7 Quick Takes Friday-Whirlwind

1. A few minutes ago, I checked the time. 8:08pm. Friday. What happens on Friday? Oh yeah...blogging. Should I blog? Answer: definitive yes. Blogging is good for the soul (mine, anyway), and it calms my mind after a long day. Or a few long days, and nights.

2. Wednesday was a little rough. Both of the kids were in rare form, and I was reaching my limit by mid-afternoon. My spirits were lifted, though, when our good friend Thomas messaged me out of the blue and inquired as to whether or not we would want company for a few days. His company? Absolutely? I knew Tony would be thrilled to see "uncle Thomas!" again, and fortunately Thomas is the type of guy who doesn't blink (or run away) at the sight of multiple unpacked boxes in the guest room.

3. Last Sunday after Mass, I stepped out of the car without realizing my iPhone was in my lap. The phone fell to the ground, and the screen shattered. After an appropriate amount of cursing, and almost having a heart attack after doing some research on how much it would cost to repair the stupid thing, I declared "who needs these stupid phones, anyway? Things were so much simpler before cell phones were ever invented! I'm done with cell phones forever!" Yeah...that lasted all of five minutes.

4. Fortunately, I discovered that Apple has this nifty thing called the Genius Bar in some of their stores, and they can repair your phone for you on the spot. At 50% less than what I found on the website. The closest store is in Atlanta, so I packed the kiddos (and Thomas) up yesterday, and we made the drive to Lenox Square Mall in Atlanta, GA. Which is probably the fanciest mall I've ever been to in my life. To be honest, I don't think I'll return anytime soon. It wasn't a whole lot of fun chasing after Tony, who kept trying to duck into the Fendi store (please sweet baby Jesus don't let him grab one of those $3000 handbags with sticky fingers!!!) and trying to find a parking spot that wasn't valet. I kind of felt like the poor cousin visiting the fancy shmancy well-to-do relatives, and it was kind of awkward.

5. However, the day did have two bright spots!
a. The "geniuses" at Apple fixed my phone, and I didn't have to sell an organ to pay for the repair, and
b. We were able to visit my aunt, uncle and cousin in the nearby city of Kennesaw. I haven't seen them since my cousin's wedding in 2011, and they've never met Alessandra. My aunt made a delicious dinner for us, and it was great laughing and catching up with them for a few hours.

6. Tomorrow we're getting up early and driving to Fort Rucker, AL to see our dear friends (and Alessandra's godparents), and have an early St. Paddy's Day weekend with them. Maureen and I will be participating in a 5K...although my spidey sense tells me that one of us probably won't make it more than a quarter of a mile without gasping for air and begging for mercy. Guess which one I'm thinking of?

7. Does anyone use essential oils? I'm thinking of incorporating a few into our daily routine. Obviously, not for anything major (I'm still a pretty big fan of modern medicine, seeing as how it's saved my life in the past and all. I'm thinking more along the lines of helping my infant daughter finally get some much-needed sleep, helping us fight off colds/sore throats/sinus issues without immediately heading to the doctor for an antibiotic, stuff like that. I've pinned a few ideas on Pinterest, but I'd like to hear from people who actually use them.

For more Quick Takes, visit Conversion Diary!