The Liturgical Year, Giveaways, and when the Holy Spirit and Lady Gaga work together (my late 7QT)

Hey there! Happy All Souls Day! I hope that you all are having a very blessed day and had an awesome weekend to celebrate the saints and eat sweets! Today I'm linking up with Kelly for some 7 Quick Takes. Yes, I know that I'm a little late, but as I thought about blogging today, I realized that the 7QT would be a great way to check in with everyone and tell you a lil' bit about my life as of late! So, without further ado, let's dive in! 


It's All Souls Day today! Woohoo! Pray for those souls in Purgatory! Eat soul cakes (mine are in the form of cinnamon rolls)! Perhaps you're wondering why you should pray for the souls today? Well, you're in luck. Today I'm over at Ignitum Today to discuss this very topic, so you can check out that post if you so desire. 

I was "The Unsung Hero of Austria."
Basically, I represented all of the common
women of Austria who have gone unnoticed for their
unique, extraordinary contributions
to the world. In short, it was an elaborate description
for an instance of
 "Oh, I just woke up, so I rolled out of bed and
threw on my dirndl."

On Halloween, my husband entered a Super Smash Bros. Melee tournament at a local comic book store, and I went along to watch him (remember, video games have taught me about marriage!)...and because the store was throwing a Halloween party that included the Halloween ComicFest! I was blessed to spend the afternoon watching my husband compete, see adorable, tiny kids in superhero costumes frolic around the store, and pick up some free comic books. It was quite awesome. And yes, I about died when I saw a little girl wearing a huge TARDIS costume. So, so, wonderful. 

Wasp and Ant-Man ended up winning first place in their respective categories.
The lady who dressed as Wasp took 2 months to make her costume, and when
she flipped a switch, the wings fluttered-how cool is that?
And yes that is a dalek next to the TARDIS :) 

The employee in the Hulk costume took 4 months to make it!!!
It was really quite amazing. 

Free stuff is fantastic, and I want to tell you about two awesome giveaways in which you can participate! The first giveaway ends in just a couple days, so you still have time to enter-I am giving away a small Weeping Angel doll for yourself or the favorite geek in your life. You can enter that sweepstakes here. Another awesome giveaway is entirely unrelated, but incredibly awesome. Robin Nest Lane is giving away a free chapel veil!!! So enter to win it for yourself or the favorite veiler in your life! You can enter that sweepstakes here. Need encouragement? In the words of one of my favorite religious sisters, "You can't win if you don't play." 

Arsenic and Old Lace is the bomb. I watched it yesterday, and had forgotten how much I enjoy that movie! I first fell in love with this dark comedy as a senior in high school, when my younger brother and I acted out a skit from the play at Forensics tournaments. The movie follows Mortimer (played by Cary Grant) one night as he deals with a brother who thinks he's Teddy Roosevelt, a Boris Karloff look-alike brother who is on the run from the cops, two adorable looking aunts who are not what they seem, and his brand-new bride. I have found, in my watching of old movies, that Cary Grant plays the "flustered newlywed man" role very well, and the movie is quite entertaining! 

Last week was my first as a volunteer at Birth Choice, a local crisis pregnancy center! I am so glad that God brought me there to volunteer; I really support their nonjudgmental, compassionate mission of love and hope, and I am excited to give help whatever way God deems best!

On the topic of movies, why do I not watch The Swan Princess more often? We ended up watching it on Halloween when my Doctor Who plans fell through, and I fell in love with that movie all over again. Seriously, I loved it as a child, but I think I love it even more that I'm older and can appreciate all of the clever dialogue. Plus, this movie has a great love story which even shows us the couple after the wedding! (something which Disney movies rarely do) I may just dedicate a whole blog post to my love of The Swan Princess sometime, so I'll stop rambling about it now.

What happens when Lady Gaga and the Holy Spirit work together? Epicness happens, that's what! Earlier this fall, Lady Gaga came out with a new music video-"Til It Happens to You." I highly recommend watching this video, though I do not recommend it for young teenagers, since it does depict multiple cases of rape. 

I honestly believe that this video is the fruit of Lady Gaga (perhaps unknowingly) really cooperating with the Holy Spirit to courageously witness to the destruction and reality of rape and sexual violence in our culture. I was honored to discuss this video over at Chastity Project the other day, and do you know what responses I have been repeatedly getting since my article hit the internet? Gratitude. So much gratitude from people affected directly by sexual violence and assault, as well as from other people who are trying to spread awareness about this reality. The gratitude and appreciation hit me with the fact that we really don't talk about these issues as much as we need to. In Catholic communities, in big communities, in small communities, there is sexual violence & abuse. Not just rape (which does happen), but verbal, emotional, and physical violence and abuse. So let's start talking about it and really work to build up a culture of love, respect, chastity, and safety! 

I hope you all enjoyed hearing those little updates! Remember to check out those giveaways and pray for the souls in Purgatory today! I hope that you all have an incredibly blessed Monday!