wearing ankle socks.

2000-2004: High School.

            Freshman year I had one of the crappiest lockers in the whole school, so I got to share with my big sister who was a senior at the time and therefore a million times cooler than me. Sharing a locker with her I figured I was cooler too, but in reality I probably wasn’t. I did marching band for the first and only time, and started running cross country which unlike band I kept doing throughout college. I even lettered my first year at the very last race of the season, one of my most memorable and proudest moments.

            Sophomore year I turned 16, and eventually got my license after failing once. Yes, that’s right, I failed my driver’s test the first time I took it. After taking it the 2^nd time I thought I failed again but miraculously passed. At some point in my early high school career I also got braces. From the moment I got them I couldn’t wait to get them off. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen in time for me to do my senior portraits and my braces are immortalized on my parents’ wall. As much as I disliked them, they were still more fashionable than that boy haircut from elementary school.

            During the summer between sophomore and junior year (summer 2002) 3 major things happened. I had my first job (at PEI, where I continued to work for a total of 6 summers), I had my first boyfriend (for 3 whole weeks, definitely a high school relationship), and I went to World Youth Day in Toronto, Canada, which was an amazing religious experience for me and was also where I met Eric.

            Junior year is marked mostly by my relationship with Eric, where we dated for 4 months, broke up, and went to a slightly awkward prom together.

            2003-2004 was my senior year of high school and exponentially more memorable than junior year. Eric and I rekindled our romance (which is way more poetic than just saying “we got back together”). He also gave me what I still consider one of the best birthday presents ever, my ice skates. Also during my senior year my last sibling was born. I got accepted into the 2 colleges that I cared about (St. Ben’s and St. Kate’s) and after much deliberation chose St. Kate’s. I failed my first and only test, in calculus, but still managed to get a good grade in the class. In the spring I choreographed and performed my senior solo for Dancin’ Feet. Finally, I graduated high school.

2004-2008 College.

            College at St. Kate’s is practically a blur of memories. So much happened, I grew in so many ways, and I learned more than I can ever put down in words.

            I had the requisite crappy roommate my first semester. 2^nd semester I had a new, slightly better roommate, who I ended up living with again with 2 other girls the next year. That was a mistake, except for the part that one of those other girls became one of my closest friends and we roomed together the next year too.

            I ran cross country for the first 3 years of college. I worked at the Telefund, took a lot of classes, and eventually decided to major in theology and philosophy. Also during college my first nephew and godson was born, and I finally had enough courage to cut my hair. It was much cuter than the 3rd grade boycut. I studied abroad for 3 weeks in Ukraine, an interesting choice but determined largely because there were no interesting classes in other places in the world. It ended up being a great choice, because when else would I ever decide to go somewhere like that? Furthermore, I made some great friends and had some hilarious experiences. Particularly one night at an opera house with an old lady with bad teeth…ah, memories. I also tried Nutella for the first time, and let me tell you, that was a life-changing experience. Well, maybe that’s taking it a little too far, but I really liked it anyway. Also in my college travels I took a road trip with Eric and our friend Rebecca to Tennessee to visit one of their friends. During that trip I slept in a cave one night. It was cold and damp, pretty much what you expect a cave to be like. Well worth it though, if only to say I’ve done it.

            In December of 2005 Eric proposed to me, and we spent the next 20 months planning our wedding. On August 18^th, 2007, we got married on the rainiest weekend in August. It rained pretty much from the moment we woke up on our wedding day through the first days of our honeymoon. Rain or not, it still remains one of the best days of my life.

            January 2008 Eric and I took a road trip to visit Matt and Laura in Washington, D.C. That spring I graduated from college, and the following December Eric graduated.

2008: I began graduate school at St. Thomas. Mostly that meant intense reading and writing and studying. I also started working at Holy Rosary Parish in Minneapolis.

2009: Eric and I took a “real” honeymoon to Italy in January. It was one of the best overall experiences of my life. We stayed in Rome, Florence, and Venice, and thoroughly enjoyed every minute of our time there. We decided, however, after traveling so many times in January, that for our next big trip we are going during warmer weather.

            In October I ran the Twin Cities marathon, and finished in under 5 hours. I may not have been anywhere near the fastest, or even the middle of the pack probably, but I ran the whole thing without stopping. I can now cross off one of the things on my “bucket list” (although I don’t call it that, I call it the “to-do before I die” list).

In December, I took one of the shortest but most monumental tests of my life. It came back positive. I was pregnant!

2010: Most of the year was spent getting fatter, preparing for a baby, and finishing my Master’s program. I finished classes in May, left my job at Holy Rosary, and spent most of the summer studying for comprehensive exams. Also in May Eric and I went to visit Maria in Chicago, and in July we took a trip to California for a wedding and for a vacation before the baby came.

In August I took one of the longest and most monumental tests of my life, the MAT comprehensive exams, and I passed. Whew. I received my diploma in December and am officially a Master of Theology.

On 8/18, Eric and I celebrated 3 years of marriage together. On September 4^th, 2010, another one of the best days of my life, my daughter was born and I became a mother.

2011: Today, 2/17/2011, I am 25 years old. A quarter of a century old. 25 years ago I was born, and now I have my own child. I feel as if things have come full circle, that I am in a new phase of my life. This is a good time to reflect on that phase, to look back at all I have done and to look forward to what I still want to do.

           

New Blog

I want to get back in to blogging. I think my problem with my old blog was my limitations on what I wanted for my blog or what I thought I had to accomplish, and it ended up usually just being a summary of things in my life. That still might be what some of my posts are, but I also want to include just some of my own thoughts, things I read or hear or watch, funny things, thoughtful things, things I've learned being a mom, cute things Charlotte does, etc. Hopefully having a wider range of things I want to "accomplish" with a blog will help me stay interested in writing.

So, to start off my new blog, I've given it a new look, and a new title, and a new web address. If anyone is interested in reading about specific things, let me know and I will write about them! I can't promise I will be as humorous or as provocative or as thoughtful as some of my siblings' blogs, or even that I will be remotely funny at all, but I'll at least try to write about things that I think people might want to read about!


Happy reading!